Music of the Heart (4 page)

seconds, she raised her head and scanned our faces. “Yeah, one sec.” She handed the phone to

Brayden. “He wants to know your tour schedule, so I’ll be able to get off the bus and onto a plane as

soon as possible.”

He nodded as he took the phone and stepped away from us. “Hey Gabe, this is Brayden

Vandenburg, and don’t worry, man, I’m gonna take good care of Abby until we can get her back to

you guys—” He jerked back like he had been stunned. “That was
so
not what I meant. Besides, I’m a

married man. Now here’s where we are…” His voice trailed off as he walked down the aisle.

Rhys patted Abby’s back reassuringly. “Hey, don’t worry. It’s going to be okay.”

With her head buried in her hands, she mumbled. “Thanks. I hope so.”

Edging Rhys out of the way, I knelt down beside Abby. Taking her chin in my hands, I pulled her

head up to meet my gaze. “Don’t sweat it, Angel. Your brother and Bray will figure it out. I promise

we’ll have you back to your civilized little world as soon as possible and before you can get too

traumatized by being in our presence.”

She smacked my hand away. “What do you mean civilized?”

I shrugged. “I just meant that it’s obvious you’re used to a certain way of life.”

Her blonde brows shot up so far I thought they might reach her white headband. “Are you

insinuating that I’m some spoiled little brat who is used to having everyone bow to her every whim?”

“Maybe.”

Abby narrowed her eyes at me. “My parents were missionaries. Do you even understand what that

means?”

A smirk curved at my lips. “I know all about the missionary position, Angel. In fact, I believe I

was trying to acquaint you with it earlier when you cock blocked me.”

“You’re seriously disgusting!” she cried popping up out of her chair. She almost toppled me over

before I could stand up. She poked her finger into my chest. “I’ll have you know that I’m not some

prima donna who can’t survive without someone taking care of me. The lives of missionaries and

their families are very simplistic, so trust me when I say, I’ve seen a lot of hard shit. Yeah, we lived

in major cities like Rio in Brazil and Guadalajara in Mexico, but I’ve also tromped through the

jungles and gone days without showers, least of all cell phones and WiFi. So I can assure you that

there’s nothing you and your band of merry miscreants can do that would shock or scare me!”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please. You fucking passed out at the sight of the guys, not to mention that

you flipped and got your lacy panties all in a twist when I made out with you.”

“Are you trying to say that I couldn’t make it on this bus?” she countered.

I cocked my head at her. “Come on, Angel. You would die a thousand deaths if you even had to

stay one night on here with us and our raging sex drives, atrocious language, and bad table manners.”

“You seem to forget I have three older brothers. I’m well acquainted with unruly guys.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I smirked down at her. “So you’re saying if you had the chance to

get off the bus in the next few hours, you wouldn’t?”

She inched forward, standing toe to toe with me. “Are you saying I don’t have the courage to

stay?”

“Yeah, I am.”

AJ held up his hands. “Whoa, what the fuck do you two think you’re doing?”

“What are the terms for me to prove myself to you?” Abby asked.

Without even thinking, I blurted, “One week on the bus.”

Her tough-as-nails resolve wavered a little. “One week?” she squeaked, her voice cracking.

Rhys tried pushing us apart. “Okay, that’s really funny, but you two can stop now,” he argued.

When neither of us backed down, he said, “Let me remind you that Abby has a tour she needs to be

on, and we have one as well. No one has to prove anything to anyone, okay?”

I tore my gaze from Abby’s to glare at him. “This isn’t anything to you, man. This is between me

and Angel.”

“It’s Abby,” she growled.

I arched my brows at her. “So what’s it gonna be,
Angel
?”

Fury flashed in her blue eyes before she whirled around. She stomped over to Brayden and

snatched the phone away from him. “Gabe, there’s been a change of plans.”

***

“Are you insane?” Gabe sputtered into my ear. His voice had risen an octave since I had taken the

phone from Brayden and informed him about the bet. I edged away from the guys to where I was

practically back in the bedroom I had fled from not twenty minutes before.

Once I felt I was sufficiently out of earshot, I replied, “No, I’m perfectly sane, thank you very

much.”

I was on speaker phone with all the boys again because Eli came at me next. “Look, Abster, we all

know when your temper gets the better of you and when you’re doing the spoiled baby girl ‘I’m used

to getting my way’ act. But this isn’t one of us you’re fighting with—this is a mega rockstar

douchebag! Trust me, you don’t owe Jake Slater a damn thing. You won’t ever see him again after

today, so I would advise you to get over this dumbass bet notion and get the hell off the bus!
Now
!”

