Taryn chuckled as he ran up there. She couldn't believe they were actually doing this. It had been a long time since she'd spent so much time outside of her apartment or work.
She caught Alice glaring at her.
I won't be intimidated. I'm not going to give in to childish behavior.
Acts of jealousy already changed her life once. She wouldn't let it happen again.
Chapter Thirteen
“Okay, if I'd known you were going to duet one of my songs with Chris, I would have dropped by to see that!” Kyra laughed.
Kyra and Matt weren't home when Taryn got back last night, so she didn't have a chance to tell her how the night went until now as they were en route to Catered Whims for the show. They planned to make a stop at Jameson's to pick up her drums and head over to the bar for set up.
“You would have thrown darts at me,” Taryn joked. It would have been hilarious to see Kyra's reaction. When two people got up to sing who knew they weren't that good … well, it made for some hilarious memories.
“Nah.” Kyra disagreed, chuckling.
“You know I'm not a singer, but it was fun. I don't feel so bad about being off key. Chris wasn't kidding when he said he couldn't hold a note, but we made up for it with our silliness.”
“Hmm. A Kyra Sanders karaoke party. I like it!” Matt piped up. “I could suggest the idea to Andrew for a school fund raiser event, or maybe their next dance. We could chaperon again.”
“Yeah? Only if you get up and sing, too.” Kyra poked him playfully.
“I'll think about it.” Matt pulled up to Jameson's. “Do you two want to get out, or wait here while I get the drums? Are we loading them in Randy's truck?”
“I don't think they'll fit in here with all of us. I hope it's not going to be a pain in the ass to move them from Jameson's to Catered Whims. I wish I had more than one drum set, but adapting mine wasn't cheap.” Taryn sighed, a wave of panic beginning to settle over her.
“Deep breaths, girl. We've got it covered, no matter what,” Kyra soothed as Matt climbed out of the car and headed toward Jameson's back door. Randy met him there, and the two disappeared inside.
“I'm trying. This isn't like me.” Taryn used to be the calm and collective one, laid back and always at ease. Not any more.
“I know,” Kyra said softly, turning around to look at Taryn. “I remember the days you had to talk me down from a ledge.”
“That's not how I remember it! I threatened to shove you over. Several times!” Taryn giggled.
“Yeah, until I reminded you how you'd be out of a job.” She cracked a grin.
“I know. You were so full of shit.”
They both laughed at their stupid banter.
“Hey Kyra?” Taryn had to be serious now.
“What's up?”
“I know you had a lot of doubts for your return, but did you ever come up with a good back up plan? Something that would give you a fraction of the happiness that music did?” Queasiness settled in her gut.
Kyra made a strange sound. “I kept wondering about a back up plan, but I never came up with one. Am I pushing too much? Are you that worried? If I'm too much, tell me now.”
Taryn's eyes filled with tears. Ugh, she hated this sappy emotional crap. She'd never been this bad before the accident. “I am that worried, but you aren't pushing too much. You're exactly what I need right now.” Swiping at tears, she tried to control her crazy feelings. “Matt told me you've been doing a lot of extra work to make sure there's things I can do and have if I go on tour.”
“He's right. You know me. I get ahead of myself. But I do it out of love.” Tears of worry glistened in Kyra's eyes.
I know you do.” She fingered the charm on her necklace, the one she hadn't been able to part with since Kyra gave it back to her. Taryn didn't care how silly or childish it was. That damn thing had sentiment which she needed with her at the moment.
“Here comes Matt and Randy with your drums. They're both going to wonder why we're sitting here crying.” Kyra let out a laugh.
“We could make it look like a cat fight,” Taryn said with a snort.
“See? You're still a prankster. I'm going to have to heavily guard myself on the bus.” Kyra feigned fear.
Taryn leaned her head back. “If I can make it through tonight and the summer tour, I know I can still do this.”
