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

Chapter 29

Twenty-Nine

S hane

My teenage self was in heaven. Not only was I watching my favorite band perform live from the side stage at a ginormous metal festival, but I had my arms around the most wonderful guy I’d ever met. He’d also just managed to blow me away during our performance. He was so vulnerable and passionate, and then he unleashed that massive voice and I was carried away. So what if I just told tens of thousands people that I was in love with him? So what? I was riding a high unlike any I’d ever known, and I was going to enjoy the spoils for a bit.

We’d run over to the main stage and managed to arrive as Maggie’s Bones was finishing their first song.

“They sound amazing,” Boone said, his eyes wide. He spoke in my ear. “Is it bad that I had the biggest crush on Marcus when I was like fourteen?”

I shook my head. “As long as it’s not bad that I had a ridiculous crush on Devon. That was before I met him. It went away when we became friends. At least I never hit on him.”

Boone’s eyes went wide, and he took my arm and draped it over his shoulder. He stood with his back to my front and I held him close as my idols showed the world that after many trials and tribulations, they still had it.

Maggie’s Bones formed in 2005 in Houma, Louisiana, when brothers Marcus and Jade Lambert joined with cousin Devon Boudreaux and best friends, Mage Dumas and Star Stevenson. The band rocketed to the top of the metal and hard rock charts, thanks to the keen management of Devon’s older sister, Maggie Boudreaux-Stone. As they were riding a huge wave of success, Maggie was killed in a single-car accident with her intoxicated husband at the wheel. He got away with it, the band nearly fell apart, and thankfully they managed to survive the grieving process with the help of tattoo artist Jaylene Charles-now-Boudreaux.

But strife continued to plague the band, and eventually singer Marcus left for a while to pursue a solo album. Devon and Mage continued to make music under the name Houma. Jade went to university and Star ended up in rehab. That was eight years ago, and I worried they were done. When Devon hit me up to tell me the Bones were playing Rocktoberfest, I knew I’d move heaven and earth to be stage side for their set, and they did not disappoint.

“My God, it’s like no time has passed,” Boone murmured as I was tapped on the shoulder.

“Jaylene!” I greeted Devon’s wife, and then Marcus’s wife Sherry, at the same time Boone squealed in delight when he recognized Mage’s wife, music journalist Sammara Gunderson. The women stood with us while the band played and man, my world felt complete. The only thing that would have made this perfect would have been to have Pops there. I pulled out my phone and texted him a pic of the crowd.

Missed you, old man. We did you guys proud.

“You guys were brilliant,” Sherry said into my ear. “I heard what happened with your band.” She shook her head. “I hope you know that you’re better off without them. And Jeff was a dick for letting that happen.”

“Thanks,” I said, and then the crowd roared, making it impossible to talk anymore. Boone kept a hold of my hand while he danced to the music with the women, and once more I wondered how …how had I not known?

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out.

Caught the set on YouTube with Vera Jean. We’re so proud of you both.

I held the phone out to show Boone, and he grinned at me.

Their set was over too soon. We all cheered for them and when they came offstage, Boone and I stepped back to let them hug their wives before we got sweaty hugs.

“You guys should come hang out with us,” Devon said. “I want to hear about this .” He wagged his finger between Boone and I. “Killer fucking set,” he added, as he shook Boone’s hand.

“Thank you,” Boone said, grinning way up at Devon. The dude was nearly six foot seven. He made me feel short.

“Please come!” Jaylene said. “I barely know any of these people.”

“We’ll come for a bit,” I said. “You okay with that?” I whispered to Boone.

He nodded, his eyes big as saucers. I forgot that this wasn’t his scene and there were likely a lot of folks he didn’t know. I needed to do better introducing him around. At least I’d kept him away from the drama. Some of the guys from Warrior Black got into it and security had to get in there and break it up. We passed by as things were still being sorted out, tempers were still flaring.

The Bones camp was much more our speed. They had four RVs parked in a square with a couple of couches in the middle with a canopy over them and a bar. They were serving smoothies, energy drinks, and a bunch of hot teas. They had been through it with the health issues, too. I knew Boone would feel comfortable with them.

“What can I get you to drink?” I asked him.

“I’d love a smoothie, but tea sounds great, thank you.”

