Wes was totally right. She was a rule-making, rule-breaking badass. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep on him but she had been spent. She didn’t sleep at all the night before and he was warm, like the sun. When she jolted herself awake, he hadn’t moved.
She expected him to start in on her again about her dumb friendship guidelines but he only smiled and said, “Morning.”
She’d ejected herself off the couch with admirable speed, a feat which amused him. “Relax, I don’t have cooties.”
Had she been snoring? Did she drool on him? Grind her teeth? The possibilities were endless.
He read her mind. “You don’t snore. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For sleeping?”
“For sleeping on you,” she said.
“If you don’t think that I enjoyed it, think again.”
“I should go,” she said quickly. “I have to meet my friend Sydney later for lunch.”
“Hate to break it to you,” Wes said, “But you missed that date.”
Her arm darted upward to check her watch. 2:00 P.M. “I slept for four hours!”
He shrugged. “You were tired.”
“Now I really have to go,” she said. “I’m sorry and…thanks.”
“You still coming with me tomorrow to see Drew?”
She nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “See you then.”
***
As promised, he was at her door, bright and early the next morning, two take out coffee cups in hand.
They were driving down the interstate before she cracked the lid on hers. He was incredibly focused while he drove and the fact that his eyes weren’t on her, gave her courage she may not have had otherwise.
“Wes, can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me lots of things.”
“What made you decide to be a musician?”
“I don’t know if it was ever a conscious decision,” he said. “I never wanted to do anything else. I think music is what I’m supposed to be doing and I’m so blessed to be able to do it.”
She nodded. “You’re lucky. Not a lot of people can say that.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Fire away.”
“What’s it like being the daughter of a living rock legend?”
“In one word: lonely and I realize that sounds like I’m playing a victim but I’m not. I know how lucky I am. I’ll never want for any material thing, I’m fortunate enough to be able to chase any of my dreams while my father foots the bill. It’s not like I’m not aware that I live a charmed life but I wish my dad would see that I’d give it all up: the fancy loft near Hollywood, the designer clothes, the very best of everything to live in a crowded apartment and eat ramen noodles if it meant I could spend more time with him.”
Wes’s jaw was tight. “Can I ask you something else?”
She echoed his earlier reply. “You can ask me lots of things.”
“Have you ever told your dad what you just told me?”
She shook her head. She hardly knew her father. Getting teeth pulled would be preferable to having an in depth conversation with him about her feelings.
“What’s the worst that could happen if you spoke up?”
That was a valid question. She pulled the sleeves of her shirt over her hands, and began to twist them nervously. “I don’t know.”
“What’s stopping you?”
Rowyn bit down on her lip. Should she tell him? “I think he avoids me.”
“That’s crazy talk, sunshine. Why would anyone in their right mind avoid you?”
“I don’t think he can stand the sight of me.”
He didn’t hide his shock at her statement. “What?”
“He doesn’t like to look at me,” she said, “because I’m the spitting image of my mother.”
He fixed his eyes straight ahead, his expression stoic. “Your mother must have been beautiful, Row.”
Heavy stuff. It was no wonder the more he pushed, the more she pushed away. Thinking that your own father couldn’t bear the sight of you was a lot to handle. That had to mess with you emotionally, right? He wished he could offer her traditional comfort but the walls she’d put up around herself placed him in a position where he couldn’t do that.
The campground Drew had selected was obnoxiously thick with foliage and didn’t appear to be crowded at all. Surely Drew thought he’d died and gone to heaven. His truck looked like an ad for a carwash. The ‘before’ picture. A green tent was pitched and even though he didn’t see Drew outside, the guitar case against the window of the filthy truck was enough evidence that he’d found the right spot.
Rowyn exited the car and walked around the truck, eyeing it suspiciously. “Not what I expected.”
“Drew has had that thing forever,” Wes said. “He isn’t into flashy cars.”
“He’s into dirty trucks?”
He shrugged. “He is into not being into material things.”
