He patted her shoulder. “Chin up, chick. Now, I have to go see a man about a dog.” He gave her a final smile before disappearing around the side of the bus.
Kendra picked up her clipboard and brushed the dirt off. Maybe Blake was right, maybe she just had to believe in herself. Please let that be true.
***
Blake chuckled, remembering the look of absolute horror on the new girl's face when she had run into him. It was hilarious but he was glad he hadn't laughed at her. She was obviously having a hard day. He didn't envy her, trying to fit into a ready-made family would be a challenge for anyone. And he knew they weren't the easiest people to get along with.
He claimed his usual bunk in the red bus by covering it with his stuff. Then he returned to his hotel room to drain the mini bar before they departed the next morning. Had anyone explicitly told him that this was a dry tour? Not really, but it was heavily implied. And he would honor that as much as his frayed nerves would allow. But until the tour officially started at dawn, he was allowed to get as shit-faced as he wanted.
He probably wouldn't be this anxious if he had had more time to prepare for what was coming. Or, at least, that's what he told himself. He had seen the schedule a week ago and they would be in Pryor in four days. Definitely not enough time. They had a show tomorrow night in Des Moines, the night after that in Omaha, the night after that in Kansas City, and then he would wake up in his hometown. And he'd be there for two days before playing at Rocklahoma. Two frickin' days.
Blake chucked the empty bottle of vodka across the room to the trash can. He hated vodka, that stuff was the worst. But maybe, just maybe, it would help him fall asleep tonight. A hearty knock at the door told him otherwise.
He shoved himself to his feet and looked through the peephole. He had thought it would be Mike, but no, it was Luke. He pulled the door open and returned to the minibar without so much as a greeting.
The door closed behind him and he flopped into a chair, twisting off the lid of his next dose of therapy. He smiled at Luke and waved to the fridge.
“Help yourself.”
“Thanks, I'm good.” Luke looked uncomfortable, and Blake wondered how the conversation had gone between him and Mike about who would try to come and talk to him. Maybe they had just flipped for it. Either way, Blake wasn't planning on putting up a fight. He'd be honest if the right questions were asked.
“You gonna make it through this one?” Luke got right to the point as he settled in the chair across from Blake.
“Hope so. Wish someone would have told me the plan ahead of time,” he said pointedly.
“We thought the less time you had to think about it, the less damage you'd do to yourself,” Luke admitted. Blake couldn't fault him for that. He had no idea how he would have handled it if he'd known sooner, but it probably would have been something akin to a train wreck.
“Why do we have to spend so much time there?” Blake asked, his voice rougher than he preferred.
“I got a couple tips on some local talent there and I wanted to see their act. We still need an opener for the tour and we have to go after unsigned artists.” Luke's face was sympathetic and Blake couldn't be mad at him. He was making the best decisions available for the band as a whole. He always did.
“I get it,” Blake sighed. He did get it, but he still didn't like it.
A few minutes of silence passed before Luke spoke again. “You gonna try to see her?”
Blake closed his eyes and resisted the urge to scratch the ink that was still healing on his ribs. “Nah, I need to let her live her life. It wouldn't do either of us any good.” It was the clearest and most direct thought he'd had on the matter all week. “I'll probably stop at the diner and reminisce a little, though,” he added as an afterthought.
“You don't think she'll be there?” Luke asked quietly.
Blake swallowed hard. “No, I heard she married some rich guy and moved to Tulsa. She was always too good for that town anyway.” The words tasted bitter as he said them, and he knew he wasn't convincing Luke that he was as fine with it as he wanted to believe himself.
“Will you do me a favor?” Luke asked, his brow furrowed in concern. “Will you take one of us with you... just in case?”
Blake chewed on his bottom lip as he considered the request. It wasn't that big of a deal. If it made Luke more comfortable then he could do that. He shrugged. “Sure.”
***
The drive across Iowa was boring. Like, want to rip your hair out and set it on fire just to freak out the bus driver boring. Blake regretted not sneaking some contraband onto the bus before they had pulled out of town. Chances are Kendra wouldn't have found it, she wasn't as thorough as Lenny had been. But that thought made Blake feel like shit. Hadn't he been the one to tell her that she was going to do a good job?
Come to think of it, Blake had no idea where Kendra even was. Crew bus? Blue bus? Not in the Love Nest, that was for sure. Lenny and Luke's bus was brand-new and gorgeous. No one was allowed on it, Luke's rules. Which left Blake with more room than he'd ever had on tour, since his only company was Sway. After all those times he thought he needed more space, it turned out that being alone with his thoughts was not the greatest feeling in the world. Especially with the destination that loomed on the horizon three days from now.
“New girl didn't miss a single thing, and I had a lot of bullshit on my 'must-have' list.” Sway opened the fridge in the kitchenette and lobbed a soda in Blake's direction.
“Kendra,” Blake replied, catching the can and cracking it open.
“What?” Sway frowned and sat on the sofa, kicking his shoes off.
“Her name is Kendra.” Blake rolled his eyes.
“Right,” Sway nodded. “Kendra,” he repeated slowly, trying to commit it to memory. “She's not bad looking either.”
