Heartsong (Singing to the Heart Book 2) Read Free

That is, if you’re interested.”
    “Yeah. Call me.” Gabe dug in his wallet for a personal business card. “My cell number’s the last one listed.”
    Micki nodded again and took the card with a shaky hand.
    “What’s going on?” Gary asked after looking from Micki to Gabe.
    Gabe stopped at the door of the second bedroom, drawing the attention of the guys in the common area. “My father and his wife were killed in a plane crash.”
    “Oh, man. I’m sorry, Gabe.”
    Gabe caught up with Micki before she exited the bus. Someone turned down the music and the band waited in silence. He never talked about his nonexistent family or much about his personal life, so this was all news to them. The world only knew about the messy split between exciting new star Gabe McKenna and his wife and manager Andrea Rose less than a year after they’d eloped, but even the guys didn’t know all the facts. He wanted to keep it that way.
    “Michaela, wait.” She paused and turned to him with fresh tears drowning her eyes. “Do you know if they ever made any kind of arrangements for Jesse?”
    “I don’t know.” The quiver in Micki’s soft Texas drawl gave away her fear. She shuffled her keys in her hand and looked down at them. “What will happen to him if they didn’t? He’s just a little boy.”
    “The state will give custody to your mom. She’s his grandmother.”
    “But Momma’s not Frankie’s real mother and besides, she isn’t healthy enough to take care of Jesse. What will happen to the ranch? Do you know if Sam left it to you?”
    Gabe snorted and looked past her into the night and the glaring lights of the parking lot. “You have to be kidding. Dad told me he’d never leave the ranch or the business to me. It’s supposed to go to your sister in the event...” He stopped and met Micki’s searching gaze. “I guess it will depend on what Dad’s will says about such things. My guess is it will be sold and the money will go into a trust fund for Jesse.”
    He didn’t miss the shiver that quaked through Micki’s athletic body or the rounding of her eyes. She and her mother lived on the Lazy M Ranch. If the place were sold, they’d have nowhere to go.
    But before she could comment, Gary broke in. “I’m sorry, but we have to go.” He looked at Micki. “Gabe will give you a call when he gets the chance.”
    With a tip of her hat brim, she exited the bus, crossed the empty parking lot to an old pickup truck, and climbed in. There had been a time he’d loved Michaela Finn, but she hadn’t loved him enough to believe in his dreams.
    The guys passed by him, patting him on his shoulder and offering their condolences as they headed to their own bus for the night. Jessica hugged him and tears brimmed in her eyes. The party was over.
    He stepped down to where the driver and Gary were talking. “I’m not going to Omaha.”
    Gary turned to face him. “What are you going to do?”
    The last thing he’d ever wanted to. He didn’t care what happened to his father or the ranch, but Jesse was his responsibility. “I’m going back to Texas to take care of my little brother.”
     

Chapter 2
     
    Micki stopped on the county road and stared at the wood arch over the entrance of the driveway. Lazy M Cattle Ranch was painted in black. The five-hundred acres in Brown County were the only home she had ever known, and soon she and her mother would have to leave. Her sister and her sister’s husband--her employers--her family--were dead, and seeing Gabe McKenna last night hadn’t helped her poor, battered heart.
    The day was too beautiful for all this angst, but she couldn’t stop the tightening in her chest or the desire to curl up in a ball somewhere.
    Sucking in a hot, dry breath of the air blowing through the open windows, she hit the gas and turned onto the gravel driveway. A few of the colts in the pasture noticed and kept pace with her for a few hundred feet until they came to the rail fence dividing the