Music of the Heart (44 page)

the story. Remind him that he was a miracle and the most precious gift I ever received.”

Tears spilled across my face and dripped onto my lap as I leaned forward to take her hand in mine.

“I will. I promise I will.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it before pressing it to my cheek. “I

promise to make sure that he never, ever gives up, no matter how much he wants to.”

“I thank God he has you, sweet girl. You’ll take good care of each other.” She smiled as tears

shimmered in her eyes. “You two are going to be so happy together and make the most beautiful

grandchildren for me.”

Her words made both Jake and me cry even harder. “Oh Mama,” Jake sobbed. He reached up to

tenderly kiss her cheek.

“You have to let me go, baby.”

He shook his head wildly back and forth. “I can’t do it. Please don’t ask me to do that.”

She rubbed her hand along his face. “It’s not goodbye for forever. We’ll see each other again. And

until then, you live a full, happy life and make me proud.”

“I will.”

Susan smiled. “Now tell me goodbye.”

Jake’s anguished expression broke me, and I wept openly. His chest rose and fell with harsh

breaths. “Goodbye, Mama. I love you so much.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. And I love you too.” Susan’s gaze then turned to me. “Abby, do you

remember that angel song from
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
?”

We’d watched the movie together probably three or four times when I was recovering from my

beating. She loved the Cohen Brothers films as much as she loved George Clooney. “Yes,
Angel

Band
. I know it.”

“Sing it to me, please.”

I didn’t know how I could breathe through my sobs, let alone sing, but somehow I steadied myself

and tried to draw on strength I didn’t know if I had. “My latest sun is sinking fast. My race is almost

run,” I began.

“That’s it. So beautiful,” she murmured. She then closed her eyes while Jake kept his arms

wrapped around her. As I kept on singing, a gentle smile formed on her lips. Her breathing grew more

and more labored. When I got to the last verse, she drew in one last breath.

And then she was gone.

Jake fell apart, burying his face on Susan’s chest and crying hysterically. A symphony of wailing

echoed throughout the room as Sally and her daughters began crying as well as Jake’s grandfather. I

stepped around the side of the bed to wrap my arms around him. “I’m so sorry,” I murmured over and

over.

Just when I thought he would collapse from exhausted grief, Jake jerked his head up. He

unwrapped my arms from him. “I have to get out of here,” he muttered before he sprinted out the

room. I met AJ in the hallway. “Go to him,” he urged.

I nodded and then hurried after Jake. When I got to the porch, I glanced left and right before

running to the barn. “Jake?” I called. Silence echoed around me. Whirling around, I then ran down the

hill to the stables. I peeked in several stalls until I saw him standing in one.

With tears still streaming down his cheeks, Jake was saddling up a towering black horse. Sensing

my presence, Jake said, “I have to get away from here. I need to take a ride.”

I stepped back as he led the horse out of the stall. “I’ll go with you.”

He glanced at me in shock. “You don’t ride horses after you got thrown as a kid,” he reminded me.

A shiver went over me at the memory from all those years passed, but I shook my head. “I’ll ride

them for you.”

Jake stared at me for a minute before taking my hand. He pulled me over to the horse. “This is

Lennon.” He gave me a sheepish grin. “Brayden might be a Paul McCartney fan, but it’s all about

John Lennon for me.”

“I like it.”

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Tension and unspoken words hung heavy between us. I was at a loss for what to say to comfort

him. He’d just experienced the worse loss of his life, and I was afraid I might not be enough to fill the

void. Maybe there wasn’t anything I could say—maybe all he needed was me by his side, showing my

love and support.

Jake brushed the wet strands of hair out of my face. “You can hold tight to me. I won’t let you fall,

Angel.”

“And I won’t let you either.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed myself against him. I

gave him a lingering kiss. “We’ll ride this storm together, Jake. Forever and always.”

His warm breath fanned across my cheek. “And you’ll always be my sweet angel—my saving

grace and the love of my life.”

***

A deep, regretful sigh escaped my lips as I stared down at the bronze marker memorializing my

mother. Although I had gone all out to get her the best there was, it still seemed like an inadequate

representation of how amazing a woman and mother she was.

Abby’s arm encircled my waist, pulling me to her. She leaned her head on my shoulder. “Are you

sure you don’t need a minute alone?”

“No, I want you here.” I kissed the crown of her head. “I always want you with me.”

“And I always want to be here for you.”

I smiled down at her. “Besides, Mama would want you here. She loved you like I do.”

