A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (14 page)

“
So
is mine,
”
Jake said.

“
You
have a boss?
”

“
We
all do,
”
Jake said.
“
Our band manager, Frank, is a
pain in the ass sometimes. He
’
s
a good man, but a pain. There
’
s
a fine balance between business and art. It
’
s
not easy.
”

“
Yeah,
well, my boss is just an ass,
”
Mel said.
“
Not sure if he
’
s a good man or not. I really don
’
t care. He
’
s just a complete ass.
”

Mel walked and felt her cheeks
burning. She was annoyed with herself that she had just snapped at Jake like
that. For no reason. Well, there was a reason, but it was a catty woman reason.
Because Jake had a woman in the hotel room overnight. Like it really mattered.

When Mel stepped into the bedroom,
she looked around. It wasn
’
t
trashed. The sheets were a mess. But that didn
’
t
mean there was any activity in there the night before. Slowly, Mel got to work.
She went into the bathroom and found it damn near immaculate. The room
literally had been used for the bed and nothing more. It should have made her
happy because her job was pretty easy right now. But it annoyed her. She looked
into the bathroom mirror and saw Jake standing in the bedroom with his arms
crossed.

“
Can
I help with anything?
”
he
asked.

“
No.
The hotel room is spotless. Except the bed.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Jake said.
“
Whoops.
”

That didn
’
t make Mel feel any better. She went into the
bedroom and grabbed the covers and sheets. She rolled them up, catching the
smell of Jake as she did so. It made her nose tingle and her heart race. When
she looked at Jake, she had a crazy image of her and Jake in that bed together.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Jake asked.
“
You
seem
…”

“
You
probably have rockstar stuff to do today. You can go, Jake. I
’
m okay. I shouldn
’
t have let my emotions get to me
before. Don
’
t worry about
it, okay?
”

“
Hold
up,
”
Jake said.
“
That
’
s not fair, Mel. If you
’
re thinking anything about this room
…
nothing happened. Maybe I
shouldn
’
t be proud of that
since I have an image to live up to, but nothing happened. I
’
m going to catch hell enough
because of last night as it is.
”

“
You
don
’
t have to explain
yourself,
”
Mel said.

But it
’
s good to know
…
to hear
…

Mel started to make the bed with
the fresh sheets. With her back to Jake, she smiled a little. Her emotions were
attempting to calm and she realized just exactly where she was and what was
happening. Nobody would believe this.

Mel ran her hands across the top
covers and then turned. Jake was a foot away from her. She jumped back and it
hit the bed, sitting down.

“
I
’
m not a person anyone should get
involved with,
”
Jake said.
“
If you want the truth. I
’
m damn good at what I do for a
living. On stage. In the studio. Writing music. Everything else though, I seem
to mess up. Maybe it
’
s my
greatest flaw or maybe it makes me who I am. But I know one thing, Mel, you
helped me this morning. That was pretty cool what you did. Then I catch you
crying and it
’
s been
bugging me. Everything right now is bugging me. If I leave this hotel alone, I
’
m going to go face reality and I
don
’
t feel like it. I can
see it in your eyes that you don
’
t
want to face reality either.
”

“
No,
I don
’
t,
”
Mel caught herself admitting.

“
Then
pick a place and let me get us something to eat.
”

Mel opened her mouth to fight it,
but she found herself lost in Jake
’
s
command. It intrigued her. Why Jake wasn
’
t
with his band. Why Jake had taken a woman to bed overnight but allegedly didn
’
t sleep with her. And why the
hell Jake was looking at her with eyes that made Mel
’
s body shake. It was like he wanted to kiss her.

Yeah, right
…

“
I
think this room is clean,
”
Mel said.

“
I
should have trashed it,
”
Jake said.

“
Why?
”

“
Because
then I
’
d have an excuse to
keep you in this room for a little longer.
”

Mel let out a quick whimpering
laugh and her body heated.

What the hell is happening?

(12)

Trent woke up in Mack
’
s basement and made his way up
the steps and into the kitchen. He made some coffee and sat at the table,
alone, staring out the window. He thought about Emily and Nick. He couldn
’
t wait to see them again. He
couldn
’
t wait to wake up holding
Emily and he couldn
’
t wait
to see what kind of new tricks Nick had learned on his skateboard. They were
his life. It was the most incredible feeling to finally have a family and his
dream career.

