Chapter 27
Angus
The weather in South Dakota is perfect for an outdoor festival. It’s clear, sunny, and seventy-nine degrees. We don’t get a sound check since there are so many bands playing today, but we don’t go on until around eight, so we have most of the day to do whatever we want.
Ryleigh wants to spend the day at the festival since we have all access passes and she can create content for her channel, and I’m happy to tag along, watching her do her thing. With sunglasses on and my baseball cap pulled low on my forehead, I stay under the radar and it’s easy to let her take the lead.
She’s been quiet the last few days, but whenever I ask if she’s okay, she says she’s worried about how much longer she’s going to be on tour with us. Her boss doesn’t seem happy with her work, but I can’t figure out why.
My gut tells me there’s more to whatever’s going on, but there’s nothing I can do if she won’t open up.
We’re still new, getting a feel for the ins and outs of being together, so I understand that she isn’t ready to trust me with everything.
I also think she’s bummed that today is Kirsten’s last day on the tour. She’s heading home to Las Vegas to finish packing for college, and then she and Sydney will be flying to New York in a couple of days to get her settled.
Without Kirsten here, it’ll change the dynamic of the tour. And if Ryleigh has to leave too…well, I don’t even want to think about it. Unless she’s going to be embedded on another tour, there’s no reason she can’t stay here. With me. I haven’t had the nerve to bring that up yet, and I’m waiting for the right moment to talk to her about it.
I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.
I still haven’t called my grandfather either.
We’re throwing Kirsten a big send-off party tonight at the hotel, and I’m hoping that maybe after a few drinks I can get Jonny to talk to me. Or at least get him to listen. At some point, we have to address this monumental elephant in the room.
“Hey, did you hear the news?” Sam comes running over to me as we head down to the lobby to get on the bus.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Fucking Callum Yates,” he grunts.
“Now what?” I ask, knowing it can’t be good if Callum is involved.
“He just got us bumped from the eight o’clock slot down to the six o’clock.”
“What?” I stare at him.
“Karnal Death is replacing us at eight, and the band before us don’t know if they’ll land in time, so they can’t be moved, which means we drop to six.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shake my head.
The five and six o’clock slots are the worst because people tend to be hungry and take a break from listening to music while they wait for the headliners. Nobody’s Fool goes on at nine-thirty, so now it’s like Karnal Death is opening for them, instead of us.
“Sasha said she tried everything but the band at seven—it’s Wicked Lynk—is traveling back from Australia and coming straight to the festival. They don’t know if they can get here by six, so that’s how they rearranged everything.”
“Can I beat his ass?” I ask.
“Whose ass are we beating?” Mick and Jonny join us, and they collectively groan when we explain what’s going on.
“I hate those assholes,” Jonny grumbles. “Dammit.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.” Sam, always the practical one, heads for the bus. “Let’s just make sure we put on the best possible show.”
“Hey, why don’t we ask Kirsten to join us?” I suggest. “We can have Ryleigh leak it on her channels that ‘she heard a rumor’ or something. I bet we fill the seats that way.”
“That’s a great idea!” Tate nods. “Where are the ladies, by the way?”
“Some kind of breakfast-themed hen party,” Sam says.
“There they come,” Mick says, waving as Ryleigh, Kirsten, Lexi, and Sydney get out of a taxi.
“Ryleigh, we need you!” Tate yells, laughing.
She comes over to us, and we quickly tell her our plan.
“I’m glad no one thought to ask me about my part of the plan,” Kirsten says dryly, though the twinkle in her eyes tells us she’s not upset.
“You were always going to say yes,” Sam teases, kissing the side of her face.
“You got me there.” She smiles up at him, and I’m not sure if their devotion is sweet or sickening.
I really am a crusty fuck sometimes.
“I can totally leak the news,” Ryleigh says, pulling out her phone. She types something and then reaches for Kirsten’s arm. “Come do a video with me.”
“Okay.” Kirsten gets in the shot, and they chat for a minute as Ryleigh explains what she wants to do.
Kirsten nods and then Ryleigh does the video right then and there.
“Guys, look who’s Rockin’ with Ryleigh today!” she gushes. “It’s Kirsten Aiken! We just had brunch and now we’re going to the venue to start setting up for the Dakota Rocks Festival! Hey Kirsten… do you have a surprise for fans tonight?”
“I might.” Kirsten winks. “But if you want to find out what it is, you need to be by the main stage at six o’clock. And that’s all I’m going to say about that!”
