Daltrey (Pushing Daisies Book 4)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  We began the second song when I saw her. Ella from last night.

  She and her friend were dancing, her red hair slapping against her chest as she moved. It was like she was suddenly in slow motion as I watched her. Thank god for muscle memory because I got so lost in watching her that I forgot I was playing.

  Her wide smile lit up her face and the laugh that followed was fucking beautiful. I knew it was a laugh by the way her throat moved. I shouldn’t have noticed.

  When she glanced from her friend to me and our eyes locked, she stilled. There was something about her, the way she pushed her hair back over her shoulder, that had me not taking my eyes off of her.

  For some reason, as I watched her friend bounce around her and pull her attention from me, the weight that normally sat on my chest all show lifted. For the first time in over a month, I enjoyed performing again.

  Forget the hard-on I was sporting on the stage. I hadn’t had sex sober in so long, I wasn’t entirely sure that could still happen, but thankfully, I had my guitar in front of me to hide it. Fuck, it was getting painful.

  Like a creeper, I watched Ella all night, that carefree vibe finding me in the crowded venue and I began to wish she’d be out there every night. Something I could focus on beyond the crowd of people.

  Something that could keep me grounded.

  7

  Ella

  After the concert, Emery and I made our way back over to the opposite side of the stage, where we’d gone before the show. Mack was waiting there for us. He waved us in, which seemed to be good enough for security.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I was to get your text,” he told me as we followed him backstage again. “You’re saving me a lot of trouble.”

  I glanced at Emery then back. “I guess that’s my job now.”

  Mack snorted. “You might regret taking this.”

  “I doubt it.”

  We stopped at a quiet end of the hall, the three of us in a little huddle.

  “Does starting tomorrow work for you?” he asked. “If it doesn’t, I get it. I just want this going as soon as possible.

  I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “Emery and I are heading back to Grand Rapids in the morning. I can pack and be on a plane in the afternoon. Any earlier wouldn’t work. I have to pack. Quit my job.” I sighed. “I just have to take care of a few things before I can leave.”

  “I was looking at flights and there’s one in the evening. You’d be here during the show, but I can get you settled. Then you’d start the next morning. I was thinking…” He swallowed. “That I’d get everyone together that morning to have a chat with him. But only if you’re really OK with how quickly this is happening.”

  “I’m fine with it. I’d have to go to work the next day anyway,” I told him and the sooner I got this moving and started collecting this higher paycheck, the better.

  “Do you mean meet with him like an intervention?” Emery asked.

  Mack raised an eyebrow then glanced from her to me.

  I shook him off. “She’s fine. I’m going to tell her everything anyway and she’s the one person you can trust doesn’t want Pushing Daisies’ reputation tarnished as much as you don’t. I’m the one who doesn’t care much about it.”

  “Which is why you’re perfect.”

  I didn’t think I’d ever been called perfect in my life before this and I hoped I’d live up to his expectations.

  “So, yeah,” I continued. “That sounds fine, but please remember that I’m not a professional. I’m not going to spout the garbage that therapists tell you. That doesn’t work a lot of the time. I tried it with my mom.”

  “I wouldn’t expect that,” he confirmed. “I’m not looking for that because I don’t think it’d work for Daltrey.” He took a deep breath then sighed. “I’m going to share something with you and obviously, I ask that you not share it with anyone else. I’m trusting you.”

  “As I said, we aren’t going to tell anyone anything. This is private information.”

  He nodded. “When Daltrey was nineteen, something happened. He had an issue was all our dad would say, but Dad took care of it. I’m starting to think it was an issue with alcohol, though they’ve never said that. He’s been solid ever since.”

  “How old is he?” I asked.

  “Twenty-five,” Mack and Emery answered at the same time, then she giggled. Mack smiled but continued to focus on me and when I say the man is beautiful when he smiled, the words don’t do him justice. Their whole family was but Mack wasn’t my type. Unfortunately. Not that I wanted him but he seems more stable than what I usually go for. Went for. I don’t do that anymore.

  “That’s a really good stretch of sobriety.”

  “Yeah.” Mack scrubbed a hand through his hair. “But I’m not sure what brought it back on.”

  I knew exactly what he was feeling. I’d felt that guilt many times with my mom. What did I do to make her start drinking again? Was I not taking good enough care of her? It was all bullshit, though. It wasn’t us. It was on them and it was a disease. The difference here was that hopefully, Daltrey wanted to get better.

  While waving my hands in the general area of everything, I said, “Have you looked around? There are a lot of stressors, I would think.”

  “True, but did you see him tonight? He was much more at ease on stage tonight. I don’t know what made tonight different.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll see what I can find out, but, Mack, if Daltrey is going to trust me, I can’t run to you with everything he tells me. If I’m going to be his friend, then I’m going to be his friend.”

  He nodded. “Understood. Just let me know if there’s anything I need to know.”

  “Deal.”

  “Text me your full name and email address. I’ll get your transportation set up and confirmation will go to your email. And, Ella, thank you for doing this. I know it’s fast and weird and all of that, but I promise you won’t have to worry about anything on the road. Lawson and I run a tight ship.”

