Chris turned to Taryn to check on her. To his surprise, she was cracking up. “You guys are hilarious!” she said between fits of laughter. “Don't worry about me. I'm not fazed by someone goofing off with bad singing, but I would have shut him up much earlier.” She winked at Chris.
“Oh really now? Do I need to sing like that in your ear tonight?” He shot her a smug look. “I'd love to know how you planned to shut me up.”
“That's fine. I'll hide my drumsticks close by,” Taryn shot back.
“Oooh, I love her. Someone to tell it like it is.” Melody turned around in her seat and held out her hand for a high five.
“Don't do it, drummer girl,” Chris whispered in her ear, holding both her hands down. “Don't side with my sister.”
“Just because you're holding my hands, preventing me from a high five, doesn't mean I won't side with her.” Taryn sent him a saucy grin.
“We're here.” Jameson pulled off the road, heading down a dirt path instead. “Bumpy ride ahead.”
“What made the photographer pick the creek for the photo shoot, anyway?” Chris asked. He'd only been over here a few times. It was a nice, quiet place, but what was so special about it that the photographer wanted this as their location?
“From what Kyra said, he came down early yesterday to scope out the area, and this was what appealed to him. The creek was a favorite spot growing up, so it definitely suits us,” Jameson explained.
“She was going to suggest he move to another location, but I told her I'd try it.” Taryn stared out the window. “Now I'm not sure.”
“Wow. There's a whole crowd of people.” Melody pointed.
Sure enough, twenty yards away, trucks, vans, and a whole slew of people were scurrying around like frantic ants. Chris spotted several light fixtures and other props.
“That would probably be wardrobe, makeup, and all the camera crew,” Taryn said. “These things get crazy. Sometimes it goes on for hours. I've been to some with Kyra that took all day, and it was just focused on her. I always hung around for moral support. It's interesting to see the background of how these shoots go.”
“Well, let's hope they get the shots they need in a timely manner,” Chris mused as Jameson stopped the car.
Let the chaos begin, apparently.
Matt and Kyra approached, holding hands. Kyra waved, breaking out in a smile. Taryn pushed open the door on her side. Chris tried to hurry so he could get Taryn's chair put together for her, but Matt got to the trunk before he did. “Do you think she's going to get through this dirt easily?” he asked as Matt lifted the collapsed chair out.
“I'm not sure.” Matt scanned their immediate surroundings. “If it gets to be too much, I can carry her. I hear you're not supposed to do anything like that for the next few days.”
Chris groaned. “Yeah, don't remind me. Everyone is watching me like a hawk, making sure I don't 'overdo it'” He made air quotes. “Don't you start on me, man.”
Matt held up his hands. “I won't watch you like a hawk, and I'm not getting in the middle of it with any of the women. I hope you're recuperating well.”
“The site where they injected the needle is sore and itchy as hell, but other than that, I'm not that bad. Oh, and a little tired. Sometimes I get dizzy.”
“And that right there is why, if you and Taryn don't mind, I'll help her if it means doing any carrying.”
“Is something wrong?” Kyra approached, removing the sunglasses from her face.
“No, just talking.” Matt assembled Taryn's chair and set it on the ground.
“I know, I know. I feel horrible. I'm not sure I like this last minute fill in guy. I know Taryn is contemplating off and on again.” She peered at Chris. “She is, isn't she?”
“Yeah,” he admitted. Taryn didn't sleep well last night, but she wouldn't talk about it with him.
“Well, let's hope this goes as painless and quick as possible. And if this guy gives us crap, I'm shoving him in the water. I already don't like his attitude.” Kyra spun around and walked away to talk to Taryn.
*****
“I can't believe Matt had to carry me all the way over here,” Taryn grumbled as the hairstylist worked with her unruly curls.
“I know. I'm sorry. I told you I'd talk to the guy, but you practically threatened me!” Kyra protested, frowning.
“Practically? I did threaten you. To be fair, I was already in a mood. This whole thing, plus the situation with Chris, has me frustrated.” The woman tugged too hard on a chunk of Taryn's hair. She grimaced and said nothing. What she wanted to do was yank the brush from her hand and-.
