The Road Back (Limelight Series Book 2) Read online

  I was late. Crap! I was supposed to meet Lucy Nelson at the RatHound rehearsal ten minutes ago, but I’d gotten lost. Stupid Seattle. It was too big. I was a southern girl unused to the big city… although, truth be told, I got lost in Mobile as well.

  I pulled my rental car up to the front of Fastback Studios where the band had been rehearsing for several weeks, and took a deep breath. I was about to walk onto holy ground and I wasn’t quite sure how to react. RatHound was one of the biggest bands on the planet, and they were heading out on tour with Roses for Anna (the band I now managed), which meant more pressure than I think I was prepared for.

  I slid out of my car, grabbed my purse and portfolio (I was still old school enough to write everything down on paper), and walked inside.

  The receptionist smiled and I made my way to her desk. “Hi. I’m Hadley Simon. I’m meeting Lucy Nelson for the RatHound rehearsal.”

  “They’ve been expecting you,” she said, and rose to her feet, handing me a visitor badge. “I’ll walk you back.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I stuck my badge on my blouse, and followed her to a back studio area. I stepped inside and froze. I couldn’t have moved if I’d wanted to. I was alone in a small reception area; one large glass window gave me a direct line of sight to the mixing room, another looked into the tracking room… and the drummer.

  I couldn’t breathe. He drummed like a man possessed. His long, dark hair fell over his full beard as he hit the skins, but then he looked up, and piercing blue eyes that caught mine as I stood transfixed, stared into my soul. I swallowed convulsively and then forced a slight smile. To so many musicians and music fans around the world, Jack Henry was a god. I had just become one of his willing worshipers.

  He stared at me for a few tense seconds and then grinned over at Rex Haddon, and I lost my connection to him. I scurried through another door which led me to the mixing room where Lucy hugged me as soon as I walked inside. “You made it.”

  I nodded. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I got a little turned around.”

  Lucy Nelson, nee Haddon, as she was newly married to Bam Nelson, the Roses for Anna drummer, was a full-figured, drop-dead gorgeous red-head whose father had put her in charge of this tour, and his band. Even though I was several years older than her, and had been doing my job for a while now, I knew I’d be able to learn a lot from her. We were both newly appointed female managers in the male-dominated music industry, and we were very thankful to have each other’s support on our maiden tour. We’d become very close in a short period of time, as Bam was one of my dearest friends.

  “Don’t worry about it; it’s easy to get lost in this city.” She grinned. “Next time, I’ll have Sully pick you up.”

  Sully was Lucy’s driver, and rather gorgeous himself. He looked a lot like Pierce Brosnan, only he smiled a hell of a lot less. I guess that was part of his job, though, as he also served as her personal security detail.

  “Where’s Bam?” I asked. “I thought he’d be here.”

  Lucy nodded. “He’s making a coffee run.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “He’s making a coffee run? Don’t they have studio runners here?”

  “Normally yes, but this is a pretty ‘closed set,’ so-to-speak, plus he doesn’t much mind.”

  “You’ve got him trained that quickly? What’s your secret?”

  “He’s learning that if I’m happy during the day, he’s extra happy at night.”

  “Lucy Nelson, are you exchanging caffeinated beverages for sexual favors?”

  “Absolutely,” she said. “I like my lattes like I like my men, strong, bold, and slightly whipped.”

  I couldn’t stop a giggle… just as the door to the tracking room opened and Rex walked in. “Hey, Vic, can we get the playback? Oh, hey, Hadley.”

  “Hey, Rex, how are you?”

  He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I’m good. How ’bout you?”

  “Haven’t had coffee yet, so ask me again in ten minutes.” I walked over to the pot sitting in the corner and forced myself not to shudder at the powdered creamer. I needed caffeine ASAP or I’d rage like… well, like a non-caffeinated Hadley Simon.

  He chuckled. “You got it.”

  My eyes couldn’t stop glancing over his shoulder just in case Mr. Sex on a Stick walked in. I didn’t have to wait long. Robbie, their guitarist pushed through the door, followed by Jack.

