He smiled again and Cheyenne’s chest loosened.
“Good. Looks like we’ve got more than just a beautiful face and an incredible voice to work with.”
“Work with?” she asked.
“You interested in doin’ this gig full-time? Maybe in front of some bigger audiences? Somethin’ with fewer fists bein’ thrown?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Then I think we might become good friends.”
Cheyenne didn’t know exactly what that meant, but she had an idea.
Glancing over at Travis, she noticed he was watching the two of them as they talked. His expression was blank and she wondered whether that was the way he looked all the time.
“I’d like that,” Cheyenne finally forced herself to say, turning her attention back to Clayton. “I’d like to be friends.”
“I think we both have this guy to thank for our new friendship, then,” Clayton said as he clapped Travis on the back. “Guy always has had a knack for bein’ in the right place at the right time.”
Travis grumbled something that sounded like, “I wouldn’t go that far.”
Cheyenne wouldn’t argue with Clayton in that regard. Come to think of it, she wouldn’t argue with him period.
A total stranger had just turned her world completely upside down. And oddly enough, that was after he’d come to her rescue. If this happened to be her big break, she wasn’t sure whether or not she’d ever be able to repay Travis Walker, but Cheyenne vowed right then and there that she’d do her damnedest. If things went the way she hoped, she would truly be indebted to him for the rest of her life.
And she didn’t mind that one single bit.
chapter ONE
May
“Surprise!”
“Welcome home!”
Cheyenne’s hand came to rest over her heart as the damn organ threatened to crack through a rib. A startled laugh escaped her when she noticed the people standing in the living room of the house she now called home—the house that was still in the process of being remodeled and wasn’t in any way ready for this. A freaking party.
Heavens.
“Wow. This is … Wow.” Cheyenne fought the tears that threatened as she scanned the many faces of the people she’d come to call friends over the last couple of years. Every one of them standing in her in-need-of-a-good-cleaning house staring back at her with huge, proud grins on their faces.
Yep, they’d gotten her good with this one.
Kylie was the first to come to Cheyenne’s side, pulling her in for a friendly hug. “Sorry. I tried to get them to hold off until the remodel was finished, but we’re all just so happy you’ve moved in.” Lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper that could be heard by all, she added, “They’re a pushy bunch.”
Cheyenne laughed. Pushy? That was an understatement when it came to the Walker family.
“I take it you had a hand in this?” Cheyenne asked, turning to Lorrie, the Walker matriarch. Come to think of it … it all made sense now. Cheyenne had been a tad surprised when Lorrie called that morning and asked if she would take her to the mall.
Yes. Take her. Like the determined older woman wasn’t capable of taking herself to the mall. Lorrie was probably the most active person Cheyenne knew. She was also the kindest, which was why Cheyenne hadn’t been able to tell her no, and off to the mall they’d gone in search of … get this … a birthday present for Sawyer, who would be turning the big three-five in just a couple of weeks. It would’ve made more sense for Lorrie to take Kennedy, the love of Sawyer’s life, also known as his fiancée, with her to pick out his gift. Sure, Cheyenne knew Sawyer, but not well. They’d talked plenty of times when she was in town, but certainly not in depth. Not enough for Cheyenne to have any clue what to buy him for his birthday.
After two and a half hours at the mall, she’d learned the guy wasn’t easy to buy for, either.
Or maybe he was and that had been part of the ruse to get Cheyenne out of the house for a few hours on a Saturday when the only thing she had planned to do was attempt to get her house in some sort of order now that she had officially moved in.
Lorrie merely smiled, that sweet, innocent look that might fool others. Those who loved the woman—Cheyenne included—knew her better than that.
“We’re just happy to have you here, honey,” Lorrie said softly, squeezing Cheyenne’s wrist lovingly.
“Thank you.” Cheyenne refused to cry, so she forced a smile.
It’d been a long, painful journey for her to get to this point in her life, and to think she was only twenty-five years old. But she wasn’t about to dwell on the pain that had inhabited her world since she was old enough to figure out for herself that life wasn’t always beautiful.