Abby’s chin trembled. “And I loved her too. I always will.”

At the sound of crunching leaves behind us, Abby and I turned around. A tall, lean man came

striding toward us. His arms were laden with dozens of pink roses. When he got almost to us, he

stopped abruptly. His dark green eyes scanned our faces. “Excuse me, are you part of Susan Moore’s

—I mean, Susan Slater’s family.”

My brows shot up at his thick Russian accent. “I’m her son.”

A hesitant smile formed on his lips. “Of course. I see the resemblance now.” His gaze left mine to

take in my mother’s grave. Regret filled his face. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here for the funeral. I

didn’t know she was sick. I would’ve liked…” He drew in a sharp breath like he was trying to

control his emotions. “I would have liked to have seen her again.”

“How did you know her?” I asked.

“We used to dance together many years ago.”

Abby’s arm jerked from my waist to cover her mouth. Her eyes had widened as big as saucers.

“Oh my God. You’re Yuri?”

He smiled. “Yes, but how did you know?”

“Susan told me about you.”

“Wait, what?” I asked.

Ignoring me, I watched as Abby closed the gap between her and Yuri. She leaned up to whisper

something in his ear. An agonized sob escaped his lips. When she finally pulled away, tears streamed

down his cheeks. “Really?”

Abby nodded.

“Thank you,” he murmured. Swiping his cheeks, he turned his attention to me. “May I have a

moment with her?”

“Sure. We really have to be going anyway,” I replied.

“Nice meeting you,” Yuri said.

“You too,” Abby replied while I nodded.

As we walked away, Abby took my hand in hers. “Who the hell is that guy and what did my mom

tell you about him?” I demanded.

“It was something she wanted just between us—a girl’s thing.”

I skidded to a stop. “Please tell me that dude isn’t my real father or something like that!”

Abby’s blue eyes widened. “No, no, of course it’s nothing sordid like that!”

“Tell me,” I growled. When she shot me her infamous ‘Don’t you dare use that tone with me, Jake

Slater’, look, I grunted in frustration. I hated begging, and she knew it. “Please.”

“Okay, since you asked nicely, I’ll fill you in on the way to the concert.”

The idea of a benefit concert in my mother’s memory had been Abby’s idea. She wanted it to be a

hometown crowd for those who knew and loved my mom as well as me. All proceeds would go to

cancer research and the American Cancer Society. She organized everything from having us perform

in the park behind the high school where both my mom and I went to school. It would also be the

opening of our newly billed act, The Crossroads Tour, where Jacob’s Ladder and Runaway Train

teamed up together for a North American tour.

After performing with her brothers, Abby and I would be singing several duets before Runaway

Train came on, including
I’ll Take You with Me
. It had been bittersweet when the song shot to number

one on the Billboard Top 100 the day of Mama’s funeral. Although everyone was heralding it as the

most emotional break-up song of the year, I knew the truth. It was about immense heartbreak and

suffering—just not the kind they thought.

Since we were performing in a park, we had to get ready in our tour buses. My first order of

business for our upcoming tour was to ensure that Abby and I had our own bus, so we could be alone

without interruptions. Always thinking of someone else, Abby had insisted that we share it a lot with

Brayden so that he and Lily could have more family time. Until then, I planned on christening every

square inch of it with her when we got on the road. Tonight, however, there was no time for funny

business.

Besides organizing the venue and bands, it had also been Abby’s idea for everyone to dress-up, so

to speak, in respect for my mama. The guys from both bands were wearing black dress pants, black

shirts and black ties. A single pink ribbon for Breast Cancer awareness was pinned to our lapels.

Although strapless, Abby’s black dress came to her knees and met the tops of her black cowboy

boots. Wrapped around her neck were my mother’s pearls. She wore them often, and every time she

did, it made my heart ache with both pleasure and pain at the bond the two amazing women in my life

once shared.

A stylist was still working on my hair when they came to escort Abby to the stage. After what had

happened with Bree, I insisted on two bodyguards each and every time. She leaned over the chair to

kiss my cheek. “See you in a few, babe.”

“Bye Angel,” I replied.

As soon as I was finished, I headed to the wings so I could watch Abby perform. I never got tired

of watching her work a crowd. She was truly amazing in every aspect of her life. After singing

several songs of her brothers’ hits, Abby sat alone on the stage with her guitar. “This song is for all of

you out there who know the pain of loss and the anguish of grief.” She then began strumming the

opening of Pink’s
Beam Me Up
. Her voice filled the stadium and warmed my soul. It meant so much