Free Whisky Melody: Rock Star Romance, New Adult College Romance (Tennessee Romance Book 2) by Lexy Timms

rubbed her arms with hands that had suddenly chilled. “I see. So you think if I ask him to let you back into the band, he will?”
    Charlie grimaced. “I don’t think. I know , Ashley. He won’t ever let me back in unless you say it is okay. That night when we were kids, Logan was fighting to protect his mom. He’s in this thing with me now to protect you.”
    “I don’t need anyone to protect me, not even from you.”
    Charlie scrunched up his face. “No shit, but he’s a guy. There’s male pride at stake. He thinks he has to protect you, even if he secretly knows you can stand up for yourself.”
    Guys , she thought, shaking her head at their ridiculous egos. She was truly desperate to put an end to all the drama, nonsense, and misunderstandings, because she simply had no room on her plate for it, but she truly didn’t want to get in the middle of any of Charlie’s relationships with anyone. “I’m sorry, Charlie, but I won’t be the go-between for you and him. If you want back in, you have to ask him yourself. You need to ask yourself why you left in the first place.” She sucked in a deep breath. “You also need to tell him you put up the money for the Royale registration fee. It’s not fair to make me keep secrets from him.”
    “I know, but—”
    She felt she’d done enough listening and wanted her turn to speak, so she cut in, “It’s not fair to ask me to intervene either. Tell him you want back in, and I’ll tell him it’s cool with me. Otherwise, no dice.”
    He groaned. “Come on, Ashley! Can’t you do me this one solid? You know I’m good for the band.”
    She wanted to scream, but instead she said, “I am doing you a solid, Charlie. He’s your brother, and it’s not good for either of us to keep secrets from him. You have to tell him…or I will.”
    “Tell who, what?” Kaylee asked, her voice low and deadly. She stood in the doorway, one hand resting on the frame. Her eyes went from Charlie to Ashley, bouncing back and forth like she was watching a tennis match. “Just what the hell’s going on here?”
    “Nothing,” Ashley said, none too happy that she would now have to explain Charlie’s presence in their dorm room. She knew Kaylee, who was already pissed at her over that near-assault, would surely take that as a sign of something else.
    Ashley’s worries became a self-fulfilling prophecy when Kaylee slammed the door and advanced into the room. Ashley knew she had to head her off at the pass, but she wasn’t sure how. She wanted to tell her everything that had just been said, but she knew damn well that Charlie had never told Kaylee any of it. Even before drugs started stealing her brain cells, Kaylee had never been much of a listener. She had never been much for sympathy either, and empathy was beyond her.
    Even though she was Kaylee’s cousin, Ashley realized in that moment that she really didn’t like the girl very much, even if she did love her because she was family. Because of their family connection, she had disregarded a lot of the stuff that bothered her: The selfishness and the constant bragging about how much money her folks had, but she’d let it slide. She didn’t put much thought into her gloating over her designer clothes and many material possessions. She’d ignored Kaylee’s undeniably immature, bratty behavior for years because that was just how Kaylee was, and everyone knew it. Nobody else seemed to mind, so she’d never minded much either. Now she realized she actually minded a whole lot—so much that she wanted to tackle her right there in the middle of their dorm and smack some sense into her.
    “Kaylee, chill out,” Ashley said, as calmly as she could.
    Kaylee advanced on them. “Chill out? Did you just tell me to chill out? The two of you are in here fucking, and I’m supposed to be cool with that?”
    “What?” Ashley cried, looking down at her fully-dressed self. “How can you even think that after—” she began, but before she