(Complete Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances #1-5)

by Michelle Mankin

  “Don’t dress up on my account. Ash apparently likes you in next to nothing, and I certainly don’t care one way or another. Besides, I heard you say French toast is on the menu.” She peeked her head out into the hall from the kitchen. “I just checked. He’s woefully low on spices. No nutmeg at all, but there’s some cinnamon. So get your rear out here, naked or not.” She beckoned with her hand. “I’m hungry.”

  “You sound like, Linc,” I returned, belting the robe tighter and shuffling toward her.

  “‘Appetite is a universal wolf’ our favorite bard says.” She grinned. “He wasn’t really talking about food, but I think he would approve.” She yielded to me when I entered the kitchen. A quick scan revealed that she had everything laid out, including a bowl with the milk-egg wash already whisked together and the skillet on the burner with butter melting in it. “Good job sous chef.”

  “You’re welcome.” From her new position on the barstool, she gave me a hat-tip salute.

  “So you and Ash.” She put her elbows on the bar and her chin on the platform she made of her hands. “On a scale of one to ten, how hot was it?”

  “Well, you know those guys who came up with the scale?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, they never met a guy like Ashland Keys.”

  “Translation. You’re not gonna tell me anything. Are you?”

  “Not about that, Hols.”

  “Fair enough. Tell me what you can.”

  “Well, he’s generous. He’s tender. He’s romantic. He’s protective.” I nodded, remembering everything he had said, and everything we had done. “He’s opening up to me, and I’m doing the same with him.” I dipped a slice of bread into the egg-bath then set it in the sizzling pan. “I honestly don’t know how it can get better.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  * * *

  Ashland

  I stared out the window of my office waiting for the call to ring through and thinking about Fanny. Could I hold onto the good thing we had going between us?

  I felt my lips curl. I would. I just had to keep everything under control.

  “What are you smiling about cousin?” Linc had opened the office door with my name etched into the glass. Pretentious maybe, but we’d worked hard to get where we were and anyway appearances were part of the game. I didn’t care for all of that any more than Fanny did. I had been mulling over her words on the pier. A happy for now seemed to be within my reach. Maybe I needed to consider that there might be something to the glitzed and glamorized endings the entertainment industry churned out. Long shots maybe for most of us, but those happy endings gave us something to strive for, didn’t they?

  “Uh-um, earth to Ash. Can you read me?”

  “I read you.” I covered the receiver with my hand. “But I’m waiting for the attorney to click on.”

  “Andrew Hart?”

  I nodded. He was our top choice. I’d put feelers out with a couple of Hollywood power lawyers as soon as Fanny had leveled with me. Hart had a history of litigating and winning multimillion dollar infringement and copyright type cases. I wanted him to go after Samuel Lesowski, to make it so he no longer posed a threat to either Fanny or Hollie. But I also wanted him to get Fanny’s rights back to ‘Tomorrow Today’.

  “K. I’ll catch you later. I’m heading over to your place to help Simone keep an eye on Hollie. But I wanted to be sure you remembered that Diesel’s flying in this morning.”

  “To put the finishing touches on Ramon’s album.” Yeah, I remembered. “I’ve got a car service picking him up.”

  “Great.” He ran a hand over his chin. And I knew before he said it that he was going to bring up Fanny. “With you smiling the way you are, is there anything I should know about you and your other houseguest?” He was the one grinning so big his sun-creased eyes crinkled. “Like are you gonna ask her to stay on after this trouble with her and her sister is over?”

  My smile flattened. It had been a leap for me to get from satisfied with my solitary existence to a happy for now state. Expecting Fanny to stay longer? I shook my head. Might as well think I could lasso the moon and drag it down to earth. I just couldn’t go there. “We still have a shit ton of stuff to work out, Linc. I’m not asking her to move in.”

  “How else you gonna work out those details, Ash?”

  “I dunno. Some over weekend dinners in San Bernardino where she lives and some with her coming to visit here I guess.”

  “A long-distance relationship?”

