Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) (13 page)

              "Yeah," Dylan answered, playing with the corner of the blanket.

              "Thank you." It felt like the right thing to say. Just him being there on the other side of the door had brought me so much comfort when I was feeling down. "You have an amazing voice," I said. "I'd love to hear you sing again sometime." I hoped he didn't feel like I was pressuring him. I knew how self-conscious he was and I didn't want to make him feel like he had to sing again for me. I was just putting the suggestion out there in case he wanted to in the future.

              To my surprise though, Dylan got up and disappeared somewhere behind the rocks, reappearing a minute later with his guitar.

              I sat up. "You're going to sing?" I said in surprise, trying not to sound too shocked, worrying it would spook him.

              "I'll do anything to make you happy," Dylan blushed, leaning against a rock. His breathing had picked up and his movements were jerky, his hands shaking so much that he dropped his guitar pick. Even with his cheeks burning, I could tell he had visibly paled.

              I felt bad now, he obviously wasn't comfortable doing this. "You don't have to if you don't want to," I told him, smiling reassuringly as I gave him a way out.

              "I need to do this," Dylan said, closing his eyes tight as beads of sweat started to appear across his brow. He started strumming the guitar with his eyes closed and I sat back against one of the rocks as I listened. It was several minutes before his voice, unsure and wobbly, joined the music. He started off at barely a whisper, but as he continued singing, it was like watching him bloom in front of me with confidence.

"You are five-hundred colors,

and none of them makes me blue.

I'd have a thousand dollars,

if I got paid to think of you.

There are a million questions,

That I'd like to ask.

But the billion-dollar question is,

will you give me a chance?

There's a trillion reasons,

why I haven't made it known,

but a zillion ways to show my feelings,

and make you my own."

              His voice was smooth, though still a little bit rough from his earlier allergic reaction. It was like he was speaking to me through the lyrics he was singing, finally telling me how he felt and what he wanted to ask me, but couldn’t. By the time he reached the end of the song, I was breathless with shock and awe.

              His warm brown eyes stared back at mine and I knew I had to come up with something to say before he started worrying. "That was incredible."

              Dylan grinned and looked down for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "Do you really think so?"

              "Yes!" Was he insane? Could he not hear himself singing? "Thank you for singing for me. Your voice is so smooth and soulful; it was like I could feel every word you sang,” I admitted, taking the next couple steps towards him.

              Dylan mumbled something that sound a lot like, "Ember was right,” but I ignored it, trying to push aside my immediate jealousy at a girl’s name floating out of his mouth. "I'm glad you liked it," he said louder, grasping my hand in his.

              "Liked it? I loved it," I clarified. "Was the song for me?" I asked, looking up at him. Now I had that other stupid girl’s name in my head and it wouldn't get out. What if he was just practicing on me for some other girl? I would have to ask Starre if she knew the girl when I saw her later.

              "Yes, I wrote it for you," Dylan admitted with a blush and I could see in his eyes that he was being honest. I knew then that I had to give him an answer for his question; would I give him a chance? I didn’t know how to say what I wanted in words, so I spoke with my actions instead. I grabbed his other hand in mine, his guitar now hanging between us from its strap. Using the same guts it took for Dylan to sing for me, I stood up on my toes and pressed my lips lightly to his. We both froze in place, as if shocked that we were actually kissing. Dylan dipped his head down an inch to brush his lips more firmly to mine, our noses touching. He leaned his forehead against mine, a ripple running through him as he let out a sigh. I opened my eyes and met his, smiling up at him.

"I forgot to tell you how beautiful you are," Dylan whispered, his lips still dangerously close to mine.

              I brushed my lips against his, in the lightest of kisses before pulling back. "Let's go home," I smiled, stepping back and tugging him along with me, both of us blushing like crazy.

              It wasn't until later that I realized I had called the ranch home.

              When we arrived back at the ranch, the yard and corrals were bustling with activity. There were cows standing around mooing in a patch of grass off to the side, making me wonder why they were so close to the house instead of out in the pasture.

              We stopped in front of the house and dismounted, Dylan moving to stand in front of me. The date had been perfect, even with his allergic reaction. If anything, it had broken the ice so we could enjoy the rest of our date. We stood there, a hot breeze blowing at us as we looked at each other. It was like we were both perfectly content to just stand there and stare into each other's eyes for the rest of our days.

              The ranch door burst open as Starre flew out the door and down the steps. "I get the details first! Everyone back off!"

              Dylan and I broke eye contact, blushing as we looked around. It was like sharks, and a dolphin, surrounded the only fish for miles. "Come on, get in the truck and let's go. I want to hear everything without them around to be all jealous over it."

              I glanced at Dylan, who smiled softly at me and nodded, "Thank you."

