Page 78 of Finding a Melody

“Because you’re part of the group. You deserve space too.”

I shook my head, amazed. I had a whole house to use as space, and yet he still carved out a spot for me in his. That was beyond thoughtful. Foreign emotions swelled inside of me, pushing to burst out.

“I also got this,” he said in a lower voice and went over and dragged out a box. “I didn’t have a chance to set it up. It’s a table with built-in speakers. I was told it’ll work great for listening to music. You can hook your laptop up to it. I can’t give you a soundproof room, but at least it’s something?”

His confidence slowly waned into nervousness. The excitement was too much, and I couldn’t hold back. No one had ever done something as small and simple like this for me. He put in so much thought to make a space for me in his own home. Who did that? I hugged him. He grunted.

“I’m sorry,” I said, forgetting about his injuries. He just pulled me closer when I tried to pull away. All of him pressed against me, and I became all too aware of how fit this man was, his hard muscles flexing under my touch.

“I’m fine,” he whispered into my ear, causing a shiver to go through my body. “I’m better than good, getting a hug from you.”

“Say it again. That you’re okay.”

“Cadence, I promise I’m fine. I only need to take it easy. I just can’t go through another high-speed car chase. Other than that, I’ll live.”

“Don’t joke,” I said.

“Make music, Cadence. I need to talk to my boss about my job since I’ll be out for the count for a bit.”

“Will you lose your job?”

He chuckled. “That would be illegal. I’ll have them put me in the office for a bit. It’ll be boring paperwork for the next few weeks, but at least it’ll be something, and they’ll be more than happy to toss those duties my way. No one who works in construction wants to deal with the paperwork that goes with it.” He pulled away. “Now have fun.” He seemed reluctant as he let me go. His smile was gorgeous, nearly carefree as he left.

I waited until he closed the door before turning to look at the set up. I grabbed my bag and guitar, getting everything situated into something I could work with. This spot really was amazing, and he did enough to make it workable. Why would he do this for me? I expected a chair and a table, and that was it. Not this.

Once I got comfortable, I strummed a few strings and poured my heart out, releasing everything I had into the song.

“Your light is mesmerizing in your eyes

Just within my reach, burning so deep and bright

The warmth so strong, I have to ask

Can I hold on?

Oh, oh, can I hold on?”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The song was slowly getting there. It still felt like it was missing something, but I was more than happy with what I had done so far working on the piece. And the whole time, I was able to zone out the world, focus on music, and forget.

The forgetting was the most important. There was so much in my head that I didn’t want to think about. It all gutted me. Made me want to curl up into a ball and hide from the world. Focusing on music was way better, letting the notes of my guitar soothe me as it rang through the attic space.

Clapping broke the remaining focus I had. Seth was in the doorway with Bryan and Toby. I frowned and glanced outside the large window, realizing I’d been here for a couple hours already.

“Uh, hi. How was school? Are Paxon and Justin at practice?”

“Screw school,” Toby said, pushing between Seth and Bryan. “What was that? That was amazing.”

I smiled. Hearing it from Toby held a lot more weight than I expected.

“Just something that came to me today.” I frowned, staring at the music sheet. Seth and Bryan moved deeper into the attic, finding places to sit, turning their attention to the TV. “Something’s still missing from it.”

Toby practically bounced over, taking over the second chair. “Let me see.”

“Toby,” Bryan called out in warning.

Toby cleared his throat and gave me a sheepish smile. “Do you mind if I look?”