The Girl He Used To Love. Amy Vastine

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СКАЧАТЬ body tensed. “Oh, I’m not staying. I was thinking you could come to Nashville. Meet some people. Nashville’s where the magic happens.”

      “Nashville?” Faith’s face drained of color. “Things are kind of busy at the farm right now. One of the paddocks needs the fencing along the east side replaced and Sawyer’s in the middle of revamping the tack room.”

      “Nashville is where the magic happens,” Dean repeated, looking at Sawyer in hopes of swaying him.

      “I think what my sister is trying to say is I’ve got responsibilities here, Dean. I appreciate that you think I sound good enough to do more than play in this old bar, but with Dad gone, it’s just me and Faith, and we have the farm to run.”

      Responsibilities? Didn’t Sawyer have a responsibility to himself to do something he loved? And Dean didn’t need to ask him if he loved making music; he’d heard it in every word the man sang.

      The relief on Faith’s face stopped him from pointing that out. She needed her brother, and Dean wasn’t sure how he was going to handle that. He had to get back to Nashville. Once he was out of this godforsaken town, he’d find a way to lure Sawyer there.

      Dean glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight. Too late to ask Landon to drive down here to get him. Going to his parents’ house was completely out of the question. If he showed his face there, they’d never let him leave. There was only one option.

      “I don’t want to bother my parents this late at night and I need a place to crash. You think I could sleep on your couch? I’ll be gone in the morning, I swear.”

      Sawyer glanced at Faith, who bit her bottom lip. It wasn’t any wonder she’d be hesitant about inviting him into her house. The last time he had been there, he’d said some pretty horrible things.

      “I’m sure your mom wouldn’t mind being woken up because you were home,” she said in her attempt to say no without actually saying the word.

      “I don’t want to make a scene, you know?”

      “I get it,” Sawyer said.

      “What about Tanner’s B&B?” Faith was quick to suggest.

      “They don’t take guests in the middle of the night, Faith. You know that,” Sawyer argued.

      Dean was desperate. “You won’t even know I’m there.”

      “You can come home with us,” Sawyer said. “I’ll even let you borrow some dry clothes because I’m not only talented but kind and generous, as well.”

      “Right. That or you don’t want me to ruin your couch.”

      Sawyer grinned. “That, too.”

      * * *

      FAITH MUST HAVE misheard her brother because there was no way he’d offered to let Dean Presley sleep on their couch. She waited and cornered him while Dean went to hold his phone under the hand dryer for a minute.

      “Have you lost your mind? You can’t let him stay at our house.”

      “What else is he supposed to do?” Sawyer replied.

      “He has family in town. Family that would probably love to see him.” Not that he cared about the people he’d left behind. His parents visited him in Nashville, but he had made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with this town...nothing to do with Faith. He had always blamed her for what had happened to Addison. Of course, no one blamed Faith as much as Faith did.

      “It’s late, sis. Have a heart.”

      He was so much like their dad, always willing to give the shirt off his back. Faith was really no different. Josie had warned them both that their generosity was their weakness. Kindness rarely helped pay the bills. He was also infuriatingly right. There really wasn’t anywhere else Dean could go if he refused to wake his family. One night on their couch wasn’t going to kill her.

      “Fine.”

      Sawyer gave her a kiss on the top of the head. “You want to close up for me? His jeans are so wet, I’m starting to feel uncomfortable for him. Unless you want to take him...”

      No way did Faith want to be alone with Dean. The last time they were alone at her house, he had ripped her heart out. It was almost closing time, anyway, and Josie wouldn’t care who helped her lock up. “I’ll stay. You go.”

      Dean returned from the men’s room. His water-logged phone still didn’t work.

      “Let’s go, Music Man,” Sawyer said, grabbing his guitar case. “Let’s get you dried off before you chafe something.”

      She watched Dean thank Hank for holding the door open for him and Sawyer. He still had his good manners. And broad shoulders. And green eyes that matched the color of the rolling hills that surrounded Grass Lake. Faith’s chest burned. He also had a stone heart.

      “Am I going to get the story on that one?” Josie asked when she came back to the bar with a drink order. “Or is this something I’m going to have to pry out of you with promises of chocolate and my child’s free labor?”

      “Your daughter already works for free,” Faith quipped. Lily volunteered at the farm several times a week. “You can’t bribe me with something I already get.”

      Josie’s round face always wore a smile. Her blue eyes often had a mischievous glint. She nudged Faith with her elbow. “Then just tell me.”

      Faith let out a heavy sigh of resignation. “Dean is Marilee Presley’s son. He’s a big-shot record executive in Nashville. He thinks Sawyer should come to the city and start a music career or something.” It sounded even more ridiculous when she said it out loud.

      “That’s amazing!” Josie lit up. “Does he work with anyone I listen to?”

      “Boone Williams.”

      “Boone ‘She Loves Me Better Than You’ Williams?”

      Faith wished Josie wasn’t so impressed. “That’s the one,” she said.

      Josie hopped up and down. “Our Sawyer is going to be famous like Boone Williams? This is better than winning the lottery! Why aren’t you excited?”

      “Our Sawyer runs Helping Hooves with me.”

      The Stratton siblings had been working under their father since they were old enough to hold a dandy brush. John Stratton had believed caring for horses was therapeutic. He had gone back to school after their mother left and gotten his master’s degree in counseling with a certificate in equine-assisted therapy. Soon after, he’d opened up Helping Hooves.

      Faith had always loved horses and couldn’t wait to follow in her father’s footsteps. She had imagined working side by side with her dad for years and years. Now that he was gone, Faith was the only licensed therapist while Sawyer assisted and did most of the heavy lifting. They weren’t doing a terrible job running the place, but there was no way one of them could do it alone.

      “We’re trying to get accredited and there’s a lot of work to do. Sawyer’s place is here, not Nashville,” СКАЧАТЬ