CHAPTER TWO #2
He changes when he’s down here too. Nothing puts him in his element like this does. Parenting is a close second, but the board doesn’t throw curveballs like the kids do. Where they keep him on his toes, here he’s the master.
“You’re not really going to torture me with dating apps and match-making, are you?” I ask quietly while I open my guitar case and get my girl ready. Halo. That’s what I call her. Because someone said I sounded like an angel about a million years ago.
“No.” He looks up at me. There’s no smile, but his eyes are spilling over with empathy. “I know what it took for you to reach this point. I’m not going to force you down a path that rips open everything you’ve only just found a way to heal.”
“But what about all the shit you said to Janelle?” I know it got me what I wanted, but Grayson wouldn’t lie to get it. It’s not who he is.
“There’s more than one way to fall in love, Sky. No one specified it had to be romantic. Or involve a man.”
I make a face. “I kind of think it does have to involve a man.”
He just rolls his eyes and goes on, “The way I see it, there are plenty of loopholes here. We just have to find the ones we like and jump through them.” This time he cracks a smile.
“And if Brice happens to invite over the guys from his softball team, and you happen to end up in a picture or two with some of them and Janelle happens to see them, I think we can sell her on the effort we made.”
“He plays in a gay league.”
Gray shrugs. “Janelle doesn’t know that.”
There is that. Plus, the ones I’ve met are gorgeous. “Easy on the eyes with no risk of feelings sounds like the perfect date.”
“Exactly.” He waves his hand for me to go inside the recording booth. “Come on. Magic time.”
My favorite words.
KIT
The house is still dark when I walk in. It’s not my first time coming in through the kitchen door before dawn, but it always feels a little strange. Sleep fills the air and I take care not to make any noise that might wake Gray’s sleeping family.
Then, as soon as I open the door to the basement and take the first step down the stairs, the whole energy changes.
I can hear Gray talking, giving directions, so Skylar must be in the booth.
I’ve never worked with her myself, but it’d be damn near impossible to turn on the radio, let alone work in the industry, and not have heard of her.
Country music’s never been a favorite of mine, but I can’t deny I know the words to every Skylar Thompson song ever released.
The way she’s managed to infuse rock and blues into her sound and the sheer power of her vocals gives her a sound all her own, even if she has been deemed the reigning queen of country love songs for nearly two decades now.
I make my way through the game room portion of the basement and quietly wander into the studio space. As suspected, Grayson is in full producer mode and Skylar is perched on a stool inside the booth, guitar resting naturally on her thigh like it’s an extension of her body.
Not wanting to distract them, I have a seat on the sofa a few feet back and stay quiet until they’re done.
Grayson has headphones on, so I can only hear half of the conversation, but I gather they’ve noticed I’m here when he leans into the mic and says, “If he were here to kill me, he wouldn’t have a seat on the sofa.
Stop being a lunatic, it’s just Kit. Now dial down the drama and sing it again like I told you. ”
Then he slides the headphones off and spins around in his chair to face me. “Oh, good. It really is you.”
“Were you more worried about getting killed or having to admit to her you were wrong?” I tease, nodding at our queen of country behind him.
She’s got her eyes closed now, feeling her way through the song as she sings and plays like we’re not even here.
Like it’s just her and the music. I know that feeling. I love that feeling.
“I’d have hoped for a quick, instant death, not opportunities for conversation while I die in slow motion,” he admits grinning. “Sorry to drag you out here two hours earlier than planned.”
“No worries, man. I get it. When the fire’s lit, you keep feeding that flame.” I let my eyes roll toward the ceiling and the house beyond with all its sleeping inhabitants above us. “Besides, Ari’s at a friend’s house having a sleepover, so it didn’t take much to adjust the schedule.”
He’s about to respond when the door to the booth swings open and Skylar Thompson comes stomping out.
“I can’t believe you boss me around and then don’t even stick around to listen to the results.
” Then her personality turns on a dime and she smiles about the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen as she strolls straight for me, hand stretched out.
“You must be Kit. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Grayson says you’re the best there is.”
I laugh. “And here I thought I was just the most convenient.” I take her hand for a proper greeting. “And the pleasure’s all mine. I’m honored y’all thought of me for this album. I’m sure it’ll be the best I’ve been invited to play on to date.”
Her smile holds until she turns back toward Grayson where it falters all over again. “What makes him convenient? He live next door or something? First person to answer an ad you posted in the local Facebook group? What?”
“We met at toddler gymnastics when Finn was three. And it wasn’t convenience that brought us together, it was sheer luck,” Grayson says, eyes bugging out the way they always do when he finds someone annoying.
Right now, I think Skylar and I may be tied for that spot.
“Kit’s downplaying his skills. Trust me, you’ve never heard anything like it. ”
She eyes me skeptically. For a moment I think Gray’s word may not hold up as much as he’d like. Then she breaks into a smile again. “Alright. Let’s go have some fun together.” She rubs her hands together in anticipation, then freezes up out of nowhere. “I’m going to need more coffee.”
Gray shakes his head. “You don’t need more coffee. You need a nap. Go take one while Kit and I go over the song and work out the first round of kinks.”
She scowls as she moves past us toward an extra-large bean bag chair, grumbling, “There are no kinks in my song.”
“I think he might have meant my playing,” I tell her, trying not to grin.
It’s a little surreal seeing the same woman who usually commands a stage and an audience of thousands curl up in a ball in a bean bag to take a nap.
Especially when you take in the sight of her mismatched socks and the three pencils stuck in the back of her messy hairdo.
When I don’t think she can even hear us anymore, I turn back to Grayson, “Y’all been at this all night? ”
“Actually, since dinner the day before yesterday.” He rubs his eyes with the back of his hands. “Sky started sometime the day before. I don’t really know. She gets so buzzed from caffeine and creativity, it’s hard to tell when she enters a state of total delirium from lack of sleep.”
“You sure you don’t want a little shuteye, too? I don’t mind running the song on my own a few times to get comfortable with it,” I offer.
“Nah, I get plenty of cat naps along the way when she zones out tweaking and rewriting songs she’s sworn up and down were done already.” He smirks.
“Kind of like the one I’m about to play that doesn’t have any kinks left in it?” I joke, slowly starting for the sound booth.
“Exactly like that one.” He starts to slide his headphone back into place. “Sheet music’s on the piano. Just let me know when you’re ready.”