Good Time Bad Boy (26 page)

B
y the middle of the next week, Wade had half a dozen new songs finished. Not in progress, but finished. He’d yet to play the songs for anyone but Daisy, but he was thinking about debuting them at Rocky Top over the weekend. The crowds there had been receptive to him playing more than just country, so they might not care that these new songs were a little mushy, genre-wise. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure what these new songs were. A couple of them had a definite pop flavor. Most were second, maybe third cousin to country. Did that make them Americana? He wasn’t sure. If he wasn’t with Daisy or at Rocky Top, he’d spent his time either writing new music or listening to new music. Music that was new to him, at least. Wade wanted to know what was out there, and where he might fit now. Even before he started writing again, he’d had his doubts about finding a place on country radio these days. He felt no kinship for the non-stop party anthems and drinking songs that so many male country singers were putting out. Bro-dude country was not for him. The more he learned about Americana, the more he thought that was a better fit. It was an eclectic mix of the kind of adult songwriting that used to be a hallmark of country, and new and experimental sounds and textures.

More and more, he found himself sliding into Spanish rhythms and textures when he sat down to play. Sometimes a little flamenco, mostly what he thought of as the sound of the wide open desert at night. That’s what he was playing when Daisy arrived, a looping, curving riff with no beginning and no end.

She tucked herself into a corner of the sofa, bare feet under her and her arms around her knees, just watching him play. He let the melody wander around for a bit before bringing it in and ending with an abrupt flourish. “That was beautiful,” she said. “What was that?”

“It’s not really a song, just something I like to play.” He carried the Hummingbird to its stand and packed up his notebook and pens. “I liked playing out west, out in the desert and up in the Badlands, that part of the country. It’s like another world there at night, out on the road. So much sky and stars. You feel like it’s going to swallow you up. What I was playing, that’s what it feels like.” He shrugged, a little self-conscious. “Like I said, it’s just something I like to play.”

“Have you decided what you’re going to do with all these new songs?”

Wade leaned over for a kiss. “That’s the question, isn’t it? Want a beer?”

She dropped her head against the back of the couch. “God, yes. I had to go in and fix payroll again this morning.”

“Is there anything Josh can’t screw up?”

“If there is, I haven’t found it yet.”

He strode to the kitchen and came back with two beers, then settled on the couch next to Daisy. “Does Randy have any idea just how bad it is?”

“He still signs off on the time cards, so he’ll see mine for this morning. I wrote on it exactly what I was doing. I always do.” She sipped her beer. “I think he’s stuck with Josh no matter what.”

“You should be managing that place for him so he can retire for real.” She said nothing and he watched her face intently.

Daisy was quiet for a long time. They sat in companionable silence and drank their beer. He was about to ask her what she wanted to do for dinner when she spoke. “I did this project for a business class where I basically had to draw up a plan for starting a new business. I still have the report and all the research.” She paused. “The human resources degree is a safe bet. Safer than a lot of things, anyway, in this economy. But I do want more. I want my own place one day. More of a restaurant than a bar. Good steaks. Seafood sometimes. And I mean real seafood, Alaskan king crab legs and lobster. Shrimp made six different ways.”

Wade smiled. “Barbecue shrimp and a nice, juicy steak sounds real good.”

“Chicken and burgers, too. A few yummy desserts and a good drinks menu, but not an actual bar. No sports on TVs, either. I mean, those things are fine, I’d just want something a little different. Not as fancy as the restaurant at the winery, but still a place where you could bring either your family or your date.”

“Would there be music in your place?”

“Oh, yes. I’d have a nice sound system and I’d keep it so you could hear the music but it wouldn’t be so loud that you couldn’t talk to the people you’re dining with. A nice eclectic mix of stuff during the week, and maybe live music on the weekends.”

“Got anybody in mind?”

She placed her beer bottle on the coffee table and moved a little closer to him. “He’d have to be able to sing different kinds of music. And he’d have to be good looking. That’s a must.”

“So you’re looking for a pretty boy?”

“Maybe with a beard.” She stroked the whiskers on his jaw. “But not a boy.” She leaned close, so close the warmth of her body teased his senses. “Definitely a man.”

“I might know someone who’d fit the bill.”

She held his gaze for a long moment then scooted back to the corner of the couch. “Wade.”

