Love's Road Home (4 page)

Beth slanted a quick glance at his sensual lips and figured he had mastered plenty of skills involving that body part. Of course, his hands looked mighty fine, too. Strong but lean, with long fingers and neatly trimmed nails. She pulled her gaze back to the city streets, trying to refocus on the conversation. "Did you write your own songs in college?"

"At first we covered a lot of other bands, just to build a name for ourselves in the area. Over time, we started to insert some of our own work into the sets, and the songs were well received. Actually, ‘Dandelions’ is a tune that I began to write back in college. I finished it last year, we put it on the album, and it was released as the first single."

Tom swung the vehicle into a public lot near the beach and parked. He got out and came around to Beth’s side, opening her door before she could do it. Holding out a hand, he asked, "Are you ready?"

She honestly didn’t think she’d ever be ready for a man like Tom.

•

Tom waited as Beth hesitantly extended her hand. He understood why she’d be afraid, after their earlier connection. He still wondered if it had really happened. Now, as she placed her hand into his, he felt it again. She looked up, showing him with her widened, silver-blue eyes that he wasn’t alone in the feeling.

He tugged on her arm, gently pulling her out of the truck and closer to him. He didn’t back up but instead trapped her between his body and the truck door. Still holding her hand, caught in her beautiful gaze, he asked, "How hungry are you? Because, right now, I’m starving."

He watched as she caught his double-entendre and a faint blush rose up her cheeks. But she didn’t back down from his less-than-subtle advance. Instead, she gave a mysterious little smile and replied, "I think I’m getting hungrier by the minute. It must be catching."

Tom raised his other hand to cup her cheek, caressing her jaw line with his thumb. Her mouth dropped open in an invitation he couldn’t resist. He slowly lowered his head toward Beth’s, giving her ample opportunity to back away. He’d been imagining this kiss from the first moment he’d seen her only a couple of days ago.

"Hey, buddy! You leaving or what?"

Tom jumped away from Beth, startled by the shout and honking horn of an impatient driver. Apparently he wanted their parking space, like right now.

"Sorry, guy, but we just got here." The man gave an angry little gesture and inched his car down the aisle, searching for an available spot.

Tom turned back to Beth, knowing that he’d missed his opportunity. The mood was broken, and from the way she was looking everywhere but at him, it definitely wasn’t coming back anytime soon.

Again catching her hand in his, he said, "Come on. Let’s go eat the best haddock on the East Coast."

He locked up the truck with the click of a button, and they headed off down the boardwalk.

•

"This place is great," Beth said. She looked at the fishing equipment decorating the walls of the diner and laughed. "Who knew that fishing poles could double as curtain rods?" She slid into the booth indicated by the hostess and Tom took a seat opposite her. Colorful menus were placed in front of them.

"Yeah, Fred went a touch overboard with the maritime theme, but I guess he wanted to be sure people didn’t try to order steak."

"Fred? You know the owner personally?"

"Fred and I took business courses together in college. We’ve kept in touch over the years, and Roadhouse has performed for some of his beach parties out back."

Beth was confused. "I thought you studied music in college. Was I wrong in assuming that? From what you said before, it seemed like a career in music is all you’ve ever wanted since high school."

"It’s all I’ve ever wanted, but my family didn’t necessarily share my goals."

A waitress came to get their order, and after quickly scanning the menus, they decided upon fish
frys
, onion rings, and sodas. The woman collected the menus and moved off to the kitchen.

Resuming their discussion, Beth asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Tom gave a wry smile. "It’s hard to make it in the music business, and my family wanted to make sure I was prepared for failure."

"That’s horrible! They didn’t think you had the talent to succeed?"

"No, that’s not it at all. My parents were very supportive of my career choice, and they thought I had plenty of talent. But a lot of this business depends on who you know and good old-fashioned luck. Being in the right place at the right time. My parents wanted me to have a back-up plan in case good things didn’t happen for me music-wise." He shrugged. "I haven’t had a problem with that."

"So what did you do?"

"My father owns a hardware store in
Savannah
. It’s been in the family for three generations. We agreed that I would minor in business at college in preparation for taking over the store and continuing the family business."

"And you were okay with that?"

"Hey, the hardware store’s been good to me. I’ve been working there part-time to help pay the bills the last few years. And it’s not like my father is pressuring me to run the business right away. Like I said, he’s very supportive of my music, and he knows I have to do this now, while Roadhouse really has a chance at making it big. He knows in the end that I’ll always come back home."

Beth suppressed a sigh. It must be nice to have such a reliable home life. She wasn’t even sure what home was anymore.

"What about your mother? Is she as happy for you?"

Tom’s features immediately softened. "My mom died four years ago. Cancer. She didn’t get a chance to see Roadhouse’s success, but I’m sure she would’ve been happy to see our progress over the years. She didn’t like the instability of a career in music, didn’t think it was conducive to supporting a family."

