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

Chapter 27

Twenty-Seven

S hane

“We really are going on an orgy bus, aren’t we?”

Boone and Bran cracked up at Annie’s drama as we loaded up the kitted-out RV we rented to drive up to Rocktoberfest.

“We’re happy to give up the room in back for you, Annie, and we’ll bunk it if you prefer.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re too tall for the bunks.” She sighed. “I will take the over-the-cab bed though. I can change up there and I won’t have to smell my brother.”

“She smells worse than I do,” Bran called out. “She denies it, but if she eats lentils or curry? Watch out. There’s no hope for you.”

“Fuck off,” she said, throwing Bran’s backpack at him.

I was looking forward to being on the road with Boone and the twins. We’d had a phenomenal week rehearsing for our set at Rocktoberfest. I felt like they trusted me a lot more than when we were up in Oregon. They gave me shit freely and the three of us even ganged up on Boone a few times, which had been so fun. I loved watching him squirm.

Our domestic life had been fucking perfect, too. In just a couple of weeks, we established a routine that worked for both of us, and when we weren’t working on music together, I retreated to my bedroom to read or draw, and Boone took over my spare room. He put his clothes in the dresser in there and I encouraged him to use my Warhammer table for writing or handling Stellar business. He didn’t need to know that under the surface was an elaborate, hidden countryside with battle-ready creatures I’d painted myself. I had to keep some secrets. He could be messy in there and we could share my room without any disputes.

The only hiccups had occurred the day after we’d returned from Oregon.

Boone and I were folding laundry when my phone buzzed.

“Mom? Everything okay?”

Boone’s eyes had gone wide and he’d gestured as if he should leave, to which I shook my head. I wanted him in all parts of my life, including the sticky ones.

“I don’t know, Shane, that’s why I’m calling you. Your grandfather hasn’t returned any of my calls, and when I went by his place, there were strangers moving in. Do you know anything about that?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “I take it he hasn’t told you about his change in relationship status.”

“Change in what? What’s going on? Is he using?”

I sucked in a breath and it took all of my skills learned in Al-Anon and therapy to answer her in a neutral tone.

“He is sober and he’s sold his place. He moved in with his fiancée.”

“His what ? At his age? Jesus , will that man ever?—”

“Mom? I’m happy to tell him you’d like to speak to him and then it’s up to him whether he contacts you. I can tell you that he’s safe and healthy. Is there anything else you need?”

Boone’s eyebrows went up to his hairline as he clenched a pair of my boxers in his fists.

I could just imagine my mother standing a little taller and kicking her chin out. “I’m sorry, I was just worried. How are you? Anything exciting going on?”

I grinned at Boone. “Things are good. I’m doing really good. Thank you for asking.”

She sighed. “Your stepfather’s sixty-fifth birthday is coming up at the end of the month, and we’d like it if you’d attend.”

My nostrils flared. I would go. Arman Grigoryan had mostly been good to me, and he respected my need to set boundaries with my mother.

“I’d love to. Text me the details?”

“I will, and perhaps you can pass them along to my father.” He was my grandfather when she was pissed at him and her father when she was pissed at me.

“I will,” I said, though her tone let me know in no uncertain terms that she was displeased. “I’ll be on the road the week before, but I’ll be back in time to come to Arman’s birthday. Thanks for calling.” Even if she was calling primarily to find out about her father.

“Thank you. And Shane?”

“Yeah?”

“I…I’ll look forward to seeing you. Will you be bringing a guest?”

I gazed at Boone standing on the other side of the bed watching me, still clutching the underwear.

“I’ll ask, yes. Thank you. Good bye.” I disconnected and shoved my phone in my pocket with a sigh.

“That was… Wow.”

“Yeah. Mom and I have very narrow parameters in which we engage. I had to set limits when she tried to embroil me in her problems with Pops. I told them I refused to be in the middle of their issues, but in this case… Shit. I can’t believe he didn’t tell her he moved. That’s major even for him.”

Boone shrugged. “Maybe he and Gran are too wrapped up in each other to have sent change of address notes?” His lip twitched, and I laughed.

“Yeah, how would they write that up? ‘It is after a brief courtship and fifty years of being in love that we have decided to join our lives together for the remainder of our time on this Earth. Please respect our privacy in this happy time while we act like teenagers and make out in restaurants all over town.’”

Yes, the tabloids had been so busy with the news of their engagement and impending nuptials, that our news had almost been overshadowed.

Until the pictures came out later that day.

It started out innocently enough when pics of the two of us at the restaurant in Portland, hamming it up, appeared on Stellar’s fan site. But then TMZ got ahold of pictures of us boarding the plane together…of me smacking Boone’s ass, him turning to me with mock shock, and then us kissing at the top of the steps before slipping inside.

Audra called me right away, at the same time Stellar’s manager, Dickie Henderson, called Boone. They wanted to know if this was a publicity stunt because of the Rocktoberfest gig.

“Absolutely not,” I’d told Audra. “Our grandparents started dating, we were united in our determination to protect them, and in the process, we kind of just happened.”

“I want to say ‘aw that’s adorable,’ but we need to get ahead of this.”

