depression and seeking other ways to dull the pain. He wasn’t used to feeling like such a wimp, probably because the drugs and alcohol always hid his vulnerabilities before.
“That’s great,” she said. “What did you put in your journal today?”
He hadn’t. “Umm, I’ll let you know as soon as I think of something. I’m supposed to come up with five things to be grateful for a day.” And nothing was coming to mind, especially as this whole “charity” situation turned increasingly awkward. Crowds were gathering, but no one was talking. Emily was quite literally his lifeline right now. He chuckled. “I think I’ll put you on the top of my list today. How about that?”
She chuckled. “Oh, you’re trying to butter me up now?” She still sounded too worried.
Ahead of him, a group of leggy silhouettes blocked the morning sunlight as they came for him, swinging buckets of paint and waving their paintbrushes with happy cries. “River! River Mackenzie. Oh my, he’s here!”
The lump of anxiety that had caught in his throat immediately eased at the women’s warm laughter. Silence he couldn’t read, but he was good at navigating his fans’ adoring cries. A beautiful blonde rushed forward and peered brightly down at him. “Can you take a selfie with me?”
Such a welcoming smile. All his nerves evaporated at the sight. He stood quickly, relief flooding through him as he nudged his hovering security men away. “I’m fine. Let the ladies through.” The men acted like he was in grave danger or something. This was why he’d only hired George and Ryan for big events. His security killed his social life. “Hey sis,” he said quickly. “I’d better go. I think I just found my welcome crew.”
“You going to be okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think I will… now.” He did better when he was performing. River clicked off his phone, trying to forget that he used the attention his fans lavished on him just like any of his addictions, but he’d sort through that later. He just had to survive today.
“I’m Barbie,” the pretty blonde chirped. Yeah, she was a Barbie with that blonde hair and all those curves. She wrapped an arm around him, bringing him into all that softness for a picture. She made a kissy face at the camera and then he felt her lips smack loudly against his cheek.
He snickered at the coy move. “Happy to meet you, Barbie.” He wasn’t lying. She was great company.
“Pictures? Us too!” Two brunettes, sisters by the looks of them, crowded out Barbie to get their hands on him. “Oh, you’re even cuter in real life. Jessie is going to be so jealous!” They snapped the picture.
“Welcome to Harvest Ranch.” Another blonde clasped his hand. She bounced up and down like a hyperactive cheerleader. She was a little rocket with all that energy. Wow, Virginia women were something else. All warmth and friendliness—he caught one glaring at another—well, at least they liked him. Barbie tried to shove the cheerleader out of the way, knocking him back. He grimaced uneasily, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. The little bouncing blonde got a hold of his arm, squeezing him before leaning over to whisper, “How about I show you around town tonight? There’s a nice quiet place at the waterfall. We can meet there tonight.”
He wasn’t that guy anymore. Things would’ve been different four months ago. He hesitated at her pleading expression—not that meeting a beautiful girl at the local hangout wasn’t tempting. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m a changed man.”
His resistance was met with a red-lipped pout. “I won’t tell.” She peeked up at him through a mane of soft long hair, putting his resolve to the test.
“You ready to paint this gazebo or are we taking selfies all day?” River stepped back from the big-eyed temptress and glanced over at his unintended rescuer. The newcomer had blue silvery hair, stylishly cut in an angle across her face. “I’m Starla.” She winked, her long lashes fluttering over heavily rouged high cheekbones. Very high maintenance. Very gorgeous. All these women were. “You plan on painting this gazebo or just trick us into doing it for you?” she asked.
He cracked a smile. “I guess you’ve heard of Tom Sawyer?”
Guess they hadn’t with those blank looks. The brunette sisters elbowed each other, whispering. Barbie shrugged next to the big-eyed cheerleader. “Tom isn’t from around here,” she said finally.
Starla let out a bright laugh. “I don’t know. I always figured you were more of a