Impossible Depths (Silver Lake series Book 2)

by McCallum, Coral

  “Morning,” she said with a smile as she opened the door.

  “Morning, li’l lady,” sighed Jake, wrapping his arms around her. “God, I’ve missed you.”

  “Missed you too, rock star,” she purred, snuggling into his embrace.

  Gently, he kissed her on the top of the head, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Still smiling, Lori stepped aside to allow him to bring his bags and guitars into the room that they were to call home for the next week. As he looked around, Jake nodded his silent approval at their surroundings.

  “What’s the plans for the rest of the day?” asked Lori as she watched him remove his leather jacket and flop down onto the bed.

  “We’ve got an interview at two downstairs, then that friend of Maddy’s has us booked on her radio show between six and eight. After that, we’re done for the day,” he rhymed off. “I thought maybe you’d like to come out to the radio station with us then we can all head out for dinner.”

  “Fine by me,” agreed Lori, as she lay down on the bed beside him. “Have you had lunch?”

  “Not yet,” Jake sighed, gazing up at her. After seven days apart, he was drinking in every inch of her, thinking for the millionth time how lucky he was.

  “Why don’t I order room service?” Lori suggested. “And we can grab a few minutes alone?”

  “Sounds like a plan. You order for me while I jump in the shower. I slept in and never had time to freshen up before we left Amsterdam.”

  Jake had just emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped round his waist when their lunch was delivered. Not wanting to get caught in a state of undress, he stepped back into the bathroom while Lori tipped the boy who had delivered the tray of food. When he heard the bedroom door close again, Jake stepped back out into the room.

  “That was close,” giggled Lori, lifting the covers off the two bowls of soup she had ordered. “Come and eat before this gets cold.”

  As they ate, Jake filled her in on the highlights of the whirlwind week they had spent so far in Europe. It had been decided weeks before that only Rich and Jake would make the trip, accompanied by Jethro. So far things had gone smoothly and according to plan. Both musicians had been pleasantly surprised by the number of fans that had turned out to greet them. In Amsterdam, they had visited a radio station and had been met by an invited studio audience of fifty “Silver Lakers” as their European fans were now calling themselves. Not wanting to disappoint any of them, both he and Rich has stayed on for almost two hours after the radio show finished, chatting to the fans, autographing CDs and T-shirts and posing for endless photographs. The love and warmth from this group of fans had really made an impression on both musicians and Jake confessed to having taken contact details from two of the girls, who wanted to set up a European fan page similar to the one Lucy ran for them back home.

  “I don’t know,” teased Lori playfully. “I leave you alone for five minutes and you’re asking strange women for their phone numbers.”

  Blushing, Jake protested, “It was her email address and she’s a fellow school teacher. She’s married with a teenage daughter!”

  “So many personal details,” she joked, with a giggle.

  “There’s only one girl for me and you know it, Mz Hyde,” he declared emphatically.

  “I’m playing with you, rock star,” laughed Lori. “I think it’s fabulous that you guys have so many dedicated fans over here already.”

  “It blows me away. It’s incredible.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. As Jake was still wearing only a towel, Lori went over to see who it was. Jethro and Rich were standing outside when she looked through the spy hole.

  “You’d better get dressed, rock star,” she suggested as she unlocked the door. “It’s Jethro and Rich.”

  “Shit! What time is it?”

  “Almost two,” replied Lori as she opened the door.

  “Shit. Shit. Shit,” muttered Jake, leaping to his feet.

  The sight of Jake rushing to try to find clean clothes in his suitcase had all of them in hysterics. Before he found clean underwear and socks, he had the contents of the bag scattered all over the bed. Eventually, he had pulled on a clean set of clothes, dragged a brush through his long hair and stuffed his feet back into his favourite boots.

  “Fastest time yet, Mr Power,” joked Jethro, tapping his watch. “You took forty- five seconds off it.”

