Assure Her (Assured Distraction Book 1) (21 page)

Laughing when she was done, “I just had to go back to Stevie Ray. I can’t play it like him, but damn that song just gets my juices flowing when it comes to playing guitar.”

When she looked up, the guys were looking back at her like she had just unzipped her ‘human suit’ and revealed that she was an alien. She looked around the bus and saw Cash standing there staring at her, too.

“What?”

“What the
fuck
, Chandler?” KeeMac said in what could only be described as bewilderment. “Why didn’t you tell us you could play guitar
like that
? Jesus, you are great on it.”

“I can play, but I don’t like it as much as the piano, so I only play for my own pleasure.”

“Girl, you can pleasure me with your guitar playing any time you want,” Gunner added.

“Uh, no,” she replied, and then laughed at Gunner’s goofy way of complimenting her. He had a way of always attaching innuendo to everything, it seemed. She was starting to accept it as part of his “charm.”

“If you tell me you can sing, we are taking you off the bus now and sending you straight back to Austin to the studio. You don’t need to be wasting your time touring with this bunch of dickheads,” Cash looked at her seriously.

“Well, then I’m glad I can’t sing.”

“Seriously, Chandler?” KeeMac was still staring at her. “All this time we’ve been on stage and you are just now showing us your little ‘play for myself’ talent?”

“Keeton, I don’t want to play guitar. I want to play piano.”

“Where the hell did you learn to play like that?” He still couldn’t believe what he’d heard.

“Like I said, my parents gave me this guitar when I was young, after a recital. I just sort of picked it up along the way.”

“No one just “picks up” Vaughan, Clapton, Cobain and Steel ‘along the way’,” using his fingers for to make air quotes.

“Well, I did. I’d had years of piano by the time I got this, and pretty much if I hear it, I can play it. But I can read music just as easily.” Spending so many hours alone had helped hone that skill, as well. She could always depend on music to save her from her loneliness.

Carter looked around, “Damn Cash, did you do any research on our girl here before you brought her into the studio?”

“You know how much time we were dealing with. So no, I didn’t. She was good, y’all approved, so I was OK with your choice. I did know she’d been to Juilliard since it’s on her resume.”

“Is there anything else about me you want to know?”

“Yes, Chandler, there is. What else did you say you played?” Cash asked her pointedly.

“Violin, mandolin, a little banjo, really just about anything with strings. God, don’t tell anyone,
please
. Although, Carter, I’m not cut out to play bass. You gotta be kinda in another dimension to be good at that,” she laughed as she said it, but he nodded, understanding what she meant.

“To hell with all that,” Gunner said. “Can you have my babies? Just think, with my mad skills on drums and all of your talent, our babies would be fucking musical geniuses!” This brought a round of laughter from the entire group, and a scowl from KeeMac.

“Not even Chandler could make your offspring geniuses, dumbass,” Ryan pointed to Gunner. The second round of laughter was twice as loud, Gunner adopted KeeMac’s scowl and KeeMac laughed until he had tears running down his face.

“Hey, Chandler,” Carter said, “what’s the last thing a drummer says in a band?”

“Dude, always with the drummer jokes, really?” Gunner sounded angry.

Wanting to play along with the rest of the band’s obvious enjoyment at poking fun of Gunner, Chandler said, “I don’t know, Carter. What?”

“How about we try one of my songs?” Everyone around the table started laughed aloud, except Gunner.

“Dickhead, you wait, I’ll get you back.” Gunner picked up his phone and went to his bunk.

Chandler felt bad then and walked back to his closed curtain. “I’m sorry, Gunner. I was just trying to enjoy a good laugh. I didn’t mean for it to be at your expense.”

He slid the curtain open and looked at her with a smile. “It’s OK. They used to do it all the time and I had gotten used to it. But it’s been while. Wanna come in here with me and take my mind off my wounded ego?”

“You are so bad! I totally would if KeeMac hadn’t swept me off my feet first.” She fluttered her eyelashes playfully at him.

