Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) (2 page)

Something New

Six
Years Before – Miami, Florida

“I CAN’T BELIEVE you guys are
leaving me here in this hellhole for the next two weeks while you go off to be
rock stars. It’s not fair.” Ashley scooped her long blonde hair into a high
ponytail as she watched her brother and his best friend grinning behind her in
the mirror.

People always assumed Leo was her twin. It was an easy
mistake to make. They shared the same silky, golden hair, the same hazel eyes
flecked with green, the same copper skin, and the same megawatt smile. The fact
that Ashley had been born a mere eleven months after Leo meant they even spent
a small amount of time being the same age. The physical resemblance, however,
was where their similarities ended.

While Ashley tended to be quiet in public, Leo loved the
spotlight. Ashley excelled in all things textbook related, but to Leo school
was a place to socialize. If it weren’t for Ashley’s patience and persistence
Leo would never have even donned his cap and gown last week.

“Sorry, sis, you’re the one that chose to be all
responsible
and accept a job the week after school let out.” Leo’s brows furrowed and he
shrugged his shoulders. “Who does that?” He asked of Ashley and Ryan, his
teasing tone indicative of the close relationship he had with his sister and
best friend.

“Your sister does that,” Ryan answered. His sexy warm voice
felt like caramel sundae topping sliding over Ashley’s skin. Their gaze locked
just a fraction longer than usual before he turned to address his best friend.
She had noticed more of his prolonged glances lately, but had been too afraid
to hope that there was any meaningful reason behind them. There was no way that
Ryan would ever see her as more than just a friend.

Running her hand over her long, smooth ponytail, Ashley
turned her back to her tormentors and laughed. “Not all of us have musical
talent oozing from our pores. Some of us have to work
real
jobs.”

Noticing her tennis shoe laces were loose, she bent down to
tie them. She knew no good would come from building her hopes up, but she
couldn’t help but wonder if she may have caught Ryan checking her out in the
same way she had been doing to him. With slow, calculated movements she reached
for her toes. Without being conceited, she knew her body had changed quite a
bit over the past year. She knew those changes had guys looking at her
differently. Up until recently, the attention just wasn’t coming from the one
guy she really wanted it from. She could have plopped down and bent her knees—which
would have made tying the laces easier—but where was the fun in that? So
instead, she perched her foot on the side of her bed and leaned over, just so…
She looped and threaded the fabric with her lithe fingers until she had the
perfect bow. Pausing just a heartbeat too long, she raised her eyes and found
Ryan staring. BINGO.

“Busted,” she teased. Her voice was low as to not gain any
attention from her brother, but she knew Ryan heard her when his jaw went
tight.

“Oh, shit,” Ryan quickly shifted his eyes to the window, but
it was too late. Self satisfaction filled Ashley in a way she had never felt
before. Ryan Baker found her attractive. She had to bite her lip in order to
keep from squealing.

She’d been crushing on Ryan since her freshman year when
he’d moved into the cul-de-sac. While he was always kind and looked out for
her, he’d always treated her like his best friend’s sister. Nothing more. As
they got to know each other, their relationship shifted and they became friends
in their own right but recently things had started to change once again. She
felt differently when he looked at her. She felt it on her skin when he touched
her. Yep, there was definitely something new. Something raw.

Ryan and Leo had become fast friends the minute they’d
discovered their shared opinions on life’s most important issues—school, girls
and music. Leo had practically been born with a set of drumsticks in his hands
and his voice made all the girls swoon. Vocals and percussion weren’t a typical
combination and he’d laugh when people told him that drummers didn’t sing.
“Haven’t you heard of Phil Collins?” He would ask. The response was more often
than not a puzzled look with a whispered, “no.” Leo loved the non-believers. In
fact, he lived for them. It gave him the opportunity to prove how good he
really was. And he was really
, really
good.

Ryan played guitar. Well, he played several different
instruments, but that was his favorite. His nimble fingers could coax wonderful
rhythms and melodies out of both acoustic and electric guitars. While Leo’s
voice was smooth and soothing, Ryan’s voice was sultry, seductive and sexy as
all hell. His voice along with his incredibly good looks made for a lethal
combination. Add to that a killer sense of humor and Ryan Baker was the
trifecta of male perfection. The two friends had girls and grown women alike
chasing after them wherever they went. What Ashley admired and respected about
her brother and Ryan was that they never let the over abundance of attention go
to their heads. They were grateful and respectful—never cocky and obnoxious.

The tension in the air was palpable as Ashley watched Ryan
visibly swallow. His eyes sparkled and Ashley began to wonder if it were possible
that the attraction went both ways.

