“Liv, look at me. He’s been... really bad all morning now. He thought I was your mother for a little while. He got mad that his brother wasn’t home. He saw kids in the backyard and tried yelling at them.”
Liv closed her eyes and nodded. “I know. I know. They keep saying he’s going to get worse and worse.”
The paramedics helped Charlie onto a stretcher and raised it. Liv went to her father’s side and grabbed his hand.
“Dad, I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“Hospital? I bumped my ankle,” Charlie said.
“You broke it.”
Charlie waved his hands. “Who’s going to feed the animals now? Huh?”
“I will,” Lorraine said. “They’ll be fine Charlie, okay?”
“Yeah. And find Dave. I can’t find him anywhere. He’s my brother. I’m worried about him.” Charlie squeezed Liv’s hand. “Okay? Lisa? Can you do that?”
Liv stared into her father’s eyes and that was it.
That look.
Sometimes it came and went, sometimes it lasted a few minutes.
But it was never like this.
Maybe it was just the stress of the situation, but what did that mean? That Liv would live the same routine over and over? Live in a bubble of her own life?
The stretcher left the house as Liv faced Lorraine.
“He’s got to go somewhere,” she whispered.
“I know he does,” Lorraine said. “You can do it. He can do it. I’ll be there too, Liv.”
“I’m going to lose everything... I’m...”
Lorraine took Liv by the shoulders and said, “You have everything you need.”
With that, Lorraine turned Liv around. Danny stood in the doorway to the house.
That’s when it hit Liv.
Danny was everything she ever needed.
Then, now, and forever.
She fell into Danny’s strong arms. She never wanted him to let her go.
(17)
The backdoor to the limo opened and Danny slid out and turned, putting his hand out for Liv. She took it, standing with her eyes glazed over, still in shock.
“There’s our ride,” Danny whispered as he pulled her close for a hug.
Liv followed Danny’s finger and saw the private jet sitting on the runway. Her mouth fell open, her heart racing.
“It’s safe?”
“Of course it is. And it’s ours... for a few hours.”
Danny started to walk but felt Liv hesitating. He stopped and took both of Liv’s hands.
“You can stay,” he said. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”
“No. I have to do this. It’s been long enough.”
“He was happy, normal, right?”
Liv nodded and smiled.
Charlie had been moved two weeks ago into a community for Alzheimer patients. Danny feared as much as Liv did that it would be like a nursing home and Charlie would shut down. But he insisted on going, wanting to be on his own again. The community was more like a big apartment building. Charlie had his own home again. His own kitchen. His own living room. His own dining room. His own bedroom. It was what Charlie wanted and needed, not to mention what Liv wanted and needed too.
Danny had left for the meetings with Chasing Cross but came back, as promised, to bring Liv with him this time.
That was, if she wanted to go.
“If something happens to him,” Liv said.
“You’ll be on a plane back here in a heartbeat,” Danny said. “Or you can just stay.”
“And then what? I’ll never go...”
“We’ll be back here soon enough,” Danny said. “We start the tour in Florida and work up the coast. Any day off, we’ll be home, Liv. Home.”
“Home,” Liv whispered.
Danny smiled, finally feeling like he had a home.
Not his father’s house.
It was in Liv’s house. Where he belonged.
Danny and Johnnie left their father’s house still standing, unsure what they wanted to do with it. They thought about giving it to the Crabley family to have them turn it into a new bar. Maybe donate it to a family in need. Or just honestly set the place on fire. What they did do though was give all the money needed to the Crabley family to rebuild the bar that had burned down.
Being back in Bakersville still had its own set of emotions, but Danny dealt with them as they came. It was the only place in the world he ever called home and it was the only place in the world he could even imagine living and being with Liv.
Liv started to walk, smiling at Danny.
“Let’s go,” she said. “Don’t want to miss our flight.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Danny said. “They wouldn’t leave without us.”
Danny led the way to the private jet.
Hours later, Chasing Cross stood backstage at the first show of the next leg of their tour. The five men were huddled together, laughing, arms around one another. Danny looked at the guys of Chasing Cross, his true brothers in life, and couldn’t help but smile.
“How’s the arm, Rick?” Danny asked.
“I’m ready to rock,” Rick said.
The cast was off and the doctor gave the green light for Rick to drum. And if something happened and Rick’s arm bothered him, they always had Eddie to stand in on drums. Davey had a guitar strapped on his back. When the small circle broke, he swung the guitar around and started playing. Loosening his fingers. Danny grabbed his guitar and started to do the same. The two traded off riffs and solos, laughing over and over until they finally stopped playing and hugged each other.