A girl’s laugh came from the woods behind the campsite and it was paired with another laugh he recognized immediately as belonging to Drew. “Speak of the devil and he shows up,” Wes said, gesturing toward the trees.
Drew emerged with a tall brunette. She wore a glaringly white sundress that accented olive toned skin and she had a large flower tucked behind her ear. Scratch that earlier thought. Surely Drew knew he’d died and gone to heaven. He stood directly behind her, his arms caging her in with a camera pointed to face the two of them. Dual selfies. His head was turned and he was saying something to her and her head was thrown back in a fit of laughter.
Whoever the girl was, she was having the time of her life messing around with him.
Rowyn stood with her hands clasped behind her back and one leg crossed over the other swaying uneasily as she watched the scene unfold until she caught Drew’s eye. When he saw them, he snapped one more picture, put the camera in the sundress wearer’s hand, squeezed her side and smiled.
“Hey,” Wes said.
An entirely different person stood before him than the guy who had left L.A. a few days ago. Drew had been wired and stressed and now he was relaxed almost to the point of coma. Nature served him well.
“What’s up, Wes?” He turned to face Rowyn. “Are you the imaginary yoga girl who lives next door?”
She nodded, seemingly pleased. “I’m Rowyn. Did Wes tell you about me?”
“Yes,” Drew said, reaching behind him to pull the girl he was with in front of his body, “Rowyn. Wes. This is Copeland and now we all know each other.”
She held her hand up in a small wave. “Hi.”
Concern shadowed Drew’s face. “Where’s Keaton? Is everything okay?”
“He’s fine,” Wes said. “Keaton’s fine. We got sick of looking at the same four walls and decided to come and see you.”
Drew stretched his arms out in a grandiose gesture. “Namaste. Welcome to my kick ass abode.”
Rowyn’s posture changed. Her shoulders slouched slightly, she held her head higher and for the first time since their date that ended in disaster, she looked truly relaxed. He could feel the tension rolling off of her like water. Drew could have a very calming effect on people and it obviously worked on Rowyn. Kudos, Drew.
Copeland eyed her but not as though she was sizing up the competition. “Something is missing,” she said, heading to a small clearing left of the tent. She returned with a wildflower, promptly tucking it behind Rowyn’s ear to match her own.
“There,” she said, stepping back to inspect her work. “Better.”
Rowyn’s mouth curved, showcasing a smile that he hadn’t seen since their grocery store trip. He’d forgotten how much he liked to look at it. Screw her rules. He reached out and rubbed her shoulder. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m just about perfect.”
Two cute blonds approached the campsite. It was a full circle of female on all four corners. North, East, South and West were all covered. “Copeland,” the taller one said, “Your mom wants me to remind you that the barbeque is starting early afternoon.” She was looking at Wes but it was like she saw right through him. That lasted for a fraction of a second and when the knowledge clicked, she jumped.
“Wes?”
He smiled. “Hey.”
Now both the girls perked up like they’d finished double shot espressos.
“Can you sign my shoe?” one said.
“And my phone case,” said the other.
Copeland crossed her arms over her chest. “They just got here. Can you let them settle in? Gosh Scarlett!”
“Fine. Grams wants you to bring Drew.”
“Of course she does,” Copeland said. “Tell them to make a spot for Wes and Rowyn too,” she turned. “If you want to come, that is.”
Rowyn looked at him, her eyes swimming with delight. “Can we go?”
“We can do whatever you want.”
“We’d love to.”
The duo left and Drew, Copeland, Rowyn and Wes spent the better part of the afternoon hiking through the campground. Wes understood why Drew was constantly trying to escape the madness of the city. By the time they were done, they were already 15 minutes past the time Scarlett had told them to arrive. As they navigated the maze of the campground and headed to the lodge, Copeland wedged herself between them. “Listen, Drew already knows this first hand but my family is crazy. Like certifiably insane, so I want to apologize profusely in advance for their behavior.”
Drew spun his body so he walked backwards and could speak face to face. “They aren’t bad, baby. They are awesome, especially Grams.”
