Page 23 of A Way Out
Lacey shrugged. “He’s good at it.”
“Really good,” Parker added.
On top of all his other burdens, the man was also the band’s publicist?
That was insane.
“On a positive note, Bridgette secured us a gig in Tulsa,” Lacey said. “It’s only two and a half hours from Branson.”
“Seriously?” Cash said. “That’s fantastic!” Oz and Parker slapped hands while Travis clutched his drumsticks and fist pumped.
“Who’s Bridgette?” Maria asked from her position on the couch.
“She’s a booking agent,” Oz explained.
“The first time Lacey and I played together, Bridgette packed this bar outside of Branson,” Parker added. “That night made us enough money to be able to head out here to LA to make this dream come true.”
What was it like to have dreams, let alone fulfill them? Maria had no idea. She’d never dared to dream. The closest she’d come was finally asking Vic for a divorce. And really, was that even a dream?
More like a way to kickstart her life.
She was here, though, wasn’t she? In LA, hanging with an up-and-coming band. Okay, yes, she’d seen the guitarist naked—and what a spectacular sight it had been—but he was acting like it was no big deal, so she was too.
Well, she was trying.
Maybe this was her dream and she hadn’t even realized it until now. Not that she could define this, exactly. She was truly having fun, and those instances had been rare in her former life.
“Now we just need to get people to show up,” Oz said. “Wait. When is the show scheduled?”
“Sunday night,” Lacey replied. “We’ll need to stay an extra day. Bridgette thinks she may be able to get us a few gigs for the following weekend, too, if we want to hang out there for an extra week.”
Oz shook his head. “No way I can miss that much work. Tell her to keep booking us shows in LA.”
“We’ve played every club and bar on the LA scene,” Lacey complained. “Twice.”
“Three times,” Cash said.
“We need to expand our reach if we’re ever going to grow,” Lacey said. “Bridgette says she may even be able to hook us up with a small tour through the Midwest. Maybe get us into a music festival. It’s finally getting real.”
Cash and Travis smacked palms, grinning.
“We aren’t prepared to tour yet,” Oz cut across the excitement. “We don’t even have a bus. Or money.”
“Which we can’t make if we don’t tour,” Lacey pointed out.
Oz stabbed at his chest. “I can’t put food on my kids’ table if I don’t have steady hours, and a few Midwest shows are not going to make up the income I’m gonna lose if I give up even one of my jobs. We need her to focus on LA right now.”
“And then what?” Parker asked before Lacey could open her mouth. “When do we finally go out and actually be a band, Oz?”
Oz dragged his hand over his face. It was obvious he didn’t have a good answer for Parker. It was just as obvious that he was not going to change his mind. Because he felt he had no choice.
Maria raised her hand, like she was a student, waiting for the teacher to notice that she had a question.
“Why are you raising your hand, Maria?” Oz asked, sounding weary.
“What if you had a sponsor? For the tour, I mean.”
“That’d be great,” Parker said. “But we don’t.”