Not wanting to break their connection, she watched him
watching her. She studied his face. His eyes milk chocolate with golden flecks,
his lips plump and pink, and his jaw covered in stubble.
So sexy
, she
thought.

Leo gazed out of the window, lost in his own thoughts and
seemingly unaware of the lightening storm of emotions swirling around him. His
words broke the tense silence that had fallen over the room. “Look, Ash, you
know we’ll always come back for you.”

“Um, yeah”—her brows pulled together in mock irritation—“but
only because you have to, Leo. Don’t try to sound all magnanimous about it!”

Leo laughed. “There you go, always using the SAT words.
Can’t you talk like a normal person?” He teased.

“Ok, big brother let me rephrase,” Ashley beamed. She had
recently gotten her braces off and the novelty of flashing what she knew was
now a perfect smile had not yet worn off. “I
know
you will come back for
me because I write the lyrics to your songs. Without me”—one perfectly arched
eyebrow lifted—“no songs!” Ashley giggled and grabbed her messenger bag from
the hook on the back of her bedroom door.

“Now wait just a minute, Princess,” Ryan scoffed. With her
back turned, she let her smile grow large. She knew exactly what Ryan was going
say, and by his term of endearment she knew he was going to give her earlier
sass back to her on a silver platter. “Who writes the lyrics for
Storm
Front?”
His voice was laced with sarcasm but she could practically hear the
grin that perched on his sexy lips. She knew he was anything but irritated.
Turning around to face him, the challenge in his eyes sent shockwaves up her
spine. God, he was hot. She could stay and trade sarcastic insults with him all
day, but she had to get to work.

“We write the songs together, oh great one!” She conceded.
Hugging her brother, she shot Ryan a flirtatious wink over Leo’s shoulder. He
made no response but if the pounding of her heart was any indication of the
change in their relationship, she knew things between her and Ryan were about
to get complicated. What would Leo do if something happened between his sister
and his best friend? Ashley shook her head. That was one question she truly had
no answer for.

Familiar and Decadent

One
month later

“HEY, BABY SISTER.” The voice was
like a cold glass of lemonade on a hot humid day—soothing, sweet, and
impossible not to embrace.

“Leo! You’re back!” Ashley dropped her empty serving tray on
the counter and leaped into her brother’s arms, wrapping her arms around his
neck and her legs around his torso. He laughed as he hugged her tight, her
muscles relaxed. She felt the vibration of Leo’s laughter vibrate through her
as she hugged him harder.

She had been missing him like crazy over the past month, he
wasn’t just her brother. He was her best friend. The open display of affection
may not have been appropriate for the middle of a pizza place, but Ashley
didn’t care. It was only a job and she finally had her brother home. People
often told them it was weird how well they got along, but to Leo and Ashley it
wasn’t weird. It was just how it was. It was life.

Their parents were well-respected surgeons in a prominent
Miami hospital. Known to the community as decent people, they were very
important
and very
busy
. The doctors Kynde made sure that Leo and Ashley were
provided for financially, and that their physical needs were always tended to,
but it stopped there. Emotionally, the Kynde doctors were unavailable. Despite
the abundance of faceless nannies and babysitters, Leo and Ashley had
effectively raised themselves. The siblings had coped with this lack of
involvement in differing ways. Ashley lived her young years striving to gain
just a moment of her parent’s attention, to show them who she really was. Leo
on the other hand, grew in the opposite direction. Ashley swore he used
indifference as a shield to hide the pain of their parents neglect. Not that he
would admit it.

The two of them learned to depend on each other. Over time,
their parents became no more than warm-blooded ATMs and signatures on sick
notes.

“I missed you too, Ash.” Leo laughed as he untangled himself
from his sister’s embrace.

“Hey, Scott, I’m going to take a break, can you handle my
tables?” Ashley asked her co-worker.

“Sure, Ash, anything you need. Take your time.” Scott was
the brother of Jayson, Leo and Ryan’s band mate. “Hey, Leo, welcome home, man.”
With a handshake and a clap on Scott’s shoulder, Leo placed his arm around his
sister’s shoulders and led her outside.

“Hey, stranger.”

Ryan’s deep, smooth voice immediately brought goose bumps to
her flesh. Yep, the old adage was true. After four weeks apart, his mere
presence left her breathless. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and
walked over to give him a hug. Each carefully orchestrated step felt
natural—like she was being drawn toward him. The past four years had contained
hundreds of hugs but in recent months each of those embraces felt like so much
more. Almost like a promise. She wanted to collect on each and every one of
those promises.

