Saved By You (25 page)

Haden rested his foot on one of the rungs at the bottom of the stool. He propped the guitar on his knee, and he held his hands on the end of the fret board. His fiery green eyes were locked on me the whole time. He looked nervous as he watched my reaction. I didn’t know what to think—I didn’t know what was going on.

Kyle pulled a cordless mike from his pocket, and waited for the other two to get situated. When they were, he handed the mike to Haden. All eyes were on him as he fidgeted with the thing, looking even more uncomfortable, still.

Haden tapped the mike a few times, making sure it was on. The sound thrummed loudly from the speakers.

He flashed a nervous smile at everyone, and held it up.

“Most of you probably don’t know who I am,” he began. “I’ve only been in town a couple weeks.” He looked around before continuing. “I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Simpson about a week ago,” he continued. “And, even though it was only the once, she left a lasting impression on me. She was warm and kind.” He paused, and glanced at me with the nervous look in his eye. “While I didn’t get to talk to her very long, she did make a request. She heard that I knew how to play the guitar, and she asked that I play this song when the time was right.” He gave another nervous smile at everyone, then glanced at Kyle and Uncle Larry. “I hope she won’t mind that I’ve asked a couple friends to help me out.”

With that, he handed the mike back to Kyle. The church was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone’s attention was focused on the three men at the front of the room.

Kyle looked at the two guitarists, and then started snapping his fingers. He counted them down with four soft beats.

Haden and Uncle Larry started strumming the guitars at the same time. They played different parts of the same song—Uncle Larry strummed along with some basic chords while Haden’s fingers danced around the fret board. Everyone in the congregation recognized the song before Kyle even started singing. It was an old church song that everyone knew, but Haden breathed new life into it with the way he played. I could feel my pulse racing as Kyle lifted the mike close to his mouth.

“
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved, a wretch, like me.
”

It was the first time I’d ever heard Kyle sing in person. His voice was powerful. With all eyes on him, it was like he was a different person. He didn’t resemble the guy that had been such an asshole to me when we first met. I was beginning to realize that his entire attitude had been an act just to get rid of me.

When they came to the end of the short song, they seamlessly circled back to the beginning. By the time Kyle started singing again, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Uncle Larry fumbled the chords a few times, but you could only tell because his face turned beet red. Haden and Kyle were mesmerizing together, and the second pass at the song was even more powerful than the first.

When it was time to loop around for a third time, Kyle lowered the mike to his side, and he took a subtle step back. All eyes shifted to Haden as his back arched upward and he took the lead.

A quiet chant rose up through the church as everyone sang the song to themselves. Kyle patted his leg with his hand, thumping out a gentle beat. His body swayed along with everyone singing.

Haden’s fingers moved fast along the fret board, yet he managed to hold each note for just the right amount of time. He repeated patterns in different ways, and mixed in parts of the melody as everyone sang. Everything was perfect, and by the time they neared the end of the song, I was breathless.

Uncle Larry slowed the tempo. He strummed each chord slower, and held the notes longer. Haden slowed his hands to match. The two of them hit the final note at the same time, and their spell over the assembly was completed.

Sarah laced her arms through mine as everyone started clapping. I looked down the pew and saw both Grandma and Aunt Denise wiping tears out of their eyes. When I looked back at Haden, his eyes were locked on mine. They burned bright, and I broke down in a flood of tears.

After they played the song, Haden and Kyle disappeared again while Uncle Larry sat with us until the service was over. When the service came to a close, I had to fight through a veritable mob to get back out to the Sarah’s car.

Everyone I knew, and many that I didn’t, stopped to give me a hug and ask how I was doing. I wished that I had some body guards like famous people have so I could just push through everyone and make a mad dash for it. The questions got old and repetitive, but if I displayed anything resembling annoyance, people thought that I was taking things harder than I actually was.

“You doing alright?” Sarah asked, once we finally made it to her car.

I let out an exasperated sigh.

“I’m actually relieved,” I said. I shook my head. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

She threw the car into gear, and we headed back home. I had to take the opportunity to mentally prepare myself for what was to come next. Aunt Denise was hosting a little gathering at the house for close friends and family, and I was certain I was going to have to go through more of the torture I had just endured.

My phone buzzed in my purse. It was a text message from Haden.

“Your uncle invited Kyle and I over. Is that okay?”

I punched out a quick response.

“Of course. See you soon.”

“Who was that?” Sarah asked. I fixed her with a look. “Is he coming by the house?”

“Looks like it,” I said.

She gave me a long look. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not sure,” I said, letting out a sigh.

We drove on for a while in silence. A sense of dread loomed over me as we got closer to the house. My gut was telling me what I was supposed to do—but I didn’t want to listen to it. How could I?

“Well, whatever you decide, I’ve got your back,” she said.

I smiled at her. “I know you do,” I said. “Thanks.”

She beamed and me and nodded.

When we got to the house, cars were already lining up on the curb out front. Sarah squeezed her small car into the driveway, and I was relieved that I didn’t see Haden’s Beamer anywhere.

Uncle Larry had managed to beat everyone back to the house, and he was already in the back with the grill and two ice chests—one with chicken and deer meat, the other with beer. He’d come prepared.

I managed to find a safe spot near the guesthouse that was a little out of the way from where everyone was milling about. It meant that I wasn’t bothered quite as much, as I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to any of them. I knew I was supposed to be remembering Mom—mourning her loss—but my thoughts were focused on Haden. It wasn’t that I wasn’t upset that she was gone—I just felt numb to that whole situation. There wasn’t anything I could do about it except go on living my life—so that’s what I intended to do.

Things with Haden were different. There were some very real decisions that needed to be made. More than once, I considered locking myself away in the guesthouse. I wondered if anyone would even notice that I was missing?

