by Tonya Brooks
Chapter Twenty-One
Saturday, June 15
John had been spoiling her rotten and Cyn loved it. The first thing he'd done was buy her another pair of Sexy Slings to replace the ones she'd ruined. Then he'd completely pissed her off by refusing to allow her to go back to work until she was fully recuperated.
Apparently, her mini melt down at the police station had convinced him that she wasn't as okay as she claimed. The man was stubborn and wouldn't budge an inch on the decision and when she'd argued, he'd simply fired her. End of discussion. If she didn't love him so much, she'd smack his head.
As much as she hated to admit it, John was right. If she had gone back to work she would have just shut it all away inside and ignored it like so many other things in her past. Since she'd had nothing to do but lounge by the pool for the last couple of days, she'd done some deep soul searching. It hadn't been easy.
Cyn had finally managed to put her life into the proper perspective. Funny how a brush with death could make you see things differently. She now knew with absolute certainty that she was not cut out to be a counselor. After the whole Chip fiasco, she doubted her ability to correctly analyze anyone's behavior.
Especially her own.
Now that she'd had time to think about it, the signs had all been so clear. Cyn had always known that something about him was a little off, but she hadn't bothered to delve deeply enough to discover what. That mistake could have cost her life. There was no way that she could risk the lives of patients who trusted her to make the right call.
She'd had a long conversation with Dizzy and the other woman had assured her that she understood. She'd also had another applicant for the job who had a great deal of experience and a wonderful success rate with abused children. It was a huge relief to know that the shelter would not suffer because of her.
So it was the revelation of her own shortcomings that prompted Cyn to analyze her behavior. It was not a surprise to discover she didn't like what she found. She had always known that her father's death had been accidental and that he never would have willingly left her and her mother if he'd had a choice.
The fact that he hadn't had a choice was suddenly so clear and it made all the difference in the world. All of the hurt and anger she had felt toward him for fourteen years melted away and she was finally able to let go of the pain. She'd even called her mom and they'd both had a good cry at the revelation.
She'd also delved into her feelings for Jonah and that had not been pretty. Terrified that he might be killed, Cyn had pleaded with him not to enter the military. But being a marine was all that he had ever wanted to do and nothing she said or did changed his mind. Jonah had told her not to worry, that only the good died young so nothing would happen to him.
After his death, she had been furious with him for leaving her. Now she realized how foolish that had been. Jonah had been cocky and brash, but he had given his life to save an injured child. It was just the kind of thing that she had known he would do. He'd died a hero and for the first time in seven long years, she allowed herself to feel proud of the sacrifice that he had made.
Then she had moved on to the disaster that had been her relationship with Mickey. Cyn had known that her roommate was terrified her family would discover her secret. She'd even understood why. Mickey's father was a famous television evangelist who was very vocal about condemning the homosexual lifestyle. If it were known that his daughter was a lesbian he would lose all credibility in the Christian community.
Mickey had not been willing to disappoint him or face his wrath. So she had gone back home like a dutiful daughter and had married the man she had dated all through high school. The last Cyn had heard through mutual friends, they were expecting their first child soon and her former lover appeared to be happy with her life. Funny how that no longer hurt her. She was actually glad that Mickey had moved on and found happiness.
Cyn had thought that she had moved on, but she'd just been deluding herself. John had been right about that, too. She'd been hiding from her own feelings, too afraid to let go of the past to embrace the future. She had been emotionally crippled and had tried her best to push away the one man who had been able to breach those walls.
John was everything she could ever want, everything she would ever need. Losing him would be the biggest mistake of her life. Loving him would be her greatest accomplishment. And she planned to love him for the rest of their days. Now that she had found the bad boy of her dreams, there was no way in hell she was letting him go.
But first, she needed to make sure that his dreams came true as well. Alex had been more than willing to help her with that. So had the rest of the band when he filled them in on the plan. The Bakers had all been on board with the idea as well and they'd all promised to show up tonight to lend their support.
So here she was at the club like it was any other Saturday night and there was nothing special happening. Yeah, right. The whole family had made an appearance, even Jed and Claire. If that didn't make John suspect that something was up, she didn't know what would. Cyn was as nervous as a priest in a brothel.
~~~~~
John hadn't been a bit surprised when his father and Claire came in. The old man's visits were a rare occurrence, but after their conversation this afternoon, Jed had promised to be there and to make damn sure that the rest of the family was as well. The bad boy was a nervous wreck and needed all the support he could get.
Mark and Desi had taken a night off from Speakeasy as they did on occasion. Luke and Easy, Matt and Harley, Brett and Dizzy and an assortment of their friends had also shown up. The VIP section was almost overflowing with people, but John only had eyes for Cyn. She was radiant tonight and the brilliant smile never left her face.
