Melodies of the Heart

Chapter Nine

Kassidy

It had been hard for Kassidy to act like herself the last few days. Disappointment ran through her veins and she was convinced that she had lost her chance with Levi after brushing off his attempt to kiss her.

Despite how much it upset her to realise that, she refused to let herself regret what had happened between them. She'd made a choice and she knew it was the right one. If they had kissed, she would have only let herself fall for the guy and instead of disappointed, she would be heartbroken when he eventually left town to return to his real life.

At least Murph had been giving her updates about the bike. He'd put the new muffler on it on Wednesday, but he still had some things that needed some tuning, at least, that was the case as of two days ago. He hadn't been back to the bakery since, and part of her was tempted to bring him another loaf of rye bread as a bribe for more information, but she'd thought better of it.

Word had been getting around that a famous rock star was in town, and Kassidy wanted to believe that a part of the reason she hadn't seen Levi since they'd gone their separate ways on Sunday was that he was laying low. He obviously didn't want the attention that he was sure to bring once people knew where he was, and she wanted to respect his wishes and keep it that way.

At least Mary Alice was good at keeping her mouth shut about her latest tenant. Levi was the only one staying at her boarding house, so they needn't worry about another person informing everyone where he was staying, which would only make things worse. The only issue was her neighbors finding out that she had someone staying with her again.

But deep down, Kassidy knew that wasn't the only reason he was laying low. She had shot him down and she had known what the consequences of that would be. She'd turned guys down before, only to have them never want to speak to her again. Really, the only man she'd ever said no to that still tried to talk to her was Paul, but she was certain that was only his pride making him want to try again.

Kassidy tried to avoid thinking about Levi, but she couldn't help it. Every thought that drifted through her mind somehow found its way back to him and only made her heart ache more. The littlest thing brought her back to him and she knew she couldn't fight it on her own.

She had begged her parents to let her do work in the back, but there wasn't anything to do. Instead, she was sitting at the cash register, rarely seeing a customer, and her mind was too active for her own good.

Another wave of sadness overtook her and she knew she needed some fresh air before she broke down and started to cry. Not once in the last five days had she let herself cry over him, but she was getting too close to it and she grabbed a Panini out of the display case, warned her parents she was going outside for lunch, and stepped outside just before the first tear could tumble over her lower lashes.

The fresh air was exactly what she needed to get her emotions in check. A light breeze flowed down Main Street and cooled the heat in her face and a bite of her lunch helped her swallow the knot in her throat. Her heart still hurt, but at least she'd gotten control of her symptoms once more.

As she ate – each bite calming her down more and more – a deep rumble began to fill the air. On their way to the state park, Kassidy thought as she listened to the noise swell around her. On a beautiful day in May, it was a common sight to see people on their bikes headed toward the campground for the weekend.

It wasn't until she saw the motorcycle that she realised it wasn't just some biker on his way through town. It was too familiar and her heart clenched as she realised it was Levi that was about to go right by her.