Page 19 of Totally Off Limits

“Probably not. He wasn’t in our class. He was, like, twenty-eight or twenty-nine back when we had the band—and it didn’t take long for Sage and me to realize there was a reason why he didn’t have a band before us. Nobody likes working with a slacker.

“Anyway, a couple of years after high school, we’d already been on one tour. We actually went from coast to coast and hit a lot of towns, but we were playing dive bars and other crappy venues. When we figured in all our expenses, we were barely breaking even. So then it was back to washing dishes at whatever place in Winchester would take me.

“But Sage, man…he had his finger on the pulse. One of the bars we played at here in town contacted all the local bands they knew and told them Johnny was holding auditions for his new band. Me and Sage figuredWhat have we got to lose?We had, like, two days to prepare—so I called off sick from work and learned every bassline of every song Johnny had ever written and recorded with his old bands. Sage, though, he’s a hell of a drummer and didn’t do shit to prepare. The guy’s an artist with the drums and he can improv like no other. So he just did a drum solo to start. What was cool was Johnny called a few of us back and had us play actual songs with him—and that was what nailed it for Sage and me. We played together and I think he could see how well we meshed. And the rest is history.”

Sierra loved how Mickey’s eyes had lit up, and she felt so happy for him. She’d never known a true rags-to-riches story, but Mickey’s definitely qualified. While he took a bite of potato, she said, “History or not, I don’t know about your time with the band. Tell me all about it.” She glanced over at Mia and felt even more impressed by his cooking skills, because her daughter seemed to be enjoying the food Mickey had made as much as she was.

He shrugged, grinning. “If you don’t mind hearing me brag.”

With a laugh, she said, “You have my permission.”

“Right off the bat, things were different. You know, not like our old band. We rehearsed like it was a real job, between five and eight hours a day. I had to bandage my fingers, ‘cause they were raw and sometimes bled, we practiced so much. And we weren’t going forgood enough. We were going for perfection. First, we learned every old song in Johnny’s catalog. Once we had them down, he let us tweak stuff so it would kind of become our own. That might have been my favorite part that first few months. Then we started learning the new stuff Johnny had been writing—and it was powerful stuff. This was true art, not the shit Craig used to write, stuff he thought would make girls fall into bed with him.”

Glancing at Mia, he asked, “Sorry I’m dropping a few curse words. Should I not even mention stuff like sex?”

Sierra almost blushed at the word…because that was one thing they’d experienced together a few short years ago. “I think you’re okay, especially if you’re not emphasizing particular words. Right, Mia?”

Mia nodded with confidence. “Mommy loves you, Mia.” As Mickey continued talking, Sierra felt a calmness wash over her soul as she realized Mickey didn’t have a clue that Mia was his…meaning that, no matter what happened between them tonight or even the entire time he was back in Winchester, there would be no strings attached.

It gave her a sense of relief.

“So what happened after you learned all the songs?”

“It got even better. We recorded the new album as Johnny’s new band in arealstudio. And the professional equipment, staff, all that shit just blew everything me and Sage had done in the past out of the water.”

Sierra smiled but didn’t point out that Mickey was so excited, he let a curse word slip without even noticing.

“But it didn’t end there. Then we had a seamstress making us road costumes, and we had photo shoots, interviews, video shoots. We got to be so busy that it was hard fitting in rehearsal time. And, before I knew it, we were on the road beginning our tour. Because Johnny already had a following, people around the globe wanted to see him. Seriously. I even had to get a passport. We spent forever in the States, but we also went to Australia, South America, and we were all over Europe. We went to a couple of places in Asia, too. So even if this all ended tomorrow, I’ve already done more than I ever planned with my life. I’ve seen more than I ever thought I’d see. And the money?” He shook his head. Although he wasn’t smiling, his eyes were shining brightly. “I never expected to earn this much in my lifetime. It’s absolutely unreal…and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“I amsohappy for you, Mickey. You deserve it.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“I do.” Reaching her hand across the table, she touched his. And that was probably a bad idea, because it was almost like an electrical charge, igniting her sense memory so that she could see in her head, feel in her bones how he’d used those hands on her body a few short years ago.

“You have always been one of the most kind people I know, Sierra. You were always an inspiration in that regard.”

Laughing, she shook her head. “No way.”

“Yeah,way.” He ate a few bites of his food, and they were both quiet for a little bit. The only noise in the kitchen was Mia’s fork banging on her plastic plate as she worked to perfect her fine motor skills. “Probably the coolest thing that’s happened over the past year or two has been the whole fame thing. When I’m out by myself or even just with Sage, people will definitely look us over. Between my hair and our tattoos, I don’t know if they think we’re trouble or in a motorcycle club or what—but people tend to not give us grief. They keep an eye on us, though. But throw Johnny into the mix, and that changes. It’s not like he’s Brad Pitt, where anybody and everybody would recognize him no matter where he went, but if we’re in a big city, he’ll get recognized once or twice by somebody—like when we flew into DIA for the wedding, we couldn’t even make it to the baggage claim area without a fan asking for his autograph. Andthenpeople will notice the rest of us. Except for Kiefer, our frontman. He’s starting to get recognized more and more, so he’ll sometimes wear disguises. Me and Sage, though…it’s like we have the fame without the parts that strip away your privacy.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Do you think that’ll change the more music you guys make?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

Sierra wiped Mia’s face off with her napkin. “Ah, thereisa pretty girl underneath all that food!”

Mia giggled. “Pretty!”

“Yes, you’re so pretty.”

Even Mickey said, “Youarepretty, one of the prettiest little girls I’ve ever met.”

Was that because he could recognize her as his child?

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