  “Blame Lori,” muttered Jake, stuffing his phone and his wallet into his jeans’ pocket. “She distracted me!”

  “And he’s easily distracted,” added Rich, slapping Jake on the back. “Come on. We’re late.”

  “How long will you be?” asked Lori, giving him a quick hug.

  “About an hour and a half, I think,” said Jethro, ushering the two musicians out into the hallway. “I’ll come up and fetch you before we head over to the radio station.”

  “Thanks, Jethro. I’ll be ready,” promised Lori with a wink. “Have fun, boys.”

  With the door closed again, she looked round the room. It looked like a clothes bomb had gone off! Jake’s belongings were scattered from one end to the other. Shaking her head and giggling to herself, Lori checked the information file on the table and determined that the hotel offered a twenty-four hour laundry service.

  “Just like home,” she sighed to herself as she began to sort through Jake’s clothes, trying to establish what was still clean and what needed laundered.

  A few minutes later, she had a pile of neatly folded clean clothes and a bundle of dirty laundry. There was a canvas bag hanging in the wardrobe marked “Laundry Service” with their room number stamped on it. Quickly, she stuffed the dirty clothes inside, then called the number on the information sheet to arrange a pick up.

  She had only just finished getting freshened up herself when Jethro returned to collect her. Lifting her jacket, cane, bag and key card, she followed the older man out into the corridor.

  “How was your flight over?” asked the band’s manager as they waited for the elevator.

  “Fine. No hassles,” replied Lori. “I even managed a few hours’ sleep. How have things been this week for you?”

  “Great. These guys are a dream to work with. No egos to get in the way,” replied Jethro as the elevator doors opened. “They really come to life though when you’re around. Nice to see Jake’s smile back. He’s been kind of quiet all week.”

  “How’s Rich been?”

  “A lot more upbeat,” admitted Jethro as they stepped into the elevator. “I don’t know what you said to him back in New York, but he’s a different man. I think he’s found his mojo again.”

  “Relieved to hear it,” said Lori as the doors closed smoothly.

  There was a small group of fans gathered outside the radio station when their taxi drew up outside. Politely as ever, the two musicians spared them a few minutes, then ran into the building out of the cold, October rain before they were soaked through. One of the production assistants was waiting inside and she showed them upstairs to the green room, walking them past the studio they would be visiting shortly. Debbie, the DJ, was already inside setting up for her show. When she saw the Silver Lake party outside the studio window, she waved and indicated that she would be with them in a few minutes. They were all seated in the lounge with coffees and chocolate biscuits when the DJ finally came through to join them.

  “Welcome to London!” she called brightly.

  Both Jake and Rich got up to give her a hug, pleased to see a familiar face.

  “Glad to be here,” said Jake, kissing her on the cheek. “Thanks for inviting us.”

  “Did you see the fans outside?” she asked as they retook their seats. “Apparently they’ve been out there since first thing this morning to see you guys.”

  “That’s awesome,” answered Rich. “We spoke to them before we came in.”

  “I’m just blown away by the fact that they care enough to wait out there for hours just to see us for a few mi
nutes,” sighed Jake. “We don’t get that kind of attention back home too often.

  “You’ve got a strong fan base here,” Debbie acknowledged. “I get a lot of requests to play your music. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the reaction when you tour here in December. I hear a few of the shows are sold out already.”

  “Pleased to hear that,” commented Jethro.

  With a few minutes to spare before they needed to relocate to the studio, they chatted through the plan for the interview. Both musicians had brought their acoustic guitars with them and Jake apologised that he hadn’t had time to do a proper vocal warm up. All too soon it was time for them to move next door.

  “Are you guys ok through here?” Debbie asked Lori and Jethro.

  “We’ll be fine,” replied Lori warmly. “Is the show broadcast through here?”

  “I’ll get one of the girls to switch it on for you,” promised the DJ then turning to Jake and Rich, she said, “Ready, boys?”

