Chapter 3
DRAKE
Monday, nine days before the festival
Nova was checking something in the oven when I walked into the house. “Hey, Zeke said I should come help you. It smells amazing.”
She shut the oven and rolled her eyes. “It’s a chicken casserole, and Uncle Zeke made it. He just likes to pretend everyone else does the work.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Well, you’re the one who helped me unload the equipment from my car, not Zeke.”
She shrugged this off. “But Zeke’s the one who made sure your cabin was ready for you, and he manufactured this little dinner party. Here. Pull out the big bowl in that cabinet. You can make the salad.”
Zeke slammed the back door open and thumped inside. “I’ll be in my office. Yell when the food’s ready.” He turned a corner and vanished.
Nova shook her head as she pulled glasses out of an upper cabinet. Once I’d washed my hands and had all the salad ingredients lined up to chop, I asked, “Why did you say he’d ‘manufactured’ this dinner?”
She threw a glance out the window, where Finn seemed to be putting his bag back into his car. “He gives most guests a list of the diners and pubs in town, and they’re on their own. But you’re friends with Jake Lord, right?”
I nodded. Jake Lord—real name Wesley—was a retired rock and roll legend who lived in my hometown of Bent Oak, Texas. We’d met five or six years ago when Dirk and I had moved back to be closer to our brother Steve. “I know Zeke and Jake go way back.”
She gave me a significant look that I couldn’t interpret. “I’m pretty sure they’ve been making plans.”
I jumped when the back door opened again.
Charles was rattling off a monologue about Dolores needing a friend.
Finn dragged him over to the sink, where they both washed their hands.
Charles didn’t stop talking the entire time.
“I did a search on my phone, and tortoises get along well with a few different animals. But cats are hit or miss.”
Finn filled the glasses with ice and water before making Charles take them to the table. He knew where everything was, but this seemed to be Charles’ first time visiting.
Maybe one day I’d learn their story.
In contrast to his frazzled and irritable demeanor at the vet clinic, when Finn had been talking to Zeke about Dolores, he’d had that quiet competence about him people get when they’re sure of themselves and what they’re doing. It was compelling, and I’d had trouble taking my eyes off him.
Nova lifted the casserole out of the oven. It appeared to be heavy, but I didn’t make the mistake of asking her if she wanted help. I’d already gotten my head bitten off when she’d taken the instrument cases out of my SUV earlier.
Finn, Charles, and I got the table set with three place settings on one side and two on the other. Nova positioned the casserole and salad in the center before yelling, “Uncle Zeke! Dinner!” Then she walked to the table and took a seat on the side with three places.
Shrugging to myself, I sat next to her, with Finn and Charles opposite us. Zeke emerged from wherever he’d been and thumped down into the seat next to me. “Well? What’re y’all waitin’ for? Let’s eat!”
Finn and Charles looked uncertain, and Zeke wasn’t reaching for the food. Internally rolling my eyes, I grabbed the salad bowl and put some on my plate. I passed the bowl to Nova on my left, then I scooped up some of the casserole before handing the serving spoon to her.
Since Zeke had instructed us to eat, I forked up some casserole and put it in my mouth. It was actually pretty good, cheesy with potatoes and chicken. “This is delicious. Thank you for having us to dinner.” My mother would’ve been proud.
Zeke grunted as he finished dishing up his own plateful of food. “Can’t have you goin’ to a diner your first night in town. Might find yourself signin’ up for an allegiance you didn’t mean to.”
I waited, but he didn’t elaborate. Charles nodded. “Finn told me when I moved here. You gotta make sure if you go to one, you go to the other one within a couple of days. Otherwise everyone in town will know you’re on team Red’s or team Sparky’s, and they don’t let you change.”
“Uh. Okay?” Somebody had said something about a pub, which sounded like the safest bet.
Finn smiled at Charles. I hadn’t seen that expression on him yet, and it made my breath catch. Damn, he was one good-looking man when he wasn’t being an ass. He turned to me. “How long are you in Maplewood, Drake?”
“Through the music festival, so two weeks.”
Zeke set his fork down. “Stay as long as you like. Jake said you got nothin’ scheduled this summer. The cabin’s yours if you want it.”
I fought the urge to scowl. Certain people should know to keep their mouths shut. I’d already figured out that helping Zeke with the festival was an excuse to keep me occupied while my twin was off starting his new career. In the end I managed a semi-polite, “We’ll see.”
“Charles.” Zeke pointed his fork at his next victim. “Roy at Harmonic Circus tells me you’re pretty good on the guitar.”
