Chapter 1 #2
Pop grinned. “It’s been a while. I always got along with Nate, so yeah, I’ll go. What the hell?” He nodded, and I went back to cleaning out the fridge, happy to have won a small battle.
“I’ll Find You”
I wake up alone,
I go to bed the same way.
I’m tired of going out,
I wonder where you are today?
There once was a time,
I thought I’d found a true love.
But in the blink of an eye,
it flew on the wings of a dove.
I reached over and turned down the radio as I stopped at the gate of Nate’s Santa Monica estate and pressed the button on the intercom. Forty minutes to go fifteen miles from Pop’s house in El Segundo to Santa Monica was a crime in my opinion.
“May I help you?”
“Hi. It’s Kit and Leif. We’re here to see Nate.”
A buzz sounded, and the black-and-gold gates with the large A emblem on each side slid open. I drove through and glanced at Pop. The grimace on his face was priceless.
“What’s that face mean? It’s no secret he’s loaded. Hell, he was well on his way when you and Mom got together. Don’t go hatin’,” I teased Pop. It was as though he’d forgotten that Mom and Nate grew up in the lap of luxury.
Their father had been a fine-art dealer in the sixties, and their mother was from a wealthy oil family in Texas. Hell, even I had a trust fund that I rarely touched. It was how I’d bought my truck and a small cottage near Dockweiler State Beach.
I pulled around the circular drive and parked in front of the detached garage next to the pool house. I hurriedly grabbed our bags from the back seat of my double-cab GMC Sierra. “Now, Pop, don’t rag on Nate the way you always did when he came to visit while Mom was alive. Make nice, okay?”
Pop sighed as the front door opened and Nate came out onto the large porch. “Fine. I’ll do my best unless he starts some shit, then I make no promises.”
That was the best I could hope for. My father was a complicated man.
“Nate, thanks for the invite. How’ve you been?” I dropped our bags and hugged the shorter man. Nate pulled a lot of tail for a guy so short and skinny.
“Ah, Big Leif! It’s good to see you, brother.”
Pop actually hugged Nate, which was a surprise. The last time they were in the same room, it was after Mom died, and Nate was trying to shove legal documents at Pop for him to accept the inheritance Mom had rejected. That didn’t end well.
“Thanks for having us, Nate. How’s business?” The two of them walked ahead of me, so I grabbed our bags and followed them into the main house, which was white and grandiose. Not my taste, but for Nate, it was perfect.
We went inside, and Nate pointed me toward the stairs. “Pick any room.” He and Pop went through the fancy dining room into the kitchen.
I jogged up the curved staircase and took the room I’d stayed in before, putting Pop into the room across the hall. It was set to be an interesting stay.
Nate’s housekeeper and cook, Chanice, was an incredible woman. She’d worked for him through his three marriages and was probably one of the only women who could tolerate Nate’s womanizing ways. Most of the time, she laughed at his ridiculous attempts at flirting and went about her business.
I admired the hell out of her, as had my mother. The two women had been the same age and had a lot of respect for each other. Mom had always said only a saint could tolerate her spoiled brother, and it was easy to see Chanice fit the saintly bill perfectly.
When I walked into the kitchen after unpacking my clothes, Chanice was putting the finishing touches on lunch. “Hi, Chanice.”
She turned from the stove and offered a beautiful smile. “Aw, Kit, it’s been far too long.” She hurried over and gave me a hug.
“What’s for lunch? It smells delicious.” My stomach growled loudly to punctuate my words as I poured a glass of tea from the pitcher on the counter.
“Prime rib sandwiches and potato wedges. Do you want a salad?” Chanice offered me a small slice of prime rib, which I gladly took, chewing the beef before I held my fingers to my lips in a “chef’s kiss” gesture.
The woman was probably the only long-term relationship Nate had ever had with anyone near his own age. He only dated—and married—much younger women, discounting everyone else who might be better suited for him. I would never make that mistake if the right woman were to come along.