  “Yeah, I guess. Sure.” I didn’t point out that the ‘r’ word hadn’t been broached. He and Ramon had probably already talked about me and Fanny with their women. In other words, everyone knew practically everything about everyone in our tight knit group.

  “You’re letting her go with a boyfriend living close by?”

  “Not letting her go.” Something swift and fierce sliced me in half at the mere thought. But I also knew you had to have someone, really have them first in order to let them go. I didn’t have Fanny, did I? What about what we had done before the French toast? In my bedroom, she had been with me. What about how she felt in my arms? How she had burrowed into them, inhaling me like I was a fine Bordeaux and messing with my hair like she was my personal stylist? And what about the things I had told her before I had showered the second time? True every word. She had liked what I had said definitely. Her flame had been bright all throughout breakfast.

  “Good. Glad to hear it. Bring her down to the pier later. The swelling in her face has gone down too much for her to go out without a disguise. But she can be the Lakers Girl. Wear her beanie and shades. I guarantee no one will recognize her. She’ll be safe, too, with all of us around her. We need to see if she can surf, dude.”

  I nodded absently watching him leave the office through the glass wall. I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. I suddenly wasn’t looking forward to potentially turning the issue of Samuel Lesowski over to Andrew Hart. If things went well Fanny might be leaving soon. My happy for now might already be running out.

  “Ashland Keys?” a booming authoritative voice through the phone overrode my morose thoughts.

  “That’s me.”

  “Andrew Hart. Listen, I’ve looked over the information you shared with my partner. And then I did a little preliminary investigating of my own.”

  “Oh yeah? What’d you find out?”

  “A lot of interesting things. I’m not going to risk sharing them over the phone, though.”

  “Understandable, I guess.”

  “This is going to be a high-profile case. Samuel Lesowski will have some formidable representation I’m certain. And finding an impartial judge in LA is going to be a miraculous feat in and of itself. We’ll probably have to petition the court for a different venue.”

  Not anything I hadn’t already considered. “I have no problem coming up there to meet with you, but only if you’re thinking about taking the case.”

  “Hell yes, I’m taking it. Holliewood versus Lesowski? Two beautiful bereaved daughters versus their estranged stepfather? I wouldn’t be talking to you right now if I wasn’t. But I play to win. And that’s going to be expensive. So the question for you is, can you afford me?”

  “I wired the retainer.” It had been a sizeable amount. Not crippling considering how well Outside had been doing, but we’d feel the pinch for sure. I’d just have to work harder and talk the guys into releasing that greatest hits album. Do some appearances to promote it. Good thing we had the rights back from Zenith Productions for the Dogs’ songs. Even better to know the guys had my back even if I extended our resources to help Fanny and Hollie. I knew without asking that they’d be with me, my faith in them and theirs in me soon to be proven by actions.

  “Good. I’ll see you up here in LA tomorrow. I’ll share my strategy. If it’s agreeable to you, we’ll bring the young ladies in, and then we’ll really get started.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Fanny

  Maximillian Cash, the guard
from Security You Can Trust was ex-military, built like a tank and armed like one, too. He rapped on the penthouse door at ten sharp like Ash had said he would. He identified himself from outside it as I peered through the peephole. His hand resting lightly on my upper arm, I tried to engage him in small talk on the way down in the private elevator, but he wasn’t having any of it.

  “No offense, ma’am, but I’d rather keep things strictly professional,” he said in a thick drawl, his brow wrinkling over the constellation of freckles that spanned his cheeks. “If I’m your buddy I can’t be impartial, and I need to be impartial to keep you safe which is a priority for Mr. Keys and thus my priority as well.” I imagined the hardnosed mercenary with the requisite crew cut even had a redneck tan from propping his elbow out his pickup truck window, but I didn’t ask him to take off his blue blazer with the SYCT pin on the lapel so I could verify my suspicions. Maximillian Cash was a whole lot intimidating.

