Chapter 23
Julia wanted to die, to melt into the floor before he could say something that would force her to confront the past once again. She would’ve fled, but her legs couldn’t seem to get the message from her brain that she needed to get the hell out of there right now.
Owen handed his guitar to Evan and brought the microphone with him when he came down off the stage to meet her.
“My beautiful sister Julia is here, and you guys… How about we give her a round of applause and see if we can get her up here to play for us?”
As the rest of people in the room went wild clapping, whistling and stomping their feet, Julia couldn’t breathe. How could Owen do this to her?
She shook her head.
Owen came to a stop right in front of her. “Pretty please?” He compelled her with his eyes to be bigger than the fear, bigger than the past.
Maybe it was the wine she’d consumed or the way Deacon smiled so widely at her when she glanced back at him as he clapped and whistled louder than anyone.
She summoned the courage from deep inside, took the hand Owen extended to her and held on tight to the brother who’d been her rock.
They walked toward the stage and the instrument that’d been such a huge part of her life until that, too, had been lost to the madness.
“I’m gonna kill you for this,” she muttered.
His broad smile touched her heart. “Take it back, Jule. It’s been waiting a long time for you to come home to it.”
She blinked back tears as she nodded and took her strength from him the way she had all her life. Her big brother, her protector, her dearest friend, her fellow survivor. If he could do it, so could she.
Owen and Evan left her alone on the stage, fighting back panic, memories and pervasive sadness to focus on the thing that had kept her alive through some of the darkest days of her life.
As long as she could lose herself in the music, she could find her way through to the other side of whatever crisis faced her.
Until the monster had taken it from her by forbidding her to play or sing in public or at home.
He’d known how much it meant to her, so he’d taken it, the way he’d taken everything else that mattered to her. The music had lived inside her and given her a purpose. When he’d taken it from her… That’d been the first time her heart had been broken.
Julia sat behind the piano and thought about the recent hit song she’d fallen in love with.
She’d never played or sung it before, so it was risky to do it for the first time in front of a packed house, but her fingers found the keys, and the magic came back in a tsunami of emotion that had her throat closing for a full minute until she got herself together and found the words she needed.
From the first time she’d heard Lady Gaga sing “Always Remember Us This Way,” Julia had connected to the song like she hadn’t connected to anything musical in years.
As the song poured from her soul, she forgot about everything and anything that wasn’t the music, the way she had when she’d used music to escape the nightmare that’d been her life.
By the time she played the final notes, she was on the way to a crash landing from the emotional high until the room exploded in applause that had her climbing once again.
People were standing, cheering, whistling.
Owen wiped tears from his eyes as he joined her on the stage.
“Am I right?” he said into the mic, setting off another round of wild applause.
Julia stood on trembling legs to accept a hug from her brother. “Most beautiful thing I’ve heard in forever,” he whispered in her ear. “Stunning.”
She clung to him the way she had all her life, holding on to one of the six people who had never let her down.
Owen released her, stepped aside and led another round of enthusiastic applause. “One more?”
Julia rolled her eyes at him.
“Pretty please?”
The enthusiastic support of the audience had her playing the opening notes to Kelly Clarkson’s song “Because of You.” Julia vividly remembered sitting in her car with tears rolling down her face the first time she heard that song and understood that it was about someone like her, who’d been abused and would carry those scars with her forever.
Like then, the song made her cry even as she tried to power through it without becoming overly emotional.
The audience’s applause was even louder when she finished the second song. She wiped away her tears and forced a smile for Deacon, who was standing and smiling and clapping with enthusiasm.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Owen said, “one more round for my sister, Julia Lawry.”
While the crowd went wild, Deacon came to the steps to offer her a hand.
Owen sat on a stool and strummed his guitar. “I’ve always hated having to follow Julia, and now you know why. But the show must go on.” He played the opening notes to “Yellow” by Coldplay.
Deacon put an arm around Julia and kept her close to him as people praised her performance on the way out of the crowded restaurant. “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard,” he said in the gruff voice that was quickly becoming her favorite sound ever.
