Free BrightBlueMoon by Ranae Rose

something that would keep her moving.
    Going for a walk was out of the question. Jack wanted her and the rest of the pack to stay out of the woods for the night, ensuring that they wouldn’t run into the film crew.
    Not that she particularly wanted to go traipsing through the forest on her own after dark, anyway. With a shudder, she remembered what had happened to poor Braden Spencer. Thinking of what she and Michael had found – what Braden’s fiancée must be going through – always ensured a burst of heartsickness. Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky as she had been, being reunited with Michael.
    And that brought a whole new slew of mind-churning thoughts. She was leaving the mountains the next day – heading back to Nashville. Before she departed, she’d be having dinner at Mandy and Jack’s cabin. The whole pack would be there, plus her and Michael. Which meant that morning would be her only real chance for alone time with him, her only opportunity to discuss what she’d been putting off for the past week.
    She had to make the best of it. Had to finally sort things out – the strange, emotionally-charged honeymoon week she and Michael had just spent together, enjoying each other’s company in the mountains, was ending. And she wouldn’t carry any uncertainty back to the city, wouldn’t walk away from the new reality her eyes had been opened to without knowing – for once – what the future held.
    “Breakfast,” she sighed, eyeing the refrigerator. She and Michael would have breakfast together the next day, at least – they might as well make it a special one. He’d mentioned fried tomatoes – she could pick up things to make those and more. They’d cook up a storm in the morning … then figure things out over breakfast. Grabbing her purse and keys, she left the cabin behind.
    It took her half an hour to get to the grocery / department store. It was part of a large chain, the kind that carried a little bit of everything. Inside, she grabbed a cart and turned it in the direction of the food aisles just as something else caught her eye.
    Slowly, she wheeled her cart around, drawn to the display set up in front of the pharmacy area. The acoustic guitars resting there were nothing special – they were being sold at a grocery store, after all – but they brought back memories that resonated, filling every corner of her mind.
    She could still see Michael on that stage, knew his fingertips were still calloused, even if it was only from living rough now, not from guitar strings. When was the last time he’d played? Doubtlessly, it had been a while. It wasn’t like he could’ve toted around a guitar while on the run. And yet, he’d loved the instrument back when she’d first known him.
    On an impulse, she picked up one of the guitars and lowered it into her cart. It was on sale, extremely cheap – too good of a deal to turn down, even if it wasn’t anywhere near the quality of the instrument he’d once cherished. That guitar had been luxurious – the one expensive item Michael had owned. And after his disappearance, when Mandy had been a baby, Kimberly had been forced to sell it in order to buy diapers. The memory still hurt, even now – giving the instrument up had torn her heart in half.
    This supermarket bargain didn’t compare, but still,   maybe if she bought it for him, he’d start playing again. Maybe music could play a role in building a bridge between their old life together and the new one they’d been given a chance at.
    Smiling, she wound her way through the aisles, picking up tomatoes, a fresh package of bacon, orange juice and even some potatoes for hashbrowns. By the time she neared the check-out area, she’d given up browsing the food selection in favor of observing the other shoppers.
    The store wasn’t overly-crowded, but there were still people in every direction she looked. Undoubtedly a mix of locals and tourists, they piled their selections in their carts. It was