Charles flushed and looked down at his plate. “I don’t know if I’d say I was good .”
Finn straightened in his chair. “Hey, what little I’ve heard when the door to your room is open sounds great.” He turned to me. “He can sing too.”
Charles regarded him in horror, and I could tell he’d be making sure his door was shut tight going forward.
I cleared my throat. “What style of guitar are you learning? Right now I’m trying to teach myself blues guitar, but there’re so many different flavors of blues, I can’t decide what to focus on.”
Charles goggled at me. “You can play guitar?”
Zeke clapped me on the shoulder, almost sending me face-first into my plate. “Drake, you should give Charles here some lessons. Supplemental-like.”
I smiled at Charles. “I don’t know if I’m any sort of teacher, but I’m always up to practice together.” His face lit up. “We can play out here, so you don’t have to worry about anyone listening in.”
“Really? That’d be so cool.”
Oh, shit. Was I supposed to ask Finn’s permission first? I gave him a quick glance, but he was smiling. Whew.
Zeke pointed his fork at Charles again. “You know Kirk Barbour?” He glanced at me. “He’s taking lessons from Roy too.”
“Yeah, he’s in some of my classes, and I see him at the music shop sometimes.”
Zeke looked thoughtful, as if this was new and fascinating information.
“Roy and I tried to convince Kirk to play in the amateur competition at the music festival, but he doesn’t think he’s ready.
” He pointed his finger at Charles. Uh oh.
“You know, kid, you could enter the amateur competition yourself. We need some young blood. Those old biddies’ll probably win again this year, and only a few of the entrants so far are under the age of forty. ”
Charles’ eyes went wide, and his expression was panicked. “Uh, I don’t think?—”
“No need to decide right now.” Zeke shook his head. “Maybe Drake here can tell you what he thinks after he’s heard you play.”
Fuck me. I glared at Zeke. “I’m supposed to be one of the judges for that contest.”
He waved a hand in the air. “We can work around it.”
“Hold up!” Charles gaped at me. “You’re a judge at the music festival? Are you famous or something?”
I chuckled. “Obviously not very.”
Nova, who’d been very quiet since we sat down to eat, laughed. I made a face at her.
Zeke leaned back and whacked me on the shoulder with his big hand again.
“Don’t be shy, ki—uh, Drake.” He looked at Charles and Finn.
“This here’s Drake Derry, originally of Melodious Moon.
” Their mouths fell open, and I rolled my eyes.
“He and his brother Dirk also made an album by themselves—won some awards too.”
“Just for songwriting,” I muttered at my plate.
“Which is what you’ve been doing since then, right? Dirk’s off acting .” He spat the word like it was one of the worst life choices Dirk could’ve made.
“He’s pretty good at it.” I kept my tone positive.
Zeke wasn’t buying what I was selling. “He left you high and dry.”
I sat back in my seat and raised my eyebrows at him.
I’d spoken with Zeke on the phone exactly twice, and today was the first time I’d met him in person.
He’d started ordering me around right away, and I’d sassed him back to remind him I didn’t actually work for him.
But this wasn’t anything he had a right to speak to.
I kept my voice calm but firm. My twang didn’t even try to make an appearance.
“I don’t know what you and Jake have been talking about, but I agreed to come here to help you with the festival, not to hear your opinions on my life or my brother’s choices. ”
Zeke narrowed his eyes at me, then his face creased into a grin. “I like you!”
On my other side I heard Nova moan, “Oh, fuck, there’s no stopping him now.”
I jerked around to face her. “What do you mean?”
She shook her head and stood up, starting to clear everyone’s plates.
Zeke stood too. “Afore we have dessert, we gotta feed Dolores and Mabel.”
Charles and I both froze. I found my voice first. “Mabel? Like the tree creature I heard about?” I carefully didn’t look at any of the others.
Zeke nodded as he put his plate in the sink. “Yep. Critter’s gotta eat, just like everybody else.”
“And you volunteered to feed... her?”
He shrugged. “I’m feeding somethin’. I figure, might be Mabel, might be a bear or whatnot. Either way, getting rid of my leftovers don’t hurt nothin’.”
He opened a cabinet under the counter and pulled out two bowls, one small and one very large, bigger than the one I’d put the salad in, and made of sturdy stainless steel.
I gave Nova a wide-eyed look, but she just smiled and went back to stacking dishes. Finn was gaping at Zeke but didn’t comment.
Charles, however, seemed as disturbed as I was. “Uh, Uncle Zeke? Where do you feed Mabel?”