by D'Ann Lindun
“If we’re taking Adrian out in the morning, I might as well go, too,” Stoney said. “My work here is done.”
“Will you head back to L.A.?” Ryan asked.
“Nah. I think I’ll stick around until Adrian feels better. Plus, we need to hang until Cowboy comes out so we can all fly back together.” He shot a glance Johnny’s way. “Unless you’re done, too?”
“Not yet. I have a full week booked and I want to enjoy every second.” He didn’t want to leave. Not until he knew Montana better.
“I’ll stay, too,” Joel said immediately.
“What?” Johnny laughed. “You’ve been dying for hair gel and a massage since you got here.”
“That’s true. But I should hang with you.” Joel shot a meaningful glance Montana’s way.
Irritated by his manager’s over-protectiveness, Johnny said, “I’m a big boy. I don’t need a keeper.”
“You can stay at the ranch,” Montana offered, seemingly oblivious to the swirling undercurrents. “In the cabins you rented. They’re empty, so you might as well use them.”
“Maybe Shannon could cook for the guys?” Johnny asked. “We’ll pay for it, of course.”
“It’s up to her.” Montana looked at Shannon. “You can use my kitchen. Stay at the house if you want.”
“Sure,” Shannon agreed. “No problem.”
“That’s settled then,” Johnny said. “You all ride out and stay at Montana’s place. I’ll come at the end of the week.”
Montana glanced at him. “A word of warning first. I’m not the cook Shannon is. You’re not going to eat salmon steaks and rosemary-chive potatoes every night. I can warm up beans and fry bacon, but that’s about it.”
He grinned. “I’m not picky about what I eat.”
“Or who,” Stoney muttered under his breath.
Johnny glared at him. “Shut up, man.”
Surprise flitted across Stoney’s face. The comment wasn’t any different than a million others he’d made in their years together. “Sorry, dude.”
“Speaking of food, I’m starving.” Johnny fought his irritation. Stoney hadn’t said anything he hadn’t said before. “That smells wonderful.”
Shannon stirred the stew. “It’s ready when you are.”
Johnny stood. “I’m going to wash up first.”
Joel reached for his coat. “I need to as well.”
“What are we, bitches? Do we have to go to the toilet in groups now?” Johnny knew why Joel wanted to tag along—to lecture him about Montana. He didn’t want to hear it.
His manager feigned hurt. “I need to wash my hands. Is that a crime?”
“Fuck it. Come on.” Johnny slipped into the sleep tent, where he grabbed a towel and soap. He then walked at a fast clip toward the hot springs with Joel hard on his heels.
Just as he figured, Joel started bitching almost immediately. “Cowboy, maybe we ought to cut this trip short. All of us leave in the morning. Adrian’s sick, Stoney killed that poor animal and I’m so over camping I could cry.”
“I’m not,” he said. “It’s a kick in the ass.”
“You can’t tell me you’re actually enjoying this. I realize the whole thing was my idea, but I had no clue how primitive hunting actually would be.” Joel shuddered. “I may never get the sight of blood and gore out of my mind or be clean again.”
“One shower and you’ll be good as new.” Johnny masked his irritation. “I’m staying.”
“For the girl,” Joel said. “Not the ambiance.”
“Maybe both.” The words came out before Johnny thought them through. Were they true? He loved not being harassed by the paparazzi and overzealous fans. No cell phones and internet was bliss. Today had been superb in spite of his missed shot at the elk, but there was more to it. If not for Montana, he wouldn’t be enjoying himself half as much. She intrigued him and he was loath to leave before he tasted her charms.
“Remember what Teal put you through,” Joel cautioned. “And Peyton.”
“Montana’s nothing like Teal.” He ignored the remark about his backup singer.
“I know she’s not. She’s a good girl.” Joel sighed. “I can’t dissuade you from pursuing her, can I?”
