Stronger Within (The Silver Lake Series Book 1)

by McCallum, Coral

  “Oh, Maddy,” said Lori, hugging her. “Are you ok?”

  “I feel like I’m dying,” replied her friendly weakly. “Why now? Why today of all days?”

  “It’s ok. I spoke to Jason earlier and he was more worried that you got “food poisoning” from here than anything else. The boys have been great. They’ve got your back,” reassured Lori calmly. “Is there anything I can get you?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” sighed Maddy, flopping down on the bed. “I wish this was food poisoning. At least then it would be over in a few days.”

  Clearing a space on the settee, Lori sat down. “Have you managed to eat anything?”

  Maddy shook her head.

  “How about getting room service to send up some toast. I believe it’s meant to help,” suggested Lori.

  “Ok. Call them. I’ll try anything,” said Maddy. “I need to be back down for five. I promised Jason. He wants to formally announce the Weigh Station UK tour just before the set.”

  “You’ve still got about an hour. We’ll get you back down there for five somehow,” promised Lori, lifting the phone to call room service.

  Forty five minutes and a slice of dry toast later, Maddy was feeling a little better. She fixed her make-up, re-spiked her hair, then turned to face Lori.

  “Will I do?” she asked, forcing a smile.

  “Vampirically stunning as ever,” assured Lori.

  “Ok. Show time.”

  The function suite had been cleared and the small stage pulled forward. Silver Lake’s stage equipment was dwarfing the space they had available to them. In Maddy’s absence, the band had changed the plan and asked the hotel staff to clear an extra area in front of the low stage to allow them to move around a bit more. When the two girls walked in, Jason was the first person they met.

  “I was beginning to think I’d lost you, Maddison,” he stated bluntly. “Are they ready back there?”

  “Of course,” replied the band’s manager sharply, praying that the band were waiting for their cue to come on.

  Choosing this an appropriate moment to escape, Lori headed through the crowd to where Jake’s father and sister were standing. They were chatting to a journalist from one of the local newspapers when she reached them. When he saw and recognised Lori, the journalist turned to question her. Dismissively she said, “Later.” Taking this as his cue to leave, he moved on quietly.

  “I hope he wasn’t annoying you?” commented Lori, watching him weave his way through the crowded room. “They can be very intrusive.”

  “He was rather in your face,” admitted Lucy. “But we never told him much other than who we were.”

  “Keep it that way,” suggested Lori with a smile. “They’re like leeches, if you give them the hint of a story.”

  Before she could add anything more, the lights were dimmed and Jason stepped out onto the small stage to a polite round of applause.

  “Thank you for your patience,” he began. “Don’t worry. No more speeches. Just one big announcement for the night before the boys take to the stage. It’s been confirmed that Silver Lake will support British rock legends Weigh Station throughout their British tour in November. Further details will be announced over the next few days.”

  A cheer went up from the crowd of media and invited guests.

  “And without further ado, I give you Silver Lake!”

  The four band members walked out to a thunderous cheer and a barrage of photography flashlights. Without a pause, they launched straight into Dragon Song. Jake stood centre stage looking every inch the rock star, as he sang the powerful lyrics. As the last notes faded, the band started an old favourite from Guns N Roses then went straight into another high impact heavy track from the album. When their third number was done, Jake reached for a bottle of water, then stepped back up to the mic.

  “Good evening, folks. I hope you can still hear me,” he said, with a mischievous grin. “I’m guessing we’re a bit louder than the usual entertainers around here.”

  The hotel staff, who were lined up along the back wall, whistled and cheered.

  “We’re going to slow it down a bit for a moment,” continued Jake, accepting his acoustic guitar from the stage hand. “This is one that is close to my own heart. Stronger Within.”

  Every time she heard the first gentle chords of the song, it reminded Lori of the very first time Jake had played the song in the sun room. The contrast in his singing style seemed to catch his father and sister off guard, as they watched totally mesmerised while he sang the haunting melodic lyrics. Everyone in the room, who knew the meaning of the song, knew he was singing solely to Lori. Some of the guests and the younger hotel staff members joined in on the chorus. Lori stole a glance at Jake’s father as the song reached its ghostly end and saw that there were tears in his eyes- tears of pride.

