“I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but I’m glad you know. It takes a huge weight off my shoulders,” he says as he pulls back and kisses my cheek. Dad’s entire body shivers. “It’s getting chilly. I have to head back inside. Do you want me to make you something to eat?”
I shake my head. “No, thanks. I think I want to sit out here for a while.”
He pats my leg and shoves himself off the bench. “Take your time, honey. I know it’s a lot to take in.”
The moment Dad leaves my sight, and goes back into the house, I bolt from the house. Headlights shine on me as I fly across the parking lot. I run as fast and as hard as my legs will take me. My dad is my entire world right now, and everything about the house, the shop and the track remind me of him. I have to get away. I need to clear my head so I can process all this shit. My brain can’t take much more.
The air whooshes from my lungs as I reach the field on the other side of the track and trip over a rock. The solid ground scrapes my arms and hands as I land hard, face first. That’s when I can no longer hold back my tears. They flow like hot lava down my face and I roll onto my side and allow myself this time to grieve. And it’s not just for my dad being sick, it’s for the loss of my mother and how she’s making me handle this all alone.
A hard sob escapes my lips just as strong hands wrap around my shoulders and lean me up. Trip is sitting on his knees in the dirt with his eyebrows pulled in and a slight frown in his face. The concern in his eyes chokes me up. He’s the last person I expected to try and comfort me. After all, we aren’t exactly on the best of terms right now.
I open my mouth to tell him to go away, but no words come out. Instead I wrap my arms around him and cry into his shoulder. The way he wraps his arms around me, like he’s going to protect me forever makes me cry harder. Now that I know he’s a mega-star, the reality hits me that he’ll be leaving me soon too. I’ll be left here completely alone.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers and folds me in his arms even tighter. “I’ve got you.”
“It’s true. Grace was right.” I cling to him like my life depends on it. “I can’t lose him, Trip. He’s all I’ve got.”
“You’ve got me.” He strokes the back of my head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t make promises that you don’t intend to keep,” I say as I close my eyes and burrow myself into the crook of his neck.
Trip pulls back and cradles my face in his hands. “I’ll always be here for you.”
I try to pull away because the intensity in his stare is almost more than I can bear. “Trip…how can that be true? I’m a nobody and you’re some famous rock star. You won’t want to be with me forever.”
“You’re everything to me. Can’t you see that you’re it for me? You’re perfect for me, Holly. I never understood love, not really, not until you. I like myself better when I’m with you. You and me—we’re perfection,” he whispers. “My feelings for you will never change.”
My heart melts at the sound of his words, but the reality of how easily he could change his mind gnaws at the pit of my stomach. “What happens when someone better comes a long?”
His lips pull into a tight line. “There’s no one on this earth that can compare to you. I love you, Holly.”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. The look in his green eyes tells me he means every word of what he’s saying. I can’t deny that I’ve had some pretty strong feelings for him too. How can I not tell him I feel the same way after he’s laid out his feelings so clearly. He deserves my complete honesty after that.
I open my eyes to meet his gaze. “I think I love you too.”
He grins. “Think, huh? That’s a start, I guess. But just so we’re clear, I know that I love you.”
That causes me to smile and it feels good to hear that after so much crying and sadness. “I love you too.”
“That’s much better,” he murmurs against my lips before I fade into his kiss.
Chapter 16
Light Up the Sky
TRIP
Holly’s dainty hand fits perfectly in mine as we walk around the track hand in hand. It’d taken an entire day of convincing, but she finally allowed me to dump some money into this place to get it ready for the race this weekend.
I throw my arm around her shoulders as we watch a crew repair parts of the track and build the stage for the band to perform. “This is going to be so awesome. I’m excited.”
She smiles up at me. “Me too, but I still feel like it’s wrong to allow you to spend so much of your own money on this place.”
I kiss the tip of her nose. “I’m a partner, right? I look at spending my money here as investing in a business I co-own. You being my girl doesn’t affect that.”
She runs her hand down my back and raises an eyebrow when she grabs my butt. “Are you sure?”
I nip her bottom lip. “Afraid so, but you know that I would give you the world if you asked.”
She grins. “Who knew the smart-assed player I met a month ago would be so sweet.”
I chuckle. “Not me. I didn’t know this part of me still existed until you brought it back out of me.”
“I like knowing I’m the one who makes you so sweet.” She rises up and presses her lips to mine.
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” Holly stiffens at the sound of my brother’s voice and turns around. Tyke stands there in his dark jeans, and gray t-shirt, his blonde hair spiked in every direction. He shoves his hands deep in his pockets and smiles as he checks out my girl. “This must be Holly.”
She tucks herself into my side and rests her hand on my stomach. “You must be Tyke.”
Tyke’s gaze cuts to me and he laughs before it returns to Holly. “How’d you know?”
She shrugs. “Lucky guess.”
Holly’s cell buzzes in her back pocket. After she checks the screen, she glances up at me. “Dad’s calling. He’s probably reminding me we have to get going to his appointment.”
I nod and kiss her forehead. “Don’t let us keep you. We’ll be here when you get back.”
“Okay,” she tells me before turning in my brother’s direction. “I guess I’ll see you later?”
Tyke smiles. “You can count on it.”
A light breeze blows Holly’s blonde hair as she walks toward the house, swaying her hips. I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s like a magnet and the attraction between us is crazy. Man, I hate to be apart from that girl, but I love watching her walk away. Her ass has to be one of my most favorite body parts.
Tyke steps beside me and he turns to catch the same view I have. “Now I know why you haven’t been returning my calls.”
I laugh. “Sorry about that. I’ve been a little preoccupied.”
“I can see that.” He glances over at me. “It’s good to see you happy again. It just sucks you had to find it on the other side of the country.”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “That’s going to be rough. She’ll never leave this place or her father. I wouldn’t ask her to either. Leaving her here is going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I don’t know how Noel and Riff do it.”
“They’ll be glad to hear that you’re finally sympathetic to them needing so much time off,” Tyke teases.
I rub my forehead. “I gave them a lot of shit for getting themselves tied down once it started affecting the band’s schedule. It seemed insensitive to us because we still lived and breathed just the band.”