Cinnamon’s Courageous Heart: Sweethearts of Country Music, Book 5 Read online

  Katie Lyn grinned and wiped her tears away. “I love you, Cin. Really. And go easy on Mac later on.”

  Mac was the least of her concerns right now. They had to find Lynette and Maddie. And they had a show to get ready for. Mac and her mouth were further down Cinnamon’s list at the moment, but she nodded.

  A cold gust of wind blew in from the lake in the distance and she tightened her coat. Despite her sweatshirt and coat, she was cold. She swore the temperature dropped ten degrees just in the short time they were in the radio station. Was that even possible?

  “Here! Over here!” Rissa shouted, waving from the other side of the multi-storied brick building that housed the radio station. “Here.”

  Cinnamon and Katie Lyn raced over, breathlessly skidding to a halt, their cowboy boots slipping on the sidewalk snow. Katie Lyn embraced her mom and then dropped to her knees to hug Madison. “Where were you two? I was so scared!”

  “We went inside just to thaw out. Maddie’s been burrowing through the snow like a polar bear cub and she needed a warm spot to defrost. Rather than shutting ourselves back up on the bus, we thought it might be fun to explore this big brick building. Were you looking for us long? C.C. said you thought we were lost?”

  “We thought so. I guess we just passed each other somehow when we came out.”

  Cinnamon watched three generations of women embrace and cry and a sudden truth grabbed her. Life—and love—are precious gifts. They could be extinguished or taken away so swiftly, with no warning. Perhaps it was worth the risk to love that someone special, hoping this time . . . the time might be right for it to be the real thing.

  12

  Silas couldn’t be happier. Thanks to the marvels of iHeart radio, and having the Lipstick Outlaw’s schedule, he could listen in on almost all their radio interviews. What did people do before the days of iHeart? Now they could listen to virtually any radio station. It sure made his life easy. Last night he heard them on some northern Michigan station. He winced, his breath held, when the radio DJ asked about who they left behind. To him, it seemed Cinnamon’s answer was part groping for something politically correct to say, and partly dug up from the well of her soul. He’d be surprised if she didn’t take Mac out behind the bus afterward and smack her around. Two guys probably would have and walked away friends.

  However, the bottom line was she didn’t say she wasn’t in love. It was more what she didn’t say that gave him such a happy heart today. And while he didn’t get a verbal mention like her brother, cat or the horse, he still had a gut feeling she was thinking about him. Maybe she just wasn’t ready to go public with their relationship. And that was okay, too.

  The way she’d freaked out over the realization they were dating told him she’d need special handling and he was cool with that. She was worth it. And he planned to show her in every way he could that he was worth the risk. The fact she didn’t blurt it out to all of radio-land was fine by him.

  Now that he had found the words online to her Karma song, he listened to it a few times, read the words over and over, and began to see into her wounded soul. She was fragile. He got that. But it was last night’s interview way up in the frozen tundra of Michigan and their latest Skype conversations that made him a happy, happy man today. He felt they’d laid a good foundation in their relationship and he was anxious for her return.

  He was also satisfied with the progress on her house. Even though he’d taken a fair bit of time off while she was home those last few days, he was still well within schedule. And today he was taking another day off to get with his buddies. They had planned this fishing trip to Marrowbone Lake, just north of town, months ago. It was kind of their twice-a-year tradition. He was currently waiting at the Winn-Dixie parking lot in Dellwood for Jake to show up. Jake had the biggest boat, and the bigger heavy-duty pick-up that could fit all six of them the easiest. By default, he drove and used his boat. Silas smiled when he spotted Jake’s big black truck turn the corner. He grabbed his bag and gear and hopped out of Ol’ Blue, pocketing the keys.

  “Good grief, Silas. What are you beaming about?” Dave asked within minutes of them getting on the highway.

  “Nothing. Just happy. Life is good.” He popped open a ginger ale and leaned back comfortably. Sometimes it was nice to be a passenger and leave the driving to someone else.

