Kiss Me, Katie (11 page)

“I’m ready. ’Bye guys, y’all be careful out there.” Katie waved to her band mates and let Blake lead her across the parking lot to the pickup.

“Did y’all have a good day?” Blake asked. He opened her door and helped her up into the truck.

“We really did. Nashville is such a great town. The people were awesome, and everything is so nice. I can’t wait to see your house.” Katie answered.

Blake hurried around and hopped into the driver’s seat. “I love when I get to drive myself for a change.” He grinned at her and started the engine. Blake turned the radio down as he pulled out of the parking lot, and he and Katie kept up a steady stream of conversation as they drove through town to Blake’s Nashville home.

Blake eventually pulled into the driveway of a big flagstone house that reminded Katie of a fancy hunting lodge. Bright landscape lighting flooded across a beautifully manicured emerald green lawn and big flat stones dotted the lawn in a winding walkway up to the front porch which boasted beautifully tended potted plants, an inviting cushioned porch swing, and a pair of rocking chairs. Someone gone as often as Blake couldn’t have a dog, but she halfway expected to see a big golden retriever bound up to meet them when they parked.

“Want me to show you around, or are you starving?” Blake asked as he helped Katie down from the truck.

“Show me around while it’s still light out.” She hopped down and took Blake’s hand. She loved the warmth of his hand, how his skin felt rough next to hers, and how small and feminine she felt next to him.

Blake led Katie around back, where she saw a huge covered patio boasting what looked like a full outdoor kitchen, dining table, and plenty of chairs. She wondered if Blake was home enough to entertain or if all this went to waste. There was enough room for several dozen people to mingle comfortably. A fire pit caught her attention, and she pictured cuddling up under a warm blanket and roasting marshmallows outside when it finally got colder. It was hard to believe that she would be gone and out of Blake’s life soon when it was so easy to picture herself sitting out here with him sharing secrets and kisses under the stars.

They wandered down a flagstone path through thick, dark green, well-tended grass towards a big barn. Blake led Katie inside and she inhaled the scent of cut grass, gasoline, and wood. Tools of every kind lined the shelves of a wall of tool benches, lawn maintenance equipment sat in a neat row along another wall, and a battery-powered radio sat atop a shelf below an old aluminum feed store sign. Blake clicked it on and Willie Nelson’s familiar voice filled the barn.

“Darlin’?” Blake held out his hands to Katie, inviting her to dance. She joined him, and knew that she would never forget a single detail of the moment. She could feel the warmth of his skin through her clothes, could feel his faint stubble on her forehead and pulling lightly in her hair. His voice was low, deep, and husky as he sang along with the radio.

Katie pulled back enough to look up at Blake, and swallowed the urge to cry. Being in his arms felt like she had come home, like she had found a part of her that she hadn’t even realized was missing. The end of the tour would come too quickly, and Katie couldn’t imagine a future without Blake in it. She rested her head on Blake’s shoulder and he kissed the top of her head.

She snuggled closer and sighed. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Me, too, sweetheart, but let’s not get into that right now. I’d like to concentrate on having a nice night together instead of getting depressed about what’s to come.” Blake pulled her closer, wrapping her in his arms. He breathed in the scent of her hair as if trying to memorize her.

He led her out of the barn and back across the lawn. It was beginning to get dark as afternoon slipped into evening, crickets were chirping, and the landscape lighting was coming on as they rounded the corner and stepped up onto the wraparound porch out front. Blake unlocked the door and invited Katie inside the house. She stepped in and gasped as she took in the gorgeous rustic interior of his home. The whole place looked like it had been torn from the pages of a magazine. Blake had chosen natural stone flooring and customized lighting for the foyer. French doors led to a dimly lit library, hand-scraped wood floors, oversized brown leather chairs, and built-in bookcases full to bursting with beautifully bound books gave the room an elegant but welcoming feel. He led her into the living area, where she passed sumptuous-looking leather furniture, a natural stone fireplace, more built-in bookcases, and a giant flat screen television. They made their way into Blake’s gourmet kitchen, past the dining table that could comfortably seat twelve, and Katie took in his state of the art appliances, the gorgeous granite countertops, and the beautiful fixtures. The kitchen looked like it could be featured in a decorating magazine, but it somehow still seemed like a real home. Blake had nice things, but they all appeared to have been used. Nothing was there just for show.

