Page 56 of Not The Frontman
“Okay.” I fell back asleep before the bus left the parking lot.
After waking up the next morning and getting breakfast, Joe grabbed a second cup of coffee and sat beside Kay. “Hey, uh…when we stop next, I’m going to go over to Matty and Pierce’s bus.”
Kay sulked. “You can stay with us. We’re gonna watch a movie.”
“Honestly, I’m jealous enough as it is with you three.” He chortled, playing it off like a joke, but I didn’t think it actually was. Kay probably didn’t either, judging by the way he was looking at Joe. They needed to talk it out later. “I think Pierce and I are going to work on some music anyway.”
“Oh.” Kay jumped up and ran to the back, returning with a notebook. He handed it to Joe. “You can work on that song I showed you. There’s more to it now.” He pointed at the notebook. “That kind of needs rearranging. Right?”
“Hmm…maybe. Can we play with it?”
“Of course. I trust you.”
“Maybe sing this part…” Joe pointed at the page.
“Sure, it goes like this…”
And it’s one more time
I didn’t reach for you
One more time
I thought we were through
But we’re still here
The fight goes on
Even when I’m not that strong
Kay’s voice was incredible. I loved hearing him sing, whether it was on stage, with just a guitar, or a cappella, like now. It was so rich with a slightly scratchy timber—one of a kind. And the words he wrote surprised the hell out of me. “I like it. It’s…”
Donny finished my thought. “Spicey.”
“But not overly so.”
Kay laughed. “We’ll see how that works out. The creative process is not linear. But, uh, I think it has good bones.”
“It does.” Joe looked at the pages again. “I like it too, Kay.”
We worked together to put the table away after that, then we settled on the big couch, and Joe joined us, arguing with Donny and Kay about which movie they wanted to watch.
I was going with them for the Kansas City and Bismarck shows, and after those stops, the tour would be over. Since I had to check in with my doctor by then, we planned to go to Don’s place in LA together. At least to start with. We’d see what happened after that.
Being on the bus was interesting. Before meeting these guys, I’d never done anything like this. Never really done the road trip thing. I’d flown out to a few places for vacations, but that had been rare. It seemed like everything was changing now.
I was kind of surprised by all of it. Did I deserve these two? And what kind of life was I signing up for? I hoped for a better one for all of us.
Chapter twenty-three
Donavan
The tour was over, and we had about a week in LA. Daddy Saxon sat on the bed while Kay played with me. We were chasing each other with some cars, which was often one of our favorite games. I felt content. There were still a lot of things to work out, but for now, it was enough to get some playtime.
I crashed my truck into Kay’s sports car, making a crashing noise. “Gotcha.”
Kay flipped his car over, wheels up. “I’m dead. Ugh…” Then he laughed.