Kyra calmed down. “I'm still scared to death about this tour. I've only done a handful of shows in the last few years. You know what? We'll muddle through together. You, me, the music we love, and fun. Let's make a pact right now to give it our best before saying it's over and done.” She held out a hand.
“Deal.” Taryn shook on it. “But if things don't work out, at least you have a place to live, a good income, a man I bet you'll marry, and your family. I have nothing.”
“You have me. You're my family, too. And this time, I won't let our friendship go without a fight,” Kyra swore.
*****
The back room at Catered Whims was abuzz with excitement from Baby Stetson, Kyra, and Matt. Taryn had already tested out the temporary ramp and approved, and now, a half hour before they were to perform, everyone gathered in here. Apparently this was where they hung out before a performance. Chris and Matt had set up her drums on stage while she was up there. Everything looked good. The air sizzled with energy. The same rush she'd felt when playing for a while at Kyra's benefit concert seized her, but she also had the jitters.
“Hey Kyra, before you go out into the audience, I have a question.” Melody stopped her. “Chris and I have to go out of town next weekend, and Baby Stetson has a performance. We were wondering, if you were available, if you'd fill in for my parts.”
Taryn could tell Melody was a little uncomfortable asking, but Kyra's eyes lit up. “I'd love to! Maybe if you're all okay with it, we'll make an announcement that I'm taking you on tour with me this summer. Thanks for asking!”
Relief filled Melody's eyes. “Great. Thank you! A huge weight just lifted off my shoulders.”
“No worries! I'm really looking forward to it. Good luck with whatever you're doing.” Kyra leaned on Matt, who slid an arm around her waist.
Taryn wondered if they were going to tell everyone, or maybe they already had.
“We're … actually going to see our mom for the first time in twenty years,” Melody finally stated. “I'm not sure how to feel about it. She contacted us out of the blue and sent plane tickets, so obviously she wants something.”
The conversation halted when the band's bass guitarist Marty dashed into the room. “Made it with time to spare!” He thrust a fist in the air with a laugh. “Sorry I'm late. I had to drop Angie off at work.”
“You aren't late. We still have a few minutes,” Avery said, pointing to her watch.
“We're ready for you when you are!” Dylan walked into the room. Right on cue, like clockwork.
“Hey.” Chris headed toward Taryn. A smile lit up his face. “Good luck. If you need anything, send me a sign, and I'll be right up there. You got this, drummer girl.”
*****
Watching Taryn play became a major highlight in Chris' mind. Her love for music shone through with an immense passion. He didn't know about anyone else, but he couldn't tell from where he stood that she sat in a wheelchair. Her playing was flawless.
Taryn had something the women he'd been with didn't. Determination. Drive. Hell, he wished he had the same kind of drive she did.
Beside him, Matt and Kyra were huddled together. She wore a cowboy hat and had her hair pretty much covered up, probably to not be easily noticeable. Blaine and Lucas were on the other side of him, bobbing their heads to the beat of the fast paced tune.
The current song ended and Taryn pounded out a big finish, her hair flying wildly around her as she did so.
“Man! You all are flying high tonight!” Avery cheered. “I almost don't want to slow it down, but Melody and I have a new tune we want to debut. It's slow, but it's fun.”
/> “Slow, but fun … I thought we were talking about our new song?” Melody moved away from Jameson to stand next to Avery.
“Hmm. That could mean so many things.” Avery chuckled.
“It could, but I was talking about the-”
“All right, I think these two have gone way off course here,” Jameson interjected, strumming his guitar. “I don't know for sure where they were going with this, but I can only imagine it's twisted and weird.”
“Some can say the same about you, Jameson,” Avery shot back.
“I do have to agree with her,” Melody nudged him. “You have your moments.”
The audience roared with laughter.
“So yeah, on to our song.” Avery shook her head. “I'm not going to tell you a darn thing about it other than what we already did. Y'all let us know what you think when we're done, okay? But maybe, maybe we'll do one more upbeat one. Yeah, let's go with that, then slow it down.”