She noticed framed family photographs lining a counter. She smiled at an image of Betty and Roy looking into each other’s eyes and beaming. She noticed a picture of an elated Luke wearing a cap and gown, arms linked with a proud-looking Blake. He led Katie to a barstool and invited her to sit and have a drink while he disappeared into his walk-in pantry. He emerged with an armful of supplies and set them on his oversized kitchen island. He rummaged through his refrigerator for the rest of his ingredients and put everything on the island before turning on a stereo that Katie hadn’t seen before. Soft music filled the space, and Katie sat, mesmerized, while Blake washed, chopped, and mixed ingredients. He was at home in the kitchen. Katie could imagine him cooking big meals at his mother’s side, and wondered if that was how he learned to cook. Blake chopped up russet potatoes and then set them to boil on the impressive Viking stove top, seasoned some pork chops, and put together a beautiful green salad while Katie sipped on iced tea.

“Hope you’re hungry,” he said, looking up at Katie with a smile.

“Mmm hmm. Everything looks amazing. I can’t remember the last time someone made a meal for me.”

“You deserve a nice meal, sweetheart. I wish we could do it more often. I was hoping that we could take the four wheelers out and go for a ride, you know, get a little mud on the tires, but I’m afraid it’s too dark. I’m working on getting lighting put up out on the property, but for now it’s a little dangerous unless you know your way around. I’m afraid you’d tip yourself over or get lost out on the trails. Maybe next time we can come out earlier or I’ll have lights up.”

“Sounds like fun. I didn’t notice a trail, just trees, trees, and more trees.”

“Just a little ways out back, there’s a big barn. Once you get out there, there are a couple of trails winding down through the woods through to the back of the property. It’s hard to picture at night, but it’s beautiful out there. Nothing but nature as far as you can see. No neighbors, no street noise, nothing but wind through the branches and birds in the trees. There’s nothing like it. Whenever I get off a long stretch of travel and get out there, sometimes it’s even too quiet at first. I get too used to the road noise and all the people on tour.”

“Wow, well, I hope I get to see it some time.” Katie was suddenly shy. Once they left his house tonight, the bands would hit the road and head to Memphis. After the Memphis show, there were only four days left on tour and Katie would be on her way back to Texas. Did Blake think that they would still be together in several months? Was this just small talk?

Katie looked into the living room and imagined cuddling up with Blake on the couch, having cozy conversations or watching television. She saw the screened-in porch just outside the dining room and pictured herself inviting friends over for lemonade or just sitting out there in a rocking chair watching a couple of dogs run around the backyard. Blake’s home was amazing, but it was homey enough for her to feel like she could belong there. She imagined pictures of her and Blake joining the family pictures lining the counter. Katie shook her head, clearing the fantasy from her mind. She couldn’t invite friends over for lemonade and girl talk. She didn’t know anybody in Nashville and she had no reason to think that this wouldn’t be her last visit to Blake’s home. It made her heart hurt just to think about it, but it was likely that this time next year she would be nothing more than a memory for Blake.

Blake assembled plates of food for them and set them on the bar in front of Katie. “I’ll grab forks and napkins if you’ll take the plates to the table. Supper’s ready.” Katie took two plates to the table while Blake bundled up forks and napkins and carried two glasses of iced tea.

Katie sat down and tucked into her dinner. She let out a contented sigh after her first bite of the perfectly seasoned pork chop. “This is delicious. You are a man of many talents.”

“Thank you, darlin’. It’s my mama’s recipe. She taught me everything I know about cooking.”

“This is so much better than eating on the bus.” Katie laughed before taking another bite and savoring her food.

“I wanted you to have a couple of weeks of venue catering as your sole source of nutrition before cooking for you. Makes mine taste better.”

“Well, it certainly worked. I could definitely get used to this.”

Katie took a sip of her iced tea and watched Blake with affection as he speared a bite of salad with his fork. What a gorgeous man. Tall, dark, and handsome, firm muscles, soft touchable waves of dark hair, dreamy blue eyes you could lose yourself in, those beautiful kissable lips. How was she ever going to forget him? If only he had been nothing more than a delicious piece of eye candy, maybe she could forget him then. Unfortunately, he also happened to be talented, funny, and incredibly caring. And sexy. Incredibly sexy.

