by Olivia Brynn
“Jade! You just earned lunch duty.” Marcie glowered. “Adam, remote’s on the coffee table. Find a game on TV or something. I’m going to put a load of laundry in.”
Jade pouted, but did as she was told. Luckily Marcia Jackson wasn’t kidding when she said meals were taken care of. A tray of cold cuts and fresh-baked bread sat beside a fresh gallon of milk and a case of cola in the refrigerator. Jade simply carried it into the living room and curled up beside Adam on the couch. Thirty minutes later the doorbell rang for the first time.
CHAPTER THREE
Though each visitor came for the sole purpose of seeing Lance and welcoming him home, Jade didn’t miss their surreptitious glances toward Adam.
After Tommy Purcell gave Lance a manly hug, he didn’t waste any time wedging himself between Adam and Jade.
“Hi, Jade. Mr. Nash.” Tommy’s blue eyes twinkled with the promise of trouble. “What’cha guys doin’?” Tom was Jade’s age. He hadn’t changed much over the years. His smile was still infectious, and a bit dangerous. If he wasn’t currently involved in mischief, that grin only meant he was cooking some up.
“We were sitting together quietly. Until you came along.” Jade scooted away. “What do you want, Tommy?”
“Why do I gotta want something? Can’t I just say hey to the Logan Sweetheart?”
“You’re referring to me?”
“Yep. Left Logan and made yourself all famous by photobombing Mr. Country Music here every chance you get. I see the news, I know what you do.”
“You think I spend my days following Adam around?”
Tom grinned, showing off a row of straight white teeth. Of her graduating class of twelve, Tommy Purcell was the only one left in Logan. He’d married his best friend’s little sister, and together they were working on increasing Logan’s population by one every nine months. “You’re saying you don’t follow him around?”
“What. Do. You. Want?”
Adam chuckled. Jade scowled. Tommy grinned.
“Okay, so you know I got a couple other guys together, we play a few songs at the Road Runner sometimes.”
“And?” She knew where this was going. A quick glance at Adam proved he did too, but he wasn’t doing his usual back-away-politely routine.
“And I saw you guys drivin’ through town, and bein’ the brilliant dude that I am I say to myself, I say…‘Self, I know what we’re gonna do tonight.’”
“You speak to yourself in second person narrative?” Jade raised an eyebrow.
“No! I mean…maybe.” His face screwed up tight. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Which is why you took freshman English twice.”
Adam leaned forward to interrupt. “Is your band playing somewhere tonight?”
“As a matter of fact—” Tommy stretched both arms across the back of the sofa, and released a loud breath of air. “Well…actually…no. But I could call the Road Runner and the other guys and have something put together if I knew you’d come jam with us.”
“What do you think, Jade? Want to take me out on the town tonight? Show me the Road Runner hot spot?”
Jade glanced from Tommy to Adam. Both grinned broadly, like little kids asking for permission to play in the mud. From their conversation in the car, Jade knew Adam’s thoughts. “If you’re willing to let this jerk—” she jerked a thumb toward Tommy, “—exploit your talents to boost his fragile ego, that’s okay with me.”
Tommy bounded from the couch so quickly the cushions lurched, sending Jade into the armrest. “I’ll go call the guys. This is gonna be awesome. I need to call the wife. Maybe Ron Kribbs, he can take pictures. Do you have a guitar? I’ve got one…it’s just…you do? Okay great. I gotta call the guys.” He backed toward the door. “Drinks are on me tonight. Oh…seven? Is seven okay?”
“Good bye, Tommy!” Lance held the remote in his hand and turned up the volume on the soccer match.
“Oh! Yeah. You come too. Everyone come. I gotta tell…everyone!”
Jade wouldn’t be surprised if Tommy didn’t pee himself as he fumbled for the door latch.
“I’ll tell everyone. Whole village should be there. Thanks Jade. Thanks Ad…uh…Mr. Nash. Thanks.”
The room felt like a vacuum after the door closed. Just the cheers from the pre-recorded crowds from Spain filled the room.
