Redemption Song (27 page)

“Don’t worry, I told your mom I’d bring you home after the press conference. She has already left for your apartment. She’s waiting for you there.” Ted clicked a button on the remote key chain and the car roared to life. When they reached it, Ted pointed to the back seat. “Get in and duck down.”

Ethan did as he was told and Ted jumped into the driver’s seat, yanking the shifter into drive. Ethan did risk one last peek out the window to see the reporters bust into the garage just as Ted exited the parking deck and pulled out into the busy New York City side street.

As Ted maneuvered the Lincoln down one street after another, somehow finding a way to make better time than the taxis, Ethan couldn’t help but feel a bout of guilt for all of the risks and sacrifices Ted had made for him.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this, man,” Ethan voiced from his hiding spot in the back floor board. “You just gave up your job for me.”

Ted snickered. “Don’t worry about me, Mr. Carter. I’ve got other connections in the music industry besides Bruce McCloud. There’s always another job where that one came from. In fact, if it’s okay, I was thinking about sticking with you for a while.”

“Sticking with me?” Ethan laughed. “After tonight, I’m pretty sure my music career is over. Bruce will make certain of that.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Ted held an amused tone.

“Ted, do you know something I don’t know?” Ethan asked.

“It’s not what I know, Mr. Carter. It’s who I know,” Ted said. “My brother. He’s a producer for one of the biggest inspirational production companies in the country. And don’t get mad, but I took your little black book of songs the other day during your rehearsals and made copies to send to him. He loves your lyrics and wants to meet with you.”

Ethan couldn’t believe his ears or his excitement. “What are you getting at, Ted?”

Ted laughed. “Well, to put it simply, Mr. Carter, have you ever considered a career in Christian music?”

Alaina

The intense summer sun beat down through the driver’s side glass and Alaina raised her forearm to wipe her brow. It would be on the hottest day of summer that the air-conditioner in her parent’s worn out car would decide to quit producing cold air, and make a strange grinding, clicking noise instead. But that was just typical, Alaina thought to herself. Chaos and misdirection was the story of her life these past few months.

Not only had the ambitious attempt to attend her senior year of high school been a complete bust from day one, but now, even as a high school dropout working double shifts at the restaurant and spending next to no time with Ben, she still wasn’t making any headway on the medical bills. Of course, Granny Mae had offered to help, but Alaina knew that Granny was living on retirement alone. Mae had already opened up her home to Alaina, and there was no way Alaina was going to allow Mae to worry about any finances other than her own.

But it seemed the longer Ben held on and fought his fatal disease, the more complicated and more expensive things became. Not that Alaina cared, of course. She just wanted her brother. But it was becoming harder and harder to bear watching his bitter struggle for life. This fight was such a double edged sword. In one respect, Alaina wanted nothing but more time with her brother. But in another, she wanted nothing but for him to find some kind of relief from the pain, even if that meant the unthinkable.

Ben’s oncologist, Dr. Rouse, had said at the last appointment that the cancer was attached to most of Ben’s major organs now and it was basically a waiting game at this point. Alaina had spent a lot of time under the secret staircase that day.

Alaina looked out across the sandy beach that ran parallel to the Fairhope main road and heaved a sigh. Work had been extremely slow that day, hardly even making it worth her time to show up, and the beautiful pink ocean horizon that stretched out before her was nothing but a taunt to her haywire emotions. She wondered what it would be like to just lay out on that beach; to watch her brother play in the water, smiling and full of life; to see her parents walking hand in hand in the tide; to simply be . . . happy. Alaina had been faithful in her relationship with God. She still read her Bible daily. She still prayed constantly. And God provided her with the peace of understanding. Alaina understood that her parents were gone. She didn’t like it, but she accepted it. Alaina understood that Ben was in the midst of a battle that he simply was not going to win. She didn’t like it, but she accepted it.

But that didn’t make it any easier.

Alaina wondered what it would feel like to be happy again. She remembered having laughed before, but it was only a distant memory, and not an action that she’d managed in quite some time. She wiped at a drop of sweat escaping from her hairline and thought back to the last time she’d truly felt happy—a time that she rarely allowed to surface in her memory.

