Last and Forever

by Brooke, Rebecca

  Kylee and Dylan were on their way here from the airport and I still didn’t know exactly what to say to them. Yes, we’d talked about them coming out, about trying to make it work, but a phone conversation was very different from one in person.

  The click of the door opening caught my attention and I stopped dead in my tracks to see who was here. Lexi’s face appeared in the doorway and my shoulders relaxed.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you had appointments this morning?” I walked over and brought her into my arms.

  “I did, but I asked Charlotte to see if she could reschedule my afternoon.”

  I shook my head as I glanced down at her. “I don’t want my career mess to interfere with the clinic. You left Mitch because he didn’t understand the importance of your job. I’m lucky I could just call my dad and tell him I was taking the week off.”

  She laid her hand on my chest. “The difference between you and Mitch is that I love you. And you never asked me to put my clinic on the back burner. You didn’t ask me to reschedule my appointments, I did that because I want to be here for you.”

  “How did you know I was freaking out? Did Jackson tell you?”

  “No, I just know you. He did mention it when I arrived.”

  “He offered to come over and keep his eye on Chloe so Kylee, Dylan, and I could talk without any interruptions.” I sucked in a shaky breath.

  She slid her hand up and cupped my cheek. “You need to relax. Everything is going to work out. Heath already promised to play with you guys to show off the song you wrote.”

  I spent the last few nights putting the song I sang for Lexi on paper. Jackson agreed it was the perfect one to take to LiteStar. That didn’t mean Kylee and Dylan would agree.

  “What if they hate it? They could think my plan is a disaster and walk away.”

  “They won’t.” She moved her hand up to the back of my neck and brought my head down to hers.

  She took my lips in a heated kiss that made me forget exactly why I had freaked out in the first place. The room fell away as I got lost in the way Lexi’s tongue danced with mine. I slid my hands down her ass and pulled her tighter to me.

  A throat clearing startled us from the embrace. She practically jumped out of my arms.

  “So this is the difference.” Kylee smirked as she wandered into the office. Her hair no longer pink, but a bright azure blue.

  “The difference?”

  Dylan shrugged. “We figured something had to make you call us.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Miles didn’t tell you?”

  “Nope.” Kylee popped the P. “Even when I threatened no sex, he still kept his mouth shut.”

  Dylan covered his ears. “I do not want to hear about you two fucking each other.”

  Lexi’s eyes darted around the room, never stopping to focus on anyone in particular. Jackson, on the other hand, stood in the doorway laughing.

  “Nice to see some things haven’t changed.” He threw his thumb over his shoulder. “Megan’s keeping her eye on Chloe in case you guys need me.”

  I waved him in. “Come on. You’re helping with part of this plan.”

  He inclined his head and walked into the room, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

  Lexi smiled up at me. “I’ll be in the living room with Megan when you guys are done.”

  My heart raced in my chest. Even though I’d spent years with them. They were another part of my family. I needed Lexi’s strength. I reached down and tightened my fingers around hers. “Stay, please.”

  She searched my gaze and nodded. “If you want me here, I’ll stay.”

  I sucked in a shaky breath. “I do.” I turned us both toward Kylee and Dylan. “Guys, I want you to meet Lexi. She grew up with me and Jackson.”

  Kylee smirked. “Seems like she’s more than someone you grew up with.”

  I linked our fingers together. “She is. She saved me from the mess I was making in my life.”

  Kylee came over and threw her arms around my neck. “I’m so fucking happy for you. I’ve worried about you since Christine died. I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy again.”

  Kylee moved to Lexi, wrapping her in a hug. Lexi’s eyes snapped to me. Kylee was a lot to take in, but she had a heart of gold.

  Dylan slapped me on the shoulder. “Good for you, man. I knew something was different when you called. I just didn’t know what.”

  “Thanks. I don’t know if I would have ever picked up a guitar again if it hadn’t been for her.”

  Dylan narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean? You haven’t played anything in all this time?”

  I shook my head. “Not a single note until about a week ago.”

  That caught Kylee’s attention. “Is that why you never came back?”

  “That’s exactly why. I had a panic attack every time I tried.”

  “Oh my God.” Kylee smacked my arms. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us? We would’ve helped.”

  I glanced over at Lexi, who had moved back to lean against the desk. “I don’t think you could have helped.”

  Kylee followed the direction of my gaze. “You’re right. I’m not sure we had what it takes.”

  “You might have the right parts, but I think Miles would be pissed.”

  Kylee punched Dylan in the arm. I glanced over at Lexi to see how she was taking all this. She winked and moved around behind the desk. The weight on my chest lightened. I knew Kylee and Dylan could be a lot to take, but Lexi just rolled with the punches. Quite literally.

  Dylan smirked at her and clapped his hands together. “Let’s save this band.”

  We all took seats around the desk, where I had the music for the song I’d written.

  Kylee pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top. “We need a new keyboard player.”

  It turned my attention to her. “Are you okay with that?”

