Safe & Sound (31 page)

“Can I talk to you for a moment,” he whispered in my ear and touched my arm.

“Sure,” I said, looking at him in confusion. I excused myself to curious glances and we headed upstairs to the bedroom. I had barely closed the door when Ross starting speaking.

“That call, it was J. King’s manager, Jane,” he said excitedly.

“What did she want?”

“Apparently, J. King fired his lead guitarist last night and wants me to join him for the rest of his tour.” He rushed out the words.

“That is awesome,” I said, caught up in the excitement. “When?”

“I would leave today.” He paused to gauge my reaction.

“For how long?”

“Two back-to-back shows in L.A. as they finish up the first part of the tour. Then the show actually goes on hiatus for several weeks before wrapping up the last part, which will last five weeks,” he said.

“What did you tell her?”

“I said I would call her back after I talked to you.”

“Why? No. You call her back and say yes. This is your chance.”

“So quick to get rid of me.” He teased me but looked relieved.

“No, of course not! But this is huge. Who knows what this could do for you, open so many doors.”

“I know, I know. I thought that too. And us?” he asked, looking suddenly tentative.

“What about us? I’m not going anywhere,” I said firmly and he smiled, catching me up in a big hug. He grabbed his phone and called Jane back and then confirmed last minute details.

“Do you need a ride?” I asked.

“I can’t ask you that. You have your friends here.”

“No. I want to do this. Plus, they are just going to drink and sit on the beach. Wilmington is a short distance from here, so I will be back before they miss me.” He reluctantly agreed and said he had to run home and pack a bag and asked if I could pick him up in 20 minutes. I told everyone that I had to drop Ross off at the airport for something that had come up suddenly. I would be back shortly and explain everything when I returned.

“Do you have everything?” I asked Ross as we pulled up to the airport.

“I guess. It’s just two days, Jill. I will be back on Monday,” he said trying to reassure me.

“Stop worrying about me. My friends are here. I’m going to be just fine.”

“What flight are you taking?” I asked as I came around the side of the Jeep.

“I’m not. I’m actually supposed to take a private jet. Someone related to the tour has one nearby and I will get to L.A. just in time for the show tonight.”

“Will you have enough time to prepare?” I asked, suddenly nervous for him.

“They were going to have copies of the set list and music on the plane for me to rehearse.” “Convenient. Well, good luck—break a leg!” I said, not sure what the correct sentiment should be and Ross chuckled.

“That works,” he said, embracing me. “I will miss you.” He said, and kissed me.

“I will miss you too,” I whispered.

He grabbed his bag and started to walk away.

“Wait, Ross!”

“Yea?” He turned to look at me.

“I love you,” I said after a moment.

“I know,” he said with a smile and strode through the doors of the airport.

CHAPTER 34

B
ack at the house, I joined Stella and Lanie on the beach to soak up the rays. Lanie let me know Mary Elizabeth had gone in to take a nap before dinner.

“So …” Stella started, not five minutes after I had sat down.

“So?” I asked back.

“Airport?” Stella asked again.

“Remember that story I told you several weeks ago about going to the amusement park and getting tickets to J. King’s concert?” I asked and they both nodded. “Well, his manager called Ross this morning and basically hired him as the guitarist for the rest of this show. He has two shows in L.A. before Monday and then they have a couple days off and he will be on the road for a couple more weeks.” I tried to sound casual.

“That’s a great opportunity for him,” Lanie said, leaning back in her chair and pulling her sunglasses down.

“What does that mean for you?” Stella asked, flipping over from her stomach to her back.

“I don’t know, nor do I know if it matters. He needs to focus on his career right now. He doesn’t belong on Oak Island.”

“Jill, that’s nice, but you will have to deal with it if it goes further,” Stella mumbled from her towel.

“I guess I will deal with it then.”

“You could travel with the band,” Stella suggested.

“I’m not interested in being a groupie.”

“I’m just saying you aren’t working. You have the means to travel, so you could make it work,” she mumbled.

