Page 57 of Hard Rock Temptation
“Right,” she said in a small voice.
Then she gave what felt like a full body shake, the way a dog would after being hosed down for a bath, and stood abruptly, leaving the circle of my arms.
“Right,” she repeated, but this time it was bright and cheery. Kay turned to me. Her eyes weren’t glistening or wet, although they were still a bit red-rimmed, and she had a grin on her face. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, don’t we?” She clapped her hands together twice. “Let’s get back to the studio!”
I stared up at her, the one-eighty change in her mood giving me whiplash.
“We don’t have to go back to work,” I reassured her. “We have time. If you want to talk about fixing things with your mom?—”
“What Iwantis to work on my songs,” she said, keeping up that good cheer. “That’s what will make me feel better. Okay?”
I stood up to face her, giving her a skeptical look. Her expression fell slightly.
“Okay?” she said again, almost on the verge of desperation.
Against my better judgment, I nodded.
If Kay didn’t want to talk about her mom, I wouldn’t force her.
It did make me wonder, though. Kay and her mother had never gotten along. It got worse after she joined the band, but the two of them had never had a happy, loving relationship. I’d always thought Kay would completely cut her mother off as soon as she could. But for some reason, that woman kept on showing up in Kay’s life, again and again.
I knew it wasn’t so easy to break off all ties with your family. Not many people were able to do it, so they stayed stuck in a cycle of pain and misery.
But Kay, she was determined. Unstoppable. She was the kind of person who went for what she wanted, and didn’t hold back. If anyone would be able to sayfuck off, it would have been her.
Was there another reason why Kay didn’t cut her mother loose entirely? Was it more than just Kay feeling guilty? Was her mother threatening her in some way?
That last thought made my stomach churn. I wouldn’t have put it past that woman. But what could she be threatening Kaylee with?
I glanced over at where Kay was cleaning up and putting on her clothes, trying to gauge her mood. She seemed back to normal, bright and cheerful, but there was tension around her laugh lines and a brittle quality to her smile.
I couldn’t ask her now. I would have to bring the topic up another time, when her mother hadn’t just texted her.
I’d wait until those wounds weren’t rubbed so raw.
TWENTY-FIVE
KAYLEE
Afew days had passed since our last band meeting. When everyone began to shuffle in, there was a weird tension in the air. Usually whenever we all got together the mood was boisterous and electric. But this time, there was an unfamiliar somber note to the gathering.
I knew exactly where it was coming from.
Today we were discussing what to do about our second album. Which songs to select. Which vibe to go with.
Did we stick with our original sound, or did we shake things up and try something new?
Did we appease the label and our fans, or did we keep true to ourselves and our muses?
It was the age-old ‘art vs business’ dilemma that all professional artists faced.
We hadn’t been able to come to an agreement last time, so we’d all taken a couple days to think about it. Now the day had come to talk about it.
There was tension in the air, and a knot in my stomach. I’d never felt this uneasy before a band meeting. Never. I hated it, and what it might signal.
Things had been going so well with Micah that I’d almost put this discussion out of my mind. I hadn’t even talked about it with any of the others even though we lived in the same house. It wasn’t until Micah had reminded me that I even considered what arguments I might bring to the table.
I knew what my heart was telling me, and I knew I had to follow through. I also knew that Micah wasn’t going to like hearing that. Zain, Finn, Anya and Chris… I had an idea of which side of the debate they might fall under, but I didn’t want to assume.