Gunner blinked for a few seconds, then smirked at her. “You sure can make a man forget his troubles, girl. I can see what’s got KeeMac all flustered. He’s a lucky bastard. Make sure he treats you right. Let me know if he doesn’t, OK, Cupcake? I’d take good care of you.” He gave her a winked and sorrowful half-smile and rolled over, pulling the curtain closed.

Chandler was momentarily stunned by his comment. She’d never seen that side of Gunner before. He was usually such a clown, such a fun-loving guy. Who knew that he actually had a sweet side, and maybe was even a bit tender-hearted? As she stood up, still hesitating outside the bunk, her heart ached for him just a little when she realized that maybe not everything was exactly as it seemed.

From the front, KeeMac yelled, “Both of you get your asses back up here. We have work to do.”

When they both came back to the front area, Cash told them to get back to work on the new music and went back up front to sit with the driver to get back on his phone and Chandler decided to follow him.

“Cash, can I ask you for a favor?” Chandler was hesitant to bring it up but the letter from her parents was still lingering in the back of her mind.

“Sure, Chandler but if it’s to help you break out on your own, you have to wait ‘til we get back to Austin.”

“No, no, it’s nothing to do with the band.”

“OK, good because after what I just witnessed back there, you have to know you are destined for big things in the music world.”

“Thank you. I hope you’re right.” She gave him a brief smile, but didn’t want to linger on that subject and eclipse the reason she had approached him. “So, listen. I don’t know if you heard all of what was in that letter my attorney gave me from my parents, about my adoption, but I keep thinking about whether or not I still have a father that’s alive out there somewhere.” She unfolded the letter with the information about her father and showed it to Cash. “Do you think you could get someone to check this out and see if they can track him down? I don’t know if I’m ready to meet him face-to-face, but I would like to know if he’s alive and where he is.”

He took the letter from Chandler knowing this was hard for her ask. “Sure, Chandler, I can do that. We have some people that do background checks for us all the time. I’m sure we can look into it for you.”

With a small smile, she left him with the information and took the letter back to her bag.

By the time they reached Denver, they had worked out three new songs and got them down on paper, ready to work on them when they got back in the studio. The guys liked a lot of Chandler’s input on both the music and lyrics, and were completely on board with her helping. She was so excited to be doing something she loved and felt like she had earned her place as a member. It had been such a journey for her to reach this point in her life and she was thrilled to have a place and feel like she was part of a something so close-knit, like family.

Red Rocks Amphitheater was in a beautiful part of the country. Arriving a few days early was actually going to give them some time to enjoy the Denver area. They checked into the Four Seasons Denver, and the band was happy to see they were finally getting some place more upscale to stay for a change.

“Hey, thanks man,” Gunner clapped Cash on the back when he handed out keys. “This is more like it.”

“Y’all deserve it. Your combined talent is finally getting you recognized and you should reap the rewards for the hard work. But don’t let it overinflate those giant egos you already own!” Cash enjoyed harassing them all in an effort to keep their feet on the ground. It would be easy for them to let the instant fame cause problems that he didn’t want to deal with. More fame meant more money, and more money brought all kinds of problems for young bands.

“Drop your stuff off and come to my room for a meeting.” Cash’s order was met with only minor grumbling from the group as they headed toward their rooms. KeeMac and Chandler were once again thrilled they could have private moments to themselves although they had grown accustomed to the little bed on the bus with possible listeners within five feet. Now that he had introduced her to the passion they could share, Keeton couldn’t believe the sex they were having. She was not like any other woman he’d ever been with but he wasn’t sure what it was about her that had him drawn in so completely. All he knew was that, right now, he couldn’t get enough of her.

“Hell yeah, our own rooms.” Carter echoed KeeMac’s own thoughts to Gunner as they made their way down the hall. “I fucking love having space for all my guests and not having to limit myself to only one a night.”

“True that, dude.” Gunner concurred as he unlocked his door and disappeared inside.

Ryan walked into his room feeling alone once again. He had hoped Krissy was coming up but they were here mid-week and she couldn’t leave work like that. He threw his bags on the bed and pulled his phone out of his jeans to call her. “Hey, Kitten.”