“And if you want to see your girl, Ryleigh, I’ll be there too! Come find me—I’ll be posting selfies from the event all night so come take a picture with me! See you later!” She ends the video and turns to us. “How was that?”
“You’re fucking amazing,” I say, pulling her in for a kiss. Her lips are warm against mine, the faint taste of maple syrup lingering.
“I hope it’s enough,” she says.
“Oh, it will be,” Kirsten says. “Once you post it, I’ll share it on my own socials, and we’ll get lots of coverage. Although… what are we gonna sing?”
Jonny is thoughtful. “What about ‘Close Your Eyes Forever’? It’s old school but you can’t go wrong with Ozzy and Lita.” The rock ballad from Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford is a classic.
“I’ll have to learn the lyrics,” Kirsten says, “but it shouldn’t take long.” She starts typing something into her phone and then nods. “Oh, yeah, I can do that… I know more of the lyrics than I thought.”
“I think I can fake the guitar parts,” Sam says. “We’ll just make it ours.”
“I used to play it in an old cover band I was in,” Mick says, “so I’m good.”
“I’ll listen to it on the way to the venue,” Tate says. “It can’t be that hard.”
We’re all immersed in the plan as we get on the bus, and I’m suddenly grateful for these people. My band, because I wouldn’t have any of this without them. Kirsten, because she’s as sweet as she is talented. And now Ryleigh. She didn’t hesitate to do something to potentially help us out of an unfortunate situation, even though it’s not the kind of post that will necessarily do anything for her brand.
Or for the article she’s writing.
She’d been up late last night typing away on her laptop, and it was obvious she was struggling. I hadn’t wanted to bother her, so I focused on the book I was reading. She’s smart and good at what she does. I have no doubt she’ll get past whatever this is, I just wish she would open up more. It seems like the closer we get, the less she tells me about what’s going on in her life.
Like she has a secret.
I can’t imagine what it could be, but I’m the last person to judge someone for having secrets. I know her financial situation embarrasses her, and since that might be part of it, I’ve tried to be patient instead of nagging her about what’s happening. I think she wanted to talk to me a few times but always stops just shy of baring her soul. I guess I have my work cut out for me, but generally speaking, things are really good between us.
So far, it feels like the situation with my connection to the Hollingsworth family has blown over. With the exception of Jonny. He’s still pretty surly and there’s been no one-on-one contact between us, but my hope is that it’ll change at the party tonight. We’re either going to fight or make up. What else can we do?
“Shit, they’re already at the venue,” Ryleigh mutters.
“What?” I look up in confusion. I’ve been so lost in thought I didn’t notice we’d already arrived.
“I just got a text from Taryn—Karnal Death is here. They plan to spend the day hanging out and doing some interviews in the green room and stuff. The event is making a big deal about them being added to the lineup.”
“I know where I won’t be,” Jonny says, getting up and off the bus before anyone else.
“I’m going to go find Taryn,” Ryleigh says to me. “Do you mind?”
“Mind if I come with you?” I ask. “You know what they say—keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
She grimaces. “Sure. I mean, I have no intention of hanging out with Callum if I can help it, but let’s go find them.”
“Sure.”
“Everyone stay in touch by text!” Sam calls as we start walking in different directions. “There won’t be a full sound check, but Jimbo said we’ll have about ten minutes to make sure everything is set up properly.” Jimbo is the new tour manager Sasha hired. We hadn’t thought we needed one since Bobby handles most of that kind of thing, but we’ve gotten successful enough that we now warrant an official tour manager.
Ryleigh slides her hand into mine as we walk, and it’s nice to have a little time before the show. We were supposed to have a meal at five, but that’s too close to show time now, so I don’t know what the plan is. I need at least an hour after I eat before I can play.
“The details of shows like this fascinate me,” Ryleigh says. “So many people, booths, bands, vendors…I can’t imagine what goes into putting together an event this big.”
“It’s pretty wild, but the idea of running one turns me on. I can picture myself being in charge of something like this—later in life. Like in another twenty years, when we’re only touring every other year instead of every year.”
She grins. “Sounds good to me. You handle the logistics; I’ll handle the advertising and marketing.”
“I guess we have our retirement plan,” I laugh, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
Before she can respond I hear a familiar voice calling to us.
“Ryleigh!” Taryn comes running in our direction, and the ladies hug.
“What up, Angus/August?”
Callum Fucking Yates.
Coming over to say hello was probably a stupid idea but it’s too late now, so I turn with a fake smile.
“Callum.”
I hold out my hand, hoping he can’t tell how much I dislike him.
Sometimes being polite is a pain in the ass.