Stronger Within (The Silver Lake Series Book 1)

by McCallum, Coral

  “Do you not know him?”

  “No,” she admitted. “But I trust Maddy’s judgement here one hundred percent.”

  “Guess we’ve no choice,” he said with a yawn.

  They chatted quietly for a few minutes about the progress the band had made that day and their plans for the last three days of studio time. They were on schedule to finish on Saturday and the producer was confident they would get all eleven tracks completed by late afternoon. Everything was coming together nicely.

  “Is the plan to travel home on Sunday?” asked Lori.

  “Grey and Paul need to be back for work on Monday,” replied Jake. “I’m not sure about Rich.”

  “I thought maybe you and I could stay on for a couple of days,” suggested Lori hopefully. “Play tourist perhaps?”

  “Sounds like a plan. Will be nice to have you to myself for a while,” agreed Jake pulling her closer to him.

  “I was going to book a table for dinner for Saturday,” continued Lori. “A sort of celebration dinner.”

  “Celebrate our freedom from Studio B?”

  “That and my birthday,” she confessed quietly.

  “Your birthday?”

  “Yes,” nodded Lori. “I’ll be thirty on Saturday.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” accused Jake.

  “I just did,” she replied. “Now it’s late. You’ve a big day ahead of you. Get some sleep.”

  “Night, li’l lady.”

  “Sweet dreams,” she replied as she rolled over to her side of the bed.

  ♪

  Time was running away from Silver Lake as they remained locked away in Studio B. Recording ran like clockwork and, despite their lack of studio experience, Dr Marrs declared they were among the most professional and dedicated musicians he had had the pleasure of working with. He had joined them for their Thursday morning breakfast meeting with Jason and Maddy, wanting to ensure that negotiations went fairly. As a precaution he had brought along his ex-wife who was a lawyer. By ten o’clock Silver Lake were signed to JR Management with the promise that this was only the start for them; by ten thirty they were closeted away in the studio for another fourteen hour session. Friday had started even earlier than usual and it was almost dawn before they crawled back to the apartment for a few brief hours of rest.

  While the band continued to work day and night, Lori and Becky kept themselves amused. Their trip to the zoo was fun, but short as the little girl was more interested in going to visit the toy store to play on the Big Piano. After a quick lunch at McDonalds, Lori gave in and led them over to FAO Schwartz. She videoed the little girl dancing on the famous Big Piano and sent it to Grey. Becky’s delight at the experience made Lori smile with pride. It was heart-warming to see the little girl fully restored to her happy, carefree self. If Becky was happy it made it so much easier for Grey to accept that Sandy was gone. Lori had done her best to make sure the little girl would have plenty of happy memories of New York to take home to the beach. On Friday she took her clothes shopping for an outfit to wear to dinner on Saturday. Unable to decide on just one outfit, they left Macy’s with two bags full of new clothes for the little girl.

  When she awoke on Saturday morning, the instant ache from her leg warned Lori it was going to be a tough day. She was fully aware she had pushed herself to her limits every day during the week and now her battered body was starting to protest. There were some painkillers in the drawer of the nightstand beside the bed and she swallowed two before even attempting to get up. As she lay back, waiting for the medication to take effect, the bedroom door opened and Becky bounced in.

  “I’m hungry, Lori,” she declared, climbing up onto the four-poster bed.

  With a weary sigh Lori replied, “I too, honey, but can you wait a few more minutes? My leg’s really sore today. I’ve just taken some medicine to help with the pain, but it will take a few minutes for it to work.”

  “Why’s your leg sore?” asked Becky directly. The little girl had never asked her about her leg or why she walked with a cane or canes so the question came as a bit of a surprise.

  “I had an accident a while ago,” began Lori trying to keep it simple. “And I hurt it very badly. It’s not fully healed yet. We’ve been out and about a lot this week, so today it’s a bit painful.”

  Looking confused Becky asked, “What kind of accident?”

  “A bad one,” said Lori simply, not wanting to talk about it to the little girl any more than she would talk to anyone about that day. “I broke the big bone in my thigh. The doctors had to put the bone back together again with some metal pins and screws.”

