“You play drums, too?” Mason’s voice brought Jimmy back to reality.
A small chuckle left Jimmy’s lips. This kid was in for the shock of his life. “Yes. I play. Wanna hear?”
Mason nodded his head enthusiastically.
“Okay, but stand back a little.” He brought his son over to the sofa on the adjacent wall. “It’s gonna be loud. I don’t want to hurt your ears.”
Mason eagerly waited on the edge of the couch cushion, cradling his water bottle in one hand and cupping his kneecap in the other.
Jimmy adjusted the stool and glanced at his son before he started. “Get ready, Mason.” He chose Toxic because it showcased some of the more complicated drum beats. The song started with a few slow beats of the kick drum, then picked up and exploded. The heavy, fast-paced rhythm of Toxic reverberated through the room. Jimmy was so engrossed in the song that, for a few moments, he forgot his son was there. He brought his sticks together and rested his hands on his knees.
Mason was standing a few feet in front of the Pearl kit. The water bottle had fallen from his hand and rolled across the floor, leaving a wet trail. His mouth was open in awe at the phenomenon he had just witnessed. His eyes slowly met Jimmy’s. “How’d you do that?”
Jimmy beamed with pride at the admiration reflected in his son’s eyes. “It just comes naturally. You have the same talent. One day, you’re gonna play better than me.”
Mason’s eyes widened with surprise. “You gonna teach me?”
Jimmy gazed at the amazing child in front of him. “Yeah. But I have a feeling you’re gonna end up teaching me a lot more.”
Mason’s eyes fell to the center bass drum, and he pointed his tiny index finger. “Angel wings.”
His son was referring to Immortal Angel’s logo. “That’s the name of my band. Immortal Angel.”
Mason wrinkled his brow and tilted his head. “What’s a band?”
This kid was going to be blown away by the things Jimmy planned on showing him. “We all play music together. Do you want to hear us play next time you come visit?”
Mason nodded his head. “Yeah!”
“There are some other people I want you to meet too. My lady friend and my mom and dad. My dad plays the drums too.”
Wide-eyed excitement passed over Mason’s face again. “Like you?”
“A little different, but yeah, like me.” Jimmy checked the time. They had been playing the drums for over an hour and Mason’s aunt would be coming to pick him up soon. He wanted to make sure he fed the kid before he left. He didn’t want to seem irresponsible, especially since Aunt Mary was so concerned about his ability to take care of a child. “Let’s go into the kitchen. I’ll make you a sandwich.”
Mason frowned. “I want to play drums.”
“You can play drums later.”
Mason shook his head with defiance, exhibiting a little stubborn streak. It made Jimmy laugh. “Come on.” He took his son’s hand and led him out of the room. “The next time you come here, you’ll have your own set. It’ll be a smaller version of the one you just played. Then we can play together, at the same time.”
“But I like the big blue drums.”
“I know, buddy, but your feet don’t reach the floor. I’ll make sure your set looks exactly like the big blue drums. Okay?”
Mason perked up at the idea. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
While they walked from the back of the apartment toward the kitchen, Mason eyed the large rooms with wide-eyed wonder. “You have a big house.”
“Yep. I just bought it. Do you like it?”
Mason nodded. “You live by yourself?”
“Yes. Maybe you can stay with me sometime for a weekend. Would you like that?”
“Like a sleepover?”
This kid made him smile so much. “Yeah, like a sleepover.”
“I like sleepovers at Aunt Mary’s house.”
Jimmy began to speculate about Aunt Mary’s involvement in Mason’s life, and how much, or how little time Kendall spent with the kid. He opened the refrigerator to retrieve the cold cuts he had bought last night and stopped when he saw several food containers lining the shelves. He pulled one from the fridge and wondered where it came from. It was filled with grilled chicken. Another was filled with pasta salad. A third contained mixed vegetables. What the hell was this? He pulled out the last container which contained two chocolate brownies, and spotted a small white notecard. It was from Audra.
I asked Charles to prepare something so you and your son could share a nice meal. I hope he likes it. Love, Audra
Her kindness was overwhelming. After all the turmoil she’d been experiencing about him having a kid with Kendall, she still cared enough to make sure they had something nice to eat. She had such a sensitive and caring heart. He knew she would add so much love to Mason’s life. She’d already turned Jimmy’s life into pure heaven. He had no idea what he’d do without her.
He heated two plates of food in the microwave. Mason talked more than he ate, and Jimmy listened with immense interest and love for the child. After one afternoon together, only a few hours actually, he couldn’t imagine being away from the boy. He reflected on all the things he missed out on during the first few years of his son’s life with regret. They were lost moments he would never get to experience.
The buzzer announced Aunt Mary’s arrival and Jimmy’s heart sank. He didn’t want Mason to go yet. The short time they had spent together was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life, and he didn’t want the day to end. “I think your aunt’s here, little man.”
“Aunt Mary?” Mason jumped from the chair and ran to the door.
“Wait for me!” Jimmy ran after his son and found him trying to twist the handle on the locked door. “We don’t just open the door. We have to look through the peep hole and see who’s there first.”
“Is it Aunt Mary?”