Trent basically lived with Emily
and Nick. His stuff was there, including instruments in the partially finished
basement that he wanted to remodel into the ultimate man cave for him and Nick
to hang out in. It made Trent laugh to think that every decision he made now
included Nick. Hell, Trent loved Nick. They weren't at the point of calling
each other
father
and
son,
but Trent cared for and loved the kid.

After one cup of coffee, Trent
grabbed his cell and called Emily. He couldn
’
t
wait any longer to hear her voice.

“
Good
morning,
”
she said in a
tired voice.

“
My
love,
”
Trent said.
“
Good morning. You sound tired.
”

“
Didn
’
t go to bed until one last
night.
”

“
Gotta
tell that other boyfriend of yours to take it easy. He
’
s competing with a rockstar.
”

Emily giggled. It made Trent
’
s hand grip his coffee mug
tighter. He wanted to be there with her right now. Waking next to her. Touching
her. Kissing her.
And more.
But this was the call of the job and the band
was going to be very busy for a while.

“
You
’
re funny,
”
Emily said.
“
I
took Nick and one of his friends to a movie last night. Didn't start until
nine.
”

“
You
partied more than I did,
”
Trent said.

“
Yeah,
partying
…
two kids, tons of
popcorn and candy. Cheesy action hero stuff. You know how loud movies are these
days? It
’
s worse than a
concert.
”

Trent laughed.
“
You poor thing.
”

“
Yeah.
Once we got home and settled, it was late. Nick sugar crashed hard and then I
sat up, missing you.
”

“
You
should have called me, baby. We could have talked.
”

“
It
was late.
”

“
I
don
’
t care. You need me,
you call.
”
Trent paused.
“
Damn, Emily, I miss you.
”

“
I
miss you, too. How was your day?
”

Trent ran it all through his head.
It had been pretty good. Until Jake threw a fit and started a long conversation
with the band after he left the hotel yesterday. Trent had planned on going
back to the house to see Emily and Nick, but once the afternoon got the best of
him and the band, they just hung out, planned more things, and crashed.

“
It
was good,
”
Trent said.
“
A good day. We have some more
shows coming up and then the release of the album.
”

“
Then
a big tour?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Trent said.
“
But don
’
t worry. You and Nick will be there as much as you
can and want. Trust me. We won
’
t
go without seeing each other.
”

“
I
hope not,
”
Emily said.

“
I
wouldn
’
t allow it.
”

A soft knock at the door caught
Trent
’
s attention. He
leaned to the side and looked out the window. He could see the black railing
and steps but he couldn
’
t
see who was at the door.

The knock came again.

“
Hey,
baby, I have to go,
”
Trent
said.
“
Someone is at the
door.
”

“
Your
girlfriend?
”

“
Oh,
I wish. I'd do anything to have it be you, baby. But I
’
m at Mack
’
s
house. Slept in the basement. Not sure who is at the door.
”

“
Love
you, Trent.
”

I love you, Emily. Tell Nick I miss
him.
”

Emily laughed.
“
I will.
”

Trent hated to end the call. He
stood from the table and told himself this better be something good at the
door.

He opened the door and took a step
back.

“
Hey.
”

“
Chloe
…”

There she was. Standing there with
her arms at her sides. She wore baggy clothes and her hair was pulled back and
messy. Trent resisted the urge to look at Chloe
’
s
stomach.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Trent asked.

“
Haven
’
t seen Jake since yesterday. We
sort of
…
had an argument.
”

“
Oh.
”

“
He
didn
’
t believe I was
pregnant,
”
Chloe said.
“
I
’
m
sure you and the rest of the guys had nothing to do with that.
”

Trent sighed.
“
I
’
m
not getting into it, Chloe.
”

“
Have
you seen Jake?
”

“
Can
’
t say I have,
”
Trent said.

His mind started to turn.

Where the hell was Jake?

“
Great.
Just great.
”
Chloe clutched
her large bag.
“
Well, I
just got home from the doctors. Thought he would like to know. Since I had to
prove my pregnancy yesterday to him.
”

“
Everything
okay?
”
Trent asked.

“
Perfect,
”
Chloe said.

She looked away and her fingers
twitched. Trent picked up on these little signs and it made him uneasy. He
could always tell when Chloe was lying. It was her specialty and if anyone
dared to be close to her, they would have to endure a lot of lying.

“
Can
I use your bathroom real quick?
”

“
Not
my bathroom. It
’
s Mack
’
s house. But, sure, come in.
”

Trent hated himself for letting
Chloe in. But he didn
’
t
feel he had much of a choice. Nobody had heard from Jake since he left the
hotel yesterday. They figured he was going to go confront Chloe and then end up
back with the band.

