Sitting around the table with Rae, Sadie, and Linc felt just like being at home, which was strange considering they were practically strangers to me. More than anything, they were completely genuine around me. They weren’t spending time with me because I was Gabe Renard of Jacob’s Ladder. To all of them except for Linc, I was nothing special, just an average Joe. After so many years in the business, it was refreshing as hell to be able to feel so free.
When a melody entered my head, I froze midsentence. Pinching my eyes shut, I searched for the right lyrics to go with it. As they started to come, I started tapping my foot in time with the melody.
“Are you all right?” Rae asked.
I snapped my eyes open. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine.” Glancing around the restaurant, I looked for the restroom sign. When I saw it at the back of the dining room, I popped out of my seat. “I’ll be right back.”
The heated stares from the others at the table bore into my back as I made my getaway. I was sure they were all wondering what the hell my problem was. Knowing Rae’s disdain for me and rockers in general, she probably thought I was escaping to the bathroom for a drug fix.
When I hurried into the bathroom, I thankfully found it empty. Since I’d left my journal in the Jeep, I would have to improvise as far as what to write on. As my gaze spun around the room, I held out hope for paper towels rather than a dryer. I could write so much better on paper towels than I could toilet paper. Jackpot. Ripping off a long section, I then locked myself in a stall and pulled the Hart and Daughter pen out of my pocket. After knocking out three songs with it the other day, I’d decided to replace my once lucky pen.
I balanced the paper towel across my knee and started furiously scribbling down the chords I heard in my head. When I’d gotten the main melody down, I started adding in the lyrics that flowed through me. Reading back over my work, I smiled. This one was certainly lighthearted and brighter in tone than the other three I’d written.
“Gabe?” Linc questioned outside the stall.
I jerked my head up. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“Mom wanted me to check on you since it’s been almost thirty minutes.”
Holy shit. It felt like I had just sat down. I’d been so lost in the songwriting zone that I had no idea how much time had passed. Even though I could have continued writing, I couldn’t leave Rae and Linc hanging. I gently folded up the paper towel and stuffed it into my pocket, along with my pen.
When I came out of the stall, I met Linc’s concerned face. “Do you want me to see if Mom has some tummy medicine?”
I laughed. “While I appreciate the offer, it’s not necessary. I wasn’t in here with the shits. I was writing a song.”
Linc’s face lit up. “You were?”
“Yep.”
“So you weren’t lying when you said just hanging out with my mom helped you with your songs.”
“Nope. It’s the God’s honest truth.” I went over to the sink to start washing my hands. Glancing back at him in the mirror, I said, “Besides the win of me starting another song, I think tonight went pretty well. How about you?”
Linc nodded enthusiastically. “Mom made it all the way through dinner and dessert without going off on you. Sometimes she even seemed to like talking to you.”
With a grin, I replied, “I thought as much.”
“So, what happens now?”
“There’s no doubt about it—I have to see her again tomorrow.”
“What excuse are you going to use this time? She knows you’re in town, so you can’t really just bump into her like you did tonight.”
“Good point.” Tilting my head in thought, I dried my hands. “I need—no, I want to do something nice for her.”
“Like flowers?”
“Nah, that’s a go-to kind of gift, the kind every guy uses when he wants to do something nice for a girl. I want to do something unique, something that would make her day.”
“You could bring her breakfast.”
“That’s not exactly the angle I was going for, but since you’re her son and know her pretty well, I’ll hear you out.”
“She loves French toast, and even though my Aunt Kennedy owns a bakery, she refuses to make French toast.”
“Why?”
Lowering his voice, Linc said, “It’s because of this guy she dated a long time ago when she was taking cooking classes in France.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Anyway, Mom hardly ever gets her favorite breakfast because the restaurants around here only serve pancakes and waffles, not French toast.”
“If there’s none around here, where the hell am I going to find it to bring it to her?”
“Her favorite one is forty-five minutes from here.”
Groaning, I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “Let me get this straight: I’m supposed to spend an hour and a half on the road just to get French toast.”
“Yep.”
“Maybe I could hire your aunt to make some.”
Linc shook his head. “Trust me, she won’t do it.”
“Maybe not for free, but money talks.”
“But don’t you see? It’s the fact that you’re going out of your way to get her the food she really likes that counts. It’s something you can do from your heart, not your wallet.”
