String Beans (The Girls of Beachmont #2) Read online

  String Beans

  The Girls of Beachmont ~ Book 2

  A Fumbled Novel

  by T.K. Rapp

  © Copyright Notice

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author, T.K. Rapp.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Cover Design by T.K. Rapp

  Edited by Amy Jackson

  Cover Images Courtesy ~ George Rudy/Bigstock.com

  Copyright © 2015 T.K. Rapp

  All rights reserved.

  Dedication

  For those who have lost their voice…

  and those who have found it.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  “I’m heading home, Alex,” I told my boss as I grabbed my belongings. My long brown hair was caught beneath the strap of my messenger bag, and as I wrestled with setting it free, I stumbled. Fortunately, I beat out clumsiness because I caught myself before falling over completely.

  “Done for the day?”

  “Yeah, just finished with Sadie,” I smiled.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked through a laugh, keeping his eyes fixed on the drum kit he’d been working on.

  “She’s doing great, but then again, she’s your kid,” I reminded him with a grin.

  I had been giving his eleven-year-old guitar lessons when clients canceled. As it turned out, she had been getting lots of practice time lately. But she was a natural. Still, it would be nice if my regulars showed up. Will and I needed the extra money to help make rent.

  “You and Will doing anything tonight?”

  “I doubt it. He’s been working nights at the club and our schedules are completely messed up.”

  “That’s married life, huh?” He laughed again.

  “Yeah,” I muttered before grabbing my guitar case and waving goodbye as I headed out the front door.

  The brisk fall afternoon air greeted me and the descending sun momentarily blinded me while I slipped my sunglasses on. We had had so much rain the last week that I was beginning to think the weather might be the reason for all the cancellations.

  My beat-up Beetle was parked in the back of the old red brick building next to Alex’s new pickup. I’d gotten the car when I was in high school and there was no convincing reason why I should get rid of it. Will teased me that the undercarriage was probably rusted and before long I’d be Fred Flintstoning my way to work. She was old, but she’d gotten me everywhere I needed to go, even if it did take at least two times to get her started.

  The engine finally turned over and I headed home to our one-bedroom apartment a short fifteen minutes away. We moved to Spring Park shortly after we finished college, because Will said it would be good for our careers. Granted, there wasn’t much back in Beachmont for music majors, but I wasn’t sure what he thought was so much better about Spring Park.

  I grew up in Woodrock, so I was used to being near everything. Clubs, big concert venues—you name it, it was there. Maybe that’s why Will didn’t want to move to my hometown: too much and too many people to hit it big. It was a town full of successful people, and just as many failures.

  Still, it took me almost two months to find my job at Hodges Music Store, and while I appreciated the work, it wasn’t exactly where I thought I’d end up. That’s why I went to college, right? But then again, I did select music as my major. I could have gone with something practical like business, but that was my parents’ dream. Not mine. And a minor in business was my concession to appease them.

  But it was two years later and I was beginning to realize there was a chance I’d be working in the music store for the rest of my life.

  Since I was an only child, it had been hard for my parents to tell me no, and I knew how to work them. And when I married Will, despite their objections, they still gave me away. But I never thought I’d end up being the practical one in our marriage. Where’s the fun in that?

  Will and I were a perfect match ever since we met at Battle of the Bands in Wheeler while I was in college. I was there with Dani, Millie, and Jolie, my roommates, to see some friends of mine that were in competing groups. Millie was probably the only one who didn’t have a thing for musicians, and that was never my scene either. I mean, I’ve always loved music and could appreciate someone’s talent, but hooking up with talent wasn’t me.

  Until Will.

  The third band was playing and I didn’t care for their style, so it was the perfect time to hit up the concession stand for another beer. Some guy was standing in front of me drunk off his ass, and when he turned to leave with his beer he almost spilled it all over me. Will must have seen it coming because he wrapped his arm around my waist and swung me around so the beer missed me.

  But it went all over him.

  He was an adorable mess. His sandy blond hair was mussed, though that was him, not the beer. His concert tee was soaked so he pulled it over his head, revealing muscular abs and a sexy smirk when he caught me looking.

  “Thanks,” I said, as laid-back as I could. “Wasn’t necessary, but thanks.”

  “No worries.” He smiled. “Having fun?”

  “Yeah. What about you?” I asked, stepping up to order my beer. “Can I buy you a beer?”