  “Thank you,” said Jake, humbly bowing his head to the crowd. “If you know this one, feel free to sing along.”

  Lady Butterfly proved to be just as popular with the crowd and they sang every word with him. Even Jake’s sister joined in with the final chorus.

  After a return to their harder rock style for two more numbers, Jake announced, “This is our final number. We’d like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for coming today. Tell your friends and family to buy the record or, if you want to see us play live again soon, get yourself a plane ticket to the UK. We’ll leave you with Flyin’ High.”

  All too soon the last notes were fading away and the small crowd were pleading for more. The four band members exchanged glances and nods before Jake raised his hand for silence. “OK. We hear you. Unrehearsed so this could fail epically. Immigrant Song!”

  Rich led the intro and, as Jake had said, unrehearsed Silver Lake dived headlong into the rock classic. His passion for the song and for entertaining the audience shone through. If there were any nerves at tackling the high notes, they didn’t show. The crowd lapped it up, all of them in awe at the power in Jake’s vocals. It was a show stopping ending to their short set and the perfect encore.

  “Thank you and good night,” called Jake grinning broadly. “Safe journey home, all.”

  And with those few words, Silver Lake left the stage to the cheers and whistles of the audience. Lori spotted Maddy waving to her from beside the stage and indicating that she should check her phone. Quickly she slipped it from her bag and, as expected, there was a message from Maddy. “Come up to the conference room now. Bring Jake’s family with you.” Putting the phone back into her bag, Lori turned to the colonel and Lucy, “Are you ready to meet the rest of the guys? Jake wants us to go backstage. Well, upstairs in this case.”

  “Yes!” squealed Lucy, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “I can’t believe how good they were! And that’s my big brother out there?”

  “Have you never heard him sing before?” asked Lori, smiling at Lucy’s obvious pride in Jake’s performance.

  “Never like that,” she replied.

  “I’ve never….” began Ben Power, still bordering on the over-emotional. “Was that really my son up there?”

  Laughing Lori said, “Yes, Colonel, it sure was. Do you still wish he’d gone into the air force?”

  “Hell, no!” declared Colonel Power. “No, ma’am. That was incredible!”

  “Well, tell him that, dad,” suggested Lucy, glancing at Lori. “I think Jake needs to hear it from you.”

  “Come on. Let’s go and find them,” said Lori, shifting the weight off her left leg, as she felt the familiar ache begin to creep in.

  One of the stage crew was acting as minder outside the door to the conference room. He recognised Lori at once and opened the door to allow the three of them entry. Inside the room, the conference table had been moved and there were leather sofas around the outside of the room, a small bar at one end and few occasional tables. It was obvious that this was where the band had warmed up prior to the set from the scattering of personal belongings that littered the room. Jake was sprawled out along
one couch with a towel over his face. His bare arms were gleaming with sweat. Grey was reclined on another chair, chatting on the phone while Rich was playing a game on his. Over in the corner, beside the bar, Maddy and Paul were deep in conversation. It was Rich who looked up first and, spotting Lori, reached out to kick the sole of Jake’s foot, “Visitors.”

  Lifting the towel from his face, Jake sat up. His young sister flew straight into his arms, “That was awesome! You were amazing!”

  “Why, thank you,” he said, giving her a hug. “You’ll need to come to a proper show. That was just a bit of fun.”

  Spotting his father standing next to Lori, Jake stood up and walked over to him. “Well?”

  The older man smiled and hugged his son, “That was incredible. I’m proud of you, son.”

  Laughing loudly, Jake declared, “Jeez, I’ve waited thirty five years to hear you say that, dad!”

  “I never knew you could sing like that,” continued his father, the emotion of the moment putting a catch in his voice. “Your mom would be so proud of you. I wish she could’ve been here to see all of this.”

