In Your Honor (13 page)

“
Of course, Daddy.” Lucy
smiled.

“
I used to have your
job... I know what can happen on tour,” he said with restrained
trepidation.

“
Yes, I seem to recall
something about that,” she teased through the phone. “I promise,
I'm being good.”

“
I have an early
appointment tomorrow so I need to be getting to bed.” There was
something in his voice that seemed a bit off.

“
Is everything okay?” Lucy
frowned and rolled over onto her stomach.

“
Yes, yes, of course,” he
reassured her. “Just some paperwork downtown.”

“
Okay...” She bit the
inside of her cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”

“
I love you too, Sweet
Bit.” She could tell he was smiling and she chewed on her lower lip
to keep from getting emotional.

After she hung up, she laid her head
on her arms and closed her eyes.

“
Homesick?” Taylor nudged
her with the toe of his boot and she cracked one eye open to look
up at him.

“
Sometimes,” she mumbled.
She sighed and rolled onto her back again.

“
Why do you lie on the
floor?” he asked curiously.

“
I like to be closer to
the road. It feels good.” She had given up trying to get people to
understand her long ago. Now, she just answered their questions and
let them draw their own conclusions. They would anyway.

“
You're a weird girl.” He
shook his bald head and reclined against the sofa
cushions.

Lucy smiled, closed her eyes and
stretched her fingers towards her toes along the floor. The bus
swayed and bumped along and she could feel the movement in the pit
of her stomach.

“
Luke thinks we should add
another song to the set,” Taylor said, breaking into her drifting
thoughts. She didn't open her eyes, unsure if he was speaking to
her or to Chad, who had sat in the chair to her right. She was
pretty sure that was Chad, based on the smell of nachos he brought
with him from the kitchenette. And Stuart had been playing video
games in the back lounge since they hit the road.

Taylor continued, “I was thinking
about adding a cover with you as lead.” That brought her eyes
open.

“
Huh?” She frowned up at
the ceiling, not sure if she had understood him
correctly.

“
I'm not an idiot,
Newton,” Taylor chuckled softly. “I know I wouldn't be in the
position I am without you... I owe you.”

Lucy swiveled her head to look up at
him. “You don't owe me anything, Tay.” She had no idea where this
was coming from. A friend had asked for help, she had been
available, nothing more. “Your success is all you. I'm just along
for the ride.”

Taylor smirked at her, as if he knew
something she didn't. “Fine, then as the one who calls the shots, I
want to add that Stevie Nicks cover you did during sound check
today.”

Lucy felt the smile spread across her
face. “That's a fun song, isn't it?”

“
You did a helluva job.”
He tugged on his beard, not breaking eye contact with her. “I think
it's just a matter of time before you get taken away from this
group.”

“
Don't talk crazy,
Taylor.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “I have no ambitions.” She winked at
him to ease his mind, but he pursed his lips without
responding.

“
I like it,” Chad spoke up
finally. “I mean, I like the variety and change of pace. I wouldn't
mind playing some of the new stuff you're working on too.” He
nodded in Taylor's direction.

“
It's not ready yet.”
Taylor took a deep breath and stood up. “I'm going to bed. See you
two tomorrow.”

“
Goodnight, Tay.” Lucy
tried not to be worried about his abrupt departure. Taylor had a
habit of being moody and it almost never had anything to do with
what was happening in the present. His mind was always in the music
and she couldn't fault him for that.

“
So I was thinking about
asking Kendra out.” Chad slipped off the chair and sat on the floor
next to her. Lucy pushed herself up on an elbow and snagged a nacho
off the plate he held out to her.

“
I think that might be
disastrous,” she couldn't help teasing. “That girl really doesn't
like you.”

“
I know,” Chad groaned
forlornly.

“
Maybe you shouldn't try
to come on so strong,” Lucy suggested, making a face at him that
made him laugh.

“
Strong is the only way I
know.” He chuckled. “I'm a drummer, remember? We tend to be kind
of—”

“
Annoying?” she finished
helpfully.

“
I was going to say
intense. But yeah, annoying works too.” He grinned at her, setting
the plate in between them.

Lucy reached over and ruffled his
shaggy hair. He had quickly turned into the equivalent of her kid
brother. “Do you want me to talk to her for you?”

“
No.” He snorted under his
breath. “I don't think it's that bad yet. But I'll definitely come
running to you if it goes south.”

“
You're gonna ask her
then?” She didn't hide the surprise in her question.

“
Soon,” Chad nodded
confidently. “Maybe when we get to New York. I can take her on one
of those carriage rides or something. She seems like a classy girl
who would enjoy shit like that.”

“
Maybe.” Lucy bit into
another nacho.

“
What about you and
Blake?” Chad's eyebrows waggled and Lucy smiled.

“
Uh-uh,” she shook her
head at him. “My love life is off limits for discussion.” She
pushed herself up onto her feet and brushed her hands on her jean
shorts. “It's about time to go to bed, don't you think?”

Chad watched her from the floor with a
peculiar expression on his face.

“
What?” Lucy frowned down
at him.

“
Who said anything about
love?” He smiled broadly and laced his fingers behind his
head.

Lucy closed her eyes as he let out a
hearty laugh. She turned away from him, not responding, and his
laughter increased.

“
Kinda told me everything
I was wondering,” he teased.

Lucy wanted to kick
herself. She didn't know why she had said that. Okay, she
did
know why she had
said that, she just didn't know why she had said it out loud. To
Chad, of all people. He probably wouldn't let it go for
weeks.

“
Don't worry, Lucy,” Chad
called after her. “Your secret is safe with me.”