But that didn
’
t happen.

And he didn
’
t stay with Chloe.

Great.

Chloe put her bag on the table and
it opened. Trent showed her the bathroom and then went to the kitchen to get
his coffee mug. He needed more caffeine. As he reached for his mug, he spotted
the paperwork at the very top of Chloe
’
s
bag.

Not your business
…
don
’
t look
…
don
’
t freaking look
…

Trent looked. He didn
’
t touch the papers, but he
looked.

“
Oh,
shit,
”
he whispered as he
read what he could.

He turned with his empty coffee mug
and spotted the whiskey on top of the fridge. The toilet flushed and Chloe
emerged with that fake smile on her face.

“
I
guess I
’
ll get going,
”
she said.
“
Just please have Jake call me. I
don
’
t know what to do.
”

Trent
’
s
mouth was dry. He nodded.

Chloe hugged him even though Trent
didn
’
t hug her back. She
grabbed her bag and left the house.

Alone again, Trent shook his head.

Nothing could even just be easy. Or
smooth. Or calm.

Before anything could happen, there
was one question that needed to be answered.

Where in the hell was Jake?

*

Jake knew the risk of going into a
restaurant. He hated the idea of having security with or near him. He hated the
idea of being snuck in through the back and given a special table. He was a
human, a man, a guy who played guitar. It just so happened that millions of
people loved that he played guitar.

The breakfast place was a little
dive. It stunk of grease and coffee, the tables didn
’
t match and were uneven, and along with the sizzle
of food cooking came the sound of the plates and utensils clanking together.

It was great. Just what Jake wanted
and needed.

In the back corner was an open
table. He pointed and Mel nodded.

She looked unbelievable. He didn't
know if any other woman could possibly change and clean herself up using
nothing but the trunk of her car and bathroom of a hotel bar and look this
good. It excited him. She was so different and his curiosity was peaked like
never before.

The table top was made out of a
bunch of old newspapers, in random order and date, and then finished with a
clear sealant of some kind so that the papers stayed in tact. The restaurant
was old and cool. A quiet spot to have a greasy bite to eat.

The kitchen was open facing the
counter, which was packed. Guests could watch their food being cooked, and it
also meant the smell of the food was intense and flowed through the restaurant.

A waitress came to the table and
pulled a pen out of the back of her hair. She opened her mouth and then froze
when she saw Jake. She put the pen and paper down on the table, staring.

“
Hey,
”
Jake said.
“
Can we get two coffees?
”

“
Sure,
”
the woman said.
“
I
’
m
…
Abigail. I work here. And you
…”
She leaned a little and bit
her bottom lip.
“
Are you in
Fallen Tuesday?
”

“
Maybe,
”
Jake said.

“
I
knew it. Wow. I knew it. You guys live close by, don
’
t you?
”

“
Maybe.
”

“
I
’
ll get the coffees. Can I have
an autograph?
”

“
Of
course.
”

“
Can
I tell my boss? He owns the place. Loves your band.
”

“
That
’
s fine,
”
Jake said.
“
Just
try not to make a scene, if you could.
”

Jake could already feel a bunch of
people looking at him. If everyone wanted an autograph, Jake would sit there
and sign until his arm hurt, because he felt he needed to make up for walking
away from the end of that show. That was a dumb move and the fans didn
’
t deserve that.

“
Is
it always like this?
”
Mel
asked.

“
Sometimes.
Where we have been staying isn
’
t
bad at all anymore. People are used to us. But everyone else
…
yeah.
”

“
I
am kind of freaked out.
”

“
Don
’
t be.
”

Jake grabbed the notebook and pen.
“
What do you want to eat?
”

“
They
have the best blueberry muffins here. And you can
’
t
beat scrambled eggs.
”

“
Done,
”
Jake said.

He wrote the order down and at the
bottom, wrote
don
’
t
screw it up!
and put a smiley face and signed the paper. When Abigail came
back to the table with coffee, she wasn
’
t
alone. Jake handed her the order and she laughed.

“
Hey
there,
”
a man said.
“
I
’
m
Dave, the owner.
”

“
So
it
’
s your name out front on
the sign?
”
Jake asked as he
shook Dave
’
s hand.

“
Yeah.
Just wanted to say I love the band. Been a huge fan since the old days. I lived
in California for ten years before setting up shop here. Saw you guys at all
the small shows. Smitey
’
s,
The Whisk, Harper
’
s Dawn,
all those places.
”