Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story (61 page)

She could hear his admonishing voice ringing in her ears, saying she should have taken a plane to the island and had someone else drive her car.  Any other option was clearly too risky.  Then she glanced at her infant daughter sleeping soundly in her seat, tiny bubbles collecting on her full bottom lip.  Annie’s face relaxed into a proud smile.  It was just the three of them now, and she would do what she saw fit to love and protect her children.  That wasn’t to say safety wasn’t an issue for her - it was, even more so now that she was a single parent.  But most often she went unrecognized by the general public.  Besides a few people giving her second glances, as if they thought her face looked familiar, most passed her by with indifference.

In her side mirror, Annie watched a woman approaching with a large dog on a chain leash.  It wasn’t until the woman was beside her open window that her face turned and Annie recognized her.

“Dara?” Annie asked quietly.

The petite, blond-headed woman stopped and turned back toward Annie’s car.  A slow smile turned the corners of her mouth.  Then with her index finger she pulled her sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose.

“Annie!  My God, I can’t believe it’s you, and of all places, waiting in line for the ferry!”

For many years, Dara had been the personal assistant to Taylor, retiring from the position the previous year.  Her duties also included keeping a watchful eye on Annie too.  The two had become very close during Lace’s touring schedule and Annie hated to see her retire.

“Yeah, well, you know me, always the risk taker!”

Both woman laughed then Dara reached and touched Annie on the shoulder, the smile suddenly fading from her face.  “I was sorry to hear about you and Michael.  I honestly didn’t see that coming.  How are you holding up?”

Annie dropped her eyes to her lap, avoiding Dara’s stare.  “I’ve never been better,” she lied.  Angel began to stir in her safety seat and Annie instantly reached to soothe her.

“Oh, so this must be the latest addition to the family?” Dara asked, sticking her head into the open window.  “My God, she’s beautiful.  Spitting image of her mother.”

“She’s eight weeks old today,” Annie replied with pride.

“What did you name her?”

“Angel, because she
is
my angel,” she answered using a baby voice.

“And you must be Sammi?” Dara asked, peeking into the backseat.  “I can’t believe how big you grew since the last time I saw you!  And you’re looking more and more like your daddy too!”

“It’s been almost a year since I saw you,” Annie softly spoke.  “I believe the last time I saw you was at Brian’s funeral.”

“Brian has been gone that long already?  It seems like it was yesterday,” Dara replied.

Annie’s eyes began to fill with tears at the memory and nodded in agreement.  “I know what you mean.  I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime since he died.”

“We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, don’t we?” Dara commented.

“Yes, we do.”

“How long will you be on the island?”

“Indefinitely,” Annie replied.

“Seriously?”

“Yes.  I got the beach house in the divorce settlement so I’ll be living there.  It’s the only thing I wanted.  I told him he could shove the rest of it up his ass.”  Annie forced a smile onto her delicate face.  Her comment made Dara burst out in laughter.

Suddenly, the line of cars in front of Annie began to inch forward toward the ferry.

“I’ll give you a day or two to settle in and then I’m coming over.  Okay?” Dara said.

“Sounds good.”

A few days later, Dara arrived at the beach house, her arms filled with gifts for both young girls.

“You didn’t have to bring them anything,” Annie protested.

“I know, but I wanted to.  What can I say?  After being blessed with three sons, I’m a sucker for little girl things!”

After making small talk for several minutes, Dara sighed heavily.  “Okay, my friend.  Start spilling your guts and don’t leave anything out because you know I can tell when you’re omitting details!”

Annie shuddered.  “There isn’t much to tell.”

“Don't give me that crap!  This is
me
you're talking to.”

Annie met Dara’s stern gaze.

“Okay, where do you want me to begin?” Annie asked, knowing she had lost the battle.

“You can start with your divorce.  What the hell happened between the two of you?”

Annie folded her arms across her chest and walked to the large windows facing the ocean.  She sighed heavily before she began and closed her eyes.  “Michael wasn’t the man I thought he was.”

“No man is,” Dara quickly added.

“True.  But not all men cheat and lie to your face about it.”

