Last Song (Chasing Cross Book Five) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (rockstar contemporary romance) (8 page)

“I can see that,” Rick
said.

“Do you have a dog?”

Rick shook his head. “I’m
getting my life together right now, Sarah. I have a band to take care of. I
grabbed them at the store... when we talked last you mentioned something about
giving Molly a treat...”

“That was weeks...”

Molly barked.

Rick looked at the
beautiful dog and she licked her lips.

Another please?
her big
eyes asked.

Rick gave Molly another
treat and this time Molly ate it hesitating.

“I can’t believe you did
this,” Sarah said.

“Sarah, it’s a box of dog
treats,” Rick said. “No big deal.”

“It’s just... thoughtful...”

Thoughtful.

Rick nodded. Just like
that, talking to his neighbor who, face it, was just plain sexy, made Rick feel
comfortable for the first time since ditching Chasing Cross.

**

Sarah saw Molly licking
the treat and almost hoped the dog would have pushed it away with her nose. Instead,
she ate the treat, and barked for another one.

Damn.

It wasn’t that she was worried
Molly would eat too many treats and get sick. It wasn’t that she worried she’d
stand there and talk to Rick for another couple minutes. It was that by
standing there, looking at him, talking to him, it made her want to know more
about him.

He was in Chasing Cross?

Hearing it shocked her.
She knew the band. Everyone knew the band. She couldn’t pick one the members
out a lineup, obviously, but to have a rockstar living as her neighbor was so
different. It was... kind of sexy. All of a sudden the nights of music and
noise seemed to have purpose.

“So this is your new
band?” Sarah asked.

The silence between she
and Rick had gone on long enough again. She wasn’t sure what to say and the way
Rick looked at her made her vulnerable in a good way. It gave her hope that
maybe she could enjoy getting to know her new neighbor.

“Yeah,” Rick said. “We’ve
just been hanging out. Jamming.”

“So you’re not in Chasing
Cross anymore?”

Rick looked down at the
food on the grill. It smelled great. He pressed on one of the burgers and a
flame kicked up for a few seconds as the juice dripped.

“That’s a long story,”
Rick said. “I’ll tell it to you someday, but first I have a band to feed.”

Two cars had pulled down
the alley and parked and three men climbed from the cars. They all looked rough
and beat up like the cliché kind of rockstar. They all had long hair and ripped
jeans. They had an intimidating aura that Sarah wasn’t sure of. She looked back
at Rick and realized that the first couple times she saw him he had that same
look, but not so much today. Today he looked... calm and deadly handsome as his
eyes focused on nothing but Sarah and Molly.

“I’d offer you to stay,”
Rick said, “but it’s just a bunch of guys...”

“That’s fine,” Sarah
said. “I’m heading back. Have plans with a friend.”

Rick’s face dropped.

Was he disappointed?

“My friend Susie,” Sarah
said.

Why the hell did I just
tell him that?

“Sounds fun,” Rick said.

“She’s a new mom, sort
of. We get together when she needs a break.”

Sarah stopped herself
from spilling more words and thanked Rick for the dog treats. He gave Sarah one
to take home for Molly. The last thing Sarah needed was something to remind her
of Rick. Her mind would probably be spinning on night.

She made it all of three
steps before Rick called her name.

“Forgot to mention,” Rick
called out. “Friday night.”

“Friday night?”

“The band has its first
show. You should come see it. Bring your friend, Susie.”

Sarah tried to continue
to walk, but she tripped on the leash. She saved herself from an embarrassing
fall but her face still burned. Rick let out a laugh and waved. He walked into
the garage and Molly pulled on the leash.

Sarah couldn’t figure out
what just happened.

Did Rick just ask her
out?

(9)

“Tell me about Rick? Have
you been in contact with him? What’s really going on?”

Johnnie touched his mouth
and looked towards Chris. He needed Chris right then. He needed Chris to give
the radio host the best answer possible. Chris looked annoyed. Pissed off. Frustrated.

Join the club, brother.

“Why don’t we talk about
tonight’s show?” Danny replied. “I mean, we’ve got a really great show planned
for everyone. Some acoustic stuff and then Luke is going to sing with
Johnnie...”

