Feuds and Interludes (Rock ‘n’ Romance Legends #1)

Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

B oone

Adulting sucks, especially when it means listening to medical professionals.

After the frustrating end of the vocal session with Shane, I made the decision to listen to my body. I told everyone I needed to call it a day and that I’d call and make a telephone appointment with my ENT.

They were shocked. And relieved.

Shane stepped out to take care of some more phone calls regarding his band’s implosion, and I immediately felt his absence.

“I hate this.” I stood before my band feeling like I failed them. The twins swooped in and hugged me.

“It’s going to be all right. We have plenty of stuff we can get done that doesn’t require you to sing. We need to record the rest of the instrument tracks and then we can start learning the songs for the Rocktoberfest show.”

“Good point.” I still hated it.

My doctor called me back right away and I told her what was going on.

“I’m sorry, Boone, but you know what I’m going to say. Complete vocal rest for two weeks minimum. I’m also sending you a referral to my colleague up there to have them scope your throat. Let’s make sure we’re dealing with strain and not something more serious.”

“ Fiiiiiine ,” I groaned. “I’ll get with my producer and rearrange the schedule.” I’d never done it before and I hated to do it now, but the alternative was continuing this route and blowing out my voice, which wouldn’t help anyone.

We agreed to chat after I saw her colleague and hung up. Then it was time to talk to Morrison and Leland.

“Makes total sense,” More said. “I didn’t want to push, but I think it’s a good idea. We were going to take a trip to London to see my mum the week after anyway. Why don’t we take the week off and regroup? You guys are welcome to stay and use the studio if you want. Butler told me y’all are doing Rocktoberfest with him. That’s rad.”

I thanked him and was able to breathe a little easier.

“Your grandmother and Bruce should be here soon to go over the gala plans.”

“Great,” I told him. “See you in a bit.”

My bandmates were relieved as well.

“Man, am I really that bad?”

“Not bad, exactly,” Annie started. “But you are human, Boone, and you tend to push yourself too hard.”

“And in turn, the two of you, huh?”

They looked at each other and then back at me.

“Sometimes.”

I blew out a breath and blinked away the burning in my eyes.“I’m sorry. You deserve better from me and you’re going to get it. Why don’t you two take off for a few days? Go home, go on an adventure…my treat?”

“And you promise you’ll rest?” Annie asked, raising her eyebrow.

“I promise. Morrison said we’re fine to take time off. Him and Leland are going to head across the pond for a week and we can finish up recording when they get back. We have use of the lodge and studio for rehearsing while they’re gone. I’m going to see a doctor tomorrow in Portland. I’ll follow orders, I swear.”

“I have been wanting to go up to Seattle to the MoPop museum,” she said with an eyebrow raised. “They have some cool exhibits going on.”

“Awesome. I’m serious, it’s on me. Go have fun. I promise I’ll be better when you get back.”

I could tell they weren’t sure they could trust me on my own. I’d have to prove it to them. And to Shane. He’d been worried about me today, too, and I didn’t want our whole relationship to be about me and my physical issues.

I sent the twins on their way to dinner and then to pack, and I went in search of Shane. Rose said he’d gone up to his room to change before the grandparents arrived, so I climbed the steps and went in the opposite direction of my room. I heard him playing acoustic guitar before I got to his door. I knocked before opening it, and my breath caught when I saw him in the window seat with his guitar. He’d lit candles and was watching the rain outside the window.

He looked up and smiled as I closed the door. I couldn’t believe we’d gone from nearly coming to blows a few months ago to him looking at me as though I lit up the room when I walked in.

“Hey.”

I walked over and sat next to him in the spacious window seat. “I come bringing news,” I said, trying to speak softly.

He set the guitar down and turned to face me with one knee up and the other foot planted on the floor. He held his arms out, and I scooted over into his space. I was finally able to let go of the tension as he wrapped me up in his strong arms.

“I called my doctor and I’m on vocal rest. I need to go into Portland tomorrow and have my throat scoped.”

He held me tighter and exhaled.“I’m so glad you made that call.”

I’d rested my head on his chest, and I looked up at him. “I hate this.”

“Did you know I had to have surgery? I had a node. Fucking sucked. Right after our first tour.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said. “How scary.”

“It was. The first doctor I saw told me, ‘Your screamo days are over.’”

“So you got a second opinion,” I said with a laugh. I knew Shane wouldn’t take that sitting down.

“I did. I had the surgery and then I worked with vocal coach Mirabel Sanchez. Have you met her?”

I shook my head. “No, but I definitely recognized the change in your vocals after the first album. You got so much stronger.”

“Thanks,” he said. “She definitely helped. I’d love to set you up with her. You have an incredible instrument, Boone. I worry you’re gonna push yourself too far.”

I heaved a giant sigh. “You and everyone else. Apparently my band agrees with you. I gave them a few days off, that’s the next part of my news. That, and Morrison and Leland are going to head to London and give me some time to heal.”

“That’s great that they could be flexible. I’m sorry, babe,” he said as he smoothed my hair back. “I know this timing sucks, but maybe it doesn’t have to.”

“I was thinking the same,” I said, sitting up. “I thought we could work on the setlist for Rocktoberfest, and when the twins get back, we can start rehearsing in the time we have.”

Shane smiled. “Sounds great. I also have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

Shane looked down at the guitar he’d been playing and he blew out a breath before he looked at me again. “Watching you guys in the studio today, getting to be a part of your process…I wondered… Would you write with me? You can totally say no?—”

“Are you kidding? I would love that!”

He gave me a shy smile. “I don’t know what I’m doing about Wicked Soul. Maybe it’s time to let it die. But I do know that I’m inspired to make music. Between my sessions with Lydia and being with you…I feel energized like I haven’t in a long time. I want to see what we can do together.”