“No.” He knelt at the edge of the pond and dipped his hands into the warm water. After splashing his face, he lathered the soap, and making sure none of it got into the spring, scrubbed his hands and face. He could stand a shave. Maybe in the morning. Or maybe not.
Joel shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “Damn, man. I like Montana and I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
“I won’t do anything to her she doesn’t want me to.” He stood and dried his hands and face. “Quit worrying.”
“That’s what you pay me for,” Joel said.
Johnny slapped him on the shoulder. “That reminds me. I have some work for you to do when you hit internet access.”
“What?” Joel looked wary.
“I want to change some of the tracks on the CD. I need you to get hold of the rest of the band and tell them to be ready to record first thing next week.”
Joel opened and closed his mouth. “This CD? The one releasing in about nine months?”
“Yeah. The more I thought about it, the more I think it’s going to bomb. There are too many whiny-ass tunes on it. We need to rock it up.”
“It’s supposed to drop next summer,” Joel said as if Cowboy didn’t remember his own release date.
“I know. But we can’t afford another fuck up and I’m afraid we have one on our hands the way it is now. I think we can pull off the changes, but we’re going to have to move fast.”
“Where are you going to find new songs on such short notice?” Joel looked like he might throw up.
“I’m going to start with the band. Most of them write. Adrian pitched one I turned down. I might take another look at it. It might be exactly what I’m looking for. Stoney might have something, too.” Johnny ran a small brush through his hair. “I have dozens of songs that didn’t make the old records. And I’m working on something I like a lot.”
Joel gaped at him. “Working on it? Do you have time to write and record something brand new?”
“If we kick it hard from the minute we get home, I think we’ll make the deadline.” He tugged his hair into a ponytail. “If not, production will just have to wait.”
“All the more reason for you to come with the rest of us in the morning.” Joel was like a dog with a bone. Not going to give up until he got what he wanted.
“I’m staying.” Johnny usually did what his manager wanted him to, but this time he dug in his heels. “That’s final.”
“You do realize a delay could cost us thousands,” Joel said. “Maybe tens or even hundreds of thousands.”
“I know, but another failure could cost us more than that in the long run.” Johnny had thought extensively about all the pros and cons and he knew he was right to put a few different songs on the CD. He knew convincing the band would be difficult, but it had to be done. Joel had to get on board, and now.
“Okay,” Joel agreed with obvious reluctance. “I’ll get on it as soon as I get off this godforsaken mountain. Are you sure you’re not suffering from altitude sickness like Adrian?”
“I’m positive.” Johnny slapped his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, man.”
“I still wish you’d reconsider everything,” Joel said. “Starting with your stance on Teal’s album. I’m afraid she’s going to sue us if we don’t give in and let her have it.”
“Let her sue. I won’t back down.” He’d won that fight fair and square. “She doesn’t have a leg to stand on. We never signed anything.”
“I’m surprised the court didn’t award it to her in the divorce settlement.” Joel sighed.
“They didn’t because I own it,” Johnny reminded him. “I produced the thing. Paid for everything. Even loaned my band. You know all this…why are we even talking about it again?”
Joel shrugged. “Just t
rying to cut off a snake’s head before it bites us in the butt.”
“Teal’s the least of our problems,” Johnny said. “Keeping my career going is the most important thing right now.”
“I know. I know.” Joel shivered. “Damn, it’s cold.”
“It ain’t L.A.”
“You like it here. Maybe even love it.” Joel stared at Cowboy as if he’d never seen him before. “I thought you were a city boy like me.”
“I guess I’ve missed being outdoors more than I realized. My dad would love this. I wish he could have come.” He turned nostalgic. “Nothing like getting back to my roots to trigger creativity, huh?”
Joel shuddered. “Better watch it, or next thing you know you’re going to pick up a fiddle and join a hillbilly band.”
“Maybe I will. There could be worse things,” Johnny said. “At least those guys have fun playing music. It’s not all about the bottom line for them.”