“Annie, if I divorced Billy after his first adulterous fling, none of my boys would have been born.  I hate to say it, but in most cases, it goes hand-in-hand with people in the music business.  Some of them seem to think they are entitled, like it's one of the perks of being in the public eye.  And they don't think of it as cheating either.  They believe it is all part of the
lifestyle
.”

Annie turned and faced Dara.  Her eyes narrowed in contempt.  “I’m so sick of people telling me that!  It’s a load of crap and you know it.”

“I didn’t say I agreed with it.  I’m merely stating the facts.”

Annie’s eyes drifted back to the ocean and wiped away the tears that dripped down her cheeks.  “He started drinking again after Brian died,” she said softly.

Dara’s back stiffened.  “Oh, dear.  That’s not good.”

Annie shook her head.  “It became a matter of my sanity and the safety of my girls.  I had to leave.  It was the only solution.  I filed for divorce after that.  I knew then, there was no going back and whatever it was I thought we had, was over.  It was time to move on with my life.”

Annie dropped herself into a chair facing her friend.  “It sucks.  I’m almost thirty-five and look where I am.”

Dara laughed.  “Age is just a number.”

Annie leaved forward.  “It’s not the number I’m afraid of, it’s the situation.  I’m not even forty and I’ve been divorced twice and I’m now a single mother of two with no definitive career goals in mind.  If someone had told me ten years ago this is where I’d be at this age, I would have slapped them across the face.”

“Unless you’ve had your hands amputated, I don’t understand why you don’t have any career goals.”

“It’s not that I don’t have goals,” Annie sighed.  “I’m not certain I can handle being on the road again.  It’s not just me anymore.  I have Sammi and Angel to worry about and they need me more than I need a career.”

“They could travel with you.  People do that every day.”

“No way!  I’m not inflicting that lifestyle on them.”

Dara cocked her head curiously.  “What happened that left such an obvious bad taste in your mouth about being on the road?”

Annie’s back straightened and her eyes met Dara’s inquisitive stare.  For several awkward moments the room remained silent.  Annie shifted uneasily in her chair.

“It’s okay, Annie.  You can tell me,” Dara’s comforting tone urged.

Annie dropped her head against he back of the chair as new tears began to fall.  “I was attacked by a roadie in the bathroom at my last gig,” she said with a shrug.  “He tried to rape me and slammed my face into the wall, cracked my cheek bone,” she said, touching her face.

“Oh, my God, Annie.  Taylor never mentioned that to me.  I’m so sorry.”

“I asked Taylor not to tell anyone, and for the most part, it was kept pretty quiet.”

“Did he go to jail?”

“Yes, but not for my attack.  They got him on drug possession charges so he’s in jail for the time being.  Thank God I didn’t miscarry.”

“I had no idea you had been through so much.  What did Michael do?”

Annie laughed.  We were already separated by that point but he did manage to make an appearance at the hospital.  I’m not sure who told him I was there but, nonetheless, he came.  He showed up drunk and disorderly, and made a real ass of himself.  Security had to remove him from the building.  How sad is that?  Luckily, I had already been discharged.”

“Did he know you were pregnant?”

“No way!  I kept that to myself.  I knew he’d fight the divorce if he knew about it so I waited until everything was finalized.”

Annie sat back and massaged her temples with her finger tips, uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.  “I believe the first time he realized I was expecting again was at the music awards back in March.  They gave Brian a tribute that night so Michael and his band were all there.  I came out on stage with Taylor and Lacey to present an award and he was sitting in the front row.  I was about eight months pregnant and the look on his face was priceless.  He found me backstage after the show, and demanded to talk to me.  He wasn’t drunk but I could definitely smell alcohol on his breath.”

“So, what happened.  What did he say?”

“I could see the pain in his eyes when he looked at me and I felt nothing but pity and contempt for him.  We exchanged a few heated words and I told him to stay the hell away from me.  I haven’t seen him since.  From what I understand, he’s made no effort to contact my lawyer to even ask if we had a boy or a girl.  Great father, isn’t he?”

“Maybe he’s in rehab?” Dara offered.