“I think we’ve already established we’re pretty incredible together.”

That was enough to make him chuckle. He kissed the top of my head.

“That’s definitely part of it. But it’s more than that. I wrote lyrics today, and I normally have to pull teeth to get something that makes sense off the bat. It just happened, though. And God, singing with you? Fuck, Boone. I’ve never stretched like that. I keep on doing the same things, but you had me practically singing opera in there.”

“You sounded amazing. You saw Morrison,” I said, laughing. “He lost his mind.”

“I think we could go harder, deeper. I think we could make something that’s exceeds everything I’ve done on my own.”

I took his hands in mine and delighted at the excitement on his face.

“Then let’s put our heads together, shall we?”

“After we deal with the seventyagers.”

I sighed. “Right. Let’s go.”

Three Weeks Later…

And that’s what we did. We hammered out the gala details, we firmed up a set list for Rocktoberfest, and in between sessions with the twins, Shane and I wrote a double album’s worth of new Butler Collins music. Morrison and Leland came back from London, and we finished recording all the instrumental tracks for the Stellar album.

Thank goodness my throat was just inflamed and two weeks of rest did the trick. Shane kept me in tea with honey, and saltwater gargles in between. When we started back, we took it slow. He showed me some exercises I hadn’t done before and they really helped. When we circled back and got to “Over The Moon,” I hit that goddamned note effortlessly.

My doctor and I talked and adjusted my medication, which meant my blood sugar also leveled off and I didn’t have any more cases of dysglycemia. I started going for runs with Morrison and didn’t totally hate it.

Bruce and Gran continued talking with the Bolder Breed staff and soon everything was set for the Collins Foundation Gala. Bruce also looked at our setlist for Rocktoberfest and he made a few suggestions. The gala was set for March, and Bruce and Gran continued to work on the plans…for both the gala and their wedding.

I think Shane and I were still in denial about it, although Bruce did sell his condo and he moved in with Gran. I think we were both happy to not be there while they settled in. They didn’t need us around being all weirded out.

We did some cohabitating of our own. I eventually moved my things to Shane’s room, as he had that awesome window seat with a gorgeous view of the property, and there was a giant bathtub in his room, which we made use of.

Though we were sharing space, most of our time was spent on music. We’d spend all day in the studio and then go back to our room and jam or tinker with lyrics together. He made me go to bed at midnight every night and woke me at eight to start the day.

“Schedules are important. Taking your medicine at the same time every day is important. Eating meals at the same time?—”

“Yeah, yeah,” I’d say, and when he went to object, I’d blow him a kiss and he’d smile at me. I could get used to this.

Sleeping in his arms every night, though, did wonders for my peace of mind. I’d never lived with a partner before, and he made it so easy.

Now, he probably would have a different opinion on the peace and harmony of our living situation. He was mostly patient with the destruction I left in my wake. He was neat and I…well, we’ve established that I’m not.

We never fought. Not even once. I think it surprised everyone around us. By the end of the three weeks, we were finishing each other’s sentences, he was choosing my food for me, and he even let me shave his head one night. In the bathtub. Together. Life was unbelievably good.

Annie and Bran seemed the most shocked, and though they didn’t say anything to burst my happy bubble, I could tell they were waiting for the other shoe to drop. I should have been too, probably, but I was so blissfully happy I likely wouldn’t have listened.

“So,” Annie said at the end of our last scheduled day at Bolder Breed. Two new bands were scheduled to work with the producers the following week, and though Morrison and Lydia said we could stay as long as we wanted, that they had rehearsal space for us, the twins were getting restless. Bran had a girlfriend he wanted to get home to, and Annie missed her cat. “What’s the plan?”

Shane and I looked at each other. We hadn’t discussed much past our time at Bolder Breed.

“We have Rocktoberfest in three weeks. We should probably rehearse pretty much the whole week before, at the very least. And next week we have a meeting with our label to play the rough mixes, talk release dates, and schedule our tour.” I looked to Shane.

He didn’t have much on his agenda. After Rocktoberfest, he was a man without a country. We had the music we’d written together, but we hadn’t decided what to do with it. There were two things…well, three that I had to decide immediately:

Did I want to jump into Butler Collins, record with Shane, and go on tour together?

Did I want to continue with my focus solely on Stellar? Where would Shane fit if I did?

And probably the biggest question I had was, where the fuck was I going to live?

This all seemed so big, and I couldn’t go to any of my usual confidants to discuss my options because, well, they were all going to be impacted, no matter what I decided.

“Well,” Shane said, his gaze darting around the three of us. “About that. Boone and I haven’t talked about it, so I might be asking prematurely…but what would you two think about recording music with us? Boone and I have written a bunch of songs together, and I would love to have the Thompson Rhythm Section on them.”

Annie and Bran looked at each other, wide-eyed, and then they did that twin thing where they communicated without speaking. I’d learned to decipher some of their language, and what I was picking up wasn’t completely positive. This was such an awkward position to be in. I didn’t want to force my new boyfriend down their throats, but I also wanted them to love him as much as I?—

Wow.

I did. I loved him.

“That’s…thank you, Shane. That’s a huge compliment,” Annie finally said. “Can we talk about it?” She looked to me with her eyebrows up. Uh-oh.

“Absolutely, and I know you guys are about to have a full schedule too. I just wanted to put that out there.” He smiled at them with confidence. It seemed like either way was truly okay with him.

They nodded, looked at each other, then looked at me.

“I know you guys need to get home, though,” I said. “Go ahead. We can regroup back in LA next week for our meeting. Sound good?”

They nodded, hugged us, and set off toward the lodge to pack and book flights for the following day.

And then it was Shane and I, and some big fucking conversations to be had.