In Your Honor by Heidi Hutchinson Read Free Book Online

like her
insides had just been ripped out and smeared along the sidewalk.
Most of all, she did not want Blake Diedrich back in her
life.
    ***
    “ I just want to say, for
the record, that I thought you handled that quite well,” Harrison
said encouragingly as they strode down the hot sidewalk. Blake
grunted in acknowledgment.
    He didn't say any of the
things that he had wanted to say. He knew what she was doing and he
wasn't going to be manipulated like that. Especially not by her.
Why the hell was she even there in the first place? She was
supposed to be in Tulsa. He would have asked, too, if she hadn't
made it so obvious that she wanted him to leave. He wasn't going
far though, she was playing tonight, there was no frickin' way he
was going to miss that. He hated how his soul ached to be near her,
to hear her. Even if she did despise him.
    It's why he avoided this entire damn
state. His body honed in on her like a frickin' beacon. He hadn't
planned on seeing her. When he saw her, he hadn't planned on
touching her. But then his arms automatically went where they fit.
Her sweet honeysuckle skin and the promise of everything they could
have been together was all he could see. She had to know how she
affected him. She had to know that when it came to her, he was a
wreck. Lost. And she was his North.
    They got back to the buses and Blake
went to find Luke. He climbed the steps to his brand new, beautiful
white bus and banged his fist on the door. Luke opened it almost
immediately and frowned, looking back and forth from Blake to
Harrison, concern written on his brow.
    “ What's going on?” he
asked, not bothering to hide his worry.
    “ Who are you scouting
tonight?” Blake asked sternly.
    “ What is this about,
Blake?” Luke stepped outside and came down the stairs as Blake
backed away from him.
    “ Just tell me now, are you
scouting Lucy?” Blake was trying to control his anger, but he knew
his voice was louder than necessary. He saw crew heads turn his
direction but he didn't care. If Luke knew and he hadn't bothered
to tell him, Blake was going to seriously go off.
    “ No.” Luke shook his head,
eyes wide and confused. “I wouldn't do that to you. I would never do that to you.
It's some kid named Taylor Stevens.”
    Blake cursed and stomped a few paces
away, bringing both hands up to run through his hair. “She plays
for him, Luke!” His voice ricocheted off the buses and the brick
building they were parked beside.
    “ What? She does? I had no
idea.” Luke was obviously just as shocked as Blake had been. He
rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “You want me to call the
whole thing off, man? I'll do it, just say the word.”
    Blake took a deep breath and looked
across the parking lot, trying to find the right answer in the
mirages floating off the hot pavement. Luke really would do that
for him. But what if this was Taylor Stevens' best opportunity? He
didn't even know this guy, he could very well be discovered by
someone else later on down the road. They weren't obligated by any
means to change this guy's life.
    But Blake remembered how hard it had
been for him to break out of this little town. He didn't want to be
the reason someone else's dream came crashing down.
Dammit!
    And then there was Lucy... if she
really was playing again... this could be the best chance for her
to see how talented she really was. He had tried for years to
convince her that she was better than this little hick town. Maybe
this would break her out of here once and for all.
    Blake didn't know if he could handle
it. He brought his hand up to touch the spot where he'd inked her
name along his side.
    He'd let her down enough in this life,
he couldn't do it again. If they didn't make it as a band, it
wouldn't be his fault.
    He faced Luke, his mind made up. “Give
them an honest shot. If they're what you're looking for, then...
I'll figure out how to be okay with it.”
    “ Blake, seriously,” Luke
shook his head, “we don't have