Tudor Redemption (Tudor Dynasty Book 4) (15 page)

****

Two
days later, I met Beth at the ferry docks. She chose to walk on as the early
morning ferries were loaded with commuters bound for work. I pulled up
alongside her just as she neared the curb.

Surprisingly,
after all the conversations and goings on between the girls and the two of us,
I wasn’t nervous about how things were going to go.

“Good
morning. Perfect timing.” She leaned over the console and kissed me before
buckling her seat belt. I caught the scent of her perfume. Something I’d never
forget.

“Morning.
There’s coffee for you and scones in that sack. Unless you’d rather stop
somewhere.”

“No,
this is perfect. Black coffee and scones.”

A
while later, we pulled onto the private road leading to Amadeus and Zara’s
house. Beth had been relatively quiet, taking in the scenery.

“Is
this all theirs?”

“Yep.
It starts a little before the fence, but the majority is fenced in.”

“Don’t
you miss it, Dame?”

“I’d
be lying if I said I didn’t. Amadeus and Zara helped me out of a huge mess, and
at the time, it was the best option. The only option.”

“Would
you like to live out like this again?”

“Perhaps
one of these days. In fact, there’s a house that’s just around the cove from
them. It’s not finished, and from what Zara was able to find out, the owners
are in the middle of a divorce in California. So, who knows how long it’ll sit.”

“So,
you’ve considered it?”

“Yeah,
but that’s all.”

At
the house, I shut off the engine, leaned over, and kissed her. “Come, let’s get
the introductions over with.”

“I
can’t wait.”

We
got out of the SUV just about the time Amadeus opened the door and sauntered
out. I sucked in a breath, wondering if he was going to behave or not.

“Morning,”
I said, taking Beth’s hand and leading her to the cannibal. “Amadeus, this is
Beth Asher. Beth, this is my youngest brother, Amadeus.”

“Nice
to meet you, Beth.” He turned to me and grinned. “See, I can behave.”

I
shook my head. Brat.

“Good
to meet you as well, Amadeus.” She graciously extended her hand. I eyed my
brother, waiting for him to do something profound. Like grab her in a bear hug.
But he surprised me and didn’t.

“Zara
should be back in a few minutes.”

“You
don’t take the little ones to pre-school?”

“No,
not usually. They behave better for her.”

“I
wonder why,” I quipped as I grabbed the clothes I was going to use for the
shoot, along with a bag.

He
gave me a look before turning toward the door. Beth and I followed him into the
house. I watched Beth looking around as we followed Amadeus deeper inside.

“I
like this,” she muttered as she walked over to the windows that overlooked the
deck, lawn, and water.

“We
do too. It’s been a great place for Logan, our oldest. Not to mention, it’s off
the beaten path.”

“It
is that. I would have loved to have been able to raise Ethan in an environment
like this. But I guess he turned out okay being raised in the big city.”

“Surely
you could have moved out of the city,” Amadeus said. “Or moved back here.”

“Unfortunately,
my late husband’s work, as well as mine, kept us in the city. Besides the
commute alone would drive one mad in a matter of days.”

“You’ve
been in Seattle traffic at rush hour, haven’t you? I haven’t missed it at all
since we made this move.”

“Part
of the reason I live on Bainbridge. Though now that people are aware it’s Ethan’s
home, it does make it a little harder.”

“Well,
if you ever want a more secure and secluded location, there’s a house around in
the cove that’s come up for sale. Since the house isn’t finished, you could
probably get it for a song. The land runs to ours, and no one can build on the
other side because the state owns it.”

“When
did it come up for sale?” I asked.

“Fairly
recently. Zara’s friend called and let her know it had gone on the market.”

Before
anyone could respond, Zara came walking into the room. She lay her purse on the
floor before giving Amadeus one of her looks. “Did you offer Dame and Beth
coffee?”

“I
was getting around to it,” he replied sheepishly.

“I’m
good,” Beth interjected, smiling at Zara. “Dame stopped and got us a huge
coffee and scones.”

“Dame?”

“I’m
fine, Zara. I don’t need much more caffeine today.”

“I’m
going to get a fresh cup. Sort of hard to drink a full cup with two little
ones.” She turned to Amadeus and with her sweetest smile asked him to get her one.
He obliged, but I could tell he wasn’t liking it.

I
tried not to snicker too much.

“I
thought we’d do the shoot in the living room. I’ve got everything set up. Oh,
would you mind if we played your new stuff while I work? I think it would add
to the ambience of what I want to capture.”

“No,
that’s fine. I wanted Beth to hear it anyway.”

“Excellent.
Did you bring what we discussed?”

“Yeah,
but I found some pants I think will work far better for this.”

“Good,
we’ll get started in a while.” Zara turned to Beth. “Are you enjoying some down
time with Ethan out on the road?”

“Yes.
I got everything caught up. I’ll check on things in a few days, but this is my
time. I made sure everything was set up beforehand for interviews and the like.
That way, unless I hear differently, things should fall into place.”

“I
know. I did it with Amadeus. It can be time consuming.”

“Yes,
it can.”

“What
can be time consuming?” Amadeus asked as he strode back into the room, hot
coffee in hand.

“You,”
I replied with a straight face. “Zara was just telling Beth how you are as time
consuming at home as you were when she managed you on the road.”

Everyone
laughed over that one. It seemed to put Beth at ease.

“Don’t
believe everything he tells you about me, Beth. I’m really quite harmless.”

“That’s
good to know, Amadeus.”

“Dame,
why don’t you get changed? Beth and I’ll go in to the living room, and harmless
Amadeus will go fetch the music,” Zara put in.