“You know you can't—” Blake frowned at him.
“I know, I know,” Sway waved him off. “I wasn't saying anything like that. I'm just... I don't know, making conversation.”
“Awkward,” Blake stated flatly.
“What else are we supposed to talk about? You don't want to talk about,” Sway paused, pointing at Blake's side, “you know. And Iowa is the most boring drive in the world, and Harrison took all of the good video games 'cause he thought that would be funny.” Sway looked exasperated and Blake cracked a smile.
“You wanna work on some music?” he suggested.
“Like nothing else.” Sway's face lit up in relief and excitement.
They had been working on some things the past few months that they didn't intend to present to the rest of the band. Playing around mostly, experimenting with lyrics and different technique. But they had agreed to set it aside for the tour so they could focus on the band. That lasted all of six hours.
***
Lucy Newton wiped down the end of the counter one final time before throwing her rag in the mesh bag around the corner. She stretched the overworked muscles of her back and shoulders and untied her apron.
“You ready to go home, Lucy?” Mac called from the back room.
“Yeah, you almost finished?” She released her tired hair from its restraint and shook out the wild, chestnut waves that tumbled down her back. She checked the back door again to make sure it was locked and started shutting off the lights.
Another long, busy day for the oldest diner in Pryor, Oklahoma. And Lucy was proud of that accomplishment. She touched the framed photos of her grandparents by the cash register on her way to the front door where Mac was waiting.
“What time do you want me to be back tomorrow?” her cousin asked as he pulled the door open for the two of them. She grabbed her large purse that was more of a small saddle bag than a traditional purse and slipped it over her head.
“After lunch; that should give me enough time to change my clothes before heading to rehearsal.”
“You sure you don't want me to work the whole day for you? I really don't mind.” He scratched the top of his head
, hair the same shade as hers and just as thick as they paused in the parking lot.
“No, you'll be working for me during the show, too, so I don't want to take advantage of you.” She smiled and lightly punched him in the arm. “Go home, get some sleep, snuggle that new baby of yours.”
“Okay, Lucy, whatever you say.” He chuckled as he walked to his car and unlocked the door.
Lucy paused and took a deep breath. Then another one. She squinted towards the horizon but couldn't see anything beyond the black prairie sky.
“What's up?”
She turned to see Mac watching her, perplexed.
“Nothing... I just...” She smiled as she realized her absurdity. “I thought I smelled rain.”
Mac chuckled and climbed into his car. He rolled the window down and teased her, “Storms come out of the west, Lucy. Usually not the north.”
Lucy frowned and realized she had been looking northeast. That was a weird mistake to make. “Yeah, usually,” she murmured to herself.
“Besides, they're predicting clear skies all week. You're tired. Get some rest tonight.” Mac gave one final, amused head-shake and drove off.
Lucy stood very still for several minutes as her head tried to explain to her heart that it was crazy and she was, indeed, just tired. She inhaled deeply again.
She hadn't imagined it. It was definitely going to rain.
***
“I thought Des Moines was lovely.” Harrison ran his hands through his curly hair and bounded into the bus.
“Yeah, they definitely had some energy,” Mike agreed right behind him.
“Sway and Blake seem to be getting along just fine,” Harrison added, as he took his seat on the floor and hooked up the video game system. “I thought there might be more bitching about me jacking all the games, but they didn't seem to care.”
“I'm just glad Blake was sober, he's hard to play with when he's wasted,” Mike said as he changed out of his too-sweaty shirt.
“Says the drummer with the longest record of forgotten performances in the history of rock and roll, and that includes Keith Moon,” Harrison reminded him.
“True story. I shouldn't talk.” Mike caught the controller that Harrison flipped his way and settled onto the floor.
“Do you guys want those sandwiches now... or...” Kendra's voice made Mike suddenly realize she was on the bus with them.
“Are you riding with us tonight?” Mike asked the first question that popped into his head.
So did Harrison. “What sandwiches?”
Mike rolled his eyes at the guitarist.
“Um, yes,” Kendra answered Mike and then moved silently to the kitchenette where she retrieved two foot-long subs. She handed them both over and then sat quietly in a chair.
Harrison immediately started eating, but Mike was still confused.
“Why are you on this bus?” He didn't want it to sound like he was upset by her presence, because he wasn't. But he was still very much bewildered.
“Because Carl has me on the blue bus for the first week.” Kendra's voice was clear, but he detected the hint of a tremble. She was afraid she was in trouble. That was his fault. He tried to start again.
“I just meant, where did you ride last night?” Mike tried really hard not to frown, but he knew it was happening anyway.
“I was... here...” Kendra's eyes were so round and wide that Mike was a little worried they might fall out of her head.
“Yeah, dick,” Harrison said around a mouthful. He smacked Mike in the chest with the back of his hand before swallowing. “She's been with us since we left Chicago.”
“What?” Mike felt it was okay to frown at Harrison. He also felt it was okay to smack Harrison upside the head if the need should arise, which could be any minute.
“Um, self-involved much?” Harrison rolled his eyes.
