The Second Song #1: Homecoming (4 page)

"I haven’t written a song in years Avery; those songs we used to fool around with, they aren’t strong enough to launch a new career path for someone like me. I don’t know how to make such a monumental change without some kind of direction."

"You’ve gotten used to people telling you what to do, but you’ll never know what you’re capable of unless you try. You might surprise yourself Elise. Get a guitar in your hands and give it a shot. If you make something of it, hire a band and produce the damn album yourself, you can’t tell me you don’t have more money than God by now?"

"An indie album?" I frowned. The thought had never occurred to me; stars with a fan base as broad as mine did
not
do independent albums.

"You could afford it right?"

"Yeah, with maybe a few small investors - I wouldn’t want to put everything I have into one album that might be an epic failure."

"Or an enormous success."

"Something to think about, but that doesn’t solve our problem about our busy lives."

"We’ll figure that out
cher
, but we’ve got nearly three months to enjoy being together, I’m not going anywhere and neither are you."

"Well, I did promise Silas I would do a cameo in his new video next month."

"Forget about that idiot."

"Don’t be jealous," I laughed, shoving him playfully. "Silas was mostly always just a PR stunt."

"Mostly?"

"It was never serious, we’re just good friends. I’ll do the video and take the opportunity to end it with him officially."

"In the meantime, you’ve got songs to write." He grinned, handing me his guitar.

"W
here’ve you been?" Avery smiled at me sleepily when I woke him.

"Checking on gran and I wanted to dig out my old guitar." Ever since Avery mentioned me getting back to writing songs the way we used to, I couldn’t get it off my mind. I’d spent most of the last week, working on lyrics and pecking out some chords to go along with it, but I needed help.

"I don’t mind you using mine
mon cher
," he said with a wicked smile as he pulled me into his arms.

"Oh no, no more sex."

"You know that’s not going to work for me Lise."

"Later." I wiggled out of his grasp. "Not now; right now I need you to play this with me and tell me if it’s any good." I shoved my scribbled sheet music in front of him.

"Alright
cher
." He sighed, taking his guitar as I took mine and we began to play together as we hadn’t in years. As I began to sing in a way I was not accustomed to singing, I got lost in the music and the lyrics that actually meant something to me. My voice rose with an edgier vibe that felt more natural to me.

I wasn’t sure when Avery’s voice joined mine, but we ran through the song twice and he jumped in with a few little lyric changes and chord mixes, and it was just like old times, but better. I was a professional musician with ten years' experience performing for thousands, but also ten years observing the music industry, and I’d learned a thing or two about song writing watching others do it for me.

"So? What do you think?" I asked, knowing he would tell me the truth like no one else would.

"It’s good
cher
, real good. It’s you, I hear you all over that song baby. This is what you should be doing. It sounds great just with the guitar, but it needs something, maybe a full band—?"

"And some zydeco music, it needs some Cajun flavor."

"Just a touch." He agreed. "We should go down to the
fais do do
and get the band to perform it for you so you can hear it."

"That’s a
great
idea, if only they’d let me in." I rolled my eyes.

"So we’ll sneak you in, you can wear one of your funny disguises and I’ll get the band to play it, maybe we can get Mallory to sing it."

"Deal, but I’m workin’ on another one too, I might have it ready by this weekend."

"It’s good to see you so focused and excited about your music again, Lise."

"Thanks to you." I smiled, setting my guitar aside so I could climb onto his lap. "Now what was that all about no sex earlier?" I leaned in for a kiss.

"That was your idea, not mine," he said, reaching to lift my shirt over my head, setting my breasts free.

"Surely not. No sex is a terrible idea."

"The worst." His lips crushed against mine as his hands palmed my breasts.

"Elise Leroux? Is that you under that silly hat?" Stacy Thibodaux asked sidling up next to me after Mallory finished singing three of my songs. She’d been eager to help me out and sounded great with the zydeco band. Avery had added a little electric guitar and found a drummer willing to play. The sound was perfect, and I thought the music represented me perfectly. With my vocal it would be a little bit pop, with the band it would be a little bit rock, and the zydeco added some Cajun into the mix, and it was all me.

