by Julie Archer
“Yeah, course I have,” said Richey. “I thought they’d split up?”
Parker sipped his drink. “They’re on a break. Alik Thorne’s been doing some solo gigs with Nate McKenna and a session band. They always planned to get back together once they found a suitable bass player. I’ve been checking out options for them, and I think you might work with them really well. Would you be interested in talking to the rest of the band?”
Richey drained the rest of his beer. He slammed the empty glass down on the table. Parker went over to the bar to order another round.
Richey had spent the past year or so dicking about in the South West; gigging around Devon and Cornwall, and generally trying to stay away from temptations. Well, there had been temptations of blondes, brunettes, and redheads—all of which he willingly indulged in—but nothing else. Nothing that had got him into the sort of trouble that he had previously been in. The sort of trouble that had ruined his first chance at success. And now, here was some guy offering him the opportunity of a lifetime.
Parker came back with two more pints. He placed them on the table and sat down opposite Richey.
Richey took a slug of his beer. “Say I was interested in this opportunity, what would be the next step?”
“I’d need to talk to Alik, Nate, and Dev McLaughlin first. My guess would be that they’d want to do some sort of audition; make sure you’re the right fit. Then gigs. The EP’s been on ice since Alik took the decision to do the solo stuff. If there’s a new bassist in place, that can be released. Then there would be all the publicity around that.” Parker paused. “Got any skeletons in the closet you want to tell me about now?”
Richey thought for a moment. If he told Parker all of his deep, dark secrets now, he knew he’d put himself out of the running straight away. He shook his head. “Nothing I can think of.”
Parker checked his watch and stood up. “Look, I need to head off; last train and all that. Think about it and give me a call tomorrow. Are you staying here tonight?”
Richey nodded. “Yep, too late to head back down south this evening.” He drained the last of his drink and shook Parker’s hand. “Thanks for the chat. It’s been interesting.” Richey watched Parker exit the bar.
He was deep in thought when a couple of giggling girls came up to his table.
“You’re cute,” one of them said, slurring.
“And you’re drunk,” he said.
The last thing he needed was some random shag. He had things to think about. He stood up, put his empty glass on the bar, and headed out of the pub.
It had been a long time since he’d been in Oak Ridge. The town was still familiar to him. Very little had changed; a few new shops perhaps, but the pubs, clubs, and bars were the same. Roaming around the streets late at night brought back a raft of unwanted memories. Mostly fractured, hazy, flashbacks of the bad stuff. It wasn’t lost on him that the break Parker Roberts was presenting him with was happening in the very place where it had all fallen apart the last time.
It was just before 1am when Richey got back to the B&B that he and the rest of the band were staying in. He crept into the room he shared with the lead singer, who snored away in the single bed nearest the window.
Richey settled onto the other bed and quietly flipped open his laptop. As usual, the first thing he did was check his email. And, as usual, there were several new messages from someone he didn’t want to deal with. He deleted them without opening them. He reached into his wallet and pulled out Parker’s crumpled business card. He twisted it in his hands as he replayed their conversation. He typed Parker’s name into a search engine and was met with a plethora of results: The bands he’d worked with and brought into the public eye, the Blood Stone Riot story, his personal life and fallout from his relationship with the current darling of the UK acting scene, it was all there. Richey clicked on one of the Blood Stone Riot links, scanning a story that detailed the band’s success, right up until the point of Billy Walker’s accident. Just reading some of the things they had done, such as playing the Wilde Park Festival, filled Richey with excitement. Sure, he enjoyed messing around with NightDrive and doing a few gigs here and there, but this was a real shot at something more.
He had just been asked if he wanted to be a part of Blood Stone Riot and bring the band back to life. This was the chance to change his life, instead of gigging in backwater pubs to four men and a dog. His bandmate snorted loudly and farted in his sleep, which was enough to give Richey his decision.
He was going to grab this opportunity with both hands, whatever the consequences.
A Big Thank You!
There are about a thousand thank-you’s to all the people involved in bringing Rivers Of Ink to life.
To my wonderful editing A Team! Amie McCracken for making Callan less of a girl and Andie M. Long for picking up my latest crutch word...
To the fabulous Najla Qamber of Qamber Designs & Media for creating this gorgeous cover! It’s been fantastic working with you on this and more…
To the Indie Girls Support Group who are always there to offer advice and answers to even the most stupid questions…
To Joslyn and Roberta for support, suggestions, a million messages and always being there…
To Mr A for being always being a rock and a rock star, feeding me and making sure there’s enough wine after a bad day…
Special shout out to Morag Fowler and Sarah Molloy who both suggested Books ’n’ Beans as the name of the coffee shop. Stay tuned as it may well feature in future…
And finally, to you, the reader, for taking a chance and reading my novella. I can’t thank you enough.
About the Author
Julie Archer is the author of contemporary romances, with steamy times and drama, but always a happy ending!
She lives in Devon with Mr A and two feline children, Corey and Elsa. Also metal and COYS.
“Strong, sassy, sexy…and that’s just the characters!”
Also by Julie Archer
Cocktails, Rock Tales & Betrayals (The Blood Stone Riot Series Book 1)
One Last Shot (The Blood Stone Riot Series Book 2)
Wild Tonic (The Blood Stone Riot Series Book 3) - out September 2018
Cosmopolitan Rock (A Blood Stone Riot Short Story)
Off Track (A Writer’s Playground Anthology)
To The Sea (A Writer’s Playground Anthology)
Love Sparkles in Fortune’s Bay (A Fortune’s Bay novella)
Also features a short story that previous appeared in The Bay Of Love, a collection of Fortune’s Bay short stories.
The full Fortune’s Bay series, in collaboration with six other worldwide authors, can be found here: https://fortunesbay.wixsite.com/buybooks