Finding the Dream (For the Love of Music #1.5) Read Free

publicity to the store because he was helping get clean water to villages in Ethiopia and…somewhere else.
    “Don’t be afraid to ask Sierra to help out in the store. She’s using Hanson’s rent money for herself; don’t feel the need to pay her. If you see her getting too involved with someone, you could…” Clark trailed off again, but the intent was pretty clear.
    If my daughter starts dating someone, or someone you don’t approve of, keep her busy.
    This was not going to end well, but it’s not like he could tell Clark no. The simple steps Chuck had laid out to cope with his new living arrangement had just gotten infinitely more complicated.
    “Of course, yeah.”
    “You heard from Hanson?” Clark asked just as the girls stepped into the living room with a couple of bags.
    “Hey, Van.” Lani, Sierra’s mom, pecked his cheek and he very carefully kept his eyes off Sierra.
    “I got an email from Hanson yesterday. A check-in on the store,” Donovan said. He turned his gaze to Lani and gave her a smile and nod.
    “Good.” Sierra let out a huff. “At least he’s answering somebody . I still can’t believe he talked you into that place and then ditched you.”
    What? “It’s our store,” Donovan said. “It’s fine.”
    And for the most part, it was okay. Donovan kept fewer employees and worked longer hours just to lower the overhead a bit more than Hanson would bother doing. Besides, he owed Hanson more than he’d ever be able to repay. The whole family really. They’d opened up their home to him when his parents died, just before his junior year of high school, and he’d expected that they’d fade away after that, but they’d been to every big event and graduation and even helped front money for the Great Outdoors start up.
    “How long has it been since you two have been in the same room even?” Lani asked pointing between him and Sierra who was smiling a wide smile that echoed a bit of her younger teen years.
    “Two years?” Donovan asked, glancing at Sierra, who was like the supermodel version of her former self.
    “Yep,” Sierra agreed. “I think that’s about right.”
    Donovan began to wonder if he’d ever get used to her looking this way.
    “Can I see my room, or should we get my stuff, or…?” She shifted her weight, sliding out one hip and then the other, just like she’d done since she was eight. She bit her lip, waiting for Donovan to give them some direction. As the little sister, she was used to following along with whatever Hanson and Donovan had going on. Donovan didn’t know if he was glad or sad that the trait of waiting had stuck around.
    Oh, and the room hadn’t gotten cleared out. At all. The last thing he needed was her parents seeing how little he’d done.
    He’d wanted to put off facing that disaster until later. “Let’s go eat before your parents have to make the drive back.”
    “Great idea!” Clark tucked his wife under his arm. “We’ll grab a bite, and then leave Sierra to move in,”—he gave his daughter a pointed look—“as promised.”
    “Thank you.” Sierra waited on the landing outside the apartment while her parents walked down the stairs.
    Donovan locked the door, really wondering what he’d gotten himself into when he agreed to let Sierra stay at his place.
    “My mom rode with me for the first half of the three-hour drive, and then they switched,” Sierra whispered. “It’s ridiculous.”
    Donovan thought bringing two cars down just so her parents could see her off here rather than at home was a little extreme, but he wasn’t going to get in the middle of that argument.
    “Your mom said we’re supposed to pick up some cabinet or something. For all your stuff?” he asked as they walked down the stairs.
    This was going to be like sharing his apartment with a stranger. A hot stranger. Who he was supposed to keep “safe.” Whatever that meant.
    “They’ll deliver it tomorrow.” She swung around and looked at him as she