Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3)

by J. M. Nevins

  She shook her head and buried her face in her free hand. “Did he do the show? I’m guessing that he did because you’re calling me now. Where are you guys again?”

  “We were in Jackson, Mississippi. Yeah, he did the show. The doctor cleared him. He popped some ibuprofen and drank a lot of whiskey and did just fine. When he was on stage, you would have never known. The adrenaline took over.”

  She frowned. “The doctor didn’t give him anything stronger than ibuprofen?”

  “He did. Sully didn’t want to take it. He didn’t want it to mess up his performance. He said the last time he was on Vicodin for his back it made him feel weird and loopy. He didn’t want to risk going on stage like that. He may have changed his mind after the show was over, however. I don’t know for sure. We hopped a flight over to Birmingham, Alabama. After we got off the plane, he went straight back to the hotel and threw on his do not disturb sign. I’m guessing he passed out or just doesn’t want to be bothered.”

  “Did you get him a chiropractor?”

  “We called in a local guy who took a look at him and gave him an adjustment, but Sully didn’t like him. He wants his chiropractor from L.A.”

  “Ok. I’ll have Giselle call him first thing in the morning and fly him out. You guys are in Alabama now?”

  “Yeah. The guys don’t have a show tomorrow night. Sully’s scheduled for press, but I’ve already canceled it. Jimmy and Remo are going to do it without him. Tony and Bryan will keep their engagements.”

  “I’ll have G send a massage therapist out too. And I’m going to have Bill file a suit for damages against the radio station. They shouldn’t have made that kind of announcement in the first place. The fact that they didn’t have the proper security to handle it makes them completely liable.

  “I hate dealing with stations in smaller markets. They never get it right. They underestimate what happens with the fans. It’s one thing for the fans to be able to find out on their own, it’s another to broadcast it and not give us fair warning. I know he’s in pain, Sean, but how is he doing with this? Was he freaked out when it happened?”

  “No. He’s been really cool about the whole thing. He knows it’s part of the job. He was pissed that the station announced it. We heard it on the way driving over. In hindsight, I should have been in the same car with him to tell him not to, but I was in the limo that was following behind. I’m sorry, Kit.”

  “You did the best you could under the circumstances, Sean. I’ll fly out tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”

  “Ok.”

  She hung up the phone and shook her head. She felt helpless sitting there at home at ten at night. There was nothing that could be done until the morning, except for one thing. She called Sully’s room.

  He answered on the fourth ring, sounding groggy. She was happy to hear his voice, but felt bad, thinking she may have woken him.

  “Baby, hey. How are you feeling?”

  He groaned. “Like shit. Who told you?”

  “Sean.”

  “It was like something twisted you’d see from a movie. It was like the fucking Hitchcock movie, ‘The Birds’ but with fans. I’ve never seen anything like it. Should have fucking listened to Danny, but just like when we were kids, I didn’t and I got out of the fucking limo. Stupid.”

  “Did I wake you up?”

  “No. I’m in a Vicodin daze. I got back to my room after the show, had a big argument with my brother. He reminded me how stupid I was, so, I kicked him out and then took a hot bath hoping that it would help and it didn’t. I was still in a lot of pain, so I took what the doctor prescribed to me. Didn’t want to, though.”

  “I know, baby. It’ll help you feel better.”

  “Makes me feel weird. I feel incoherent like I’m in this big fog and seriously slow on the uptake. Sucks.”

  She sighed, feeling bad for him. “I know, baby. I’m sorry.”

  He slurred slightly. “I wouldn’t take it before the show. I couldn’t let all those fans down.”

  “That was very honorable of you, babe. I’m super proud of you.”

  His voice was trailing off. “Uh-huh.”

  “Baby, do you want to go to sleep?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Ok, goodnight. Try to get some good sleep. I love you, Pit-Pat.”

  His words were even more slurred when he spoke. “Love you too, Kitty-Kat. Nighty-night.” He hung up the phone.

