Lakeshore Lyrics: The McAdams Sisters (By The Lake Series Book 5)

by Leah, Shannyn

  Avery was glad he made it to Rusty before Jake caught up. He sensed his brother-in-law was ready to talk some sense into him. It wouldn’t work.

  Security edged the tent giving Avery a short time to hit this man with force before he was pulled off. First, he wanted to make sure Rusty knew exactly what this beating was for.

  Avery stepped in front of Rusty, nice and close, less than a foot away, so he had that bastard’s full attention. Rusty looked caught off guard. Good. “You like to hit women?” Avery snarled, for only him to hear. It wasn’t anyone else’s business. Avery’s intention was not to embarrass Cece or drag her name into this.

  Rusty’s face dropped. Guilty. Guilty smug shit. “Think about what you’re doing here,” he warned but that only added to Avery’s hatred of him.

  “Do you remember how many times you laid a finger on her?”

  “Why don’t we take this someplace else...”

  “So you can walk away again? I don’t think so.”

  Avery grabbed his shirt and before security could catch him he sliced his hand through the air and landed it on Rusty’s face.

  ***

  “NOOO!” CECE SCREAMED pushing through the crowds as Avery’s fist made contact with Rusty’s face and all hell broke loose.

  This was it. This was the fall of Avery’s career and Cece was so far away she couldn’t do anything to stop it...and it was all her fault.

  The crowds huddled together closer to watch the action unfolding in front of them. Cece’s eyes were locked on Avery and every single move he made while she shoved her way between people. She’d watched in horror as he crossed the room with anger in every step. The tense way his body moved when he spoke to Rusty. She’d prayed he would walk away. Then he grabbed the front of Rusty’s shirt in a flash and the crowd had gone wild in surprise and encouragement. The cell phones lit the tent like lighters at a concert. Security was breaking them up almost immediately and Jake was pulling Avery off Rusty, but they’d given a good show. Rusty wasn’t a push over either, after being pulled away, he yanked free and ran for Avery again. Security was soon interjected with police and Cece’s hope for Avery’s career was crushed with every action.

  Cece reached the front as Riley stepped between them and Rusty backed away to Jess, who was ecstatic at the sidelines with a security guard keeping her out of harm’s way.

  Cece stepped forward out of the crowd and met Rusty’s burning, accusing eyes that made her step falter. Not because Rusty knew she told someone or that she was even afraid of Rusty. It was because she knew that Avery’s career was over. Over. There was nothing that could be done to resurrect this in a positive manner for Avery.

  As she turned back to Avery, she watched him being led away with an officer holding each arm, his wrists handcuffed. Cece felt like everything she had worked for had been locked up just like his wrists. Everything that Avery had worked for was gone...and it was all her fault.

  Cece felt Abby touch her arm and was about to follow Avery when Riley stepped to her other side gripping her arm in a strong hold and whispered, “Let him go.”

  Let him go? Let him go!

  She was responsible for putting him in the cuffs. Why hadn’t she told him the truth? They could have talked about it and worked it out together before confronting Rusty or even possibly never confronting Rusty.

  The McAdams all burst through the edge of the people demanding to know what was going on. Cece couldn’t talk. She could hear the cell phone camera clicks all around her drilling into the truth...it was over.

  ***

  CECE SAT BESIDE Riley in the back of the car as they were driven toward the police station, flipping through the pages on her iPad. Avery and Rusty’s fight had gone viral in hardly an hour, broadcasted online from every angle, beginning to end. Still photos were plastered on every local and media outlet and it didn’t look good for Avery. They’d even dug out Cece’s past relationship with Rusty creating a love triangle to blame the fight on. It didn’t help that there were photos of her and Avery at the patio and around the city. It was the media frenzy she feared and Inch Away was getting the backlash.

  Cece sent the rest of the band with the McAdams to the airport where Marc’s plane was waiting for them. Inch Away had to get out of the spotlight and Cece gave them strict instructions to talk to no one until she said otherwise. The last thing the band needed was to be quoted saying anything that could possibly destroy their image anymore...if that was even possible.

  Cece felt Riley’s hand squeeze hers. “It will be alright Cece. We will figure this out.”

  We will figure this out? Now he wanted to help Avery? If he hadn’t pushed her, none of this would have happened. “What’s all this we talk? One minute you’re against Avery and the next you’re with him?” she snapped, angry at him, angry at herself, angry at Avery. It was a wild fireball of anger flaring out every direction and she was having a hard time putting it out.

  “I was never against Avery. I was concerned solely about you.”

  Cece didn’t blame Riley, she blamed herself. It was all because of her that Avery was in this predicament.

  “A man who jeopardizes his career for a woman he only met, must be in love. I won’t stand in your way anymore and I am sorry about the way I acted today. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to protect you and I guess I just let it consume me. After all the guilt I felt for leaving you, I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

  Nothing was alright. Everything was destroyed.

  “So together Cece, we will figure this out.” As beautiful as his admission was and as much as she was glad he was beside her to pick Avery up, she didn’t believe they could figure this out.