“That guy’s got some energy.” Adam reached over and pulled Jade back into her original position.
Jade snorted. “He hasn’t changed since fourth grade.”
****
The whole village was there. Jade pushed her way through the crowd in the big dance hall, her progress hindered by Loganites she hadn’t seen in years who felt the need to catch up in the middle of the throng.
“Saw you on TV last week, loved that black dress.”
“Did you hear about Peggy Ramone? Roughneck drifter got her pregnant with twins and took off, the poor thing.”
“Jade! Long time no see! Can you get me a backstage pass when Adam plays in Amarillo in June?”
Jade shot an apologetic glance across the room to Adam, but she should have known he’d be wearing his stage smile. He held her gaze for a moment before shooting her a wink, much to the pleasure of the crowd. When the catcalls and whistles died down, Jade’s hair was ruffled by Lenore Price, a girl three years older than Jade and so pregnant she looked like she was about to burst.
“Awww! Jade Graham, you lucky little bitch.”
“I sure am.” Jade blew a kiss to Adam. Before she could ask Lenore how her family was, the woman had rushed across the room to tend to a crying young boy with a freshly skinned knee.
The clientele might be a bit different than what Adam was used to, but they were just as crazy. She grabbed a bottle of water from the metal tub filled with ice and chatted with the locals while watching her man from the corner of her eye.
He was a performer. In his element. He’d arrived an hour earlier to practice a few songs with “Tommy and the Boys”, and he already had damp strands of hair at his temples.
Jade had been to several of Adam’s concerts. They were big productions with pyrotechnics and state-of-the-art audio. Here in Logan there were just two big speakers on either side of the “stage” which was really just a portable dance floor on top of a layer of old wooden pallets. Three oversized microphones lined the front and a big drum set took up most of the back.
The crowded bar area had been roped off and guarded by a stocky bald man, ensuring no minors would be drinking during the impromptu concert. Though this looked less like Adam’s usual gig, Jade loved the familiarity that only a small town would have.
Adam didn’t look bothered in the least. In fact he looked more at-ease on this crude stage than he did behind the multi-million-dollar setups in Los Angeles. He chatted with the band as they measured some beats and downed bottled water.
Finally, when Jade didn’t think another human being could fit in the building without violating fire code, Tommy grabbed hold of the mic, and the feedback squealed through the speakers, echoed by groans from the patrons.
“Sorry. Check…check…okay? All right. Well, welcome everyone. Tonight, as you know, it’s my pleasure to have Mr. Adam Nash up on stage with Tommy and the Boys!”
Whoops and shrieking whistles bounced off the wood-paneled walls as Adam grinned and waved. It took Tommy a few attempts to calm them down.
“Now, we’ve been covering a few of Adam’s songs for a while now, so I hope you enjoy the new and improved version with the man himself.”
More cheers and a few unflattering comments regarding Tommy’s talent from some of the rowdies at the bar that Tommy only laughed off. “Now it ain’t a good old-fashioned shindig without some carpet-burnin’ boot-scootin’, so make some room on the dance floor, and let me turn this over to the award-winning country music—dare I say—legend…Adam Nash!”
Tommy backed away from the microphone, giving his guitar a strum, loud enough to be heard over the cheers. The drummer tapped the
rim of his snare and the stage came to life.
As they played the intro to “Strawberries and Sunshine”—one of Jade’s favorites—Adam approached the mic.
“This song…thank you…this song is about a little town…thank you…thank you…a little town that reminds me a lot of Logan. It also means a lot to me because it’s one of Jade’s favorites. Love you, babe.” Another wink her way, and Jade actually felt heat rise to her cheeks at the crowd’s roar of appreciation.
She’d never tire of hearing this song. Recorded, live, or best yet, while cross-legged in bed with only a guitar between them. By the time they transitioned to the next song, Jade thought her face would be stuck in a wide grin.
She moved to the edge of the dance floor to watch as couples young and old showed off their swing dancing moves.
