Chapter 28
28
Our expansive warehouse complex in central Nashville takes up almost an entire city block. It has six apartments, a recording studio, an open area for hanging out, offices and meeting spaces, a large practice studio set up with most of our gear, and a roof garden. It also has a garage underneath it that’s big enough to fit many of my brothers’ cars and various motorcycles, cars they’ve bought for me, my pick-up truck, and even a tour bus.
The warehouse has been the beating heart of the Tucker Brothers Band operations for years now and is our headquarters and sometimes our home.
It’s less busy than usual, because we’ve just come off of a tour and a lot of our crew are taking some time off. And there are fewer hangers-on now that Vaughn and Travis are both in serious relationships. Kade has always been a one-woman-at-a-time man and, since he apparently has a new one, there’s not a single groupie in sight.
In fact, the place is empty except for loud music coming from the practice studio.
It’s a miracle. They’re actually practicing. Like they’re supposed to be.
I walk past the main open area, with its walls covered in framed platinum and gold records, along with framed photography of the band and tour posters.
It always feels a little surreal, the juxtaposition of these symbols of success casually scattered amongst worn old furniture we've dragged along since those early, struggling days. It’s an eclectic blend of superstar-level expensive furniture and hand-me-down thrift store purchases from long ago, mismatched armchairs and mid-century sofas that have seen so much traffic but tonight are empty.
We’ve kept it this way deliberately. Our apartments and homes might be glam and luxurious, but the main space in the warehouse has always been a reminder of our roots.
There was definitely nothing glamorous about our upbringing. We like having at least one space that spans from then until now, so we never lose sight of where we came from and how hard we’ve worked to get here.
It’s one of the reasons we’re so close. And why I can’t be too mad at Travis and Vaughn for their dedicated interest in my well-being.
And now I get to see how Kade is going to react to the news of his childhood, teen and early-twenties best friend shacking up with his little sister.
Of all my brothers, Kade and I are probably the closest. We talk to each other about stuff I wouldn’t talk about with Travis or Vaughn. We have a lot of heart-to-hearts. And it was him—or how he might have felt about it at the time—more than anything else, that kept Nate and I apart.
I open the door.
The cavernous room vibrates with music. Twinkling string lights crisscross the dark-beamed ceilings. A large industrial-looking window runs along the top third of the far wall. It’s tinted on the outside so no one can see in from the buildings around us and it lets in a muted light. Lamps are strewn around the space and Persian rugs are all over the floor. Someone once told us they were good for the acoustics so we’ve been collecting them ever since.
Vaughn is on his drums, banging away like the powerhouse he is, Kade’s spinning out a new riff I haven’t heard before and Travis sings along to its melody as his guitar harmonizes with new, intricate notes.
I notice Gigi sitting on a couch in the corner, reading a book—although I don’t know how she can concentrate. Her long strawberry-blond hair catches light, like it always seems to do.
I’m a little surprised to see her here, but then I remember that the four of them were coming back here last night to see a gig.
They all look up when I walk in .
They play the last chord of the song, holding it. And then they stop.
All eyes are on me.
“Hi,” I say, sort of amused that they’re all staring at me like that. “Hi, Gigi.”
“Hi, Roxie.”
It occasionally strikes me when I see them, after not seeing them for a little while, that my brothers are stunning-looking men. They look like the rockstars they are. I’m their sister, so I don’t think about it often, but when I look at them with fresh eyes every now and then, it’s easy to see that my brothers would be considered extremely hot to most of humankind.
Vaughn spins one of his drumsticks. “See?” Maybe to Kade. “She’s got a glow.”
But they are, in fact, my brothers. And they annoy me as much as they endear themselves to me. Possibly more. “I do not have a glow .”
“You sure do, honey pie.”
I check out Kade’s vibe. Exactly the way he’s checking out mine.
“Hey, darlin’.”
“Hey.” I walk over to him. He definitely seems…lighter. The grimness that’s been hanging over him for five straight months is completely gone. “I’m in love with him so you’re just going to have to get used to it.”
He gives me a slow, almost-amused, measured look. “Is that right? ”
“Yes, it is right. I get to choose who I want to be with and I want him .”
Kade smiles, almost like he finds the new “glowing” me sort of fascinating. “Well, shit.”
“You’re not allowed to be mad. It’s up to us. Not them,” I vaguely gesture to the others, “and not you.”
“I called him.”
This stuns me for a few seconds. “You did? When?”
“Half an hour or so ago.”
God. They’re eternally meddling in my life, all three of them. “What did you say?”
