Summer Love by Piper Rayne
Chapter Nine
The next week was brutal for Sierra. At the end of the day she retreated to her apartment, alone, where she often cried, not that she would admit that to anyone. Many times, in the dark of the night, she wondered if she’d made a mistake. Would it have been better to have a long-distance relationship with Colt than this hell she was in?
Friday morning, her mother followed her into her office and closed the door. “So he left?”
Sierra nodded miserably. “Last weekend. He had to go back to Nashville.”
“And he decided this was too hard, long distance? He didn’t want to be tied down? How dare he use my baby and toss her aside? I might have some connections from prison that reach to Nashville.” Her mother’s indignation was kind of funny, considering Sierra’s childhood and how often she was left alone.
Sierra rolled her eyes. “Mom, you were in for check fraud, not the hard stuff. Doubt you’ll have those kinds of connections. And really, spare me the whole momma bear thing. I don’t need it.”
Though it did kind of feel good to have her mother smoothing her hair back and hugging her. She may have missed out on some of those moments as a child but maybe you were never too old for that.
Her mother sniffed. “Well, still. Some of those women were pretty tough. And no one hurts my baby. Next time he comes to town, I’ll find a way to make him miserable.”
“If you’re still here,” Sierra couldn’t resist adding.
Valerie’s hand stilled on Sierra’s head. “What’s that supposed to mean? Honey, I’m not going anywhere. I know I screwed up a lot when you were a kid, but I meant what I said when I came back. I want to try to rebuild our relationship. Nothing can make up for the lousy mom I was back then, but we can start over.” She narrowed her eyes. “It was his idea to leave, wasn’t it?”
Sierra squirmed in her chair. “Well, kind of. He had to go back to recording.”
Valerie sat on the edge of the desk. “That’s not what I asked.”
Sierra gave her a wry smile. “If you had been this tough when I was in high school, I might not have gotten into so much trouble.”
Her mother scoffed. “You never got into trouble. Not really. So, he didn’t leave you, just Granite Junction.”
“He wanted to continue the relationship, even asked me to go with him. But I can’t do that. I have a business here.”
Valerie nodded. “You always hated when we moved around. You like your stability. I dragged you around. I liked the road, liked new places, and yes, sometimes it was because I needed to skip out.” She caught Sierra’s sharp look. “I’m admitting it. I wasn’t the best mom and didn’t always do the right thing. It’s part of this therapy they had me do in prison. Honey, you can always have your main home but that doesn’t mean you can’t have wings, too. Do you love him?”
Sierra stared out the small window from her office. Granted it wasn’t a great view up close, just the parking lot out back of the building. In the distance the mountains that surrounded Granite Junction stretched to the sky. “How would this even work? I’m planning an expansion to Redemption Ranch. I can’t be on the road during that.”
“You need to talk to Colt. Sounds like you never even gave him a chance to figure it out.”
Damn it. Even her mother was smarter than she was. But she owed it to herself and to Colt to at least talk to him, if he was still interested. The fact that he hadn’t even called or texted since she walked out on him was ominous. Could she take the chance?
Her mother stood. “Your next appointment is here. Shall I show her in?”
Without even waiting, her mother opened the office door. Sierra stood and went to follow her out, but Piper Raines Evans met her in the doorway, a cold expression on her face. “I’m not here for a massage. I’m here to talk to you about my brother.”
Sierra held up her hand. “Let’s shortcut this. I know I screwed up. As soon as I can arrange coverage for the business, I’ll go talk to him.”
Relief spread across Piper’s face. “Well, that’s one down. Now we just need to figure out where he is.”
* * *
Colt sat on the back deck of his parents’ cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The early morning fog shrouded the valley below Black Mountain, lending a blue haze that gave him the feeling he was the only person around. He needed that right now. He’d been in a foul mood since Sierra booted him out of her life without any second thoughts. He’d headed back to Nashville the next morning, spent one night at home, and he knew he needed to get away. Which was ironic since he’d spent the last six weeks getting away.
His parents were surprised when he called and asked to use the cabin, yet they handed him the keys without question. Well, he was sure they’d had plenty of questions but they must have sensed he was on edge and not ready to talk. His guitar was still in its case, propped against the wall in the living area, unopened. He hadn’t heard the music in his head since he left Granite Junction and he didn’t want to look at the songs he’d written. For all he cared, someone else could record them. He was done. He needed more time.
His phone beeped. Another voice mail from his manager, reminding him that time was money and the studio had him reserved for recording along with his band. Or maybe it was his sister, who had called him several times a day since he left Granite Junction. He’d call her back when he didn’t feel like there was a raw, gaping wound where his heart used to be.
He closed his eyes and rested his head against the cushion on the top of the rocking chair and listened to the birds singing in the trees.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding. It’s very pretty up here, but kind of a hike to find. I thought I was in better shape than this. Had to leave the rental car at the bottom of the drive.”