  I nodded because my safety wasn’t something I’d actually thought about. Which was awful. But there was something about Daltrey that had me wanting to help him.

  As we made our way back outside, we passed a room that was loud with people chattering. It was only a quick glance, but I saw Daltrey in there with a bottle of whiskey that he was drinking like it was a bottle of beer.

  I was going to have my work cut out for me.

  There was a moment during the concert that took me totally out of the show. It was when my eyes locked with Daltrey’s. If I didn’t know better, there was heat in his gaze. The kind of heat I hadn’t felt in a long time. There was a pain in his eyes, even though he was smiling and going through the motions.

  I kept thinking about that moment as I laid in the hotel bed that night. That was the moment that I knew I’d made the right decision in taking the job that Mack offered me to help Daltrey not ruin his life. While I didn’t love the idea of being a babysitter, unlike the babysitting I’d done for my mother, I thought this might be helpful. Watching over her had been useless. She wasn’t going to stop until she drank herself into the ground.

  Daltrey was young. He had his whole life ahead of him. Maybe he’d want to change his path. I didn’t know but I was going to do my best.

  As soon as Pushing Daisies finished up and Emery and I had screamed our throats raw, we headed backstage as Mack told me to after I sent him that text.

  I wasn’t sure if Emery was still awake but I replayed the moment that I saw him backstage and how that awakened a few things that I thought were long dead. Enough bad experiences with men had turned me sour but Daltrey already had me wishing that wasn’t the case.

  I wouldn’t cross any lines with him. That didn’t mean I couldn’t admire him from afar.

  “You know I can hear your brain working over here,” Emery said with her voice muffled by her pillow.

  “I thought you were asleep,” I said into the darkness.

  �
��I’m trying but your thinking is keeping me awake.”

  I chuckled quietly. “I’m sorry. This is just a big deal.”

  “I know it is.”

  “I just think I can help him. He’s so young and Mack thinks just having someone around like a sober companion will help.”

  She took a moment and wet her lips. “You know I said you should take it as soon as you told me about it. But I also know how much you tried to help your mom and what that was like for you.”

  I shook my head. “This is different. I can walk away from this if it becomes too much. With Mom, I was also trying to go to school and stay out of foster care. I was running the house like an adult. That’s not this.”

  “True.” She rolled over making the bedsprings squeak. “If that’s what you want, I fully support you and I can’t believe my best friend is going to work for Pushing Daisies. This is unreal.” She let out a squeal that had both of us laughing.

  “But that means I have to fly out tomorrow after I pack. Is this crazy?”

  “It’s incredibly crazy, Ella, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The money is insane. You’ll get to travel. No whiny customers to serve.”

  “Well, one whiny customer,” I countered. “Daltrey.”

  “True, but he’s going to fall head over heels in love with you because you’re amazing.”

  “Uh, no.” I pulled back. “Even if that were the case, I have to put strict boundaries between him and me. I’m not looking to be his girlfriend.” That would be totally unprofessional and I don’t have time for the drama in my life. I’ve had enough to last me forever.

  “Of course.” She rolled over again. “Maybe just hook up with him before the end of your contract.”

  I shook my head, which she couldn’t see, but we both giggled. There would be no hooking up.

  This was such a weird end to the week.

  Emery and I were up and on the road early. Luckily it wasn’t much of a drive to get back home so I had the whole day to get things done. There was no family outside of Emery to say goodbye to. It was just packing, making sure Emery would take care of my car, and letting my bank know that I was going to be traveling so they wouldn't decline my debit or credit card because of weird locations.

  That had been Emery’s idea because she’d done it before she went to Europe with her family.

  The afternoon after that meeting with Mack, I was packed and ready to go. I’d called to quit my job and made sure that Emery was really OK with me leaving. We shared the rent, but she had a much bigger paycheck than me and I’d always thought that the only reason we shared was because she didn’t want to live alone. She could afford this place easily. wanted to.

  “You’re going to Facetime me every day so I can see life on the road,” Emery demanded.

  “Yes, Mother. I promise.”

  “And if anyone tries anything with you, I truly believe that Mack will protect you.”

  I snorted. “I don’t think I’ll need a bodyguard.”

  “Still. It’s going to be so weird without you here.”

  “I know. This is all so weird.” I walked over to my dresser to grab my current read off the top. Didn’t want to forget that, though it probably would’ve been smarter to buy an e-reader. I couldn’t lug books around with me too much. Actually, I could just read it on my phone too, so I put the book back.

  I already had my purse, carry-on that had my laptop in it, and one bag to check. I could be gone for months without much space for clothes. I didn’t even know what the laundry situation was like though. These were things I’d learn while on the road.

  On the road. Me. I shook my head because it was still hard to believe.

  “We’re going to dinner, right?” Emery asked.

  “Yes. We’re going to eat then you’re taking me to the airport.”

  “Your first plane ride.” She squealed again. “How exciting.”

  “How pathetic.”

  “Not pathetic. Stop.”

  I did as she asked and didn’t mention it again.

