A Time to Move On

Welcome back to the world of Brothers of Rock!

A series built on love, life, and rock n
’
 
roll romance!

The bestselling series continues with rock band,
 
Fallen Tuesday
!

Meet the band!

Luke (lead singer)

Gray (guitar / piano)

Trent (bass)

Jake (guitar)

Mack (drums)

_____________

Brothers of Rock
 
Books 1
 
–
 
5 follow rock band
 
Chasing
Cross

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’
t miss a single book
in the
 
Brothers of Rock
 
series!

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(Chasing
Cross
 
–
 
Book One)
 –
 
Johnnie, lead singer

Broken Sound
 
(Chasing
Cross
 
–
 
Book Two)
 
–
 
Davey, guitarist

Bitter Farewell
 
(Chasing
Cross
 
–
 
Book Three)
 –
 
Danny, guitarist

Buried Notes
 
(Chasing
Cross
 
–
 
Book Four)
 –
 
Chris, bassist

Last Song
 
(Chasing
Cross
 
–
 
Book Five)
 –
 
Rick, drummer

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Meet BACK DOWN DEVIL MC
…

OUTLAW REVENGE

CRASH & BURN

DARK FALL

SECRET MAYHEM

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NOW
...
 
are you ready for some
…

BROTHERS OF ROCK!

A
 
Time to Move On
 
(Fallen Tuesday Book
 
Five) (A Brothers of Rock Novel)

The Brothers of Rock series continues with Fallen
 
Tuesday!

*

With his tough
demeanor and biker appearance, nobody would ever believe that drummer Mack was
still grieving the loss of the only woman he ever loved. On yet another
anniversary of her passing, Mack takes to the road to grieve and hate the
world.

Laura Pettres only
knows how to run. Commitment is not an option because that means moving on
…
and moving on means letting go
and forgetting what she lost. Out of hope
–
and out of gas
–
she
’
s on the side of the road
waiting for a sign.

It
’
s supposed to be nothing more
than an understanding. Two people who are in pain but enjoy each other
’
s company. A rockstar and a
brokenhearted woman. Can their two hearts be mended around the emptiness and
pain from loss that won
’
t
go away?

(1)

The only times Mack's heart didn't
ache were when he was behind his drums, strumming a guitar alone, or after a
few drinks. Lately, not even those took the pain away. He had been told by so
many well-wishers that time would heal him. That it would get easier as time
went on. They were all liars. Every year that passed got harder. Every time
Fallen Tuesday got bigger, his pain got worse. They had no idea that time
couldn't heal a heart that died the day he lost her. There was no honor in
surviving without
her
.

At the end of the day, Mack sat in
the living room on a chair from his kitchen to accommodate all his guests. He
had a big townhouse that he shared with no one. The closest he came to having a
roommate was when Gray had crashed in the basement for a little while. His
dining room had been converted into a music room, but every time he looked in
there, all he could picture was the big dinners they had planned on having with
all the bandmates and their significant others.

That’s what Mack witnessed now as
he sat with a guitar on his lap and a flask of whiskey in his hand. This was
the peril of tragedy and grieving. If he drank, the pain eased up. But then he
was stuck in his house, with the plans that were destroyed the day she died. Of
all the crazy things he did in life, Mack would never drink and then take off
on his motorcycle. He didn't want to be a tragic stereotype. But if Mack didn’t
drink some whiskey to take the edge off, it felt like a knife was in the pit of
his stomach.

“Come on, let’s play it one more
time,” Jake begged.

“I’m already sick of the songs,”
Gray said. “We didn’t even get on tour yet.”

“That’s okay,” Luke said. “As soon
as we get sick of something, we can change it up. Keep it fresh.”

“Mack, what are you thinking right
now?” Trent asked.

“I'm thinking I can't wait to get
out of this house. This tour is going to be huge."

“That’s how it goes,” Luke said.
“One day we’re small, one day we’re big. That’s why as much as I hate to admit
it, we need to listen to what Frank says to do, so we can capitalize on all
this.”

