Page 33 of The First Chord

“Yes, you can.” He paused, shook his head, and then said, “Although, if Jimmy is kicked out of the band, I don’t want him finding you here alone.”

I blinked. “Hang on a minute.” I held my hand up. “They’re definitely going through with it?”

He looked up at the ceiling and groaned. “Shit. No, sorry. I’m jumping the gun. The guys haven’t decided yet, but we’ve all put pressure on them to make the right decision. It won’t look good if they let a wife beater front them.”

“Well, I’m not telling anyone,” I responded, standing up. “Seriously, Ronnie, I don’t want anyone outside of Blind Devil and Warrior Creek to know.”

Ronnie put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “None of us will tell. I’m damn sure Jimmy won’t want anyone to know that he punched you. ‘Cause he knows, Amber, if one of his own band don’t give him one in the fucking nuts, one of us will. Let’s face it, I’ve had him down on the floor once before and I can do it again.”

Chewing on my lip, I turned away from him and looked back outside at my shiny new car. Things had changed dramatically for me in a matter of days. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next, or how my life was going to pan out, but I knew that I had to try and do it alone. I couldn’t drag Ronnie into it. I knew Jimmy, and if he was kicked out of the band he’d go for whoever and whatever he could, he’d have nothing to lose. When he found out I was staying with Ronnie the first thing Jimmy would do would be to go to the press. He wouldn’t care if it came out he’d hit me because he’d spin some lie about me and Ronnie having an affair and make himself out to be the injured party.

“Ronnie, I really need to find somewhere to live and get a job. I want to pay my own way, so if you can help to find me some sort of work then I’d be grateful.” I might not havewantedhis help financially, but it didn’t mean that I didn’tneeda leg up if possible.

“Amber, you don—”

“I do. I want to pay my own way,” I said, turning back to face him. “I need a job and while I’m so grateful to you for everything, I can’t expect you to take care of me indefinitely.”

“I don’t mind. I like taking care of you.”

“I’m not your responsibility.” I reached for his hand but pulled back at the last moment. If I touched him I might not let go. “But if you could help on the job front then that would be amazing.”

His head dropped as he exhaled. “Okay. Let me make a few calls both on the job front and the house front.”

“Ronnie—”

“I promise, nothing fancy. Just let me get my contact to find you somewhere decent and, if necessary, I’ll help you out with a loan for a deposit and first month’s rent.”

“Honestly, I have the money. As long as I can get a job I should have enough as long as it’s not some fancy penthouse or mansion.”

Ronnie smiled. “How does this village sound?”

“Pricey.”

“I know of a cottage for rent. It’s within your budget.”

“And why didn’t you mention this before?” I couldn’t help but smile as he looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

He shrugged. “It slipped my mind.”

“Do you own the cottage?” I asked, eyeing him warily. If I hadn’t been watching him carefully I might have missed the way his eye twitched. “Ronnie!”

“Okay, okay, but it’s been on the market for ages, so I pulled some strings, and the current owner has agreed to let you rent it until the sale goes through.”

“At the proper market value?”

“No, what they are paying in mortgage repayments and…” He held up his hand to stop me from interrupting. “When I finally buy the place it will be exactly the same rent.”

“Ronnie, I can’t accept that. Please, let me pay the going rate.”

Ronnie looked at me for a few beats and then nodded. “I promise to reassess the rent but that’s all I’m promising.”

It was something, although I knew he’d try and get out of it if he could. Well, I’d check the rents in the area and then send extra money in a bank transfer. I doubted very much whether Ronnie would know or even check.

I held my hand out. “Okay, deal.”

Ronnie grinned and shook on it with me. “Deal. Now,” he said, “how about some food? Indian or Chinese?”

“I don’t mind,” I said with a grin. “But it’s on me.”

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