  They bantered good-naturedly, catching up on current events in each other’s lives, until they arrived at Marrowbone Lake. They loaded the boat and launched off toward the still rising sun.

  “Evan, I want to hire your wife to do some interior painting and papering on this house I’m working on,” Silas mentioned after he reeled in his fourth catfish and tossed it in the cooler. “But it has to be done between now and March ninth.”

  “I think she’s available. What’s the house?”

  “It belongs to one of the singers of a country band and they’re coming back from their tour then. I want that part done before she gets back.”

  Evan teased in a catfish. “Silas, this is Nashville. Who’s the band?”

  “The Lipstick Outlaws.” He cast again. “She’s the fiddle and banjo player.”

  “No kidding? My wife is crazy about that group. She caught some of their early shows around town. You should have seen them at the CMA awards in Vegas. Talk about some hot ladies. My wife absolutely loves their new song.”

  “When Karma Comes Calling?” Yes, he’d seen footage of the Vegas awards. Cinnamon had been stunning in that gown. Did she still have it? He’d have to find out. Maybe he could find somewhere to take her so she could wear it again. “This is the house of the musician who wrote that song.”

  Evan grunted, still fighting his fish. “Yeah, that’s a song meant to hit a guy below the belt. My wife would probably do the work for free just to be inside the house of one of the singers.” He brought the fish up out of the water and Jake leaned over with a net. Evan swore softly at the size. “I’ll ask her when we get ashore and confirm the dates.”

  “I need to call home, too, when we get ashore,” Will spoke up as he baited his hook. “I promised Tansy I’d check in periodically. She has all these fears of boats tipping over.”

  Dave hooted. “Only married four months and she’s wearing the pants and yanking that nose ring.”

  “Hardly,” Will denied. “She has irrational fears of boats and worries about me out on one. I want to see her happy, so I promised to call her once I was back on shore again, to ease her mind.” He cast his line and settled back in his seat. “You do that stuff when you’re married, whether it be four months, four years, or forty years. Right, Doug?”

  Doug, the senior member of their group, nodded his agreement. “Having lived with one fantastic woman for almost forty years, I can assure you younger bucks, life just goes easier and better when you take away your ladies’ worries. Will has the right idea.”

  Silas took it all in and agreed with Will and Doug. He had a lot of respect for both of them. One was a newlywed and one was long-married to one wife. And they were both happy men. Silas wanted to be like them. The growing desire each time he was with Cinnamon or spoke to her intensified the feelings that he felt that first day standing on her porch as she came riding over that hill. It had only grown while walking through the house with her, discussing her vision for it. He was as hooked on her as these fish were on their lines.

  “Uhh, Silas, buddy. You gonna bring that fish in sometime today?”

  Silas started, jerking his head to Jake, who smirked and nodded toward Silas’s pole . . . bent nearly to the water’s surface. Heat fanned his face as he reeled the line in. Around him, the other guys laughed and snickered. He brought it in and found an empty hook. More laughter erupted.

  “First round of wings are on Silas when we get to Granny’s Kitchen for being the first to lose a fish today!” Dave said with a happy chortle.

  Oh well. He’d lost a fish, and it was going to cost him a round of chicken wings at their traditional restaurant. But Silas ha
d no intention of losing Cinnamon to a phantom fear she couldn’t let go of.

  * * *

  The show at the Soaring Eagle complex closed to a standing ovation. Cinnamon was exhausted. Between the meet and greet with the lucky station winners and a two-hour show, she was ready for her bunk. She and the girls were all smiles as they waved to the crowd and made their way off stage. Soon they’d leave the snow-drifted tundra of Michigan behind and travel just a little south, and then back north for the New England states.

  Val met them at the bus. “While you were on stage, I checked with the highway patrol’s site for road conditions and the weather reports,” she said. “Overall, things look reasonably fair.” She winked and tugged her own coat around herself. “I’d advise you to keep your coats and scarves handy.”