  I squared my shoulders and forced myself to look away from my own personal Dionysus. It was all I could do to stop myself from dropping to my knees as he pulled his hair into a messy man bun.

  Twelve years ago, when his wife died of cancer, Jack Henry went off the grid and all but vanished from public life. I was twenty-three at the time and getting ready to start my senior year in college. I was certainly very familiar with RatHound and their music, but admittedly was never much of a fan. I was a country girl, so I mostly listened to country music. In fact, Roses for Anna was the first rock band I’d worked with. Jack had been considered a sex symbol due to his boyish good looks, he’d never really pinged my radar, because, one, he was a rocker, and two, he was the clean-cut boyish type and I’d always been a sucker for dark and rugged men.

  Today, the creature who stood in front of me was all man and my girl parts were pinging and ponging.

  “Hadley, have you met Jack and Robbie?” Lucy asked.

  “No,” I managed to squeak out.

  Robbie shook my hand, gave me a quick nod, and then focused back on engineer Vic, but Jack… Jack took my hand and held it a little longer than I expected while he gave me a slow, sexy smile and said, “Hi Hadley. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Ping!

  Jack

  HOLY SHIT, IT felt good to play again. After my wife’s death, I’d spent the better part of the past decade at the bottom of a bottle, and almost died twice myself. My life now consisted of travel, photography, and little else. This kept me sober and sane, but completely disconnected from those I loved. For the longest time, it was simply too painful to be around anyone or anything that reminded me of Pam; this included my band and my drums. Being back behind my drum kit, playing with my best friends, was an amazing feeling. I hadn’t truly realized how much I’d missed this and was surprised with how quickly we were gelling as a band.

  “Let’s play it again,” I said to my fellow bandmates.

  Rex chuckled. “You certainly seem to be back in fighting form.”

  “Getting there,” I replied. “It was a lot easier when we were kids, that’s for damn sure.”

  “It was a lot easier with cocaine too,” Robbie joked.

  “Everything was certainly faster.” We all laughed before launching into the song one more time.

  I attacked the kit with everything I had. Playing the drums is a constant dance between tension and release, and there is an art behind hitting hard but not destroying your body in the process. Even though I was in shape and very physically active, I was still trying to find that line. After a few weeks of practice, I felt far more prepared for the tour than I thought I’d be, and we’d managed to write and record some great new tunes. As the song came to an end, we looked at each other knowingly. Seasoned musicians know when they’ve nailed a take.

  “Shit, my brothers! Now that was great!” Robbie said. “Let’s go listen to that one.”

  I took off my headphones, grabbed a towel and headed for the control room. Rex entered first, followed by Robbie and me. As I entered I spotted Lucy, Rex’s daughter and our new manager. Months ago, Rex mentioned he’d been interviewing a new manager, but you could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out it was little Lucy. She was like a niece to me and Pam, and I adored her. She had always been a sweet but feisty kid, and had blossomed into an independent kick-ass woman. In the short weeks that I’d been able to see her work, I was convinced she was more than capable to handle the job. Her husband had yet to make an appearance at Fastback, however, and every time I mentioned him to Lucy, or asked any questions, she�
��d simply smile and say, “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

  Before I could greet Lucy, she introduced me to the other woman in the room. I hadn’t noticed her at first, but stopped breathing the moment I saw her.

  “Hadley, have you met Jack and Robbie?” Lucy asked the gorgeous brunette.

  Robbie shook her hand first while my brain raced for something charming to say.

  “Hi, Hadley. It’s nice to meet you,” was all I could manage, but it made little difference either way. She barely looked at me.

  “Nice to meet you, too,” she replied in a quiet, southern accented voice. Then she cracked only the smallest of smiles and broke eye contact with me as quickly as possible.

  “Hadley is Roses for Anna’s manager,” Lucy continued. “She’s also a good friend, so you boys better be on your best behavior around her.” She raised an eyebrow and wagged a finger at us.