Thirty minutes later, we sat down for lunch out by the pool. I could tell Pop and Nate had already had a few beers, and it was nice to see Pop let go for once. Mom had been gone for five years, and I’d been worried about him.
For the first two years, Pop became a recluse, only meeting with clients when it was absolutely necessary.
He’d kept Mom’s clothes and the things she loved for that entire time until I insisted on donating the things from their life that Pop would let me pack up.
It was hard for him to approve, but finally, he’d agreed it was time to move forward.
That’s when the ladies started swooping in. It was almost like they’d had a sixth sense that he was ready.
Chanice brought out a tray with sandwiches and sides, which looked pretty damn great. She set the table and grinned. “Anything else, gentlemen?”
I couldn’t imagine what else we might need. There was every kind of condiment anyone could imagine. “I think we’re good,” Nate answered. Chanice grinned and went back into the house.
“Nate, what’s this job you’re trying to suck me into?” I asked after we’d been eating for a few minutes with no one talking. The food was good. What could I say?
Nate wiped his mouth with a turquoise napkin and took a sip of his beer before he scooted his empty plate away.
“I’ve got a new band on the label. We just released a five-song EP on streaming.
They’re writing songs to finish their first album, and I want to get them into the studio during the tour since the schedule gives them a week between shows. ”
He turned and aimed the remote control toward a sound system stationed under an awning by the house. The music swelled, and I smiled. It was a new band I liked.
“I’ll Find You”
(chorus)
I’ll find you (yeah, I’ll find you)
my heart tells me to trust you’re yearning for my touch
Oh, I’ll find you, (yeah, I’ll find you)
and when we finally meet, you’ll love me just as much
And when I find you, (when I find you)
Our hearts will know we fit
We’ve been waiting for so long
It will be clear that this is it
“Oh, I like this band. What’s the name?”
“Accidental Fire. Five guys. River Ashe, JD Horne, Arlo Timmons, Goldie Robbins, and Hardy Boyer. River and Arlo are half-brothers, and their father is Regal Ashe. He’s the drummer and lead singer of From the Ashes. They were good, but these kids are damn great.”
“So, I’d be doing what?” I wanted the job description to be black and white.
“How much is the pay?” Pop asked.
Nate chuckled and turned to my father. “You know you have a trust fund from Nina that’s under my control, and I’ll sign it over to you anytime you say, Leif. You can do anything with the money you want, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah. I have my own money. Give it to Kit. Give it to a charity. I don’t really care.”
I turned my gaze back to Nate. “And what aren’t you telling me, Nate?”
My uncle chuckled. “They’re young. They’re wild. They get into trouble, but they really have a lot of potential. All I need you to do is get the equipment to the venue in time for the roadies and the crew to set up for the show. After, they’ll take it down and load it.
“You can do anything you want during their performances, and since the shows are spread out, you can travel to the venues at your own pace. You’ll have plenty of downtime, I swear.”
So far, it was sounding too good to be true. “How often are the shows?”
“Every weekend, basically. Most shows are just one night, but some are two, and we’ve reserved the right to add nights in some of the cities toward the end of the tour as the band becomes more popular.
The guys will be traveling by bus most of the time, flying in and out if they get into the studio, but you don’t have to travel with them.
There’s a two-week break before Vancouver in September.
“I don’t care what you do while they’re on stage, but when the concert’s over, I want you ensuring that the instruments, the backdrops, and the sound systems are all on the truck. You should be the last out of the venue and the first to arrive at the next one.”
“I can do that. Who’s in charge of the band? Are they headliners, or are they part of a multi-group appearance?”
“After Leif and I play golf tomorrow, we can sit and go through the details, but I promise, it won’t be anything too taxing. There will be layers of other people between you and the band,” Nate said.
Would I be okay doing the job? If it went down the way Nate explained, yeah. I didn’t have anything planned for the summer, and I liked exploring new places.
As long as I didn’t have to deal with the band, I’d be fine.