Mike looked back to Kendra, who looked like she might cry. “I'm sorry, Kendra. I guess I'm an idiot.” He attempted to make her feel better.
“Yeah, you are.” Harrison started laughing, but his mouth was full again and he choked.
Mike narrowed his eyes at Harrison, then turned to Kendra. “Thank you for the sandwiches.” He nodded at the timid assistant and turned to face the game again. His mind was spinning. Was she really that quiet and sneaky that she had been on the bus with him the whole time and he hadn't even noticed her? Oh man, Lenny knew exactly what she was doing.
An invisible assistant. Well played, Lenny Casey, well played indeed.
***
“What's bothering you?”
Luke looked up to see Lenny watching him from the doorway of their room on the bus. She was dressed for bed, tank top and little shorts, her blonde hair almost reaching her waist. He let out a contented sigh as she crawled across the bed on her knees and curled up next to his side.
“You're gorgeous, you know that?” he asked as he kissed the top of her head.
“That's why you were thinking so hard just a minute ago?” she asked playfully.
“No... I was just thinking about stuff.” Luke wrapped his arms around her and held tight.
“Tell me,” she whispered gently.
Luke pondered her request. It's not that he didn't want to tell her, he did. He just wasn't sure how to say it. He barely knew how to think about it. He had already told her his concerns about Blake, and she'd been receptive and thoughtful. He didn't want to disrupt their happy family, but he couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of stomach that something big was coming.
“I have the feeling...” He paused, a little afraid he was going to sound stupid, but he pushed past it. “I mean, things have been going really great. And I guess... I'm wondering why it feels like there's a storm coming.”
Lenny traced the lines of his tattoos on his bare chest for a few minutes. He enjoyed feeling her warmth by his side. Like she fit in the place next to his heart where he hadn't realized there had been a hole.
“There's always a storm coming,” she said at long last. “But we'll get through it like we do everything else. Together.”
***
Lucy put her old guitar away, being careful to tuck the aged blanket that her mother had made around it before closing the case. It had been a good practice. They were getting better and better, but she was still apprehensive they wouldn't be ready in time for the show Thursday night. She had been a last minute fill-in for the regular guitarist, Bobby. He had gotten stage fright as it got closer to the date and had bailed.
Taylor Stevens had frequented the diner for several weeks and he had become friendly with Lucy. He knew she played guitar some, and who her father was. It didn't come as a real shock to her when he asked her to fill in. What was shocking was how well they all seemed to work together. This wasn't a garage band made up of friends from high school. No, Taylor Stevens was serious about his music, and he hand-picked the musicians he would play with. Truthfully, Lucy was honored.
“Good job, Newton. Same time tomorrow.” Taylor gave her an earnest nod as they left their rehearsal space. His full, manly beard and clean-shaven head, thick shoulders and athletic build made him look more menacing than he really was. The only thing he took seriously was his music, otherwise he was fairly easygoing.
Lucy cranked the motor on her 1970 Pontiac GTO that had really seen better days. The color was supposedly called Palisade Green, but it was more of a dirty avocado to Lucy. Not that she minded, it went nicely with her infrequent trips to the car wash.
She loved her car, it was a gift from her father as one of the first things he bought for himself when he started to make money from his music. Someday she would have it restored and possibly repainted. But not while she was still running the diner full-time and singing at Red's on the weekends.
The drive across town was fast, a benefit of living in a place with a small population. She had hated the year she'd spent in Tulsa. Big city life had never been her fit. She supposed it probably would have grown on her in time, but she didn't have to worry
about that anymore. She was home. This is where she belonged.
The parking lot at the diner was full, and she was worried for a moment that they would be behind, but as she entered the kitchen through the back she saw that Mac had things under control. As usual. She loved having her family help out so willingly in the business that her grandmother had built with her tiny, bohemian hands.
Having taken over the diner right around her eighteenth birthday, it had been an important part of her rise to adulthood. Even after her year away, she came right back to it, easy as pie.
“How was rehearsal?” Mac asked as she pulled her hair into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.
“Good. I wish you could be there to see us, it's going to be a huge venue.” Lucy grabbed a nearby apron and tied it around her waist.
“Are you nervous?” Mac asked with a wink and handed her an order ready to go out.
“Never.” Lucy smiled widely and pushed through the doors to the front. “Comin' out!” she called.
The night went by fast, and Lucy was looking forward more and more towards Thursday's show. She was humming and singing to herself as she waited tables, took orders and bussed the front. Completely wrapped up in one of Taylor's songs while she swept behind the counter, she didn't hear the question that Mac asked her until he put a hand on her arm and she jumped.
“Hey, kid, calm down.” He laughed at her reaction. “I was just asking how many pies you wanted for tomorrow.”
“Oh, probably one apple and one cheesecake,” she answered quickly, and then frowned as she thought about it some more. “But make an extra apple tomorrow.”
Mac made the note on the whiteboard. “You're the boss. Why an extra apple? You expecting to sell more on Thursday?”
Lucy didn't have an answer; her gut spoke and she listened. It only worked out for her half the time, so she wasn't sure why she still listened to it.
Chapter 3
In Your Honor Page 3