Read Online Last Song (Chasing Cross Book Five) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) (rockstar contemporary romance) by Karolyn James - Free Book Online

guys
pulled their cars into the alley and unloaded equipment while Rick dug around
for extension cords and power strips. The entire setup was nothing short of a
fire hazard and there was no doubt in Rick’s mind that they would trip circuit
after circuit, but damn, it was good to see. Old rugs on the floor. A beat up
couch near one of the walls. Cracked leather stools. The smell of booze, sweat,
and damn stone lingered in the air. Rick needed to get a fridge in the garage
still, but he settled for a big cooler packed with ice and beer for now.
    When it came time to play
music, they played. The beer was on the ground, the problems left outside.
Rick’s hangover throbbed, but he could ignore it. It didn’t matter right then
about his headache. It didn’t matter that his lawyer had left him a voicemail,
wanting to discuss the options and future of Rick’s presence, or lack there of,
in Chasing Cross. All that mattered was that Rick drummed as Andy and Jack
played guitar. Timmy bobbed his head as he played a heavy bass line that
sounded thick coming through his one speaker amp. And finally, there was Nick.
He took to the mic, holding it with both hands, closing his eyes, and sang as
though he were in front of eighty thousand fans. He leaned forward, he pulled
back, he threw his head back during guitar parts, and he spun around the mic
stand.
    That’s what it was about.
    It was about playing music.
    They ran through all the
songs they knew together. Over ten years worth of playing, touring, and writing
all coming together at once. They played covers of their favorite bands. They
played for an hour before stopping. When they did stop, Rick’s arms hurt. He
loved it. Timmy reached down for his beer and sipped it.
    Everyone was content.
Then, Nick spoke.
    “What’s up with Chasing
Cross?”
    The mood in the garage
changed.
    “What’s up with them?”
Rick asked. “They’re something I’m not.”
    “Sick of the life?”
Jackie asked with that smile on his face.
    “What life?”
    “The life,” Jackie said.
“That processed kind of life. They hand you a tuned guitar. They tell you what
to play. It’s the same crowd. The same feel. The same everything. Then you get
into the studio and it’s the same producer, the same sound, the same twelve
songs just rewritten. It’s a process.”
    Rick thought about it.
    Yeah, some of it really
felt that way. Some of it didn’t. Chasing Cross had always refused to become
processed on stage and in the studio, but something definitely felt off about
the band. However, that wasn’t Rick’s problem though. Not right then.
    “Give me a beer,” Rick
said.
    “That’s the spirit,” Andy
said. “Now let’s write something new. Together. Right now.”
    “Yes,” Rick said.
    He twisted the cap off a
fresh beer and drank the entire bottle before putting it down. He didn’t care.
It was time to play, to rock, to do something great.
    Rick’s mouth watered for
another beer though. Maybe some more whiskey. Andy and Jackie started talking
about some riffs they had been tossing around. Rick listened and watched,
picking up on the sound, thinking of what to play.
    He nodded and smiled. He
stood from the kit to go get another beer.
    Yeah, this was the first
day of something big.
     
    **
     
    Sarah went to work even
though she wasn’t supposed to. Her night of sleep went better than she thought.
She fell asleep to the distant sound of her loud neighbor. The really good looking guy who
played drums. That’s how she referred to her new neighbor. After
sleeping in, Sarah went for a run alone. Molly didn’t like the idea, but Sarah
wasn’t in a position to be controlled by a dog. Of course, the moment she saw
her new neighbor standing at his front door, staring at her, she thought of
Molly. Maybe the dog had been right. Maybe she should have skipped the run, or
just brought Molly with her.
    Sarah ended up crossing
the street, something she regretted the second her feet went from the curb