  “Where are the pins and screws?” asked the little girl curiously.

  “Inside my leg,” explained Lori. “I had surgery to get it fixed. Well, several surgeries actually.”

  “Did that not hurt?”

  “Yes, it did,” said Lori softly. “But the nurses gave me medicine so that it wouldn’t hurt too much.”

  “So why’s it hurting today?”

  “Well, began Lori, sitting up a bit. “My leg isn’t very strong yet and if I walk about on it for too long it gets sore. We’ve had a busy week and I didn’t rest it as much as I should have, so today it’s very sore.”

  “Is it my fault?” asked Becky quietly, tears welling up in her eyes.

  “No!” exclaimed Lori, reaching out to hug her close. “Not at all. Don’t cry. I’ll be fine in a little while, but we will have to have a lazy day today.”

  “Ok,” nodded Becky, a look of disappointment crossing her face. “Can we maybe go to the park later if you feel better?”

  “Let’s see after lunch,” relented Lori.

  By early afternoon, after a morning of lying on the couch watching cartoons and another two painkillers, Lori felt ready to face the world. She told Becky to go and fetch her shoes, then went to get herself ready for a short trip over to the park. Although it was only a couple of blocks over to Central Park, Lori decided to take a cab to the east side and to take Becky to see the Alice In Wonderland statue then head over to the lake where they raced model boats. It was also handy for a trip into the toy store if the little girl suggested it. Half an hour later the taxi dropped them off near the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Becky skipped her way along the path into the park. It never ceased to amaze Lori how trusting and accepting of the world around her that the little girl was. She was happily singing one of the songs from Barney and Lori found herself tempted to join in. Part of her was sad that this would be her last outing with her little friend for a while. Spending time with her had been refreshing and, she had to admit to herself, exhausting.

  Around the same time in Studio B the last of the backing vocals had been recorded and Dr Marrs declared they were done. It was a huge relief to realise that they had finally finished all eleven tracks. All of them were exhausted but knowing that the hard work was finished for now, gave them a new lease of life. That morning Jake had brought his truck down to the studio, thankful that Jack had managed to secure a safe parking spot for the day. Once all their guitars and bits and pieces were safely stowed away in the back of the truck, Silver Lake returned to the studio one last time to say their goodbyes. Shaking Dr Marrs hand, Jake invited them to join the girls and the band for dinner later. All of them politely declined, declaring it had been a long week for them too.

  It was almost four o’clock when Silver Lake all piled into Jake’s truck to drive back to the apartment. The overly crowded streets and one way system kept Jake focussed on his driving as he headed uptown. Cursing under his breath, he longed to be back on the familiar roads around Rehoboth. When they finally arrived back at the apartment block’s underground garage, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

  “Will the gear be ok down here?” asked Grey.

  “Garage is manned 24 hours a day,” replied Paul as he climbed out. “I got talking to the doorman guy the other night. No one’s going to touch it. You have the golden protection of Mz Hyde over both trucks.”


  “Golden protection?” echoed Jake, unsure as to his friend’s meaning.

  “What are you getting at?” quizzed Grey with a frown.

  “You guys don’t know?” replied Paul, glancing round at his bandmates. “She owns the whole fucking building.”

  “What?” snapped Jake sharply?

  “Lori owns the building,” repeated Paul slowly and deliberately. “Ask the door guy if you don’t believe me.”

  “Makes no difference to me,” muttered Jake, heading towards the back of the truck.

  He opened up the back of the truck and lifted out two of his guitars, slammed the lid shut and headed towards the elevator. Behind him, he could hear the guys still talking, but he had meant what he said. Money or no money, it was Lori he was in love with and no amount of money was changing that. As they all piled into the small elevator, after a subtle nudge from Grey, Paul apologised for acting like a jerk. Once again band harmony was restored.

  As soon as they opened the door to the apartment, the band could hear the girls singing Barney songs in the kitchen.