  “We won’t figure it out. They’re labeling him the jealous, violent lover.” Her voice came out in a hopeless shrill as she tilted the screen for him to see, while flipping through the pages to show him all the horrifying examples.

  “They don’t know the whole truth.”

  “I’m not telling them the whole truth.”

  Was that the only way to set Avery free from the accusations?

  “Cece.” Riley flipped her screen shut. “This is making it worse. We can help him. We can fix it. Stop watching everyone else’s opinion and judgement, and focus on our next step. I already called Justice so she’s working on statements.” Justice was their media control. They needed her now. “Take yourself out of the equation and focus on the manager in you. We can fix this and I know you can think of a way to do so that doesn’t involve dragging up your past. As much as I would like to see Rusty’s career dragged through the mud, I don’t want to see you suffer. There’s a solution and you will think of it. I have complete confidence in you.”

  Riley didn’t let go of her hand when his phone rang and he picked it up. “Just keep everyone there and not a word to anyone, not the media, not the pilots. I don’t care if you think they’re your best friend. Nobody. I will text you after we get Avery...”

  It would be Abby on the other end waiting for Avery to whisk him back to Willow Valley until Cece figured this out.

  Figure it out? What was she supposed to do?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  THEY PICKED AVERY up at the police station and drove to the airport in silence. Once they were there, Riley boarded the plane with Avery’s family, offering Cece and Avery a moment of privacy to talk.

  Standing tall on the cement platform, in her black heels, Cece squared her shoulders giving the appearance of absolute confidence...she was anything but and prayed her trembling body wasn’t giving her away.

  Over the last few years, Cece had mastered this exact look for situations far worse than the current. She’d lost her baby, brother, friend, niece and boyfriend all in a matter of months, so she’d been left with no alternative but to achieve confidence to earn respect from the employees at Torsten Label.

  Why did that situation not even compare to the way she felt right now?

  All those years ago when
she was forced to stand up to the world alone, she had thought those were the loneliest days of her life. But now, after experiencing what life felt like with a man by her side that offered her unlimited love, protection, a home, a family, and a life she’d stopped dreaming was in her future, a future without him was by far worse than the last years alone.

  Even so, she didn’t want her fear to show, when she knew what had to be done. Right now, she couldn’t be positive her eyes didn’t share her worry with Avery over the direction of his career. His career was her main priority as his manager, but as his...girlfriend...she was terrified of what his family must think of her. She’d thrown gasoline on the fire that exploded, possibly destroying his career before it even started. What were they thinking about her? They hardly knew her. They certainly wouldn’t understand that in the short time they’d been together, Cece had fallen madly, deeply in love with Avery. A love so strong, she was willing to do the only thing she thought would save his career. For him. His family would only see her being responsible for Avery being arrested and the source of negative media.

  She could fix this. She had a plan.

  But, after what she’d already put Abby and Riley through, the McAdams would be never forgive her. How could they? Why would they?

  Avery was yet to know her plan involved her not boarding the plane with him. She was his manager. Managers didn’t run away and hide with the bands...even if they were dating the main vocalist. No, managers resolved the crisis and right now huge damage control was needed. Or damage repair. The control part was beyond fixing.

  Why the AHJ? Why with thousands of watching fans loaded with cell phone ammunition did he have to go after Rusty? Why?

  “Avery, I can’t believe you pulled this stunt. At the AHJ to top it off. You have totally messed up your career. A career you, your band, and I have been working around the clock for months to create an image of a charming, sweet, down-to-earth group of friends. You just threw it all away. Over something that happened years ago,” Cece snapped every last word out, not meaning to sound angry, agitated, annoyed, everything she felt, but nothing close to her other feelings: fear, sad, like their love was going to come crashing down and she was going to be stuck in the rubble for the rest of her life.

  Avery’s eyes appeared jet-black in this light as he narrowed them in on her. His usual smiling, charming face was firm, his jaw clamped down and as his stone cold voice left his thin lips, Cece swallowed hard. “I did it for you.”

  Avery’s immense love for her caused her heart to swell with even more love for this man. Of course he did it for her. She understood why he did it, but she didn’t need him running around drilling his fist into everyone who hurt her.

  “You did it for yourself,” she countered. “Do you feel better now?” She didn’t. No matter how many punches he threw at Rusty it would never take away the pain her past brought to her.

  “No,” he said dryly.

  “Exactly. Now I have to go fix this.”

  His stare didn’t waver as he spoke, “I don’t feel better because he didn’t get what he deserved for laying a finger on you.” Each word came out lathed with such hatred, that if every bone in her body didn’t fully trust Avery, she might have been scared. The only thing she was scared of right this second was what his anger was creating inside him...and in the long run what it would do to her.

  “What are you going to do? Let this ruin you? I have been down this road Avery and it is a long and lonely one.”

  Until Riley walked back into her life with Avery at his side, there hadn’t been a fork in the road, only a path of loneliness. Now that her life was back on the right track, there was no way she was letting Rusty’s past actions lead her astray.

