She grinned at me. “Oh, they were. But I guess watchingXenareruns with my dad was enough for me at the time.”
“Xena, huh? I can see you wielding a sword with a breastplate.”
She snickered. “Oh, I dreamed about it. She was so tall and badass. I was all legs and arms. However, the long fingers worked out for learning the piano.”
I reached around her and lifted her hand. Her long fingers were bejeweled with gold rings that sparkled in the light. “I used to pause outside the music room to listen to you sometimes.”
“Really?” She closed the book around her finger on her other hand to hold the page.
“Yeah. I used to cut over through that hallway after gym class. Sometimes it was guitar, sometimes it was piano, but I couldn’t help stopping for a few seconds to hear what you were doing. I never recognized the songs.”
“Because they were mine.”
“You wrote your own music back then too?”
“Around twelve, I started coming up with melodies. At first my brother thought I was ripping off songs I heard on the radio.”
“There’re only so many chords, right?”
She laughed. “That’s true. But gosh, it consumed me back then.”
“It doesn’t anymore?”
She was quiet for a minute as I toyed with her fingers. “When I let it.”
“What does that mean?”
“Producers and managers get in my head sometimes. They see something is hot out there and want a dozen more of them instead of something new and different. It’s hard to push back against that and still keep the fire in my belly for a new song. Especially when I’m tired. Sometimes it’s easier to give up.”
“That sounds like it can be stifling.”
She looked over her shoulder. “God, don’t repeat that.” She started to get up.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to run and tell that to a reporter, I promise.”
She sagged against me. “Sorry. I—” She cut herself off.
“Had it happen before?”
She opened the book. “Let’s just read, okay?”
“Okay.”
We read more than a quarter of the book when a voice came over the speaker for last call. I hefted my bulk out of the chair and groaned a little on the way up.
She smiled up at me. “Still recovering from the haunted maze?”
“And hours of pouring cement pads today.” I held a hand out to her.
“I’m not sure what that means.” She yelped when I hauled her up and she stumbled against me.
“My plans for the Haven Winter Wonderland include quite a few structures that need a foundation.”
“Oh, I see. Kinda.”
“Backbreaking, dirty work.”
She grinned up at me. “I think you might love it.”