“Gentlemen!” Peter called out as he walked into the hallway of the concert venue. “Five minutes. We cannot be late on this one, it’s the first show.”
Danny slapped five with Rick and Chris. When he turned to face his big brother, he stopped. Danny took his guitar off and handed it to a guitar tech who handed Danny the guitar he would start the show with. Everything was wireless and when it came time, the tech would turn the equipment on and the show would begin.
“Thank you,” Danny said to Johnnie.
“Thank you... for what?”
“For leaving. For making me face that by myself. I understand now. I understand what you had to go through too, Johnnie.”
Johnnie touched Danny’s face. “And it’s all behind us now.”
Danny turned and walked to Liv. He grabbed her and kissed her, not caring about a single person around them.
“I can’t believe I’m backstage at a Chasing Cross concert,” Liv whispered as her cheeks burned red.
“I can’t believe this is your first Chasing Cross concert,” Danny said.
“Good luck... or have fun...”
“You have fun too,” Danny said. “This is just the beginning of something crazy, Liv. My life has never felt as complete as it does right now. Right here. Right now.”
“Two minutes!” Peter called.
“I’ve got to go,” Danny said.
He kissed Liv again, not wanting the kiss to end. When Davey nudged him, the kiss finally broke.
Danny walked with the band, looking over his shoulder once at Liv. He wished he could spend the rest of his life staring at her. Studying her beauty and her eyes. Just feeling the life radiating from her.
“Wow,” he whispered as they walked the long hallway.
They could hear the crowd cheering, ready to go. The feeling in the arena sweltered, even backstage. Everyone was excited to be back to work, back on tour.
Johnnie stopped and turned, looking at the band, smiling.
It was time.
And that was the one thing Danny knew now.
Time.
It moved. And it never stopped moving.
“Let’s make this one we never forget,” Johnnie said.
He turned and started to walk up a set of steps that would take them to the very back of the stage. There they would stand and wait for their cue.
Danny waited for Davey and Rick to start walking but then heard someone yell for Chris.
“Chris! Chris!” the voice echoed down the hall.
The rest of the band kept walking but Danny waited to see what was happening. A young man ran towards Chris, a backstage pass dangling from his neck. He wore a Chasing Cross shirt and had something in his hand.
“Last second autograph?” Danny whispered.
“I thought we already did the meet and greet thing,” Chris said.
Someone came over the microphone on stage and screamed, “ARE YOU READY?!”
That’s when the crowd erupted.
The young man caught up to Chris.
“Hey, listen,” Chris said.
The man put an envelope in Chris’s hand and smiled. “Chris,
you’ve been served
.”
The man turned and started his charge back down the hallway.
“Served?” Danny asked. “What the hell was that about?”
Danny watched as Chris opened the envelope. He didn’t look as much surprised as he did maybe hurt... maybe relieved.
“Chris, talk to me man,” Danny said.
The intro music to the show started. They had less than a minute to get on stage.
Chris looked at Danny.
“Chris... what was in the envelope?”
Chris stepped past Danny and said two words that left Danny in shock.
“Divorce papers.”
Book 4 in the
Brothers of Rock
series,
Buried Notes
…
Chris made a promise to a secret wife that not even his band knew about… they’d stay married until one of them fell in love and decided to get married again. That way it would keep their names out of the limelight as long as possible.
With divorce papers in hand, Chris must travel back in time through his heart, his memories, and he can’t help but face his soon-to-be ex-wife… just to see who she’s fallen in love with… and just to see if anything still exists between them…
You’ve read
Karolyn James
and you’ve read
London Casey
…
right
?
In a blockbuster collaboration, both bestselling authors are coming together to write a new adult romance trilogy titled
A Chance at Forever…
Be sure to follow both authors
@KarolynWrites
@London_Casey
More details to come!
Want a little more spice and heat in your reads?
Try these hits…
Brothers of Rock series:
·
All Access
·
Broken Sound
·
Bitter Farewell
·
Buried Notes (coming soon!)
·
Last Song (coming soon!)
Serve His Needs (Encounter)
Serve His Needs (Destination)
For His Taste
His Needs, Her Curves
Open For Him
AND MORE!
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First electronic edition June 2013
Copyright © 2013 by Karolyn James
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.