Authors: Jody French
Red Dirt Rocker (21 page)
Kyle grins at me and shrugs his shoulders in an unsure manner. I know he’s not sure how I’m going to react to the awkward situation.
"Yeah, man. Are you okay with this?" Kyle asks cautiously.
I shake my head and take a few slow steps toward Kyle’s pickup. Reaching through his truck window, I give my buddy a hard, but harmless knuckle punch on the shoulder. I honestly have to laugh. I never, ever would have thought of this in a million years, but they actually make a
kinda
cute couple.
"Good luck with her, man—she's quite a handful!" I tease, still a state of shock.
Kyle is relieved by my response. We’re already bros. Now, maybe we'll be future “bros-in-law.”
It’s all good.
Megan blows a non-sarcastic kiss to me as they pull away. "See you all at Aunt Carmen's! Love
ya
, bub!”
Wow….my sis is
growin
’ up!
I jog back to my new buds, Junior and
J.T
. "Rock on, man. Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!" I give the brothers each a fist bump.
"Yeah!
Rock on, man.
Go get
em
' on the tour and be safe,
lil
' dude!" Junior exclaims.
The two brothers stand with giddy, gap-toothed smiles. Junior gives me the thumbs up;
J.T
. gives me the rock sign.
I jump into my Chevy pickup, pull out my BlackBerry, and hit speed dial. "Hey, are
ya
ready?” I ask calmly, although filled with expectation. "Okay. I'm on my way to pick
ya
up. Aunt Carmen will be
soooo
glad to finally meet you. Love
ya
, Sophie!" I
say,
my voice a little more high-pitched than usual.
I feel content and complete. I put my truck in gear and pull out onto the antique brick streets that were laid by prisoners back in the old days. I roll down my windows and let the pure, crisp November air rifle through the cab.
I glance into the rearview mirror and almost don’t recognize myself. My reflection reveals the shorter haircut that I had gotten the week before. Mama cried and saved my thick curly ponytail in a Ziploc bag. I now have rad “devil locks,” with cool sharp side burns and shorter curls down the back of my neck. The girls at school and on Facebook are crazy for my makeover. Sophie loves it, too. It’s different, but good—it was time for a change.
I slip on my Ray Ban aviators, and turn onto a bumpy, back country road. I’m off to pick up Sophie, who lives just two miles past Aunt Carmen’s homestead. The brilliant autumn sun comes alive. Its rays dance like daytime fireflies, as it reflects over the lazy ripples in Aunt Carmen’s pond. I honk at Mojo as I rumble past Aunt C’s pasture. His ears prick up. He begins to race my truck down the barbed wire fence line. The majestic sorrel holds his head high. He flexes his muscles and morphs from a gallop into a dead, thirty-five mile an hour run. It’s the perfect picture to describe how I know we both feel this very moment—free!!
Betty is buckled safely in the back seat keeping me company. I pull on my Joe’s Tire ball cap, turn on
KMOD
and crank my stereo volume to max—
there’s
no one here to tell me to turn it down. My calloused fingers begin to keep time on the well-worn, knuckle-indented leather steering wheel. I recognize the song playing within the first two beats. Even though it’s a brand new single, I know each and every word by heart already. The song is “Sweet Goodbye,” track number two from the debut album by a young, red dirt rock band called Cellar Door Is Gone, which hails from the Midwest—
Cowtown
, Oklahoma, to be exact.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This novel was inspired by the true life experiences of Forrest French, former lead singer/guitarist for teen rock band, Crooked X. The setting is real, but some characters are strictly products of the author’s imagination. This novel in no way represents any of his former band members, their families, former management or professional representatives.
ACKNOWLEGMENTS
KMOD
, and attorneys at law, Mike Redman and Kenneth
Freundlich
, for their invaluable friendship and assistance with Forrest’s musical ventures. I am forever grateful for the hospitality of MTV, The Dallas Cowboy football franchise, Brad Harris and The Cain’s Ballroom, Red Bull, and my ancestor’s home of Sweden, along with its beautiful people. Thank you to Jennet Grover, my lovely editor and mentor, who encouraged me with each step along the way, and helped me to bring my story to life. Thank you to Donna Font and
Neverland
Publishing for their philosophy of taking chances on first time authors, and making the process of publishing a book a most enjoyable, heartwarming experience. Last but not least, my biggest acknowledgment goes to my talented son Forrest, for inspiring me in this work and in
my world each and every day by holding his family values close to his heart and his faith in God above all
Hailing from the small farming and ranching community of Coweta, Oklahoma, author and substitute teacher Jody French’s love for working with and relating to teens, as well as her passion for her son’s music, inspired her to write her first novel for young adults,
Red Dirt Rocker
.
In addition to writing and traveling, Jody loves to spend time with her husband, three children and three grandchildren. Rumor has it that some of her writing has been accomplished with a grandbaby on her lap.
Jody is a member of the Tulsa writer's group, Tulsa
Inkslingers
, as well as the online group,
Scribophile
.