  “Me too,” agreed Jake, with a sad smile. “But I think she might have heard us wherever she is. It was kind of loud in that small room.”

  “It sure was,” nodded his father, smiling proudly.

  “Let me introduce everyone,” said Jake. “In the corner, we have Paul, our drummer, and Maddy, our manager. On the phone is Grey, bass, and Rich, playing games rather than guitar.”

  “Guys!” called out Jake, causing everyone to look up. “I’d like you to meet my dad, Colonel Ben Power, and my kid sister, Lucy.”

  Once the chorus of “hellos” and “pleased to meet you” died away, Jake asked what the plan was for the rest of the evening. They debated the options for a while, made a couple of phone calls and arranged to go out to dinner in Rehoboth. With the table booked, they had less than an hour to get there. Both Maddy and Paul declined the dinner invitation.

  “Grey, what about you?” asked Jake, tossing his towel at him.

  “I’ll stay for dinner but I need to pick up Becky from my mom’s,” he replied, before turning to face Jake’s dad and adding, “This is the side of rock n roll that folks don’t see. My mom’s got church in the morning so I need to fetch my daughter by ten.”

  “So no sex, drugs and rock n roll?” joked Lucy.

  “Not for me tonight,” sighed Grey with a wink.

  Once the band had got themselves cleaned up and changed into their “street” clothes, they said their goodbyes to Maddy and Paul and headed out to the parking lot. Enough time had passed and the hotel staff had cleared the vast majority of invited guests through to the bar area and restaurant. The foyer was quiet, allowing the band to slip out more or less unnoticed. It took them twenty minutes to drive back into town. It took longer to find a parking space, followed by the inevitable hunt for quarters to feed the meters. With the Mercedes and Grey’s truck safely parked and the meters fed, the group made their way into the sushi restaurant. Dinner was a relaxed affair with conversation focussing more on teaching than music. Fortunately, none of the guests from the launch party were in the restaurant, so the band were able to enjoy their meal in peace. As the waitress cleared away the empty plates and bowls, Jake’s father asked them what the plan was next for the band.

  “Well,” began Rich. “We’ve more promotional work for the next couple of weeks for the album, then we need to rehearse for the British tour. We’ve no shows booked here until early next year, as far as we’ve been told.”

  “So what about school?” enquired Lucy, “Is it time to quit your jobs?”

  “That’s the next step,” answered Jake. “But it’s a huge leap of faith to make.”

  “I’ve spoken to the principal about getting six weeks unpaid leave,” said Rich. “We should find out next week if it’s been agreed.”

  “And if it’s not agreed?” persisted Lucy, cutting to the chase.

  “I’ll quit,” stated Jake without hesitation.

  Rich nodded, “Same here. This is too big and too close to throw away.”

  “What about you, Grey?” asked Lori softly. “Have you made a decision yet?”

  “Kind of,” replied the bass player slowly. “The boss has said I can take the time off, but he won’t guarantee my job will still be there when I get back. It’s a tough call.”

  “This time next year we’ll all be millionaires,” joked Rich. “And we’ll look back at this decision and wonder what the fuss was about.”

  Realising the time, Grey apologised that he was going to have to go.

  “Can I catch a lift home?” asked Rich, fishing in his pocket for his wallet.

  “Sure,” said Grey, pushing his chair out from the table.

  “Put your wallet away, son,” said Ben. “I’ve got this.”

  “Thank you, sir,” said Rich shaking the colonel’s hand. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you. And you too, Lucy.”

  “Loved every minute of it!” gushed Lucy enthusiastically.

  “Till next time, folks,” called Grey warmly. “Jake, I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

  “Night,” called Jake then turning to his family asked, “What do you guys want to do?”

  “It’s getting late,” said Ben. “And I’ve had a long day. I think I’ll head back to the hotel. Are you free tomorrow? We could do lunch before I drive back to Annapolis.”

  “Why not come out to the house tomorrow morning?” suggested Lori.