“We will, man,” Mack said. “The
album, the tour. We’re set. And you know damn well we aren’t going to sit
around a tour bus and not write new music.”

“That’s what I'm talking about.
This is going to be so insane,” Trent said.

“It’s going to be wild,” Jake said.
“But, come on, can we play one more song? We don’t get a lot of times like
this. You know, with everything and everyone together.”

The words weren't meant to impact
Mack the way they did. He watched his bandmates hanging in the living room with
their girlfriends. When Mack looked to his left and then to his right, there was
nothing. Nobody. Just himself, a guitar, some booze, and a house he bought
because he promised
her
that it would one day be a home.

"Play the song then,” Luke
said. “But everyone has to sing. I’m not going to hurt myself again.”

“Yeah, we’ve had a good run so far,
let's not have anymore obstacles.”

Jake started to strum his guitar.
One thing Mack could never deny was the addiction and love for music they all
had. Within thirty seconds of Jake starting the song, everyone was playing
together. Mack strummed the chords in his living room, but his mind was on
stage playing for tens of thousands of fans. Touring the country and the world.
Signing autographs and taking pictures for every dedicated fan of Fallen
Tuesday.

Luke’s voice was perfect, even when
he was just messing around. After the first chorus, Mack refocused on his band
and got into the song. They ran through the song, playing through another
verse, chorus, bridge, solo, and then the chorus a few more times. When the
song ended, Luke stood up and put his guitar down. He threw his hands up and
put his head back.

“The crowd is screaming,” he said.

Everyone laughed.

“I can’t wait for that reaction
every night we take the stage,” Trent said. “Soon enough, guys. Soon enough.”

“And not to mention our stage set
is looking amazing,” Jake said. “And the opening act is pretty solid.”

“Everything has finally fallen in
place for us,” Luke said.

“It has,” Mack said. He stood and
placed his guitar against his chair. “It really has.”

Whiskey in hand, Mack walked into
his music room. He had everything a rockstar could want on hand and more. The
whiskey tempted him, but the road was calling his name. The road could take him
anywhere he wanted.

Mack leaned to the left and without
looking, he put the whiskey down on a chair. His fingers twitched and his mouth
was dry. But right now, the whiskey couldn’t give him what he wanted.

A hand touched Mack’s shoulder and
made him jump. He turned his head and nodded to Jake. “Brother.”

“What are you doing, man?” Jake
asked.

“Looking around this place. I can't
get it off my mind."

“Hey, we know,” Jake said. “We all
know. And we’re here for you. I saw you put that flask down. That’s good. We
don’t need that shit right now. Save it for the road. For the big shows. The
biggest of shows. Just think about the parties we will have backstage. After
playing for forty thousand…”

Mack smiled. “I know. I think about
it all the time.”

“Fallen Tuesday kicks ass,” Jake
said.

“Yeah, they do.”

Jake patted Mack on the back and
walked away. Mack went through the room and into the kitchen. He grabbed a
bottle of water out of the fridge. When he came back through, he stopped and the
scene consumed his emotions. Amy was on Luke's lap. His hands were around her
waist, her head resting back on his shoulder. Gray and Trent were on the couch
with Carina and Emily. Carina was running a finger along the scruff on Gray’s
face. They were staring into each other's eyes. Their noses were just an inch
apart. Trent had a hand on top of Emily’s, their fingers interlocked. Then on
the floor was Jake and Mel. He sat with his legs bent and open, Mel tucked
neatly between them. She was a beautiful woman. Her heart had captured Jake and
saved him from a terrible life of regret. They were infatuated with each other
and couldn't stop touching.

That’s what Mack stared at. Seeing
their happiness was a blessing and he truly was thrilled for all his brothers,
but he could not get past the idea that it was supposed to be him on the floor
with his love curled up to him. He could have any woman he wanted, and there
were plenty to choose from, but moving on meant letting go. And Mack was never going
to let
her
go.