“Coming right up.” I heard him asking Jaylene about doing my tattoo as I walked over to the bar, where Devon was talking to Sherry.

“Great set,” I said to him, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Thanks man. Felt good to be back out there.” He looked around at his bandmates, his gaze lingering on his cousin, and took a long drink of a smoothie. “Sure would be nice if we could keep it together long enough to go out on tour.”

“He’s doing great, Devon. He wants the same thing.” Sherry squeezed his arm. “He’s been sober this time for two years, he’s following doctor’s orders. There’s no reason he can’t work back up to touring again.”

Devon nodded. Then he turned on me with those all-knowing eyes of his. “Boone Collins, huh? Never thought I’d see the day.”

“What?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Relax, big guy,” he said. “Never thought I’d see the day you two would share a stage, much less get involved. He used to drive you crazy.” Devon’s lip quirked, and I rolled my eyes. Fine, I’d take it from him.

“A lot can change when you’re working in close quarters. You begin to appreciate things you never let yourself want before.” I tilted my head toward Jaylene. Devon had been very resistant to getting involved back in the day. All it took was a whip-smart, freakishly talented tattoo artist to change his mind. “Blame my pops. He started dating Vera Jean, and Boone and I were united in our determination to keep them apart, until we realized we were being assholes and they belonged together.”

“Yeah. Lotta history there. John Boone was one of my idols, man. California was my dad’s favorite band.” He crossed himself and kissed his fingers.

“They were pretty great.”

“So what are you doing next?” Sherry asked me. “I heard you’re working with Audra now. I don’t know her well, but she came up under Arthur Frye and he’s amazing.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s next. I’ve got an album’s worth of songs I was ready to record with Wicked Soul, and now I’ve got no band.”

Devon grunted and shook his head.

“Boone and I wrote some really great stuff while we were up at Bolder Breed, but Stellar also just recorded an album and will likely go out on tour. I don’t know. I’m a man without a country for now.”

Devon nodded. “You get yourself a band, I’d love for you guys to open for us.” He frowned in Marcus’s direction. “As long as certain people keep it together. That’s what we want to do.”

Sherry poked his shoulder, and he held up his hands.

“I’m just saying.”

“That would be awesome. Thanks man.” I had no idea if I wanted to continue as Wicked Soul, but it would be a dream going on tour with my favorite band. Maybe a fresh start was what I needed.

But then I thought about Boone. Was there a chance he’d want to tour as Butler Collins? I felt like I might have won over the twins tonight, but I still needed to have Audra draw up an agreement. The more I thought about my future, I wanted Boone to be front and center, professionally and personally.

“Let me think about it.”

Devon nodded at me and then he laughed. “Probably we should go remind Jaylene that she’s on vacation before she starts tattooing your guy.”

Sure enough, Jaylene had Boone’s shirt pulled up in back and was looking over his skin. Was he ready to let me design something for him? A shiver ran through me, but then I remembered his concern about his health.

Devon and I joined them as Jaylene was saying, “I’ve had plenty of diabetic clients. We just need to go in small chunks, make sure you’re handling it okay. Maybe even do a small one first and see how you do with it before we attack a big canvas.”

“Thanks,” Boone said, grinning at me. “She said it would be okay if my numbers are good.”

I sat next to him on the couch and Devon sat beside Jaylene.

“I was telling him that diabetes definitely doesn’t have to mean you can’t get tattooed. I have a client who beat breast cancer, but the chemo made her diabetic. We still have skin to work with.” She grinned at Devon.

“That woman is a goddamned warrior. I don’t know, dude. I think women can handle that shit a lot better than us men.”

“I think Boone can handle anything.” I smiled down at him and he winked at me.

“We should go to Jaylene’s shop in New Orleans. She said her friend Mackenzie could re-pierce my nipples.”

I laughed, and Devon groaned. “Just keep her away from your drummer. She did Star’s and he nearly ripped them out a time or two. We had to force him to wear a tank when he plays now.”

Boone leaned back against me, and I caught him stifling a yawn.

“We should probably get you back to the RV.”

Boone sighed. “Probably. We’ve got press to do tomorrow, right, Sammara?”

She turned around from where she was talking to the guys from Embrace the Fear.“Yes! I can’t wait to talk to you guys!” She waved and went back to taking notes.

