Free Melodies of the Heart: A Pinewood Grove Sweet Romance by Sarah Paisley Page A

their way to the state park , Kassidy thought as she listened to the noise swell around her. On a beautiful day in May, it was a common sight to see people on their bikes headed toward the campground for the weekend.
    It wasn’t until she saw the motorcycle that she realised it wasn’t just some biker on his way through town. It was too familiar and her heart clenched as she realised it was Levi that was about to go right by her.
    It was easy to convince herself that he was going to drive right past her. That he would ride out of town and out of her life for good. She’d gotten her chance and wasted it, and now he was headed back to his real life.
    But she was wrong. He didn’t just keep riding down the street and off into the horizon. Instead, he pulled over to the side of the road, not five feet from where she sat eating her lunch, and turned off the heavy machine.
    “Hey,” he said as he pulled off his helmet. His dark brown hair fell almost too easily back into place and his dark brown eyes met hers.
    “Um, hi,” she said while she tried not to get her hopes up.
    “You okay?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he looked at her.
    “Fine,” she insisted once she swallowed the bite she was working on. “What’s up?” It was a struggle for her to appear like she didn’t care, and at least she could blame her choked voice on the sandwich.
    “Well,” he told her as he got off the bike. “I got you something.”
    “Oh?” she asked, too nervous to stand. If she got to her feet, her knees would be shaking and she didn’t want him to see just how nervous she really was.
    He didn’t answer her attempt at a question. Instead, he went into one of the saddlebags of his bike and pulled out a shiny, robin’s egg blue dome. It was only when he handed it to her that Kassidy realised it was a motorcycle helmet.
    “Oh!” she mumbled, suddenly a little more relieved.
    “So you want to go for a ride?” he asked as he held out his hand to her.
    She barely even let herself think of it before she said, “Yes.”
    The bakery wasn’t busy and her parents could handle it. This was what she wanted and she wasn’t going to turn him down again.
    It was harder than she expected to get on the back of his bike, and as he kicked it to life, her fingers instinctively dug into his waist. She’d never been on the back of a bike – she hadn’t even been comfortable riding a bicycle as a kid – and her fingers only dug in harder as they began to move back down Main Street.
    By time they made it out of town and onto the highway, she wasn’t even scared anymore. Her fingers still dug into Levi’s waist, but it wasn’t because she was afraid. The thrill of being on the bike with him was unlike anything she’d ever known and she loved every second of it.
    The highway flew by through the shaded visor of her new helmet. Thrill and joy overwhelmed her, but a new thought wiggled its way into her mind. If the bike was fixed, that meant that Levi would be going back on the road soon. He would promise to write or something, but that would be the end of it and she needed to be prepared to say good-bye.
    By time they pulled over to the side of the road at a rest stop, that little thought had become a big worry and Kassidy didn’t want to take her helmet off for fear of him seeing all her emotions on her face.
    Still, she took the beautiful gift off and let her long hair flow freely behind her. She wanted to get back on that bike and ride with him forever, but she had a feeling he’d taken her out there to say their good-byes.
    “That was fun,” she said as she leaned on a guard rail. The rest stop overlooked the edge of the state park twenty feet below them and she kept her eyes on that to avoid looking at Levi.
    “I’m glad you liked it,” he told her as he moved to her side.
    “So,” she said, trying to force her voice to a calm stillness. “Now that your bike is fixed I assume you’ll be leaving.”
    “I never said that,”