Page 36 of New Day at the Beach House

“Hey, when it comes to Julia Bloom, I don’t need convincing. But I would definitely love to hear it.”

Cash grinned. “And you’ll only be the third person to have done so.”

Jesse looked tickled by that. “Which is pretty epic, I have to say.”

“It’s the best thing she’s ever done,” Cash said.

“Thanks, kiddo.” Jules shot him a look as she got her guitar out. “No pressure or anything.”

“Well, it is, Mom. Even Billy said it was that good.”

Jesse’s brows lifted. “Now I really want to hear it.”

Jules put her fingers on the strings, adjusted her grip on the guitar slightly, then began to play.

Jesse sat mesmerized through the whole song, during which Cash kept rhythm with his hands against his leg. She was a lot more comfortable playing and singing this time, having already gotten so much great feedback from her son and agent and she felt like that confidence came out in the song.

She really did love the tune and the words had come together so well. For the first time since writing it, she really gave herself over to the music, putting herself in the place of the woman whose story she was telling.

She finished with a flourish and when she was through, Jesse just shook his head. “That was everything I’d hoped for and more. The day you release that song, your life is going to change.”

“It’s going to blow up,” Cash said. “I just know it.”

Jesse wiggled his finger in Cash’s direction. “He’s right.”

Jules grinned. “I hope you’re both right.”

Jesse got up, walked to the door, then walked back, clearly in thinking mode. “You don’t just need a demo. You need a video for this.”

“That would be great, but I don’t know about need,” Jules said. She put her guitar back in its case. Videos were a lot of fun. She’d done a couple. But they cost money and they didn’t always make that money back.

Cash nodded wildly. “Yes. That is exactly what you need. It would go viral. The right video, anyway.”

Jules patted the air like she was trying to push a lid down onto a boiling pot. “Okay, the two of you need to come back to earth. I need a demo first. Let’s get back to that for a second, all right? Nothing happens until that’s done.”

“Right.” Jesse returned to his chair. “I can get you the musicians. That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll make the calls tomorrow.” He looked at Cash. “Can you come in around one, maybe help me for a bit? At least with the scheduling?”

“Sure,” Cash said. “Whatever you need.”

“Thanks,” Jesse said. “Of course, Jules, you can come in, too, if you want. You can play around in the studio. Have a look at the setup. Get comfortable in there. Cash and I can work on scheduling the musicians. I know a slide guitarist. In fact, she plays a resonator. She’s got a real down-home, bluesy style. Not sure if Rita’s in town but if she is, I’d highly recommend her.”

Jules loved a slide guitar. “That would be perfect.” She could feel her excitement kicking up. “Do you think you could get a fiddle player?”

He nodded. “Bobby Perkins plays fiddle and he’s in the house band that’s on stage right now. I can get the rest of the musicians from there, too. How about some backup vocals?”

Cash nodded and looked at her. “For the chorus and maybe on the bridge, Mom. We could at least try it.”

Jules exhaled. This was becoming bigger than she’d imagined it could be in such a short time.

“Listen, if money is an issue,” Jesse started.

She shook her head. “It’s not. I can afford to pay them. I just didn’t expect this to come together this fast or this completely.” She smiled. “But I’m glad about it. I want this demo to be as good as it can be.”

Jesse smiled right back. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, no question about that, but we will make this happen. And when it’s done, it’s going to be amazing.”

“Thank you.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Thank you. I have wanted to do something like this since I fell in love with music and to do it for Julia Bloom? On a song like this? I can’t tell you what a privilege and an honor it is. I am truly excited.”

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