Page 56 of Higher Notes

“Yes, thanks for asking. We just returned from making sure the buses were ready to roll. Ran a bit late getting through Seattle traffic, but Easton was aware. There are so many buses in our fleet now. For this tour we’ll have eight. When all four bands hit the road summer after next, it will be insane, though Social and Maiden mostly travel by air now, except for this tour Joey and Stoli will be joining us on their bus.” Jeremiah’s words had the wheels in my head spinning. Our partner would someday, likely soon, be one of the heavyweights in the metal world and we’d travel mostly by air as well.

“The buses will pick up the Embrace guys on Tuesday then they’ll be here in time for the first show on Friday,” Jeremiah informed the group. “Looking forward to kicking this off and traveling with both bands.”

The guys were back to cheering. It appeared both bands were excited for this.

“Everything is set up with Ely and Jordan as far as food goes. Mickey will come when Benny and River do and most likely by plane. Diamond will pop in here and there, but I won’t be out with the twins coming. I have the utmost confidence in Jeremiah’s capabilities and know you are in great hands.” Easton never held back and always gave credit where credit was due.

Chapter Sixteen

Jason

“Buses are here!” Sikes called out and the kids came running. Sounded like a herd of elephants storming down the stairs. Who knew three little bodies made so much noise? “Come see.”

How freaking adorable was it to watch these two huge men, each holding hands with one of the twins as they trotted out to show them our home away from home.

“Are you coming, Gabe?” His face was glued to the window, trying to play it cool.

“Yeah.”

“Mom, grab your purse and meet us outside. We’ll take the bus to the venue then I’ll have the car service bring you home.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and blinked at me.

“Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah, but isn’t that expensive?”

“Nope, the company pays for it. Now get your gear, woman, and I’ll set the alarm and lock up.” I double checked the doors and armed the house then met the fam onboard.

“Whoa.” Gabe’s head darted around, taking in the state-of-the-art home on wheels. The twins had already raided the snacks with Sikes and Snipe ‘supervising.’ Supervising as in enabling and pumping them full of sugar.

“We’ve got headphones for the kids to wear so we don’t damage their ears at the show.” I handed the bag to Mom.

“Jason, this is... I mean…wow.” I guess she thought we were hanging out in cousin Eddie’s beater RV.

“Yes, Masterson takes excellent care of us. We even have our own culinary team and a staff masseuse. Mickey, the guy we stayed with, one of his partners is a master massager.” That didn’t come out right but thankfully she didn’t call me out on it. “Their other partner, River, runs our social media. Rhone and David, they’re in Embrace the Fear. Rhone’s husband, Ely, and David’s partner, Jordan, own a catering company together, so they travel with us.”

Who got to say things like this?

We did now!

Most up and coming bands were living off fast food and sleeping in seedy motels. Hell, Social slept in their van and so did Maiden. Chaotic and Embrace were truly lucky and had much to thank Maiden and Social for. They paved the way for all Masterson bands and more than funded the bottom line.

“Well, worrying about you being on the road was a waste.” She walked down the hall, peeking around. “Where are the bunks I heard all about?” Forgot I’d told her about those.

“This bus is just for my family and with the three of us sharing a bed, we have a full-on bedroom. Slide the door open.”

“All the comforts of home, minus Sikes’ bathtub.” Mom cracked me up.

“Hey, I heard that,” Sikes half-assed complained. He adored her and knew she was joking. Kind of.

“Yeah, once a band member partners up Masterson gets them their own bus.”

“Are they looking for a secretary by any chance?”

Huh, never thought of that. “No clue, but I’ll definitely ask Jeremiah and Easton.” Bet they’d let her work from home and with the amount of growth they were planning for I’d bet they were.

#Hugewin

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