About a week ago, a tired
Luke appeared in the dressing room ten minutes before the show. His set with
Fallen Tuesday had gone twenty minutes over schedule but that was okay. The
band had really gained a major following and with Luke drumming for Chasing
Cross it only served to help. Everyone wanted a piece of Luke. Everyone wanted
a piece of Fallen Tuesday, but that night he looked tired and when Johnnie
offered to have a drum tech step in Luke refused. He had a better idea.

What if they took a mid
set break and played a couple acoustic songs? Luke would join Johnnie and sing
backup vocals. Just to try something different.

Johnnie couldn’t argue it
and when their voices mixed - Johnnie’s deeper tone and Luke’s amazing range of
notes - it was instant explosion. Videos surfaced by the end of the night and
by the time Johnnie rolled out of bed on the tour bus, Peter was already on the
phone with the record company wanting to do something live to quickly sell. The
fans of both Chasing Cross and Fallen Tuesday gathered online on social
networks and talked about the show. Soon fans expected it, wanted it, chanted
it, and demanded it.

“Yeah, Luke,” Bobby, the
host of the radio show, said. He wore big glasses and his hands shook as he
spoke. He was an old timer but had one of the biggest followings in northern
California. “That was good stuff, but guys, the fans want to know about Rick.”

“What about?” Danny
asked.

“A guy doesn’t just play
a show one night and then disappear. We haven’t heard from Rick. We haven’t
heard about Rick.”

“He’s taking a break,”
Chris said. “That’s all it is.”

Johnnie looked around and
could feel the tension mounting.

He had to step in,
calmly.

“I know everyone is
worried about Rick,” he said. “And it touches us, and touches Rick. But he had
to step away for a little bit. That’s all. Again, we’ve been lucky enough to
have Luke from Fallen Tuesday help, give the Chasing Cross fans the show they
expected, and more. When the time comes, we’ll get everything sorted out with
Rick.”

“Will he be your
drummer?” the host asked.

“He is our drummer,”
Johnnie said.

“Is his drumming
tonight?”

“No. But that doesn’t...”

“So he’s not the
drummer,” the host said. “My personal guess is that there’s some kind of
substance abuse here...”

Johnnie stood up. He tore
the headphones off his head and threw them to the floor. The rest of the band
looked at him in shock. Johnnie had to remind himself that he was on air. He
had to tread lightly. Very lightly.

“We just want to thank
our fans for the love and support,” Johnnie said. “Chasing Cross has the
greatest fans in the world. We can’t wait to see everyone at tonight’s show.
Thanks for having us.”

Johnnie stormed from the
studio with the rest of the band right behind him. He cut down a hallway until
he found Peter at the end of the hall. He was on his cell phone. Johnnie tore
the phone from Peter and ended the call. Peter looked at Johnnie with fire in
his eyes.

“You hung up on your
record company,” Peter said.

“I don’t care,” Johnnie
said. “What the hell was that about?”

“What?”

“Just then. On air.
Pushing and pushing about Rick.”

Peter scoffed. “What the
hell do you think everyone wants to know?”

Johnnie pushed forward.
He was ready to attack someone, anyone. Danny grabbed Johnnie’s arm and pulled
him back.

“Whoa, calm down man,”
Danny said. “Let’s take this to the bus, okay?”

Johnnie nodded and broke
from his brother’s hold. He left the radio station and hurried to the bus
before anyone could barrage him or the band with autographs and more questions.

They all sat on the bus a
few minutes later, Johnnie looking out the window, the rest of the band trying
to make conversation and ease the mood a little. Peter joined them all,
standing at the front of the bus, his arms folded, his face stern.

“I’m not really sure what
you guys want me to say or do here,” Peter said.

“Not throw us into the
fire,” Johnnie said.

“Excuse me?” Peter asked.
“Into the fire? And how did I do that, Johnnie? I can’t control what people are
going to ask you.”

“Then no more radio
interviews,” Johnnie said.

“Because that will help
the band and the tour,” Peter said.

“Not until this blows
over.”

“It’s not going to blow
over,” Peter said with finger quotes around the words
blow over
. “This is real, this is now. Nobody
is going to give up until there’s an answer.”

“And what’s the answer?”
Danny asked.