“I suppose. Right now let’s just focus on our girls’ weekend and enjoy the last true weekend of summer,” I said, effectively ending the subject.

We stayed out on the beach for another hour before heading into the house and cleaning up before dinner. My guests were getting a bit stir-crazy so we decided to walk the couple of blocks to Rusty’s to have dinner there instead of staying in.

We had settled in at one of the picnic tables when I heard my name called. I looked up to find Mandy, April, Mark and several others waving to me from the order counter.

“Friends of yours?” Stella mumbled as they approached.

“Friends of Ross and therefore now friends of mine.”

“Where is Ross?” Mandy asked as they approached the table.

“Um …” I didn’t know how to respond.

“He’s out on tour with J. King,” Stella said, squaring up Mandy and the others.

“He’s what?” Mandy exclaimed, looking at me for confirmation.

“J. King called him this morning to fill in for two shows in L.A..” I didn’t want to spark any wild rumors while Ross was out of town.

“Oh, that is so cool,” Mandy said while the rest of the group stood around somewhat awkwardly.

I quickly made introductions between the two groups before Mandy and company decided to sit at another table.

“They are …” Stella started to say as they walked away.

“Be nice,” I warned Stella.

“What? They are very hipsterish,” she added, taking a bite of her lobster roll.

“They really are nice. April did Ross and me several favors right after the incident with Harry,” I said, pointing out which one April was, again.

With the mention of Harry, Stella asked Lanie if she had any updated information on him. From the conversation, I gathered that Lanie knew the psychiatrist who was evaluating Harry and therefore had more information than she should have had. All this information was new to me, and I did my best to listen, but my mind kept drifting to that afternoon. I still had incomplete memories of that incident. We got up to leave, and I waved to April, Mandy and Mark as we left. Mark called out that they would be on the beach that night if we wanted to join them. I politely declined the offer. The thought of Lanie and Stella on the beach around the bonfire, drinking beer, made me laugh to myself because it was so far out of their normal comfort zone. I did convince Stella and Lanie to get ice cream before we headed back to the house, insisting it would be the best they’d ever had.

Back at the house, Stella opened another bottle of champagne and Lanie got out the cards. For the rest of the evening we sat around playing cards and gossiping about friends or their coworkers, most of whom I had never met. We called it quits after midnight and I curled up in my empty bed, falling asleep quickly.

“Jill!” I heard my name being called over and over again. Someone was shaking me..

“What?” I asked, confused to find both Stella and Lanie standing over my bed.

“You were having a bad dream of some kind,” Lanie said, looking concerned.

“I was? I don’t remember dreaming,” I said, trying to remember if I had been dreaming.

“You were literally screaming,” Stella said.

“I’m sorry. I really don’t remember,” I confessed.

“It’s okay … Move over,” Stella said, sliding into bed with me.

“You good?” Lanie asked, looking at us.

“Yea,” Stella said as Lanie left to go back to bed.

“Have you been having other dreams?” Stella tried to ask casually before turning out the light.

“I don’t remember if I do. Surely Ross would have said something if I was,” I said before falling back to sleep.

It was a little past six in the morning when my phone began to ring. I searched my room and found the phone on the dresser. Trying not to wake Stella, who was now sprawled out in my bed, I crept downstairs before answering it.

“Hey Ross,” I said, whispering into the phone.

“Hey … Why are you whispering?”

“Everyone is still sleeping.”

“Oh, right. It is six in the morning there,” he said, making me laugh.

I teased him back. “Well, it’s three in the morning there and you clearly forgot about the time change, so I don’t know what is worse: you calling me at three or six”

He laughed. “Sorry.”

“How was the show?”

“It was amazing. The energy of the crowd was unbelievable and J. King let me sing my song again tonight. He said that he would actually like me to put together several songs and he will let me have a little time during the opening act if I liked.” He spoke quickly, with excitement in his voice.

“That is awesome.”

“Hey, did you tell anyone about me coming out to L.A.?”

“Oh … well, I didn’t, but Stella did.” I told him about the run-in at Rusty’s the night before.