I stared wide-eyed at Linc. “Damn, kid. How could you know that?” I swore he was some sort of wise old soul in a kid’s body. He was absolutely right—Rae wasn’t impressed with my fame or money, so she certainly wouldn’t appreciate me throwing money at her sister. She was more likely to be impressed that I did something for myself—that I didn’t ask my assistant to deliver it to me. “Once again, you’re completely right. You’re going to be a total ladies’ man when you get older.”
Linc’s cheeks flushed. “Maybe.”
“Trust me, most men don’t possess the level of understanding about women that you do, and you’re only nine. There must be something to be said for being raised in an all-female household.”
“Aunt Kennedy says I’m surrounded by estrogen, whatever that is.”
With a laugh, I replied, “You don’t need to worry about that right now.” I rubbed my hands together. “Okay, what’s the name of the place with the fantastic French toast? To make it back in time before your mom leaves for work, I might have to throw some money at them to open early.”
After Linc gave me the name of what I could only imagine was some backwoods version of iHop, I motioned to the door. “Okay, let’s get out of here before everyone else thinks I crapped out my intestines.”
Linc snickered. “That’s pretty sick.”
“Yeah, it is.”
When we started out of the bathroom, Rae was pacing in the hallway. At the sight of us, a relieved expression replaced her concerned one. “Thank God. I was just about to go in after you two, and I really, really didn’t want to have to do that.”
I grinned. “I’m sorry. I should have sent Linc back to the table to let you know I was all right, but when he found out I had been writing a song, we started talking about it.”
Linc gave me a look that said, Nice save.
Rae’s dark eyes widened. “You were writing a song? In the bathroom?”
“Yep. On paper towels.”
“That’s…”
“Insane?” I finished for her.
She shook her head. “Amazing,” she murmured. For the first time since she’d met me, she appeared actually impressed by me. “I can’t imagine doing anything creative, least of all in a bathroom.”
“When the words and the music come, I have to go with it. I’m sorry I ran out on you like that.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“I’m sure Sadie must think I’m a psycho with the runs.”
Both Rae and Linc laughed. “Speaking of Sadie, we better get back to the table. If we all disappear, she’ll think it’s some kind of conspiracy to get away from her.”
“I’ll go tell her everything is okay,” Linc suggested before hurrying around the corner. Once again, I had to give the kid some props. He knew exactly when to try to give us some alone time.
After nibbling on her lip, Rae said, “So you really weren’t lying to me when you said I influenced your songs?”
“Why would I have lied?”
With a matter-of-fact look, she replied, “To get me in bed.”
“I thought I made it clear to you this morning that I wasn’t interested in sleeping with you. I just want to platonically hang out with you to get my songs written.” At Rae’s quick intake of breath, I realized I’d once again fucked up by saying the wrong thing. Not interested in sleeping with her? Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You’d fuck up her against the bathroom wall right now if she gave you the chance.
“Excuse me for being overly cautious and not completely trusting you,” she snapped.
There it was: the simmering rage beneath the surface, directed at me and only me. Yeah, you deserved that one, asshole.
I held my hands up in front of me. “It’s okay, I get it. After the way I acted yesterday, it makes sense that you would be wary of anything I have to say.”
“That’s right.”
“But after spending a little time with me and seeing me in the process, don’t you believe me now?”
Rae’s dark eyes held mine for a long moment. “Yes, I do.”
Inwardly, I did a fist bump. “Does that mean you’ll reconsider hanging out with me?”
“I don’t know…maybe.”
“I promise I won’t interfere with your life or with Linc’s. When you have some downtime, you can just hit me up.”
“You mean you don’t want to follow me around all day?”
I laughed. “Would that be so horrible?”
“It certainly wouldn’t be ideal.”
“I’ll take whatever you can give me, Rae.”
She slowly nodded her head. “Okay. I guess I can try to make time to hang out with you.”
“Can you try not to make it sound like it’s absolute torture being in my presence?”
A small smile curved her lips. “It’s a hard job, but I’ll give it a shot.”
“Good. Why don’t I come by for breakfast in the morning?”
Rae’s smile faded slightly. “Oh, I don’t know. The mornings are kinda hectic with my sisters and me trying to get to work and getting Linc to school.”