***

“
How does it work? You
being friends with your ex-boyfriend? Is it weird?” Lucy asked as
she tried to keep her balance in her seat on the subway. This was a
whole new experience for her. She'd never been in a city as massive
as New York and as such, had also never ridden the public
transportation that seemed to be the norm here. The closest thing
she could compare it to was the school bus in middle school. So not
the same thing.

“
I guess I don't think
about it like that.” Lenny frowned softly at the question. “He's so
different from the guy I dated, the transition to friend was
relatively easy. Besides, he's more Luke's friend now than mine.
Why do you ask?”

“
Just curious, I guess,”
Lucy mumbled. Curious was one way to put it. Things had been fairly
tame with Blake all week, ever since they decided that being
friends was an acceptable evolution of their previous relationship.
She wanted desperately to regain that bond they used to share, so
she was willing to work through the awkward parts. As long as she
knew there was something worthy at the end of it.

Lenny gripped her elbow as the subway
lurched to a stop. She hustled Lucy through the doors and quickly
up into the city.

“
Shane said he'd have
lunch for us at his office if that's okay,” Lenny said as she
guided her through the fast moving crowds. Lucy was in awe of
Lenny's ability to never get overwhelmed or distracted. She felt
like a little kid lost in a department store. If it weren't for
Lenny's vigilance, she'd probably still be on the subway and almost
to Brooklyn.

“
Yeah, sure. I'm just
along for the ride.” Lucy grinned at her counterpart. She loved it
when Lenny let her tag along outside of the venues.

Luke was keeping Taylor very busy and
very high profile. Today both bands were doing radio interviews.
Chad had gone along, but Stuart was feeling ill and had stayed
behind to get some rest before the show. That left Lucy with a
choice, and she opted to see the city with Lenny.

Lucy barely had time for her brain to
register the massive building they had entered before Lenny had
yanked her into the elevator.

“
Sorry,” she snickered an
apology. “I guess I got distracted.”

“
Not a problem.” Lenny
smiled at her and moved over as more people pressed into the
lift.

When they exited on the
floor they needed, Lucy couldn't help but feel like she had gotten
lost. The doors opened to a large open and well-lit... art
exhibit?
This can't be right.
Lucy shook her head and looked back at the
closing doors of the elevator. She spun back to question Lenny, but
the blonde was already across the room and hugging a very tall,
very athletic man.

“
Lucy, this is my friend,
Shane Brookings.” Lucy did a little skip-jog across the room with
her arm sticking out to shake his hand. She was pretty sure she
looked like an idiot, but what else was new?

“
Lucy plays guitar in the
opening band touring with us,” Lenny explained, and Lucy smiled
dumbly at the attractive man before her. She recognized him from
her short Google search the night before, when Lenny told her who
her meeting was with today. But Google didn't tell her how tall he
was, or that what she had assumed was a GQ spread was actually his
regular appearance.

It figured that
this
would be Lenny's
ex.

It's not that Shane Brookings was just
attractive or simply good-looking. No, he was hot. Not, “check out
that guy” hot. But stop breathing, hurt your eyes to look at him
gorgeous. And that was before he smiled.

“
Pleasure to meet you.”
Shane's hand was warm as it grasped hers, and Lucy was suddenly
afraid that her palms might be sweaty. She had forgotten to check
before letting him touch her.

“
You too,” she managed to
say evenly, like she knew what she was doing. She
didn't.

“
How is the tour treating
you so far? The guys being nice to you?” Shane smiled at her and
she couldn't help but notice the tiny flecks of gold in his amber
eyes.

“
Um, yeah,” she nodded,
sticking her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
You are so smooth, Newton. Lenny's not
embarrassed of you one bit.
She bit the
inside of her cheek as Lenny and Shane continued with their
pleasantries. She wasn't even sure what this meeting was all about,
so she felt a little awkward when their conversation took on a more
business-like tone.

They weren't talking to her, so she
took the opportunity to let her gaze wander around the room. Her
feet soon followed. All along the walls were beautiful pictures of
snowboarders and surfers doing amazing things in exotic locations.
She didn't know even half of them, but the photography was
breathtaking.

The room stirred with relaxed
activity. The people working around her were dressed casually, and
the standard desks and cubicles were absent. Instead, there were
long couches, fluffy chairs, and vending machines filled with
energy drinks.

Lucy paused in front of a poster-size
photo that showed Shane holding up a gold medal and beaming at the
camera. Again, she noticed the little flecks of gold in his eyes
and she sighed with envy for a moment. Her eyes had no flecks of
anything, they were plain, boring brown. He had a thick goatee in
this one and there was snow sticking out of his hair. She couldn't
help but smile in response to his obvious elation in the
picture.

“
You should see my
headquarters in SoCal.” Shane came up next to her, startling her
slightly. His large frame dwarfed hers.

“
I thought this was your
headquarters.” Lucy frowned over at him, noting the perfect amount
of stubble on his jaw and the clean but disheveled look about his
clothes. Like he had rolled out of bed that put
together.

“
No, this is just the East
Coast office. Hoping we can move it out of the city eventually.” He
put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the
floor-to-ceiling windows that faced the skyline. She was a little
afraid that the heat from his hand might start her shirt on fire
but she didn't move away. “The city is amazing but I feel a little
trapped here, don't you?” He looked down into her face and she
nodded in agreement. Growing up on the prairie where everything was
wide open, she knew exactly what he meant.

“
This place is pretty
cool,” Lucy said positively, looking around the room and then back
to Shane. “What's different about the headquarters?”