              I knew exactly what he was thanking me for; saving his life, not being a snob, accepting him, everything. "And thank you," I said back, watching him blush even more.

              I felt Brooks’ reins being pulled from my hand and glanced over my shoulder to find Wyatt. Shirtless. I know I had seen them all before without their shirts on, but it still didn't stop my breath from catching at the sight of his tanned, toned, sweaty chest.

              Gavin spoke from somewhere behind him, dragging my attention away, "You should go now, she was wearing a fucking hole in the floor waiting for you. I've got enough things to fix up without adding something else to the list."

              I was surprised to hear Gavin speak like that. He wasn't directly cussing me out, just being his usual grumpy self. Since this morning, it was like he'd suddenly decided to be nice to me. I didn't know if I should be worried or relieved.

              "Let's go!" Starre demanded, grabbing my arm and pulling me to her truck. We were headed down the road before I could blink.

              "Tell me everything and don't leave out a single thing!" Starre squealed as she hopped in her seat with excitement, the truck swerving around the road before she corrected it.

              "I think I'll wait until we're not barreling down the road at-" I paused, glancing at the speedometer, "-sixty-five miles an hour."

              "That's probably smart," she agreed as she focused on keeping the truck on the road.

Starre didn't live very far from the ranch. In fact, it would be rideable on horseback. She parked at her house and grabbed a bag from the back seat. As we walked to the house, I wondered how much I should tell her. Would Dylan want her to know about him having an allergic reaction? It wasn't anything to be ashamed of, but he was probably still embarrassed about it. I know I would be. Then again, Starre was my friend and it felt like I should tell her everything. Maybe Starre would keep it a secret.

              I told her everything that had happened on the date, starting from the awkward conversation to the bee sting, then the picnic, singing, and finally the kiss. I tried to go over everything as quickly as possible without leaving out any important details, but Starre was constantly interrupting with questions, gasps, and squeals. I didn't feel annoyed, because it felt like she was reacting like a typical girl. By the time I got to the kiss, Starre had grabbed my arms and yanked me up, jumping and screaming with joy. I found myself smiling along with her, hopping up and down.

              I had to admit I was still feeling the effects of everything that had happened on the date. I was sure that if I licked my lips, I would still taste Dylan's there.

              When we finally calmed down, a small detail popped into my head. "After he sang to me he said something about Ember being right. Do you know anyone named Ember?" I asked Starre. I hoped I didn't sound jealous, but I had to admit I was feeling a twinge. I couldn't understand why he would say another girls name at a moment like that.

              Starre's eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion. "I haven't heard of anyone named Ember around here." She frowned, then her face lit up, like a light bulb turning on. "When you want to know something about someone without asking, you go to social media."

              Starre darted off through the house, disappearing in a thunder of footsteps up the stairs. I stood, wondering what she meant. I know a lot of people did social media, but with my life the way it was, I'd never really kept up with it. I had an account, but it had been almost two years since I had last signed in. Some of my foster parents would try to connect with me on there when I was living with them, but I had no desire to stay in contact with those people.

              Before I could move from my spot near the couch, Starre was racing back down the stairs with a laptop in her hands. "Okay, I'm friends with Dylan on here, so if we go through all of his friends, then we might be able to find someone named Ember."

              "Isn't that spying?" I asked. Even though I wanted to know who Ember was and how Dylan knew her, I didn't want to go sneaking around trying to find out his secrets. He was respecting me enough not to pry into my past, so I felt odd digging into his.

              "Girl, once it's social media, then it's free for the stalking," Starre said, sitting cross-legged beside me on the couch and clicking on Dylan's account. I guess she was right, if he didn't want people to know then he wouldn't put it online.

              His profile picture was of Lance, and his banner was of a calf running, with Dylan and Landon galloping after it, ropes swinging and dirt flying. Starre pointed at the picture, "That was from the last rodeo they were in."

              "Okay, let's see who you know Dylan," Starre spoke to the computer, clicking on his friends list and typing in the name Ember into the search bar.

"Ember Grace Scott," Starre said, clicking on the name that popped up, "She's seventeen and is going to high school, lives on a small ranch in Trist, Maryland. Has two brothers and, last but not least, has her relationship status set as single." She went through the list like a police officer would go through a description of a felon. It was exactly like how I've been described by the police numerous times, the only information Starre was missing was a list of charges and her height.

              I sighed. The single status was both relieving and nerve-racking at the same time. It meant she could be interested in Dylan. After the date, I had no doubt that he liked me a lot, but what if he liked her, too? Maybe it was her profile picture that was causing me to worry more than necessary. Pretty, with brown hair and a charming smile, she looked like the kind of girl who guys would be fawning over. It made me self-conscious about my black and white hair and Gothic looks. It usually had normal guys running the other way. Was Dylan, or any other the guys for that matter, normal though? If they were, they would have nothing to do with me.