He angled his body to face her, one arm resting on the back of the couch and his hands clasped. “Daisy.”

“I shouldn’t have-”

“Told me what you want? That’s exactly what you need to be doing.”

A frustrated groan escaped her. He said, “Look, there’s something I’ve been putting off but I’m getting some unbelievable pressure so I can’t put it off any longer.”

She looked at him with alarm. “What is it?”

“My mother wants you to come for Sunday lunch.”

“Shit. Really?”

“As far as she’s concerned I’ll always be in high school. My only consolation for that is knowing Chris will forever be in grammar school.”

Daisy laughed, the sound loosening the tension in both of them. “Sunday lunch with the family. I don’t know. I mean, are we a Sunday lunch with the family kind of, um.”

“Couple? Yes. I think we are. I’d like us to be.”

“I don’t know, Wade.” She worried her thumb between her teeth and stared at the floor. “The summer’s almost over.”

“You think I’m going to leave as soon as Becky gets me another gig.”

“Aren’t you? I mean, this is what you do.”

“I’ve told you I don’t want to live on the road anymore, and I meant it.” Wade moved closer to her and cupped her face in his hands. “This is what I want. Right here, with you.” A surprising peace fell over him as he said the words. Truth had a way of doing that, he supposed. The knowledge settled into him with a rightness that he hadn’t felt in years. Maybe ever. He kissed her softly, and she opened her mouth under his in fragile welcome. Long, slow, drugging kisses followed, like falling into something so perfect, so pure, it almost didn’t feel real. But it was very real. The slide of her tongue on his, her eager hands digging under his clothes to get at his skin, her breathy moans as he worked his way down her body - those things and so many more told him just how real this was, how real she was. Wade wasn’t dreaming or wishing or writing a hopeful song. He had an amazing woman in his arms, and he never wanted to let her go.

D
aisy rubbed her palms down the front of her dress then checked her makeup in the rearview mirror again. Rocky Top may have been the nicest bar in town, but it was still a bar. The Sheppard family was firmly middle class, church-going, conservative. Wade may have been the black sheep of the clan but he would still always be accepted. His younger, waitress girlfriend? Maybe not so much.

Wade came around the truck and opened her door. Daisy stayed where she was at. “Your brother has arrested my brother twice.
Twice
. I checked.”

Wade did a lousy job of suppressing a grin. “I knew I should have worn that
Make It Legal
t-shirt Willie Nelson gave me when I played Farm-Aid a couple of years ago.”

“Your brother is a deputy and mine occasionally deals pot. Your other brother is career military and my sister.” She stopped. Aside from truly lousy luck with men, she could find nothing about Deanna to criticize. But she knew other people would not think that. “She’s a single mother and she doesn’t have a college degree.”

“Hank doesn’t have a college degree. Neither do I, for that matter.”

“Your mother is a well-respected citizen who’s worked at a bank for decades. My mother has a history of substance abuse, child neglect, and general worthlessness.”

Wade leaned into the cab of the truck. “Momma likes to flirt with her preacher.”

Daisy widened her eyes in horror. “That does not compare at all!”

“Daisy, get out of the truck.”

“Your father’s worked for Brittain Utilities for decades. Been an excellent role model for his sons and by all accounts a good husband. I don’t even remember my father.”

Wade reached across her lap and unlatched the seatbelt. “Sweetheart.”

“I work in a bar,” she said in a small voice. “I’m not the kind of girl you bring home to meet the parents. Not nice parents like yours, anyway.”

He shook his head. “I work in a bar, too. You’re
my
girl. That makes you the kind of girl I take home to meet my parents.” He cupped her cheek and tilted her head so she was forced to meet his eyes. “Look, we’re here. They probably heard the truck so they know we’re here. It’s too late for me to fuck the nervous out of you.” She laughed, and it cracked the tension in her limbs somewhat. “So just try not to let all that stuff bother you because in the end, it doesn’t matter. You’re not dating them, you’re dating me. And I─”

The front door swung open, revealing Chris in the doorway. “You two coming in or what?”

Wade stiffened. He took her hand and stepped out of the way so she could exit the vehicle. After one last bracing breath, Daisy left the safety of the truck, squeezing his hand.

“Mornin’, Chris,” Wade said.