Okay. Chill.
Short and sweet mental pep talk. That was what she needed. There would always be a downside to wanting to play drums for a band again. This was the downside. Taryn would deal with it. “I like the idea that we get to do poses with the instruments we play.” There. She'd found a positive in all of this. She'd be plenty at ease banging on the drums for a bit as her photos were being taken.
“Yeah, I thought that was cool. So there'll be a series of shots of the band as a whole, and then individual ones.” Kyra tapped something out on her iPad. “Here, look. These are some new ones they did for me.”
Taryn stared at the photos Kyra had up as the stylist jerked her head around a little too rough again. “I love them. Much better than the last ones. They bring out a different side to you.”
“Exactly. I didn't like all of that exposed skin and poses on the other one, so I took your advice and ended up speaking my mind about it.” Kyra shook her head. “Matt asked if he could keep one of them.”
“Well duh! They're hot photos! He just doesn't want the world to see you that way.”
“All right, ladies. You'll have to stop talking so Taryn can get her makeup done.” The stylist held up her makeup case, staring pointedly at the two. She had a heavy Mexican accent. Taryn tried to remember the woman's name, but couldn't. Huh.
Twenty minutes later, Taryn wheeled as far as she could before her chair encountered too many rocks. Letting out a grunt, she stayed put as the photographer worked with Avery and Melody for their solo shots. Sooner or later, she'd get some sort of direction, so for now, she'd just stay here and watch from afar.
“So that's what you look like with makeup on,” Chris mused as he strolled over to her. “And for once, it's not overdone. You look beautiful. Not that you didn't before, but I love the way she enhanced your best features.”
“Glad you approve.” Taryn blushed as a curl of desire swept through her.
Chris moved to sit on a large rock next to her and covered her hand. “I always approve.”
Matt and Kyra headed their way. “Ready for your solo shots?”
“If only you were talking about a different kind of shot. Dare I ask where he wants me?” Taryn held back an exasperated sigh. The photographer so far seemed to get annoyed with her. Sometimes it was just the way he looked at her. Disapproving and plain out cold.
“The first one is easy. Behind the drums. It's not going to be too difficult to get there. I don't know where else yet.” Kyra pointed to a spot a few yards away where a set of drums awaited.
“Let's get it over and done with then.” Taryn let go of Chris' hand. Not everybody would be easy to work with. Today was just an off day.
Why did she have to keep telling herself that?
Getting down there wasn't too bad. She couldn't wheel herself, but at least she didn't need Matt to carry her either. Instead, Chris pushed her chair down behind the drums. There were some bumpy, rough spots, but it was manageable.
“All right, Taryn. We want a few photos of you pounding away at the drums. I know this isn't your usual set, but we're not worried about sound. We just want to see you in the zone. Then we'll shoot a series of photos of you sitting behind the drums looking at us, and then a few of you in a different position away from the drums. Sound good?” The photographer explained everything in a deep voice. His eyes, however, told a different st
ory. They were narrowed and dared her to challenge him. What the hell was his deal?
“Got it.” All right. So far, so good. Taryn picked up the drumsticks and went with the flow. She ignored the fact that there were cameras and lights in her face and kept herself in the zone.
“Great! Okay, on to the next series of pictures then. Just look at the camera. We're going to have a fan blowing at you, because I want to enhance some wind in your hair. Try not to squint or blink too much at the air,” the photographer, Jacques, instructed.
“Sure thing,” Taryn set the drumsticks down, then made eye contact with Chris for a second. He shot her a thumbs up as his lips curved up in a smile. Then he blew a kiss at her.
Taryn blew one right back at him, then focused on the task at hand. One of the assistants turned on the fan and aimed it at her. Bah! Don't blink, they said. That shit was right up in her face! How could she not blink more often than normal?
“You're doing fantastic, Taryn. Thank you.” Jacques waved at the guy holding the fan in her face. “Now...” He studied his surroundings.
