Perfect Song (Mason Creek Book 2) by Lauren Runow (christmas read aloud .txt) 📕

“Yeah, sounds cool. All depends on when.”

I give him the date, and I hear him fumbling with his phone.

“Hold on. Let me put you on speaker while I pull up my calendar,” he says slowly, like he’s doing the task.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, shaking my head at how ridiculous I feel for asking him this way.

“Sure. I’m free. Where will it be held?”

I’m in shock. “Seriously?” I stand up from my seat even though no one is around me and I have no clue what I’m standing for.

He chuckles into the phone. “Sure, sounds like a good cause.”

“I, um … I’m just …” I look around, wanting to celebrate or do something but feeling like a fumbling fool.

“Surprised I’d say yes?”

I let out a nervous laugh. “No, surprised it was that easy.”

“Like I said, Tucker is family. Which makes you kind of family too. That changes this process a little. Send me the info and let me get with my people and tell them what’s going on. I take it, this is a me and Sarah thing rather than a Devil’s Breed thing, right?”

“Yes. I think you two are a better fit for the kind of vibe we’re going for.”

“I’d think so too. Okay, cool. I’ll let Sarah know, and we’ll wait for you to send me the details.”

“Oh, um, I need to know how much you charge.”

“It’s for a benefit, right? Anything I get involved with like this, I don’t charge. The money should go to the organization, not to line my pockets.”

“Seriously?” I start pacing back and forth in my parents’ kitchen, glad they’re not home so I don’t have to explain why I’m acting this way.

He lets out a loud laugh. “You like that word, don’t you?” he teases.

“I mean, I just figured acts like you needed to get paid to do stuff like this.”

“There are a lot of people who do but not me. You know my story. I look at it as paying back the universe that gave me Linda.”

“I love that. Okay then, I’ll send you all of the info.”

“Cool.”

“Thank you so much, Adam.”

“No problem. See ya.”

I hang up, feeling so relieved and excited that I dial my boss right away.

“This is Susan,” she answers.

“Hi, Susan. It’s Justine. Guess who I just booked to play at the benefit and at no charge.”

“No charge? Who?”

“Adam Jacobson and Sarah Russo.”

“The ones you just did the article on?”

“Yep.”

“Wow. That will be huge for the event and what a great tie-in to the article to push the magazine as well. Great job.”

“They’ll be a wonderful closer. I just had to fill you in since I was so thrilled.”

“I’m glad you did.”

We discuss more of the details, and when I hang up, I’m even more excited about the event than I was before.

When Tucker picks me up, he’s pretty quiet as we drive out of town and to his houseboat.

“Got a lot on your mind?” I ask, reaching over and grabbing his hand. “What did the doctor say about the injection you’re going to get?”

He sighs. “Nothing much. Says it should be fine. There’s a chance of flu-like symptoms, but he thought it would be no big deal. I’m not worried about it. I’m just tired, I guess. How was your day?”

“Great!” I turn to him. “I actually have the best news ever. I called Adam today, and guess what.”

“You called Adam?” he asks defensively. “What for?”

I tamp down my excitement a tad due to his tone. “For the event we’re having in New York. He agreed to play.”

He furrows his brow and turns his head to me. “He did? Not for free, I hope.”

“Um, yeah, for free. I asked how much he would charge, and he said he wouldn’t charge anything. He said he likes to do stuff like this to give back to the universe for Linda or something like that.” I’m all frazzled by his reaction and trip up on my words.

He shakes his head and stares back at the road.

“Does that upset you?”

“He shouldn’t be doing anything for free just because of what’s going on with me. You know he wouldn’t have given the event a second thought if some random person had asked his label to do it.”

I sit back in my seat, not sure what to say. Why would something like this make him so mad?

“He said he wanted to and that he never charges for benefit causes.” I look out the window, my sails completely deflated.

“You can’t tell me he’s doing it for any other reason than me. That’s why you asked him, isn’t it? Because you knew since I was just diagnosed, he’d be more on board to help? I know for a fact that Adam doesn’t schedule anything away from home when he isn’t touring because that’s the time he spends with his daughter.”

He pauses and stares at me for a brief moment. My eyes are open wide, and I know he can read all over my face how shocked I am by his rant because I’m not trying to hide it one bit.

He throws his arms up in the air. “I just wish you hadn’t asked him, is all. I don’t need my family burdened by what’s going on with me.”

There’s a lot I want to say, but the way he’s gripping the steering wheel tells me it’d be a losing battle right now. I know he’s got a lot going on in his head, and the last thing I want to do is make his life more stressful, no matter how much it upsets me to see him like this.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Justine

As we got closer to the event, it was getting harder and harder to work from Mason Creek. When my boss suggested I come to New York for a few days, I knew I couldn’t say no, especially when she booked me a room at the Park Central Hotel, where the office is just around the