Page 22 of Love Songs (Harmony Lake #3)

He stared at me for what felt like forever, his eyes searching for truths I wasn’t sure I wanted to share, but knew I had to. Just as I was about to tell him, never mind, I was good— ha !—he held up a finger as he pulled his phone from his back pocket.

“I’m calling in the guys,” he said.

I bit back a wince, but I didn’t argue. We all pitched in whenever one of us needed help. Today was a rare turn for me.

While waiting for Ryan and Haider to show up, I went into the bathroom to clean up a bit and startled at my reflection in the mirror.

Shit . What a sight .

No wonder Sam had looked shocked when I’d arrived.

There was a tear in the shoulder of my T-shirt that I hadn’t noticed.

The dirt on my clothes was going to need a heavy-duty wash, and dried blood on my chin from my spontaneous dirt surfing.

There was no fixing my clothes now, but I rinsed the dirt and blood from my face, then ran wet fingers through my hair to tame it back into place.

Haider and Ryan were there with Sam when I returned, and the three of them wore matching expressions of concern and curiosity.

“No one’s dying,” I joked, but I didn’t get a single chuckle. Tough crowd.

“Come on,” Sam said, tipping his chin over his shoulder. “Let’s walk.”

We followed the narrow trail from Sam’s farm to the covered bridge, not speaking until we crossed the bridge and turned onto Parker Trail, where the path opened wide enough for us to walk side-by-side—Sam on my right, Haider on my left, and Ryan beside him.

“Okay,” Sam said, sliding a glance at me. “Spill.”

“Ugh.” I dragged my hands down my face and groaned. “I hate feelings.”

“Oh my God,” Haider gasped, stopping suddenly. With glee in his voice, he proclaimed, “You fell in love with the rock star.”

“What? No!” I knee-jerked in response.

Sam and Ryan had also stopped, but I walked a few steps ahead of them before giving in and turning.

They all stood there staring at me—Sam with disbelief written across his face, Ryan frozen in shock, and Haider with glowing pride, because everything about Haider glowed. That was one of the things I loved most about him. That and his truffles.

I let my head fall back and gazed up at the sky as if it held all the answers for me.

“Yeah, okay.” I looked back at them and flapped my arms. “Maybe I fell in great like with Dallas. I thought it would be nothing more than a fun week with him, but . . .”

“But it became more than fun,” Ryan finished for me.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “And now he’s gone, and I doubt I’ll ever see him again.”

“Oh, my little Jedi.” Haider snuggled up close to me and put an arm around my waist because he couldn’t comfortably reach my shoulders. “You’ll always have us.”

“I know, but I’m not sleeping with any of you jokers.” That earned me the chuckles I’d been looking for earlier. “Besides, you guys are all shacked up now.”

“Maybe,” Sam agreed. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re always going be here for you no matter what”

“Yeah, no matter what,” Haider and Ryan said in unison.

“Is that why you were so grumpy at Lucy’s last Friday?” Ryan asked.

I nodded and took a deep breath.

“But there’s more,” I said. Might as well tell them everything, since I didn’t plan on talking about this stuff again. “You know the old Ferguson house on Harmony Drive?”

“The haunted house that should’ve been torn down years ago?” Haider said.

Ryan and Sam snorted, and in unison said, “It’s not haunted.”

“That’s the one, but it’s not haunted,” I echoed. Haider raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. “Somebody bought it.”

“No way,” Haider squealed. “Who would buy that. It’s a dump. And haunted.”

“It’s a tear down,” Sam agreed with a nod.

“Depends on what condition the bones are in,” Ryan said thoughtfully, his brown eyes going distant for a second, as they often did when he was planning woodworking projects in his head.

Haider waved at Ryan. “See? Haunted!”

“Bones means foundation,” Ryan countered.

I glared at them while they disparaged my dream home until they finally noticed that I wasn’t adding to the discussion. One by one, they raised their eyebrows, and their jaws dropped as comprehension struck.

I held up a hand, palm out.

“I didn’t buy it, but yeah,” I said, my voice tight. “I was going to buy it. One day.”

Silence greeted that statement for a suspended moment, and then the responses came fast and furious.