“Already on it,” I’d said. “We’re talking to some trusted media folks.”

Audra was pleased with our plans, and when Sammara’s and Krish’s pieces went out, she was ready to handle all the phone calls so we could focus on the performance.

Bran and I took turns driving the RV from LA to Black Rock, Nevada, with one overnight along the way in a funky campground none of us were eager to visit again.

When we pulled up to the gates of the festival grounds, Boone took the seat next to me and the twins were standing behind us.

“Holy shit, we’re actually here,” Annie said. “On a scale of Lollapalooza to Download, how crazy is this going to get?”

“Good question,” I said. “Soul played here twice before, the last time was before the pandemic, though. Food’s good, nights get chilly, days are warm. We play tomorrow night, which is opening night, so crowds might be a tad smaller, and folks will be high energy and curious. They’re not going to know what to expect, other than what we’ve put out in the media.”

“I love the logo you designed, Shane,” Bran said. “I didn’t know you were into visual art, too.”

Boone’s gaze shot to me and he gave a shake of his head, which I interpreted to mean he hadn’t said anything.

“Yeah, I found a font that was as close to the one California used as I could find. We just needed something for the media for this festival.”

“Yeah, well, it’s awesome,” Annie said. “And I love the t-shirts too. I’m glad you guys picked out the soft cotton. I hate the scratchy ones.”

Along with performing, Boone and I had scrambled to put together merch in a rush order. Thankfully I had good connections, and his assistant, Cat, was willing to ride in the van with our techs, Rowan and Martin, and staff our merch tent.

“It feels good to DIY this shit again,” Boone said. “It’s like the old days.”

“OMG, remember when our mom was our merch girl for that first tour?” Bran said. “And Dad was our roadie?”

“And he nearly electrocuted himself,” Annie said. “Those were the days, man.”

“You guys met at Berklee right?”

“Yep,” Boone said. “By the end we were all, like, ready to go do our thing. Gran wanted me on Broadway, and their parents wanted them doing symphonic shit, and we were like?—”

“Hell, no,” Bran said. “We’re going to be those assholes who throw away our fancy education for rock ’n’ roll!”

“I mean, symphony is boring.”

It was my turn to check in at the gate and we were directed over to the artists’ campground. There was a collection of fancy tour buses and rickety RVs. We were kind of in the middle. Loads of folks I recognized were milling around their areas, setting up overhangs and outdoor sitting areas. The weather was forecasted to be perfect. We were scheduled to headline the second stage on opening night, which was the perfect-size crowd to test out our little experiment. Boone and I had several conversations before we left about what we wanted out of this venture, and I felt like we had a vastly-appealing project.

It would all depend on what the twins wanted and what his label decided on.

Oh, yeah. Stellar’s label loved the new music, but they wanted to keep a lid on it until they saw what happened at Rocktoberfest. If it was a success, they thought they could use the performance as a jumping-off point for a huge release. Boone wasn’t too comfortable with their attempted money grab to snatch up rights to Butler Collins. He told them in no uncertain terms that Butler Collins was not on the table at this time, that whatever we decided to do with our music, we’d decide together.

God, it was hot knowing he had my back.

But there was a part of me that was panicking about the unknown.

Thank God for Rocktoberfest, because at least I had a couple of days to not freak out about the fact that my band was done and I had nothing else lined up.

“All right, my darlings,” Boone said. “We’re going to have eyes on us the whole time we’re here. Be coy about the project, tell them we’re working on some things, bat your eyelashes and walk away. Got it?”

“So we get to be big teases,” Bran said. “I can do that.”

“Our set is going to blow the lid off this place,” Annie said. “That California shit is fire. The other bands are going to be like ‘how the fuck do we follow that?’”

I loved hearing her cocky attitude. I just hoped by the time we finished here, I’d win her over. But I wouldn’t be selfish. If it made more sense for Stellar to ride out their album cycle before we jumped in, I’d be fine with that too. Somehow.

An attendant directed us into our parking spot and it was on. I turned off the motor and turned to my companions.

“Okay, before we go outside, I just want to thank you all for taking this ride with me. This only works because the three of you are stellar musicians?—”

“Nooo,” Annie groaned.

“Ha! Butler with the dad jokes.” Bran slapped my shoulder.

Boone grinned. “And we’re thrilled you brought us along,” he said. “This is going to kick ass.”

“On three,” Bran said, and we all put our hands in the middle.

Boone counted, “One…two…three…”

And the three of them shouted, “ASSLICKER!”

“What the…”

“Oh,” Bran said. “It’s from our first tour in Italy. One of the journalists called us ah-Stellar, and the way he said it, it sounded like Ass Licker, so it kinda stuck.”

“Forget I asked. You guys are something.”

Boone leaned over and kissed me before climbing into the back. “Get with the program, Butler!”

“Right.”

And with Boone’s gorgeous ass barely covered by another pair of those corduroy pants I loved so much—these ones a dusty rose—I couldn’t wait to get onstage with him tomorrow night and turn this place upside down.

The rock world wasn’t ready for Butler Collins.