  “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?” He smiled, but didn’t stop me either. He looked up at the stage and nodded at the band playing. “So what you do you think of them?”

  I didn’t even wait to think of my response; I already had an opinion.

  “They’re trying too hard. It’s not bad, but where’s the passion? Where’s their soul? I want to feel their words, but all I feel is screaming and angst—and not in the good way. They just sound…boring.”

  When he looked at me, his mouth was slightly agape, but he recovered and handed me my beer as he took the other.

  “Don’t hold back,” he laughed. “So what’s your name?”

  “Viola, but everyone calls me Vi.”

  “Well, Vi, maybe I’ll see you around? Talk m
usic sometime?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said and started to walk off, but he called my name and I had to turn around.

  “So, does that mean I get your number then?”

  Of course I couldn’t help but smile and give him my number. We chatted a little longer before I said goodbye so I could rejoin the girls.

  The crappy band had already finished and I wondered how long I’d been gone. But I was also thankful for the blond distraction. As I reached our spot on the lawn, the MC announced the fourth band. The girls were screaming and laughing as the group took the stage and I was just getting settled in when the lead singer stepped to the mic. I couldn’t see him, but I recognized the voice.

  “Hey everyone, I’m Will Banks and we’re Sound Venom. I was just talking to a friend who said that she needs passion in her music, so let’s see what she thinks about this.”

  He’s talking to me.

  As I watched Will strum his guitar, he began singing lyrics to a song I’d never heard. He was so handsome up there and in his element. There were no excessive lights, no crazy on-stage dramatics—it was just the band and their music. It was perfect.

  He called me later that night to ask what I thought, and I was a little surprised that he didn’t play the game. All guys played the game, but not Will. We talked for several hours and ended up meeting in the morning for coffee so we could talk some more.

  Three months later we were engaged, and six months later we were in front of the justice of the peace, getting married after our last class of the semester. Our parents were against it, but there was nothing they could do or say to dissuade us.

  It wasn’t incredibly romantic, but it was exactly what I wanted.

  Will encouraged the risk-taker in me and I supported his dreams.

  We weren’t exactly opposites, but we were different enough to keep it interesting.

  It all seemed great in the beginning, but then I turned into someone who had to have a plan. I needed direction, something to work toward. Will liked to go with the flow and see what happened.

  But I was learning that going with the flow…didn’t pay the bills. Our senior year was spent finishing school, graduating, and fighting over bills.

  Unfortunately, Sound Venom broke up. Damn shame because the guys were amazing. It was hard on Will because he missed collaborating. Every once in a while, we would try to do something together, but our musical styles were so different that it never really meshed. He was beating himself up because he felt like a sellout without his musician brothers and ended up having to get two jobs to help make ends meet. However, he limited the time he spent working because he wanted to continue making music.

  I pulled into my parking spot and grabbed my things before I headed inside. Will was working at the fire station all day. His shifts there had been so crazy that we were lucky if we shared a bed for more than a couple of hours. I hoped that I could have dinner made by the time he got home so we could catch up before he left to tend bar at the club.

  He made serious bank when he bartended and we needed the cash.

  But I wasn’t an idiot. I knew the reason he made such great tips was based on his sexy-as-hell rocker looks. I had gone to the club to listen to local bands play and I saw the way women looked at him. It always made me laugh because he gave them a smile, or so they thought, but his eyes were always glued to mine.

  In fact, my confidence was something Will really loved. And it wasn’t like I didn’t have guys hitting on me…though my husband didn’t handle it as well.

  Our apartment was on the first floor, which was a good thing. Will liked to play his music a little loud, but I figured the old lady that lived above us was probably deaf—she never complained. And the guy to our right was always high. We never really met any of the other neighbors, but no one had told us to keep it down either. I started walking up the sidewalk and a surge of excitement rolled through me when I heard the music coming from our place.

  He’s home!

  “Hey,” I called out when I walked into the apartment, “I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

  I set my things down and made my way toward our room where the music was loudest. I pushed the door open and it took me only a second to piece together what I was seeing.

  You know those movies where the wife walks in on her husband in bed with another woman and she’s able to come up with some witty quip about letting the other woman finish? Yeah…that doesn’t happen in real life. At least not my real life. Because I was momentarily stunned beyond words.

