Page 36 of Sunsets at the Beach House

“I know you’re mad about that. I don’t blame you. But I think you’re really mad at Dad.”

Roxie took a few breaths, still fighting tears. She nodded. “I am. Really mad. Madder than I’ve ever been.”

“Give her the necklace,” Trina said softly. She held out the box. “It’s not her fault that he lied to you.”

Roxie pushed the box away. “If you want to give it to her, you can. I don’t ever want to see that woman again.”

Jules hadn’t been in a studio in a while, not even the one in her home in Landry. She hadn’t had anything to record, so no reason to be in one.

It felt good, though. Especially when she was excited about the music she’d be playing and singing here. She loved the quiet of a studio space and how it allowed her to be fully engaged with the sound she and her bandmates were producing.

Today, her only bandmate would be Cash. Jesse wouldn’t be doing anything more than listening.

He’d met her and Cash at the Dolphin Club, even though it was far earlier than he needed to be here for running the club. Now he sat in the control room looking at them through the glass. She and Cash did a quick sound check. She smiled, happy with what she was hearing. The studio had nice vibrations.

Jesse looked toward the door, then got up, and went to it.

She had no idea who he was talking to, as the door was tucked back out of her line of sight. Not only that, but no one in the studio could hear him unless he spoke through the intercom. The whole idea was that the studio was soundproof so that no outside noises interfered with the music being recorded.

He came back to the control panel, leaned in, and pushed the intercom as he spoke. “Cash, Sierra’s here. Were you expecting her to sit in with you?”

“Um,” Cash glanced at his mom. “It’s more like an audition first.”

Jules nodded. “She’s here to audition.” She wasn’t about to give approval to a new musician she hadn’t heard. She just raised her eyebrows at her son, looking for his agreement. He nodded in understanding. Sierra would have to audition like any other unknown.

“Right,” Cash said. “She’s supposed to play and sing for my mom so she can get a feel for Sierra’s sound.”

Jesse spoke through the intercom again. “I’ll tell her.”

Jules was curious about the young woman, but at the same time, if she wasn’t up to par, Jules would have no choice but to tell her it wasn’t going to work out. She wasn’t going to take on a substandard musician or backup singer just to keep Cash and his new girlfriend happy. This was Jules’s livelihood and there was a lot riding on this demo.

She knew he knew that. She just hoped Sierra did, too.

Sierra came through the studio door and Jules could instantly see why Cash was taken with her. Long, curly, honey-brown hair, big blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles gave Sierra a definite country-girl-next-door vibe. She was tall, but a little on the curvy side, too. No doubt a very different sort of woman than those Cash had been around in L.A., where thin was in and blond was everything.

She wore ripped jeans, a cropped Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt, and had a silk daisy tucked behind one ear. Or maybe it was a barrette. Multiple strands of tiny, colorful seed beads encircled both wrists and a myriad of silver rings adorned her fingers. A silver cross hung around her neck.

She smiled shyly at Cash, then Jules. “Hi.”

“Hey, Sierra,” Cash said. “Come on in. This is my mom, Julia Bloom. Mom, this is Sierra Townsend, who I was telling you about.”

Jules stood up, adjusting her guitar strap as she did, and stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet you. Cash tells me you sing and play keyboards.”

Sierra shook her hand. A nice firm grip that felt more confident than the young woman looked. “That’s right. Yes, ma’am.”

Jules smiled as she sat back down. “Don’t be nervous. I don’t bite. But I will be honest. I’m looking for a certain sound for this demo.”

“I understand. I appreciate you giving me a chance.”

She was getting that chance because of Cash, but Jules suspected she knew that.

“Did you prepare anything for me to hear?”

Sierra bit her bottom lip. “I did. One of your songs, actually.”

Jules lifted her brows. “Well, then. Let’s hear it.”

“Okay.”

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