“Just sit me at the table. I promise you won’t even know I’m there.”
With a roll of her eyes, Rae said, “Considering I’ll have to make sure I’m decent, I’m pretty sure I’ll know you’re there.”
“Please don’t feel you have to be decent on my account.” I waggled my brows at her.
She groaned. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
I laughed. “Yep. You did.”
“Fine. You can come by in the morning, but just be warned that while my younger sister will be drooling over you, my older sister will be out for your balls.”
“Damn. Do I even want to know why your sister has an axe to grind with me?”
“Let’s just say I filled her in on what happened between us the other day.”
“I see. I’ll be sure to steer clear of her, especially if she’s carrying a knife.”
Rae laughed, and I could help noticing how good it sounded. I certainly hadn’t heard it much; I supposed I hadn’t given her very many reasons to laugh.
“Since she owns a bakery, that wouldn’t be out of the norm.”
“Wait, is it the one down the street from the Grandview?”
With a nod, Rae replied, “Yep. Harts and Flowers. The longer you’re in town, the more you’ll find that all the stores and businesses are either on or right off Main Street.”
“That’s good to know. I’ll have to stop in there.” Grinning, I added, “After I try to smooth things over with her tomorrow.”
“Good luck with that one.”
At that moment, the wide brim of Aunt Sadie’s red hat came around the corner, and she eyed the two of us suspiciously. “Are you trying to cut out on the check, Mr. Rich and Famous?” she demanded.
I laughed. “No ma’am, I’m not.”
“May begged to buy his dinner,” Rae piped up in my defense.
“If you’re not trying to run out on the check, what other nefarious things are the two of you doing back here?”
Rae sighed. “We’re not doing anything, Aunt Sadie.”
“Unfortunately,” I quipped with a wink.
While an Aha! look flashed in Aunt Sadie’s eyes, Rae appeared ready to kick me in the balls. “I thought Linc told you what was going on with Gabe and his songwriting,” Rae said.
“He did, but what am I supposed to think when the two of you don’t come back immediately?”
“Maybe that we’re talking?”
“Mmhmm,” she harrumphed.
“You’re impossible,” Rae replied as she brushed past her aunt.
Aunt Sadie whirled around, suprisingly agile for an old lady. “I’m just looking out for you. I don’t want the gossip tongues in town wagging about how you were found in a compromising position with a strange man.”
“It would be a nice change from ‘Poor Rae, she’s never going to find a husband working in a man’s job like she does’ or ‘Men don’t like strong women who act like they don’t need a man.’”
“That’s bullshit,” I muttered.
Rae’s brows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“The part about men not liking strong women.”
“I’m sorry to disagree with you, but it’s often been the case for me,” Rae replied.
“Then you’re obviously surrounded by a bunch of little boys in this town, rather than men,” I countered.
Rae’s stony expression melted before my eyes. As she stared almost incredulously at me, it was like she was seeing me for the first time—or maybe she was seeing the real me for the first time and not the opinion of me she’d formed in her mind. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You don’t have to thank me for calling it as I see it.”
“Regardless, I’m grateful that you’re able to see it that way. I wish more men could be like you.”
“You might be rethinking that statement as you get to know me better,” I countered.
With a grin, Rae said, “I might. We’ll just have to see.” She jerked her chin toward the front of the restaurant. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“While mine is covered, I would like to buy yours and Linc’s dinners.” I winked at Aunt Sadie. “And your pie.”
“You really don’t need to do that,” Rae protested.
“But I want to, for your trouble.”
She laughed. “The trouble of hanging out with you?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay then, I’ll let you get dinner—but just this time.”
“That seems fair to me.” As we started back to the table, I asked, “What time should I come by tomorrow morning?”
“We usually get up between six and six thirty.”
Linc made a face. “That’s when you get up. I don’t get up until around seven.”
“That’s because you’re young and can look super cute in five minutes. It takes me and your aunts way longer.”
With a laugh, I said, “How about I see you at seven?”
“That sounds good.”
“See you tomorrow, Rae.”
“Bye, Gabe.”
Something in the way she said my name took me by surprise, and I couldn’t help glancing back at her. God, she really was gorgeous. It was no wonder she’d become my muse, and if I was right, she was softening toward me. My plan was starting to work.