The Write Stuff

Chapter 6 Cowboy Casanova

Nine whole months since I made my move to Nashville. Nothing amazing has happened, but I'm working hard every day. I've managed to sell some songs to some up-and-coming artists and bands. I tried to give money to Denny and Patty for letting me live with them, but they continue to refuse it. Every once in awhile they'll let me treat them to a meal.

It was a Saturday night and I decided that I should work on some of my songs that I recorded. It's not like I had anything better to do. My days mostly consist of work, eat, sleep and repeat.

I guess I was concentrating too hard, because a hand on my shoulder made me jump. "Danny Boy? What the hell?"

Daniel laughed and covered his mouth to try to hide it. "Damn, you're jumpy!"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not usually jumpy. I'm pretty stressed though. This is so much work and I haven't seen my family in months. Do you think this is really worth it?"

"I think it is if it makes you happy, it is." Daniel said, sitting in the chair next to me. He turned my chair and put his hands on top of my thighs. I could feel the warmth of his hands through my jeans. He scooted forward so he was straddling my knees, never taking his hands off my thighs. I could feel my stomach tighten.

His grey blue eyes looked into mine. "How 'bout you take a little break from this, and I'll show you around?"

I took a deep breath in and let it out slow while I quickly thought about it. "Yeah. I guess I should go do something. I need some inspiration for some songs anyway."

"Good!" He said. "Let's go!"

I had thought about asking Daniel to take me home to change my clothes. But I wasn't really in a dress up kind of mood. My fitted blue shirt, jeans, and boots would be fine. I wasn't trying to impress anybody tonight anyway.

We drove for awhile in his truck before I realized we were leaving the city. "Where are we going, Danny Boy?"

"You'll see..." He said with a smirk.

"Is this where you dump the bodies?" I asked.

Daniel laughed. "You watch too much Criminal Minds."

"Wrong!" I said, wagging my finger, "there's no such thing as too much Criminal Minds."

Daniel just shook his head and smiled. "Damn, Kerrigan, I miss you being on the road with me."

"What?" I asked, failing to hide my blushing.

"Well, yeah." He said letting his truck come to a stop in front of a gate. "You're fun to be around, plus I love all the pranks you would pull on the band and crew."

I did love pranking them. My favorite was jumping out at them or grabbing them while I hid under something. I gave a little laugh at the thought. "I guess I have missed that....I've missed you too, Danny Boy."

Now it was his turn to blush. He smiled his beautiful smile before opening his door and telling me to, "wait here."

He shut his truck off, but his headlight stayed on. I watched as he walked around the front of his truck to my side, before opening my door. "Wow..." I said once he closed the door behind me. "And who says chivalry is dead?"

"I guess I'm just a gentleman, Rhys." He said with a wink as he unlocked the gate and motioned me through. "After you..."

We walked along the fence in a field before we approached a small shed. Upon opening the shed, I saw a red and black UTV. "Nice. Where are we going in that?" I asked.

"I told you, Rhys....you'll see."

A short drive through the woods on the UTV, and we came to a cabin. "This is my quiet place. This is where I go to recharge when the stress of 'The Biz' starts to get to me."

He unlocked the cabin door and turned a side table lamp on. "Want something to drink?" He asked.

"Sure." I said. "I'll have whatever you're gonna have."

Daniel walked over to the fridge and came back with two beers. "I hope you like this kind. They sponsored some of my tour, so I got a whole fridge full of this stuff."

"I'm not picky when it comes to beer." I said, taking a long drink.

We sat next to each other on the sofa for awhile and I put my legs across his lap. He rested his hand on top of them and made little circles with his thumb. It was so easy to talk to Daniel. We told each other about our family, friends, jobs, funny or embarrassing stories. It was just so nice.

Before I knew it, my eyes were getting heavy and sleep was taking over.