Annie shook her head.  “I doubt that.  I'm not convinced he wants to get sober.  I think he enjoys wallowing in his misery.  Besides, I haven't heard any rumors he
is
in rehab and you know how news like that travels.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

It took Annie most of the following week to settle the girls and herself into their new home and a routine.  She hired a nanny to help her and, upon Dara’s urging, began to socialize at night.

“Come on, Annie!  You can’t hide forever out there on the beach,” Dara had scolded.  “Billy’s band is in town tonight.  They’re playing a gig at the Hot Tin Roof in Edgartown.  Meet us there at nine o’clock and who knows, you might actually have some fun!”

For twenty-three years Dara had been married to Billy Wainwright, the drummer for the James Fellowship Band.  The band was well known locally and had a reasonable following nationwide.  During the summer months they played a few gigs each week on the island then played the rest of the week in clubs up and down the north and south shores of Massachusetts.

Dara squealed with delight when she saw Annie enter the tiny backstage dressing area.  “You actually came!”

Annie’s face flushed hotly, as everyone in the room stopped and stared at her.  Suddenly, she wished her skirt was longer and concealed more of her legs.  One by one, Dara introduced her to all the band members.  There were five of them, all handsome in their own ways, some married and some not, but it was Jay that immediately set himself apart from the others by kissing her knuckles upon their introduction.

“Nice to meet you, Annie.  I’m Jay Preston, the bass player,” he said, gallantly lifting her tiny fingers to his mouth.

His hair was soft and shiny with multiple shades of blond and hung straight, touching the collar of his polo shirt.  His eyes were a deep shade of sapphire and twinkled with life.  Annie’s eyes dropped to his full, sensual lips, and felt her chest tighten.  His bottom lip was fuller than the top and curled crookedly when his face relaxed into a sly grin.  The skin on his face was tanned and led to a thick, muscled throat; at the base of which, a mass of dark chest hair grew.

“Hi,” she replied weakly, and nervously stepped away from his gaze.

Dara came up beside her and circled her arm around her.  “Hmmm, seems like Jay has taken quite an interest in you,” she whispered.

“Oh, please!  The last thing I need is another musician in my life,” Annie answered smartly.

Annie enjoyed their music and clapped along with the audience.  Every time Jay’s eyes landed on Annie, they held hers, a bright smile lighting up his face.  When their last break came, he chose the chair beside her and quickly engaged her in conversation.

“Do you live here?” he asked.

“For the time being,” she answered evasively.

“How do you know Dara?”

Annie indulged him of the brief history she had with Lace and uneasily sipped at her drink.

“So, you’re in the business?” he smiled, pleased with the information.

After the show, he was at her side again, eager to continue their conversation.  He made her feel comfortable and he made her laugh, two things she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“Listen, a bunch of us are heading into Oak Bluffs to catch last call before the bars close.  Would you like to join us?” he asked.  “Dara and Billy are coming too.”

Annie nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot, pondering his invitation.  It was getting late, much later than she had ever expected to be out, but something drew her to him.  In a weak moment, she agreed to follow Jay into town.

They drew a crowd inside the tiny pub, with many of the patrons recognizing them.  An instant feeling of panic washed over Annie, which Jay immediately sensed, and suggested they go outside for a walk.

“Is this better?” he asked, filling his lungs with the fresh air.

She nodded in agreement and followed him across the street.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, it looked like you were beginning to panic a bit back there,” he said.

“I’m not crazy about crowds when they get close like that,” she answered.

“Spoken like a woman with experience,” he smiled, pushing his hands into his jeans.

“I guess you could say that.”

They headed toward Ocean Park, one of the main focal points in the town of Oak Bluffs.  It is a lush expanse of grassy knolls, although quiet at night, it has winding pathways that lead round seasonal flowerbeds to the Gazebo centerpiece and overlooks the ocean; which at night, is an invisible visitor to the shore. 

They sat silently on a wooden bench and he studied her profile intently.  She felt his inquisitive eyes on her face and throat and wondered why her skin wasn’t reacting the way it did when Michael gazed at her.

“Jay, did Dara tell you I was coming tonight?” she asked, beginning to wonder if this meeting had been nothing more than Dara playing matchmaker and Jay’s keen interest in her had all been prearranged.