  She shrugged. “I have to be. Miles is stuck with them for a year. If we wait for him, we’ll never pull ourselves back out.”

  Dylan tapped his fingers on his knee. “Where do we even start with that? Right now we have no albums, tours, or performances to entice someone to come on board.”

  Kylee crossed her arms over her chest. “We have a name.”

  “A name that will only get us so far,” Dylan argued.

  I held my hands up. “Good to know not much has changed.”

  Kylee smirked. “And it looks like you’re still playing the peacekeeper. Do you have a plan then?”

  I slid the music for “Rise Again” over to them. “We have time in the studio with Tom in two weeks. He wants to hear something new. If he likes it, he guarantees they’ll pick up the album.”

  Dylan scanned over the music. “This is a fucking fantastic song, but how are we supposed to play it without a keyboard player?”

  Jackson leaned forward. “That’s where I come in.”

  Kylee narrowed her eyes. “You don’t play the piano.”

  “You’re right, but I know two people who do. And one of them is willing to play with you to get through this song.”

  “Heath?” Dylan asked.

  Jackson nodded. “And with a guaranteed album, finding a keyboard player should get a lot easier.”

  Dylan sighed and leaned back against his chair, studying the paper in front of him. Lexi’s perfume surrounded me before I even noticed she’d come to stand beside me. She rested her hand on my shoulder, settling the nerves that Dylan or Kylee would say no and walk away.

  Dylan glanced at Kylee. “I think this could work. I’m in if you are.”

  Kylee looked at me. Her hazel eyes bright. “Do you really think we can do this?”

  Lexi gave my shoulder a squeeze.

  “I think we can, but only if we do it together,” I offered.

  I held my breath and waited. Kylee sat silent for a moment, gazing at the floor. Then she started talking and her words broke my heart. “For the last few months, I tried to move on. Find somethi
ng new. I played with a couple of different bands, but honestly”—she moved her gaze to mine—“they all treated me like shit. Being a woman in this industry isn’t easy. There’s plenty of fucking assholes out there. Not you guys. I’d rather have to work ten times harder with you than settle for some band who will never appreciate me.”

  I reached out my hand for her to take. “Then let’s do this.”

  She slipped her hand in mine and Dylan covered them with his. “Let’s do this.”

  * * *

  Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Dylan and Kylee had flown home the next day to practice “Rise Again”. It wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t want to show up in the city until the day we were playing for LiteStar. Any indication that we were making a go of this would be all over the papers and right now I knew I didn’t need that kind of stress on my plate and neither did they.

  Lexi had been very patient with me, taking time away from her office to help with Chloe when my mom couldn’t. And my dad had been more than understanding. She’d offered to come with me, but I didn’t want her to take any more time away from her clinic than she already had.

  Not to mention I didn’t want to put her under the microscope yet. If the press caught wind of her, they’d be dissecting her life. I didn’t want to give them a chance to speculate about anything. Not yet. We could deal with that after we figured out where we stood with LiteStar. If they said no, none of it mattered. If, on the other hand, they said yes, Lexi and I had some decisions to make.

  I drove through the crowded streets in my rental. Kylee offered to pick me up, but I figured that would draw too much attention. I drove up to the gate and pulled down my sunglasses, happy to see that not everything had changed. The same security guard sat in the booth.

  “Mr. Cormack, it’s good to see you.”

  “It’s good to see you too, Ed.”

  He hit he button to lift the gate and I drove through. My hands trembled slightly as I lifted my guitar out of the back and locked the door.

  I used the side door set up for band members to enter without being hounded by photographers out front. As I weaved my way through the halls toward the recording studio, I could feel eyes on my back. I glanced backward, but the moment my gaze hit them they went back to whatever they were doing. The reaction was exactly what I expected. It had been over a year since I stepped into these offices.

  Recording 1.

  I placed my hand on the knob and took a deep breath before pushing it open. Kylee’s head snapped up from where she sat, tightening the heads on her drums. Heath stood behind a keyboard, plugging in the last of the equipment.

  I waved to Kylee and made my way over to Heath, holding my hand out to him. “I’m not sure I can thank you enough for this.”

  He smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling me in for a quick hug. “You don’t have to thank me. These are the things we do for our friends.”

  A lump formed in the back of my throat and I nodded, setting the guitar case along the wall. The door flew open, crashing into the wall behind it. I glanced over my shoulder as Dylan raced through the door.

  “Shit, sorry. Running late.”

  Kylee rolled her eyes. “Some things never change.”

  He set the case down, taking out his bass and plugging it in. We were just warming up when the door opened again and Tom came in. His brow lifted when his eyes landed on Heath.

  “Heath.” Tom inclined his head at him. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

  He glanced over at me. “Helping out some friends.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He pointed toward the door of the sound booth. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.”

  “Got it,” I called out.

  We continued warming up, waiting for Tom’s signal from the booth. He gave us the thumbs-up. I took a deep breath.

  You can do this.

  I thought about Lexi’s smile as she dropped me off at the airport. “You can do this.” She told me and I believed her. I had to.

