“We’ve got a concert schedule.”
Shock reverberated through my chest. No wonder his wife stayed tucked up in Darwin. “She’s only got days to live.”
Harry scrubbed his palms across his cheeks, mouth hanging open. “Right. I’ll handle it. You get packed and head to the airport. I’ll text you the details.”
“I’ll be in and out, Harry. A few days, tops.”
Harry sighed. “Good. Yeah, good. We don’t want to screw over the fans. They bought tickets to these shows months ago.”
Tension crawled up my neck. “Do you think I’d choose hospice over playing with the band?”
Harry put his hand on my arm. I shook him off, so he tried to placate me with words. “You’re right. This is a tough time for you.”
“I plan to keep my commitments to the band, to our fans—as soon as my mum’s gone.”
Harry ran his hand over the buttons of his vest, and I struggled to process my emotions. Why did we leave all those years before? Next time Harry spoke, he was all business. Don’t know why I expected more from him.
“I’m walking a fine line here, Hayden. Everyone should be happy. The fans like that last tune you added to the LP. We’ll offer them the live version you did tonight. Glad you overruled Ets.”
Not what he said when they recorded the track. In fact, he’d sided with Ets, saying the song was too emotional.
People connected with my songs because they was real. Raw. I hadn’t known how else to pound out my fear and frustration after my dad died. So I’d written music. Lots of music. Most of which Dad would’ve hated, but the process was cathartic. And people responded to it.
“Don’t be gone long. Jackaroo’s front and center right now. You’re at the top of your game, Hayden.”
“Got that. Spin us hard, mate. I’ll do my part. A live chat or whatever. Get me a piano, and I’ll play something for the fans we’re screwing over. Will you get me on the first flight that’s available? I’ll need a day at the hospice facility.” To deal with the paperwork and such. To ask my questions. “Then I’ll fly back. It’ll have to be two days with the time difference and flights.”
“There’s a plan. We’ll smooth this over. No worries.” He bent over his phone, fingers tapping. “Oh. Condolences.”
“What’s going on?” Flip asked, barging through the door. His dark hair lay plastered to his head, same as mine. “You ran off. Bad news?” He wrapped his arm around his longtime girlfriend-turned-wife. Cynthia, a petite brunette, was rounded with a bellyful of baby. Her light hazel eyes were focused on Flip’s face, full of love.
“My mum’s in final stages of pancreatic cancer. I’m off to Seattle.”
“Earliest flight leaves at ten tomorrow morning,” Harry muttered, hunched over his phone.
“Book it then,” I said.
“Gets you in during the afternoon tomorrow in Seattle. Benefit of the seventeen-hour time difference, I’d say. I’ll sort your hotel and a car.”
I clapped his shoulder. “Thanks, mate.”
Flip’s eyes were darker away from the harsh glare of the stage lights. “You’ll be ’right, mate?”
I half shrugged. “I’ll ring soon as I can, let you know when I’ll be back.”
“We’ll miss you,” Cynthia murmured, pulling me into her arms.
I shuffled back, swallowing hard. I offered my hand to Flip, but he also pulled me into a hug, pounding my back a few times to beat the point home. They wouldn’t ask the uncomfortable questions, but at least I wasn’t alone.
“Right-o,” I said, clearing my throat. “See ya in a few days. My leaving will give Ets his chance to shine.”
Flip chuckled low. “We’ll crash and burn if we’re giving Ets the reins. He’s on a quick boat to self-destruction.”
I rotated my head on my neck. “Don’t make me feel worse about this, Flip. I’m having a bugger of a time leaving.”
“It’s for family. That’s first.” Flip slid his arm back around Cynthia’s waist, emphasizing his point.
“I’ll touch base with you before I leave for the airport,” I said to Harry.
Our manager nodded, mumbling to himself. I tore the page from his pad and offered it back. He grabbed it and started making notes, muttering.
“See if I need to do any promo. I’ll talk to reporters you set up in Seattle to get the Yanks excited about our tour there.”
I ran my fingers over the short hairs on the back of my neck, wishing for a massage. But I still needed to shower and pack. Just past 2:00 a.m. here. I snorted. My courtesy car would be by to pick me up in mere hours.
I walked out of the room, away from the fans screaming, noting the strawberry-blonde’s pout. Me, too, love. I had grand plans for our night.
Instead, I climbed into my bus and walked straight to the loo. Stripping quickly, I stepped into the narrow shower stall, the tepid water running over my neck, down my back. The water took too long to warm up all the way, and I needed to wash away the sweat and fatigue before I was buried under it.
Three days tops to get there, say goodbye and hop on another jet home. I’d be free of old promises and the obligation to a woman I could barely remember. And wished I didn’t.
The Spirit Seducer
The Spirit Seducer (Book One in the Echo series)
A god undone by prophecy. A warrior strong as the earth. And the woman who will decide their fate . . .
The dream comes every night: A warrior clad in leather and wielding a spear, fighting off demons with the heads of jackrabbits and pumas. Defending her.
Echo Ruiz knows it’s ridiculous. There’s no one in Santa Fe less likely to need defending. She’s confined to her mother’s house. Her Native American Studies classes are online, and she hasn’t made a new friend in a decade.
Until her twenty-first birthday party, when Coyote himself shows up. An hour later, Echo is on the run from the power-hungry trickster god. Her headaches are gone. Her mother is a hostage, and she’s been thrust into a mirror-world of deadly loveliness to fight or die alone.
Except for her dream warrior, who’s as real as the sweat on her skin. His name is Zeke, and he remembers a lot more about Echo than she does about him.
But if Echo wants to defeat Coyote—if she wants to survive—she’ll have to discover the way herself. Because that’s one ending the legends have never told . . .
The Magician’s Ruins
She’s fighting to save the world from ancient gods and unknown evil, but who can she trust when her allies are inextricably linked in Sussitanako’s spider web of deceit?
The portals to the underworld are unguarded, and demons roam free in the Southwest. To return the world to balance Echo Maria Ruiz must survive enough trials to meet with the Magician in his ruined city and learn the secrets he holds. Secrets like the location of her best friend.
Alone and unprepared, Echo must trust Honani, her spirit guardian, and Zeke, the handsome, mysterious warrior who carries her on the back of his motorcycle, battling demons and monsters at her side. In her darkest moments in the Magician’s ruins, Echo discovers betrayal lurks, and her warrior may not be her hero after all.
Sweet Solace (The Seattle Sound Series Book 1) Page 27
