Rock Star's Ballad (White Mist Series Book 3) (30 page)
Read Rock Star's Ballad (White Mist Series Book 3) Online
Authors: A. P. Jensen
The medic led her into the master bathroom and Demi looked at herself in the mirror. There were dark marks on her throat and dried blood on her arms and chest from Barry’s gunshot wound. She trembled and the medic pushed her down on the closed toilet lid.
“Its over,” the medic said quietly. “You’re safe.”
Demi stared at her strappy sandals as her head began to swim.
“Take a shower. Do you need help?”
“No,” Demi rasped. “Thank you.”
She turned on the double shower heads and stood beneath the spray. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there with her arms wrapped around herself, shivering despite the scalding water. All of a sudden, Johnny was there, wrapping her close, fully clothed. She collapsed against him and held on for all she was worth.
Chapter Fifteen
Demi lay on the couch in Johnny’s recording studio.
A week passed since the incident with Barry. The news of Barry’s demise was splashed all over the news. The media ate up the fucked up love triangle between Demi, Barry and Johnny.
When they arrived back in White Mist, they found their house filled with people. Johnny tried to get rid of them, but Demi felt comforted by their presence rather than stifled. The Delaney/Hawking/Harper clans showed up in full force along with others like Allison and Sam and Jericha, the mother/daughter duo from the cafe. Demi absorbed their love and support and used it to shove away the traumatic incident with Barry.
Daniel showed up two days after they came home. He stood in the doorway, looking around at the crowd who quieted when they noticed him. Demi made a move to get up to greet him, but Regan moved faster. She walked right up to Daniel. He watched her approach with an impassive face and jerked when she wrapped her arms around him and burst into tears. Brooks didn’t look happy, but he didn’t pull Regan away. Demi joined Regan in hugging Daniel and Johnny clapped him on the back because there were no words.
Demi was shocked when she began to get deliveries of flowers from Oliver, Gabriel and other artists she met at the Billboard Music Awards. After a week of bed rest and a doctor’s visit, she was feeling a lot better, but she knew the emotional damage Barry wrought over them would take time to heal. She felt nothing for Barry—nothing at all. She was glad he was dead. She wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise. She and Johnny both had nightmares. She woke up several times to find him watching her sleep, hands moving over the fading bruises on her throat and face.
Demi watched Johnny’s fingers tap in the air as if he were playing a piano. He cocked his head to the side as if he could hear the notes, muttered under his breath and wrote in a notebook. No one got to see this side of him and she cherished the moment. Since the incident with Barry, Johnny spent a lot of time in the recording studio. It was a haven for both of them and writing was a way for Johnny to release whatever emotions ate at him. She kept close, knowing he needed it and enjoyed watching him work. His ballads captured her heart and although the last song he wrote tore her up inside, she knew the fear would fade. The real appeal of Johnny Bentley was that he didn’t hide his emotions. He had a childlike enthusiasm and threw himself in—no hesitation, no fear. They were both recovering, but at her doctor’s appointment, she discovered a ray of hope that would heal them both.
“I love you,” Demi said quietly.
Johnny’s hands stopped in midair and his eyes hit hers. He let out a long breath. “I love you too, baby.”
“I hope our son is just like you.”
Johnny’s hand dropped from the imaginary piano and something sparked in the air around him. His eyes were so intense, any other woman would have thought he was pissed, but she knew better.
“I can imagine you doting on our daughter,” she whispered, “and you teaching her how to sing or how to play piano or guitar. I thought I lost everything in that plane crash and then there you were.” She smiled and shook her head. “If you hadn’t pulled me up on stage, I don’t know where I’d be. Thank you for loving me that much.”
“Demi.”
“Barry’s gone,” she said.
“I know that.”
“I wasted too much time on him. You and I aren’t going to worry about him anymore. We’re getting married soon and…”
“And?”
“We have a baby to prepare for.”
Johnny knelt in front of her and clasped her face with shaking hands. “You’re pregnant?” His eyes shone with tears.
She nodded. “It’s early, but, yes.”
Johnny pressed his forehead to hers and breathed deep. “I don’t deserve this,” he whispered, “but I’m fucking taking it.”
She kissed him and the faces of her family passed through her mind. Her siblings, her parents. She wished they could see her walk down the aisle, see their grandchild or niece or nephew. The pain of their passing would never go away, but with Johnny’s love, the holes in her heart were healing and she was finding joy in life again. Too many things had come between her and Johnny. She could have died the other night and she was still here. Nothing would come between them again. Ever. They would build a family and raise their child in White Mist where it was safe and where their children would be loved and welcomed by the locals. One day, Johnny would go back to music and she would stand by his side with their child between them. They would have it all, she’d make sure of it. God took away her family and gifted her with another. She’d take it and enjoy it to the fullest extent.
“We both deserve this,” she said roughly.
Johnny kissed her long and sweet. “Thank you.”
She drew in his strength and animal heat. “You want a boy or a girl?”
“A lot of both. I want a huge family.”
She grinned. “Me too.”
His eyes lit up and it filled her with happiness. Already, she could see the nightmare of Barry fading as joy beat it back.
“Maybe we can be, like, a musical family.”
She stared at him. She imagined a bunch of kids that looked like him and acted like him. “You better be talking about a musical family like the one in the Sound of Music rather than the Osbournes.”
“Either one is fine with me.”
She rested her forehead against his and placed her hand on his chest. They were both alive and she hadn’t lost the child in the fight to the death with Barry. All would be well.
“Our lives are gonna rock, Demi, just wait and see,” Johnny whispered.
“I have no doubt,” she said and believed that wholeheartedly.
White Mist Series
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Titles by A. P. Jensen
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About the Author
A. P. Jensen was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. She spent several years on the mainland before moving home in November 2012 to pursue her writing career.
A. P. Jensen loves to read, write, travel, and watch movies, listen to old-timer’s talk about the good old days and daydream. She has two dogs, Ali’i and Maile who are world travelers and tolerate the long hours she spends in front of the computer.