“It was great to meet you,” Jaylene said, giving Boone a hug. “I’ll definitely let you know when we’re going to be in LA again.”

Devon and I stood and shook hands.

“Still miss you working on my guitars,” he said. “No one’s as good as you.”

I rolled my eyes, but Boone elbowed me. “You’re right. You should see his rig for playing slide! He played on one of our songs and I was blown away by how he set that thing up.”

Devon looked between us and smiled.“He customized that Gibson I played tonight. It’s still my favorite after all these years.”

We said good night and I put my arm around Boone to lead him out of their encampment.

“They are so awesome,” he said. “You have nice friends, Shane.”

And just then, we were faced with the last two guys I wanted to see here. So much for avoiding the drama.

“Dude,” Dean said, looking between us. “I can’t believe you replaced us with them and fucking played cover tunes.” He wrinkled his nose at Boone, and then elbowed Drew.

“Fuck off,” I said, feeling my blood boil. How dare they insult Boone? “What are you even doing here?”

A third man turned around and joined them. “Oh, hey, if it isn’t the nepo babies.”

The lead singer of one of the nineties’ pop punk/ska bands stood before us with spiky blond hair and a dyed goatee, looking like a Guy Fieri wannabe in a bowling shirt with flames on it and pink board shorts. Mike Broward had been a has-been since Boone and I were toddlers.

“Mike,” I said, giving him a chin lift but not a handshake. He didn’t deserve to breathe Boone’s air, much less mine. “The fuck are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be playing nostalgia cruise ship shows? Warped Tour’s over, man.”

“We’re headlining second stage tomorrow night. I’ve got a new album coming out, and your band made themselves available for me. They decided to come on over to the side of commercial success rather than wasting away in the doldrums with you.”

This scenario was so ridiculous, I was beginning to wonder if perhaps I was living in a nineties teen comedy.

“Yeah, well, good luck with all that. I’m glad to not be carrying around dead weight.” I put my arm around Boone and led him away, but he stopped and turned around.

“We might have benefited from nepotism, but at least we’re making music that’s relevant to this century. By the way, Now That’s What I Call Music is still making CDs. Maybe they’ll be able to finally get you that hit on the pop charts. Buh-bye.”

Mike laughed and called out, “Damn, Shane. Hey, if the twink doesn’t put out or runs his prissy little mouth, just grab him by the hair. He’s much more cooperative that way.”

I froze, and Boone’s eyes narrowed. I was about to get up in his face when Boone took my hand and dragged me away.

Dean and Drew turned on Mike, though, and I could hear their raised voices from a distance. Good. They were assholes, but at least they weren’t worthless pieces of shit.

“That’s not even an original burn. Nepo baby? Jesus. Who the hell dressed him? He’s rather old to be shopping at Hot Topic.”

“Hold up,” I said, pulling Boone to a stop. “Why did he say that?”

Boone rolled his eyes. “Why do you think?”

“Did you…with Mike Broward?”

“Not after he pulled my hair, not willingly. But yeah, I did some stupid shit when I was young. You got a problem with that?”

“No,” I said, putting my hands on his arms. “God, no. My first time was almost with a roadie for Motley Crüe.”

Boone stared at me for a moment and then he sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. He couldn’t get it up, so I left. But Boone…did he hurt you?”

Boone rolled his eyes. “Not really? It just…scared me. He didn’t want to take no for an answer and when I tried to leave, he…yeah, he held me by my hair and tried…” He threw his shoulders back and blew out a breath as he shook his hands and bounced his knees. “It was close. He didn’t hurt me nearly as much as I hurt him. Piece of shit thought he could treat me like trash. You know, he needed medical attention after I left. I heard he lost a testicle.”

My hand went involuntarily to my groin. “Good,” I said.

“I wish it would have been both of them, honestly. Just knowing there’s even a chance he could procreate is a crime against humanity.”

“I thought I was supposed to be the sarcastic one,” I finally said.

“Yeah, well, those were the polite options of what I had to say.” He huffed out a breath. “Kind of a shitty way to end our night. You okay?”

I put my arms around him and pulled him close. “If I’ve got you, I’m golden.”

He tilted his head back and kissed my chin. “Same. Take me to bed?”

“Gladly.”