Page 148 of Movers and Shakers

“You don’t need to thank me. Just let me do it.” He gave a half smile and my heart nearly stopped.

I could have written a song about that moment if only I’d had more time. But we pulled into the venue and I had to force myself to focus on what we were about to do.

“Ready to see behind-the-scenes of a tour?”

“I am. Let’s do this.”

“Don’t worry about what they think of you. They’re all nice people.”

“You know I won’t worry about what they think.” But his eyes roamed over the building.

“Do you need a minute?” I asked. “I know these kinds of things can be overwhelming.”

“It’s not overwhelming. It’s just . . . you know how it feels when you’ve somehow managed to do something you dreamed of?”

I had that feeling when I played on my first tour. “Yes.”

“That’s what I’m feeling right now. It’s not nerves, it’s . . .‍”

“Excitement. The purest form of excitement.”

“Yeah. That.” He took one more moment to look, but then turned to me. “All right. I’m ready.”

As we walked in, the band was mingling around their instruments. They were all relieved to see a new guitarist was temporarily joining so we could be sure that we had every part of this right. I only had time to give them his name before we practiced all of the songs for the new setlist.

Barry blended in, knowing every part of every song. We sounded perfect together, as if Jason were here.

“That’s it,” Justice called as we finished up. “That’s the sound I was missing!”

She ran over to me, eyes on Barry the whole time. “Where did you find this guy?”

“Barry? He’s a friend of mine.”

“He knowseveryone of your songs,” she said. “He fits in like he’s really on the tour.”

“It’s only temporary. He, unfortunately, has a life back in Nashville.”

She sighed. “They always do. Don’t worry, though. We have some interviews set up in ten minutes.”

“Oh, okay. Do you need me to go?”

“Definitely.”

“Then I need to go say bye to Barry. Give me five minutes.”

“Of course. I’ll grab Juno.”

When I approached Barry, he was talking to the drummer, Steven, who was telling him about the best restaurants in LA.

“Hey,” I said. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have to go do interviews.”

“Do you need me to go as well?”

I shook my head. “It’ll be boring. You’re welcome to hang out here or I’ll send a car for you.”

“I’ll get to know these guys,” he said. “They’re going to a local dive bar and I’d love to see how another one is run.”

“Are you sure?”

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