  She shook her head. For some reason, Sully and Vicodin did not mix well. She recalled the last time he was in town and how he pleaded with her to go back on the road with him. She entertained the thought that maybe he was right, and there was something more intense about this tour that she was glossing over. She knew she couldn’t stay with him for more than a few days although she wished she could.

  Kit stood in front of the door to Sully’s suite and knocked the following afternoon. She ignored the ‘do not disturb’ sign. After knocking twice and receiving no response, she pounded.

  Moments later, his door opened a crack, and he peeked out, looking disheveled and half asleep. He squinted from the bright light of the hallway and then noticed her. His lips curled into a smile. “Baby, is that you?”

  She smiled. “It is. Are you going to let me in?”

  He giggled, threw open the door and hugged her tightly. “Thank you for coming here, thank you.” He continued to hold her, completely grateful.

  She finally pulled back and looked at him. She gave him a gentle kiss and gazed into his eyes, stroking his hair. “How are you feeling, babe?”

  “Achy as hell. This fucking sucks. I have the day off today, Sean canceled all my interviews, but I don’t want to take that Vicodin shit again. I’ll end up sleeping all day or being totally out of it. It fucks with my head. No thank you. What time is it?”

  “It’s noon. Dr. Winters is flying in, and he’s bringing a massage therapist with him. And Dr. Stone will be here by the evening.”

  Sully’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious? My chiro, my acupuncturist, and a masseuse all in the same day? Oh my God, baby, that’s the best news I’ve heard aside from me waking up and finding you pounding on my door. What time will they be here?”

  “Winters and the masseuse will be here by three and Stone will be here by six. By the evening, you should be feeling better babe, without that crappy Vicodin you hate so much.”

  He popped four ibuprofen and took a sip of water. “This is like a dream come true.” He hugged her and kissed her. “You’re the best.”

  She smiled. “I can’t take all the credit. All I did was leave notes and phone numbers for Giselle. She arranged everything while I was flying here this morning.”

  He nodded. “We need to do something nice for that girl. She takes good care of us.”

  “I know.”

  “Is there anything she needs? Anything we can do?”

  She chuckled. “A vacation for one. I need to get someone to sub for her, and I think I may know who. And secondly, I think she needs a new car.”

  Sully raised his eyebrows. “Let’s buy that girl a nice car and send her on a five-star vacation.”

  Kit grinned. “The car we can do immediately. We can give that to her as a Christmas present, but I think that she may want to wait for that vacation.”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  Kit giggled. “So she can go with a certain someone once he has a break.”

  He chuckled and grinned. “They’re really into each other now, aren’t they?”

  She smiled. “They are. They got very cozy on the last break and have been doing the long distance thing very well. Maybe we should send her on vacation during your Christmas break. Do you know if he has Christmas plans?”

  Sully shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea what Bryan is planning on doing for the holidays. He may be going to Long Island to see his parents.”

  She frowned. “Hmm, that may not work. Oh well, we’ll figure it out. I’ll see if I can figure out what kinds of cars she likes.”
/>
  Sully took a sip of his water and looked at Kit. “Oh, that’s easy. She likes Beemers.”

  Kit chuckled. “She wants a BMW? How did you find that out?”

  He smirked. “I can’t remember. We were having a conversation one time, and I was telling her how buying my Ferrari was like a dream come true, and her dream is a dark green, convertible, three series BMW.”

  Kit grinned. “That was easy.”

  He nodded and grinned. “Yep. Make that one happen for Christmas, babe.”

  “I will. I’ll have it delivered when you’re home so we can give it to her together.”

  He grinned and leaned down to kiss her and then stopped, wincing in pain. She stood up and guided him back to the bed. “You lay down.” She sat on the edge of the bed, stroking his hair.

  He smiled. “This is a nice view. I like staring up at you. It’s kind of nice to be taken care of.”