“That explains so much. My phone blew up during the concert. I got out and had all these missed calls and text messages from everyone. I didn’t understand what was going on.”

“Yea. Stella couldn’t help herself. Sorry.”

“No. It’s cool.”

“Hey Ross?” I asked when there was a lull in the conversation.

“Yes?”

“Do I have nightmares when you spend the night?” I could hear him draw in his breath on the other end.

“Why?”

“Well, I apparently had one last night, and I woke the whole house with my screaming. Stella and Lanie grilled me about it, but I don’t remember any of it.”

“You used to have nightmares all the time, but you haven’t had one for a while.”

“Really? You never told me?” I said more loudly than I had probably meant to.

“At first I would try and wake you, but I could never get you completely conscious. So I just started singing softly to you when it happened and you would stop. You never brought it up and neither did I. I wondered if you even knew you were having them. I didn’t want to worry you anymore with everything that has happened.”

“I had no idea, and I don’t even know what they are about.”

We chatted for a bit more and then I let him go so he could get to bed and rest up before the next show.

I prepared breakfast but waited until everyone was up before I cooked up the eggs and bacon. Breakfast conversation focused on my elusive nightmares and the endless possible causes. I was much less interested in the conversation than Lanie, Stella and Mary Elizabeth were. Lanie and Mary Elizabeth kept throwing out medical terms and the possibility of my having any one of a number of medical conditions. Finally, by the end of breakfast, I got up and left, doubting that anyone had noticed. I went upstairs to shower and when I came down, they were all seated on the sofa, chatting about what we should do that day.

“Where did you go?” Lanie asked when I came downstairs.

“I just went to get ready.” I smiled sweetly.

We decided to spend the rest of the day in the town of Southport, shopping and exploring. After spending more time in town than we had originally planned, we grabbed dinner at one of the restaurants down by the water. It had recently been featured in a movie and Stella was superexcited to eat there. Back home, we opened the last two bottles of champagne and sat out on the porch drinking and talking well into the night. When it was time for bed, Stella asked if she should sleep in my room again. I told her it wasn’t necessary and I crawled into bed. Unable to sleep, I texted Ross.

To: Ross Powers

Hope tonight is as epic as last night was.

Not expecting a response for several hours, I grabbed my journal and started to write. It wasn’t till I heard my phone chime that I looked at the clock and saw it was six-thirty in the morning and I had been writing all night.

From: Ross Powers

It was awesome but nothing is epic without you.

—R

It was followed by another text.

From Ross Powers

I will see you in a couple hours

—R

I smiled and decided to go for a run before everyone else got up. My head was swimming with thoughts of my relationship with Ross, Ross’s career, my odd reoccurring dreams, Jay and general life ambitions. I had been sitting at home without work for nearly a year. I knew I had to figure out something, but I wasn’t sure what opportunities were available to me especially there on Oak Island. By the time I had finished my run, I had solved none of my problems, but strangely, my head felt clearer.

Back at the house everyone was already up when I walked into the kitchen. Lanie was making breakfast, and I quickly excused myself for a shower before it was time to eat. Breakfast was quiet as Stella and Mary Elizabeth nursed a slight hangover. Lanie informed everyone they had to leave in an hour in order to get Stella to the airport on time. I told them I would clean up the breakfast dishes while they packed.

“Bye, Mary Elizabeth. Thank you so much for coming,” I said as we hugged.

“You have a beautiful home and Ross isn’t so bad either,” she whispered to me before she got in the car.

“Are you going to be okay?” Lanie asked me with a worried look.

“I’m better today than I was yesterday and the day before that,” I told her earnestly.

She nodded in agreement and got into the car.

“New York in a couple weeks?” Stella asked.

“Sure, whenever you need me. I’m not doing much these days.” I smiled at Stella.

She nodded and gave me a quick hug before heading to the car.

“Thanks for a great weekend,” Lanie called out of the window as they backed out the driveway.

I waved and watched them drive out of sight before I returned to the house. I finished cleaning up the dishes and picked up around the house until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I grabbed the blanket from the back of the sofa and lay down for a nap.