“Well, hello Ryan.”

“You too busy to talk? I know it’s the middle of the day.” He prayed she wasn’t because it was hard to talk after a show.

“No, I’m just sitting here thinking about you.” Her voice took on a sultry tone that he loved. “I can’t wait to see you in a couple of days.”

“Me either, Kitten. Are you at your desk?”

Yeah, I’m supposed to be typing some notes for a file but I’m bored with it all.”

“Sorry, I know this is hard on you with me being gone so long, Kitten.”

“Yeah, it really is, Ryan. I guess I didn’t realize it would be so bad with you being away. Do you think this is going to happen a lot or will you go back to playing around Austin when y’all get back?” Krissy knew the answer before she even asked it. She had heard their music more and more on the radio and on XM Radio, too. That only meant one thing; they were becoming a success everywhere they played.

“We are having a great tour with Frission and the ticket sales have increased a lot since the beginning. We are pulling in as many fans as they are now, the label thinks. Isn’t that fucking awesome?”

“Yeah, it’s awesome, Ryan, for the band. But it’s gonna mean more time apart for you and me, you know?”

He could hear the disappointment in her voice. This was not looking good for them. A knock at the door brought him away from his thoughts. “Look, I have to go to a meeting. I’ll call you back in a little while, OK? God—I’m counting the minutes until I see you—day after tomorrow, Kitten.”

“Sure. And Ryan, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Kitten.” He hung up the phone, the despondent tone of her voice tugging hard at him. He made his way down to Cash’s room, the heavy of weight of dejection dragging him slowly along the corridor until he reached the door to his manager’s suite.

“So, here’s an itinerary for the next four days and a map of the festival. You get two days to do what you want. On day three, I expect you to be here by nine in the morning, ready to go to the venue. Smaller bands will start that day and some of the bigger names will be around for press conferences and meet-and-greets. There is a tight window for sound checks on that day as well, so don’t be late. “We’ll load in as soon as the show’s over and leave that night. Please keep your phones charged and on you so I can get you at all times. You are all adults, so act like it. Bailing you out of jail is not the image you want to start out with this early in the game. If paparazzi are where you are, or even just a fan with a camera phone, remember they can cause a lot of problems if they want to. Keep your noses clean.”

“Yes
Dad
, we know,” Carter told him. “We’ll behave like good children.” The entire group laughed and filed out the door.

“Oh, hey Chandler. Can I see you for a second, please?” Cash stopped her on the way out. KeeMac hesitated behind her wondering what their manager needed to talk to her about that didn’t involve the rest of the band.

“The team was able to track down some information for you regarding your father.” Cash watched hesitantly, gauging her reaction before he continued. He looked briefly to KeeMac, who was now drawing closer to Chandler as she sat down in front of Cash. She looked at him with an expression that seemed equal parts anticipation and dread. “Do you want to talk about this now? I can wait. Hang on to this until after the festival, or whenever you’re ready?”

Chandler looked at him for a moment longer, glancing a few times down at the papers on the table in front of him, then back up to his face as though she was trying to read his mind. She swallowed nervously, once, then twice, before she opened her mouth. KeeMac put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed her gently, reassuring her that she wasn’t alone, no matter what she learned from Cash’s newly discovered information. She nodded, and looked Cash in the eye, “Yes, please. I’d like to know.”

“They didn’t find much, unfortunately. It appears he must have changed his name because his information stops about a year after you were born. They haven’t been able to discover his new name yet, but they seemed to have reason to believe that he is still alive. They didn’t find any death records for him, or any records involving his family and the death of anyone that fit his description.” He handed her a folder with the info.

“Oh My God, I have aunts and uncles near Austin, Keeton!” She was thrilled when she read the information.

“Yes,” Cash said. “But Chandler, I would advise you to think about this before you decide to contact them. According to your parents’ letter, these people don’t know anything about you. Calling them now may not be a good idea. Maybe you should wait ‘til we get back home before you call.” Chandler thought it felt a little anticlimactic to think about it like that, but was still excited at the prospect of having family near home.