“Dear God. I hope you’re kidding.” Joel sounded as if Johnny planned to jump off one of the surrounding cliffs. He stared at him with a deep frown. “There’s nothing wrong with making lots of money. Boatloads of cash have made us all very happy as I recall.”
“I’m not throwing it all away,” Johnny reassured his manager. “Stop worrying about Teal and start focusing on how we can make this record rock. Okay?”
“Okay.” Joel sounded as if he were headed toward the gallows.
Johnny slapped his friend on the shoulder again. “Come on, man, cheer up. Have I ever steered us wrong when it comes to music?” At Joel’s sour look, he grinned. “Besides Heartbeat? Trust me. I’m back in the game. Now come on ’cause I’m starving.”
“I can’t eat. I feel sick,” Joel muttered as he turned toward the cook tent.
Johnny, on the other hand, felt more alive than he had in a year. The prospect of adding songs to the new CD, especially the one kicking around in his head, excited him like nothing had for a long time. He’d only been half kidding about joining a hillbilly band and having a good time. Music hadn’t been fun in forever. It was past time to get that old feeling back.
Hopefully, the band would catch his excitement, and that enthusiasm would carry through onto the new CD. If he was keyed up about the record, the fans would hopefully catch his fever, too.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Johnny ate more than he should, finally setting his plate aside with a happy sigh. He patted his stomach. “That was wonderful.”
Shannon blushed. “It’s just stew.”
“Delicious,” he said. “Truly.”
Taking his plate, Shannon said, “Glad you enjoyed it. There’s apple crumb cake for dessert.”
Johnny groaned. “How about you come to L.A. and cook for me all the time?”
“I’d rather be kicked in the leg by one of the mules,” she said with absolute honesty.
He guffawed. “Don’t hold back, tell me how you really feel.”
She shrugged. “I love my life here and I don’t want to go to any big smoggy city.”
“Me either.” Ryan stood and placed his plate in the steaming dishwater. “Crime, crowds. Who needs it?”
“We do,” Stoney said. “Well, not the crime part. But the crowds. Otherwise we don’t have a career.”
“Do you have to live in the city, though?” Shannon washed the plates in a big pot of boiling water, rinsed in another, then dried and placed them in the wooden boxes by the wall. “When you’re not touring and everything? You could live anywhere, right?”
Johnny nodded slowly. He’d never considered living anywhere but L.A. after his career took off. “I probably could, but it would make writing and recording a little more difficult.”
He glanced at Montana. She listened, but made no comment. What was she thinking? She’d already told him she wouldn’t live in a city. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t asking her to move.
“Not to mention you’d miss The Cave and all the bitches that go along with fame,” Stoney said.
“I didn’t miss them when I was married,” Johnny reminded him.
Stoney threw a glove at him. “You’re not married now.”
He dodged the missile. “No. And I’m not going to be again.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Montana flinch. He’d only spoken the truth, not meaning to injure her. He’d tried and failed at marriage. He had no desire to repeat that particular mistake.
An affair, on the other hand, he had no qualms with.
To take his thoughts off the leggy blonde who had his mind going places he’d vowed to forget, he said, “I need to talk to you and Adrian about changing some of the tracks on the CD.”
Stoney stuck his little finger in his ear and twisted it in an exaggerated motion. Finally he said, “What?”
“You heard me.”
Joel stood. “Cowboy, can we take this outside?”
“Yeah. Let’s go see Adrian.” Johnny climbed to his feet and grabbed a bottle of vodka and three cups. “She needs to be in on this, too.” He smiled at Shannon. “Save us some of that cake, okay?”
“Sure.”
As they passed Montana he risked a glance at her, but she ignored him, seemingly engrossed in her boots. The three of them walked in silence through the cold night. Even Joel kept his normal bitching to himself.
Inside the girls’ tent, Adrian lay on her cot. She lifted her head when they entered. “Hey! Wrong house. You’re across the way.”
“It’s cold in here. You warm enough?” Johnny moved to the little camp stove and added a couple logs to the glowing embers in the bottom. “That’s better.” He sat on the cot closest to the door. “How’re you feeling, babe?”