Jimmy spied the grey-haired woman waving at him and smiling. She’d obviously overheard their conversation. “Yes it is.”
Mason hugged his aunt’s legs as soon as Jimmy opened the door. “Aunt Mary! I played the big drums again! Jimmy played too!”
She laughed at his enthusiasm. “I take it you had fun today?”
“Uh huh. Jimmy said I can come back for a sleepover!”
Aunt Mary eyed Jimmy with a small, approving smile. “I think that’s a nice idea. Now, say thank you and give Jimmy a hug.”
“I wanna stay longer! Pleeeeeeease?”
Aunt Mary pursed her lips together and shook her head. “I think you’ve stayed long enough.”
Jimmy gave her a winning smile. “Please, Aunt Mary?”
She sighed with defeat. “You’re just as bad as he is. Okay. But just for a few minutes.”
Mason grabbed Jimmy’s hand and pulled on his arm. “More drums!”
“Okay. Let’s show your aunt what you can do.” On the walk back to the drum studio, Mason’s aunt eyed the apartment, much like Mason had. Her eyes traveled up to the crown molding and down to the rich, hardwood flooring, and she strained her neck to stare at the view until it was out of her line of sight.
Jimmy stood with Mason’s aunt while they watched his son pound on the drums. “He’s a remarkable kid. I never played that good at his age.”
“He’s a gifted child.” Aunt Mary beamed at Mason. “He’s very smart and articulate for his age. He likes you. I hope you’re serious about this parenting business, because he needs a steady influence in his life.”
“I am.” Her remark had him wondering about Kendall’s ability as a mother. The kid seemed well adjusted and happy, and Jimmy had a strong inkling that Aunt Mary played a major role in Mason’s upbringing. “Why isn’t Kendall here? Is she too busy to drop off and pick up her own kid?”
The corner of Aunt Mary’s mouth drew back into a disturbed grimace. “I love my sister, but she wasn’t a very good mother to my niece. Kendall means well, but she has a hard time distinguishing right from
wrong and realizing what’s important. To be blunt, Jimmy, she’s selfish. I take care of Mason more than she does. My sister wouldn’t let me intervene when she raised Kendall, but I wasn’t going to sit back and watch Kendall make the same mistakes with Mason. I stepped in and offered to help right away, and Kendall was more than happy to take advantage of it. You seem sincere, but I question your lifestyle. You’re a famous rock and roll star. I assume you travel. Children need stability. How do you propose to integrate fatherhood into your career?”
She had so many reasonable concerns that it left Jimmy with a whirlwind of doubt. “I’m going to be honest. I have no idea, but I have to make it work somehow. Mason is my kid, and I intend to be a father to him.”
Jimmy stuffed his phone in his pocket and leaned back on the couch. There was a new array of apprehension swirling in his head. He just told his parents about Mason and received mixed reactions. His mom was elated at having a grandchild, but his dad gave him a hard lecture on responsibility and consequences. Jimmy knew his father would bring up important issues about being a role model for a child. Although Jimmy inherited his mom’s positive outlook, his father had him worried. His thoughts went to Audra, and it painted him with a fresh layer of anxiety.
He needed to see her and went up to her apartment. He tapped out his signature knock on Audra’s door, and she answered with a sad smile. It killed him that she still wore that ambiguous question mark about their future across her face every time he saw her. He held up one of her empty plastic containers. “Thank you for lunch. It was really sweet of you to sneak food into my fridge.” He winked at her. “Next time feel free to leave a little present in my bed.”
She opened the door wider and stepped aside without commenting.
He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned and gave him her cheek. It had been a week, and she still wouldn’t allow him to get close to her. Technically, they hadn’t broken up, yet they weren’t exactly together either. They were somewhere in limbo, waiting for all the crazy pieces of Jimmy’s life to fall into place.
“How’d it go?” she asked as she closed the door.
“It actually went pretty damn well. That kid is awesome, and he’s got unbelievable talent on the drums.”
Audra stared at him with a blank expression, yet there was so much going on behind her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She let out a long sigh that seemed to deflate her. “I have to tell my father before this hits the media. I can’t let him find out the same way he found out about us. It would be too traumatic for him.”
He never thought about her father’s reaction to the news about a secret child turning up out of the blue. Jimmy knew the paparazzi would attack this like a school of frenzied sharks, but he didn’t stop to think about Mr. Abelman’s unrelenting pursuit to banish him from Audra’s life.
Jimmy’s high spirits quickly wilted. He took Audra’s hand, and they sat on the couch together. They sank into the cushions without saying anything and leaned their shoulders into one another. He kept his fingers entwined in hers while they silently shared the same unanswered questions about their future. Jimmy knew that she was dangerously close to ending their relationship and her father’s persuasion could easily tip the scale.
Chapter Twenty
Audra sat at her father’s dining room table in his Upper West Side penthouse. The grand scale of everything in the triplex reminded her of her father’s wealth and power. When she was a child she had been intimidated by the oversized furnishings, but she had grown to love them as she learned the history behind the antique pieces that had been in her family for generations.
