Liam
liam
. . .
T he door to the studio, which is in the same office space as Elle’s business, opens. I expect to find Elle or Quinn coming through, but it’s Eden and Rush. My eyes widen in surprise. “Hey,” I say to them. “What are you doing here? More importantly, does your dad know you’re in the city?” I give Eden a pointed look.
“Yes.” Eden and Rush come farther into the studio and let the door shut behind them. Thankfully, I’m not recording—not that I would mind if she interrupted me. “I need your help.”
My heart does a double bounce before it settles into my stomach. I can approach her statement in one of two ways. Be the adult she needs me to be or send her to Josie. Or Elle, who is in the other room. I clear my throat and before I can say something incredibly adult-like, she holds her hand up.
“I shouldn’t have led with ‘I need your help’ because you’re probably thinking Rush and I are in some type of trouble?—”
“You’re not?” Finally, my heart returns to its rightful place in my chest. “That’s great.” It’s really more than great, but eloquent words fail me. “So, what’s up?”
Eden looks at Rush and then back at me. “You’ve heard about the fires in Maui, right?”
I nod. “The entire world has. It’s devastating.”
“It is. I was supposed to go there for a competition next week and, as you can imagine, it’s been canceled.”
“Makes sense.”
“But here’s the thing,” she continues. “The island depends heavily on tourism, and the surfing comps bring in a ton of people, sponsorships, and money to the locals. With the event being canceled, that means the parts of the island that didn’t succumb to this disaster are losing out.”
“I agree, but I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
Rush takes a small step forward and smiles sheepishly. I like the kid. So does Harrison. JD’s on the fence, which I get. I’m the same way when it comes to Betty Paige and Mack. While I know there’s something there, I don’t allow it to build while he’s living with us.
“Sir, if I may.”
I laugh and shake my head. “You can call me Liam. I’ve told you this before.” A-plus for manners. I’ve met his parents, Irina and Abraham Fenimore. They weren’t starstruck, which was nice, and we’ve done a couple of family gatherings with them. We'll also meet up again this winter when Rush competes for a world championship. Honestly, these two are lucky to have each other. With Eden being a surfer and Rush being a snowboarder, they’re always available to support one another.
“Right, Liam.” Rush smiles again. “What Eden is trying to say and failing miserably at . . .” Eden elbows Rush in his side. He flinches, but never wipes the smile off his face.
Aw, young love .
“Can you hold a benefit concert, Uncle Liam? I’ve seen old home movies of you doing one for the twins after their dad died, and I just think with your following, the band could raise a lot of money. I thought about asking my dad to pose for a calendar, but my mum says that’ll go right to his head and his ego is already too large for the house.”
I crack up and am very thankful I don’t have a mouthful of anything, otherwise I’d have a mess to clean up. After I gather my wits, I nod. “I think that’s a great idea, Eden.”
She claps her hands and launches herself into my arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“On one condition,” I tell her.
“Oh, I’m not singing or anything.”
“No, nothing like that. The band doesn’t have a problem doing this, but the money only goes so far and is controlled by the government once we donate it. So, why don’t we do a drive of sorts? Let’s ask people to bring new blankets, clothes, or gently used items. Things we can fly over to Maui to help the residents. The money will help them rebuild, but they can’t rebuild if they’re not clothed.”
“What if we do a silent auction as well?” Rush suggests. “We can get items donated and auction them off.”
“That’s fantastic,” I say. “Tell you what, I’ll work on the venue and get that set up. I think we’ll need somewhere big—some place outside. I’ll ask some friends to perform. We’ll make it a day event. I’ll have Josie work on vendors for food, bathroom facilities, security, and whatever else we’ll need. You two get donations. Betty Paige and Mack will help.”
“We can do that.” Eden beams at Rush.
“Don’t be afraid to use your name, Eden,” I tell her. “Tell people who you are, sell your story, and if they don’t budge, tell them who your dad and uncles are.”
“I think I can get the snowboarding team to donate. Even the ski team,” Rush adds.
The door opens and Elle walks in. “What’s going on in here?”
Eden and Rush turn to look at her, and smile.
“They just sold me on hosting a fundraiser for Maui,” I tell her.
“That’s what I came in to ask. Plum wants to do something, and I thought we could do a joint venture.”
“We’d love to have them,” I tell Elle. “What about Talking Til Dawn?”
She nods. “I’ll ask, but they’re usually game for whatever.”