  “Sounds good to me,” agreed Lucy, with a yawn. “I’d better go back to the hotel too. I promised I’d call Robb before eleven.”

  “I’ll drive you back,” offered Jake.

  “No, we’ll take a cab,” insisted his father. “It’s time for you and Lori here to catch up. She’s hardly seen you all day.”

  “If you’re sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Colonel Power called the waitress over and asked her to call them a cab, then the four of them stepped outside to wait together. As the car drew up at the kerb, Jake said, “Thanks for coming today. It meant a lot.”

  “Thanks for inviting us,” said Lucy, hugging him tight. “I’ve loved every minute of it.”

  “It’s been an experience,” agreed their father. “I’ll call when we’re leaving the hotel in the morning. We’ll aim to be with you by eleven.”

  “Perfect,” said Jake, putting his arm around Lori’s waist. “Gives you a couple of hours at the beach before you head off, if the weather’s ok.”

  When they arrived home, while Jake was putting his guitars away, Lori fetched a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass. Limping heavier than she had for a while, she carried the glasses through to the sunroom, where Jake was sitting flicking through the TV channels. He reached for the glasses as she lowered herself onto the couch beside him.

  “You ok, li’l lady?” he asked softly. “You seem to be struggling tonight.”

  “Too much standing about today,” she confessed with a sigh, as Jake handed her the wine glass.

  Raising his own glass, he said, “Here’s to the success of the record.”

  “To success,” echoed Lori, raising her own glass. Having taken a sip, she commented, “Your dad seemed to enjoy the launch.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Jake with a smile. “I can’t believe he said he was proud of me. That blew me away.”

  “I like your sister. She’s sweet.”

  “Lucy’s adorable. Very like my mom was,” replied Jake softly before adding, “Have you heard from Maddy since we left the hotel?”

  Lori shook her head, “I’ll call her in the morning.”

  “Paul’s worried about her,” admitted Jake, trying to gauge if they both knew the same secret. “I haven’t seen him this stressed out for a long time.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

  “At least Jason bought the food poisoning line.”

  “Paul told you?”

  Jake nodded, “He’s
terrified, but stoked by the news.”

  “She’s terrified too,” said Lori, relieved that he knew and that she could finally talk to someone about it. “I hadn’t a clue what to say to her!”

  “Paul confided in me last night,” explained Jake. “She kept disappearing, then chewed us out when things didn’t run smoothly. She was all over the place.”

  “They’ll sort it out, I’m sure,” sighed Lori. “I just hope she can stop being so sick. She’ll need to see a doctor. What’ll happen about the tour?”

  “I guess she’ll still come,” answered Jake, with a shrug of his shoulders. “If not, Jason will find us someone else. He had already said he might use a British based tour manager to support Maddy. Someone that knows the UK’s ropes better than she does. We’ll find out in about eight weeks I guess.”

  “Well, knowing Maddy, she’ll still be working when she’s in labour,” muttered Lori snuggling in beside Jake.

  As she cuddled into him, Jake checked the TV guide and selected a movie to watch. He put his arm around Lori’s shoulder and settled down to watch an action thriller. Within half an hour of the start, Lori had dozed off and was sound asleep, with her head resting on his shoulder. Torn between watching the film or taking her to bed, Jake decided to watch the film. His mind kept wandering from the plot back to the events of the day. Getting on that tiny stage in front of less than two hundred people had been tougher than playing to twelve thousand. Knowing that the most important person in his life plus his father and sister had been out there had piled on the pressure. Up until the point when his dad had told him how proud he was, Jake had wished his old man had stayed away. Just hearing those words of praise had melted years of pent up angst. He had been genuinely surprised that Lucy had driven down too. When they had been kids, he had always been closer to her than his older brothers. She was four years his junior and had always idolised him while she was growing up. Compared to Peter and Simon, he was the cool older brother with the long hair, leather jacket and guitars. Seeing her enthusiasm and passion for the day’s events proved that that hero worship thing wasn’t buried very deep.