Read Online Last Song (Chasing Cross Book Five) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (rockstar contemporary romance) by Karolyn James - Free Book Online Page B

door.
    The dog barked and Sarah
opened the door.
    They went through their
normal routine before Sarah cut left. She walked down the sidewalk and then
turned left again, going down the small hill that would take her to the alley.
A few kids peddled by on their bikes, arguing about a baseball game. Molly
stopped and watched the kids go by. As a puppy she would have been tugging at
Sarah to follow the kids on the bikes, but as a mature adult, Molly knew
better.
    When they got to the
alley, Sarah looked down and saw it was empty and quiet. Strangely quiet. She started
her walk, Molly by her side. Her thighs were a little sore from that morning’s
run, mostly because of her unexpected move to dart across the street.
    She was at the garage
behind her house, facing the garage of her new neighbor. Nothing was out of the
ordinary. Nothing broken. Nothing burned. Not even a sound. The band must have
called it a day.
    Of course they would be
quiet during the day.
    Sarah took a step and one
of the garage doors flew open. The sound was like a growling thunder. Molly darted
behind Sarah and jumped a mile out of her body.
    “Whoa, hey...”
    There he was. Standing
there, one arm up in the air, holding the garage door open. The sleeve of his
t-shirt fell up towards his shoulder. Sarah tried to keep her eyes on his face,
his handsome face, but she looked once, okay, twice, at his arm in the air,
noting the muscle.
    Of course he had muscle. He
played drums. Behind him, was a garage full of instruments.
    “Uh... hello,” Sarah
managed to say.
    The man had a garbage bag
in his other hand and he lifted the lid on a black trash can and dropped the
bag in. “The truck comes down the alley for these?” he asked.
    “I...”
    Sarah seriously thought
about lying about who she was. For a split second, she felt like telling her
new neighbor she wasn’t from the area. Like that would ever stick.
    “Yeah,” she said. “they
drive straight down and take the trash. There’s a recycling truck too. Do you
have... a recycling bin?”
    Sarah thought about what
she was asking. Who was she right then? Her first conversation with her new
neighbor was about recycling.
    “In the garage,” the man
said.
    He closed the lid on the
can and smiled at Sarah.
    “How was your run?”
    “My what?” Sarah asked,
snapping at the man.
    “Your run. You were
running this morning, right?”
    “Yeah. I...”
    “You live around here?”
    Again, Sarah thought
about lying. Instead, her cheeks flushed and she looked over her shoulder at
her house.
    “You live right behind
me?” he asked.
    “Or maybe you live right
behind me,” Sarah said.
    He laughed.
    Oh, he had dimples.
    The man then crouched
down and put his hands on his knees.
    “And who is this?” he
asked.
    He made two kissing
sounds and, of course, Molly ran towards him. She put a paw up for the man to
take and when he did, Molly added the other one. She quickly began to kiss him,
again and again.
    She kept a tight hold on
the leash and thought about tugging Molly back.
    “Name?” the man asked as
he rubbed the dog’s head.
    “Sarah.”
    “Sarah,” the man said.
“Aren’t you just beautiful?”
    As Sarah’s cheeks
reddened some more, she realized he had been talking about the dog.
    Of course he was talking
about the dog.
    “No,” Sarah said. “My
name is Sarah. The dog is Molly. She’s three years old.”
    “Oh, okay,” the man said.
“Well...” He looked up to Sarah. “What I said still stands.”
    He stood up and Molly
loyally sat in front of him. His eyes never moved from Sarah, making her wonder
what his comment actually meant. Was it for the dog? Was it for Sarah?
    “I’m Rick,” the man said.
“Rick Sauderst. I just moved in.”
    “Yeah, I know,” Sarah
said.
    Did she just sound
bitter?
    Did she just sound like a
bitch?
    “Sorry to bother you,”
Sarah said. “I’m sure you’re getting settled.”
    “You’re not bothering
me,” Rick said.
    You’re bothering me,
Sarah