“I asked him what he was doing with my sister and he explained that the only reason he hasn’t been with you all these years is out of respect for you and out of respect for me. But that if I tried to come between the two of you now he’ll beat me to a bloody pulp.”
“He said that?”
“Something along those lines. Might have been slightly more colorful.”
I consider this for a few seconds. “What did you say?”
“I told him I would have killed him with my bare hands when you were fifteen. Maybe even when you were twenty.”
“I think he knows that, Kade.”
“He did.”
“But I’m not fifteen anymore. Or twenty. And as much as I appreciate y’all’s undying concern for me, if you try to get in the way of me and Nate you can find yourselves a new manager. ”
Vaughn laughs and lets out a low whistle.
“Well, then,” Kade says. “That’s something we definitely don’t want.”
“Kade, I love him.”
“So you keep saying, darlin’.” I’m not expecting it but he grins. “I get it, all right? You’ve both pleaded your case and it’s obvious this is something that’s been brewing for a long time. I didn’t see it, but then again, you didn’t want me to. And neither did he.”
“I’m okay,” I promise him. “He’s the best thing. Just give us your blessing and leave us to it already.”
Kade laughs. Honestly, it’s been a while since I heard him laugh.
“You’re in a good mood,” I observe sullenly, still riled.
“Stella agrees with him.” Travis strums. “A lot .”
“Where is she?” I ask.
“Asleep. In my apartment.”
“All worn out by the Magic Man ,” jokes Vaughn, using one of the nicknames Kade was given by past girlfriends and eventually the media.
“Shut up, Vaughn,” Travis and Kade say in unison.
It barely lands. “No one understands my sense of humor around here,” Vaughn complains. “Except you, Gi.”
She gives him a gentle smile.
Now that we’ve got the hard part out of the way, I’m bursting to tell them. “There were some interesting developments over the weekend. I signed Luke and Leo.”
“To do what? ”
“To be their manager.”
All three of my brothers are speechless.
“They had this hoedown where they all got up and played. I couldn’t believe it. They’re incredible.”
“No shit,” Travis drawls. “They were always fucking good.”
“And Nate.”
“What about him?”
“He can sing. And I mean sing . He’s so, so good. He’s going to be your new opening act for the local shows—if I can talk him into it. He hasn’t actually agreed to it yet but I know I can convince him.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Travis laughs. “Where is Nate? Didn’t he have a meeting in the city today?”
“Yes. He’s meeting with Ainsley Beal,” I tell them. “Now.”
“That uptight chick who stopped by his house yesterday?” Vaughn asks.
“Yep. The social worker. Their office is here in Nashville. I think he said Montgomery Street. I’m going to meet up with him after.”
Gigi comes over. “He’s at a social services office on Montgomery Street? I used to work there.”
“You did?”
“I did one of my placements there.” I’d forgotten that detail. Gigi’s a social worker. She’s also an actual saint. She’s absolutely gorgeous and incredibly nice, but she’s also got this feisty undertone to her personality that I love about her. She’s got Vaughn so thoroughly wrapped around her little finger he can hardly see straight.
“Do you… know Ainsley Beal?” I mean, maybe Gigi could put in a good word for us.
“Not well. But I do know Jenny Jenkins, the director. She helped me out a lot during my placement there. She and I have coffee whenever I’m in Nashville.”
“So she’d be…Ainsley Beal’s boss?”
“Yes. She oversees all the cases and makes the final decisions about what’s submitted to the judges and so on.”
Vaughn’s arm goes gently around Gigi’s shoulders. “I was drinking out of that whiskey flask, like you told me to do whenever I had the urge, Gi. And I had the rolled-up cigarette. Probably didn’t look too good to a social worker.”
Gi looks up at him. Then at me. “No, that wouldn’t have looked too good.”
“Let’s go down there,” Vaughn suggests. “Gi can talk to Ainsley Beal’s boss and explain everything. It might help.”
I’m not sure it’s a good idea. “I don’t know. I could call Nate and see if that would be okay with him.”
I try his number but it goes straight to voicemail. Because he’s in the middle of the meeting, obviously.
“We’ll all go,” Travis says. “We got him partly into this mess. If there’s something we can do to get him out of it, we should. If it makes even a small amount of difference, it could mean the difference between him getting custody of Daisy or losing it.”
“I don’t know if we should interfere. ”
It’s Gigi who convinces me. “Definitely worth a try. Besides, Jenny’s been begging me to meet the Tucker brothers for ages. She’s a huge fan.”
Kade slings his bass guitar from around his chest and sets it on its stand. “The limo’s parked out front. Let’s go.”