Risky Replay (Country Stars Forever #1)

Chapter 28

Twenty-Eight

DEREK

It’s been four weeks and she hasn’t said it back. I’ve been a loose lip Larry using the L-word like a doctor gives away lollipops. I don’t mind being the one to say it.

Days before the fundraiser, we returned to San Diego. Oh, and we met Fox and Webb from the Wildcats. I think I was more starstruck than James. He asked them important questions, like how tall they were, if they liked to dance, and if it was true that swallowing a lemon seed made a tree grow in your stomach. His eyes grew wide when they handed him a signed baseball. Best of all was the video Emily took of James watching me sing the national anthem on the field.

James learned a few chords on the guitar, and he’s excited to dance at the event. The organizers allowed my idea because it’s me, and because they agreed on our idea to showcase a parent’s acceptance of their child no matter what they like, wear, or how they express themselves.

Emily and I sat for an interview with a reporter Aiden approved of to share about James and asked for privacy out of respect for James and Victoria. Of course there was a question about our relationship, and we used the line given to us by the label’s PR team: “We’re working things out. ”

She also turned down the job in Maryland because she wouldn’t be there in time, and we were still working out what was next.

I offered to rent a bigger house while we’re in San Diego, but Emily insisted I stay with them at the bungalow on her brother’s property. And he’s back, staying in the big house with their grandparents, and the kids love having him around.

Charlie and I adjusted to working with Rip. We’ll be ready for the tour in the fall. The big announcement to the fans hasn’t come yet. Our message to fans is that Tyler’s departure is amicable. Tyler will post a message on his social media at the same time we announce it. Things between him and I are good. I miss him, and he hasn’t yet shared any news of he and Amy expecting. Maybe next month.

The morning of the event, my phone rings before sunrise.

“Aiden, what the?” Next to me, Emily stirs. “Don’t you?—”

“I know about the time difference. Get your ass up and head to LA.”

“Not today.” What crawled up his ass?

“I know it’s the day of your big charity gala; it’s why I’ve wrangled everybody at the ass crack of daylight to get to LA. Bailey will be there and wants to record with you idiots today. Tomorrow, she’s off to Europe for three months. She needs some sort of mental health fall vacation. Whatever that means.”

“Where the hell are you?” I ask.

“I’m on the label’s plane with Rip about to land in an hour and set everything up. Can’t leave this to the assistants. Bailey wants everything recorded for the video and some Bailey documentary she’s filming. No one, I mean, no one, says no to Bailey. Get your ass to LA by nine or she’ll burn the Muddy Boots at the stake. You’ll never have a chance like this again.”

“I can’t,” I say more forcefully.

“I swear to—” he stops. “Tyler and Charlie are already on their way to get you. Get your ass in the car and go. Tyler’s going to get some photos of him supporting the band and being friendly with Rip.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“What time are we done?” I grab some fresh clothes and turn on the shower.

“You’re done when Bailey says you’re done.”

“Aiden, I gotta be in San Diego, in a tux, at 5:30 sharp tonight, or I’ll lose everything I’ve wanted since I was ten.”

“That’s why I’m calling you now, and not at three. You know how this goes. Make it good the first few times and you’ll be out of there by noon.”

“That’s unrealistic.”

“What? You can’t get this done in a couple of hours?”

I could. “I might need your fancy plane.”

“As if,” Aiden complains, and in the next beat tells me to hang on. This is a disaster. One song can take hours to days to record. This is a diva-induced nightmare. I love Bailey, she’s fiercely talented, but she couldn’t have picked another damn day?

“What’s going on?” Emily’s sleepy voice draws my attention to her. She’s a sight with her rumpled hair, the strap of her silky sleep top askew over her shoulder revealing the mark I sucked into her skin last night over her left breast. I kiss her forehead and tell her I’ll share after I hang up.

“Nothing on the schedule. Plane can stay in L.A. if you need it,” Aiden says to me.

Can’t be that easy, but I’ll take it. “Fuck yes. I could kiss you,” I say to the phone and Emily grunts her disapproval. God, I love her.

“Disgusting. Get your ass there.” Aiden ends the call.

“Wish we had the plane now,” I mutter as I jump into the shower.

“What’s going on?” Emily’s voice is clearer, and she stands by the door as I wait for the water to warm up. “What time is it?”

As I get under the spray, I fill her in .

“You what?” I can’t see her, but I know this isn’t what any of us wanted.

“I have no choice. If I have to, I’ll fly back.”

“From LA?”

“Yes, it’s like a 30-minute flight instead of dealing with the traffic.”

“It’s LA. There’s still traffic.” She’s quiet, then adds, “He’ll be crushed if you don’t show.”