  “I won’t go down it again. Not with you. Not with anyone. I’m moving on from this. Yes, it is a part of my past and the consequences that I have to live with every day reminding me of what I can’t have. Well...they suck, but they aren’t what define me. They’re steps in my life and I want to move on from this. I want to build a new life that’s happy. Happy like my mom and dad were.” Cece paused, letting her parents love take the edge off her tone and scrape away the layers of fake confidence. This was Avery and she didn’t want to wear a face with him. “That happiness is with you, Avery. I am convinced you are the man I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with. You are my soul mate, my friend, even my protector. But not if my past is going to consume you. I can’t take part in that.” The words hurt as she spoke them, but hoped Avery would understand. There was a plane full of his family watching out the windows and she wasn’t getting through to him.

  “I have to go fix your career...”

  “I don’t give a–”

  “Shit about your career,” she finished, her anger growing. Why wasn’t he aware that a fist fight couldn’t possibly be worth his career or their relationship. “I know. You’ve said. But I do.”

  Her fury wanted to turn her around and walk away, but her love for him told her she couldn’t leave. If there was a chance he could find it in himself to let what Rusty had done go, they could be together.

  “Avery, as the woman who lost so much that night, thank you for loving me so much that you’re willing to throw away your career. It touches and heals a part of me that nothing else has and I’m grateful.” Cece took the few steps to him and rested her hand against his chest meeting his wild heartbeat. “I can’t live in the past anymore and be afraid of what is lurking around the corner. You helped me to see that’s not the person I want to be. Please find it in yourself to let this go. I am not asking you to forget. I am asking you to take my hand as I move forward.”

  Avery didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch as she poured her heart out to him. He didn’t scoop her up in his embrace like she’d hoped he would with the promise when she returned they could move forward.

  Her heart broke right there, shattering to the cement at their feet.

  Cece reached up and kissed his unmoving lips. If there was even a shred of her heart left, the rejection of his lips stole it away. Before moving away from the wonderful scent of him...how he smelled so delicious after sweating on stage, then being detained at the police station, didn’t pass through her mind, because the warmth of his body was too distracting. She whispered against his lips, “I love you Avery McAdams.”

  And walked away.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  CECE WEAVED HER nervous body around the buses at the AHJ...heading directly toward Rusty’s tour bus.

  There was no avoiding it this time.

  After the night before she’d been content knowing she wouldn’t likely see Rusty until the next event. Yet, here she was unable to avoid asking...not asking, telling...Rusty to fix Avery’s reputation.

  Her shaking fingers unfolded at her side one-by-one as she counted each demand in her head. She would demand a prepared statement that would relieve Avery of the backlash plastered on every social media outlet. He would end by saying something nice about Avery, making the public believe they were friends. Finally, he would offer a giveaway for everyone who purchased Inch Away’s album online. That would give Avery his good-boy reputation back, a friendship with Rusty that fans would love and a huge increase in album sales, as well as tour tickets.

  Cece’s fingers curled back into fists and another deep breath pushed her forward giving her strength to acknowledge the back lash she would present if Rusty wasn’t in agreement to her terms.

  If Rusty chose not to abide to all her conditions, she was coming clean. Coming clean. More like telling the world and facing the embarrassment of what happened. She shouldn’t be embarrassed, that’s what she read online whenever the thoughts in her head had overtaken every other aspect of her life...but still, the word was strong and described how she felt.

  Cece would do what needed to be done, even if that included handing the evidence over to the police with her own statement that would destroy Rusty’s career, his life.

  Cece didn’t want to. E
ven the thought of needing to threaten him and make that night public was curdling her stomach. Her speeding pulse was begging her to turn back. It was Avery that gave her the courage to continue every step across the dirt path. This was all for Avery. She had to fix what she’d caused.

  Rusty’s security was doubled in front of his bus which meant he was in there.

  Alright. Here we go. You can do this. For Avery. For the man you love.

  Even if their relationship might never go anywhere, Cece would always love Avery. She’d never given a man her heart, like she had with Avery, and now that it was in Avery’s hands it would never touch another man.

  Cece took a deep breath and stopped in front of Rusty’s door and was greeted by the seven-foot, muscle wall, times two, guarding it.

  They knew who she was, but that didn’t sway them. They also knew Avery was her responsibility.

  “Can you tell Rusty I’m here please,” she asked, surprised to find her voice didn’t shake.

  It wasn’t these men she feared. They were here to protect. It was the man they were protecting that made her legs tremble under her black dress pants. She’s changed from AHJ grub-wear back into her professional attire. This time she substituted the dress for a pantsuit to hide her trembling legs.

  When they nodded her inside, she was greeted by Jess.

  “You have a lot of nerve showing up here after your musician decided to trample my husband in a jealous rage...” Her usual bright eyes narrowed at Cece and her voice went down to a deep threat that sounded like it didn’t belong to the happy woman. “...over you.”

  It was immediately obvious that Rusty, who was sitting on the leather sofa behind his wife with one leg draped over the other, hadn’t filled her in.

  Cece almost turned around and walked right out the door. If Rusty hadn’t even told his wife the truth behind that fight...and Cece knew he was well aware why Avery attacked him...why would he ever agree to her terms?