  Immediately after the six o’clock news bulletin, Debbie opened her show by playing Out Of The Shadows. Both Jake and Rich sat quietly, with their acoustic guitars resting up against the wall behind them, both feeling a little embarrassed at listening to their own single.

  “Good evening, folks,” began Debbie as she faded out the dying notes of the song. “Our show opener tonight was Out Of The Shadows by US rockers Silver Lake. My special guests in the studio this evening are Rich Santiago and the awesomely talented and handsome Jake Power from the band. We’ll be talking to them shortly and taking some listener questions via phone and email.”

  Almost twenty minutes into the show, Debbie announced that she would be talking to Silver Lake after the next record. The three and a half minutes of the song were over in the blink of an eye and, before either of the boys realised it, Debbie was welcoming them to the show.

  “When did you arrive in London?” she asked, easing them into the interview gently.

  “This morning,” replied Rich, leaning in towards the microphone. “We flew in from Amsterdam.”

  “Amsterdam?”

  “We’ve been on a ten-day promotional tour of Europe for the new record,” added Jake. “London’s the final stop.”

  “Now the new album Impossible Depths came out ten days ago. It’s already riding high in the UK rock charts. Where did the title come from?”

  Both of them laughed, then Jake took up the tale, “We debated for days over that title! None of us could agree on it. We had narrowed it down to three or four possibilities, but just couldn’t settle on one. When we finished the recording, we went out to dinner to celebrate still without the title agreed. Over dinner someone asked what the record was called and the debate started again. Eventually our manager wrote the possible titles down on three pieces of torn up paper napkin and put them in an empty glass. She asked Tom, one of our guests, to choose one. He pulled out Impossible Depths and that was it.”

  “Love it!” laughed Debbie. “It’s quite different from your first album Dragon Song.”

  “It’s not so different,” disagreed Rich. “But I think we’ve grown into our sound on this one. We worked with the same producer, so he knew what we could do and used that to stretch us a bit further than we thought we could go. There were plenty of nights both Jake and I were sent away with our assignments for the night to re-write bits. Solos. Lyrics. Even the whole melody line on one track. All of us put our hearts and souls into every song on there and I think it shows in the end result.”

  “We’re really proud of this record,” added Jake.

  “And so you should be. It’s awesome,” agreed Debbie. “Before we take some calls from our listeners, you are going to play one of tracks for us. Tell us what you are going to play and a bit about the background to the song.”

  “It’s a song called Depths,” began Jake, lifting his guitar. “The album version’s a little heavier, but it’s a song about drowning. In theory, about drowning in anything. Pity. Sorrow. Guilt. Water.”

  Out in the green room, Lori and Jethro sat on the couch listening intently to the show. When she heard the boys start to play the acoustic version of Depths, Lori said to Jethro to pay attention.

  “This is fabulous as an acoustic track,” she said with a proud smile. “I prefer it this way.”

  “I’ve not heard it before,” commented the band’s manager, setting his coffee cup down.

  Together, they listened to Jake’s haunting, eerie vocal creep out of the speakers and subtly work with the music to create the fear and panic of drowning before returning to a rougher, rasping vocal to finish. Nodding his appreciation, Jethro had to agree with Lori that the acoustic was the more powerfully dramatic version.

  “It would be great if they’d play it live like that,” he said. “I’ll need to speak to them about trying it out.”

  “Don’t tell Maddy but Jake already has. He played it at his solo show. The audience loved it,” confided Lori quietly.

  “Mm, he did, did he?” mused Jethro with a mischievous grin. “I’ll need to have a word with young Mr Power.”

  “No,” squealed Lori shrilly. “Don’t! He’ll know I told you.”

  Patting her knee, Jethro said, “I’m yanking your chain. I’ll not say a word, princess.”

  “Thanks,” said Lori, putting her hand on top of his. “You know, I’m glad you’re here with them. I think these guys need you in their corner for a while.”

  “Exactly what Maddison said too.”