  “No offense taken,” I replied, falling into step beside him. Well actually, I had to scuttle my purple Chloé high-tops pretty fast to keep up with him. At six and a half feet, he moved smartly from the back of the building to the front where the entrance to Outside was located.

  “Hey,” Ash said, meeting me and my escort right inside the tastefully appointed reception room. “Thank you.” He replaced my bodyguard’s hand with his own and told my non-buddy, “I’ve got her from here.”

  I had been passed off like I was a high-level military asset. I felt very mission-impossible-ish.

  “Yes, sir.” Maximillian executed a crisp military turn and exited outside the same door we had entered.

  “You think it was safe to leave the elevator unguarded for the two minutes and three seconds it took him to get me here?” I raised a brow. “I mean with Maximillian gone one would only need a key to get in the door on your side of the building, a code to activate the elevator, and then another key to get inside the penthouse to get through Simone to snatch Hollie.”

  “Better safe than sorry, Fanny.” Ash frowned, giving me his serious face. It didn’t detract from his handsomeness, just to put that out there.

  “I knew you would say that. Maximillian is just about is serious as you are right now. I appreciate all the precautions even though I think they might be a little much.” The penthouse was secure, and no one knew we were there. “Is everything ok here with you? If you have something you need to do, we can do this some other time.”

  “Might not be a lot of time left,” he muttered cryptically.

  “Um, what does that mean exactly?”

  “Yo, Asshole.” We both turned. The tall, handsome Polynesian standing there gave me the slow once over. I recognized him immediately. “So this is why you didn’t come pick me up at the airport. Nice. Groupies. Not just on the road, but at home now, and in the studio, too. Not your usual type, but I approve.”

  “Fanny is not a groupie, Diesel.” Ash gritted out through his clenched teeth.

  “No way!” Diesel scanned me again with his pitch-black eyes. “So it is her.” This time recognition brightened his gaze. “Fanny Bay Lesowski?” he queried.

  I nodded.

  “Fucking A.” His raven hued brows rose, and his full lips curled at the edges. “Dude, you do know there’s a five-hundred-thousand-dollar reward for her and her sister’s return? I saw it on the entertainment channel on the plane.” He took a step closer to me, and I shifted closer to Ash. “I can retire for good and surf the world with five-hundred large. Where’s Holliewood, sweetness?” he asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

  “About three hours and six minutes north on the PCH without traffic, Despicable.” I lifted my chin. “I mean, Diesel.

  “Nice sarcasm.” He grinned and lifted his dark gaze to Ash. “If I liked women for other than—you know fucking—I might try to take this one from you.”

  “Don’t try,” Ash told him. “She’s taken.”

  “Ah.” Diesel’s gaze traveled back and forth between Ash and me. “I’d heard a rumor some chick had put you on the shelf, but I didn’t believe it. Wanted to see for myself.” He reached past me. Ash surrendered me to clasp his own hand and forearm together with the prickly bassist. “Missed seeing you, bro, when Ramon came out. You should visit some time.” He shifted his gaze back to me. “I was just messing with you, Red. But if you get tired of this loser,” he bumped his gaze up to Ash, “let me know. I’ve always got room for another fuck buddy, I mean, minion. And red is my favorite color.”

  “Cut the bullshit, Le. Get your ass on to the back.” Ash hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I need you to focus and take care of business.”

  “Roger that, boss. I always take care of business.” He grabbed his junk and gave it a squeeze before he bent over at his waist and reached for the bass case he had set down on the floor when he had come in. “I brought my board,” he said as he straightened. “We surfing later?”

  “Yeah.” Ash nodded. “So stay on task.”

  “Might be hard to do.” Diesel gave me a look over his shoulder as he walked away. “If you’ve got more good-looking chicks like this one stowed away somewhere in this place.” His rumbling laughter drifted back to us.

  “I apologize for Diesel in advance. He’s an ass.”

  “Nah, that’s alright.” I shook my head. “I’m a Dirt Dog fan, remember? I know he has a reputation. A bit more dark and edgy than how he seemed just now. Which is the real Diesel Le, I wonder?”

