Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) by Lisa N. Paul Read Free Book Online

cooler filled with sandwiches and snacks
for all of the band members for lunch.
    She rushed back and forth from the house to the driveway
dragging Leo’s boxes while he continued to break down his drum kit, getting it
ready to store in the small tour bus that was scheduled to arrive in just a few
minutes.
    A cold, familiar chill crept through Ashley’s veins. She
knew this feeling. This was the sadness that had settled into her gut when the
guys had been away this summer—the figurative cold teeth of complete and utter
loneliness that had eaten away at her soul. While she was thrilled that her
brother, Ryan and the other guys were getting the chance to live their dream,
the dreaded state of invisible always threatened to choke her when they were
gone.
    Sure, school would be starting in just a couple of days, but
without her brother, who would she be? She’d always had a label: Leo’s
sister , or Dr. Kynde’s daughter . Although known for her academic
achievements, she didn’t relate to the other people in those groups. She
thought of them as stuffy, boring, and two-dimensional, basically nerds.
    Without her brother and Ryan around she couldn’t even relate
to the people who followed Storm Front because, well, Storm Front was no longer around. As Ashley stacked her brother’s things in the driveway,
the weight of her impending solitude sat heavily on her shoulders.
     

     
    “Princess.”
    Ryan wrapped his strong arms around her waist, rotating her
until her face was buried in his chest. He needed to hold her tighter, to make
sure she knew he loved her beyond all reason.
    “Ashley, you looked so sad just now. It’s like your body was
here, but your mind was miles away. You didn’t even hear me calling you. Talk
to me, Princess.”
    The deep emotions unfolded like the plot of a play on
Ashley’s face, but in true Ashley form, she tried to pull the curtains down
before he could see the final act. Nope. No way was he going to allow her to
hide behind the mask of perfection for one more minute. He was setting off in
less than an hour and he couldn’t leave his girl with the lost and broken look
that he had just seen on her face.
    Lacing his fingers through hers, he guided her to the back
porch where—aside from the soft sounds of the birds waking from their slumber
and the gentle lapping of the pool water—it was perfectly quiet.
    Stroking the backs of his fingers lightly down her jaw, he
tipped her chin so her eyes were facing his. “Princess, please tell me what is
going on in that beautiful mind of yours. I know you’re sad that we’re
leaving—I hate leaving you too—but I can tell there’s more going on than just
the physical distance. If we’re gonna make this work between us—”
    Ryan watched as Ashley’s eyes quickly rounded when the word if left his mouth and he quickly corrected himself. “I meant in order for us to
make this work between us, baby, you have got to be open with me. Please, tell
me what’s going on. Let me help to ease whatever is making you so damn sad.”
    The anxiety rolled off her in waves and for the first time
in their relationship, Ryan was nervous. In that brief second a small flash of
doubt sparked through his mind. What if she was choosing this moment to
break things off with him?
    He had never, not for one second, given that any
consideration at all. He’d always known that he was in love with Ashley Kynde
and he’d assumed the feeling was mutual. After all, she told him and showed him
often enough, but now he was leaving. What if the distance was enough to make
her end things? A sick feeling began to churn through his gut. That feeling
must have shown on his face because Ashley squeezed his hand tightly while
stroking his cheek.
    “Does that make it easier for you?”
    Her voice startled him. Looking up he saw the sadness that
had loomed in Ashley’s eyes replaced by ambiguity and fear. Ryan’s thoughts
were buzzing like a fluorescent light bulb…just before