Something to Believe In (The Renegade Saints Book 4) (25 page)

I’d been running ten miles at least four days a week for five years. I also ran back and forth on stage for three hours four nights a week
and
I had been fucking Daisy every day, most times at least twice if not three times, like a maniac for weeks, but those few hours of jumping around with the kids took it out of me like you wouldn’t believe.

By the time we got back to the hotel, I was nearly comatose. It was late afternoon by then and we had about two hours before dinner. Much to the kids’ chagrin, Violet and Ryder forced them to go down to their room to take baths so Daisy could have a break. I thought little Wyatt was going to have a fuckin’ meltdown and Ryley wasn’t any happier. Maya flat out cried as they walked out the door.

After grabbing two bottles of water and two vanilla cokes, Daisy and I collapsed on the couch. I kicked up my feet on the table, crossing one over the other as I guzzled my water and enjoyed the way she relaxed into me. I smiled when she held out her hand and wiggled her fingers until I clasped mine to her.

“You were great with the kids,” she said happily.

“I like them,” I admitted.

She nodded. “I can tell.”

I wanted to tell her about my little brother, but stopped myself short. Her family was in town for one night and I wasn’t going to burden her with that while they were there. We nodded off on the couch for about an hour, only waking up when her phone rang. It was Violet calling to tell her the kids were done with Daisy-free time.

I’m pretty sure I was strutting around the room like a fuckin’ peacock as we waited for Daisy’s family to come back. I’d let down my guard and fallen asleep with her at my side and it had been fine. I’d survived. It was just one more step closer to where I wanted to be.

After dinner, the kids flat out refused to go with their parents back to the room. Everyone laughed like they’d expected as much. I knew Daisy was a safe person for them, knew she would never harm one hair on their heads, but I was still surprised when Violet and Ryder brought their pajamas down and then left without any anxiety. The kids climbed into bed with Daisy like it was the most natural thing in the world. Curled up together, they watched the Disney channel. I sat on the chaise lounge next to her bed and watched with them, but I have to admit I was far more interested in watching Daisy and her little people.

During one of the commercial breaks, Ryley looked over at me.

“Hey Ty?”

“Yeah?”

“Is that where you sleep?” she asked as she pointed to the lounge I was on.

I shook my head. “Nah, my room is across the hall.”

“So you and Auntie Daisy live in the same house?”

I looked to Daisy for an assist, only to find she was silently laughing.

“Uh, yeah,” I answered after a pause.

Ryley nodded her head, real serious like. “Daddy says I can’t never live with a boy. Not ever.”

At that point I started laughing. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Him says me and Maya are gonna be nuns.”

I laughed so hard I almost cried. “Nuns?”

“Momma told him he’s crazy,” Ryley giggled. “I don’t wanna wear no black outfit. I wanna be like Daisy and travel.”

Wyatt shook his head. “I don’t like Daisy traveling. We like her at home so she can be close to us.”

She kissed the top of his head sweetly. “Wyatt, you know right now my home is in California and not Harmony, but that doesn’t mean we will ever be less close than we are.”

“But you were living with us for a long time before you started traveling,” he pointed out.

“I was, but even when I lived in California I came to see you every three months. You just got overloaded with Aunt Daisy love once I moved in. I can’t be there every day in person, but I’m always there in your heart, just like you’re in mine.”

He hugged her tight and beamed up at her. “I love you bein’ in my heart,” he said sweetly.

When the show came back on the conversation ended, but I wondered if Daisy wanted to stay in California forever or if Harmony would pull her back. If I had anything to say about it, and I damn well planned to, she wasn’t ever going anywhere without me.

I
’d gotten up early with the kids and headed down to my sister’s room. We ate breakfast together as a family before heading up to the rooftop deck to splash in the pool. I’d wanted to spend as much time with them as I could since they had to leave to catch their flight mid afternoon. After we tired the kids out, Ryder took them back to the room for a nap, leaving Vi and I to hang out on the pool loungers for sister time.

“Lay it on me. Tell me what you think of him,” I instructed.

The soft smile on her face was a relief. “He’s a doll. Ry and I were a little afraid, to be honest. I mean he’s famous and rich, which might have meant he was a giant dud with a terrible attitude. I’m so happy that isn’t the case at all. He’s great with my kids and anyone with two eyes can see how much he loves you.”