  “Daddy!” shrieked Becky, as she saw Grey enter the room.

  “Hi, honey,” he said, hugging her tight.

  “Beer?” offered Lori, opening the fridge.

  Beers in hand, the four musicians spilled out onto the terrace to chill for a while before dinner. It was still hot out and, after a week of being shut away indoors, it felt good to feel the sun on their skin. Even the stuffy city air tasted heavenly to them. Slowly conversation turned to plans for their departure in the morning. It had been agreed that Paul would drive Jake’s truck back to Delaware and leave it at the beach house. Grey announced that they would be leaving early as his mother was expecting them for a family lunch. There were protests from Becky, who didn’t want to go home at all, but, between them, Grey and Lori convinced her that Grammy was waiting to see her fancy new American Girl doll. Paul and Rich debated whether to play tourist for a while and eventually decided to visit the Empire State Building in the morning and head off around lunchtime.

  “What’s your plan, Jake?” asked Rich, draining the last dregs of his beer from the bottle.

  “We’ll hang around here for a day or two,” answered Jake, sitting with his arm casually draped over Lori’s shoulders. “Probably be down Tuesday at some point or maybe Wednesday.”

  “You know you’re all more than welcome to stay on,” invited Lori, secretly hoping they all said no.

  “Think your man wants you to himself,” stated Grey, with a wink.

  Lori flushed bright red.

  “Enough,” chided Jake, also blushing.

  “Come on, Becky,” called Lori, getting up from her seat. “Time to get dressed for dinner. Let’s leave the boys to enjoy their beers.”

  “Hey,” said Jake. “Do we need to get all fancied up?”

  “A clean shirt and non- ripped jeans should do you,” replied Lori. “But we girls want to look our best.”

  Taking Becky by the hand, she disappeared indoors. Once downstairs in the bedroom, Lori helped the little girl dress in one of her new outfits. She chose a pretty pale blue sundress with daisies round the hem. To complete the outfit, Lori had bought her some sandals with daisies on the front, a small handbag in the shape of a daisy and two hair elastics with daisies on them. Once the little girl was ready, she sat on the bed and let Lori brush her hair and put it up into two ponytails.

  “Thank you, Lori,” she said, admiring in her reflection in the full length mirror.

  “My pleasure,” replied Lori warmly. “Now are you going to wait here until I get ready?”

  Becky nodded and climbed back up onto the bed. Positioning herself with her back to the little girl, Lori stepped out of her jeans and pulled off her vest T-shirt. Her own new dress was hanging on the back of the door. As she limped over to lift it from the hanger, she caught a glimpse of Becky in the mirror. The little girl was staring wide eyed at the scars on her leg.

  “It’s the scar where the doctor put the pins in to fix my leg,” explained Lori quietly.

  “There must be a lot of pins in there,” said Becky still staring. “Can I touch it?”

  The directness of the question caught Lori off guard and she could only nod silently. Slipping off the bed, Becky came over and ran her small warm hand over the full length of the surgical scar then gently fingered the other smaller rougher scars to the side.

  “The doctor that made these wasn’t very good,” said Becky seriously. “The big one’s all smooth and soft. These are all lumpy and bumpy.”

  Recovering some of her composure, Lori explained, “The smaller ones were caused by the accident not the surgery. No doctor made them.”

  “Oh!” said the little girl, not fully understanding. “Do they hurt?”

  Lori shook her head, “Not any more, honey.”

  Turning away so that the little girl wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes, Lori slipped the sea green maxi dress over her head and sighed as its silky material slid down her thighs, covering the scars once more.

  “Have I done something bad?” asked Becky quietly. There were unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

  “No, honey, you haven’t” reassured Lori, hugging her tight. “I haven’t shown those scars to too many people. I don’t like them. They remind me of a very sad time. You definitely haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Has Uncle Jake seen them?”

  “Yes,” said Lori. “Now can they be a secret between you, me and Uncle Jake for now?”

  Becky nodded.

  “Thank you,” sighed Lori, praying that the little girl would keep her promise, but also feeling guilty for asking her to keep secrets.