Mrs. Cunningham, the elementary school teacher who taught Jade from first through fifth grades, was still nimble as she held on to her husband of fifty-some years. Across the room Lenore laughed as her husband J.J. dipped her over his arm and planted a smacking kiss on her swollen belly.
Jade glanced around in search of an empty chair.
“Aha! Eye contact. That means you wanna dance.” Michael Meyers, the oversized cowboy with the unfortunate name, straightened his hat and took hold of her hand. She barely had time to hand off her water bottle before she was whirled away.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. She swilled beer with the boys and giggled with the girls, and even managed to sneak up to the stage for a quick kiss from Adam between songs. When she saw her parents and Lance at the edge of the dance floor, she squealed like a little girl and ran up to her big brother.
“You made it!”
“Of course. You didn’t think I’d miss a free Adam Nash concert?”
“Well, you’re not known for your brains…” She trailed off and then grinned at the man beside Lance. “Hello again, Luc. Did you have to drag his sorry ass out of the house?”
Luc smiled down at Lance. “I just saw him come in with your parents. I’m sure he’s here to show off his new moves on the dance floor.”
Lance snorted. “Whatever. How’s Tommy doing? Embarrassing himself?”
“No! They’re really good! Sounds like they’ve been practicing since the last time I was here.”
“Yeah.” Jade’s father joined the group. “I can hear them practicing all the way in my bedroom. Every Saturday night.”
Jade laughed, gave him a hug, and then hugged her mother. “Well if Lance isn’t gonna dance with me, that leaves you, Daddy!”
Scott’s eyes twinkled and he held out his hand.
****
Jade’s legs ached and her heart raced. Sweat dampened her nape and cleavage. She was pretty sure she danced with every male Loganite and a few of the female residents as well. She bought two bottles of beer before sitting beside Lance during a rare moment when their parents twirled on the dance floor, and Lance didn’t have someone asking how he was.
“Glad to be home?”
“I will be when people stop treating me like an invalid.”
“Let them fawn over you for a while.” She handed him one of the bottles. “You’re their local hero.”
“The real hero died that day.” Lance’s face tightened, as did his grip on his longneck.
J. Edgar had jumped into the lake after Lance. The same propeller that took Lance’s leg took J. Edgar’s life. Jade couldn’t even imagine the hell of having to watch such a scene unfold.
She patted his knee. “It’s okay to grieve the loss of your friend. Just remember to take advantage of the human ones that want to help.”
Lance snorted. “That’s almost word for word what Luc said.” His gaze strayed over to the man who was deep in conversation with the local supermarket manager.
“Huh. I guess that means Luc is a pretty smart guy.”
Lance sighed. “Yeah. He is.”
Wow. Her play on words to trick him into calling her smart didn’t even make the man blink. He continued studying Luc, a frown wrinkling his brow, making Jade wonder exactly what—
“Jade Graham! Someone find me Jade!”
Jade’s thoughts were interrupted by the spotlight that passed over her twice before landing square on her and Lance.
“There she is!” Tommy’s voice boomed over the cheers of the crowd. “Jade, I’m gonna need you to come on up here.”
Adam stood beside Tommy, his smile wide and guileless. Which could only mean he was up to something. She’d embarrassed herself months ago at a karaoke bar, surely he wouldn’t put her through that again?
She shook her head. “No way!”
Adam leaned in to speak into the microphone. “Can we get some help out there? We need Miss Graham right here in this empty spot on the dance floor…there we go.”
Michael Meyers and his younger brother swaggered her way.
“No! I refuse!” She reached for Lance, who dodged her grasp. With a squeal, she held on to her seat, realizing too late that the flimsy metal folding chair was no match for the two corn-fed brutes.
“Thanks, guys. Bring the chair if you must.” Adam’s smile came through his voice, enticing the crowd to jeer and whistle in response. Before she could think of another way out, she was hoisted into the air—chair and all—by the Meyers boys. Now she held on for dear life as they carried her through the parting crowd and lowered her to a spot on the dance floor brightened by the spot light.
