No Holding Back (35 page)

Wade sipped lazily at his beer, enjoying the taste of the brew as it fizzed down his throat. He inhaled the fresh spring air as the tantalizing smell of burgers and brats wafted in his direction.

No one would have guessed that they
’d see this picture just a year and a half later. It certainly wasn’t one Wade thought
he
would see, especially not after what Heretic had been through. He couldn’t believe how far they had come in such a short amount of time. And on one breezy afternoon in Clarksville, Michigan, Wade caught himself smiling - again.

Heretic made good on their promise to fans.
Titan Reality
was a hit and stood number one on the music charts for months.

He relaxed casually in the folding lawn chair and watched as
‘the Colonel’ tended the meats carefully on the grill all while his brother, Os, fed Sara her food from a baby jar. His little girl was already one year old. He tried to stop himself from laughing as she playfully flung food back into her uncle’s face. A stunt that he’d seen on more than one occasion but it never got old.

When the
Colonel had enough of Joe’s odd mannerisms, Chris challenged him to a game of one-on-one basketball to which he was defeated badly.

After he was
stuffed with food and beer, Wade watched proudly in the distance as little Sara beat relentlessly on her play drum set while Chris cheered her on. Sometimes he would catch the Colonel staring at the two of them in utter silence while a coat of moisture settled in his bottom eyelids. But then, he would turn to Wade and ‘clink’ beer bottles again in a mute toast.

Wade knew
Heretic’s place was on stage - that would never change. But he also knew that at the core of any band was family - not just music and lyrics.

A bond had been forged between the two men - a common thread that held them together in the form of their families. And l
ike Wade, he knew Chris’ father would hold on to it like a pit bull.

The Colonel rebuilt his relationship with his daughter. They both apologized to each other over and over again in the months that followed until every emotional wound that Wade knew of had been healed.

Wade even connected with Chris’ father on a level that made the memory of losing his own much less painful. He thought back on all the times he told Chris to let go of the past and hold nothing back when he was the one doing it all along.

But not anymore.