Free In Your Honor by Heidi Hutchinson Page B

about
something.” Lucy stuck her hands in her pockets and faced him
directly. “I'm not here for you. I'm here because Taylor is my
friend.”
    “ I know.” He was so stoic
that she was taken aback. Where was the sarcastic comeback? Where
was the belligerent attitude that she knew so well from
him?
    “ And you promised...” Lucy
didn't finish the sentence because she actually didn't want to
remind him. As much trouble as they caused one another, she still
wanted him around. She wanted to see him and be near him. Even if
it was the worst idea in the world.
    “ I'll stay away.” He
paused, like there was more to say, but instead he nodded at her
and walked away.
    She watched his back and wondered if
she was doing the right thing. How long could a storm be in stasis
before lightning struck? Would they survive it and come out better
on the other side? Or would they both be destroyed by their own
recklessness?
     

Chapter 5
Southern Accent

    The first couple of days on the road, Lucy
was too busy to even notice that Blake wasn't around. The nonstop
movement of the tour took her breath away. She wasn't as
overwhelmed as she had feared she would be, but it was still vastly
different from her normal day-to-day life back home.
    She missed her dad. And the diner. And the
predictability of her routine. But the thrill of being onstage and
performing her heart out nearly every night was a decent enough
trade-off. She'd known she was going to get homesick, she just
hadn't expected it so soon was all.
    Lenny seemed to sense her loneliness and had
started to invite her along on different excursions. Lucy went
along gratefully, needing the distraction. The long hours on the
bus surrounded by only Taylor, Chad and Stuart were great for
writing music, practicing, and poop jokes, but Lucy couldn't
survive on that. She needed real human interaction. And Lenny
provided that, along with the occasional adventure.
    Lucy was only a little surprised at their
fast-formed friendship. She enjoyed Lenny's forthrightness and lack
of fear. It made Lucy feel braver and more important than she was.
And Lenny seemed to think that Lucy was hilarious, so they got
along quite well.
    “ When we get to New York, I have to
meet a friend and I want you to come with,” Lenny said as she
licked the whipped topping off of the top of her mocha. It had
become their habit to find a coffee shop in every town they parked
in and order the biggest, hottest mocha they could find while they
planned what to do next. The sugar rush was also a great
bonus.
    “ Okay,” Lucy agreed easily. “Are they
famous?” she asked curiously. Lenny never name-dropped, but it was
common knowledge she had access to some pretty exclusive circles of
celebrities and athletes.
    “ Not to me.” Lenny smiled slightly.
“He's started his own line of snowboards and he wants to meet with
me to discuss a business partnership.”
    “ Have you decided if you're going to
compete next year?” Lucy tentatively tasted her hot drink, burning
the tip of her tongue.
    “ I've been talking about it with Luke
a lot. I hate being away from him for that long, but he thinks that
this tour will be big enough that they can take most of next year
off.”
    “ I keep forgetting that he's his own
boss,” Lucy mused as she looked out the window of the cafe at the
passing traffic.
    “ Don't tell Carl that,” Lenny pointed
out.
    “ I think Carl hates me,” Lucy
deadpanned, and then grinned as Lenny almost spit coffee through
her nose in amusement.
    “ Why do you think that?” she asked
when she'd recovered.
    “ He's always growling and frowning
when he's around me.” Lucy scowled and turned her mouth down to
demonstrate.
    “ That's just Carl,” Lenny reasoned,
shaking her head with a smile. “He was born grumpy.” She took
another drink of her mocha and Lucy could see the question behind
her eyes and wondered if she would ask this time.
    They had had numerous conversations,
but Lenny had always