“Why Matthew Elijah Renard, don’t tell me you’re cussing at me now? And with some of your

infamous exploits with girls on and off tour how is that any different than with Jake? I mean, whatever

would Mom and Dad say?” I chided into the phone.

“Don’t get sassy with me, Abigail Elizabeth!” he countered.

I exhaled noisily and leaned back against the wall. “Come on guys. A tour is a tour. This is all a

learning experience, so in the end, I think this would be a good opportunity for me.”

Eli groaned. “An opportunity for what? To be degraded, ogled, and potentially seduced into one or

more of their STD infested beds?”

Rolling my eyes, I replied, “No, I think it would be good to see the inner-workings of another

band. And I think you’re being very unfair and judgmental about the guys.” Okay, so maybe he was

right on the mark about all of them but Brayden thinking that way, but I wouldn’t give in and let Eli

know that—I would never hear the end of it.

“Abby, you’re a twenty-one-year-old virgin who has no experience with men outside the two

relationships you’ve had with youth group leaders who probably never got past first base with you.”

“Ha, I’ll have you know it was second with Paul!” The moment the words left my lips, I cringed.

The last thing I needed was my brothers knowing my sexual past…or lack thereof.

“I think my eyes need bleaching with the mental image I just got,” Gabe moaned.

“Whatever,” I grumbled.

Eli snorted into the phone. “Regardless of what you’ve done or not done, since we are guys and

have dicks, I think we know a little more about what Runaway Train is thinking about you right now,

and all of them, but maybe the married one, wants to screw you!” he snapped.

I gasped at the same time I heard a smack on the other line. “Don’t talk like that in front of her,”

Micah admonished. I was glad to finally hear his voice. He was the shyest of boys, the deep thinker,

and the one with a tender heart and soul as deep as the ocean. “What about you, Mike?” I asked.

He sighed deeply. “While I share some of the boys’ apprehension, I also try to look at this through

a greater scheme of events. You’re a bright light, Abby, and who knows the good you might do with

those guys in the short time you have with Runaway Train.”

“Exactly. I mean, Mom and Dad brought us up to give people from all walks of life and

circumstances a chance, right?”

Before Micah could reply, Eli laughed manically. “If you think for one minute that
Dad
is going to

be okay with you on a bus with four hard-core rockers, you have lost your freakin’ mind.”

The mention of our father doused my confidence. Oh jeez, what had I done? He was going to kill

me. Twenty-one or not, overprotective fathers never seem to fully realize that their daughters were

grown adults.

At my silence, Micah said, “Don’t worry, Abby. I’ll talk to him and try to smooth things over. At

the end of the day, we all know your true character. We know that you’re capable of doing this and

not succumbing to temptation. Right?”

“Well, duh, of course.”

“Then I look forward to seeing you in a week.”

“Me too, Mike.”

He exhaled noisily into the phone. “But don’t think for a minute I won’t be calling in to check on

you every day—maybe twice.”

I laughed. “I wouldn’t expect any less of you.”

“Love ya, Baby Girl.”

“Love you, too.” When the other guys were silent, I added, “And I love you too, Gabe and Eli even

though you’re being jerkfaces!”

A deep chuckle came from Eli. “You know we love you, Abster. You’ve been a sweet pain in the

ass since the moment Mom brought you home from the hospital.”

“Thanks a lot,” I grumbled.

“If one of those douchebags dares to lay even a finger on you, I’m totally forgetting the turn the

other cheek message, and I’ll pound his ass, got it?” Gabe growled.

I grinned as I shook my head. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to pass on your message.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Okay then. I guess this is goodbye for now.”

A deep chorus of “Byes” echoed around me before I hung up the phone. Cradling it to my chest, a

tremble went through me when the enormity of what I had done finally crashed over me. I had made a

bet with the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train to stay on their bus for an entire

week. What the hell had I been thinking? I blew out a frustrated breath. Well, no time for worrying

about it now. As my mom would say, I’d made my bed, and I had to lie in it.

I moaned at the thought of bed and sleeping arrangements. I mean, where was I going to sleep? I

hoped to goodness it wasn’t going to have to be with one of the guys. I gazed around the roosts,

counting them in my head. There were two extra ones if one of the guys slept in the bedroom. Phew,

okay, at least I wouldn’t be sharing a bed with Mr. Octopus Arms Slater.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself off the wall and headed back down the hallway. The guys

were lounging around the table when I came back up the aisle. “Is everything okay?” Brayden asked,

his expression one of deep concern.

“Um, well, as good as it can be considering my brothers think I’ve lost my mind for consenting to a