by Mika Lane
“Wait, wait, wait.” Aurora pulled out of his grasp. She held up her hands as if trying to stop a train. “You sent my audition tape without asking me first?”
He’s kidding, right?
“Yeah.” Now it was his turn for confusion, which twisted across his forehead. “Is…is that a problem?”
“Is that a problem? What about that do you think is okay?” she shrilled.
Realization washed over Hale’s face, leaving him wearing an oh shit expression.
“I…I was trying to help. I never thought you’d be upset, baby. I got the recording from Eddie—”
“He gave you my music before he even gave it to me? What an assho—”
Hale’s hand flew up like a stop sign. “Wait a minute, that guy did you a huge favor.”
“He was very generous to let me use his recording studio. But I didn’t know he was going to give away my music without even telling me. That’s probably not even legal.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I would say tha—”
“This is my music, not yours.” Her voice rose and attracted the attention of another hiker passing in the opposite direction. But she was not deterred. “I will make it—or not—on my own merit. You have no right!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll get in touch with them and tell them to forget it.” Shaking his head, he rubbed his chin and looked up at the sky.
“That’s right, you will.” She turned and headed back to the car.
Should have known this was all too good to be true.
“Where are you going? C’mon, baby. I…I just wanted to help. Let me tell you a story—”
She whirled around to face him. “I’d like to go home. I’m not in the mood for hiking anymore. Or talking.”
“Look, I’m sorry—”
She continued walking but called over her shoulder. “You should be sorry. Now, I’d appreciate it if you took me home.”
“You’re kidding. Look. I’m really sorry. I thought you would be happy—”
“As you can see, I’m not.” Uninvited tears blurred her vision. In her haste, she tripped over a large rock in the trail and went flying forward, landing hard on her knees.
“Hey, watch out there. Are you okay?” Hale reached to help her up, but she pushed his hands away.
Rising slowly, she glanced down. She’d ripped a hole in the knee of her leggings and in place of the missing fabric was an angry, bleeding wound. The ache of it slowed her walk to a limp.
“Let me help you.”
She looked him in the eye and said fiercely, “No. No, thank you.”
“Aurora, please talk to me. I don’t want to go through this again.”
She whipped around to face him. “You should have thought of that before.”
The ride back down Mount Tam was dead silent. As they drove from the sunny peak down into the mid-mountain fog, the gloom melded perfectly with Aurora’s despair. The overwhelming betrayal she’d fled had come rushing back in a single moment. Flooded with self-doubt, her stomach churned in acidic knots. When would she learn her lesson? It was a simple one, really—guys were not to be trusted. They did whatever the hell they wanted, whenever the hell they wanted, with no concern for others. Had her mother been right all along?
Maybe this is as good as it gets.
Chapter 13
The week passed slowly. Aurora couldn’t shake her disappointment. Hale’d been so supportive and then all of a sudden…how could he have betrayed her trust the way that he had? How the hell did he think it was okay to send her audition music without her permission? And how was it that Eddie thought that would be okay? As a veteran of the business, he certainly should have known better.
Eager to get her mind off all that ailed her, she rode the curvy, redwood-lined streets toward work, in a hurry to dive into something that would distract her racing thoughts. For about the millionth time since Hale had dropped her off after their aborted hike, she’d scolded herself for getting involved so soon after the creep back in New York had annihilated her sense of well-being.
She was tired. Flat out tired. The energy it took to be angry and hurt needed to go elsewhere. Someplace constructive.
Like maybe singing?
Turning the corner into Devi’s parking lot, she passed a familiar-looking BMW. The license plate read SPDRCR.
Shit.
Not. In. The. Mood.
Tempted as she was to climb back on her bike and disappear, she was due for work and would never dream of bailing on Devi anyway. Entering the quiet peace of the spa, she looked around reception. There, across the room in the dim light, Hale sat.
Ugh.
He jumped to his feet with a giant bouquet of flowers in hand, wearing a sad expression that seeped through his forced smile.
Devi motioned them over. “If you two need to talk, please take it to one of the empty treatment rooms. I don’t want personal business discussed in front of clients.”
Aurora said quickly, “Actually, Devi, I have a client I need to prepare for, so I’m sure Hale will understand that this is not a good time.”
“Please,” Hale said, “just give me a few minutes. That’s all I need.”
“You have a few minutes,” Devi said to Aurora with her usual authority. “Go see what your friend needs.”
Overruled, Aurora shrugged and motioned for Hale to follow her.
“The Third Eye Chakra room is open,” Devi whispered after them.
He wants to talk? Then talk, we will...
They ducked through the open door, and Aurora closed it behind them. She faced Hale with crossed arms and a tilted head. “Hale, I really don’t appreciate—”
“Aurora, hear me out. I think I deserve that much.”
She shrugged and raised her eyebrows in her fiercest I’m waiting bitch face.
“I overstepped,” he said, shaking his head. “I understand that, and I am sorry. I know you are fiercely independent and that you don’t need my help with your music career.”
She took a deep breath. “Then, why did you take it upon yourself to send my audition?”