  Madison would be thrilled.

  “I don’t care about the weather,” Katie Lyn said softly, her eyes glistening as she watched her mom tuck Madison into bed. Lynette had said she had been going on the entire time they were on stage about her big snow adventure, and she didn’t think she’d ever settle down.

  Cinnamon stood with her arm around her friend’s shoulder. She got what Katie Lyn wasn’t saying. Maddie was safe, the scare was over, and they were all okay. If Maddie wanted to prattle on past her bedtime, let her. Family and memories were more important than one night’s bedtime.

  “I wish they had a Waffle House around here,” Cinnamon said to Katie Lyn. “I’d buy you a fish sandwich or strawberry waffle.”

  Kat patted her hand. “I’ll take a raincheck.”

  They moved over to the captain’s chairs and Cinnamon took out her dog-eared notebook. She flipped pages to the current untitled work in progress and poised her pen. So far, she had a good beat, starting out with drums and hand clapping, then the girls bringing in their instruments. She needed solid lyrics, not just the fragments she had so far.

  You may have heard that once bitten twice shy

  I gave my heart away and then wondered why

  Now I need a real man who can touch my heart

  Someone whose fingertips can ignite that spark

  Refrain:

  Until then, I’ve got my girls and they’ve got me

  Rissa strums her guitar, C.C. beats her drums,

  Sweet li’l Maddie laughs and Taylor tickles the ivory keys

  Cinnamon picks her banjo or rosins her bow

  Katie Lyn belts out golden harmony for all to hear and see

  We’ve got each other. We’re poets, musicians and gypsies,

  Who hope to travel and make music beyond our sixties.

  We’re sisters sharing one bond, one dream, our hearts beat as one

  We’re wild and sweet, we’re rednecks and cowgirls, just having fun

  We’re daughters of the wind. We’re dreamers. Our music is sweet and wild

  They love me just the way I am, with my flaws and all.

  Yeah, my girls love me when I’m stormy or sunny

  We’ve pressed our luck, cried and got up from the fall

  I know my girls will love me when I eat my eggs runny.

  Refrain

  Maybe they’re right, maybe there is someone out there for me

  I don’t know who, or where, but one day we’ll find each other

  And then we’ll know we’re meant to always be.

  But until then I still have my sisters and stand-in mother

  But I’d like to know, boy, when we do connect, can you meet me in the middle?

  Can you touch me gently, kiss me passionately, and make my heart sing like a fiddle?

  I want us to take the time to know each other personally

  I want our hearts to sing, our souls to blend in harmony.

  Refrain

  So, until I can find myself a real man, who knows how love is supposed to go

  I’ll always have my girls and we’ll chase our dreams till we run out of road.

  She sucked in her lip and grabbed a few pieces of chocolate. The page looked like chicken scratch with all the marked out and redirected words. She was going to tie this thing together yet. Her Skype alert rang.

  “I thought it was about time for your Skype man,” Katie Lyn said, grinning as Cinnamon got up to grab her laptop. Cinnamon handed over her notebook.

  “See if you can tie that stuff together while I’m gone. And maybe find a title in there.”

  Cinnamon sat crossed legged on her bunk, curtain closed, and opened her laptop. She clicked Silas’s smiling image as her heart beat like the tempo of C.C.’s drums.

  “Hi. How’s Michigan?”

  “Cold. We lost Lynette and Madison earlier today.” She explained about what happened. “It’s all good now. Everyone’s accounted for and we’re already on the road for Illinois.”

  Silas chuckled. “That poor kid will be devastated when she returns home and realizes her big snow explorations are finished.”

  “Lynette is taking plenty of pictures to remind her. And none of us will miss this cold. It’s brutal.”

  “Sounds terrible. When you get back, I’ll have to do something to thaw you out.”

  He probably meant the words innocently, even playfully, but Cinnamon’s jaw slacked and her chest tightened. For a moment, she couldn’t think of what to say. More dates.