“Do you think Sinful Distraction will play?” Rush asks.
“Without a doubt,” Eden says as her cheeks flare. It’s no secret Eden used to crush on Quinn. It’s harmless and while she says she doesn’t, she can’t hide the evidence. I used to tease JD about Eden liking older men, just to rile him up. It’s not like Quinn or Eden would ever look at each other as anything but family.
“That’s four bands,” Rush says.
“That’s more than enough,” Elle says. “Venue?”
I shrug. “I think some place outside?”
“I’ll make some calls. We want something with facilities because rentals are such a hassle. There’s the new amphitheater out toward my parents’ place. It faces the water. It might be kind of cool to have it there.”
“Do you want me to contact them?” I ask Elle.
She shakes her head. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Then what am I going to do?” I ask, throwing my hands up.
“I don’t know,” Elle says as she heads toward the door. “Sit there and look pretty?”
Eden and Rush laugh.
“Elle . . .”
She laughs. “What’s the point of knowing a manager who can handle all of this for you?”
“When she’s my niece?—”
Elle laughs. “Love you, Uncle Liam,” she says as she walks out.
“We have a list of things to do, so we’re going to take off,” Eden says as she approaches me. I pull her in for a hug. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure. If you run into any problems, call me.”
“We will. See you at dinner.”
“We’ll be there.”
As soon as the door shuts, I tap the screen on my phone and open the app that allows me to video chat with Harrison and JD at the same time.
Harrison answers first, but before I can say anything, JD’s face pops onto the screen. “Ooh, three-way. This is saucy,” he says, causing us to laugh.
“Are you ever serious?” Harrison asks him.
JD scoffs. “Pffft, what’s the point? Being serious sounds boring, mate.”
JD’s not wrong. I think there was a time in his life when he would’ve changed, but then he was shot and ever since he’s lived life to the fullest. There’s never a dull moment when he’s around.
“So, what brings us all together?” Harrison asks.
“Well, moments ago, my niece and her boyfriend approached me, asking if we’d be willing to hold a fundraiser for the people of Maui.”
“Ah, so that’s why she wanted to come and see you,” JD says. “She wouldn’t tell me the reason.”
“And we agreed?” Harrison asks.
“We did, and then my other niece took it a step further and said all three of her bands will perform as well.”
Harrison laughs. “Does Quinn know?”
“Nope, I’ll leave that up to his sister.”
“So, what’s the gist? What do we need to do?” Harrison asks.
I clear my throat. “With Elle managing the logistics of it all, I think we spread the word, find people to donate, get some advertisements going. I sent Eden and Rush to find donations and told her not to be shy about telling people who she is.”
“Good luck there,” JD says. “I tell her all the time that she needs to be all ‘Do you know who my dad is,’ but she won’t.”
“That’s because no one knows you,” Harrison blurts out through laughter. To make matters worse, he adds a “ba-dum tsh” drum sound, which only infuriates JD.
“You know, after all these years, I wonder why I stick around. The amount of disrespect.” JD shakes his head.
“Because we’re family,” I tell him. “And you know damn well we’d do anything for you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” JD continues to shake his head. “Someday . . .”
“Someday, we’ll retire, and then we’ll be three guys who sit around, fiddling with our instruments while reminiscing about the good ole days. Until then, we’re a band about to have a charity concert because our resident surfer needs her family to help her friends out.”
“I’m going to send a tweet,” JD says. “Or X, or whatever the hell it’s called now.”
“I’ll go live on TikTok once I have a date from Elle,” I add.
“How’s that going—the Love Line with Liam?” Harrison asks.
“Good. It’s fun answering questions. People seem to dig it.”
“That’s good. I thought about doing something similar, but each time I pick up my phone, Ollie wants it and we’re not putting him on social media.”
“I don’t blame you,” JD adds. “We hired someone to manage Eden’s. She needs it, but doesn’t have the time between competitions, practice, and school.”
“That’s probably for the best,” I add. “Okay, I’m going to check in with Noah. I’m sure some of his teammates will do something.”
Harrison scrubs his hand over his face. “I’ll reach out to some peeps once we have a date. Rehearsal?”
“Yeah,” I say, sighing. “Tomorrow?”
They agree, and we hang up. I hadn’t planned my visit to California to be taken up with a fundraiser, but it is what it is. I text Josie quickly and tell her I’m heading back to the house and ask if she needs anything. She tells me no and reminds me we have dinner plans with my mother later.