“My grandmother,” Copeland explained. “I sometimes think she’s lucid and then she does something to prove me wrong.”
“I bet she’s cute,” Rowyn said.
“That’s one thing you could call her,” Copeland laughed. “You know what? You’ll see for yourself just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Copeland brought something out in Rowyn which Wes had yet to see. The good news was that she was learning to let go, loosen up and stop worrying so much, the bad news was that with every second that ticked by, he was falling for her a little bit more.
There were so many people situated outside the lodge, it would be impossible to remember everyone’s name. Copeland had a twin brother named Porter and enough aunts, uncles and cousins to have their own village, or at the very least a hamlet. There was also enough steak to feed a small army.
“Oh my God,” Wes said, clearly excited at the prospect of their early dinner. “I haven’t had steak in so long. This is so rad.”
“Don’t let them fool you with good food,” Copeland said. “It’s all lies, they are feeding you so you don’t notice that we’re all lunatics.” An old woman hugged Drew and Copeland pointed to her. “That’s Grams. I swear she’s trying to steal him away.”
“Nonsense,” the grey haired lady said. “And who is this beautiful creature?” Her hands slid down Rowyn’s arms and she held them out from her body as if she was performing an inspection.
“Grams, her name is Rowyn and this is my buddy, Wes,” Drew said proudly.
It took all of ten minutes to decide Copeland’s family was amazing. They were chatty, loud and obnoxious, baked potato eating, steak consuming, beer drinking red-blooded people. Rowyn closed her eyes, taking in the constant hum, the sound of people moving about. The smell of meat on the grill. This. This is what she wanted.
“Go on,” Copeland’s grandmother’s voice shook her from the moment. She had a knobby finger pointed to a chair. “Steaks will still be a few minutes, sit with your boyfriend, love.”
“Oh, he’s not my-”
“Don’t bother,” Copeland said. “She has it in her head that you’re an item. That’s all she’s going to see when she looks at you. Have fun. Play along.”
“Have fun, play along,” Wes repeated. “Listen, do you think you can relax for a while? Forget about your rules and guidelines, forget about me ever leaving, forget about your dad and live in the moment. Like you have for pretty much this entire afternoon. Can you do that? For me?”
‘Can you do that for me?’ It was a difficult request to deny, especially coming from him.
“Drop the rules,” Wes coaxed. “For today, yes?” He bowed his head so they were eye to eye. “Please.”
She didn’t want her dumb rules anyway. The only thing she really wanted was standing right in front of her. “Yes,” she said.
Wes didn’t say anything, instead wrapping his arms around her tightly. She stood ramrod straight for a moment before wrapping her arms around his waist. Why couldn’t she stay here forever? “That’s for what you told me in the car on the way here. You are everything to be proud of,” he said. “Not avoided and if your father is too blind to see that, then it’s his loss.”
When was the last time someone hugged her? Sydney’s mom at Christmas. That was six months ago.
Wes went to pull away but she kept hanging on. “Don’t,” she said. “Not yet.”
He didn’t. He didn’t move a muscle until she let her arms go lax. His hand wrapped over hers and he pulled her to the chair Grams had been pointing to. He sat first, before pulling her to sit on his lap. This was way better than her no touching clause. Way. Better.
They sat quiet and content on the sidelines as observers, watching Copeland and her family and Copeland and Drew and for the most fleeting of moments, Rowyn felt a pang of jealousy twist in her belly. Wes’s hand brushed the hair off the nape of her neck, pushing it to one side. “You still okay?”
A chill ran straight down her spine in response to him. “Wes?” she whispered.
“What?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wanted something great so badly, that I didn’t let myself realize that it’s been here the whole time.”
Something touched the nape of her neck.
His lips?
His voice was low, same as it had been in the kitchen when he gave her the most delicious kind of torture the day before. “Does that mean all bets are off?”
This was terrifying and exhilarating and even though her brain protested wildly, her heart was full steam ahead. “All bets are off,” she said. “I wave the proverbial white flag. I surrender.”