My heart slammed against my chest hopefully even as I shook my head. “He hasn’t said—”

“He doesn’t need to,” she said firmly. “It’s in the way he looks at you, the way he treats you. If Ryder never told me he loved me, I’d still know by his actions. That’s what I see with you and Tyson.”

“Yeah?” I asked hopefully.

“Um
, yeah
. I know darn well you haven’t told him you love him, either. Even though you do,” she teased as she reached out and poked my arm.

“I’ve definitely fallen,” I admitted, “but I worry because he hasn’t confided in me about anything. I know he was a drug addict and that he died for a few minutes purely because of Wikipedia. He doesn’t talk about family or anything other than the band and the extended family from them. I feel like…”

“You feel like what?” she prodded.

“I
know
he’s keeping something from me and I worry it means he doesn’t trust me.”

“I’ve only seen you together for a few hours but I have to say I highly doubt it. Remember when I left Ryder before our wedding day?”

I grimaced. “It’s not like I could ever forget. You were a mess and so was he. It was terrible.”

She sniffled and wiped below her eyes. It had been years but the memory still affected her.

“I hate thinking about what went on during that time and how bad I felt, but I think it’s a good parallel here. I didn’t tell Ryder what was really going on because I was trying to spare him.”

I swallowed hard as I considered her words. “You think he’s trying to protect me from something? That what he’s not telling me is bad?”

Vi turned my way and focused on me with laser like intensity. “Most people don’t turn to drugs unless something in their lives triggered it. I think what you told me about his anxiety issues and sleeping in the room with you is a clue. I didn’t run from Ryder because I wanted to—I ran because of what happened to Dad and Dusty, and because Mom had me convinced I was going crazy.”

Her words gutted me because I sensed she was right. Something had happened to Ty and whatever it was it had scarred him. Once Vi pointed me to it, things came into focus. His staunch refusal to be in relationships until I came along, his inability to sleep in the same room, the horrific addiction to drugs that almost cost him his life.

“Do I let him come to me, or do I bring it up first?”

After taking a sip of her water, she sighed. “If the opportunity presents itself you’ll feel it. You and I both know the worst thing to do is force it. Let things happen naturally and I bet money you two are going to go the distance.”

I climbed onto my sister’s lounger and hugged her tight. “I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you to be my guide.”

She chuckled and kissed my cheek. “I feel the same way about you.”

When Tyson met us for lunch, I took the time to really appreciate how great he was being with my family. They hadn’t at all been exposed to the giant asshole I had seen when I first met him, and I was glad. I didn’t realize it until they arrived but I’d been a little worried he wouldn’t be able to be himself around them. I had nothing to worry about—he was open and kind to them and my nieces and nephew had taken a shine to him lickety-split.

The kids weren’t happy to be leaving and I wasn’t happy to watch them go. I promised them that as soon as I was back in the states I would visit Harmony for at least a week and we’d ride horses and spend time at Granddaddy’s. That promise got them to stop crying, which made me feel a thousand percent better. There was nothing worse than looking down into their sad little faces. We kissed and hugged a hundred times on the curb outside the airport.

We’d probably have kept right on going for another few minutes but things got weird fast when someone recognized Ty. He’d been standing talking to Ryder and once the first person noticed him, it was like a domino effect. My sister and Ryder grabbed the kids and hauled ass into the airport as a crowd started to grow around Ty. The security guard driving the Suburban got out and stood next to him as he signed autographs, mostly on T-shirts and the back of plane tickets. I turned to get back into the car, but Ty’s hand shot out and grabbed mine to keep me there. I shifted nervously as some of the attention was turned toward me.

“Hey, Ty,” someone yelled, “Who’s the girl?”

I fully expected him to say I was an assistant, but he didn’t go down that route.

He looked toward the person who had voiced the question and smiled. “This is my girlfriend.”

A ripple of surprise went through the crowd, but the biggest case of shock was mine. Having him claim me publicly was like a warm hug. I leaned into him proudly and smiled at the fans as he finished signing. It was clear he had a system down because seconds after I noticed him giving the security guard the signal we were climbing into the car.

I beamed up at him like a complete goof as the car pulled into traffic and headed for the arena for sound check.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying who you were. That’ll be everywhere within a few hours,” he said. “I’m sorry if it upsets you—”

I raised my hand and put it over his mouth. “I’m not upset,” I assured him. “This is us, and it isn’t going anywhere.”

He grabbed the hand covering his mouth and kissed the palm before linking our fingers together.

“Damn straight,” he agreed.