Page 9 of Sweet Music (Sugarville Grove #7)

BELLA

B ella walked down Maple Street with Cash Law by her side, trying not to notice the curious looks they were getting from townsfolk as they passed by.

For his part, Cash ignored the adoring glances and double takes, and focused his attention on the town itself.

“Wow, the toy shop got a glow-up,” Cash pointed out. “It looks amazing.”

“That was a while back,” Bella said, nodding.

Every two seconds, the man pointed out something else that was different in town. For no reason she could identify, it was making Bella feel angrier and more frustrated than ever.

You’re scared, she reminded herself. This man is going to hurt Cody.

All she wanted was to tell him she’d changed her mind and he had to leave. But she kept hearing Lois’s words.

This is about Cody and what he wants .

She refocused her mind on her nephew. Nothing else mattered. If she had to listen to Cash Law identify all the ways Sugarville Grove had changed, she would.

Besides, any word out of the man’s mouth could wind up being a clue as to who he was today, and what he wanted from Cody.

After thinking about it some, she was pretty sure that his visit was just something that had to happen for publicity reasons. If the entire internet was going bananas saying Cash Law had a kid, then he would have to make nice if he wanted his bad boy with a heart of gold image to be untarnished.

He was probably planning to show up, shake Cody’s hand, take a photo or two, and then leave again.

And if she was right about that, it would be best if she could warn Cody in advance. That would be less likely to hurt him deeply and set him back.

“It’s too bad you won’t be here for the tree lighting day,” she remarked carefully, trying to get some info out of him without coming out and asking for it. “They have a big snowball fight now.”

“That sounds like fun,” he said. “I might still be here for it.”

“Really?” she asked, forgetting in her surprise that she was trying to act casual. “How long are you planning to stay?”

“Guess that depends on your nephew,” he said with a thoughtful expression. “But a while, I hope.”

They had reached the diner as they talked, and she pushed open the door without replying, sending a swirl of warm, deliciously scented air in motion .

“Great to see you, Bella,” Tara, the owner, said warmly before turning to look up at Cash. “And, oh, hi… hello.”

“Hi. I’m Cash,” he said with a friendly smile. “This place looks amazing. It wasn’t here last time I was in town.”

Bella resisted the impulse to roll her eyes as Cash pointed out one more thing that had changed in her hometown, and Tara gawked at him, apparently pretty amazed to have a celebrity in her restaurant.

“Could we get that booth by the window?” Bella asked quietly, eying one of the few empty spots on that side of the diner.

Tara tore her eyes from Cash at last and nodded.

“Yes, Bella, of course,” she said, her cheeks flushed. “Please, sit anywhere you want. I’ll be right over with menus.”

The diner was practically filled, mostly with older folks and caregivers with small children. Bella headed through the crowded dining room with Cash at her heels, the people going silent in waves as they passed.

They reached the booth by the big plate glass window that overlooked the park, where anyone walking on Maple Street or Moose Avenue, or hanging out on the pavilion side of the park would be likely to see them.

She had brought him here for a reason—she wanted him to know the public eye was on him at all times during their conversation. Maybe it would encourage him to be honest with her, or maybe it would just make him uncomfortable. Either way, it gave her a flash of grim satisfaction.

He waited for her to sit, and then took the spot on the opposite side of the table.

“Where have you been all his life?” she asked immediately, not seeing any point in making small talk.

“I didn’t know I was his dad,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know either,” she heard herself say, even though it wasn’t really the truth. He had no right to know what she had or hadn’t known.

“Bull hockey,” Cash declared. “I saw your little tribute to Vermont music. I’m not in it. You hate me because you think I abandoned him.”

Busted.

And there was really no point arguing with him about whether he’d known or not anyway. She was sure he was lying, because she knew that Harper had written to him more than once.

That doesn’t matter right now, she reminded herself . All that matters is Cody. Focus. Don’t let him down.

“Fine,” she said. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

But before he could answer, Tara swept in, setting menus in front of them.

“Our special today is a short stack of cinnamon apple pancakes with maple syrup, sausage links, and bottomless coffee,” Tara said.

“Hayes maple syrup?” Cash asked.

The Hayes family had been making syrup for generations in Sugarville Grove. Cash mentioning them was a quick reminder to Bella that he really was a Sugarville Grove boy at heart .