Blake put down his fork and settled his gaze on Katie. “Katie, I’m fixin’ to ask you something and I want you to think about it. You don’t have to answer right away, or even tonight.”

“Okay, what is it?” Katie’s nerves jangled with anticipation. Why was he suddenly so serious?

“All right, here goes. I have had the best time with you the last couple of weeks, and I’m not ready for things to end. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I’m really falling for you. I don’t want to freak you out by moving too fast, but I want to see what we have together. It seems strange, I know, but being on tour makes things different. We only have a few more days left before y’all are supposed to head back to Texas, and I don’t think that’s enough. I want you to stay.” Blake looked into Katie’s eyes intensely, took her hand in his and squeezed. “With me.”

“What do you mean? You want to sign Sterling on for more shows?” Confusion and restrained excitement swirled together within her.

“Well, no. We already have the opening bands lined up for the rest of the tour. I was thinking that when the rest of the band goes home, you might stay with me. We could be together.” Blake shifted uncomfortably in his chair, the look of anticipation fading from his face.

“You mean, like, you want me to go with you on your tour? On your bus? Just to go? To tag along?”

“I don’t really mean it that way, you know, ah, I just thought we could spend more time together if you stayed with me. We can get to know each other, you know? See the country together. I thought it would be fun,” he finished weakly.

“Sterling is supposed to go back into the studio when we’re off this tour. We have new material to record, and we want to build on the momentum we’ve gained from being on this tour. We have gigs lined up in Austin after this. If I don’t go back home, I’m pretty sure they’ll replace me. They won’t just wait to see if I come back.”

“Well, maybe we can talk to the guys.”

“Talk to them? You mean you want me to ask them to put their careers, their dreams, on hold while I take a little vacation?” Katie’s heard her voice take on an angry quality but couldn’t stop herself.

“I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t want you to go home and I have to keep going. The tour won’t stop, and I don’t know what will happen to you and me if we go our separate ways. I am sorry that I didn’t think about what Sterling is going to do after this, I didn’t think it through. I just want you with me.”

“So you pretty much just thought about yourself, huh?”

“Don’t be like that. I’m asking you to stay with me. I’m sitting here, telling you that I want to be with you, and you’re making me out to be some kind of selfish jerk.”

Blake was so surprised that she hadn’t agreed immediately. Katie didn’t know if she felt sorry for him or if she was infuriated. As much as she wanted to spend all of her days with Blake, she didn’t imagine that she’d have to give up her career, her livelihood, to do so. Did he really want her to stay with him that badly? Or was he used to people putting their needs aside whenever he asked? Did he think she should brush her career to the side without a thought? Did he think she should travel the country on a bus with him just to see if they had something special? With him, when he had made no commitment to her? What did he imagine she would do if things didn’t work out between them when she had no band or career to return home to?

Blake Jackson was a caring, sensitive man, but he was a man who was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it. He was also apparently a man who was used to putting himself first. This discussion made it crystal clear to Katie that Blake hadn’t ever had to really consider anyone else. He was a successful man, a giant in his field, but maybe he had come to take his fame for granted. It had been years since he had been at Katie’s level, in the first stages of success, looking forward to a bright future. He must have forgotten what it felt like to want success, to be so close to making it that you could taste it.

“I want to be with you. I really do. But I don’t know if I am ready or willing to give up on my dreams to do it. I won’t ask the band to wait for me, and I don’t want to leave them just to see what might happen between you and me. If we had a solid commitment to one another, that might be different. But we haven’t made any promises to each other. I have always wanted to be a musician, and I want to be successful more than almost anything. Almost anything. The only thing I want more is love. I want true, knock your socks off, once in a lifetime, love. I want that more than anything.” Tears welled in Katie’s eyes and threatened to spill over her lashes. “I know it’s soon, probably too soon, but if you could tell me that you think that’s what we have, that you do love me, then I will stay. Even if you just think that you might love me, then that’s enough. But you have to tell me. You have to say the words.”