A Ballad for Her Cowboys by Luxie Ryder Read Free Book Online Page B

thought of spending time with them again. So when Seth and Aiden walked into the bar later that night, her pulse raced and her heart felt like it wanted to burst out of her chest. She smiled in their direction when they nodded at her as they walked by, and then had to hide her blushes when she played the wrong chord on her guitar. If anyone noticed, no one let on.
    When she launched into her final song, Misty played one she wrote many years ago. She never performed it in front of anyone, but the words had danced around in her head all day. The first few notes flowed from her fingers to the guitar and she began to sing. The crowd fell silent after the first few lines, and she couldn’t be sure if it was because they liked it or just that they never heard it before. Misty looked around the room at the faces watching her, stopping when her gaze landed on Aiden and Seth. She shut her eyes so she could sing the next part. She didn’t need them thinking the song was for them—even though she hadn’t been able to forget one particular lyric since she laid eyes on them earlier.
    ‘I don’t want you to know the real me, but you take me to a place I cannot hide. You see through my soul and make me reveal, the secrets I’ve locked inside.’
    Polite applause followed, and Misty knew the words had been too personal to make sense to anyone but her. It was one of the things she loved about performing her own compositions. She could vent her feelings, purge her soul, and nobody ever would know. Even the lukewarm reception it got didn’t make her regret bringing the song to light.
    When she joined Aiden and Seth at the bar, it seemed like she’d stepped back in time. An empty stool appeared between them and a drink waited for her on the bar. Déjà vu couldn’t explain the feeling washing over her and she suddenly got scared that she’d given them the wrong impression. Maybe they did think she was offering more than a simple meal? But when she looked into their faces, the earlier wariness lingered. They were as nervous as her, luckily, they seemed just as determined to move past what happened.
    ‘I don’t remember you wearing that kind of get up before,’ Seth said, smiling as he took in the polyester and sequins wrapped around her.
    ‘Hoagie,’ she said in explanation. ‘I hate it. I’d much rather wear my own clothes.’
    Aiden chuckled. ‘You mean you
don’t
want to look like a female Elvis impersonator?’
    Misty punched him in the arm, smiling despite her embarrassment. She was grateful they had broken the ice. After that, she found herself relaxing and genuinely enjoying their company, much like five years ago. By the time she let them into her tiny apartment, she all but forgot her worries over their motives.
    They sat in front of the TV while Misty changed her clothes and served supper. She tolerated their teasing over the almost inedible meal with good humor. ‘Okay, so I can’t cook. But I’m good in bed,’ she said, repeating an old joke she used many times before. Aiden and Seth shuffled in their seats and didn’t meet her eyes while a blush that could heat a room crawled over her flesh. ‘I didn’t mean…’
    Aiden got to his feet and put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Relax, okay? Now, you got anything to drink around here?’
    ‘There’s some beer in the fridge’ she said. She pointed to the kitchen rather than look at him.
    ‘Come sit down and talk to me a minute,’ Seth said after she stayed rooted to the spot for God knew how long.
    Misty took a seat opposite the sofa, perching on the edge of a chair. Aiden returned with the beer and the awkward silence descended again as they all took a sip.
    ‘So what brings you here, Misty? The last time we heard anything of you, things were going well.’
    Seth’s blunt question might have pissed her off under normal circumstances, but at that very moment, she was grateful for the distraction.
    ‘Wade. That’s what happened.’
‘Who’s Wade?’
    ‘The