Maysie cocked her head to the side looking thoughtful. “Weird? Why is that?”

“I’m just not the same guy who left all those years ago to become a rock star,” I muttered.

Maysie put her arm around my shoulder and leaned into me. “None of you are. But it’s not like you haven’t been back. This isn’t any different.”

I looked over at Jordan’s fiancé and grimaced. “It’s different this time and you know it.”

Maysie looked confused.

“Because it could be for good,” I explained.

“Bakersville isn’t such a bad place to be. Your parents are there. You have roots and family and friends,” Maysie said, ever the optimist.

“Yeah and my parents are still living in the house I grew up in. And my high school gym teacher still lives down the road. And the girl I lost my virginity to still works at the dentist’s office in town.”

My parents and my gym teacher weren’t the only ones that lived in Bakersville. There were other people I’d be coming home to. Other situations I’d have to deal with.

Being on the road and away from it all made it easier to handle. The occasional weekend visit was bearable because I was able to leave again. Because she would be gone after a few days.

Living back in Bakersville would force Gracie and I to co-exist.

I wasn’t sure what that would mean for us. For me.

For my fucking sanity.

“Maybe I should look for my white picket fence,” I mused, giving her a cheeky grin. She bumped her shoulder with mine.

“Why not? You deserve it.”

“Yeah, well you and Piper make it look easy. For the rest of us, not so much.”

“You and Sophie could have that, you know. If it’s what you want,” Maysie pointed out and I shrugged. Sometimes no response was the best response. Otherwise you ended up saying things better left unsaid.

Maysie looked like she wanted to push the issue, but she changed the subject. “Well, since we’re sitting here talking about white picket fences and all, Jordan and I set a wedding date.”

I grinned at her and let out a whoop. “Finally! Took you guys long enough!”

Maysie’s eyes brightened. “Yeah, I just told the girls tonight. We’re getting married on August 20th. Now I just have to figure out everything else. We don’t want anything big and elaborate. Just something small with the people we care about.”

I put my arm around her and gave her a sideways hug. “That’s great, Mays. You know anything you need, I’m your man.”

“Thanks, Mitch. That means a lot. You, Cole, and Garrett have become like family to me. Blood doesn’t mean everything,” Maysie remarked with a sad smile.

Jordan had mentioned years ago that Maysie had a strained relationship with her family. I didn’t know the particulars because it wasn’t any of my business. But any parent who could turn their back on their own kid was a piece of shit in my book. I was definitely lucky in the parental department.

Maysie was a good girl. I had been surprised when she and Jordan had gotten together. Mostly because of the manner they had hooked up. It was unlike Jordan to cheat and we had all been shocked as hell to learn he had stepped out on his long-term girlfriend Olivia with Maysie.

But it was soon obvious that Jordan was over the moon crazy for Maysie. None of us had really liked Olivia to begin with, so we were more than happy to see that bitch go.

And with Maysie came her friends.

I remembered the first time Maysie had come to one of our shows. She showed up with Riley, Gracie, and Vivian. At first I dismissed them as stuck up college chicks. Being a townie, I was used to having the Rinard crowd look down their noses at me just because I lived in Bakersville and didn’t go to school.

They all had that preppy, too-good-for-everyone vibe that I hadn’t wanted anything to do with. Even if they were all pretty damn hot. Particularly the petite blonde with legs for miles.

I had noticed Gracie immediately. She had been wearing this short yellow dress with white polka dots. She seemed more suited for a picnic than a rock show. She drank some sort of cocktail, which she pounded faster than a dude.

And when she danced, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I stood up on the stage, playing my music, and my entire focus had been on the crazy sorority chick wiggling her ass in the audience. Gracie was beautiful. She was loud, screaming, and jumping up and down. I dug how she was completely uninhibited. But she was also shitfaced drunk. Which I was soon to learn was a pattern with her. At first it didn’t bother me.

Later it became a bigger problem than I had realized.

“Of course we’re family. The crazy, dysfunctional kind, but family nonetheless,” I said.

“That’s the best kind,” Maysie smiled.

We sat side by side for a while, neither of us talking.

“Are you happy with Sophie?” Maysie asked out of the blue.

“Huh?” I blinked in surprise.

“I mean, do you see yourself together for the long-term?” Maysie went on.

I thought of a hundred answers that very simple question.

“No,” I said without hesitation. Shit. Where had that come from? I had never given much thought about my future with Sophie. I didn’t think about where we’d be next month, let alone “long-term.”

“I don’t know why I just said that,” I said, feeling like an ass. Maysie would undoubtedly think I was a raging douchebag. What kind of guy dates a girl for a year and then when asked if he could see himself with said girl in the future, says no?