“Maybe.” I shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the same, though. I’m still not sure I’m a dog person. I think I’m just a Trixie person.”
“I get that.” He grinned, sweeping a hand through my hair. “I like the purple. I never got a chance to tell you.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. “You can pick the next one,” I promised.
“What if I pick neon green?” He grinned mischievously.
I shrugged. “You have to look at it more than I do.”
“Fair enough.” He chuckled, his eyes on his fingers as they toyed with my dyed strands. “It’ll be good to get out of town, I think,” he mused.
“Yeah,” I agreed passionately. “I’m so relieved,” I admitted. “I would have had a really hard time missing their wedding. Plus, I just miss her.”
“Yeah,” he agreed gently.
“Well,” I announced, standing up, “better get packing, since we’re leaving day after tomorrow. Oh, and pack your bass, since we’re performing!” I called over my shoulder.
“Wait, what?” his confused voice called as I left the room.
I peeked back into the room with an innocent expression. “Did I not mention that part? She asked Red Tape to do a little reunion performance. Should be fun,” I sang as I left him with wide surprised eyes.
“I’m rusty!” he hollered.
“You’re perfect!” I hollered back.
He really was.
****
“We’re not stopping again,” Sid growled from his place at the wheel as I sat at his side in the passenger seat with Trixie in my lap.
“But I’m hungry,” Caden whined.
“You’re always hungry.” Danika rolled her eyes. “I don’t know where the hell you put it. If I ate like you, I’d be big as a house.”
“I’d still love you.” Cade grinned, throwing an arm around her.
We were about halfway through our road trip and Cade had already made us stop twice. The Suburban was huge, so we all had plenty of space—much like Caden’s belly, apparently.
“So tell me more about these people we’ll be meeting,” Danny prodded curiously. “I’ve heard a bit about Piper, but I don’t know the others.”
I turned my body toward the backseat. “Yeah, Pipe and I have known each other since college. She’s from Hawthorne. She and Ryker were childhood sweethearts, but she left thinking he needed to sow his wild oats or something.” I rolled my eyes at her thinking. “She moved back when her mom died to take care of her dad, and she and Ry got back together after some… negotiation.”
Sid chuckled at my wording; he knew the story well.
“Ry’s part of a Motorcycle Club, the Knights. They pretty much run the town. They’re a great group, very protective of each other,” I explained. “I’ve never seen her so happy.”
“Where are they getting married?” Danny asked.
I grinned. “In their backyard. It’s a gorgeous space and that house is near and dear to both of them.”
“Sounds great,” she agreed, just as Caden’s stomach grumbled.
“Dude, remind me not to get deployed with you anywhere,” Declan groused. “You wouldn’t survive a day.”
“Good thing I’m rarely five feet from a fridge and have no plans to change that,” Caden retorted.
“Good thing,” Dec agreed.
Sid and I shared a quick grin at their exchange before his eyes shot toward the radio.
“Everybody, shut the fuck up,” he ordered, turning the dial up.
“What…?” I was about to ask him what he was doing but my ears perked to the sound of Autumn’s voice floating over the air waves. My entire body went solid as I listened intently. “Holy shit, that’s my song,” I breathed. “That’s my song!” I squealed.
Caden whooped from the backseat as Danny hooted.
Sid looked over at me, his grin wider than I’d ever seen. “Shit, baby, that’s awesome. Did you have any idea?”
“She texted me a little while ago saying they were recording but I had no idea it would get air play at all, much less this soon,” I marveled. “This is surreal.”
The Suburban that had been full of boisterous sound for the last three hours fell silent as we all listened intently to the song. She’d done something different than I would have, adding inflection where I hadn’t imagined it, carrying notes I hadn’t pictured. It just made it all the more beautiful.
“Fuck, Sam, that’s amazing.” Declan’s deep voice carried from the back seat.
“Thanks,” I murmured, feeling both numb and intensely alive at the same time. “Holy shit.”