  “Yeah, something you never let anyone do for you.” She leaned down and kissed him. “Are you hungry? Do you want food?”

  He nodded his head. She called room service and placed an order for them. By the time she was done and returned to the bed, he was out cold, sleeping soundly.

  Kit stood on the side of the stage with Dr. Stone, Dr. Winters and one of the best spine surgeons in the country, Dr. Weston, watching the show. The massage therapist was back at the hotel setting up in the room. They had all worked their magic on Sully, and he was doing well with the show, performing like a pro. Dr. Weston had given him an epidural steroid injection in hopes of helping him along while his back healed over the next few weeks.

  They finished their final encore and Sully walked off the stage. Danny immediately wrapped a robe around him and escorted him quickly through the backstage area with his doctors and Kit following in close step. Fans caught a glimpse and were disappointed that they couldn’t get an autograph. Danny put him in a limo with Kit, two bodyguards, and the doctors. They were off to the hotel.

  Sully chatted with the doctors about how he felt as they headed back. Kit stared out the window, momentarily tuning out the conversation, consumed by the volume of her thoughts. This was all becoming very surreal. Everywhere they looked a fan was lurking. She was instantly reminded of Sully’s comment about the tour being intense. The words were starting to haunt her.

  The doctors left for the night, scheduled to fly out the next day. The massage therapist was staying for the next week to give Sully massages twice a day. He sat down on the couch, exhausted and looked at Kit.

  He shook his head. “I’m too young for this shit. I feel like an old man.”

  She finished pouring them drinks and sat down next to him, passing a drink. She took a sip and reached over to massage his neck. “This is only temporary, babe. Remember, this is from an accident…” She grinned and continued. “This isn’t from old age.” She winked at him and played with his hair at the base of his neck.

  He leaned back into her hand, thoroughly enjoying it. He chuckled. “Ok, you’re right. It just feels like I’m old. When I was a kid, I thought twenty-nine was over the hill.”

  She laughed. “Me too. Amazing how things change.”

  He glanced over at her. “When are you leaving?”

  “Tomorrow before soundcheck.”

  He sighed. “Ok.”

  She pulled his face toward hers gently with her finger. “Hey, don’t be sad. We’re almost to the break, sweetie. Just a few more weeks and you’ll be off for a week at home with me. And I don’t have anything scheduled except you and me time.”

  He grinned. “I like the sounds of that. It’s something to look forward to. Something to get me through the next few weeks.”

  She nodded. “Exactly.”

  Kit leaned over and answered the phone in Sully’s room the next morning. They were enjoying their time together and hadn’t left the bed except for room service. She was annoyed, but upon hearing Giselle’s voice, relaxed. “What’s up, G?”

  “Are you sitting down?”

  “I’m laying down, so give me the news.”

  “Kit, Grammy noms came out this morning and baby, I’m predicting you’re gonna pull a double win.”

  Her eyes widened. “What? G, what are you talking about?”

  “Here are the nominations: Album of the year ‘Triple Tango’ and Record of the Year for the song ‘Stoop,’ by Jade Riff. Congratulations, Ms. McKenna. It’s official. You are a double Grammy nominee! And on top of that, get this, GT was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance and Jade Riff was nominated for Best New Artist. The phones have been blowing up since the noms came out.”

  Kit screamed so loudly that Sully jumped. He stared at her, wondering what had been said to her on the line figuring it had to be good news with that kind of reaction.

  “Oh my God, G, that is the best news ever! I have to go tell the guys. I’ll call you from the airport before I board my flight.”

  She hung up the phone and looked at Sully. “Babe, you guys got nominated for two Grammys!”

  His eyes widened as a large smile spread across his face. He screamed with joy like she did and hugged her tightly. “Holy crap! What categories?”

  She grinned. “Album of the Year and Best Hard Rock Performance.”