Cheers and applause filled the room, including Chris. Halfway through the song, someone tapped him from behind. He whirled around, staring face to face with Alice.
“I thought we had a good time together!” She leaned close to shout near his ear.
“We did, but I'm not looking for casual any more,” he explained. Up until now, she never seemed to have a problem with the way things were.
“I can do more than casual,” she purred. “We're good together.” Alice slid an arm around his waist, then moved lower in a very suggestive manner.
“Alice … I thought we had an agreement.”
She pulled his face close and pressed her lips to his. What he used to think was a hot kiss didn't do a damn thing for him this time. He tried to push her away, but there were too many people around him. She sunk in her claws, attempting to...what? Show him that she wanted him? Attention seeking? Making Taryn jealous? What was her intent here? Desperation? She sure got that one, because this was a desperate, ridiculous move.
Baby Stetson launched into the new tune. Caught off guard by Alice's sudden kiss, he had no idea what went on around him other than the change in music again.
“Taryn!” Kyra screeched from beside him.
Chris pulled away from Alice, completely startled. He didn't spot Taryn behind the drums. Did she leave? Fall? What the hell? Matt and Kyra were already running that way.
Not giving Alice another thought, he darted after them, heart racing with worry.
“Good. Dylan dimmed the spotlight. Taryn doesn't want the attention on her. She's begging the band to go on,” Chris heard Matt say as he headed up the stage to find Taryn. They'd had her right at the entrance to the stage, and he caught up to them just in time to see Matt sail past him, carrying Taryn in his arms. Kyra followed behind with her wheelchair.
“What happened?” He rushed after them as they headed for the back room. Baby Stetson continued their show, moving to a slower acoustic song that wouldn't require the drums at the moment. Most people had to be wondering, as they'd rushed the stage and moved Taryn.
“Her chair tipped backward,” Kyra explained quietly. “Taryn fell.”
They both entered the room at the same time. Matt stood behind Taryn as she held up her hair, her expression pained. “My first impressions suck!” Then she met his gaze. Her eyes darkened. So she saw the kiss and of course, misinterpreted. In Taryn's defense, he might have done the same thing, especially because of what her concerns were. Damn it. He'd bet Alice knew that, too. He hadn't been fast enough to push her away from him, since it caught him off guard.
“Your first impressions do not suck,” Kyra stated. She sat on the beat up couch beside Taryn. “Are you okay?”
“Hell no! I'm completely mortified! I'm not sure what happened. Maybe I didn't have the brakes locked all the way. I'm pounding the drums, and the next thing I knew, I'm flying back- OW!”
“You've got a good sized knot on the back of your head.” Matt grimaced, holding a large handful of hair up.
“Yeah, I kinda felt it,” Taryn grumbled, tears forming in her eyes. “I think you need to fill in for me the rest of the night.” She set her gaze on Chris.
“Yeah, I'll do that,” he agreed, not really wanting to leave her. “Taryn-”
“Just go! Please!” She wouldn't look at him any more.
Chris hoped like hell she didn't fall because she got upset and distracted. “Okay. I'll go.” Shoulders sagging in defeat, he headed out of the the room and toward the stage. They'd talk about this later.
*****
Tipping backward was one thing. Tipping backward on stage while playing drums in front of a huge crowd really sucked, especially when she wasn't officially part of the band yet and this was supposed to be her first performance with Baby Stetson.
Way to go.
Not!
Not that she'd admit it, but seeing Chris and that Alice girl kissing did her in. She'd lost count, lost control, and apparently lost her balance.
Taryn despised that feeling, and she wouldn't let Chris play her like that. Later, when no one else was around, she'd let him have a piece of her mind. But in the mean time, Taryn had to deal with what happens next with the band and her playing days.
“Wanna talk about it?” Kyra asked on the way home.
“Not really,” Taryn muttered a reply. “What's there to say?”
“Anything.” Her friend's tone filled with worry.
