Page 7 of Anchor Grey
“It was great,” I said and couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
Devon sat on the other side of me and put his arm behind me before kissing my cheek. “It was amazing.”
Jeremy walked in next, his hair still soaking wet and sat next to Mateo. “You know what this means right?” The three of us turned to look at him. “We’re officially on vacation.” He grinned and wagged his eyebrows at Mateo who blushed.What was that all about?
“You’re awful excited to be working at your parents’,” I said and he and Mateo both beamed.
“We’re looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to do something more physical rather than creative for a while,” Mateo said.
“Time off is what we all need,” Devon said and squeezed my leg.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean you guys can’t jot down a lyric or a tune if something hits you. We should start to think about the next tour,” I said unable to stop myself and making them all groan.
“Okay, dad,” Jeremy said.
“That’s Daddy to you,” I said making them all laugh. Laughing was good, and I hoped when we came back from this time off, we were all full to the brim with creativity and ready to get back to work.
“I thought only I could call you Daddy?” Devon said and I had never been more thankful for his humor.
“You can call me anything you want as long as you call me,” I said and wagged my eyebrows at him just as Blinding Light burst into the room hot and sweaty and amped up. Mateo and Jeremy walked over to them and congratulated them. We hadn’t seen them play, but we heard every note, and it was as good as they always were.
“Come on,” Devon said and scooted to the edge of the couch. “Let’s celebrate.” His smile filled a part of me that had been lacking, and I stood with him and the band. Proud of where we’d ended up after working so hard for this moment, and trying to ignore the part of me that said it wasn’t enough.
Seven
Devon
“You trust me, right?” I asked Johnny as I drove him along highway 50 past Placerville and toward Tahoe.
“I think so,” he said but it was obvious he wasn’t sure about where I was taking him.
“I can tell you where we’re going if you want,” I offered for the hundredth time. He knew I wanted to surprise him, but his patience was at an end.
“No, I want it to be a surprise.” He smiled then and settled his hand on my leg. We were in my car, which was more comfortable than the van, and smelled way better.
“Good, because we’re almost there.” I turned off the highway onto a narrow road that led to a gate. He leaned forward against the seat belt to get a better look. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” I kissed his cheek before hurrying out, and after trying two keys on the ring I finally found the one that went to the padlock that kept the gate closed.
“What is this place?” Johnny asked as I drove through the gate and before I put the car in park to go lock the gate behind us.
“You’ll see,” I said again making him roll his eyes. “I know but we’re almost there.” Hopefully this was a good idea and he wasn’t disappointed, but as we rounded the last turn and the cabin came into view he leaned forward again and smiled.
“Is this where we’re staying?” he asked after what seemed like forever, his voice filled with excitement instead of dread.
“Yep. I rented it for two weeks, so I hope you’re ready to get back to nature,” I said and wasn’t kidding.
“You always know what I need,” he murmured just loud enough for me to hear as I pulled up in front of the cabin, I’d only seenpictures of. It was small and blended in perfectly with the forest that surrounded it. The river was just below the ridge the cabin was built on, and I knew it was filled with fish and there was fishing equipment if Johnny wanted to try it. I had no clue if he’d fished before or if it was even something he’d want to do. But that’s what this time was about. I wanted to get to know him, and I really wanted him to know me.
“What we both need,” I finally answered as I parked the car. The engine creaked and popped as it cooled down and the two of us sat in the car not moving. “I hope you like roughing it.”
“I guess you’ll find out,” he said still staring at the cabin. “I’ve never stayed in a cabin like this before.”
“Well, you’ll know soon enough if you love it or hate it. It has power but there’s nothing nearby. We’ll need to get groceries after a few days and it’s about a thirty-minute drive to that small store we passed.” I got out of the car and opened the back. I’d packed anything I could think of that we’d need and even a few things that might come in handy but weren’t necessary. One of those was the small electronic drum pad I practiced on and Johnny’s acoustic guitar.
“It’s beautiful here,” he said as he got out of the car and stretched.
“It is, but don’t be surprised if we get snow while we’re here.” That was another thing I’d prepared for. The rental place had assured me they had a service that kept the road plowed, but they couldn’t control the weather, and we needed to prepare for the worst.
“I wouldn’t mind if we were snowed in,” Johnny said, and for the first time in months his shoulders seemed a little less tense, and his smile lingered rather than faded.