She felt like that little girl again, dwarfed behind the banquet table that seated fourteen. The tip of her finger found the intricately carved inlay that ran along the perimeter of the mahogany table. She ran her finger through the groove, just like she had done so many times when she was a child.
She waited for her father to burst into an angry rant of “I told you so” and “I knew it”, but he silently stewed in his chair. She glanced at Kira, who sat next to her, and then at her stepmother across the table. They both gave her a slight reassuring nod of support, but it was her father’s approval she craved. She was the elder sibling, not by much, but she was her father’s daughter. Kira was more passive. Audra had the same dominant, headstrong attitude of her father, and she needed his acceptance. She had always been his princess, but now she was exiled, and she needed to reclaim her worth in his eyes.
Although her father was adamantly opposed to the relationship, she hoped that the inclusion of a child would make him realize that Jimmy was serious about his new tamer lifestyle. Unable to wait for the inevitable outburst, she broke the silence. “It’s not that bad, Daddy. There’s no scandal involved. Jimmy just wants to be a father to his son. I wanted you to hear it from me first. I’m still not sure how to handle the news myself, but I think I’d like to try to be part of their life, and I would really love it if you could support me, if that’s what I decide to do.”
“Forget him! I told you that months ago. Now he has a child with a known bar whore. I will not have someone like that bring down this family’s good name. We are respectable people.”
“I love Jimmy, but if I decide to walk away, it needs to be my decision.”
“She’s right, Ron.” Her stepmother sided with her. “She’s capable of making her own decisions and sticking by them. She’s smart. You need to trust her judgment. You can’t shield her from the real world.”
“The hell I can’t!” The legs of the heavy chair scraped across the hardwood floor with a menacing screech as he rose to his feet. He braced his knuckles on the edge of the table and looked her straight in the eye. “Audra, you will never have my blessing to continue this sordid affair with Jimmy Wilder.”
She flinched at the ice in his words, but quickly regained her nerve. “You need to be more opened-minded and give him a chance.”
“Do you think she’s the only one? You have no idea how many other children he’s fathered across the country. Or abroad. She’s the first one to come forward. Once it goes public, women will be crawling out from under every rock from here to Asia claiming to have his child. Are you prepared for that?”
It was her biggest fear, and no, she wasn’t prepared for it – not at all. But she loved Jimmy, and she wasn’t ready to walk away. It was suddenly clear how much she wanted to be with him. She wanted to stand by her man. “No one is ready for that, Daddy, but my heart is committed to Jimmy, and I plan on staying with him.”
Her father stood tall and took a deep breath which turned his cheeks a deeper shade of crimson. They locked eyes, and she read an array of emotions that broke her heart. He looked betrayed and defeated. She had always made him so proud, and some of the respect he had for her seemed to have diminished. “I’m sorry, Daddy. Please don’t look at me like that.”
“I’m only trying to protect you. I don’t want this business to ruin your morals. I never wanted you exposed to the debauchery and lewd behavior that rock stars seem to thrive on, yet you sit before me in love with one of the scoundrels I was determined to shield you from.” He put his fist to his sternum and grimaced. “I need my antacids.”
Before she was able to say anything else, he turned and walked away. Audra’s heart ached, not only for her father, but for the truth in his statements.
“I’ll talk to him, dear,” her stepmother said. “You know he only wants the best for you.”
Audra nodded and watched her stepmother head in the same direction as her father.
“He’s not used to backing down,” Kira said. “He’s a strong and powerful man who’s used to getting what he wants. It’s hard for him to concede, but he will . . . eventually.”
Audra stood in front of Jimmy’s door with mixed emotions. Her heart was torn in pieces. She was excited and happy to move forward with a relationship with him and looked forward to meeting his son, but a big chunk of her heart was still
with her father. She hated that she blatantly defied him, but she had no choice in the matter. Her heart chose Jimmy.
He answered the door with his usual charismatic smile, but the twinkle in his eyes seemed a little brighter. He was wearing jeans and nothing else. Her eyes dropped to the arc of his biceps and up to his round shoulders. She reached out and placed the palm of her hand on his chest. “I want to meet your son. I want us to be a family. I don’t know if this is going to work or not, but I’m going to try, because I want to be with you. I don’t know if Kendall has an ulterior motive or if she’ll try to destroy our happiness, but I’ll deal with her. I’m tougher than she is. I’ve never loved anyone before, Jimmy. I don’t care if it’s going to be hard. You’re worth fighting for.”
He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the floor. His deep breathing echoed in her ear like the sound of a seashell. “I knew you wouldn’t desert me. I knew you were back the moment I opened the door. I love you, babe – so fucking much.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Central Park was neutral territory and seemed the most logical place for Audra to meet Jimmy’s son. She didn’t want to be left standing on the sidelines in Jimmy’s apartment while the two of them shared their mutual love of the drums. The playground was still quiet this early on a weekday morning, so she knew they’d have privacy, and Jimmy’s presence wouldn’t attract attention.
Jimmy laced his hand through hers, steadying the nervous tapping of her fingers on her knee. He chuckled. “You’re getting as bad as me with the subconscious drumming of your fingers.”
Rock Star Redemption Page 17