“I’m going to lose it any second now,” she said so only he could hear her.
He stepped up the pace, steered her toward the porch and held her as the emotion poured from her in a torrent of tears that made her feel weak, but damn if she could contain them.
“Sweet Julia,” Deacon whispered. “There’s so much more to you than I ever could’ve imagined.”
He held her while she got it all out in a flood of memories and emotion and yearning for more of the thing that had sustained her.
“Excuse me,” Evan said from behind them. “I’m so sorry to interrupt.”
Julia raised her head from Deacon’s chest and wiped her eyes, embarrassed to have been caught having an emotional meltdown by a singer of Evan’s caliber.
“I just want to say…” Evan shook his head, seeming flabbergasted. “Your voice is magical.”
“Thank you so much. That means a lot coming from you.”
“Julia… I’m rarely at a loss for words, but why in the hell are you not a professional singer?”
“I found myself on a different path,” she said, simplifying one of the more complicated things she’d ever confronted.
“I’d love to talk to you about it if you have a few minutes.” He handed her a business card. “I own Island Breeze Records, and I’ll be there every day until mid-July. Feel free to stop by any time.”
Julia took the card from him, the whole thing too surreal for words. “Thank you.”
“You have a rare and special talent. I really hope you’ll come by.” He nodded to Deacon. “You guys have a great night.”
Evan walked away, leaving Julia stunned and unnerved by what he’d said and offered.
“Holy shit,” Deacon whispered. “Julia… Oh my God!”
She couldn't seem to form a rational thought or reaction to what’d just taken place.
Just over a week ago, she’d been sleeping on a friend’s sofa after losing her job and her apartment.
Today, she had Deacon and a puppy and a new job, and now Evan McCarthy wanted her to “come by” his studio to talk about her “rare and special talent.”
No, there was no way that last part could be real. No way. She was still having trouble believing Deacon was for real. Evan, well… That was too crazy to be believed.
“What do you need, darlin’?”
“I, uh… I just don’t know.”
Julia didn’t know what she needed, but apparently, Deacon did.
He put that strong arm around her again and guided her inside to the stairs that led up to the sanctuary of her room.
Tomorrow, she’d meet up with Cindy to see about the house they were thinking of renting.
But for now, for tonight, the hotel, her favorite place in the world, was home.
When they reached her door, Deacon found the key in her purse and dealt with the lock, ushering her in ahead of him. He cared for her so naturally, as if he’d been doing it forever rather than only a few days.
Julia turned to him, put her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For everything. For being you. For being just what I need when I needed you most.”
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, his lips finding the sensitive skin on her neck. “You’re making a mess of me.”
That voice, dear God, she would hear it in her dreams for the rest of her life and shiver at the memory. “Is that a good thing?”
“It’s the best fucking thing ever.”
Much later, Deacon lay on his side in Julia’s bed, drinking in the sight of her in the moonlight pouring in through her window. He’d intended to go home, to get a good night’s sleep before work in the morning, but he’d been unable to find the energy to leave her after loving her once again.
From the crate, Puppy’s little snores had had them cracking up earlier. He’d crashed hard after Deacon took him out to pee.
In the soft afterglow of wild passion, Deacon ran his hand up and down Julia’s arm, delighting in the goose bumps that broke out on her sensitive skin. “Tell me about the music.”
Her deep sigh made him wish he hadn’t asked, but curiosity had gotten the better of him.
“When we were little, we all had to have an activity. We got to pick what we wanted to do, but we had to do something. My dad wanted us all to do sports, so I played soccer—not well—and took piano lessons. I really loved playing the piano, and my teacher in Virginia told my mother I was a prodigy. My grandparents bought me a gorgeous little baby grand piano that I played for hours every day. I played until my fingers ached and my back hurt, and then I played more. I could hear something once and play it without sheet music. By the time I was eleven, I was playing in church and performing the music for a local dance studio’s recitals. ”
“At eleven? That’s incredible.”