What was he thinking now? Hopefully it wouldn't be anything ridiculous.
“How about over by the tree and rock formation there? With the water in the background?”
She glanced at the suggested location he pointed to and held back a grunt. It would be a bitch to get down there, but she'd deal with it. These were almost over. This guy reminded her of Martin, which was probably why she was so agitated over this. “Okay.”
Again, she had to convince herself of this.
What a tug of war in her mind today.
Chris came by to help her again. Matt and Kyra were nowhere to be found, but there were quite a few different scenes going on right now.
Where should I position Taryn?” Chris asked as he gripped the handles of her chair.
“With her back against the tree,” Jacques requested.
“What? You mean not be in my chair?” Did she hear him right? While it wasn't really the end of the world, Taryn picked up on his attitude. He did not want to photograph her in the wheelchair, and the way he sent her unhappy looks often really bothered her. He cocked his head to the side, his stance shifting as he folded his arms over his chest.
“We can do a few with you in your chair. I'm going with all angles, please.” His tone came out exasperated, as if he couldn't be bothered with her question.
Anger bubbled inside, but Taryn wasn't about to make a scene. The thought of drumsticks upside his head sounded good for a brief moment, though.
“Oh! There you are!” Matt rushed over. “What's going on?”
“He wants me to lean against the tree.” Taryn shot a glare at Jacques before directing her attention to Matt.
I'll humor this man, but he's really ticking me off with his attitude.
Matt's eyes darkened and he hesitated, but eased Taryn from her chair. “Kyra is beyond furious with him for his attitude,” he said quietly. “Honestly, I don't blame her in this case.”
“It's almost over. Don't let her make a huge deal, Matt. Let's just get this over with.” The sooner, the better.
*****
Chris hated how much Taryn seemed to be uncomfortable, and he hated how much Jacques continued to talk down to her. First it was her solo shots. Now as he wrangled the entire band together, he kept frowning in annoyance at Taryn and whoever wheeled her over, which in most cases had been Chris. He'd had several ideas for band shots, but because Taryn moved slower, he had to rethink his ideas, and he even had the nerve to say so at one point. Chris clenched his fist and stayed silent.
They did several different shots with the band together. Most of the time, they wanted Taryn out of her chair and sitting in different positions. Matt stepped up and helped her every time, while Chris continued to glare. Taryn sent him silent warnings and mouthed 'Don't say anything.'
He got why she wanted to stay quiet to get this finished, but it bugged him. There was no reason to let this man get all haughty with her. He was that way with a few of the others occasionally, but mostly, the annoyance was aimed at Taryn. How did people like this get hired? Someone with little patience shouldn't take on big jobs like this.
One of the camera crew ran past Taryn's empty chair and bumped it, not even paying attention. The chair rolled down the hill toward the water.
“Whoa! Hey! Someone didn't hit the brakes!” Chris shouted, hurdling toward the chair, even though his body still ached. His mad dash to get it didn't end well, especially since he'd been pretty far from her chair in the first place. He shoved the chair on its side to keep it from falling in the water, stumbled, and took the chair's place by tumbling over into the creek. Chilly, murky waters surrounded him. Chris sputtered and spit out water.
“Are you okay?” Melody shrieked, leading the herd of people who ran to check on him.
“I'm wet and cold, but I saved Taryn's chair.” He climbed out of the creek, shivering. Damn, that water was freezing! “I got a little dizzy from running so fast and lost my balance. I fought the chair and the chair won.”
“Jeez! Somebody get him a towel!” Melody called.
Chris pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the ground. “Don't worry about it. I'll air dry.” His back throbbed. He'd hit it against a jagged rock. Checking to make sure there was no blood, Chris placed a hand behind him. When he inspected his hand, there was no blood. That was good at least, but ouch.
Kyra stormed over and handed Chris a towel. “Thank you. Are you okay? Taryn's freaking out right now,” she fumed. “What a disaster. I think I'm going to attempt to calmly have some words with Jacques and his crew, but I'm so steaming mad right now, it might come out pretty bad. This would be the first time I'd get flagged as throwing a diva tantrum, but I don't care. I am pissed! When I said something about being more careful with Taryn's chair, they brushed it off as if it were nothing!”