  Emery ate dinner early with me, then drove me to the airport. She insisted that she didn’t mind taking care of my car for me while I was away. All that would consist of is starting it once in a while. Maybe taking it for a drive here or there just to keep it running.

  I hated putting it on her, but it wasn’t like I could do it from wherever I was going.

  Cincinnati was where I started. Mack was right when he said I’d get there while the band was on. They’d just started when he got me settled in a bunk and brought me all the passes I’d need to get anywhere I wanted to go.

  “One thing I probably should’ve asked,” I began while kicking myself for not thinking of it earlier. “So I’m basically his sober companion, but are we talking where he is, I am, twenty-four hours a day? It’s fine. I just want to know what my parameters are.”

  Mack contemplated my question then sighed. “If he’s with us, then obviously you’re off the hook. He doesn’t seem to drink before the shows that I can tell at least not in the dressing room, so it’s basically after they get off stage until we’re on the bus. Once the bus is moving, he can’t go anywhere.”

  “Got it. Though you might be surprised about before the show. People can hide it if they’re not sloppy drunk.” I nodded. My cheeks began to burn. I barely knew this man but was going to talk to him about his brother’s sex life. “And with women…”

  A smile tugged at Mack’s lips. “Uh.” He scratched at the back of his head. “I don’t want to put Daltrey on full lockdown. I think that would do more harm than good.”

  “I agree.”

  “So basically, I really just want you around so he doesn’t go too far. I’d like zero drinking of course because I’m not sure he can handle moderation.”

  “They usually can’t,” I agreed.

  “But other than that, you’re more like a shadow.” He took a step forward. “Listen, I don’t think he’s going to give you much trouble for the most part. He’s going to be a snide little shit for a bit, but he’s going to come around. We just need him clearheaded to do it.”

  “Got it.” The snide part I could handle. There wasn’t much Daltrey could say to me that my own mother hadn’t.

  “Did you want to go in and watch the show? Talk to the guys and Daisy?”

  “Nah.” I shook my head. “I’ll just get settled and we’re still on for the morning? I’m not going to explain this to him alone, right?

  “Yeah, we’ll do it in the morning.”

  “Perfect. I’m just going to hang out in my bunk tonight so he won’t even see me.”

  “I’m not hiding you, Ella. If he sees you, we’ll do it tonight.”

  After Mack took me to the bus and showed me the available bunks, I chose the bottom one. I was incredibly glad that I’d packed light. Though Mack had pointed out that I could take one of the empty bunks as my junk bunk. Somewhere to put all of my things.

  There were eight bunks. Bonham and Jurnie slept in one then used the area above them as storage. Van, when he stayed on this bus, was next to Bonham with storage above him. Daltrey slept in the bunk above me, which was convenient, and used the storage area next to his bunk which left me storage next to me. It was a really good system and I wasn’t used to anything fancy, so this would definitely work for me. I’d be too short to reach the top bunk anyway.

  Then I grabbed a pair of pajamas and climbed into my bunk. It was roomy enough that I could change in there and it had a TV of my own that I could press against the wall or pull out and angle for a better view.

  This was nicer than the house I’d grown up in.

  It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. After all, I’d driven home from Chicago this morning, uprooted my entire life, and caught a plane to Cincinnati. I didn’t even know what city we’d be in tomorrow. All of this was a lot to process.

  Plus, tomorrow was going to be a weird day.

  8

  Daltrey

  I did
n’t go out after the show last night only to prove to my siblings that I didn’t need to. It was fun to do, but because I didn’t, it took me forever to fall asleep. Most of the time, I’d had enough drinks that my brain slowed down enough that I could nod right off.

  Not last night and the thing my brain decided to focus on was the woman Mack had been talking to before and after the show in Chicago. Ella was her name if I remembered correctly and fuck, I’d be jealous as hell if Mack had hooked up with her. Though it wasn’t his style to be so public about it. Normally, none of us knew who he was with. Even me and we shared an apartment.

  But Ella was fucking beautiful with her red hair and green eyes. That I could remember clearly after locking gazes with her at the show.

  Right about now, I was half-asleep and half-awake, only slightly remembering that I’d fallen asleep on the couch out front last night, having never even made it to my bunk. The things I was dreaming about were making it so it’d be completely inappropriate for one of my siblings to find me. Still, I let my fantasies run wild in fast forward. I imagined that woman in every position possible. With my dick in her mouth. With my tongue on her. All of it.

  “Hey,” a quiet voice said while tapping me on the forehead.

  I opened my eyes slowly, only to be met by the hard sun. It was too fucking bright out here. In the bunk, it remained pretty dark until I opened the divider, which meant my eyes could’ve gotten used to it.

  In my haze, I thought I was still sleeping. That this was just another one of my fantasies.

  Ella was hovering over me and I thanked the universe that I had an excellent imagination.

  I grabbed her hips and yanked until she was on top of me. Her mouth dropped open and she immediately pushed against my chest. Not a single one of my fantasies includes a woman fighting back. I released her immediately and she hopped to her feet.

  “Jesus,” she snapped. “I was waking you up, jackass. Not offering anything.”