“You should be spending time with your family,” she scolded.
“My dad started treatments this week,” I reminded her as I opened my email account. “When he’s home, he’s locked away in his room, resting. I need something to keep me busy before I go crazy.”
“I can think of something else you could be doing,” my boss giggled into the phone.
I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn’t see me, and instantly regretted having told her about my past with Cooper, and the recent run-ins. I didn’t know what had taken me over to his house three weeks ago when my father had had his surgery. Hell, I knew why I had, even if I wanted to pretend I didn’t. Comfort.
Keegan and Abby had all but kicked me out of the hospital once we had seen my dad in recovery. I had been up most of the night before, my nerves on edge, and I had gone with him to the hospital. They came before he had been brought out, after having some appointment of their own. According to my brother, I had looked like death warmed over, so as soon as my dad came out and we talked to the doctor, he ushered me out to my car.
Kissing me on the forehead, he had instructed me to go home and get some rest. I had aimed my car for the house I grew up in; however, it seemed to have a mind of its own. The next thing I knew, I was turning into the driveway that, thanks to my brother, I found out now belonged to Cooper. When I climbed out and saw him, it had taken all that was in me not to run to him, but the minute he opened his arms, I was gone. All cautions went out the window for the seconds that he held me and just let me cry.
“Fine, I’ll get them sent over,” Julie finally caved. “Check your secure email in an hour.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “How long are they thinking your dad will be undergoing treatment?”
“He has chemo two days a week and radiation two days. They are hoping that one round for six weeks will be enough.”
“Don’t worry about your job,” she informed me with a loving voice. “I’ll send you a little here and there to keep you occupied, but nothing major. Otherwise, everything will wait until you come back.”
“I can’t tell you how much that means to me,” I said, my vision blurring with tears.
“We love you here. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you or your family.”
With that, we hung up. I spent the next hour going through the hundreds of emails I had from being out of the office the past month. I easily dumped half of them in the trash bin as I could see where Julie or one of my other coworkers had responded. Organizing the remaining ones into the subfolders of my inbox by client, I printed those I needed to the wireless printer I had brought with me.
Having that done, I moved into my secure email and found the financials I requested, so I printed those as well. Once I had all the piles organized and I was ready to review, I stood and stretched. It felt good to get my mind working again, yet I realized I hadn’t heard a peep out of my dad.
Going to the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and a sleeve of saltine crackers off the counter. He wasn’t feeling sick, but his appetite was already faltering. If I could at least get those into him, I would be happy. I moved down the hallway toward the master bedroom, knocking lightly before stepping in when I didn’t get a response.
My father was on his side, facing the door. The blinds were drawn so it was slightly darker. He slept soundly, so deeply, I was tempted to get a mirror and hold it under his nose. Placing the water and crackers on his bedside table, I grabbed the empty bottle that was there and tiptoed back out.
Making my way back to the kitchen, I heard the front door open and close, along with the sound of someone wiping their boots. Figuring it was my brother, I put the empty bottle in the recycle bag and grabbed a fresh bottle from the refrigerator for myself. Before I could open it, a hand reached out and snatched it.
“Well, hello to you too,” I commented sarcastically.
Getting another bottle, I leaned against the counter opposite Keegan and mirrored his stance of feet crossed in front. As I drank, I took a good look at him. Dark circles lined his green eyes and his dirty blond hair was long for him. I could see where he had been running his hands through it in frustration.
“What’s up, Keeg?” I asked, concerned.
“Just work. Jobs are picking up with the warmer weather and, as you know, Memorial Day signals the start of basically a majority of our projects.”
I looked at him a little more closely and knew that wasn’t the case. Sure, Grind would be busy, however Keegan had been working alongside my father since I had gone away to college. They had wonderful foremen that worked for them and most of the employees had been there for years, making things that much easier. There was something else bothering him.
“Are you worried about Dad?”
“Yes and no,” he replied. “He’s strong, so I know he will get through it.”
“What gives? You look exhausted.”
“Abby isn’t feeling well, so she has had a hard time sleeping through the night,” he finally said slowly.
“What did the doctor tell you?” I questioned, suddenly worried she was seriously ill as well, considering she hadn’t felt great since I had been back.
“She’s fine,” he told me with a slight smile. “Well, as good as someone can be when they are growing a tiny human inside them.”
“Wait! What?” I shrieked, quickly slapping my hand over my mouth so I didn’t wake my father. “She’s pregnant?!”
Keegan nodded with a broader smile this time. I launched myself at him as tears streamed down my face. He caught me easily and hugged me for all he was worth, lifting my feet off the ground. They had been trying to get pregnant for a while and nothing had happened. I hadn’t wanted to pry, so I hadn’t asked them recently how the whole thing was going. Evidently, it had finally worked out in their favor.
“Abby wanted to keep quiet about it until she hits twelve weeks. She is really nervous.”
“How far along is she?”
“She is nine weeks now.”