It was hard to believe that an entire year had passed since those late nights in the garden, talking and laughing. Those enchanted kisses underneath the Mobile Bay skyline. She remembered his perfectly placed brunette locks and wondered if he’d allowed them to go back to their original blonde by now. Alaina knew she easily could have looked him up on the internet—there would be a billion pictures there—but she’d never allowed herself. Somehow, she knew seeing his face would make her regret her decision.

The night of their separation still stung in her mind with a residual persistence. The sight of him kissing Vanessa had been more than she could handle. It’d been at that moment that Alaina realized she’d become too attached. Her relationship with Ethan was supposed to have been a mere distraction from her current crisis, but had quickly turned into much more than that. Ethan had not only stolen all of her time, but he’d also stolen her heart, and as much as she hated to admit it, he’d taken it with him when he left.

Not that she blamed him for leaving. She’d told him to go, after all, and wasn’t surprised when he’d chosen to listen to her. And as much as it still hurt, she knew it was for the best. Ethan didn’t belong in her world. He’d said he loved her.
Loved her.
The words still played over and over in an occasional dream. Even if that were true, Alaina couldn’t have allowed Ethan to love her because, truth be known, she loved him right back. As much as she didn’t want to admit it. As much as she hated herself for even allowing her heart to be put on the line in the first place, she knew there was no fighting it. She loved Ethan Carter with everything in her being, and that was exactly why she had to let him go.

Ethan looked to Alaina as an escape from his busy lifestyle. She was his vacation. But all vacations have to come to an end. Eventually, everyone has to return to reality and continue on with their lives as normal. Ethan had a life and it wasn’t in Fairhope. He had a career and it wasn’t being her crutch. She couldn’t allow him to feel obligated to become a part of her mess and feel somehow responsible for fixing it because he wanted her to be happy. He was much better off thinking she never wanted to see him again and going on with his future. He had way too much going for him to be slowed down by some girl that was just around at a time of vulnerability.

Now that Alaina knew Ethan’s true reason for visiting Fairhope, she realized why he’d wanted so badly to remake himself into a new person while he was there with her. It went so much deeper than just his hair. After all of their conversations, the things that Ethan had opened up to her about, she knew now that he’d been searching for something. Meaning and answers. She remembered a time when she’d done the same thing, and wherever Ethan was now, she hoped that he’d found his answers. And if not—if he’d decided to return to the life of drunken forgetfulness—she just prayed that God would protect him until he woke up and remembered.

Lost in thought, Alaina almost missed her turn for home. She swerved around the corner of the deserted intersection, completely ignoring the large red octagon—but somehow managing to find the curb with the back passenger side tire.

The car grinded along the protruding concrete and Alaina let out a slight squeal, jerking the wheel to the side in attempts to free the car. The car bumped back down to the pavement and Alaina let out a slow sigh, relieved that she hadn’t managed to sideswipe a mailbox, or worse, a person. She took a moment to catch her breath, and then pressed back down on the gas to resume her drive home.

That’s when she heard the noise—a loud pop followed by a low hiss as though someone was deflating a balloon in her right ear. It only took a matter of seconds for Alaina to realize what had happened when she began to hear the sound of rubber flapping against the pavement and felt the up and down motion of the no-longer-balanced vehicle.

The tire was blown.

Alaina hit the brake, threw the gear shift into park, and fell back against the seat. Her hands went to her head and she ran one through her sweaty hair with more aggression than truly necessary.
What else?
, she thought with a huff.

She wrenched the door open, popped the trunk latch, and stomped to the back of the car. Wiping another bead of sweat, she pulled on her long dark hair, and rewrapped it back up into a messy ponytail. Upon viewing the contents of the trunk—the spare tire, the jack, a portable air tank, and a bag of tools—an inconvenient truth reared its ugly head.

She didn’t have the faintest idea how to change a tire.