Then, almost in unison, he watched
all of them kiss their loves. Luke offered Amy sweet little pecks. She smiled
when Luke kissed her like that. Gray kissed Carina, holding the kiss for a few
seconds. Trent and Emily playfully teased each other with the tips of their
noses. And then Jake and Mel got a bit more into it with their mouths partially
open.

And all Mack had was a bottle of
water.

A bottle of freaking water.

Mack drank the water and then
grabbed a key and snuck out of the house. If he couldn't have whiskey, he
needed the road. He knew the second he started the motorcycle, it would call
attention to everyone in the house, but they all knew what time of the year it
was. Sure he should have stayed and celebrated Fallen Tuesday and the coming
success, but it was time to try and fix the hole in Mack’s heart.

*

When Luke heard the motorcycle kick
up, he turned his head. The music room was empty. He stood and placed Amy on
her feet. The rest of the guys were already standing.

“What’s wrong?” Mel asked.

“Mack,” Jake said. “Long story.”

Luke kissed Amy on her cheek and
then nodded to the band. Luke walked right to the front door and went outside.
Mack’s motorcycle was already thundering off down the road.

“Damn,” Luke said. He smacked the
railing to the steps.

The rest of the band came outside
and Jake pulled the door shut.

“He’s gone,” Trent said.

“Again,” Jake said.

“Damn us,” Gray said. “We shouldn’t
have brought everyone here like this. I didn’t even think about it.”

“None of us did,” Luke said. “Just
thought we were going to celebrate the night off before the show tomorrow.”

“Mack needs us,” Trent said. “And I
have no idea what to do. I don’t know how to help him. It’s been a long time
since the accident but that doesn’t mean anything if he’s suffering still.”

“He can’t be like this forever, can
he?” Jake asked.

Luke looked at Jake. For a second
he thought about smacking him in the face for making such a comment, but maybe
Jake was right. Maybe there was a time limit to whatever was going on with
Mack.

“Should we call Frank?” Gray asked.
“See if he can get us a ride or get someone looking for him?”

“No,” Luke shook his head. “No. You
know how he gets with this. He’ll be out until he’s ready to come back.”

“Has he been drinking?” Trent
asked.

“No,” Jake said. “Christ, I just
told him I was proud of him for putting the whiskey down. He’s been drinking a
lot lately.”

“Always does this time of year, but
we haven't noticed it the last couple years, because we were busy on the road
and recording,” Luke said.

“What a year,” Gray said. “This
kind of stuff makes me nervous. I know how bad things got with my brother. I
can't stand to see Mack heading down that path. He needs to deal with
this."

Trent put a hand to Gray’s
shoulder. “I know, man. That’s what I think too. But at least he isn't being
reckless and driving drunk."

“He’ll come back,” Jake said. “He
always does. We need to let him know that we are here for him and see if there
is a way we can get him the help he needs to work through this."

“Before he does go and do something
stupid,” Gray whispered.

“Don’t even say that,” Luke said.
He looked back at the band. “This all started because of a drunk driver.
Remember that. I don’t think anyone… would be that dumb.”

Silence fell between them all as
they stood crammed on Mack’s small cement porch. Luke looked up and down the
street and remembered how much they picked on Mack for buying such a normal
house in a normal neighborhood. Everything about Mack screamed rockstar. His
wide shoulders. His tattoos. Hell, the motorcycle alone was enough. Yet here he
was trying to hang on to a dream he had lost a long time ago. But no matter how
much money he made or what the band did, that dream would never return.

“Shit,” Luke yelled and kicked at
the railing. He felt his throat tense up.

“What?” Trent asked.

“Look at this,” Luke said. “It’s
all about
her
. The house. The neighborhood. He bought this for their
future.”

“I know,” Gray said. “But he has to
be the one to let go when he’s ready, if ever.”

“What do we do?” Luke asked.

“We go along for the ride,” Jake
said.

Luke nodded.

We go along for the ride…

Luke smiled. He turned and faced the
band missing Mack. “I need to call Frank… I have an idea…”