  “Both.” His gaze turned piercing. “Stay away from him.”

  “Whoa. Gotcha. I will. I don’t think he wants to be my friend anyway.” I gave Ash a careful look. “You still up for being a tour guide? Seems like you might have a lot going on today.”

  “Typical stuff. Slower than most days actually. Three of our bands are currently out on tour. Only one is in house.”

  “Ramon’s,” I guessed.

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s he calling the band and the album?”

  “Ramon Martinez. Solo.”

  “Boring but recognizable. So it’s just him, you and Diesel. No plans to tour?”

  “I’m lining him up a couple of stops.”

  “You told him yet?” I thought about Karen and the pregnancy, but I didn’t bring that topic up. It had upset Ash before.

  “California. Vegas. Arizona. Colorado. Keeping him close to OB. She could go to him. Or he could feasibly come back here to OB between stops.” He got a faraway look in his eyes like he was calculating something. “Might have to drop some of the later dates.” He refocused on me. “C’mon.” He took a step in the same direction the bassist had gone. “I want you to see some of my equipment. It’s top of the line. A lot has changed since you recorded ‘Tomorrow Today’. I think you’ll be impressed.”

  “See your equipment. Top of the line, you say?” I waggled my brows. “I’ve heard lines like those before.” I lifted my gaze to him glad to see the sparkle I had in my eyes was mirrored in his. I was afraid his lightheartedness had been swept beneath the tide of his entrepreneurial burdens. “Lead the way, handsome. Show me what you got. But I think you already saw how oh-my-gosh Ash impressed I was earlier.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  * * *

  Ashland

  So new plan. Same one, really. Just accelerated. The same goal. Fanny. Get her to stay and extend this happy for now status as long as I could. To that end I strategized as I led her around the studio with my hand firm on the curve of her back.

  My office had been the first stop. She had taken a seat in my big leather chair, drawn her long shapely legs up, put her buckle adorned purple high-tops on the seat, and given herself a spin while I leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb and watched her, completely mesmerized. Uniquely Fanny and so my little gypsy. Nothing in her ensemble matched, but yet it all worked. A knit headband in black with a textured flower that I knew Gonzolo’s daughter Luna handcrafted exclusively for Karen to sell at Offshore. Cuffed jean shorts and a flowy beige top dusted with
red roses and a diamond shaped opening between her tits so I could see a hint of what I had missed exploring for myself this morning. I imagined my hands lifting them for my fingers to pluck instead of hers. Catching me staring, she had looked up and said, “Nice office. Very organized. I can totally imagine you sitting here with your feet up on the desk. You like being the boss.”

  I certainly did so I had nodded.

  Yet I had discovered that being in charge was the most sweet when it was Fanny obeying a direct order of mine. There was something about the way she acquiesced. She didn’t have to of course. She chose to because she wanted to please me. For that and many reasons I was anxious to see what happened between us the next time we were alone. Step by careful step, I planned to make her mine.

  After my office, I had taken her to the large conference room with the long glossy table and the best view of the pier. She asked what bands we had signed in that room, and I shared. Her eyes widened recognizing a few of our top clients. Friends, some of them sure, but ones who were tired of being just a number to the larger labels where the fresh college grads who managed them didn’t have a clue what it was like to be a musician or to live that dream out on the road.

  I would have introduced her to our staff, but it was their day off. I’d purposefully chosen a day for a tour when everyone including our receptionist had the option of working out of their homes.

  “Wanna see the recording studios?”

  “Hell, yeah. How many do you have?”

  “Six, but we’re constructing six more in the back. They won’t have the ocean views that the originals do, but they’ll be a little larger.” I pushed open the door on my left. “Let me show you the mixing board in this one here.” She followed me into the small control booth. The studio on the other side of the glass was empty but for a stool, a mic beside it and an acoustic guitar propped in a stand and tied with a red bow.

  I started to explain the pros and cons of the new mixing board, but Fanny’s eyes and her attention weren’t on me.