“I've been wanting to say something, but Taryn keeps begging me not to.” Chris shook out his hair. Mud and water ran down his shoulders and arms.
“I know. She did with me, too. Otherwise I would have said something already. I'm not holding back now. Taryn can yell at me later. By the way, Matt's getting a dry shirt for you.”
“Thanks. I'm going to talk to Taryn.” He gripped the handles of her chair. Chris headed Taryn's way. Blaine and Avery surrounded her.
“Are you okay?” Taryn eyed him warily. “I could live with a rusty chair, but I can't replace you easily.”
“I do all my own stunts.” Chris shrugged, playing it off. “This one was a cinch.”
It got her to laugh. “Crazy man. Seriously, are you okay? Thank you for saving my chair. I saw you go down and worried you'd hit your head or something.”
“I hit my back on a rock, and I got a shock from the cold water, but I'll live.” Matt brought him a dry shirt. Chris dropped the towel and slid the shirt over his head. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem. I take it Kyra's giving them hell?” Matt stared in the direction of Kyra, who had her hands on her hips while talking to Jacques.
“She better not be!” Taryn groaned. “I told her not to!”
“She is, and if she didn't, I would have.” Chris put the brakes on Taryn's chair, then plopped down on the boulder next to the one she was on. “I don't like the way you were treated, Taryn. He's rude and making some inappropriate remarks. I don't think he realizes how much I've heard him.”
“I think it's his attitude in general, not just against me.” But Taryn didn't even sound convinced of that.
“I don't know. I noticed it, too,” Blaine admitted. “You didn't seem too comfortable, and he didn't clue in. He's a little irritable in general, true, but I think his snide attitude with you is uncalled for.”
“I wasn't comfortable, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to do the shots the way he wanted. This is a good opportunity for everyone, and I didn't feel like ruining it with my whining. I already feel like I've done enough of it!” Taryn blew out a breath.
Chris slipped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Taryn rested her head in the crook of his arm. “No one should treat you that way, drummer girl, and you shouldn't put up with it, either. Speak up if something bothers you.” He pressed a kiss against her temple.
“Chris!” Melody rushed over, a horrified expression on her face. “I just got a call from one of the police officers assigned to Alice's attack case. They said they were trying to call you, with no answer. They have some information regarding Alice.”
Chapter Thirty
“I always knew she had issues, but wow. I didn't know Alice suffered from multiple personality disorder. That's scary.” Melody shuddered. “I can't even … She was living another life and never realized it. And you got caught up in both of them. How did you never know it was the same person? I mean-”
“Stop, Melody. Just stop!” Chris snapped. “I know, okay? I don't know how I could have never known they were one and the same. Trust me, I'm disturbed over it enough.” And they'd both been with him. That was the creepiest part of it. They were definitely separate entities living in one body. Fuck! Melody wasn't the only one disturbed.
“I get it. Look at Anthony. I never knew any of that about him, and he didn't have that disorder. Sorry.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I can't believe they caught on because 'Jerri' was caught drunk driving. She had a license, a whole life...”
“This Jerri person looked, acted, and sounded nothing like Alice. She even...” He coughed, then cleared his throat. “It was different, that's all I can say. I don't know how I never knew. Then again, I didn't see a lot of her.” He cringed and avoided looking at Taryn.
What a mess.
“Maybe we should let Chris and Taryn have some time alone, Mel.” Jameson stood and held out a hand to her. “It's been a long day in general.”
She hesitated, but allowed Jameson to lead her away. “Call me if you need anything. Maybe this is all over and done with. See you two later. I'm sure it has to be resolved now.”
Chris locked the door after his sister and Jameson left, then faced the inevitable. He feared Taryn's expression, but especially feared what she'd say. “So much for a quiet weekend, huh?”
Offbeat (Love and Music In Texas Book 5) Page 30