Hale settled on the edge of the massage table, set down the flowers, and looked at his hands. “As you know, my mom sang when she was younger and always wanted to get back into it. I had this dream that once all us kids were out of the house, she’d have a second chance at it. I was all set to get her in front of some well-connected music industry people in L.A., once I’d convinced her it wasn’t too late. She was a cool lady, beautiful and hip until the very end. But the end came out of nowhere and surprised us all.” His voice cracked and his chin trembled.
While he avoided Aurora’s gaze, she could see the red rims around his eyes, which were getting shiny with tears.
“The last of us kids was in college. I was already running the motorsports complex and had saved some money. I wanted to use it to help my mom, so I set up a little place for her in L.A. I was going to stay there with her while she got some recordings made and auditions set up.”
Where is he going with this?
“So she was getting ready for L.A., and one morning had a terrible stomachache. She went to the hospital.” His voice broke. “And she never came home.”
He cleared his throat and used the back of his hand to wipe an eye. “That was it. That was the end of the line for Mom. I never got to help her. I’d wanted to do something special for her, but it didn’t happen. She’d always been about the family, never thinking of herself. She got cheated out of life. Fucking life.” He shook his head and took a deep breath through his nose.
He looked up. The sadness in his eyes punched Aurora in the gut.
“I’m sorry Hale,” she was quietly. “That must have been awful. I guess it still is awful.”
He nodded. “I suppose that’s why I was so enthusiastic about helping you. Apparently, a little too much. I know I pushed too hard. I wanted you to know why.”
Aurora reached for Hale’s arm. “I’m so sorry. So very sorry.” The tightness in he
r chest choked her.
Looks like somebody made a big mistake. And that somebody is not Hale.
He stood up from the massage table and handed the flowers to Aurora. “These reminded me of you.”
“I love them, thank you. So beautiful.”
“Like I said, they reminded me of you.”
Warmth danced across her face.
“I’ll leave now. I know you have clients. But I just wanted you to understand why I did what I did. I never meant to mess things up.” He bent to place a quick kiss on her cheek and headed for the door. “See ya later.”
And before she could think of what to say, he was gone.
Well, shit.
Aurora leaned on the massage table where Hale had just been. The torment of being pulled in a thousand different directions was wearing her down.
“Hey.” Gaia had poked her head in the room, startling her. “Devi says we’re going to need this room in a bit. And you have a client coming.”
Aurora popped up. “Yeah. I was just lost in thought. I’m glad you came by.” She made sure the room was tidy and straight and joined her coworker on the walk back to the staff room.
“You okay?” Gaia asked.
“I’m…not sure.”
“What’s up?”
When they closed the door and had some privacy, Aurora turned to Gaia. “I think I may have made a mistake.” A lump grew in her throat.
“Oh, honey, we all make mistakes. In fact, I make them every darn day.”
Devi’s head poked in the room. “Ladies, we have clients waiting!”
“Oh shit.” Aurora threw off her street clothes and rushed into her kimono. She bolted out the door down the hall to the Throat Chakra room where her first client of the day waited.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before entering, like she always did.
“How are you today?” she asked as she closed the door to shut out the rest of the world for a blissful ninety-minute escape.
Aurora passed the next couple days in a fog of self-doubt. She rode her bike to Devi’s, worked, went home, and did little else.
But cooking could help sooth an assortment of woes. She was standing at the stove, stirring dinner, when her cell rang.
“Hey there, Isa,” Aurora answered.
“Whatcha doin’?” her friend asked.
“I’m just working on some vegetarian soup.”
“You and your vegetables. Hey, Boone and I are going to get a beer at Left Bank. Want to join?”
“Nah. I think I just want to chill.”
“Aurora Rose. You are my best friend. So, I feel authorized to tell you to get off your ass. I know you’re struggling over the whole Hale thing. Do something about it already! I mean, he did apologize…”
“Yeah, well I—”
“Enough,” Isabella said. “We’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Meet us there, or you’ll be down one best friend. I mean it.”
“Isa, I’m not really—”
“La la la la I can’t hear you. Must be a bad cell connection. See you in fifteen. Bye.” And she was gone.
Ugh.
Aurora put a lid on the pot of soup and turned off the burner. Heading to her room to get a jacket, she heard her cell ring again. This time, it was the tone she’d assigned to her dad.
In the mood for a pick-me-up, she swiped the phone open. “Dad, hi.”
“Hello, sweetie. How are things on the West Coast?”
“Oh, Dad. Things are good, I guess.”
“They don’t sound that good. What’s going on with the singing?”
“I auditioned for a club last week.”
“No kidding! And how did that go?”
“I don’t know yet. I think good.”
“That’s just terrific, honey.”
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think my singing is a good thing? I mean, Mom couldn’t care less. All she ever talks about is…you-know-who.”
She heard him closing a door in the background. “I’m sorry she’s so insensitive and oblivious to how her interest in those people hurts you. I’ve tried to talk to her about it.”
“You have?”