  “Hey, you okay? You just went a little pale.”

  The concern in his voice and on his face snapped her back. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just thought of a line for a song I’m working on.”

  His grin was cautious. “It’s nice to know I can always give you a line.” He chuckled at his own wit. “So, what’s the song about? Another karma gets the guy song?”

  So, he knew about Karma. He knew the band’s schedule. He sure seemed to follow her along. “No, this is about how the band is so closely connected. Related by a love of music and how we have each other’s backs. A sort of unconditional love.”

  She watched as he pieced her comments together. It sounded as disjointed coming from her mouth as it did when she wrote it out.

  “It sounds like that’ll be another hit when you’re done with it.”

  “If I ever get it done. Kat’s working on it now to see what she can do with it.”

  “That’s cool how you guys can compose songs like that.”

  She nodded and pushed her hair behind her ears. “Yeah, Kat and I co-write a lot. Rissa and Taylor co-write a bunch, too.”

  “But Karma was all yours, right?”

  She stilled. “Yes, that song was never meant to be released. I wrote it for therapy.” As she said the words, she had the strangest feeling he wanted to hug her. She could almost feel it coming through the screen. His eyes said so much, they reached past the screen and touched her heart. “Um, do you have more virtual tours to show me?” Admittedly, it was late, and she assumed the beige wall behind him was at his place. “Any questions about the house?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing much has changed since we last talked. I took today off to go fishing with the guys. It’s our two-times-a-year planned get together. There’s six of us, all college pals. Well, except for one guy. We catch one or two of each other around town from time to time, but once every six months, we all go out on Jake’s boat for the day.”

  “That sounds like fun.” If the band ever ended, would she and the other girls make a concerted effort to get together? If so, what would the point be? Most were getting married and planning families at some point. “Are your buddies married or single?”

  He looked a bit surprised at her question. “Four are married, happily so.” He held up four fingers. “Dave and I are single.” He grinned and gave a shake of his head. “Dave will probably be single for a long time.”

  Something about how he answered made her think that Dave had opposing views of women or marriage—or both. And he made it a point to say that four were happy in their marriage. Was a happy marriage something he was searching for? She enjoyed the single life, but did he?

  She swallowed and wished
she had a bottle of water in her bunk. Or candy. Why didn’t she have anything in here? She inhaled deeply.

  “How about you? Will you be single a long time?” As she said the words, she wished she could pull them back.

  Again, he looked startled, but recovered quickly with a soft look in his eyes. “Hopefully not. I think when the time is right, and two people meet and fall in love, it can be a beautiful thing to share.”

  Aww. Her heart melted. It sounded like he looked over her shoulder as she worked on her latest song just now.

  “I also think being in love with one special person is all about sharing. Or making love to that one special person. They come together and share their feelings, their dreams, their hearts, souls, and minds. It’s being open and honest all the time. No secrets, no inhibitions, no hiding. Because the other person deserves it.”

  She pooled into a puddle right there in her bunk.

  They ended the call soon afterward. Cinnamon’s heart and mind still whirled with Silas’s heartfelt confession as she made her way back to Katie Lyn. She dropped heavily into the captain’s chair, feeling out of breath. Silas literally took her breath away.

  “You know what I like about him? He wears his ball cap with the bill forward,” Katie Lyn offered without preamble. “So many guys wear their hats with the bills backward and it looks stupid. Your man looks smart.” She leaned over, handing the notebook and pen back. “I like the title “My Girls”. And I made a couple additions. And you left Mac out.”

  “Oh. Did I?”

  13

  “Wow, this is going to be so exciting,” Taylor gushed. “To actually be guests on the Clayton Conner Countdown!”

  “I wonder where we’ll be on the chart.”

  Rissa whirled her arm in the air. “With all the various countdowns out there, it’s tough to keep track of where each song is at each week. I’m sure we’ll have at least one song in the top five.”

  “And it’s Clayton Conner. The guy is hot.”