  “When have we ever been anything less than absolute gentlemen?” Robbie asked playfully.

  “You forget I’m your manager now and therefore have access to your permanent record, old man,” Lucy replied. “Hadley and I have some transportation matters to iron out today for the tour, but I wanted her to meet you all first.”

  I heard every word Lucy was saying, but realized I had been staring at Hadley the entire time. She was unbelievably beautiful, with shoulder length dark brown hair and an amazing body. Curvy and soft in all the right places. Her ice blue eyes were framed by thick black glasses, completing her sexy librarian look. She appeared to be somewhat detached, but not cold. I tried again to engage her.

  “How long have you been with Roses for Anna?”

  “A few years,” she answered, quickly adding, “But, I’ve only been their manager for a few months.”

  “Sounds like there were some issues with the previous manager,” I said. A large sum of money had gone missing and a federal investigation lead to the arrest of Roses for Anna’s former manager.

  She smiled again briefly and once again turned away, focusing her attention back to Lucy. “We should probably get started.”

  “Oh, okay, sure. We can go over everything in the lounge. Let me just grab my laptop.” Lucy turned her attention back to the band for a moment. “You guys sound amazing, by the way. The new songs are incredible.”

  “Thanks Lucy,” I said before making eye contact with Hadley again. “It was really nice meeting you. I guess we’ll being seeing you around.”

  She nodded and slipped through the door to the lounge. I looked at Lucy and shrugged. I assumed that Hadley had guys in the business hitting on her all the time and probably figured I was going to pounce on her like the others.

  This couldn’t be further from the truth. I hadn’t had any kind of meaningful relationship with a woman since Pam, and hadn’t even dated over the past two years. Meaningless hookups and nights spent in drunken oblivion were well behind me and I wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize my sobriety or sanity.

  Still, there was something about this woman that drew me to her. She clearly showed no interest in me, but it made little difference. Her lack of eye contact didn’t negate the fact that I was obviously going to be very distracted with Hadley hanging around the studio.

  * * *

  Hadley

  Well, holy crap on a stick! I licked my lips. That man was dangerous. God bless America! He stared into my soul like he could read my mind.

  A gentle hand tapped my knee. “Hadley?”

  “Hmm?” I glanced at Lucy who sat across from me.

  “You okay?”

  “Oh, yes.” I smiled. “Sorry. We were talking about bus companies.”

  Lucy raised an eyebrow, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Bam walked in carrying several coffees. She set her laptop aside and rose to her feet. “Perfect timing.”

  Bam leaned down to kiss her quickly. “You miss me?”

  She took the coffee with her name on it and took a swig. “Hmm-mmm, yep, it was you I missed,” she crooned and stroked the paper cup.

  Bam chuckled and handed me a Frap. “Thanks, Bam. You read my mind.”

  “One of my super powers.” He grinned. “Plus, I know what you’re like before coffee.”

  “I’d object to you speaking to me like you know me, but I love you for getting me coffee, so you’re forgiven… for now.”

  “You ready to meet Jack today?” Lucy asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Bam said.

  I could relate to his nervousness, even if he wasn’t nervous for the same reasons I had been. I saw motion in the window and Jack smiled at me as he sat back behind his drums. I smiled back, pushing my glasses back up my nose and focusing back on Bam. “Looks like they’re getting back to it.”

  “See Luce, it looks like they’re busy. I can meet him tomorrow,” Bam said.

  “Why don’t you hang with us?” I suggested. “You can weigh in on a few things.”

  “I should really get going, but maybe I’ll stop by later,” he said.

  “Okay sure,” I said only half paying attention to Bam’s words. I could not stop looking at the man behind the glass.

  “Earth to Hadley,” Bam said.

  “Sorry.” I shook my head and faced him. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today… I’m so distracted.”

  “I wonder why,” Lucy retorted, giving me a cheeky grin.

  I could feel the heat flood my face, so I dropped my head, letting my hair fall around it as I pretended to check my notes. Clearing my throat, I said, “So, I think we should go with―”

  “Hey, Dad,” Lucy said, interrupting me. “Sorry, Hadley. Give us a second, okay?”