They couldn’t make her sing.
She clamped her molars together, but thanks to her third beer, she couldn’t suppress a smile.
“Let’s give Jade a big hand for being such a good sport. There we go.” Tommy waved the crowd into an eardrum-bursting howl. She shot Lance a silent plea for help, but he’d propped himself up on his crutches and clapped and hooted just as loud as the rest of them. Their parents weren’t any better, grinning from across the room.
As she sat stonily shaking her head, embarrassment warming her cheeks, half the crowd pulled out their phones, obviously thinking they were about to witness something noteworthy. Jade crossed her arms. Not if she had anything to do with it.
“Now, does anyone else around here know that Logan’s own little Jade Graham got some kind of high-falutin’ award for karaoke not too long ago?”
“It was a green participant ribbon! Adam!”
Adam shrugged as her entire home town chuckled and clapped.
“But that’s not what we’re here for tonight.” Tommy winked. “You see, Tommy and the Boys have been practicing a new song for a couple of weeks. One that our guest here—” he slapped Adam on the back, “—wrote just for this occasion. Mr. Nash?” Tommy stepped into the shadows next to the bass player and plucked the pick from the neck of his guitar.
Jade scowled. Adam wrote a song for Tommy’s band? She looked around, hoping everyone else was as lost as she. All she encountered were smiles and cell phone camera lenses.
“Jade?” Adam strummed a chord.
She shifted in her chair and looked right at the man she loved. “What’s going on, Adam?”
“This is for you, baby. It’s a type one.” He winked.
The rest of the band joined in on the next chord, and finally Jade relaxed enough to release her death grip on the folding chair.
Spring day in the city, Surrounded by steel,
Smog, traffic and rush,
He’d found an Eden, a smile so real,
Amid foliage perfumed and lush.
Oh my God. The song’s about us. Jade covered her mouth with shaking hands. A lilting harmony weaved through the melody, and as usual, Adam’s voice seemed to sneak under her skin to warm her blood. His gaze held hers captive, as if they were the only two in the building.
No way to know it, the fates had ruled,
His last first kiss was his first taste of forever.
Jade glanced over her shoulder. Her mother leaned against her father, dabbing her eyes with a tissue and offering Ja
de a watery smile of encouragement. Near the roped-off bar stood Dean.
Dean?
Her best friend—a man she would have sworn was in Los Angeles right now running their floral shop—just grinned at her and gave a thumbs up. What the hell? If she wasn’t currently paralyzed by Adam’s serenade, she’d try to figure out what Dean was doing in Logan.
She blinked against the camera flashes and turned back to Adam as he sang of deep and abiding love that knocked him off his feet, a love he never wanted to live without.
It was a damn good thing she was seated. Her heart so full she thought it might burst, Jade wiped tears of joy from the corner of each eye.
By the time he stopped singing, Jade was an emotional puddle of woman. Tommy and the Boys kept the music going while Adam hopped off the stage, then ducked under his guitar strap and handed his beloved instrument to…someone—Jade didn’t take her eyes off her man to see who had materialized to take it.
He stepped in front of her chair and reached into his front pocket, but before she could stand, he dropped to one knee before her, and took her hand in his. From over his shoulder she saw another mysterious assistant angle the microphone to amplify his words.
“Jade Colleen Graham, I never knew what living was until I met you. I had no idea what happiness was until you smiled, and I didn’t realize what my heart was for until you loved me.”
Oh my God.
The music continued in the background, but the rest of the room had gone completely silent. Unless she just couldn’t hear through her pounding heartbeat in her ears.
“Jade, would you make me the happiest man on earth and agree to marry me?”
She tore her gaze away from his beautiful blue eyes when he lifted his hand. In it was a beautiful diamond solitaire ring with channel set diamonds protecting the setting.
Oh my God.
“Adam. Oh my God.”
“Marry me, Jade. Let’s start mixing some of our type one stuff in with some of that type two stuff and kick all that type three and four crap to the curb.”