“I’m so happy and excited for you guys,” I told him, kissing him on the cheek and grabbing my water again. “You didn’t tell Dad yet, I take it?”
“No, he had enough going on,” he said, shaking his head.
“He does, but don’t you think this would give him all the more reason to fight?” I asked. “His first grandchild is a pretty big deal.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Keegan admitted, throwing his now empty bottle at me. “I was more worried about upsetting him if something went wrong.”
“Dad is stronger than you give him credit for.”
“I know he’s strong,” my brother admitted. “I’m just trying to figure out how to juggle it all.”
“You let me help. That’s why I’m here,” I reminded him. “I can help at the shop, either in the office or with equipment. You just tell me what you need.”
“I need you here with Dad. That takes that much more off my shoulders if I know he is being well taken care of, so I can concentrate on the business and my wife.”
I went over to where Keegan still stood, leaning against the counter. He opened his arms and hugged me, letting me rest against his chest. We had always been close growing up, and had always been straight with each other. Knowing he was taking care of the thing that Dad loved almost as much as us took stress off me as well. I could handle the daily care of our father.
“You got it.”
“Just make sure that you keep me posted on how he’s doing,” he said, putting his finger under my chin and bringing it up so I was looking him in the eye. “Don’t feel like you can’t tell me what’s going on because you know I am handling the business. I need to know.”
“I promise,” I conferred.
“Pinkie promise?” he asked, a slight grin on his face as he lifted one hand up and put his pinkie out, just like he had when we were kids.
“Pinkie promise
.”
It’s always been you,” I sang along.
It was a gorgeous day in May, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The thermometer was pushing sixty degrees and despite my desire to be outside, we were working the day away indoors. Evan and I had every window open and the radio was set on our favorite local country station. I was getting better at not cringing every time one of our songs came on, and was actually singing along to one of our latest, “You,” as it boomed through the house.
I was working on pulling the remaining wallpaper from the walls of the master bedroom, while my friend was upstairs doing the same in one of the two up there. My mother had just left after bringing us cupcakes, and giving me the latest on Dale. It seemed that he was holding his own, as was his daughter, despite the aggressive treatments. I wanted to reach out to Avery, but I knew I had no right to. She knew where I was if she needed me.
“Through it all, you remained the light at the end of the tunnel,” I continued along with the song.
“Huh, seems you can take the man out of the music, but not the music out of the man,” came a familiar voice, startling me from my methodical motions.
Chuckling, I set down my scraper and turned around to find my band member and friend, Chris, leaning against the doorframe with a grin. Concern laced his brown eyes, yet the smile on his lips was genuine. He studied me as he moved across the room to where I stood. His hair was longer on top, almost so he could wear a man bun, the sides shaved close. I could tell he had been stressing because he had telltale streaks from running his fingers through it. The t-shirt he wore was one from high school, with the wolf mascot on it, and his holey jeans were well-worn. Here, he was just Chris, not the lead singer of Dark Roads.
Gripping arms in a stiff handshake when he got to me, he pulled me in for a hug. I had no doubt he had been the most concerned about me, since he had definitely seen me at my worst. I gripped him tightly and pounded him on the back. When we pulled back, I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. I arched an eyebrow at him.
“Is everything okay in Nashville?” I asked, moving to grab the water bottle I had set on my bureau.
“Yeah,” he answered, running both hands through his hair again.
“Try again,” I retorted, snorting.
“We’ve been worried about you,” he admitted, scuffing the toe of his cowboy boot against the floor.
I figured that was part of it, yet I had feeling there was more. Chris had always taken anything that the band had gone through, and put it on his shoulders. While his uncle was a great manager, he still felt like he was responsible for us, since he was the lead singer. None of us had ever argued about it because we didn’t want the added responsibility. Though, I was very surprised to see him back in Maine. Chris was the one who wanted to get out of the state in the worst way.
“It looks like you could use some help,” he commented, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking around the room.
“Possibly,” I replied, finishing my water and letting him change the subject.
“Matt and I left our stuff in the living room for now. Where do you want us to start working?”
Ah, so they were moving in temporarily. Well, I sure as hell wouldn’t say no to free labor. Evan and I had been doing all the little demo projects we could, and with the extra hands, maybe we could actually start putting shit back together. It wasn’t like the four of us hadn’t lived in a smaller space than this in the last ten years.
“Today, we’re pulling wallpaper, so pick a room,” I told him,handing him a scraper and turning around to get back at it.
“You’re just a boatload of freaking fun, aren’t ya?” he laughed, moving back to the door.
“Hell yeah, I am,” I replied. “Oh, and Chris?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t need a fucking babysitter,” I informed him, still facing the wall I was working on.
“Didn’t think you did, Coop,” he answered softly, before I heard his boots thumping down the hall to the stairs.
I felt a slight weight in my chest knowing that we were all together again. We had a lot of unresolved issues, and I had just begun to settle into life back home. I didn’t want to hash out all the bullshit yet. Things had been looking up, I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time, and I was starting to remember why I loved music in the first place. I wasn’t ready to look my problems in the face quite yet.
