In Your Honor by Heidi Hutchinson Page A

the words that would express his
true desire and realized that even if they were friends, he would
never be over her. Not really. Instead, he forced a smile, like he
was happy with her answer, and folded her into a hug.
    He walked her to the steps of her bus and
said goodnight, hoping that he knew what he was doing and that he
wouldn't end up hurting them both again.
    His thoughts carried him on a walk away from
the buses and down a sidewalk. He had been so adamant that he'd
stay away from her. Was his change of mind really due to the fact
that she hadn't married that asshole after all? That she had,
instead, shot him, rather than marry him? Those simple facts had
brought an incredible amount of joy back into his heart. And
hope.
    He ran his hand through his hair in
frustration. He wished he knew a better way to make his brain work.
He wished he could get his head and his heart to come to some sort
of agreement.
    He turned around and called into the
darkness to the ghost that had been his shadow since he had
disappeared in Pryor. “K, come here, I need to talk to you.”
    Predictably, Kendra stepped from the shadows
and approached him with wide, uncertain eyes. She never strayed far
from him, and he always knew when she was there. They'd started to
have nightly talks since Lucy had joined the tour and he'd spilled
his whole sob story to her. She gave good advice, considering her
age, and he valued her perspective.
    “ Do you think I screwed
everything up tonight with Lucy?”
    “ Geez, Blake.” Kendra's
uncertainty dissolved into disappointment and Blake almost laughed
at her. “You never think of these things before you act, do
you?”
    “ It's a hard habit to
break,” he admitted.
    “ Honestly? I think you
guys are awesome together. You pretty much proved that tonight. But
maybe don't start trying to braid her hair right away, she's still
really hung up on you.”
    “ How did you get so
insightful?” He hooked an arm around her neck and tugged her down
the moonlit sidewalk.
    “ Years of being
invisible.” Kendra sighed. “Can't hide from you for some
reason.”
    “ You really think that
being friends will work, huh?” Blake asked for
clarification.
    “ No... I think you're
crazy in love with her and you need to tell her. Honesty is the
best policy.” She crossed her tiny arms against the chill blowing
off the ocean and leaned into him for warmth.
    “ She told me she wasn't my
girl anymore,” Blake pointed out, but noticed the bitterness had
left his tone.
    “ Start by being friends again, that's the first good idea you've had
this whole time. You guys have enough of a foundation that the rest
will eventually fall into place. And don't try any phony bologna
stuff on her. She's too smart and she'll see right through it.
You'll lose all credibility with her.”
    Blake sniggered at Kendra's phrasing. “Just
say bullshit, K.” He practically felt her roll her eyes in the
dark.
    She didn't rise to the bait. “C'mon, Blake,
you know I'm right.”
    “ I know, you always are,”
he nodded begrudgingly.
    ***
    “ Dinner went very well tonight,” Lenny
murmured as she crawled into bed next to Luke. She wrapped her legs
in his and snuggled close to his side.
    “ Remarkably,” he agreed, his eyes
closed.
    “ You talk to Shane today?” she asked,
leaning over him and turning the light off.
    “ Yeah... he's got some good ideas for
you to look over when we get to New York. I think you should sign
with him.”
    “ I probably will.” She rested her head
on his chest and listened to the steady rhythm that she had grown
familiar with over the past few months. “I don't want to be away
from you, though,” she whispered into the dark.
    He brought his hand up and smoothed her hair
back. “You won't be, not really. We have radar love, baby. We'll
never be disconnected.”
    She smiled at his reassurance before
drifting off to sleep.
     

Chapter 6
Black Heart Inertia

    The more time Lenny spent with Lucy,
the more