I turn off the water. “I’ll talk to Bailey. Artist to artist. Then I’ll get my ass here on time. We can drive over together as a family.”

“What if…” She waves her hand in the air. “Never mind. You’ll be here.”

“I’ll be here,” I assure her. My phone dings with a text. Fuck, Aiden wasn’t joking. Emily’s tight smile reminds me it’s James who would hurt the most if I don’t make it. I’ll ask Charlie and Tyler to get me back here in time. When I get in the car, after kissing Emily for as long as possible in the driveway, Charlie agrees to pull no stops in our performance and charm Bailey into whatever we need. For the first time in a while, I can appreciate Charlie’s dick securing what we need.

“Fucking jealous,” Charlie says from the driver’s seat as he turns onto the street.

“What?” I glance back to make sure Emily’s inside the house.

“You’re gonna wake up to Emily every day for the rest of your life.”

“Unless I have to wake up in a fucking bus with you,” I tease and I don’t miss Tyler’s scowl over his shoulder from the passenger seat.

“Bring her, then we all wake up to her,” Charlie teases.

“Fuck off.” I whack the back of his head for emphasis.

Charlie laughs. “You are one lucky fucker.”

“I don’t know how or why, but I’ll take it.” My grin is probably as goofy as ever. “You still hanging out with Bailey? ”

“Ya,” Charlie says. “It’s casual, and I promise I didn’t know she’d pull this today.”

“Diva,” Tyler mumbles under his breath.

“Rip’s pretty bad ass,” I say to Tyler. Maybe knowing we’re not disappointed will help him get rid of the permanent scowl he’s carrying. Or maybe it’s too early in the morning for him.

“He’s still slow on the solo for Wandering Soles ,” Tyler says.

Charlie and I exchange a glance through the rearview. It’s one song, and it’s not a big deal if he isn’t there yet. He’ll get there. Like I told Tyler, the guy is talented.

Even after drive-through coffee, Tyler stays quiet for the drive while Charlie and I chatter about whatever the fuck comes to mind. I’m chattering about my kids. Going on about how excited James is for tonight. That we went shopping and he wanted to match me and wear a tux. We’re wearing matching pink bow ties, too.

The traffic thickens as we near LA, and we arrive at the studio before Bailey and after Aiden and Rip.

“Thank the Rolling Stones you made it,” Aiden says as we tumble in.

Techs I don’t recognize trickle in, they must be Bailey’s crew. Us getting done on time depends on her. She walks in, fresh as if she’d come from a long term stay at a spa.

“Guys,” she greets us with her superstar smile. “I’m so excited we’re doing this.” After she kisses Charlie, she looks around. “Where’s Emily?”

Aiden let’s out a curse in some foreign language. The only reason I know what it is, is because it ain’t the first time.

“Could I take a second?” I ask Bailey who continues to look around as if someone is missing.

I explain my situation to her, begging her to let us end no later than noon. At first, I can’t read her, but then she gives me her megawatt smile. “You’re such a wonderful father.” She pats my cheek like a puppy she fancies as cute.

It’s going to be a long fucking day .

Emily sends me a video of James practicing his dance for tonight. I watch during breaks. Bailey is a professional. I should have known she didn’t rise to stardom by doing anything half ass. Her voice, her range for the song, and technique match what we need, but she asks to hear everything several times before she approves. Her engineers encourage her to go with the second or third already perfect take, but she insists on more.

More. More. More.

My eyes roll in the back of the head as we reach mid-morning. There’s no way we’re getting out of here on time.

“I got you,” Charlie says, and walks over to Bailey. He leans down to whisper something, ever the charmer, and she laughs like he’s the god of humor. She pats his cheek the same way she did me earlier. My hope flees. Charlie winks at me and heads right back into the booth. I follow. The equipment is on, so I don’t ask. It’s our turn to get in there and lay down the strings. We’re well-practiced, so it doesn’t take too long, but we’re nearing the one o’clock mark. I check the traffic. If we leave now, we’ll make it in three hours. I’ll have an hour to get ready.

“Okay, it’s you and me, Derek,” Bailey says as she hooks on her headset and joins me in the booth. “Don’t worry. I sent Aiden to get you a helicopter.”

What the? “A what?”

She spins her finger in a circle as if imitating the blades of a helicopter. “Chopper, a ghetto bird, whirlybird.”

“The plane,” I say a little dumbfounded.

“Now you have options.”

“Thank you.”

Turns out I won’t need any of it, but somehow I’m flattered they went so far to get me to James. Bailey said we’d done great together and we could finish the tracks on our own.

I check the traffic. We’ll arrive by five. I’ll be a bit late. I text Emily to let her know and she replies with a thumbs up.

