Someone to Watch Over Me (40 page)

“A grandpa,” Nolan mused. “It’s true then.
I’ve been hearing the rumors on all those gossip columns. I didn’t
believe it, to tell you the truth. I thought I would be the first
to know.”

“We planned to tell everyone tonight at
dinner. Coop wanted to wait until after the first trimester, but we
figured this was close enough. She’s ten weeks. It’s ten, right,
Coop?”

“To the day tomorrow.”

“When does that make you due?”

“June fourteenth. We’re going to see a
doctor here on Saturday before we leave for Nampa. We should be
able to hear the heartbeat then.”

“She could go on your birthday, Tate.”

“Don’t rush it, Dad.” Tate’s recollection of
Levy’s delivery had him squirming in his seat. “Anytime is too
soon.”

“Trouble with this one then,” Nolan
surmised, nodding his head in Levy’s direction. “Though, the wife’s
smiling. It either wasn’t that bad or it’s a good thing men don’t
have babies.”

“It
was
that bad,” Tate replied.
“It’s a good thing men don’t have babies,” I said at the same time.
This educed another round of laughter from Nolan. He had a hearty
laugh. It was round and wholesome. I liked him even more.

“I have high hopes,” I explained. “This
pregnancy is completely different than the last one. I’ve hardly
been sick at all, mostly in the mornings and then it tapers off in
the afternoon. I had hyperemesis gravidarum carrying Levy. I was
sick all hours of the day.”

“It sounds like some kind of Harry Potter
spell,” Carter laughed. “Hyperemesis gravidarum!”

“I’ve read that morning sickness can be
linked to the father of the child,” Mattie observed. “Maybe it was
just bad genetics.”

The car fell silent again, except Carter
whispering in the back. I suppose he was apprising Mattie of my
relationship with Grant. It was actually somewhat nice that not
everyone in the world knew. It was in the past. I just wanted to
leave it there.

“How was Em?” I asked Tate, changing the
subject.

“Marshall was offering her a Green Machine
when I left.”

“He thinks the stuff is a cure all, like
Windex.”

“She’ll be fine,” Nolan added. “As long as
she sticks to water and gets some food in her stomach. I don’t
think she ate. Had a lot on her mind. Said something about some
Tommy fellow showing up at her door. Didn’t seem too happy about
it.”

“Oh my God.” Tommy was her ex. There was a
chance he might get parole early with good behavior. She never
thought it would happen. He was a fighter. If anything, she thought
he would get time added onto his sentence. Sitting forward in my
seat, I stretched my seatbelt as far as it would go, looked Tate in
the eye. “Did you know about this?”

“Marshall might’ve mentioned it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why am I the last
one to know?”

“You weren’t talking to her!”

With that, I drooped in my seat, burying my
face in my hands. I was the biggest asshole on the face of the
earth.

“Technically, you’re not the last person to
know,” Carter spoke up. “I have no idea what’s going on. Anyone
care to enlighten me?”

“Tommy’s her ex,” I mumbled. “He’s out of
prison.”

“Prison. Do you know any
normal
people, Coop? God, you really know how to pick ‘em.”

“I don’t pick them. They picked me.”

“I’m not jumping in front of any bullets
again.”

“You didn’t jump in front of any last time,”
Evan scoffed. “I told you to keep your butt down. You had it
sticking so high in the air that I thought you were waiting for
someone to come tap it.”

This time, Tate laughed. So did Mattie and
Nolan. Despite the topic of conversation, I might’ve smiled. It
wasn’t often Evan chimed in so I rather enjoyed it when he did.

“Eff you,” Carter said. “The booth was
really small. I got stuck when I was climbing out.”

By the time their laughter died down, we
were pulling into the parking lot. I was surprised to find my hands
shaking as I unbuckled Levy from his car seat. Maybe I wasn’t as
resilient as I had thought. The news of Tommy’s release raised
echoes of my past, far from long or forgotten. They floated in my
memory like a specter, unwelcome and haunting.

“May I?” Nolan asked, placing his hand over
mine.

I forced a smile. It was weak at best.
“Sure. There’s a button underneath and then the clip—”

“I’m not that old, sweetheart. I can figure
it out. Go on and talk to your friend. You’ll both be the better
for it.”