Badly.

Stepping into Ryan’s outstretched arms felt familiar and
decadent all at once. Ashley’s thoughts scattered when Ryan lifted her up and
twirled her around playfully. The husky sound of his laugh blended with the
slight woodsy scent of his cologne had Ashley pressing herself against him in a
full body hug. While she had missed her brother fiercely over the past month,
Ryan’s absence felt like a cold dark cloud, constantly blocking her sun.

Ashley followed the guys’ tour progress daily through text messages
and phone calls via Leo and Ryan. So she knew that Leo, Ryan and the other two
band members, Jayson and Zane, ended up traveling up and down the state of
Florida playing in every bar, pub and complex they could get themselves into.
Zane’s uncle was in the music business and ended up getting the guys recording
time in a studio at the family discounted rate of “free”, but they had to
record when the studio was available and that was at odd hours. Therefore the
trip doubled in length going from two weeks to four, but also heightened
Storm
Front’s
visibility. It was a win/win situation for everyone involved.

Well, almost everyone. Ashley missed her brother like crazy.
They’d never been apart for longer than a day or two. The house hadn’t seemed
big until she was the only one in it. Yeah, she’d see her parents as they
passed her room in the morning on their way to the hospital. Sometimes they
even took the time to say goodnight…as they left the house at night for
banquets or cocktail parties. That was the extent of their communication.

Ashley had found herself working double shifts just to stay
busy. While she’d spoken to Leo at least once a day and received multiple texts
from both him and Ryan it wasn’t the same. Having them home again was a heady
feeling. Like the sun had finally come out after hurricane season.

“Jesus, Ry, put my sister down. She has legs, and they
work,” Leo snorted, trying to hold back his smile. Ryan inhaled her coconut
scent once more before releasing her slowly to the ground. He couldn’t bear to
look into her eyes. The fear that he wouldn’t see the longing that he felt
staring back at him was too great. Instead he stared at the asphalt.

Coward.

Leo laughed loudly before launching into a story about
clingy groupies and what lengths the girls would go just to get attention from
any musician willing to give it. Sneaking a peak at Ashley, Ryan saw the shear
bliss etched on her face. He knew she was thrilled to have her brother home
with her. He’d always admired Ashley’s and Leo’s relationship. He knew that
they relied heavily on each other for both emotional and physical support. He
had missed Ashley something fierce while he was gone.

Ryan felt the conflict tearing at his gut. He would never,
ever want to do anything to jeopardize Leo and Ashley’s relationship. Leo was
more like a brother than a best friend, and he didn’t want to do anything to
bruise that relationship either, but holding Ashley in his arms, even if for
just a few seconds, was the closest thing he’d felt to coming home since his
mother died. Why did she have to be his best friend’s sister? He was going to
have to talk to Leo. There was no way he could continue to hide his feelings.
Leo was his brother, he would understand. Ryan would
make
him
understand.

“I gotta get back to work.”

Ashley’s words were like ice water to Ryan’s face, snapping
him from his deep thoughts. As he suspected, when he raised his eyes to hers he
did not see desire. No. Her green-flecked irises, while outwardly mesmerizing,
hid a myriad of emotions. She was lonely. Ryan’s chest ached at the thought of
her being left behind. He silently vowed to never let her be lonely again. She
wielded her bravery like a shield—fending off fear with every ounce of her
being, but he knew her too well to be fooled. “Are you boys going to be home
tonight? I’d really like us to hang out…” Her voice was barely a whisper as she
continued, “I was really lonely without you both.”

There it was: her vulnerability. She laid it out for her
brother, and for him. It took all of Ryan’s strength not to go to Ashley and
wrap her back in his arms. He wanted to take care of her, comfort her, but he
wasn’t sure how Leo would take to him hooking up with his little sister. So he
kept his feet planted and used only his voice to comfort Ashley.

“Yeah, Ash, we’re not going anywhere tonight. We’ll be at
your house when you get home.” That got him two very different looks from the
Kynde siblings. Ashley smiled at him warmly. Leo just gave Ryan a puzzled look
and kept all comments to himself.

Ashley excused herself to return to work. Ryan watched
through the window of the restaurant as she tied her apron around her slender
hips. He saw the way she smiled as Scott said something that must have been
funny. To anyone else she looked happy, but Ryan knew every one of her smiles.
She may have smiled at Scott, but her smile stopped at her mouth and never
quite reached her eyes. Ryan exhaled deeply. The relief he felt over knowing
that she wasn’t giving her
real
smile to Scott was huge. He needed to
talk to Leo. Soon.