“Sounds
good. The sooner I’m finished doing this, the happier I’ll be. I’ve always
hated this part.”

“Why?”
Beth giggled.

“I’m
no model. I have never gotten the concept of how to move in front of a camera.
Now, Amadeus? He’s a different story.”

“What
can I say? I’m a natural. The camera loves me,” my kid brother said on his way
toward the slider.

“Don’t
mind him, Beth. He’s always had an ego the size of Texas. It took a strong
woman like Zara to yank a knot in his tail.”

“Ethan
comes by it honestly then,” she replied, giggling.

“Yes,
I suppose he does. Lord help us when those two meet.”

“Don’t
leave Angus out,” Zara quipped. “He marches to his own drummer, and watch out
when he’s around.”

“So,
I’ve heard,” Beth replied.

“While
you ladies destroy the male ego, I’m going to change before I’m slung into the
mix.”

Zara
laughed as she and Beth headed to the living room.

I
went and locked myself in the guest bathroom, quickly changing out of my jeans
and t-shirt. I donned a sleeveless black tee and a pair of skintight, black
leather pants. I bent down and changed into boots. There. I looked into the
mirror as I shook my hair loose from the band I had keeping it confined. Damn,
not half bad for an old dude. Yeah right. Old is a frame of mind.

I
rejoined the group in the living room. Zara had turned on the lighting and was
fussing with her camera. She and Beth were quietly talking. Amadeus was setting
up a CD player. Everyone looked up as they heard my boots on the hardwood
floor.

“Oh
my god! Damien, you’re perfect!” Zara squealed. “That’s exactly the look you
need for this cover.”

“Dude,
it fits right in with these songs.” Amadeus grinned. “He needs a guitar, Zara.
Let me go get one out of the studio.” My kid brother walked past me, slapping
me on the shoulder as he did.

Beth
was just sitting there with a huge smile on her face.

“What?”
I asked her.

“Zara’s
right. You’re perfect. This look is so you.”

“I
don’t know about all that. I just thought of the songs and thought I needed
something that conveyed the mood.”

“While
we’re waiting on Amadeus and the guitar, come over here. Let me get you
positioned in front of this drop.”

I
walked over to the dark drape and stood in front of it. This is where I felt
out of place. Especially with her wanting more action out of me. No simple
posing for a picture for this one.

“Let
me get some test shots of just you.”

“Fine.”

Zara
grabbed her camera and began snapping away. Not sure what she was after, I
tried to give her what I thought she wanted. I thought I heard Beth giggle.
Yeah, a model I was never meant to be.

Amadeus
came back, guitar in hand. I grabbed it from him, but not before Zara was
fussing with it and me. My brother went and stood at the CD player waiting for
Zara’s cue.

“Okay,
Dame. Now, let’s see you rock it.”

Amadeus
started the CD, and I immediately lost myself in my music. I vaguely heard the
three of them cheering me on with their whistles and cat calls. This was it. My
first, and perhaps only, chance at a solo effort, and I was going to put one
hundred and ten percent into all of it. Even posing for the damn cover.

I
don’t know how long we were at it, but Zara finally put her hand up. “Let me
look at what we’ve got so far. There were a couple I really thought were great,”
she said.

I
smiled over at Beth, as I lay the guitar down. “Well? What do you think?” I
asked her.

“About
what? This kick-ass music you’re about to put out? Or your attempt at modeling?”

“Both.”

“Dame,
come here. I think I found the one.” Zara beckoned to the laptop she had set up
on a table.

I
moved behind Zara and stared at the image looking back at me. Yeah, she was
right. It was perfect. “That’s it,” I said, catching the excitement in my
voice.

“It
is, isn’t it?” She beamed.

I
watched her as she made some keystrokes. By now, Beth and Amadeus had joined
us.

“Perfect,
Dame.” Beth said, grinning.

“Look
at you, bro. Mister bad-ass rock star! It’s perfect.”

“I’ll
keep all of these. We might want a few different variations for other venues.
But this is it. I started working on the graphics for the front. Once I have
them the way I want, I’ll send you a copy for your approval.”

“Okay.
What about the insides and back?”

“Amadeus
has put everything together about each track. Peter’s people will finish the
inside.”

“Good.
What do you need from me?”

“The
usual. Anything you might want to say to fans. Dedication.”

“Okay.
I’ve got that already written. I’ll send it to you when I get home. You can fix
anything that doesn’t read right.”

“Great.
We’re done here. Let me close everything up, and while I am, Amadeus can show
Beth around.”

We
moved into the family room. Amadeus tossed me the CD he’d been playing. “This
is the final mix. What I’ll send Peter’s people unless you think something
needs changing.”

“It
sounded really good, what I heard.”

“It
does, Dame. I can’t wait to hear the rest of it,” Beth said quietly.

 
That right there made my heart soar. I smiled
at her, not saying a thing. No need to.

“Dame,
Zara has the code to get into the house if you’re interested. At least, she
thought you might be. She’s also got specs on it.”

“I
don’t know, man. I’ve got enough on my plate without adding buying a house to
it. Besides, I’d have to put the condo up for sale.”

“Or
keep it, so you have a place to stay when you’re in town. It’s not like you can’t
afford it now, and things are only going to get better.”

“It
wouldn’t hurt to look, Damien,” Beth said.

“Amadeus
is right, Dame. You need to at least consider it. You won’t find anything like
it for the price,” Zara said as she entered the room.

“Perhaps,
but the entire inside has to be done.”

“Amadeus
and I looked at it yesterday. It has to have the sheetrock done. Paint, trim.
Bathrooms and kitchen have to be finished of course. It’s still going to be a
steal even with all that.”