  He screamed again, hugged her and gave her a long passionate kiss. “I knew it. I knew having you produce our album would push us to the top. Baby, we did it! We are gonna win! C’mon, let’s throw some clothes on and tell the guys.”

  She nodded and called room service to send up bottles of champagne while they dressed and prepared to tell the band.

  Once they all assembled and the news was sprung, screams and shouts of joy ensued along with champagne fights, jumping up and down on furniture and lots of laughter.

  Sully heard a voice murmur something to him. When he didn’t stir, the voice became louder. “Mr. Foxx.” He jolted awake to see the driver leaning into the back of the limousine, looking at him.

  He stared at him, trying to focus. “Yeah.”

  The driver grinned. “Welcome home.”

  Sully got out of the limousine and stretched. He smiled when he saw Kit standing on the front step, waiting for him and smiling. She yelled out to him. “Welcome home, baby.”

  He walked over to her and hugged her while the driver placed his bags and guitar case in the foyer. They wished him a Merry Christmas, and he was quickly on his way.

  Sully looked around and smiled in awe. “You decorated the place for Christmas. It looks great!”

  She smiled and kissed him. “I wanted you to have a good holiday and feel some sense of normalcy for the next week. C’mon, let me show you.” She walked him around the house and saved the best for last.

  She took him into the entertainment room and pointed to the tree. He looked at the tree from afar and thought he recognized the topper. He got closer and smiled when he saw all the decorations on the tree and the train running below it. When he turned to her, he looked like a child with a smile of wonder and a twinkle in his eye of excitement.

  “Where did you get this stuff? This is how the tree looked when I was little.”

  She walked up and put her arm around him. “I know. I talked to your mom. I told her what a hard tour this has been for you and that we wouldn’t be coming out for Christmas. She sent Christmas to us and told me exactly how to set everything up for you.”

  He grinned and gave her a long, slow kiss and then a long embrace, not wanting to let her go. “This is so amazing, so thoughtful. Thank you, baby.”

  She gazed into his eyes. “I meant what I said a few weeks back. It’s just you and me this week. Whatever you want to do.”

  He chuckled. “You’d even watch the Bears game with me?”

  She nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  He snickered. “And eat lots of junk food?”

  She laughed. “Yes.”

  He smiled. “This is going to be a great week.” He pulled her toward him again and started kissing her.

&nb
sp; The unseasonably warm weather was a blessing to Kit and Sully. They were taking full advantage spending the day after Christmas poolside in side-by-side chaise lounges enjoying the sunshine and each other’s company. Sully hadn’t spoken one word about the tour, or music for that matter, which concerned Kit to no end. He hadn’t sung, picked up a guitar or played their piano since he walked through the door. He was leaving in four days to go back on the road, and she was curious how he felt about it, but didn’t want to broach the conversation.

  She was drifting into sleep while 38 Special’s ‘Caught Up In You’ played in the background on their stereo.

  Sully’s voice peaked her attention. “This song is all about you.”

  She propped herself up and looked at him. “Huh?”

  “Nothing.” He remained expressionless behind his dark sunglasses.

  She grinned. “I like this song.”

  He nodded. “So do I. Listen to the lyrics. Every time I hear it I think of you. I’ve always liked 38 Special. It would be great if the band could get closer to that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a rocker through and through, and I love our stuff, but I’m burning out very quickly on hair band, hard rock. I’m missing the soulfulness, the blues, southern rock and country rock, all kinds of rock that isn’t hard rock. And I’m way over the hair.”

  She reached out and grabbed his hand. “What’s going on, babe? You haven’t mentioned the band or singing or music since you walked through that door three days ago. You haven’t even played. That’s not like you.”

  He sat up and sighed, taking his sunglasses off and rubbing his eyes. “I’m burnt out, Kit. I’m running on empty, and I still have to do this for another five months. I don’t know how I’m gonna do it. My voice cracked the other night when I was singing. The notes are a stretch for me to hit. I don’t know what’s going on.