Joy Ride by Desiree Holt (reading a book TXT) 📕

to enjoy life. Her parents wanted her to be acceptable to their friends, with little regard for her feelings. She sighed. It was what it was. “I’ll…call you tomorrow.”

How different would her life be if her parents and Andrew gave her support like that? Of course, she probably would never have met her guitar man.

Marc!

She didn’t even want to think about the hoops she’d have to jump through if their relationship actually grew into something real,. Then she’d have to explain it to her parents.

Emma glanced at her watch and realized it was time to head back to the office. And her nagging headache had worked itself up to a full blown one. She couldn’t wait for the day to be over.

***

“Good rehearsal, everyone,” Rick said, unhooking his guitar strap. “We’ve got the new tunes down real good. Especially On the Edge of the Woods.”

“So we’re doing both the video and the audio tape this weekend?” Garrett asked. He wiped his drumsticks and put them away.

“Yeah. We’ll shoot the video at Jado’s on Saturday, and I’ve got studio time booked for Sunday with Scotty Redman.”

“He’s doing the mix himself, right?” Garrett asked.

Rick nodded. “He always does.”

“Good. That’s good. He really knows our sound.”

Marc listened to the conversation, feeling especially good about the whole thing. Scotty was a longtime friend as well as a top sound engineer. They’d been with him since the first demo tape they’d done. Although Marc loved writing the scripts, he was pleased he could focus on the project despite the uncertainty of the situation with his Music Lady. All the band’s hard work, all the discipline and long hours, and crummy jobs were about to bear fruit.

He had no idea what the future would hold for all of them if this gig worked, but they needed to grab the opportunity while it was there. Stuff like this didn’t come along all that often. How would ML react to it? Would she want to be part of it all with him?

The missing piece of my life—the right woman to share this with.

But first I have to make her trust me enough to tell me her name.

Garrett, the one who always wanted to see the other side of the coin broke into his reverie. He frowned. “We’re really rushing and cramming everything into two days, you know. Is this one of those cross-your-fingers-and-hope-it-all-works-out things?”

Marc leaned against a high stool at the back of the stage, idly plucking his guitar strings, watching everyone’s reactions.

Rick shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Look. The opportunity came out of nowhere and it was either jump on it or lose it. We really don’t have a choice here.” He held up one finger. “One. This gig just opened up because another band had problems and had to back out.” Another finger. “Two. We’re getting better than our usual rate at both places because both Scotty and Jado had time available and are willing to cut us a big break.” He glanced around. “You guys want to dump this? Is that what you’re saying?”

“No, Rick. We’re not. We’re just asking question, okay?” Danny Chavez, the lead singer, slung a towel around his neck. “So what happens after we get this done?”

“Then I take the video and sit down with Butch Meredith, Deep Blue River’s manager and see if we can strike a deal.”

“He’s already seen us at Aftershock,” Garrett pointed out. “Why do we have to turn ourselves inside out to get this video done for him?”

Marc could tell Rick was losing patience. “He wants to hear the new song and see us perform it. And, I don’t know, there are other things he’ll be watching for. I’ll load the video onto my laptop and we’ll sit down and talk.”

Danny shoved his hands in his pockets. “This is nothing on you, Rick, but don’t you think we need someone whose business this is to do the sit-down? Maybe get us more than one shot with these guys?”

Marc saw a muscle jump in his friend’s cheek but the guy kept his cool, just as he always did.

“I understand your concern.” Rick rolled up a cord with deliberate movements. “But I think this is the right way to play this. Right now one shot is all we’re being offered. And only because an opening act scheduled had to cancel. Otherwise we wouldn’t even have this two weeks before the concert date. And there are plenty of other bands their manager could have contacted.”

“Let’s remember Rick’s the one who met their manager and developed the relationship with him.” This was something Marc thought he needed to remind everyone of.

“I know that. Can’t a guy put his two cents worth in?” Danny asked.

Rick put the cord down and blew out a breath. “Of course. But if I can make this work, get us the chance to open for Deep Blue River at the Amphitheater and we do a kickass job, we’ll get more dates with them. Plus, their record label guys will be there, and we can kill two birds with one stone.” He studied each of them thoughtfully. “If we blow it then a different contract wouldn’t matter, anyway, because we’d be toast.”

“Rick’s right.” Marc hitched his hip onto a stool on the stage and cradled his guitar. “You all remember when we put this band together. We identified the strengths each of us has and assigned responsibilities. It’s worked real well so far.” He studied Garrett, the worrywort. “Rick got us the gigs here and at the other two clubs we wanted to play, and he got us good money. Right?”

“Right.”

“Yeah.”

“And he’s been our point man on this whole deal.” Marc went on, keeping his voice calm and steady so he could get this across without an argument breaking out. They’d blow the chance before they could do anything with it if they lost it now. “The connection is his, something worth a whole lot more than bringing in a stranger,