He hoped like hell that meant she was getting over the hell that mofo had put her through. John knew he'd never forget it, or how close he had come to losing her. She was his light in the darkness. The music that filled his soul. The sooner she realized it, the better. He was going to show her in everything he did, and that included his music.
He started the first set with Fall Into Me and ended it with Hanging By A Moment. Every song in between had been a vow straight from his heart to be there for her no matter what. Cyn had stared at him transfixed, that beautiful smile never leaving her face. Once he had thought he saw a tear slide down her cheek and it gave him hope that he was getting through to her.
When the band took a break, John put on the headset mic, placed a stool in the center of the stage and then walked over to sit at the keyboard. Alex went to the DJ booth and dimmed all of the stage lights except for one over the stool and one aimed at John. Much to Cyn's surprise, Jed took her hand and led her onstage to the stool. The family patriarch placed a kiss on her cheek, gave her a wink and walked away.
“My whole life has revolved around music,” John said as his fingers ran expertly over the keys with a lovers touch, a musician’s touch. “It was my first love, my only love, till I met a woman who rocked my world.”
The club was as silent as a tomb, the only sound to be heard was the gentle sound of the piano and his smoky voice as he confessed, “I’ve sung love songs for years and never really understood the meaning of the words. Until now.”
“I know hundreds of them, but there’s only one that speaks to me right now. I’m gonna change the lyrics a bit so I can say what I need to,” he said as his eyes once again sought the face of the woman he loved.
“What would I do without your smart mouth, drawing me in and you kicking me out." John sang directly to Cyn with all the love he felt in his heart. He loved everything about her, from her smart mouth to her prissy ass city girl shoes. She was his everything. "You’re my downfall, you’re my muse."
Cyn could actually feel the love in every note he played, every word he sang. So much love for her that it hurt to listen to his beautiful voice. She began to tremble from head to toe and knew that she had made the right decision by putting her heart on the line for this m
an. Because he was worth the risk.
"You’re my end and my beginning, even when I lose I’m winning, Cause I give you all, of me. Please give me all, of you."
“Never thought I’d find anything more important than music, but I did, and you are. Without you, there is no music in my life. I love you, Cyn.” John said as he walked to her and dropped down on one knee. A collective gasp went through the room as he held up the engagement ring he'd bought that morning and asked hopefully, "Marry me?"
Cyn's heart was going to beat out of her chest and tears of happiness flowed unnoticed down her cheeks. "Yes," she said tremulously and held out her hand as cheers and applause sounded all around them.
John slid the ring on her finger and stood to crush her against himself, his mouth claiming hers with a hunger that had no end. “I will always love you, Cyn,” he vowed and didn’t know or care that Alex had killed the mic so his every word wouldn't be broadcast through the sound system. “I’ll never leave you. Never break that trust. Never do anything to cause you pain.”
This wonderful sensitive man had walked away from his dream, for her. Had exposed his heart in a room filled with people, for her. She could do no less for him. Without a word, Cyn had him sit on the stool and she picked up a microphone. She had chosen this song because it said everything that she needed to say to him.
John had opened up and shown her his darkest hour. She had seen the pain that he kept hidden from the world, the tears in his beautiful eyes. They were so much alike. There was nothing that he could confess that would make her love him less. Cyn was going to stand by him and protect his tender heart for the rest of their days.
Neither one of them had even noticed when Alex motioned for the rest of the band to file quietly back onto the stage. Even though they had only practiced the song with her a couple of times, the talented musicians accompanied Cyn's performance with practiced ease.
John knew that Cyn was up to something, but he never would have expected this. She began to sing and it shocked the hell out of him. He'd always known that singing to a woman had a powerful effect on her. Hell, he'd even encouraged Desi to sing to Mark once, but he'd never actually experienced it himself. That shit was awesome!
"When you're standing at the crossroads, and don't know which path to choose, let me come along, 'cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you."
John was so choked up he could barely speak when the song ended and a roar of applause filled the air. As soon as she put the mic down, John snagged her hips and pulled Cyn between his knees to ask hopefully, "Does that mean you believe I won't leave you?"
"Nope, I already knew that," Cyn admitted as she stared into his beautiful blue eyes and framed his too handsome face with her hands. "It means I won't ever leave you."
He crushed her against his chest and buried his face in her neck as he struggled to compose himself. The crowd was still cheering, his band and family standing on their feet yelling the loudest, but he barely heard them. John's heart overflowed with love and his eyes filled with tears. He'd never been as happy as he was in that moment.
"Holy shit, you can sing," he suddenly realized and looked up at her in awe. The song had been pitch perfect and her voice was absolutely beautiful.
Cyn grinned and admitted, "I minored in music."
His smile was wicked when John said, "Guess you're gonna be singing me to sleep from now on, darlin'."
"Only when we're on the road," she decided. "Your voice will need a rest during the tour."
"Say what?"
“I don’t want you to give up your dream for me, John,” Cyn said seriously. “Please sign the contract and take me on the road with you.”