  As the two musicians laid their guitars gently against the wall. Debbie began asking them some of the listeners’ questions that had come in via email. She fired three questions at each of them before saying that she was opening the phone lines.

  “Hi, you’re live on air,” she said with a wink to the boys. “What’s your question for Jake and Rich?”

  A rather nervous sounding listener asked, “Jake, when did you first realise you could sing?”

  “Oh, good question,” sighed Jake. “I sang a bit in high school a long time ago for a couple of bands I put together, then did a vocal course as part of my college diploma. I never sang at all for a few years after graduation, but, when we were putting Silver Lake together, Grey asked both Rich and I if either of us could carry a tune. I gave it a trial and here we are.”

  “Did you seriously not realise what a talent you were hiding?” asked Debbie, somewhat taken aback by his answer.

  “I never really took the singer bit seriously before,” Jake confessed shyly. “I remember practising in my bedroom as a kid and my dad yelling at me to shut up. I think that put me off a bit for a long time. Dented the self-confidence.”

  “Our next caller is on the line,” said Debbie. “And I believe your question is for Rich?”

  “Hi. Yes,” began the caller. “Rich, you taught my cousin in high school in Delaware. Do you miss teaching at all?”

  “Hi. Yes, I do,” admitted Rich openly. “I get a buzz out of teaching a class. Seeing them progress. Who is your cousin?”

  “Kate Dirk.”

  “Ah, Kate!” he exclaimed, instantly recognising the name. “Fabulous vocalist. We’re still in contact. Lovely girl. Really hope she does something with that voice.”

  “She’s great,” agreed the caller.

  “Do you keep in touch with a lot of your former students?” interjected Debbie. “You both taught at the same high school for a while, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” began Jake. “And to echo Rich’s comments, Kate has an awesome voice. I’ve had the pleasure of singing with her on a couple of occasions. We keep in touch with some students. We’ve also kept close to the school and do the occasional music workshop there when we have some free time.”

  The Q&A session lasted for a further twenty minutes before the DJ said it was time to play some more music before the next news bulletin. Another four or five songs followed the news ending with Engine Room.

  “And that was Engine Room from the new Silver Lake record, Impossible Depths,
” announced Debbie. “Jake and Rich are still here in the studio with me and will be playing live again shortly. Now guys. I don’t want to open up old wounds, but, as your fans know, there were a few rough months for the band over the summer. How hard has it been to move on from that?”

  Running his hand nervously through his hair, Jake looked over at Rich, gave him a nod, then said, “It’s been a tough journey for all of us. As I said to you back then, when we met up out at JJL, it’s all too easy to torture yourself with “what ifs” but I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t all done it to varying degrees.”

  “Physically have you both fully recovered from the injuries you sustained in the crash?”

  “Apart from a few lingering sinus issues on my part,” said Rich. “Yes, we’re both back to full health.”

  “What keeps you both grounded? You are two of the most down to earth rock stars I’ve met. What keeps you there?”

  “Family. Home,” replied Jake immediately. “We all lead simple lives so it’s the everyday stuff that keeps your feet on the ground.”

  “Like what?” asked the DJ, hoping for an insight into the Silver Lake life.

  “Doing your own laundry in your hotel room and hanging your boxer shorts up to dry on the shower rail,” confessed Rich, visualising his own hotel room.

  “I had one of these surreal wake up moments last month,” added Jake, trying hard not to laugh at his band mate’s laundry dilemmas. “It was just after the MMR award ceremony in New York. Red carpet affair. Champagne. Glitz and glamour. Then a couple of days later, I’m in the food store doing grocery shopping then making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch because my fiancée is working. Normal every day stuff that keeps our world turning smoothly.”

  “So what are you going to play for us now?” asked Debbie, keeping a watchful eye on the time.

  “Ladies choice,” offered Jake, with a flirtatious wink.

  “So many to choose from,” giggled Debbie, caught off guard momentarily. “How about Stronger Within?”