“Afternoon,” Chris said with a sneer. “Momma’s not happy you weren’t in church this morning. I guess we should be grateful you showed up for lunch.”

“I’m sure she’d also be grateful if you didn’t act like a dick in front of our guest.”

Chris dropped his eyes to the dark red wood of the porch floor, chagrined. “Sorry, Daisy. Nice to see you.”

“It’s okay. Nice to see you, too.” That tension Wade had momentarily dispersed returned and brought friends. Of course Chris wouldn’t think to be on his best behavior. That was for guests you respected. She tried to pull her hand from Wade’s but he wouldn’t let go.

Chris got out of the way and they entered the house. A short foyer led immediately into the living room, where Mr. Sheppard watched TV and a teen girl sat curled up with a book.

“Hello, Daddy,” Wade said.

His father responded with a barely audible grunt, gaze still on the television. Wade tightened his grip on Daisy’s hand. He cleared his throat and raised their joined hands. “This is Daisy McNeil. I’m sure Momma told you I was bringing a lady friend.”

Mr. Sheppard spared her a quick glance. “Hello.” That was it. Before the word was all the way out of his mouth, he returned his attention to the TV. He never looked at his eldest son.

Jesus. They really were a pair, weren’t they? She slipped her other hand to his forearm. I’m right here, she would have said if she could. I’m right here.

Wade nodded, and she wasn’t sure if it was in acknowledgment of his father’s dismissal or her show of support.

The teen girl looked up from her book. “Hi.” She wagged her fingers in a friendly wave. “I’m Lori. Hank’s my dad.” Lori was a sweet-faced, pretty girl with long strawberry-blond hair swept up in a ponytail and light blue eyes. She wore jeans with the cuffs rolled up and a Dr. Who t-shirt.

Daisy smiled, drinking in the warm welcome on the girl’s face. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Wade led her to the loveseat to sit next to Lori while he perched on the arm. “Hey, punkin. You been here all weekend?”

Lori found a bookmark and slid her book under the furniture. “Mom and Todd went to Gatlinburg for a long weekend. It’s his birthday and they couldn’t get away for their anniversary, so they went now. The boys are with their grandparents.”

“Heard from Hank lately?”

The girl’s eyes widened and she nodded. “He wants me to come to Germany and spend Christmas vacation with him. Says he’ll take me to London too.”

Wade let out a low whistle. “That sounds like a damn good way to spend the holidays. Your mom gonna let you go?”

Lori rolled her eyes in the way only a teen girl can. “It took some doing, but yeah. I have to keep my grades up, which, no problem there. Daddy said he would pay for my plane tickets so all I need is spending money. Babysitting and tutoring will take care of that.”

Daisy said, “You tutor?”

Lori nodded. “Keeping the football players in passing grades so they can play is good money.”

Daisy smiled. “I hear you. I do the same thing at the college in Danville.”

Wade shook his head. “While going to school yourself and working at Rocky Top?”

Before Daisy could answer, Chris stuck his head around the doorway. “Lori, Momma wants you to come help her in the kitchen, please.”

“Be right there.” She met Daisy’s eyes. “Don’t show fear.” With that, she left.

Daisy didn’t know whether to laugh or run away. Wade pulled her up from the seat and drew her over to a far corner. The walls there were covered in photo collages, all three Sheppard sons heavily represented. She had no trouble picking out Wade, even as a little boy.

He stood close and spoke quietly. “Hank and her mother were married the autumn after they graduated high school, just before he went to basic. Things were okay between them while he was stationed in the states but that first move to Germany was too much for her. She just flat refused to go. The got divorced. She remarried and they’ve got a couple of boys together. Everybody gets along but it’s not unusual to find Lori over here. Her step-grandparents are kind of intense. Todd’s a Brittain.”

“Wow,” Daisy said. The modern day Brittains were descendants of the town’s founding family.

“They’re not bad, just, you know, intense. Plus they have other grandkids. Over here, Lori’s the only one. Momma dotes on her.”

“Is Hank remarried?” Daisy studied the pictures. They were arranged in more or less chronological order. Sometime during Wade’s teen years, the tension between him and Chris became evident in their facial expressions and body language when photographed together. From there on out, any pictures with all three brothers had Hank in the middle.