The Loneliest Tour (28 page)

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Authors: Karolyn James

BOOK: The Loneliest Tour

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He kissed Masie
’
s hand and then nodded to the
cast.
“
How does it all
feel?
”

“
Good
now. They gave me
…
uh
…
some medicine.
”

Masie pointed and Jett looked.

There was a pill bottle on the
counter next to a sink. He looked at the bottle and shook his head.

It didn
’
t matter anymore.

“
Jett,
I won
’
t take them home,
”
Masie said.
“
I won
’
t bother. It
’
s
not worth it.
”

Jett looked at Masie. He leaned up
and kissed her.

He kissed her hard.

When he broke the kiss, he said,
“
You would do that for me?
”

“
Yes.
I never want you in trouble again.
”

“
Oh,
sweetheart, I
’
m in big
trouble. With you. As far as those pills? I don
’
t
give a damn. I have a new addiction. I
’
m
looking right at it. And this is one I can savor for the rest of my life.
”

(20)

Masie was already tired of the cast
and it was just a couple days. She did like having Jett at her mercy though.
Anything she wanted, he was there to take care of.

Portis personally came to Masie
’
s apartment to apologize for
Colin
’
s actions. He told
her that Crutch Fail was released of all their contractual duties with his
record company. He ensured he never intended for her to end up in that position
and he took it personally. There was no talk of future work, and for some
reason it satisfied her. She didn
’
t
want someone to give a favor, and she didn
’
t
want Portis to give her work because she had been injured.

When the time came she would work
her ass off and earn it.

Using her crutches, Masie hobbled
into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. There was nothing else happening
in the kitchen, leaving Masie kind of sad. It had been nice to wake up to Jett
cooking breakfast. Today, she figured he must have had something going on with
the band.

But the apartment door opened a few
minutes later.

Jett was holding a brown paper bag
with grease stains at the bottom.

“
Breakfast,
”
he said.
“
I didn
’
t want to cook.
”
He put the bags on the table.
“
Someone
told me this place has the best. Greasiest ever.
”

“
Sounds
healthy.
”

“
You
need the food. You need to heal up.
”

Masie dug in the bag. The smell of
eggs, bacon, cheese, and a flaky croissant was good enough for anyone to forget
about having a broken ankle.

Jett sat down and reached for Masie
’
s hand.
“
Hey.
”

“
Hey,
”
Masie said.

“
You
have to move out of here.
”

“
What?
”

Jett nodded.
“
You can
’
t stay here anymore.
”

“
It
’
s my apartment.
”

“
Not
anymore.
”

“
What
are you talking about, Jett? We never talked about living together
…”

Jett laughed.
“
Oh, you can live with me for the
rest of my life. But this is different. You have to head back to your little
hideaway town.
”

“
Why?
”

Jett stood up and took out a piece
of paper. He unfolded it and put it in front of Masie.
“
I did something stupid. Well, not stupid, but maybe
stupid.
”

“
What
is this?
”

“
Agreement
of sale. I bought the building where your friend had her business. Oh, and I
also bought the business from her. Terrible that her sister is so sick. She
shouldn
’
t have to worry
about anything. So I took care of it.
”

Masie shook her head.
“
Wait. You bought Ann Marie
’
s business?
”

“
And
the building,
”
Jett said.
“
So, yeah. I know nothing about
it. I
’
m a rockstar. So you
’
re going to deal with it all. I
mean, it
’
s your business.
”

“
My
business?
”

“
Yours.
You can pay me if it makes you feel better, but the bottom line is, Masie, it
’
s yours. You are meant to be
there and teach. I talked to Ann Marie.
”

“
You
called her?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Jett said with a smile.

He
’
s so bold. And amazing.

“
When?
”

“
Doesn
’
t matter. We chatted and she
told me what you meant to the girls there. You
’
re
not giving that up. I know you want to be on the biggest stage for yourself.
But what you
’
re not seeing
is that you have it already. All those dreams you get to hold and help. The
girls that are growing up like you did. You get to be their mentor. Their
teacher.
”

Masie felt her eyes fill with
tears.

“
I
’
m so
…”

“
And
we will make it all work,
”
Jett said.
“
With the
studio, the band, tours. Whatever. I want this, sweetheart. Forever.
”

“
I
’
m so
…
in love with you. Not because you
’
re giving me this. But because
you saw beyond it all. What it meant to me, to Ann Marie, to all those girls.
You
’
re amazing, Jett.
”

Jett walked to the other side of
the table and leaned against it. He looked down at Masie.
“
Yeah, I am pretty amazing.
”

Masie laughed and wondered if it was
possible to love someone any more than she loved Jett.

For Jett, it was simple. He could
play guitar on any stage anywhere in the world and it would now forever be the
second greatest feeling in the world.

The first?

Looking in Masie
’
s eyes.

That
’
s
where the future existed. That
’
s
where love existed.

*****

Ryker walked the hallway of the
studio. He had a riff in his mind that had been burning all day. He jammed it
out on electric and acoustic. Now it was time to get the damn thing recorded.
His plan was to get something record, take a stab at drums, throw a cheap bass
track behind it, and then surprise the rest of the band with it.

Shit had hit the fan with Crutch
Fail and being off the road wasn
’
t
much fun. Well, being yanked from the road wasn
’
t
much fun.

The door before the recording room
was halfway open.

“
Yeah,
it
’
s all good. We
’
ll get the contracts signed.
”

Portis
’
voice.

Ryker felt like a creep as he
inched forward.

“
No,
no, nothing to worry about. Everything will fall into place.
”

“
You
said that before.
”

A second voice. Harry
’
s voice.

What the hell is this?
Ryker
thought to himself.

Yeah, it wasn
’
t all that uncommon for a band
manager to meet with someone from the record label. But something about Portis
just bothered Ryker. Always had and always would. Especially after the stuff he
said to Colby. Bringing up Colby
’
s
past? That was low. And then this stuff with the tour
…

“
Hey,
”
Portis said.
“
I made a bad call with that
band. I forget their name already. That
’
s
how I roll. One after another. So me talking to you right now, Harry, that
means something. For you. For me. For Willow Son. The contracts
…
it
’
s all good. This is what we need to do next.
”

“
The
band won
’
t go for it,
”
Harry said.

“
Yes
they will. Or I
’
ll drop
them.
”

There was silence.

Ryker had a decision to make. Bust
into the room and demand to know what the hell they were talking about or just
split. And if he split
…

Ryker turned. He slithered down the
hallway and got out of the studio without a sound. In his car, he sat there
looking out a burning orange sunset.

The horizon. The road.

That
’
s
where it all waited. The music. The freedom.

Not this stuff.

Ryker grabbed his cell and sent a
text to Colby.

Sorry. I had to take a drive.
I don
’
t know
when I
’
ll be
back.

And with that, he left the studio,
the band,
the dream
, all behind.

Ready for more?

*** WAIT! Be sure to
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***

Up next is Ryker
…
the wildest bad boy in Willow
Son. He needs a break, from everything. But when he returns, the band, their
manager, the record company
…
has a wild proposition for the guitarist. A chance at boosting his popularity
and the band
’
s,
Ryker agrees to put himself out there in something of a reality show. But all
that
’
s supposed to
be fake, right? It is
…
right up until he meets a woman that changes everything.