“We know the answer,”
Chris said. He stood up and started to pace. “We have to make a decision on
Rick.”

“I’ve been saying it,”
Peter said. “It’s calm and quiet for now, but the fans want to know. The media
wants to know. They’re going to just assume he’s in rehab, and when you say
he’s taking a leave and you support him, it makes it sound worse.”

“So what do we say?”
Davey asked. “Tell everyone that our drummer just up and left?”

“No,” Peter said. “We
push. Now. I’ll call his lawyer and say that it’s time to talk.”

“Time to talk,” Johnnie
whispered.

“We have to get in front
of him at least,” Danny said. “Just to hear his side of everything. If he needs
our help... or if he’s just done...”

“I heard a bought a
house,” Peter said.

“He what?” Chris asked.

“He bought a house in
Smithsten. I heard from someone I know.”

“Anything else you’d care
to share?” Johnnie asked.

“Look, I’m not the bad
guy here. Okay? I want to help figure this out as much as you. I’ve got the
record company breathing down my neck. They want you guys in a studio,
recording new material. And then this thing with Luke...”

“Enough business talk,”
Johnnie said. “I’m sick of it. Christ, maybe Rick had the right idea.”

The comment brought the
tour bus into a dead silence. Johnnie stood up and grabbed his cell phone. He
looked around at the band, and then at Peter. The mood was vile. Johnnie knew
he lead it that way, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stand the questions
anymore about Rick. He didn’t know how to answer them. Plus, Luke was an
amazing drummer, an amazing singer, and great to have around. He brought life
and fun to Chasing Cross. On top of that, Jess was in New York and it had been
two weeks since he’d seen her. The same could be said for the rest of the
band’s loved ones. The tour had forged on, pushing and proving that this thing
with Rick wasn’t going to derail Chasing Cross.

Johnnie walked off the
bus and pressed a button on his phone. He listened to the ringing sound and
closed his eyes.

His voicemail picked up
and Johnnie let out a long breath.

“Rick, it’s Johnnie...”

**

They were one day away
from their first show. Rick sat behind the drums, running through the small set
list they had made for the show. They were going to play a couple covers, then a
couple songs from the bands the other guys were in, and Rick broke down and
agreed to play one Chasing Cross song. They would also play three original
songs. Rick started to feel nervous. He hadn’t seen Sarah since her walk the
other day, so he wasn’t sure if she would come to the show. Either way,
everything felt different, yet good. Rick was excited about playing. Rick was
excited about the show.

The song ended and Rick
reached down for his beer. He drank what was left in it and tossed the bottle
to the side. The glass clanked and rolled on the concrete. He called for a
fresh one. Andy put his guitar pick in his mouth, opened the fridge, and
grabbed a beer. He threw the bottle and Rick caught it. Rick tapped the beer on
the side of one of his drums and the top popped off.

They finished about an
hour later and that was it. The next time they would all play would be on a
small stage with cheap lighting, bar noise, and most of the people not giving a
damn about the band on stage.

Rick offered the garage
and some drinks but everyone decided to split up. The silence brought back a
familiar pain for Rick. The pain of loneliness. He opened the back garage door
and looked at Sarah’s house. The light was on in her kitchen but he couldn’t
see her. He still couldn’t get the feeling out of his mind when she said she
had plans with
someone
.
Just hearing that word -
someone
- actually made Rick feel jealous. That was until Sarah told him it was
with a female friend. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.

When he retreated back
into the garage, he decided to call it night go into the house. He left his
beer on the floor. He went through the back door and saw his cell phone on the
counter. He had a missed call and voicemail waiting for him.

From Johnnie.

Just seeing the lead
singer’s name on the screen made Rick’s stomach turn. He missed it. He missed
Johnnie. He missed the band. But it just wasn’t right yet.

“Rick. It’s Johnnie...”

Five minutes later, Rick
twisted the cap off a bottle of vodka.

An hour later he was
talking to himself. Sitting on the couch, the bottle between his legs, he
defended everything he’d ever done in life.

Four hours later, in the
dead of night, Rick had a dream he signed papers to officially leave Chasing
Cross. When he woke in a cold sweat, he wasn’t sure if it was a nightmare…