Page 26 of Riding Danger

“Yeah, he was lost for a while. But we found him and we want to make sure no one can take us from each other.” So, my son rambled a bit when he was nervous, that was good to know. “We need to do a NA test.”

“You mean a DNA test.” Dr. Evans smiled and then looked at me. “I take it you have the form. Is Shiloh okay with this?”

I nodded and handed the paper over to him. “Somewhat. She understands my fear, her job, and… ‘okay’ is not the word I’d use, but she does understand my reasoning.”

Fifteen minutes and two swabs later, Ethan and I were on our way to the studio. Before we recorded the song he wanted to sing, I wanted to show him around the studio. Since Everly mainly recorded her own albums and sometimes allowed people she wanted to work with at her studios, it was smaller than the ones at the big record labels. But it was ideal for me to show Ethan how the process worked.

He got a kick out of learning what all the buttons and knobs were for at the sound desk. I showed him how to mic-up the in-studio piano for an acoustic session and I even taught him a few chords on my guitar as we prepared for our recording session.

“Firstly.” I strummed my guitar as I spoke to him. “It helps if you can read music, but it's not always necessary. Especially if you’re singing a cover. And, of course, with a guitar, you’ll need to know which chords to use. But with the piano, you definitely want to be able to read music, even if you can play by ear.”

“By ear?”

“When you can listen to a song once or twice then be able to play it.”

“Can you do that?”

I nodded. Music was my thing. There wasn’t much I couldn’t do. “It’s how I started. My mom couldn't afford music lessons when I was a kid, so when I played at school, it was mostly things I heard on the radio, or something.”

“Will I be able to take piano lessons?”

It never occurred to me he would be interested in more than singing. “I mean I never had formal training but I can teach you.” If he enjoyed it, I would find him the best instructor.

“And you know what to do with all those buttons.” He pointed to the desk on the other side of the glass once more. “It looks so complicated.”

“It can be, but once you get the hang of it, you can work it without even thinking about it.” I remember when I first learnedthe ropes. “I only know because I wanted to learn all aspects of recording.”

“Have you ever used auto-tune?” The small chuckle made me smile.

“No. But that doesn’t mean that it's a bad tool to have in your arsenal.” That was the big myth in the industry. “I have a wide range, so it's never really been necessary. But most often it smoothes out a recording. It's not like someone who can’t hold a tune can use it and suddenly sound like a professional.”

Ethan nodded as he hung on to everything I was saying. While he made me feel like the most important person in the world, it was also scary as hell. But I supposed that was exactly how it was supposed to be. I was one of the most important people in his life. And that was a responsibility I needed to embrace.

I played the song we were going to record together once on the piano, then I showed him the chords on the guitar. It took a number of tries, until he got it. And even then, they were not smooth.

“Do we head into the studio next?” Those blue eyes of his lit up and I wanted to give in so much. Instead, I reminded myself I was here to teach my son the only thing I knew.

“No.” I shook my head and handed him the sheet music with the lyrics. “First, we rehearse. We’ll be in separate booths and I will be coaching you through your part, but still you wouldn’t run a marathon unless you’ve trained for it. No boss would let you wait tables unless they’ve trained you. Same with singing. We warm our voices and we rehearse.”

I coached him through a few voice exercises and explained the importance of breathing correctly and standing up straight. At least in the beginning. Many of us hunched over as we got to higher notes or needed more power in our voices. That wasn’t for show, it was necessary sometimes.

We only got into the booth after lunch. As promised, I coached him through the song and made sure all the parts he needed to sing were smooth and clear. When it was my turn in the booth, he sat and watched me with the broadest smile. I loved that he enjoyed watching, that this was something that we could share. Not that I didn’t love spending time with Shiloh. I think I loved that a little too much. But I also loved having something that was just for me and Ethan.

It was late afternoon before we were done at the studio. I was tired and it wasn’t even a full day's work for me. I could only imagine how Ethan was feeling.

“What is your mom’s favorite take out?”

Ethan seemed to take a moment to think about my question. “She’ll eat anything except from the Thai place. But if she doesn’t feel like cooking, she will always get a box of Mac and Cheese for us. The one that tastes like fake cheese. Then she adds more cheese to it before warming it.”

I tried to picture the most put together woman I know shoving boxed Mac and Cheese into her mouth. Then shook off the thought. I really had no business picturing Shiloh’s mouth doing anything. My mind was singular when it came to that woman.

On our way back to my place, I stopped at the grocery store. Since I wasn’t much of a cook, the plan was to get Shi’s favorite takeout. But since she didn’t have a favorite, I would need to improvise. I had a few things I could cook when I needed to. Fortunately, the deli counter had pre-made meatballs and I could buy a bottle of ready-made tomato sauce. Boiling pasta was one thing I could manage. So, spaghetti and meatballs, it was.

As we stepped in, I remembered the conversation Shiloh and Ethan had the night before. “Remember, you promised your mother you’d finish that science questionnaire.”

He nodded as he looked around the living room. It was the first time he’d been in the house since I moved in. When the owner said I could rent the house until all the paperwork went through, I jumped at the opportunity to have something permanent close to Ethan. Everything happened quickly and still didn’t have all the furniture I needed.

“Where should I work?”

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