Page 48 of The Other Side of Green

Lyra wouldn’t be carded. Hell, I’d brought the night’s entertainment for free.

“Evan?” Her feet ground to a halt. “What?”

Evan placed his beer which he had lifted halfway between the bar and his mouth, back onto the bar. “Little Lyra!” He smirked but then stepped closer and pulled her into a tight hug. My need to thump him for breathing closer to Lyra was slightly diminished by just being thankful to fuck that he’d flown in. “We’ve come in your hour of need.”

Lyra pushed herself free. “What do you mean?” Her gaze fell on the person next to Evan. “Rhian?”

“You better believe it, sister.”

Lyra’s shoulders shook—not quite the effect I’d been going for when I’d called Evan and asked him to come.

‘Lyra?” Rhian, fluffy kitten dressed like a hell-bitch, stepped closer. “Yo, Green, don’t be crying on me. This is my favorite top. I don’t want it wet.” She pulled Lyra out of Evan’s hold and hugged her tight.

“I can’t believe you’re here. I didn’t think I’d see you again.” Lyra sited her palms across her face.

“Why the fuck wouldn’t you see us again. We’re your friends?”

“But… but, I left.”

“Yep and we followed.” Evan handed her a bottle of beer. I almost looked out in case her brother was close, but then stopped myself. He wouldn’t be here, and anyway she was a grown woman. She could damn well have a beer if she wanted it. “We are the emergency funeral back-up plan.”

Lyra turned to me. “What’s going on?”

“I thought you might want to honor Grams your way, and not Pastor Clarke’s.”

“But it’s all in hand. I just need to work out what to play.”

Evan cocked his head to the side. “Or what to sing. Lyra, you aren’t just the violin, the sooner you see that the better.”

“But Grams wanted me to play. It’s in her wishes.”

“So play, and then sing. Show the whole damn town what you can do,” he told her.

I quirked a smile at her blank expression. “Let us help you.”

Her gaze swept my bruises. “Luca will go mad.”

I laughed. “Yeah, so?”

Evan turned her chin to face him. “Just think of me like a fairy god-brother.”

She winced. “I think I’ve got enough brother vibes going around at the moment.”

I pondered on this. How much of an asshole was Luca being at the moment?

Evan though ignored her comment, “Well, little bird, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” He’d barely finished speaking when the main event pushed through.

“Lyra!”

Lyra stepped back as the Blue’s Bar Gospel group: Leah, Rach, and Grace bundled toward her, obviously bored of waiting for their moment in the limelight. I shook my head and laughed, like any of them could even be vaguely in the shadows—fat chance of that happening.

“Your Grammy like gospel, Little Lyra?”

“What the actual fuck?” Lyra’s golden skin paled to a chalky white. “I can’t believe this.”

“Better believe it, sister. We are here to make this fucking epic.” Leah, bigger, bossier and downright scary, took control. “So on the plane we were talking through ideas, and we need to make sure we make a bang.”

“Leah, it’s my Grams’ funeral.”