              "Aha!" Starre exclaimed, sitting upright as she found something interesting. "I recognize her mother's last name, she's friends with Polly. Which means Ember met Dylan through them probably." Starre sighed, leaning back. "I'm not sure what Dylan meant about her being right though, maybe you should just ask him nonchalantly sometime."

              "Thanks for the help, Starre, at least I know a little bit about her now."

              "It's always best to know something than nothing," Starre said. "Though it would be nice if we could know more. She seems to keep things pretty private on her profile."

              A message popped up on Starre's screen and she squealed, "The puppies are ready to find a new home!" she announced, officially changing the subject from Ember to puppies.

She turned to me. "Do you want to pick one out today? If we go over there quickly then we could get first choice of the litter."

              I frowned. Today had been an amazing day and if I brought back the puppy now then Gavin might have a grump attack about it. Then again, he had been in a halfway decent mood today, so maybe it would be the best time to give him a puppy. Plus, Starre seemed to think it was best to get there soon.

              "Okay,” I nodded.

              Starre typed a response back and then closed the laptop, hopping up and grabbing the bag she had carried inside with her earlier. "Here, I brought you some clothes you can change into. Hurry up. I'll be waiting in the truck and we can go there now. It's just a quick ride down the road."

              "Thanks," I smiled gratefully. As much as I liked the clothes I was in, I wasn't on my date anymore, and felt overdressed. I quickly changed and climbed into the truck with Starre, buckling my seatbelt as she drove. It was a short ride, not allowing me much time to worry.

              We stopped in front of an old barn and Starre turned off the engine and hopped out. "We get to pick out a puppy now!" Starre bounced up and down, then darted towards the barn. "They're in here! I can hear them."

              I smiled and followed Starre into the barn. As much as I loved puppies, nerves kept getting in the way of my excitement. When I entered the barn and my eyes landed on the puppies though, my nerves melted away.

              They were adorable! Their legs were short, and they wobbled and bounced around, letting out little yips and growls. Starre picked up a cream colored one, holding it up and rubbing behind its ears. Its leg jerked into action, trying to scratch where her fingers were.

              An old guy approached from the back of the barn, chewing on a piece of straw. "They're an Australian Cattle Dog and Corgi mix, so they'll make good cattle dogs."

              "This is Nova," Starre introduced me, not taking her eyes off of the puppies.

              The man nodded to me and I smiled back, before we fell into an awkward silence. "Well, just let me know which one you choose," the man said before heading to the back of the barn.

              I knelt down in the straw and looked at all of the puppies scrambling around, trying to pick one that Gavin would like. I picked up a couple, petting each one as I scanned the litter. They were moving and jumping around so much that it was hard to focus on just one, let alone pick one out.

              One stood out from the others. The feistiest one of the bunch who was running around and tackling the other puppies in a black, tan, and blue blur of fur. I picked it up, pulling it away from biting another puppy's ear. I felt tiny sharp teeth at my fingers as the puppy chewed on my hand. "This one is evil and just bit me, maybe he would bite Gavin for me."

              "Are you thinking it would teach him some manners?" Starre asked, as she set a puppy down with the others.

              "Do you think it would work?" I smirked, scuffing up the fur on the puppy's head as it squirmed and fought my hands. "What better dog for someone like Gavin than a puppy who’s just like him?"

              "Do you think you've found the one?" Starre asked, eyeing the puppy in my arms.

              I held up the puppy, who was apparently a boy, and looked him in the eyes. "Do you want to go home to Gavin?" I asked the puppy, not really expecting a response. To my surprise, the puppy locked his eyes with mine and barked loudly.

              I glanced at Starre and our eyes met. "He's the one," we both declared at the same time, then giggled.

              We told the guy which one we were getting and then climbed into the truck, driving off down the road with a squirming puppy in my arms. His howls filled the truck all the way to the ranch.

              Starre drove slowly up the driveway, both of us looking around, trying to spot Gavin. Polly's car was gone, which made me worry that she had left with Gavin somewhere. If he wasn't here, then it would give me time to prepare, and worry, about his reaction.

              "Let's take him inside, it will be easier to surprise Gavin that way," Starre suggested.

              "Won't Polly freak out if there's a puppy in the house?" I asked. It didn't seem to be a good idea to bring an animal in the house without asking her first.

              "Trust me, there's been crazier things in that house than an adorable puppy," Starre said.

              We climbed out of the truck and sneaked up the porch steps, stepping through the screen door.

              The puppy squirmed in my arms, growling and fighting to get loose. I set him down, not wanting to drop him, and watched as the puppy darted off through the house.

              Seconds later, a yell echoed through the house, "What the fuck?"

              It sounded like the puppy had found its new owner.