For a minute, he thought he imagined the voice. He’d been hearing it for days, usually when he fell asleep. Then he awakened alone. He almost didn’t open his eyes, didn’t want it to be another mind trick. But hope, that fickle bitch, made him pry open his heavy lids and there she stood. He could only see her head, since there was a bit of a drop-off and she was on the ground in front of the deck.
He almost lunged for her, to touch her to see if she was real, only he wasn’t convinced so he stayed where he was. “Are you real or a figment of my imagination?”
She laughed, the throaty, sexy sound going straight to his cock. “It’s me, though I look a bit worse for wear. I took the red-eye from Montana, then it was kind of like Planes, Trains and Automobiles to get here. You did not make it easy to find you.”
“I didn’t think you cared.”
She winced. “That’s fair. Just, not exactly true. I was scared, Colt. Scared of my feelings. I tried not to love you, tried to keep our relationship to the physical so I wouldn’t get hurt.”
He scoffed. “How did that work for you?”
“Pretty shitty. Seems like it didn’t go so well for you, either.”
“Except I never denied that I was falling for you.”
She sighed. “Can I please come up?”
“You have to come in through the house. I’ll open the door.”
He pushed to his feet and strode through the cabin to unlock the front door. When he opened it, she stood on the other side, looking as gorgeous as when he’d first met her. God, she took his breath away. He reached for her, running his fingers over the tears on her cheek.
“You look beautiful.”
She sucked in a watery breath. “I’ve been traveling all night and day, and I haven’t slept much for a week. I look like something trampled by a herd of cattle.” She trailed her hands over several days’ growth of his beard. “I like your new look. You going to keep it?”
He shrugged. “Couldn’t be bothered to shave. No one to see me.”
He turned and walked back into the cabin, not even waiting to see if she would follow. What he really wanted was to grab her and pull her into his arms, kiss her senseless, beg her to stay, and never let her go. That wouldn’t solve any of their problems. They were explosive in bed, but he wanted so much more. He wanted it all.
She followed him onto the deck and sat in the other chair across from him. “I missed you.”
He stared at her, not giving an inch. She huffed out a breath. “You’re not going to make this any easier on me, are you?”
“What do you want me to say, Sierra? That you own me? That you have my heart if you want it? Then you do. What more do you want?”
She blinked, clearly stunned at his words. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. “I didn’t expect you to say that. I thought you might say that you want to date a while longer.”
He laughed, a raw, bitter sound. “Fuck dating. I’ve dated and I know I’ve found what I want. You’re the one I want. I want everything. And I will give you everything.”
She blinked back tears, stunned by the fierceness of his words. “I had no idea you felt that way.”
“How would you? You were so determined to keep me at arm’s length, to keep us on a physical level. I was hoping to convince you to give us a chance for something more. But you walked away anyway.”
“And I was wrong. But I’m here now, if it’s not too late.” A hint of panic touched her voice.
He finally turned and looked at her, pain still twisting his insides. But there was something else. Hope. “How do I know you won’t run again?”
“You don’t. You have to trust me.” She stood and took his hand, kneeling next to him, firm determination in her expression. “I’m scared but I love you, Colt. I’ve been absolutely miserable without you. I always thought home was a place, somewhere to put down roots, but I was wrong. It’s about the people you love and who love you. Granite Junction is a place only it’s not where I want to be if I can’t be with you. I love you, Colt Raines. I’d follow you anywhere you go.”
He stood, pulling her up with him. “I’d never ask you to give up your business or Granite Junction. That’s where you belong. Nashville is a place where I do business, but the reality is, I’ve never been there long enough to actually make it a home. We traveled a lot when I was a kid. First, between my parents’ and my grandmother’s, then school, then on the road. I never really put down roots either. I teased Piper about settling down with Ty away from the center of the music business. Now I understand.”
Hope flared in her eyes and he tilted her chin up. “I’ve been on the road touring a lot, probably more than I need to. I’m ready to cut back. My parents do it because they love it. I’ve found something I love more. You, Sierra. It won’t be easy. I’ll still have to tour and record. We’ll make it work.”
A smile spread across her face, true happiness filling her. “I can hire people to work for me so I can join you sometimes if you want.”
He drew her against his body. “I definitely want you with me whenever you want. I love you so much. I thought I’d find someone for a night at The Rock. Instead I found someone for forever.”
She laid her head against his chest. “I only expected to find someone to help me forget my troubles for a night. I never thought I’d find a cowboy to remember.”
His arms settled around her and he held her close, his chin on her head. In the quiet of the early morning, he had finally found the peace he had been searching for his whole life, the love he had wanted forever, and a place to belong.
He was home.
* * *
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