  I ran my fingers lightly over the strings, my heart thundering in my chest, and started playing the melody. Heath joined me followed by Dylan and Kylee. I felt every word as it left my lips, memories of my time with Lexi playing through my mind.

  The song came to an end and I looked up at the sound booth, waiting for Tom’s reaction.

  Nothing.

  Absolutely nothing. He sat there, unmoving. My chest tightened and I looked over at Kylee and Dylan. Their eyes never left the glass window.

  Then I saw the slight lift of the corner of Kylee’s lips. The sound of clapping hit my ears. I whirled around to see Tom standing on his feet. I let out a breath of air.

  “That was fucking amazing. Perfect for a single release.” He stepped out of the booth. “Find a keyboard player and write a few more songs and we’ll record.”

  I reached out and took Tom’s hand. “Thank you.”

  “The world of music missed you. It’ll be nice to have you back.”

  “It’s nice to be back.” I could barely hold still as excitement radiated through me.

  He turned to shake Heath’s hand. “Thanks for helping out today.”

  “Anytime.” Heath started packing up his equipment.

  Tom stopped to shake hands with Dylan and Kylee, who kept her cool until the door shut behind him.

  “We did it.” She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. “We need to celebrate.”

  I glanced at the time. “I’d love to, but I still have a plane to catch.”

  Her face fell. I walked and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Hey, you and Dylan celebrate. When I come back, we’ll all go out and celebrate.”

  Dylan finished putting his bass away. “Does that mean you’re moving back?”

  “It means I have a lot to figure out, but I don’t see a way around it. We can’t record if I’m in Westlake.”

  “Not really. While you figure it, we need to work on music and a keyboard player,” Dylan said.

  “We’ll get it done and by the time everything is in place and it’s time to record, I’ll be back.”

  I would have to be back; it was the only way to have this career. Now I had to go home to Lexi and figure out how we were going to make it work.

  31

  Lexi

  The board read that Aiden’s flight was on time, but I hadn’t seen him come out of the terminal. I paced up and down near the baggage area, his guitar in my hands.

  Where is he?

  I turned to start back in the other direction when a head of familiar head of brown hair caught my attention. Stopping dead in my tracks, I watched him come down the escalator from the terminal shuttles.

  His face was blank. No excitement. No sadness. Nothing. I hadn’t heard from him all day, so I had no idea how things had gone with the label. When he reached the bottom, I ran over, unable to wait any longer.

  “What did they say?” I asked without bothering to say hello.

  Aiden rushed forward and grabbed me around the waist, spinning in a circle. His guitar case slipped from my fingers.

  A bright grin lit up his features. “We’re in.”

  I slung my arms around his neck and held on tight. He stopped twirling me around and set me back on the ground. “I’m so proud of you.”

  He bent down, stealing a quick kiss as he picked up his guitar. “Let’s go back to my house and celebrate.”

  He held out his hand to me and I walked him back to my car, noticing the extra spring to his step. The last piece of the puzzle had fallen back into place.

  Aiden had found his voice again.

  His excitement had transferred to the bedroom. After sending his mom home and putting Chloe to bed, he carried me upstairs, caressing every inch of my body until he made me see stars as he shouted my name.

  We lay in the middle of the bed, my head on his chest. He ran light circles over my back.

  “What are you thinking about? You’re being awfully quiet now. The excitement hasn’t worn off
already, has it?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  I pushed up on an elbow to see his face. He took the biggest step by playing for someone other than me. Why would he fall back into despair? “What’s wrong? Did something else happen that you didn’t tell me about?”

  His eyes moved from the ceiling to me. “No. I guess reality is slamming back down.”

  “What reality?”

  He seemed so dejected and it was really starting to worry me.

  “The reality that before I know it, I’m going to have to head back.”

  I ran my fingers over the frown lines between his eyes. “I figured as much. You’ll have to be there to record the music.”

  He grabbed my hand and brought it down over his heart. “Do know how long it takes to record one album?”

  I shook my head. “I know nothing about the music business beyond buying concert tickets and heading to the show.”

  “It can take a minimum of six months and that’s if everything goes perfectly.”

  “Oh.” The weight of the world seemed to settle on my shoulder as reality came crashing in on me too. “You’re going to have to move back, aren’t you?”

  “Probably.”

  I moved off Aiden, slipping to the side of the bed and placing my legs on the floor. My entire life was in Westlake. I spent years saving the money to buy the clinic. And with no other veterinarians in town, I couldn’t leave them without someone to care for their pets.

  “Lex…” he said from behind me.

  I shook my head. I couldn’t find the words. The realization that I’d have to let Aiden go settled on my chest, making it hard to breathe. When I pushed him to try, I’d been so intent on him getting his dreams back I never stopped to think about how it would affect us.

  I felt the bed move and he came up behind me, crossing his arms over my waist. “You could always come with me.”

  “I can’t.” I managed to force past the lump in my throat. “I can’t leave the clinic.”

  He rested his forehead on my shoulder. “I know, but I don’t know a way around it.”