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Tate was waiting for me by the door, Evan at
his side. “Are you ok?”

“Yes. No.” I shook my head. “It’s too
fresh.”

“It’s not like last time, ma’am,” Evan
assured. “The perpetrator is on parole, and has to wear a tracking
device at all times. They’re designed to be tamper resistant. If he
attempts to remove the device, the authorities are alerted. If he
moves out of range, the authorities are alerted. He must call in as
stipulated from his landline phone, upon departing and arriving at
his designated residence. If he misses the call, the authorities
are alerted. You’re in no danger.”

“That is actually tremendously relieving.” I
felt like I could breathe again. I was even able to return Evan’s
smile.

“It’s all part of my job, ma’am.” He gave my
shoulder a squeeze and walked away. I could’ve hugged him, in
truth. Tate did instead.

“Better?”

“Yeah. I should go talk to Em. I feel
horrible.”

“Why don’t you show her inside. Mattie too.
I think they could use a few. I’ll take the kid and go hang with
the guys.”

“Really?”

“They’ll behave, I swear. Dad will keep ‘em
in line.”

“Ok.”

“Remember, dinner’s at five.”

Rising up on my toes, I pressed a brief kiss
to his lips and then went in search of Em. I found her lying in the
Suburban with a compress on her forehead. It was a break-and-shake
from the emergency kit. Her feet overhung the seat. Her red sparkly
heels stuck out like the wicked witch of the east. I would’ve done
a Carter and taken a picture, but it wasn’t the time.

Shane was standing by the door, Mattie and
Marshall beside him.

“How is she?” I asked.

“She,” Em answered, “is feeling dandy.
Nothing a little laughing grass won’t cure.” Sitting up, she swayed
slightly, but what got me were her eyes. The irises were dark,
almost completely black and glossy. The goofy smile didn’t help
either. She was stoned.

I unleashed my glare on Shane. “What did you
do?”

“Cured her hangover.”

“By getting her stoned?” I had nothing
against weed, but I needed to get Em sober. We had dinner in just a
couple hours, and she could barely stand upright.

“It’s proven medical science,” Shane said.
“It reduces nausea and increases your appetite. She’ll rehydrate
faster if she can eat and drink without tossing everything back
up.”

“Whatever. Just help me get her inside.
Marshall, can you grab her bag. And grab Mattie’s too.”

Mattie’s back went up. She crossed her arms
over her chest. “Tate segregated us, didn’t he?”

“No, he just thought we might like some time
to get changed. He even took Levy so that he wouldn’t be in our
hair.”

“You were played, Coop. He sent you as the
messenger because he knew I wouldn’t be rude to you.”

“Did you call me?” Marshall asked. When I
looked up, he had Levy balanced on his arm. I hadn’t realized
Marshall was missing. He had been standing there just a minute
ago.

“What—where did you get him?” I pointed to
my son as if his source of origin was questionable. I knew exactly
where Marshall got him. Mattie was right. Tate
had
played
me.

“Tate,” Marshall answered.

I made a sound of disgust in the back of my
throat. “Whatever. We have the nicer bus. It has two bathrooms. And
neither one of them smell. Come on, Em.” Draping her arm over my
shoulder, I helped her stumble to my bus. “Just don’t throw up in
it, ok? I love my bus.”

“She’s not going to throw up,” Shane
promised. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Hey, Coop?” Em slurred. Her breath reeked
of marijuana and vodka, not a pleasant combination. “What happened
to your car?”

“Don’t ask.”

“I thought I already did.”

“It got broken, Em. Grant stole my lug nuts.
A little help here, Shane?” I went in first, but Em would’ve liked
to pull me to the ground with her persistent wobbling. In all
honesty, she wasn’t really trying. I thought I was going to go down
until Shane steadied her from behind.

“Holy crap!” Em exclaimed as we rounded the
stairs. Her eyes went wide. She panned the room. “Fuck the Mini!
Look at this thing! My God, is that real leather?” Plopping down on
the sofa, Em kicked her shoes off nestled into the cushions. “It is
real leather. I’m in heaven. I don’t even care if you’ve had sex on
this couch. I’m sleeping here tonight. Oh my gosh! Look at the
lights up there. There’s so many! It’s like a sky full of stars!
Look at the stars
…
Look how they shine for you
…
And everything you do
…
Yeah, they were all
yellow
…”

“She is so stoned,” Mattie observed. “I’m
jealous.”