At least there are some things he doesn’t forget about.

“All our maple syrup is from Hayes Farm,” Tara said proudly.

“In that case, I’ll take the special,” Cash told her. “And keep the coffee coming.”

“Perfect,” Tara said. “How about you, Bella?”

“An English muffin, please,” Bella said. “And a hot tea.”

“Sounds good,” Tara told her. “Be right up.”

Somehow the interruption had shaken a tiny bit of the tension out of the air between them. When Cash turned back to her and gave her a tentative smile, she gave him a half-smile back before she could stop herself.

“What do I want?” Cash continued. “I want to make up for lost time.”

Bella nodded slowly, trying to take his words at face value.

“I know that a lot of time has passed already,” he said softly. “Too much. But I want to be a father to him now if I can, in any way he’ll let me.”

Cash’s eyes were serious, and she felt a tug at her chest, like she could feel his pain.

“Cody’s been through a lot,” she told him carefully. “I don’t think he can handle another loss.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Cash said, nodding.

“I don’t want to risk his heart getting broken just because you suddenly decided that you have one,” she went on, her voice rising as she lost her cool by the second.

“Hey,” he said with a fresh smile. “Do you want to split a chocolate milkshake?”

“It’s ten in the morning,” she pointed out.

“Nothing like an early start,” he said, waving to Tara, who rushed right over.

Suddenly, a chocolate shake sounded really good to Bella.

“Tara, love,” Cash said. “Can we split a chocolate shake?”

“Of course,” Tara told him, blushing just a little. “Coming right up.”

She hurried off and Cash turned back to Bella.

“You know what’s wrong with that music section of yours?” he asked, instead of going back to their argument.

“You’re not in it,” she sighed. “You already said.”

“No,” he told her. “Not at all. I’ve already got more attention on me than I know what to do with. You should definitely keep the focus on everyone else, especially the smaller guys who are still local.”

“Okay,” she said, sort of surprised.

“No, the problem is that the tribute is one-way,” he said. “You’ve got all the bands you know about, but there’s no place for people to share what they love about the local music scene. Something like that would be really cool.”

Bella blinked at him in surprise. She hated to admit it, but that was actually a pretty good idea.

“You just think they’ll put you on there, don’t you?” she said, narrowing her eyes.

He laughed with abandon, and it was such a happy sound that it caught her off guard .

She scolded herself for it, but in that moment, she couldn’t help noticing how handsome he was, and how his laughter had everyone else in the restaurant smiling and chuckling along with him, even though none of them even knew what he was laughing about.

Before she could think of what to say next, Tara came up with a huge tray covered in their breakfast, beverages, and the chocolate shake in a metal canister with two glasses.

Bella realized that she had been picturing them both leaning over with their straws in the same glass, and was surprised at the hint of disappointment she felt that they wouldn’t be.

Cash grabbed the tin and poured out the shakes, and when he stuck straws in them and handed her one, she took a sip. The cold, chocolatey goodness filled her mouth and she hummed her approval before taking another sip.

“Diner shakes are always the best,” Cash declared, taking a long pull of his.

With the feast in front of them and the sweet chocolate rush making quick work of her mood, Bella couldn’t help relaxing a little.

People can change, she reminded herself. Maybe he’s not so bad now. Maybe he really is sorry that he wasn’t here.

But none of that mattered, because it was all going to be up to Cody. All she could do was hope that Cash didn’t let him down. And that was going to take more than a nice smile and some chocolate shakes.

“Listen,” she said. “I’ll talk to Cody after school today. But I’m not sure this is going to be good for him, and I’m going to be honest with him about that.”

“Really?” Cash asked, the hope in his eyes feeling like a punch to her chest.

“Yes,” she said. “This is his decision.”

Cash swallowed hard, clearly holding back some emotion, and she felt another tug of empathy for the big man.

“Bella,” he said softly, reaching across the table and placing his hand over hers. “I’m really glad you reconsidered.”

His hand was big and warm. And his long fingers had rough callouses, just on the fingertips—so different from the hands of the farm boys and laborers in town. These were the hands of an artist, hands that coaxed out the music that made people cry and fall in love.

Bella felt a shiver of electricity go through her, but she wasn’t sure why.

It doesn’t matter why, she told herself. You can’t feel anything for Cash Law, absolutely not.