Oh well, no better way to learn than when under pressure, she decided. She was reaching in to pull the spare out when a loud engine came to a roaring halt behind her. She knew that truck. Had spent many a regrettable night riding in it with a regrettable ex-boyfriend. And as he exited the driver’s side, dressed in nothing but a pair of Hawaiian-print swim trunks, a pair of Bilibong flip flops, and a narcissistic grin, Alaina wondered how much damage she’d cause by just forgetting about the tire and driving the car home right then on the rim.

“Flat tire, I see.”

Cam’s voice sent shivers up her spine. She flashed back to the night she’d spent on the beach with Ethan. The night Cam had revealed her secrets through a very drunken display of masculinity.

Alaina smirked. “Wow, you’re observant.”

“Ouch. What’s with the hostility?”

“The fact that you even have to ask that question should be answer enough.”

Cam was at the trunk now. “Move over, Ali. Let me get that spare for you.”

She didn’t budge. “My name is Alaina.” She took a step in front of Cam, blocking his way to the spare, and reached in. “I got this, Cam. I don’t need your help.”

He gave a slight snicker. “Oh really?” He reached in and grabbed a long metal rod with an S bend in the middle and hexagonal indentions on both ends. “Well then, why don’t you tell me what this is called?”

Alaina’s mouth formed into a thin line. She opened it, but nothing came out.

Cam’s brow turned up, a play of amusement gleamed in his eye. “Uh-huh. Can you at least tell me what it’s used for?”

Once again, Alaina was at a loss. The best she could come up with was, “It turns those big screw things on the tires.”

“They’re called nuts,” Cam said. “And sometimes they’re really hard to turn, so just move over, drop the I-can-do-everything-myself bit for five minutes, and let me help you.”

Alaina remained unmoving, eyes locked with Cam’s. She’d forgotten how blue they could be and how long his lashes were. Finally, deciding it wasn’t worth the fight, and that dealing with Cam for ten minutes was worth getting home before dark, she took a begrudged step out of his way.

“There ya go,” he coaxed. He reached into the trunk and pulled the spare tire out in one swift heave. He bent over and rolled it to the side of the car, propping it against the passenger side door. He returned promptly for the rod thing—a tire iron he later called it—an air pump, and a jack.

Pushing the jack underneath the back end of the car, he attached a pole thing to the end of it and began to crank it as though it was some sort of windup toy. Alaina watched with curious focus, wondering how he knew where to place the jack without it ripping a hole in the base of the car.

Is that even possible?
Maybe Cam’s help was more needed than Alaina cared to admit.

“Consider this your first lesson in the fine art of tire changing,” Cam said. He then took the tire iron, fit it up against one of the nuts, grasped the cross sections and gave a hard tug. The nut gave a slight whine as it loosened its grip and began to turn. Alaina couldn’t help but notice that every single muscle in Cam's back flexed as he loosened each of the nuts, one right after another. It reminded her of the morning she’d run into Ethan in the hallway in nothing but a towel. Cam wasn’t quite as built as Ethan, but he definitely gave him some competition.

Giving a slight glance her way, he grinned and winked. “Like what you see, church girl?”

Alaina gasped and turned her head. “Oh shut up, Cam. Just fix the tire so I can get out of here.”

“Wow, you don’t show much appreciation for a guy who comes to your rescue,” he said. “Is this the kind of attitude you used with beach boy last year? No wonder he took off so fast.”

His comment punched through her as if he’d actually used his fist and not his mouth. “That is absolutely none of your business.” Alaina stepped out of the way as Cam yanked the blown tire from a circle of what appeared to be big screws. “Although you never have been good at minding your own business unless it’s convenient for you,” she muttered more loudly than intended.

Cam smirked and grabbed the spare tire. “Man, you’re feisty. What’s going on? Bad day?”

Alaina laughed. “Try bad year. Not that you would care. I haven’t heard more than a ‘I need more Pepsi’ from you since that night at the beach when you tried to fight Eth . . . I mean Brandon.”

Cam paused for a moment, eyes averted to his feet as if considering his next words. “Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you about that night.” He bent back down and fitted the spare tire onto the screws, and began hand screwing the nuts back on.