“Do you mind dropping me off at Figueroa and Fourth?” Tyler asks Charlie .

Charlie takes a couple glances over to Tyler.

“Unless it’s an emergency,” I lean forward for emphasis, as I track the traffic into downtown, “we’ll be stuck in the downtown loop.”

Charlie takes a second to catch my eyes in the rearview mirror. Something tells me he won’t deny Tyler his request. The guy hardly asks for anything. But this? Now?

“I’m surprising Amy. She’s stuck here til next week working on a case. I thought we could make a mini vacation out of it.” Tyler stares out the window, then back to us, taking his time as if wanting to memorize us, like he wouldn’t be seeing us for some time. I make a note to check in on him when he returns to San Diego.

“We have time,” Charlie says with another glance my way. “Right, D?”

I clap Tyler on the shoulder. “We’ll be fine.”

Tyler programs the GPS on his phone, and we’re diverted through the congested LA traffic. We lose about half an hour, and when we drop off Tyler, the smile on his face is enough to know we did the right thing.

Emily video calls when we’re stuck in construction traffic on the 5 south of downtown.

“Someone wants to show you their moves.” She points the camera at James, wearing his pink tutu and a Mandalorian tee shirt. He spins on one foot and gracefully moves his arms. It’s the spin we’ve practiced for tonight. He has nothing to worry about. Everyone will love him. “That’s great, James. We’re going to have so much fun tonight. I’ll be a little late, but I’ll meet you and your mom there, okay?” I glance at the clock on the dash. “Emily, I’ll be there closer to six.”

“You’ll be here, that’s what matters. Don’t rush. Rather have you in one piece.”

“I’ll get him home safe and sound, pretty lady,” Charlie says from next to me. “Don’t you worry.”

Emily’s beautiful smile is the last image before we end the call .

“I am one lucky bastard.”

“Say that again.” Charlie maneuvers us into the carpool lane where the cars move slightly faster. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re looking at houses and schools in Nashville.” I can’t help the smile thinking about our lives coming together. “Heading to Nashville after this. My dad keeps asking if we’ll stay longer. But James has to start school.”

“Being a grandpa has turned him into a softie.”

We both make a noise of disbelief.

I turn my head and out of curiosity, I ask, “You’re great with the kids. Do you want any?”

He looks at me horrified. “Are you kidding? Those two are enough for me. I can give them back. Do you want more?”

I lean my head back onto the headrest not focusing on the traffic or anything for certain. “I do.” I confide in him about the broken condom and how I knew then I wanted more. I haven’t brought it up to Emily. Nothing happened because three weeks later, she got her period. “One step at a time.”

“With you two, there will be another baby Anderson before there’s a wedding.”

A smile blooms on my lips. “Hopefully.”

We change the topic, and we’re moving, not at the high speeds the roads are made for, but at least it’s not a parking lot. The more time we spend on the road, the later my ETA changes on the GPS.

Charlie and I are in the middle of recounting the recent Padres win when my phone rings. Thinking its Emily, I answer without checking the caller’s name. “Hey, baby.”

“Derek.” The brisk tone is not my Emily’s. I glance at the screen.

“Amy?”

“Tyler needs your help.”

“What happened?” My eyes connect with Charlie’s. His head ping pongs between me and the road. I hit the speaker button on my phone. “Is he okay?”

“What were you doing in LA?” She clears her throat. Her voice shifts to a business-like tone, as if she’s recounting court case facts. “He surprised us. I was planning on telling him when I got back to San Diego. I can’t do this with him anymore. He took off, and he turned off the tracker on his phone. Last I saw, he was heading north.”

Us? Charlie mouths.

“Amy, what are you saying?” I ask like an idiot although my brain slowly pieces together the truth.

She sighs. “I hope you’re close. Can you pick him up and take him home?”

“Amy, I—.” Fuck. What the hell is going on? “Where would we even look? He’ll come back when he cools off.” As I hear myself, I know he’d drop anything if I were in his shoes. Tyler’s hurt by a fight with his wife, sure, but helpless, he’s not. “Amy, give him time to cool down. He’ll come back.”

She huffs. “I’m the last person he wants to see. That’s why I called you. I told him to go home. I won’t be going after him. He needs to get back to the house and move out.” She ends the call.

After years of marriage, how did they fall apart in one afternoon? I look at Charlie for an answer. He shakes his head silently with a disbelief mirroring mine.

“Fucking hell,” Charlie mutters.

“Emily and James expect me in San Diego in a tux in an hour.”

“Listen, I’ll drop you off and turn around,” Charlie offers.

“Let me see about that helicopter.” I must be losing my mind.