I got back to work and within an hour, the earlier stress had rolled off my back. I could hear the guys working upstairs, chatting here and there, and the physical labor had cleared my head. Having them here really did calm me, even though it made me uptight at times.
When Tracy Byrd’s “Watermelon Crawl” came on the radio, we all started singing along without any direction. This was why we were a band. It wasn’t about the money, the fame, or the glamour. It was about four guys who loved music of all kinds and could make it well together. We stomped our feet to the beat, singing at the top of our lungs. These were the times I enjoyed the most, and that fans would kill to see; Dark Roads was just a big name for a small group of guys from a small town in central Maine.
Light in the room slowly started to shift and fade, making me realize I hadn’t eaten since lunch, and I had long since finished my water supply. Grabbing my cell phone, I found that it was closing in on six o’clock and my stomach let out a resounding rumble to confirm it. I bent at the knees, stretching my back and followed it by standing straight up and putting my arms above my head. While I rolled my neck, I surveyed my work. Three walls were done, and I had two trash bags full of paper. Not bad, considering I had been at it since seven this morning.
Cleaning up a bit more so I could find my bed without a problem later, I heard people on the front porch and the guys coming down the stairs. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I did know that things wouldn’t be quiet around here, with the four of us under one roof. Making my way to the kitchen, I found Matt’s sister, Lexie, and her wife, Maggie, placing takeout bags on the counter tops, and the other three guys buzzing around to see what they had brought. I smiled at the familiarity of it all.
“Cooper!” Lexie exclaimed, noticing me first.
I opened my arms as she ran around the guys and launched herself at me. She was a petite thing, with long black hair and stunning olive skin. I had always had a special place in my heart for her. Lexie had followed us around for as long as I could remember, since she was three years younger than we were, and had supported us from day one with our music. I hugged her tightly before setting her on her feet and throwing an arm around her to steer her back to the food.
“What did you bring us?” I asked, sniffing the air.
“Don’t worry,” she said, rolling her eyes and backhanding my stomach. “I brought you your own container of spare ribs.”
“A woman that knows the true way to my heart,” I told her, kissing her temple and releasing her to reach around Evan for my food. “You sure you don’t want to divorce her and marry me?”
“She’s all mine, Hall,” Maggie growled good naturedly, a smile playing on her lips.
I chuckled and headed to the refrigerator for a soda. After some jostling around, we were all seated around the table, eating and catching up. Lexie had followed us to Nashville when she had turned eighteen. Not long after, she met Maggie and the two had hit it off, their marriage coming just a year ago. Maggie also happened to be our lawyer.
“So, clearly you are all here for some sort of intervention,” I finally got out, once I finished my ribs.
Everyone stopped talking and chewing, all of them looking around at each other with wide eyes. BAM. I had caught them. My back instantly tensed, and I clamped my molars together to keep from spewing things I didn’t mean. Shifting in my seat, I leaned back, balancing my chair on the back legs, and crossed my arms over my chest.
“That’s not why we’re here,” Lexie started to say slowly, always the voice of reason.
“Bullshit!” I hollered, letti
ng my chair come down with a thud. “Evidently you aren’t getting the information you want when you check in with Evan, so you all came home to see for yourselves.”
“Now wait a second,” Evan sputtered, getting to his feet.
“I’m not blaming this on you,” I told him, trying to keep my temper in check. Alcohol was sounding really good right now.
“We didn’t send Evan here to check in on you, or to keep tabs,” Chris piped up. “We were all concerned about you, and we do still have stuff to sort out as a band.”
I felt my body start to shake with anger. As I had told him when he got here, I didn’t need a damn babysitter. I was a grown ass man and was working through my shit. Being back in Maine alone had quieted a lot of my problems; then again, hiding from the general public could solve most of them. I hadn’t had a lick of alcohol in three months, a woman in almost that long, and my drums were currently collecting dust in the studio back in our house in Nashville.
“I’m fine. It’s not like I was that bad!”
“Fuck you, you weren’t that bad!” Matt exploded, causing all of our mouths to drop open. He was the ever quiet one that, despite the tattooed sleeve, beard, and bar across his ear, never said ‘boo’ to anyone. “You scared the shit out of us.”
I pushed my chair back and stood. I took a deep breath and looked around. Worry filled all of their eyes and I noticed that Chris wasn’t the only one with dark smudges under his. I didn’t get it. Sure, I had liked to drink and had women for company constantly, but it wasn’t much different than many others around us in the industry.
“How?” I asked, exasperated.
“From the time you started prepping for a show until you passed out in bed the next morning, you were a freaking camel. It was like you couldn’t get the damn stuff into you fast enough. Add to that the women that passed through your dressing room or hotel room doors. You were either going to kill your liver or your dick,” Matt sputtered, standing up across the table.
“Do you even remember our last show?!” Chris asked, his voice raising a notch as he got up and flung his chair back.
The Return (The Comeback Series) Page 5