Taryn didn't want to talk about it. She'd seen Chris and Alice kissing. She missed several beats, nearly dropped her drumstick once, and the second time she did, grasped for it and somehow tipped backward. She hadn't done anything like that in a long time.
Kyra didn't say anything else on the way home. Neither did Matt. Once they were out of the car and she was in her room, Taryn heard hushed voices down the hall. They were talking about her. She had no doubts about that.
Seconds later, someone knocked on her door. “Randy is bringing your drums back to Jameson's,” Kyra informed her through the closed door.
“We should probably get them back,” Taryn muttered.
Apparently Kyra heard her. The door opened. Taryn braced herself for unwanted light and covered her face.
“Since it's just the two of us, I'm going to ask a question, and I hope you'll be honest. Did Chris and Alice's kiss distract you?”
“I hate that you know me so damn well,” Taryn retorted.
“No you don't. You hate that I'm right, because you don't want that to be the reason for your fall.” Kyra approached the bed.
“I'm crazy to think any of this will work. I'm not cut out!” Taryn yanked the blanket further over her head.
“I call BS. You're damn well cut out. I've seen your open mic nights. I've seen your performance at the benefit concert. You're just freaking out.”
“I'm confused.” She threw the blanket off, unable to breathe right under there. “I thought for a while that something might come out of this. With Chris, I mean. Then I see them kiss, and I go screw up my first performance with the band. Over a guy!”
“I can't be too sure, but Chris didn't instigate that kiss. He seemed very caught off guard. Of course I don't know all the details. You should let him explain. As for the band, you know as well as I do that things happen. I'll let you get some rest, but I wanted to let you know about the drums. If you need anything, call me. I'm glad it's not a concussion.” Her friend left the room and closed the door, shutting Taryn in her world of darkness that she loathed. Her thoughts wreaked havoc on her mind.
Chapter Fourteen
Avery, Melody, and Blaine dropped by Kyra's house the next morning to check on Taryn. What a shock when she rolled out of her room to discover the four of them sitting around in Kyra's spacious living room.
“Umm. Hi.” She stopped in her tracks.
Everyone stopped talking and looked her way, eyes full of concern. “How are you this morning?” Avery broke the silence first.
“Aside from a doozy of a headache? I'm horrified. I can't believe that happened!�
�� Taryn winced at the sharpness of her voice. She felt like she'd been run over by a semi. “I hope there are no videos going around.” She grasped the hem of her shirt and balled a small portion of it.
“We haven't seen anything so far, and trust me, I've looked, only to make sure there wasn't,” Kyra said.
“That's good.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “I feel like the biggest idiot in the world.”
“Far from it, Taryn,” Blaine spoke up.
Not that she thought Kyra would say anything, but Taryn wondered if Avery, Melody, or Blaine had any idea about the reasons she lost concentration.
“So...” Avery rubbed her arms, hesitant to say whatever she wanted to say. That probably wasn't good for Taryn.
Here it came. The moment she dreaded, but knew was coming. “I'm so sorry about last night. I don't know what happened. It's been a long time since I had a mishap like that. It's very rare for me. If I ruined the show-”
“Taryn, it's okay. I mean, it's not okay that you got hurt, but no one's blaming you.” Avery fumbled over her words.
“I was really looking forward to this opportunity. Playing in a band- it gives me reason again.” She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “I don't want to mess this up.”
Melody shot her a sympathetic smile. If anything, Taryn bet she knew the real reason without having to ask. “You haven't messed anything up. You can ask anyone here. We've all had our hide-under-a-blanket moments.”
“Yeah. You should know. How many did I have on tour?” Kyra asked softly.
“Yeah, but...” Taryn clammed up. She didn't need to reiterate anything more on the subject.
“Well, all I'll say on it is I hope you'll still perform with us. Don't let one mishap tear you away from the stage, because I can tell you have a real love for the music,” Avery said. “Plus, we could use another female to team up with us when we pick back at the guys.” Her lips curved up in a smile.
Offbeat (Love and Music In Texas Book 5) Page 13