About thirty minutes later, I spotted Haden’s Beamer over the fence. He parked on the street, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw him pull a bouquet of roses out of the car with him.

I bit my lip.

Were those for me?

I opened the gate and went out to greet him. He flashed me a warm smile when he saw me approaching. I drew up close to him, stopping a few feet away.

“Sorry we’re late,” he said. He held the bouquet out to me. “We had to make a quick stop.”

“They’re beautiful,” I said. They reminded me of the flowers that Scottie had brought my mom in the hospital. I admired them for a second.

Kyle stepped forward and held out his hand. He handed me a little purple envelope with a card inside.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I told him, surprised.

His lips pinched together like he was going to say something, but he just shrugged a shoulder. I opened the card, and read it. There was a short, simple message inside.

“Sorry for your loss. And everything else. ~Kyle”

I tried to keep my thoughts neutral when I looked up at him.

“Thanks,” I said. He gave me a serious look, but he didn’t say anything. I wondered how long he was going to go without saying something to Haden. I wondered if he would ever tell Haden what was going on—or if he would just give him the bad news that he’d been kicked out of the band?

I led them through the gate to the backyard. Kyle looked around with what might have been interest, but Haden was intent on me.

“I’m going to go put these in some water,” I said. “Make yourselves at home—I’m sure my uncle has plenty of food going for everyone.”

Kyle nodded his head at me, and sauntered off, but Haden hung behind.

“Can I join you?” he asked, his eyes inquisitive.

“Oh… sure,” I said.

I walked to the guesthouse and let us in. When Haden shut the door behind us, he also closed out all of the noise—it was just us. I went rifling through the cabinets and cupboards until I found a plastic vase tucked in the cupboard high above the stove. It didn’t do the roses any justice, but it would suffice until I could get something nicer from Aunt Denise.

Haden’s eyes remained on me the whole time. He didn’t say anything—just watched. I set the flowers on the coffee table in the living room. They were next to where Mom’s bed had been—the last place
she’d
been.

I turned to Haden, and gave him a long look.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

He cocked his head to the side. “No,” he said. “Why would you say that?”

I shrugged. “You’ve been watching me this whole time, but you haven’t said anything.”

He was silent for a few seconds after that. He had a way of not responding to questions when I asked them.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

I let out a sigh and rolled my eyes.

“Not you, too,” I said.

His brow scrunched together—but I’m sure he understood what I meant.

“I just want to make sure you’re alright,” he said.

“Look… I’m
fine
,” I said. “If there’s anything wrong with me, it’s the fact that I’m about to snap because everyone wants to know how I’m doing, and if I’m alright.”

He took a few steps closer.

“They’re just trying to be supportive,” he said.

“Well, I don’t need their support. I need them to just give me some space.”

He fixed me with a flat stare.

“How about me?” he said. “Do you need
me
to give you some space?”

I studied him for a second, wondering where this was coming from. “Haven’t you been doing that already?” I asked.

“What are you talking about?” he said.

I flicked my hand to the side, giving him an incredulous look.

“Haden, we’ve barely seen each other since we went to the falls. You remember when I asked you about what your plans were for the tour, and you basically stopped talking to me?”

His back arched up, and he held his hands up.

“That’s
not
what that happened,” he said.

“No? Then please explain to me what did happen, because I’ve been dying to know.”

He fixed me with a look, his face tight. “You were going through everything with your Mom,” he said, finally. “I was just trying to be respectful and give you some space.”

I shook my head. “Since when have you wanted space from me?”

His back straightened. “That’s not fair, Maggie, you’re twisting my words.”

I blew out a long sigh, my head slumping forward. He took another step closer. He was only a foot away. I could feel his presence weighing on me.

“You never did answer my question,” I said.

He frowned at me. “Which one?”

“The one I asked you back at the falls—what are you going to do about your band?”

I watched his every slight movement. He gave me a hard, nervous stare, then he shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he said.

I could see the battle going on inside his head when I pressed him for an answer. It was obvious that he knew what he wanted—but he wasn’t saying.

Maybe he doesn’t want to say, because he doesn’t want to hurt you
.

My lips pursed together, and I turned away from him before he could see the heat rushing to my cheeks.

Haden took a final step closer. “Maggie? Is everything okay?” he asked. He put a hand on my shoulder, tugging to turn me toward him. I jerked away from him, sharply, and his hand darted back.

I shook my head.

“I just want to be alone,” I said.

“Maggie?” he said, his voice concerned.

“I’m serious, Haden,” I said. My voice on edge. “I just need to be alone right now.”

A long silence loomed between us. My body grew tenser with each passing second. I just needed to be alone—didn’t he understand that? I didn’t want him to make it more difficult than it had to be.

“I’ll call you later,” he said. I could feel the pain in his voice.

I stood frozen in place until I heard him leave the guesthouse and shut the door behind him. Only then did I let myself feel the emotions rolling through me.

It felt like things were changing.

It felt like Haden and I were coming to an end.

I stayed locked away in the guesthouse for the rest of the afternoon. A few people knocked on the door, but I stayed in the back bedroom. It wasn’t until after the sun had set, and after everyone had started to go home, that Sarah came searching for me.

She tapped on the door, and stuck her head in. Her eyes were a mixture of relief and concern. I was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling, and didn’t feel like budging an inch.

“How you holding up?” she asked.

“Fine,” I said, never taking my eyes off the spot on the ceiling.

“That’s sounds convincing,” she said.

She came in and slid onto the bed next to me. She laid back and stared at the ceiling, too. “Is there something I’m supposed to be seeing here?” she said. “Like one of those paintings in the mall where you have to cross your eyes to see it?”