Page 57 of Finding a Melody
Smile at the world,
And let it go, let it go
It’s time, time you fly
It’s time, time you let go
Time to be who you were meant to be
No more, say no more
You’re free, say you’re free
Open that door, then look out and see
You’re scared no more
It’s time to soar”
As soon as their performance ended, I jumped up from the stool and clapped loudly. Cadence joined me, grinning big, full of pride for her precious students.
“You guys have been holding out on me,” she said. Some of the kids laughed, sharing fist bumps. They all looked proud, and frankly, they should be. I was already wondering if there was a way to cultivate this more. A concert? A recording? Something that could even be a way to raise more money?
Ideas kept popping into my head the longer I watched Cadence help them through a new song, improving their vocals. If we did hold an event, I was sure I could at least get my company to help sponsor it. And I had no doubt the others would be able to help too. These kids had a strong voice that needed to be told. A story needing to be heard.
Seeing Cadence work with them, her patience and understanding, that need in me to help them grew stronger. They deserved to shine, just like everyone else. They deserved to prove to the others that they were something beautiful, more than just the life they were stuck in.
By the time we left, the two of us were grinning hard. My cheeks were sore from it as pride had swollen so much inside of me that I felt like I was going to burst open. I never wanted to kiss Cadence so hard. I would kiss her senseless if it wouldn’t scare her silly. The last thing I wanted to do was freak her out. She was stuck on the idea of friendship and I needed to let her hold on to that. For now at least.
When we got back to my truck, I gently grabbed her wrist and kept her from getting into the truck. It took a lot not to hold her close to me. Damn. She was driving me crazy.
“I’m proud of you,” I said.
She gave me a bemused smile. “Why?”
“Because you’re doing so much for so little.” Nope. I couldn’t help it anymore. This distance between us was making me ache. I pulled her close, into a hug, and kissed the top of her head, keeping it nice and innocent so she didn’t freak out. She wanted to go the friend route, and I had to respect that as best as I could. Even if I couldn’t keep my hands off her. She didn’t seem to mind head kisses though, so I was going to take advantage of that whenever I could.
I gave her another quick head kiss, squeezing her to me before pulling back and opening the door for her to climb in. She looked dazed and speechless, a nice little flush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. There was no wiping the smile from my face, my cheeks hurting with how hard I was grinning.
During the drive back to my place, we kept the conversation light and teasing. And I was right. She did rib me about the girls who couldn’t stop staring at me while they jumped rope.
Chapter Nineteen
We were only a couple miles away from Seth’s house when everything went to shit. I had been having such a nice day too. Having Seth come with me was the right choice, he made the visit more exciting, and kept that energy up while we headed back to his house. But wasn’t that the issue? All good things had to come to an end, right?
We were on a long strip of road, surrounded by farmland, and I got Seth telling me about the perfect house he wanted to eventually build. It was a beautiful insight into Seth and how he thought about everyone considering this perfect house was not just for him, but also for Toby, Paxon, Justin, Bryan, and even Calvin.
“What the hell?” Seth mumbled, glancing in his rearview mirror.
“What?” I asked, twisting to see what caught his attention.
“This guy is on my ass,” he said.
A huge truck with tinted windows was trailing close enough behind us that I couldn’t even see their headlights.
“Maybe slow down so they can pass?” I said, trying to see through the windshield, but it was too dark and all I could make out were two shadows. Two people.
“I did slow down, but they aren’t passing. There’s no oncoming traffic. Never is on these roads.” Seth kept mumbling to himself as he kept glancing up into his rearview mirror. Worry deepened his expression and only spurred my own on.