  Will jumped out of the bed and struggled to pull on his shorts while some blonde remained frozen, looking as shocked to see me, as I was to see her. I didn’t bother giving her the riot act because she meant nothing to me.

  But he did.

  “Oh Will, you have got to be kidding me.” My voice sounded sad—resigned, even—as if I knew. But I didn’t. “How cliché of you.”

  He stood there and I saw the regret all over his face, but I all I felt for him was pity and disgust. He didn’t say anything and I turned to look at the woman wrapped in my sheets.

  “I’m guessing my husband failed to mention a wife,” I concluded for her, and she looked on the verge of tears.

  “I’m so sorry,” she muttered as she reached for her shirt. Her pants and G-string were at my feet and I looked at Will as he stood there looking like a deer caught in headlights. He didn’t take his eyes off me and didn’t move an inch. He was either terrified of my calm, or hoping that if he stayed still long enough, I wouldn’t notice that he was standing there while a naked woman lay in our bed.

  “Nothing to say?”

  Complete silence.

  Except for the sound of the “other” woman dressing in a hurry. I raised a questioning brow at him and he closed his eyes for a moment before looking at me.

  “Vi, it was an accident,” he started, but I didn’t give him time to say anything else. I charged toward him and pushed him into the wall, knocking his framed prized concert poster down, shattering on the small desk below. Glass flew out and I felt a couple of shards prick my leg, but the pain was nothing compared to what he had just done to my heart.

  “Don’t you dare try to speak to me like I’m an idiot. You cheating bastard!”

  I tried to move, but he grabbed my wrist and held me in place as I struggled against him.

  “Let. Me. Go.” The tears that began to fall betrayed the calm in my voice and I could no longer look at the man. He released his grasp on me and I turned to look at the chick who was still scrambling to get dressed and out of our apartment and I shrugged.

  What else could I do? I couldn’t offer her apologies or explanations—those were on him. And he was watching me walk away with devastation written all over his beautiful face.

  I grabbed the bottle of wine from the fridge and the closest glass on my way out to the patio, where I ended up forgoing the glass altogether and drinking straight from the bottle.

  If I were a smoker, it would be the perfect time to light one up. I started looking around in the few plants that we had outside to see if his friends had left anything, but before I was able to locate something, I was interrupted. The front door closed and I heard the sounds of a small feminine voice clearing her throat behind me.

  “I really am so sorry,” she said quietly.

  When I turned to face her, I nodded and she continued her walk of shame. I flopped my body into the chair and took another long swig of wine as the tears streamed down my face.

  Will finally stepped outside, freshly showered and wearing his favorite jeans, and sat in the chair opposite me. He rested his elbows on his knees and stared at his hands like they held answers for him. I was curious. What excuse would he give? Was there anything he could say that would make me consider not maiming him? He finally dropped his head down and nervously ran his hand over the back of his neck.

  “Viola, I fucked up,” he said before looking up. “Say something. Please?”

  As I stared at
a spec on the concrete patio, I shook my head, unable to formulate a sentence. In a swift movement, Will dropped to his knees and took my face in his hands.

  “I love you, Vi. You know that.”

  I closed my eyes and inhaled a shaky breath. When I opened them, clarity set in and I looked deep into his eyes.

  “No. I thought you did. But if you loved me, you wouldn’t have done that.”

  He removed his hands from my face and had the audacity to look as if my words cut him. Funny, considering that ten minute earlier he’d had a complete stranger in our bed. He was still in front of me, resting on his haunches, trying to find something to say.

  “How many, Will? Because I’m pretty sure she’s not the first,” I told him. My foot was bouncing feverishly while I waited for his answer. I wanted to know, but I also knew the truth would tear my heart out.

  “Vi—” he started, but I cut him off. I didn’t want to hear numbers.

  “Never mind… Just tell me, was she the first?”

  His head dipped down and there was slight shake, confirming what I hoped wasn’t true. I stood up and pushed past him, knocking him on his ass. When I got to the door, I turned to him and wiped my eyes again.

  “I’ll be out tomorrow. You can go somewhere else tonight,” I informed him before locking the door.

  Chapter 2

  “Vi,” he called out as he pounded on the door, “let me in.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was mad that he was locked out, or worried that I might ruin the things that meant most to him. I didn’t care what he felt, because my heart was in the middle of breaking. My body slid down the length of the door until I was sitting on the floor. Tears continued to fall in a steady stream while the afternoon replayed in my head.