“I can’t ask you to give up your career, Cyn,” he denied and shook his head. “You’ve worked too hard to get where you are, it wouldn’t be fair.”
“I studied psychology because I was looking for an answer to my problems,” she confessed. “And I found it. In you. You made me want to open up and trust again. You healed my broken heart and made it whole. I love all of you, John. With all of me.”
"Goddamn, Cyn," he said brokenly. "I love you so much."
"So, are you gonna sign with Rebel?" She asked hopefully as she stared into those mesmerizing tear filled eyes.
"As long as I get to wake up with you in my arms every morning, hell yeah," he readily agreed and was ecstatic that all of his dreams were coming true.
"Think I'm gonna like being married to a rock star," Cyn teased as she admired her sparkling engagement ring. "Especially since you have amazing taste in jewelry."
"Darlin', I'll cover you in diamonds if it makes you happy," he vowed.
"Diamonds are nice, but I prefer pearls," she said with a wicked smile.
John's laughter could be heard throughout the club before he scooped her into his arms and kissed her senseless. His woman really did say the damndest things.
Epilogue
One Year Later
It had been the most incredible year of his life, and at times John still had trouble believing that it was real. Mike Duvall had tended bar for Mark for years before John had bought the club, and he had jumped at the chance to manage the place. He was doing an incredible job and Ecstasy was thriving.
Now that the Bad Boys were famous, tourists were traveling from the beach to visit the club in the hopes of catching the band in their home venue. Mike had also brought in a variety of local bands to perform and they were thrilled with the chance to showcase their talents and jam with the Bad Boys when they were in town.
The band had signed with Rebel Records and then began the difficult task of selecting which songs to record. There were millions of them to choose from and a ton of them had potential. The problem was that none of them felt quite right to John.
He wanted their album to be an expression of who they were as a band and not just a bunch of songs. When he had explained the problem to Cyn, she had suggested that he compose his own music. That created another problem with the lyrics. Much to his surprise, she was a talented songwriter with a gift for understanding exactly what he wanted to say.
Between them, they had written and composed every song on the album. John would hand her a page of notes and random thoughts, and Cyn would turn it into a page filled with the perfect lyrics. They understood each other so well that it was almost scary. The song that he had written about her had made her cry. She claimed it was perfect and had refused to change a thing.
Johnny Ringo had been ecstatic with the results and had played the demo for two of his biggest stars to get their opinions as well. Thorne McCallister and Shard Dalton had been so impressed that they both wanted the Bad Boys to be the opening act for their upcoming tours. A friendly argument had ensued between the superstars and they settled the debate with a coin toss.
Which is how the small town band with big dreams wound up as the opening act for Thorne In My Side. Getting the crowd warmed up for the hottest band in the industry would have been a piece of cake for even the most mediocre band, but the Bad Boys rocked the house and left them screaming for more at every performance.
Thorne said that the crowd liked the opening act better than the headliner, and he hadn't been completely joking. Their popularity was skyrocketing and record sales were setting unprecedented levels. Johnny was over the moon and Danni was so excited for them that she was practically giddy. The band was in shock at their success and Cyn had her hands full keeping their egos in check.
They weren't called the Bad Boys for nothing.
She had never been happier in her entire life and knew that encouraging John to sign the contract had been the second best decision that she had ever made. The best decision had been to trust him with her heart. True to his word, John never let her doubt for a minute that she was the most important thing in his life. He'd even written the title track of their album For Love Of Sin as a love song to her.
So there he stood in the spotlight, her very own rock star, with sweat pouring off his gorgeous bo
dy while thousands of fans screamed for more. John was in his element and it was obvious that he held the crowd in thrall with his unparalleled talent. He ended the song with his usual flourish and flashed that melt you with a look smile that had women tossing their thongs onto the stage.
Cyn couldn't hold back a laugh as she watched the stage fill up with multi-colored scraps of satin and lace. That shit never failed to amuse her since she trusted him implicitly. John looked over at her behind the microphone where she sang backup when she wasn't doing a duet with him, and gave her a wicked wink. He was so bad and it was absolutely adorable. God, how she loved that man.
John grabbed a bottle of water and gave her the signal to introduce the band so they could each showcase their own instrument while he took a breather. "On keyboard is Ricky Newman. Playing bass guitar is Jason Malone. Steve Russell on rhythm guitar. Alex Newman on drums. Johnny B. Bad on lead." The crowd went absolutely wild. "They are the Bad Boys!"
"We just make the music, folks. This prissy ass city girl writes the songs," John said in a voice filled with wicked promise as he walked across the stage and swung his guitar in front of Cyn, caging her between the instrument and his body. He placed a kiss on her neck that sent a shiver down to her toes. "She also holds my heart in the palm of her hand."
Then he turned that bad boy smile on the cheering crowd to say, "Give it up for Cyn, my smokin' hot wife!"
~~~~
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