“Of course. And as for your singing, I know what it means to you. I think it’s great and I really hope something comes of it.”
His words washed over her in a wave of relief, and she tried to swallow the growing lump in her throat. He could always be counted on for a vote of confidence.
“Thanks, Dad. Maybe you can come visit me soon?”
“I’d like that.”
“And Dad?”
“Yes?”
“I’m not coming back to New York. I mean, it’s not that I’m never coming back. I’m just not coming back to live.”
“I know that, sweetie. I figured that out a long time ago. You are where you belong. And I’m truly happy for you.”
Those few words were all she needed.
Aurora switched on her bike lights and began the ride downhill to Left Bank. She was looking forward to seeing Isabella and her guy, Boone. Those two seemed so happy together, taking road trips on their motorcycles and having crazy sex in his condo, which reportedly had massive views of San Francisco and beyond.
She rolled up to the bar just as she heard the roar of her friends’ motorcycles. They came around a corner and maneuvered into parking spots by the curb. Aurora smiled as Isabella shook her hair out of her helmet like she was in a shampoo ad, and the rugged Boone locked their helmets to their bikes.
“You came! I wasn’t sure,” Isabella said.
“I almost didn’t but got a wild hair.”
“I love when you get a wild hair.” Isabella smiled and threw her arms around her friend.
Aurora turned to hug Boone, too.
“Hey, beautiful. Glad you could come,” he said with a smile. “Beers with two gorgeous women. How did I get so lucky tonight?”
The girls looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and laughed. “He’s just trying to get us to buy his drinks,” Isabella said. Boone slapped her on the butt.
They grabbed their favorite corner seats at the bar, and Jake, their coworker Dakini’s boyfriend, delivered some cold brews.
Isabella took a big swig of her beer and turned to Aurora. “So. What’s up? Why’ve you been such a hermit lately?”
Aurora studied her friends’ faces and turned to Boone. “This might be my chance to get a guy’s perspective,” she said.
Boone perked up. He seemed happy for the chance to be useful. Aurora filled him in on her ups and downs with Hale, from the mistaken identity about his driving habits, to her anger with his trying to “help” her singing career.
When she finished, Boone looked at her hard, saying nothing for a minute. Then he broke his silence. “You really want to hear what I have to say?”
Aurora looked at Isabella. Was there something to be afraid of? A comment like that not only set a girl’s nerves on edge, it would drive them over it.
Isabella chimed in. “He’ll give it to you straight, girlfriend.”
“Okay. Yeah. I want to hear your opinion.”
“All righty then. But first we need another round.” He waved over Jake, who was already heading their way with fresh beers. Boone took a sip of his, as if preparing for an important speech.
“It’s really quite simple,” he began. “Guys are like dogs.”
“Huh?” Aurora asked.
“Have you ever heard that dogs like to have a job? They’re pack animals. They want to feel like they’re contributing. That’s why they like to play fetch, bring in the newspaper, herd other animals, that sort of thing.”
Aurora looked at Isabella. “Where is he going with this?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“May I continue with my theory?” He smiled at their perplexed faces.
“Please do.”
“Men are the same. They like to have jobs, too. They like to feel useful. Surely you’ve notic
ed before that if you tell a guy a problem, he’s going to tell you how to solve it rather than just listen with a sympathetic ear. Gets us into trouble all the time. Doesn’t it, baby?” He looked at Isabella.
“Oh, I don’t know. You pretty successfully helped me with the IRS.”
“That’s for sure. I know how to kick IRS ass.” He swigged his beer with great swagger.
Aurora wrinkled her brow. “Um…not sure I get it.”
He got back on track. “What I’m saying is that Hale wanted nothing more than the chance to be useful. That’s all there is to it. Pretty damn simple when you break it down. I don’t think he had any subversive intentions.”
Aurora let her gaze wander around the bar as she digested Boone’s words. She nodded as an awareness washed over her.
Rising from her barstool, she said, “Guys, excuse me for a sec.” Grabbing her phone, she headed for the door. Once outside, she scrolled through her contact list and placed a call. While waiting for an answer, she looked up at the early evening sky.
It rang once. “Hale here.”
Her heart pounded. “Um, Hale. It’s Aurora.”
“Wow. Wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“I know. I know.” Regret poured out between her words. “Hey, are you free tonight? I’d like to talk.”
“Yeah, sure. But I’m up in Sonoma right now.”
“Oh, you’re at work.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just heading out.”
“Great. Pick me up at Left Bank?”
“I can be there in forty-five minutes. See you soon.”
Aurora swiped her phone closed. Her heart pounded. And she knew that in forty-five minutes it would be pounding even harder.
The next three quarters of an hour crept by.
“So, my friend,” Isabella said, squeezing Aurora’s hand, “your silence is speaking volumes. I guess we know who you called.”
“Yeah, well. I have some things to say to him.”
“Cheers to that.” They clinked their bottles together and Boone began to regale them with stories of past motorcycle trips.
After what felt like forty-five hours rather than minutes, a hand rested on Aurora’s shoulder. She jumped.