  “No problem.” I looked up and smiled at Rex who’d just walked in from the sound booth. Jack was right behind him and I squirmed in my seat.

  Damn it, I needed a little relief.

  I had a feeling I was going to be imagining a certain long-haired man while I was utilizing my B.O.B. later.

  Jack smiled, his eyes lingering on me for a few precious seconds. I felt like I might internally combust if I didn’t look away, so I pretended to read over my notes.

  Bam said nothing, but winked at me, using this distraction as an opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. It was funny to see him so nervous to meet his hero. Apparently being nervous around Jack Henry is a thing around here.

  It was times like this that I fantasized about being a different person. The kind of person, for example, that would have a meaningless sexual fling with a rock star. I wasn’t Lucy and he wasn’t Bam, so I wasn’t about to entertain some sort of romantic fantasy, but I wondered what it would be like to simply have a tryst with Jack Henry. Sure, he was older, probably had a harem of women, and we were in business together… but who cares? I could be one of those women that could ignore all that for what I was sure would be mind blowing sex—right?

  Fat chance. I was a good girl and I knew it. Besides, I’d heard what happened to the band manager before Lucy and squashed that thought. According to Lucy, she’d gotten the job because the previous woman had cornered Rex and tried to remove his clothing. She was promptly fired and Lucy took over.

  I had no intention of losing my job. I had plans. Ones that didn’t include dallying with a member of RatHound. Regardless of how sexy the man was, damn it.

  “Hey.”

  I jumped.

  “Sorry,” Jack said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Ohmigod, his voice. It did things to me. Naughty things.

  I rose to my feet and set my notepad on the chair. I needed to be taller… I felt too vulnerable sitting. “No, you didn’t. I was in the zone, I guess.”

  We were alone and I was immediately struck dumb with the closeness of the man, plus… more pinging. So much pinging.

  Lucy had left me a few minutes ago, heading in to join Bam.

  “I was just finishing up. Are you guys still rehearsing?”

  Jack shook his head. “Everyone’s listening to the playback.”


  “Shouldn’t you be in there?”

  “I’m good right here, Hadley.”

  I bit my lip. I tried to slide my hand into my pocket but overshot the mark, and I couldn’t figure out who the hell sewed the damn thing shut. If I tried to move my hands to my back pockets, I was painfully aware that my double-D’s would be thrust out and make me look like a B-52 bomber coming in for a landing.

  I didn’t want to cross my arms because that shows you’re closed… which, to him, I wasn’t.

  Shit! I didn’t know what to do with my hands.

  “You want to come listen with us?” Jack offered.

  “Um, sure. Yes, that would be great.”

  * * *

  Jack

  Hadley and I stood shoulder-to-shoulder against the back wall of the studio. The new song we were working on pumped through the monitors, and my bandmates were all smiles. Even though Rex had a successful solo career, and Robbie had stayed very active as a session and touring bassist for several bands over the years, there was simply no denying the magic that happened when the three of us played together. There’s no hiding in a trio. Each player has to be one hundred percent committed at all times. It’s an exciting and dangerous way to make music that requires a level of intimacy and telepathy between players.

  I leaned over to Hadley, still facing the monitors. “What do you think?”

  She smiled. “It really sounds great. You guys sound like… like… you.”

  “Well I guess that’s better than sounding like Bieber,” I said dryly.

  She turned to me quickly her hand shooting up to her mouth. “Oh, no, I just meant that you guys sound just as good as you did back―”

  “Back when we were young? Back when we toured via brontosaurus?”

  “No, I just meant—”

  I smiled wide to let her off the hook and she playfully smacked my arm. “You’re mean,” she said.

  My entire body stiffened in reaction to her touch. Hadley was beautiful, so I wasn’t surprised at my physical attraction to her, but I felt there was something more to her and I wanted to know what it was.

  “Didn’t your mother ever tell you to stay away from musicians?”