“Did I say the first night I met you that you would if you wanted to?” I asked him, throwing a question right back at him.
I heard Ruby giggle behind me. She must have been remembering a similar conversation we’d had about not believing what I say and thought this to be funny.
Jett’s voice was hesitant. “Yes.”
“Well then, there you have it,” I told the kid.
“Okay, cool.” He looked over at his sister. “Is it okay if someone comes over to practice for a bit?” He’d asked a little late since the monitor in the shop alerted us to someone driving through the gate right then.
We all watched as a young girl exited the car and walked through the door that Ruby hadn’t shut behind her.
“Oh, sorry to interrupt,” a soft female voice said. “I can go.”
I glanced at Jett and he looked sheepish and embarrassed. He hadn’t known that I’d be around or that his sister would be out in his space when his company arrived. He’d also already told the girl she could come before asking.
Ruby didn’t seem to mind, but she did look stunned when I turned to her.
Jett finally kicked into gear before the girl could leave and ran over to her. “No, it’s okay, they were about to leave.”
I laughed not only at Jett scrambling to figure out how to handle the situation but also at Ruby’s confused expression. I jumped in to help everyone out.
Walking over to the two teens, I held out my hand. “I’m Lyric.”
She took my hand in hers as she turned her gaze on Jett. “This is the guy you told me about?”
I looked at Jett, surprised he had mentioned me, but when she went on to make sure she knew for sure and said my parents’ names, I realized it was all because of them. That’s okay, I was always proud to be their son and their accomplishments made me proud.
Jett nodded. “Yeah, this is him. And that is my sister Ruby,” he said.
The girl dropped my hand and held one out toward Ruby who finally seemed to get her wits about her and joined the conversation.
“You guys, this is my friend Patience.” Jett ducked his head slightly as his cheeks turned red.
Something told me there might be more than friendship going on even if the kids didn’t admit it. Or there was at least a powerful connection between the two, maybe because of their love for music. Patience had a girl-next-door look to her, seemed friendly, and was into music so I could see the appeal she’d have on a young guy like Jett. But he must not have mentioned her to his sister.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Ruby said as they dropped hands. “So, you like music?”
“Love it,” she answered, smiling big. “I’ve been playing guitar and singing since I was walking, I think.”
“She’s amazing and writes her own songs too,” Jett added, pride in his tone.
Patience blushed but you could tell she ate up the compliment.
Everyone fell into a short silence and once again I decided to save them from the slightly awkward moment.
“Well you two have fun, we need to get back in the house,” I told the kids as I put my hand on Ruby’s back to guide her away.
Both the kids called out goodbye and Patience said it was nice to meet us. When we exited the building, I pulled the door shut behind us and kept moving toward the house. When we reached the porch Ruby stopped and so I did too.
She was adorable.
I laughed. “I take it you have never seen your brother with a girl before?”
“Nope. Jett is so moody at times and has only ever had a few of his pals around here. Do you think they are just friends?” Her eyes filled with panic.
A deep laugh rumbled out of me. “Ruby, your brother is eighteen. I’m sure he’s been aware of girls for some time.”
The sigh she let out rippled through me. I wanted to pull her close, cover her mouth with mine, and swallow the sound she made.
