“I’m drawn to you, intoxicated by you and don’t want to go, but I have to work.” Mick let go and left the bed. “But I’d rather be here.”
“I wish you’d stick around, but we have things to do and that doesn’t mean I can’t be here waiting for you.” Evan sat up. He wasn’t ready for the night to end. “Mick?”
“Yeah?” Mick strode into the bathroom, then poked his head out. “What’s wrong?”
Evan donned his underwear. His heart hammered as he crossed the room to Mick. “Mick?” His hands shook. He had so many things he wanted to say, but wasn’t sure how or if he could.
“Yeah?” Mick stood before the mirror in his trousers. He wiped his face with a washcloth. “Are you okay? You’re pale.”
“I love you.” Holy fucking shit. He’d said it. When they were in school, he wouldn’t have spoken to Mick for fear everyone would know he was gay. When he’d first come back to Cedarwood, he’d thought he and Mick would brawl instead of coming together. But he’d known his heart and the shiver that ran the length of his body. No one made him feel the way Mick did. He’d never been this confident, either. He couldn’t see his life without Mick.
Mick froze. “What?”
That wasn’t the response he’d expected. He hoped Mick would admit he felt the same way. He thought the connection between them ran deep. “I love you, Mick.” Maybe he hadn’t heard Evan right. That had to be the case.
“You don’t know my full name, my favorite color or favorite food.” Mick’s shoulders sank. “Where I was born…if I’m allergic to anything or if I had dreams beyond Cedarwood.”
He didn’t need the answers to those questions to know his heart. “My name is Evan James Conley. My favorite color is red and I love to eat home-made noodles. I was born here in Cedarwood at the hospital and I’m allergic to mornings. My dreams were to make it big in the music business and make my family proud.”
“Evan.” Mick shrugged into his shirt. “We need time.”
“We’ve got time.” He stood in the doorway, blocking Mick’s path of escape. “We can date or whatever and you can know I love you. I’ve never felt like this before with anyone else outside of my family. You’re part of my family and I love having you here.”
Mick smiled, but the light didn’t meet his eyes. “I like you, Evan.”
Liar. He knew Mick better than Mick realized. Mick was afraid of his feelings. No wonder. He’d been hurt by others and expected Evan to screw him over, too.
“I need to go.” Mick ducked under Evan’s arm and left the bathroom. He picked up the rest of his clothes. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” His heart broke a little. He’d fallen hard for Mick and didn’t need tons of details to know they belonged together. The chat with Remy had set him straight. He loved Mick. He trusted Mick would come around because their connection was strong. Soon, Mick would realize they were meant to be and he’d trust their bond. All Evan had to do was wait and continue to love Mick.
* * * *
The next day, Evan drove a load of manure across the barn to the manure spreader. The job wasn’t his favorite, but the cows needed a fresh area to exist in the barn. He’d have Tommy spread the manure on the baled field once he finished filling the hopper.
As he turned the tractor around, Evan glanced out through the back doors to the road. A bus drove along the front of the farm. Unlike the rest of the traffic, this vehicle was going slowly…like the driver was lost. He chuckled. He should give the driver directions, but that meant leaving the barn. Maybe later. The image of the bus stuck in his mind. His tour bus looked an awful lot like it, with the bright blue stripe along the side and shiny chrome accents. His had his name stenciled on the blue paint. He scooped another load of manure, then drove to the front of the building again. The bus drove down the lane.
Evan dumped his load, then stopped the tractor. What the hell? He left the silent implement, then pointed to Tommy. “Go ahead and spread it.”
Tommy blazed off, leaving Evan with the cattle. Evan strode to the front of the barn, then to the lane where the bus had stopped. He walked the short distance over to the bus. A taxi stopped behind the massive vehicle.
Evan wiped his hands on his pant legs and spotted his name in the blue paint. His. His heart skipped a beat because he missed life on the road, but then his heart fell. Well, shit. Why would the bus be at the farm? To convince him to go back on tour?
His former manager, Lawrence, stepped out of the bus. Arnold, Evan’s regular driver, followed. Lawrence stopped, but waved Arnold on.
Evan approached Arnold, but his former manager held up his hands and put himself between the two men.
“Hi.” Evan frowned. “Am I missing something? Being shunned? I wanted to say it’s good to see you.”
Arnold shrugged then made his way over to the taxi.
Lawrence sighed before plopping a set of keys into Evan’s hand. “These are yours.”
“Mine?” He toyed with the keys. “How?” He didn’t understand what was going on. “Why are you doing this?”
“I no longer represent you,” Lawrence said. “And I’m not interested in babysitting your shit. If you’re not going on tour, then you won’t need the bus, but since you paid for it, I’m leaving it here. I don’t care what you do with it. Turn it into a camper. Rent it out. Whatever you do, it’s now your problem.”
“Lawrence, stop.” Evan tucked the keys into his front pocket. “I’m not touring and you don’t want to be responsible. Aren’t you