How true she knew that to be. Beth felt a twinge in her heart at Tom’s words, but she ignored it. This was not about her.

"But Mom stuck by all my choices and suffered silently while her little boy chased his dreams." Tom smiled with a bit of melancholy. "I miss her."

She wasn’t sure how to respond to his comments, so Beth remained silent. The lull in conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their food, and the discussion soon turned to generic topics like the tour, the weather, and seafood.

As they finished the last of their meal, Tom glanced at his wristwatch. "We need to head out in order to get back to the theatre by four. I guess we talked too much and ate too slow."

He refused her offer of going Dutch for the meal, stating that he’d asked her out so he was paying. As they stood at the register, Beth looked at Tom, thinking once again what a decent guy he was. The fact that he was gorgeous was just a bonus. She decided she wouldn’t mind spending more time with him as the tour progressed. As a friend, of course. That’s all.

He held the door for her as they left the diner and started back toward the parked truck. "What’s that look for?"

Beth glanced up at him but kept walking. "What look?"

"You looked like you were stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"No, not exactly." More like she had to choose between what her head wanted and what her heart wanted.

"So what is it then?"

She stopped at the front of the SUV, turned to face him. Better to get this out of the way now. "It’s about what happened earlier. Or rather, what almost happened."

A small masculine smile curved his lips upward. "You mean when we almost kissed?"

"Yes, that’s what I mean. It can’t happen again."

The smile instantly disappeared. "Why the hell not? It looked to me like you were enjoying our little flirtation, and I know I certainly was. What’s so different now?"

"Nothing is different. I just lost my head earlier. I don’t know what I was thinking, or if I was thinking at all. I’m sorry, but I have too many things up in the air right now, and I need to straighten out my life. I really can’t get involved with you at this point."

As she turned to move toward the passenger door, Tom took hold of her arm, stopping her retreat. She looked at him again, noting the hard glint of determination in his brown eyes.

"Sorry to break this to you, honey, but it’s too late. We’re already involved."

•

The drive back to the Florida Theatre was made in silence. Evidently Beth didn’t agree with his statement about their relationship, but Tom wasn’t concerned. They had plenty of time to interact during the next few weeks on tour. He’d slowly but surely break through whatever wall she was hiding behind. He knew having her would be worth the time and effort.

The rest of the night passed in a flurry of activity. They had sound check and a final rehearsal of particular songs. The set list and lighting arrangements were verified. Wardrobe and instruments were inspected for the last time. Everything appeared to be in order for Roadhouse’s tour debut.

Tom saw Beth here and there in the auditorium, but he didn’t speak to her. He was too focused on making this concert the best performance of his life. His future, and that of his band mates, depended upon tonight. He wasn’t going to let anything, or anyone, distract him.

Finally it was time to go on. They had no opening band for the tour since they wanted all the attention on themselves. Roadhouse had prepared a set list for a two-hour performance, leaving a twenty-minute intermission after the first hour. With only one free night scheduled per week, the band needed to address any flaws in their performance during rehearsals. On stage, they needed to shine.

The pounding of Tom’s heart almost drowned out the audience’s welcoming applause once the band took the stage. He had never seen such a mass of people, all there to listen to his music. Leo immediately signaled for the start of their first number, a tune guaranteed to get the crowd on its feet. And Roadhouse didn’t intend for them to ever sit down again.

The adrenaline was still coursing through Tom’s veins two and a half hours later. He couldn’t believe how great everything had gone. The equipment had all worked perfectly, and not a single note was missed in any song, vocally or instrumentally. The audience had clapped and cheered for multiple encores, but Roadhouse had to finally leave the stage for good because it was getting too late. He felt on top of the world, and the night wasn’t over yet.

George had arranged for an area to be cordoned off for an autograph session. The band members sat at a long table and fans were directed to form a line to have their programs, CDs, and T-shirts signed. Tom wasn’t sure exactly how well this segment of the night was going to go, but he was willing to give it a try. They could always ditch this aspect of the tour if they didn’t draw a big enough crowd.

But it appeared he’d worried for nothing. Once again, he was stunned by the praise and excitement of the many concertgoers who had waited their turn to meet the band. As the half-hour autograph session was drawing to a close, there were still quite a few people left in line. A couple crew members were trying to move the fans along because, even though tomorrow was their day off, they still needed to get things closed up for the night.

Tom returned his gaze to the dark-haired young lady in front of him. She looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. "Who should I make this out to?" He smiled up at her, still feeling the energy of the evening.

"It’s Casey, with a C." She sent a bright smile back his way.

"Did you enjoy the show, Casey with a C?" Tom wrote a brief message and signed his name across the program she’d set in front of him.

"Oh, yes. It was terrific. I especially love how you and Leo harmonize. Your voice is the greatest, and you play guitar so awesomely." As he watched, the girl’s cheeks slowly began to burn.

"Well, thanks for coming tonight, Casey, and thanks for the compliments. I hope you continue to enjoy our music in the future."