  Sitting down at the dressing table, Lori quickly brushed her own hair up into a loose ponytail, applied a little make-up, treating Becky to a touch of lip gloss in the process, then slipped her feet back into her white converse sneakers.

  “Are you not going to wear some pretty shoes?” asked the little girl. “There’s lots of shoes in your closet.”

  “Well,” began Lori, “Most of them have heels and I still can’t wear heels. It hurts my leg. Let’s take a look for some flat pumps though.”

  The little girl opened the wardrobe doors and rummaged through the pile of shoes lying in the bottom. She found a pair of flat silver ballet pumps and insisted that Lori wear them. Laughing at her determination Lori changed her footwear then asked Becky to find her a silver bag to match.

  “Happy, Little Miss Bossy?” she teased.

  “You look like a princess,” said a husky voice from the doorway.

  “And how long have you been standing there?” Lori asked, as Jake stepped into the room.

  “Long enough,” he replied, then turning to Becky added, “Your dad’s looking for you.”

  Without argument, the little girl skipped out of the room. Once she was safely out of the door, Jake pushed it closed then stepped over to where Lori was standing.

  “You look beautiful, birthday girl,” he whispered as he began to kiss her with a slow, gentle passion. “Happy birthday, Mz Hyde.”

  They stood kissing for a few moments. Through the thin material of her dress, Lori could feel Jake’s passion hardening and stepped back just a little.

  “Hey, slow down, rock star,” she whispered softly.

  “How am I meant to resist you, Lori?” he asked. “You’re beautiful. You’d stir the loins of a corpse with that sexy look of yours.”

  “Nonsense,” she giggled, suddenly feeling like an embarrassed teenager. “I just don’t know if I’m ready.”

  “And I’m not about to rush you, li’l lady,” he assured her hoarsely.

  “I’m sorry, Jake,” she apologised, a catch in her voice as tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Sshh,” he soothed, hugging her close. “Now how about letting me get showered and ready too?”

  Lori nodded and stepped out of his embrace. Lifting her cane and her bag, she left the room, closing the door beh
ind her.

  Half an hour later they were all hanging about the living room waiting for Jake. Eventually they heard his feet on the stairs and he wandered in wearing tight black jeans and a black shirt, open at the neck. His long hair, still damp from the shower, had been pulled back at the nape of his neck and tied with a length of leather cord. Rolling up his shirt sleeves, he asked if they were all ready to go.

  “It’s you we are all waiting on, Uncle Jake,” stated Becky bluntly. “Twenty bucks in the pot!”

  The others laughed. Grey reached over to pick up his daughter, drew her a dark look before declaring, “Out of the mouths of babes, Jake. What can I say?”

  Still giggling, Lori picked up the phone to call down to the concierge, “Evening, Charles. It’s Lori Hyde. Can you get me two cabs, please? We’re headed out to Amarone.”

  Putting the phone back on the cradle, she turned to the others, “Let’s go, guys. Time to celebrate.”

  By the time they reached the foyer there were two cars waiting for them. After a quick debate, Paul went in one with Grey and Becky while the others got into the second car. It didn’t take the drivers long to navigate through the early evening traffic towards Hell’s Kitchen. Jake helped Lori out of the car while Rich insisted on picking up the fare. Confidently she led them into the Italian restaurant, her favourite in the city.

  “Miss Hyde,” welcomed the maître d’, “Lovely to see you again. Table for six?”

  “Yes, thanks,” she replied. “It’s lovely to be back.”

  “I’ve reserved your usual corner table,” he said, leading the way through the restaurant.

  Once they were all seated, he took their drinks order, then left them to browse the menu. The four band members all looked at each other as they tried to decipher the Italian menu. Noticing a growing confusion among the members of Silver Lake, Lori quietly recommended a few dishes from the extensive menu that she hoped covered all tastes. She also reassured Grey that they would prepare a simpler dish for Becky if she would prefer that. When their waiter came back over a short while later they all placed their order with a mock confidence that made Lori giggle.