"Stacy, it’s good to see you." I smiled. Stacy had been one of my best friends in high school and she had been the first one to turn on me too. It still hurt.

"Mallory said you’ve been back for weeks and I just couldn’t believe it. We hear rumors from time to time that you’ve been in town, but you always stay out at Grand-mére Léoma’s too scared or too high and mighty to show your face," she droned on in a sugary sweet voice.

"Neither Stacy, when I come home I don’t exactly feel welcome, so I stay out with grand-mére for the short time I usually have."

"So what’s changed? Why are you here now?"

"Avery Island is my home as much as it is yours, and I’ve been working hard for a lot of years and I needed a break."

"Just don’t break Avery’s heart when your vacation is over and you leave - he won’t survive it this time."

"I’m not lettin’ him go this time."

"Retract your claws Stace," Avery warned as he returned with Mallory after their performance.

"You sounded amazing guys!" I greeted Avery’s sweet kiss warmly.

"Your music is great Elise," Mallory beamed at me. "It sounds more like you than anything I’ve heard you sing in years!"

"You kept up with my music?"

"Of course! I have every CD you’ve ever recorded!"

"Why? The music is terrible!" I laughed, giving my old friend a hug.

"It’s not you Elise, but it’s good and you should be proud of your accomplishments. I just feel bad for the way we’ve treated you all these years. I should have been a better friend."

"I could have tried harder."

"Let’s not make that mistake again
cher
?"

"Pinky swear?" I smiled, holding up my little finger.

"
Ça c'est bon
," she agreed, linking her pinky with mine.

"
Laissez les bon temps rouler
?" Avery grinned as the beer arrived and it felt like old times with my best friends, even Stacy, who I was fairly certain had her eyes set on Avery now that her marriage with Owen was over. Too bad for her, I wasn’t losing Avery again. I wouldn’t survive it this time.

"H
ey gran what's up?" I grumbled early the next morning when Avery shoved his satellite phone in my hand, rolling over to go back to sleep with a grunt.

"
Cher
, I’m sorry to bother you so early, but there’s a bunch of people here in the yard, poundin’ on the door with cameras and microphones. They’re demanding to see you honey, but I don’t know what to tell them." She sounded so afraid and I swore I’d kill every damn reporter on my gran’s property for scarin’ her like that.

"I’ll be right there gran! Don’t open the door till I get there!"

"What’s wrong Lise?" Avery was wide-awake now.

"Tabloid reporters at gran’s!" I scrambled into a pair of shorts and a tank and I flew down the stairs, not bothering with shoes. Avery wasn’t far behind me, he’d managed to throw on jeans and we both rushed to jump in his truck.

"Someone must have seen me last night and called some cheesy tabloid rag to come out and see where Elise Leroux grew up!"

"Calm down,
cher
, it might not be that bad."

"Hurry Ave, I can’t stand leavin’ her there to deal with even one of those vermin assholes."

"Wow, you really hate the tabloids."

"They
never
leave me alone, not in ten years. They don’t care about my privacy or my feelings. That’s why I never mentioned my home town, I knew they’d never leave gran alone if they knew where to come." I was nearly sobbing, so angry with myself that I left her alone.

"Shhh,
mon cher
," Avery said, hauling me over to his side where I fell apart, sobbing on his shoulder. "We’ll get them out of there; I’ll call the police to get them off her property at least. Please baby, calm down, I can’t stand to see you like this."

"She’s all I have Ave, I gotta take care of her!"

"You have me too
cher
," he whispered as he drove down the long dirt road. "I love you Lise."

"I love you too Avery," I whispered through my tears, my heart swelling for the words I’d longed to hear since the moment I saw him again, but my heart was also breaking for gran - they’d torment her if they got her talking.

"Ho-ly hell, they’re everywhere." Avery gasped when he pulled into the drive and I saw news vans and photographers swarming over the lawn of my childhood home.

