Page 87 of When the Storm Breaks
“And I’ve always been so grateful to you but what you’re asking me…” I shook my head. “… it’s too much.”
“Do it for me. Do it for the band.”
“I can’t just… this isn’t even up to me. My management team would fight me on this.”
“Bullshit. You’re a Grammy winner. Your album went platinum. You’re their cash cow, Shiloh. They work for you, not the other way around. If you say this is what you want, they’ll bend over backwards to make sure you’re happy.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. Not to mention I didn’t like his tone or what he was asking me to do. “I’ve been trying so hard to get to a good place, Landry. I’ve had to work so hard to get over all the shit Dean put me through. Not just me either. What about everything he did to you and Gus? Why are you still defending everything he’s done?”
“Because I owe him. And so do you.”
Oh my God. Unbelievable. “We paid our dues. We both tried to help him but what did he do? He’s trouble, Landry. Always has been. And he’s going to drag you down with him. It’s what he does. How can you be so blind that you can’t see that? You don’t owe him anything.”
“You don’t get it, do you? You have no idea what he did for us.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Oh, I know exactly what he did for us. None of it was good either.”
“It was me. I was the one was cooking the meth. It was all my idea and I started doing it when you were still in high school. We had no money, Shy. Not a fucking cent. Do you really think my minimum wage jobs bought you that Fender guitar for your seventeenth birthday? Do you think it paid for our food and all the bills Maw Maw left me with? All you ever talked about was going out to L.A. And I wanted to make that happen for you. So did Dean. He always knew you had what it took to become a star. Everyone did. Why do you think Bastian Cox gave us our big break? It was because ofyou.”
“You …” I shook my head. “I don’t believe you. I would have known about this. It couldn’t have been you. You were working two jobs…”
“No. I wasn’t. In the beginning I was, yeah. But they didn’t pay enough. Dean took the fall. He served time when it should have been me.”
I shook my head. “No. No way. You can’t actually think I’m going to believe that?”
“It’s the goddamn truth,” he gritted out. “Dean knew if he got involved, they’d pin it on him, so he tried to stay out of it.”
“If it’s the truth then why hasn’t anyone ever mentioned it before? You’ve hadyearsto tell me this. Why now? Why are you telling me this now, Landry?”
“Hey babe.”
I clenched my jaw at the sound of his voice, steeling myself before I turned my head to look at Dean. He looked good. His hazel eyes were clear, not bloodshot or glossy. His brown hair was messy and disheveled, deconstructed, perfectly styled to look that way. He was wearing a clean white T-shirt, ripped black jeans and motorcycle boots. He looked like a rock star. He looked like a guy who had been to hell and back. His smile was sad, hopeful, like he was worried I’d kick him to the curb. I used to fall for that damn smile every time. “What are you doing here?”
I should have known they’d ambush me like this. I should have known better than to think my brother wanted to meet up for a friendly chat.
Without waiting for an invitation, Dean pulled up a chair next to mine.
“You didn’t return my calls.”
“I don’t have anything left to say to you.”
He nodded. “Can’t say I blame you. You look beautiful.”
“And you look like trouble.”
“Because I am. But I’m not looking to cause you any more trouble.”
“You’re just looking for a favor. A really big one.”
The server turned up and we fell into silence, not wanting to be overheard. He cleared our plates and took Dean’s order—a double espresso. After the waiter was gone, Dean leaned in close to me and said, “But it’s within your power to grant it. I’m begging you. Just do us this one solid.”
Acadian Storm used to do headliner tours and now they were asking for a chance to open for me. “If this new music is so great, why don’t you get into the recording studio and put out a new album? Line up some promo and a tour. You don’t need me for that.”
“Did you tell her about Gus?” he asked Landry who nodded. “I fucked everything up. I know that. I’ve burned so many bridges. Pissed off the wrong people. Now we have to start from the ground up and try to do it the right way.”
It reminded me of Brody when he was talking about the abused horses he worked with, how he started from the ground up and how you couldn’t rush that kind of thing or you’d undo all your hard work.
“I know we’re broken,” Dean said. “I know there’s not a chance in hell you’d ever take me back. But this is about the music. And once upon a time you believed in me. I need this, Shy. Landry needs this. If you can’t do it for me, do it for him. Please.”
