Page 8 of Reckless

Set up wasn’t new. Playing live music wasn’t new. There was a comfort in the way she’d seen this happen countless times. A confidence that won out over the nervousness that always came before a show.

And yet as she walked out to meet her guitar tech and she looked out from the stage at the vast arena beyond, this step was astonishing. She sent Nora a grin and devil horns and Nora gave a few beats of the drums in response.

Chick, her tech, and Kenya spoke back and forth as they tuned and adjusted the sound of Harlow’s guitar. Another tech tested microphones while Brian and Nora conferred with their people.

Lights were tested as the technical part of their performance was run through its paces and sharpened.

It wasn’t until she stepped forward to her spot, guitar slung over her shoulder to test the mic herself that she noticed Miles and the rest of Earthquakes in front of the stage and hoped he couldn’t see her blush from there.

And she didn’t really think about him again until the process was finished and she handed off her guitar.

“Good job with time,” Phil, their tour manager told them as they left the stage at five minutes to seven. “Anything you need from me?”

Brian had some technical thing he wanted to talk about so Nora and Harlow left them to it and left the stage.

Poppy waited for them with a bright smile. “Hi! You sounded great. Miles and the rest went to eat but I said I’d come grab you.”

The room they’d converted into a small dining area was full when they arrived. Miles was up and at her side immediately and Harlow wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.

“Hey,” he said. “Everything go okay with soundcheck?” He led them to the table where the prepared food had been laid out.

“Yes, thanks. Sound is great.” Though she knew theirs would be better. They had better gear and that’s how it went. Still, through her earpiece, things worked well and she was confident they’d sound fantastic.

The meal had a fish option, a meat option, and a veggie option. Something for everyone, Harlow figured as she chose salmon with roasted veggies and instead of the pasta she wanted—and knew would make her want a nap in an hour—she chose the tabbouleh. Filling and good energy. She’d have that pasta later.

Nora looked at her carefully once they’d settled in at the small table Miles had led them to. “Be right back,” Miles said. “I’ll bring some water for the table.”

“Let it go,” Harlow whispered.

“For now,” was the only guarantee Nora gave as she dug into her food.

“Come back here after the show. There will be box lunch type things for everyone,” Poppy told them as she joined them with her full plate.

“It’s very handy to have an aunt who starts a tour catering business, huh?” Harlow teased.

“It really is! I wish so much that Mary, that’s our aunt, was with us. But our cousins are in high school and they’re doing baseball so there’s all sorts of stuff they don’t want to miss being out on the road. You’ll meet her at the end of the tour. They live in Hood River, Oregon. It’s not very far to the Gorge so I think she and my mum are going to plan something big. Browns, Keenan-Copelands and Hurleys never do anything halfway.” Poppy’s tone and her eyeroll were laden with affection and Harlow liked her even more for it.

They made small talk for awhile until it was nearing their set so they cleaned up and headed back to their dressing room to add the finishing touches to their outfits.

Miles had been in and out of the dining room while they’d been eating but Harlow understood. He was responsible for making sure everything went well for Earthquakes. There was media stuff too.

She still felt a phantom tingle where he’d put his hand on her elbow as they’d entered the room the first time.

Harlow had Nora help her slide the topper, which was a series of crystals hanging in chains, over her slip dress. On the back there was a butterfly detail that she’d used as inspiration for the glittery butterfly hairpins she’d stumbled on at a flea market in Nashville a few months back. A quick smooth of her hair and careful application of deep red lipstick and she was ready to go.

She and Nora stood side by side, looking in the large mirror. “We look awesome,” Nora said.

“Totally.”

Brian came in as they took some selfies and then it was time. Phil came to collect them and walk them through the maze of hallways to the stage where they’d enter from the rear instead of stage left.

Chick and the other techs waited, stepping in to hand over instruments and earpieces. Harlow didn’t wear hers the whole show. She liked to hear feedback from the crowd so she took them out from time to time. But they protected her hearing and helped her pick through all the noise to find her guitar and stay on beat.

She knew they were hooked in when she tried the opening to Billy Squier’s, “Lonely Is the Night” and heard the crowd react.

After a quick grin at the others, they brought it in, touching foreheads the same way they had since eleventh grade. These friends would never let her fall. They’d hold her up and kick her ass when she needed it.

“You ready to do this?” Harlow asked them.

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