Katie Ashley - Strings of the Heart

Sweeping my hand to my hip, I eyed him suspiciously. “That sounds like a load of bullshit. Like a very warped ‘wish upon a star.’”

Rhys shrugged. “It may or may not be. But isn’t it worth trying a chance at having a wish come true?”

I glanced between him and the rock not really believing that at twenty, I was actually going to take superstition seriously. While looking at Rhys, I could tell he was silently daring me to do it. “All right. Fine.”

“You’re really going to do it?” he asked, a little incredulity in his voice.

“Oh yeah, I’m doing it.”

He chuckled. “Guess that internship is a wish heavy on your heart, huh?”

I fought the urge to laugh in his face if he thought that I would actually waste my wish on the internship. Sure, it was important, but there was nothing more important to me than finally being with him. Without another word to Rhys, I reached out my hand and touched the stone. “Tomochichi, Tomochichi, Tomochichi…,” I began, as I started speed walking around the rock.

When I made my first lap, I found Rhys grinning at me like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland . Ignoring him, I kept walking and reciting “Tomochichi.” Of course, while I might have been saying the dead chief’s name out loud, it was Rhys’s name I was saying inside my head.

Once I was finished, I took my hand off the stone and turned questioningly to him. “Now what?”

“You just wait for your wish to come true.”

“Have you ever done it?”

“Nope. Not even when I was a kid here on a field trip, and the tour guides told us about it.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “I guess I didn’t have anything to wish for.”

“Well, that’s just sad. Life is all about having wants and desires, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so. I just never gave much time and effort to thinking about them.”

It was so strange that I had known him for seven years, spent hours and hours of time with him in different places, yet when it came down to it, I felt like I didn’t know him at all. He was a puzzle that needed to be solved, but at the same time, I had the feeling that some of the pieces were missing. Pieces that I would somehow have to dig deep to unearth.

“Where to now, Captain Tour Guide?”

“River Street is just a few blocks down there.” He motioned to the north.

“Okay, sounds good.”

“I’ll sweeten the tour by taking you in to River Street Sweets for a famous praline.”

“Mmm, I love pralines. I don’t think I’ve been down on River Street since our 8th grade overnight field trip.”

“I think you’re totally overdue for one then.”

As we continued the walk down to River Street, Rhys pointed out different landmarks of interest. He didn’t just keep it to a history lesson. He also told me great places to eat and hang out. Of course, I didn’t care about any of the places unless he planned to bring me back to them.

When we got down to the cobblestoned pavement of River Street, Rhys and I stopped into a few shops. I especially enjoyed the ones with gag gifts and T-shirts. Once we’d laughed and dared each other to buy several obnoxious ones, Rhys steered me into the huge candy store. The moment I stepped inside, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. “That smell is pure heaven,” I murmured.

He laughed. “I would have to agree.”

After eyeballing the many delicious goodies under the glass, I decided on some chocolate covered pecan clusters along with a caramel apple dipped in nuts. I also added a famous praline. As I munched on one of the samples of chocolate bark, Rhys put in an order that caused my eyes to bulge. “What?” he asked.

“You’re getting all that for you?”

“I’ve been known to have them ship stuff to me when I’m out on tour,” he replied, getting out his wallet.

“Who knew you had such a sweet tooth?”

“It’s epic. Trust me.”

I couldn’t help protesting when Rhys had them ring up my sweets with his. “No, let me get mine,” I protested.

“It was my idea, so let me treat you.”

“But only this one time since I’m a poor, struggling college student, and you’re mister money bags.”

Rhys laughed. “Whatever.” Once he had paid, he gave them his address to ship the candy to. I had been wondering how he would possibly get it out of the store, least of all back to his house.

After that was sorted, we walked back out into sunshine. “Are you hungry?” Rhys asked.

“Maybe a little,” I replied, after polishing off my second pecan cluster.

“How about some good seafood?”

“I’d love some.”

“Follow me then.”

When he started into Huey’s, which looked like a higher-end restaurant, I grabbed his arm. “No, I’m not dressed for this place,” I hissed, motioning to my jeans and T-shirt.

“It’ll be fine.”

“No, Rhys, please.”

His brows shot up. “Does it really bother you that much? Because I could give two shits about the way you’re dressed, and I’m a VIP.”

A smile played on my lips at his words. “Are you sure?”

“I’d hardly call my Ralph Lauren shirt and shorts black tie. Besides, it’s a tourist trap. Lots of people stumble in not realizing.”

“Fine. If you say so.”

“Trust me,” he said, holding my gaze with his dark eyes.

“Okay,” I muttered lamely.

He grinned as we walked up to the hostess stand. When the hostess glanced up from a pile of menus, she did a double take at the sight of Rhys. I think it was safe to say she totally recognized him not from being a hometown boy, but from his Runaway Train fame. “Oh, um, hi, how many?”

“Just two. Can we get a table with a river view?”

“Sure, yeah, one second.” She wrote and rewrote some numbers on a whiteboard before grabbing two menus. “Right this way,” she replied, with a megawatt smile that belonged on a Miss America contestant.

As she started leading us through the maze of tables, I leaned in close to Rhys. “I’m pretty sure your VIP status just jacked someone else’s table for us.”

Rhys chuckled. “I’m surprised she even recognized me. The bass player is never the noticed one in a band.”

I fought the urge to tell him that not all bass players were as hot as he was. Instead, I replied, “Here I thought it was the drummer lost behind the kit.”

“Do you think AJ could ever be lost to fans?”

I laughed. “Not really.”

The hostess motioned to our table, which gave us a great view of the river past the crowds sauntering down the street. Once she sat the menus down, she swept a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled broadly at Rhys. “Have a great dinner.”

“Thank you. I’m sure we will.”

Once she was out of earshot, I couldn’t help laughing. “Frankly, I don’t think she even noticed I was alive. She had total Rhys tunnel vision.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he teased, as he picked up his menu.

“Now you’re starting to sound like Jake or AJ.”

“That’s an awfully cocky combination.”

I laughed. “Exactly.” Glancing at my menu, I asked, “So what’s good here?”

“Since I’ve eaten your nana’s cooking before, I know you like Southern food.”

“What kind of Southern girl would I be if I didn’t enjoy collard greens and fried green tomatoes?”

“Not a very good one,” Rhys replied. Waving his menu, he added, “This place is fucking fabulous when it comes to Southern food. The fried green tomatoes here are kick-ass. Plus there’s low country boil on the menu, so you should be able to get the greens I know you love.”

My stomach rumbled in appreciation at his words. “Sounds good to me. Of course, everything looks good.”