“What?!”

“No way!”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“But it’s haunted.”

That last coming from Haider. Being the most stubborn one of the four of us, he’d always believed the house was haunted and nothing was going to steer him from that.

I shrugged and looked away. My thoughts were racing away from me again.

“I’m sorry, Conor,” Sam said, and laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t know.”

“None of us did,” Haider said with a pout in his voice, like I’d personally offended him.

“You’ve been always so freewheeling and adventurous,” Sam said as we started walking again. For whatever reason, it was easier to talk about all this when I was moving. “We kind of figured you’d be the last of us to want to get all domestic with owning a home and starting a family.”

“Who said anything about a family?” I grumbled. “I was thinking more along the lines of a partner and a couple of dogs.”

“That still makes a family,” Ryan said. “And if Dallas is the one you’re thinking of, he has a daughter.”

I snorted. “That’s getting way ahead of the curve.”

Even though that’s where my thoughts had gone when I’d stood on the side of the road in front of that SOLD sign.

“But you wanted that house,” Sam said softly. “And now, maybe, the instant family Dallas would bring.”

I sighed. It was ridiculous to be thinking about anything along those lines, but I had to admit the idea felt good.

“Yeah,” I breathed.

Haider’s eyes glistened with affection as he looked up at me. “Our Jedi growing up.”

“Shut up.” I bumped my shoulder into him, chuckling when I knocked him off balance for a couple of steps.

“Brute,” he teased, smiling.

“Right. Okay.” Sam stopped and propped his hands on his hips. “First thing you’re going do is find out who bought the house. Then you’re going to make them an offer and buy it from them.”

“I don’t have enough money yet,” I admitted, my cheeks heating.

The guys looked at each other, and a silent discussion passed between them.

“Oh, no.” I raised my hand and shook my head. “You guys are not loaning me anything.”

“Why not?” they asked in unison.

“We can help, and we want to,” Sam said, and Ryan and Haider nodded their heads in agreement.

“And don’t forget,” Haider added with a grin. “I have a rich boyfriend now.”

“I appreciate that you guys want to help. I really do. But there’s no point now.

” I shrugged and started walking back toward the bridge.

“No one is going to sell a house they just bought. And more than likely, the new owners are flippers. Once they get the house renovated, they’ll put it back on the market for substantially more. ”

The guys fell into step beside me.

“He has a point,” Sam conceded, and Haider hummed in agreement.

“Speaking of rich boyfriends . . .” Ryan piped up after a few minutes where the only sounds were the crunch of gravel under our feet and the birds chirping in the trees. “Have you heard from Dallas?”

“He is not my boyfriend.” I slanted a glare at Ryan. “And yes, we’ve exchanged a couple of texts.”

Which were awkward. Dallas had texted the day he’d left, letting me know he was back in New York City and that he’d enjoyed spending time with me.

It was ridiculous how my heart had jumped in my chest with excitement when I’d seen his name on the screen, but after a few exchanges, I hadn’t known what to say.

Didn’t know how to tell him what I was feeling, and over text was probably not the best way even if I could.

The last message had been from Dallas, saying he hoped we could see each other again soon. Pick up where we’d left off. If only . I’d texted back that I’d like the same, but that had been lip service. An easy out because I knew the chances of more happening for us were slim to none.

“And?” Ryan prompted when I hadn’t replied.

“And nothing,” I said with a flap of my hand. “I’m here and he’s there.”

“But you want there to be something?” Haider asked, his voice soft and understanding.

“There’s no point.” I sighed. “His life is completely different from mine. How could it ever work?”

“You could travel with him,” Sam offered, but there was a hollow note in his voice. He didn’t want me to leave as much I didn’t want to, but he’d support me if I did. They all would.

“I love you guys. You know that right?” Three heads bobbed. “But I’m not giving up my job and I’m not leaving Caldwell Crossing. Not for any man. Besides,” I added with a grin. “You three would be lost without me.”

They all snorted and guffawed at that, but we’d all be lost without each other.

“Well, then. Dallas will just have to move here,” Haider said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“If only it could be that easy,” I muttered.