“You want stoned,” I pointed out. “King Bong
is right there. Just go outside to do it.”

“Me? Uh uh,” Shane refused, jabbing his
finger at Em. “She’s one thing, but no way am I getting Jake’s
little sister stoned.” Wisely, he made a break for it and headed
for the door. “
Adios amigas
. You’re on your own from
here.”

“I told you, we’ve been segregated.”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I hated to say
it, but she was right. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

Em’s arm shot into the air. “War!”

Chapter
21

W
ar it was. We
denied all men access to the Prevost. This didn’t bother Carter,
Jake or Shane as much as Tate, but it had definitely instigated a
full out battle. They were brothers in arms. You mess with one; you
mess with them all. It was like poking a stick at a hornet’s
nest.

It was the most fun I had in years.

Due to downtime, pranks were common between
bands during touring. Between crashing each other’s shows on stage,
filling the buses with confetti filled balloons, and sending
strippers to the dressing rooms, I learned to expect the
unexpected. Hence, when the guys tried to pry open the front door,
we were waiting on the roof with snow balls, and when they decided
to help Tate climb in through the sunroof, he found Mattie waiting
in the bed instead of me.

The latter was Mattie’s idea, seeing that
Tate had a brotherly relationship with her and would be most
discomfited with the anticipated outcome. Tate had one hell of a
surprise, and left the bus voluntarily under the agreement that
neither side would mention the incident again.

Round three went to the men.

They shut off our water heater sometime
during the night.

Round four went to the women.

Let’s say breakfast in Missoula during late
November was…nipply.

“It’s perfect,” Em declared, appraising the
last of our final prank. I had put on my best pair of straight leg
jeans, a snug black tee, one of Tate’s borrowed wallet chains and
Affliction beanies. Nolan was doing the final touches, inking a
fake sleeve up my right arm.

I was going to crash the stage dressed like
Tate.

“You’re really going to do it,” Mattie
asked, “aren’t you?”

“Coop’s a pro,” Em reminded her. “She’s done
this before.”

“Not at this scale.” My largest audience was
a fraction of this size. The Adams Center held seventy-five hundred
fans. The Loft housed only several hundred people on a good
night.

“I couldn’t do it,” she admitted. “Standing
on stage in front of all those people…I think I’d sweat right
through my deodorant. I’d have pit stains down to my hips.”

“Wear a white shirt,” Em told her, “and no
one will care.”

Mattie drew a deep draft of wine, swirled
what was left in the bottom of her glass. “They don’t care anyhow.
I’m just the ‘kid sister’ no one dares to look at. Did you see them
this morning? Their eyes were playing ping-pong between you two. I
didn’t even exist.”

“Honey, you can’t wait for Carter to notice
you,” Em advised. “You have to make it impossible for him to look
away.”

Surprising us both, Mattie barked a laugh.
“He’ll hit on Coop before he hits on me. We’re both off limits but
at least he’s in love with her.” Cackling to herself, she stepped
into the bathroom to powder her nose. I was pretty sure she’d be
blotting her eyes while there too.

I decided to disregard her observation.
Carter’s feelings for me wasn’t something I wanted to ponder at any
length.

“She’s right, in part,” Nolan said, capping
his marker. “He’s a good kid. He wouldn’t do that to Tate or Jake.
She’s going to have one battle on her hands if he’s what she
wants.”

Nolan would know. He had played a large role
in Carter’s life. When Carter was only twelve, he had lost his
parents in a car crash. His sister Jess, six years older, raised
him the best she could, but she was still a kid herself. So Nolan
had stepped in when Carter began lashing out, and he set him
straight. He essentially became a father figure to him.

Setting the marker down on the table, Nolan
patted my hand. “I think that should do it, sweetheart.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind watching
Levy?”

Nolan smirked and eyed Levy, who was
sleeping on the sofa. “I think I can keep him out of trouble till
you get back.”

“If he wakes up—”

“He shouldn’t need his diaper changed. He
hasn’t had anything since seven. Don’t give him any juice. It’ll
rot his teeth. If he wants to sleep in his bunk, make sure the
gate’s up so he doesn’t fall out. I remember.”