“She’s a teacher.”
“Really?” Interest warms his voice. “What kind of teacher?”
I swallow hard. I’m treading on thin ice here. “Elementary school.”
“That’s neat. What grade?”
“Third,” I blurt and then cringe. Lighting is going to strike me down this instant, and I deserve it. As the music teacher, she rotates through all the grades at the elementary school.
He nods. “That’s nice. And you have siblings?”
“One younger brother. He’s an engineer—works at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.” I brace myself, hoping that my mention of the arsenal won’t make Axel think of Bryce. My brother is quite a bit younger than Axel. I wouldn’t think the two of them know each other. Then again, I had no idea that Mom had recruited Axel to perform at the benefit. It just goes to show how much I don’t know.
“Smart guy, huh?”
“Not as smart as he likes to think,” I joke. Thankfully, no mention of Bryce. Axel must not know him.
Axel laughs. The warm, easy sound catches me off guard. “Spoken like a true sister. So, he’s younger?”
“Yep. By three years. How about you?” I’m anxious to shift the conversation to him rather than me. “Any siblings?”
“One sister. Cassie. She’s a nurse.”
I keep my tone neutral. “Oh, that’s great. What kind?” If Cassie had any idea that I was trying to get the scoop on her brother, she’d go off on me.
“She works in a hospital. The emergency room.”
I nod even though I already knew that. “That’s nice.”
“She enjoys it. I’m glad she found her calling.”
Something in his voice makes me wonder if he’s not content with his career. Axel certainly loves music, that’s for sure. Maybe his despondency has to do with his break from the band. I wish he’d be more forthcoming on the subject. “What about your parents?”
“Mom runs a dance studio, and Dad owns a tire store.”
“A tire store, huh?”
He smiles faintly. “Yep. Does pretty well back in Mt. Pleasant.”
“That explains your Corvette. I take it your dad loves cars too?”
“He does.”
“Did you and your dad work on this one together?”
He pauses. “No.”
The air shifts. There’s a story there, something heavy that he’s not ready to share. Axel’s much more complex than I realized. It would seem that the class clown finally grew up.
“What’re you doing for Christmas? Are you spending it in Nashville?”
I hate piling up the lies. “Well, at this point, it looks like I’ll be in Mt. Pleasant for the benefit on Christmas Eve.”
“Yeah, but I figured we could charter a jet to fly there and then get you back here afterward—so you can spend Christmas Day with your family.”
My heart does an odd lurch. “So you’ll just charter a jet?” He makes it sound so casual, like he’s catching a bus rather than spending gobs of money on a plane.
“I will.”