The local police were there already and I hopped out of the truck as soon as Avery rolled to a halt. "Lise wait
cher
!" He followed close on my heels.

"Move!" I shrieked, not caring what pictures they might get of me half-dressed and a complete mess, with a half-naked man chasing me into the house.

"That’s my grand-mére’s house! Get back!" I shoved a photographer out of my face.

"Who’s the man you’ve been sleeping with Elise?"

"Is this the boy you dated in high school? Give us a name sir?"

"Does Silas know you’ve been cheating on him Elise?"

"What was it like leaving the squalor of your hometown, becoming a huge sensation overnight?"

"With all your millions, couldn’t you have provided better for the grandmother who raised you?"

They fired the personal questions at me left and right, unmindful of how they made me feel, or the tears rolling down my face, but I continued shoving my way through the crowd, to the back porch where two police officers waited, keeping the wolves at bay. I recognized them both from school and I was grateful they were there.

"Elise!" The deputy called, he’d been my lab partner for two years of chemistry.

"Cal! Where’s gran?"

"I sent a deputy in to take her to the back of the house. She’s upset, but she’s oaky. How ‘bout you
cher
? You alright? Don’t let these assholes get to you!"

"Thanks Cal, but enough of the chit chat!" Avery called. "We’ll have a beer later and catch up, just get us in the damn house!"

Finally, I was through the door with Avery at my back.

"Gran!" I ran to her room down the hall.

"I’m fine honey." She came to meet me. I wrapped my arms around her and completely lost it.

"I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have come!"

"Stop it Elise, darlin’ I’m fine. They just scared me a bit at first but it’ll be fine. The officers will get them off the property and we’ll just deal with it until they go away."

"They won’t go away as long as I’m in town. I’ll have to leave to lure them away."

"No
cher
, we still have more than two months, I’m not givin’ that up." Avery insisted. "We’ll get gran outta here and find a place to stay where they can’t find us."

"You don’t understand Ave; they won’t give up until they get their story. They’ll talk to anyone who ever claims to have known me. They’ll hound my high school teachers, my old babysitter. They’ll dig up anything they can find on you and what happened to your mother. They won’t stop!"

"Then give them what they want
cher
," he said with a shrug.

"What?"

"Give them the story they want, show them the Elise Leroux from Avery Island. Show them what you love about this place, your gran and this house you grew up in."

"And what do I tell them about you?" I frowned, not liking the idea at all.

"Tell them we were high school sweethearts who never stopped loving each other."

"I don’t know Ave."

"Well, if it’s like you say honey, they’re gonna find out all the dirt anyway. You might as well be the one shovelin’ it, so it falls where you want it to," gran said wisely.

Leave it to gran to put it all into perspective.

I took a tentative step out onto the back porch where the local police had the swarming media under control and away from the house.

"Elise!" They called and I raised my hand to quiet them as I walked across the drive, barefoot and every bit the Cajun girl I was.

"You all know I’m not very fond of you, especially for scaring my gran half to death, you should be ashamed of yourselves, but if you will all promise to leave Avery Island, I will give an interview with the reporter of your choice. You’ll all have the rights to the interview and you can have your pound of flesh, but you gotta leave my family alone if I do this."

"When? Where? Who?" The questions fired faster than I could register them.

"The interview will take place tomorrow, right here and you all will have to choose which of you will do the honors because I really don’t care. Just get off my grand-mére’s property
right now
." I turned and walked back into the house without a backward glance. This probably wouldn’t go well for me, especially considering I was doing this without talking to my managers and PR people, but I was tired of running from this.

I spent the entire next day with a young woman who turned out to be a very decent person and a good reporter. I showed her my childhood home and explained how my grand-pére Henri built the house with his own two hands and how my mother had grown up here and then my grand-mére raised me in this house too. Neither of us could part with the home we loved and I’d done my best to get grand-mére to let me make some improvements through the years, but she was a stubborn old lady.