“Lousy. What’s up? Am I dying? All three of you showing up like this…”
Stoney and Joel sat on the farthest cot in the small canvas shelter, their expressions serious.
“All right, you guys are scaring me. Did you come to see me before I kick the bucket?” Adrian asked, her tone teasing, but she frowned.
“Nothing like that,” Johnny assured her. “But we need to talk before you leave in the morning.”
“About what?”
“Career suicide,” Joel muttered.
Adrian shot a glance between the men. “I don’t understand.”
As he poured vodka into three cups, Johnny said, “I’ve been thinking about the new CD. I think it needs to be tweaked.” He handed Joel and Stoney each a cup. “You guys were right about Heartbeat. It wasn’t us, it was too country.”
Stoney frowned. “What does that have to do with Betrayed?”
Johnny took a deep breath. Showtime. “I think this one is too much of the same thing. I was so pissed off by Teal and Keifer’s shit that every song I wrote came out as rants. The good news is there’s some damn good music there. The bad news is I now think there’s too much of a country sound again.”
“Are you suggesting a whole new album?” Stoney downed his drink and held out his cup for more.
“No.” Johnny filled it, glad his friend hadn’t immediately laughed him off. “I want to axe about a third of the songs and replace them with our old sound—the one that made us the band we are.”
“Do you think we can record that many new songs and still get it on the shelves on schedule?” Stoney didn’t dismiss his plan and Adrian listened intently, but didn’t weigh in.
“I do. We have a lot of old stuff already recorded we can look at,” Johnny said. “I know some of you have some ideas you pitched and I rejected. Let’s take another listen.”
Adrian brightened. “Sweet.”
“There’s one thing,” Johnny said. “I want to put an unrecorded song on the CD. We’d have to get it down, but I think we can.”
“What is it?” Adrian asked.
“I’m working on the lyrics. They’re still rough.” Johnny wasn’t ready to share yet. The song in his head was private. His alone. Eventually he’d have to let them hear it, but not today.
“Do we have time to do all this?” Stoney asked
again.
“I think so,” Johnny told him. “I’m not going to lie. We’re going to have to kick it hard when we get home, but I think it’s important, or I wouldn’t have suggested any of this.”
“I think it’s a good idea.” Adrian coughed. “I always thought Heartbeat was too country- fried for us, but you’re our fearless leader and it’s what you wanted…”
Ignoring her unsubtle I told you so, Johnny looked at Stoney. “What’re your thoughts?”
“I’m here for you, man. I’ll do whatever you decide. I’ll admit I’m not really crazy about everything on the new CD, but at least we’re out of your love-struck period.” Stoney grinned. “If you want to change it up, I’m in.”
Joel had been silent. He’d been staring at his fingernails like he’d never seen them before. “What’s brought on this change of heart?”
“Getting out of L.A., I think.” Finally getting over Teal. He left that unspoken. “I know it’s a lot of work, but I think it’s the right direction. We can’t afford another misstep. And I’m afraid Betrayed will be one without adjustments.”
“The fans hated Heartbeat with a passion,” Stoney said with brutal honesty. “If we fuck up with another one we might as well hang up our guitars.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the occasional ballad,” Adrian said. “But we just had too many for one record.”
“Betrayed has a completely different sound than Heartbeat.” Joel stood and began to pace. “I thought that’s what you wanted, Cowboy. To go in a different direction—”
“I did. Do. But I think we’ve spun away from our rock roots to another country album.” He stared into his cup. “We’re about to release angry-girl music in country form and I don’t like it.”
The others laughed, but no one disputed his claim.
“When you guys get to town, start making a list of songs to replace at least three, maybe four, on Betrayed.” Johnny looked between them. “Agreed?”
“Sounds good,” Stoney said.
Adrian nodded. “Yeah.”
Joel’s response was lukewarm. “I’ll call the others when I have cell service.”
