Smolder (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Sandy

Skyler had been steadily recording at his father’s studio with the help of his brother and JD Horn. Skyler usually came back to the house around eight, having already eaten. I was jealous, though I had no right to be.

I held my tongue from asking why he wasn’t coming back earlier to eat with me. Was it because I’d picked him up and spun him after talking to Kathleen Graves? It’d been impulsive, yes, but there was nobody I’d wanted to share the news with more than Skyler.

The doorbell rang, pulling me from my pity party. I glanced at the app on my phone to see it was Marsh.

I went to open the door, having just finished showering after my workout. I was getting ready to go to the Ashe rescue farm where Skyler was recording, and I was in no mood for Marsh’s surprise visit.

“What do you want?” My voice wasn’t very welcoming as I stood in the middle of the doorway.

“I’m here to check on my clients. I need to know how much progress they’ve made so I can pass along the information to the studio. They’re antsy for an update. I can stay here tonight, right, big brother?”

I sighed. “Yeah, come in. I’m just about to head over to the Ashes. Just so we’re clear, you’re gonna pay for Skyler’s flights back and forth to the gigs. The guy’s a fucking musical genius and a teacher, Marshall. He can’t afford to foot the bill on his salary, can he? You want me to help with the tours? You pay for the guy to travel.”

Marsh grinned. “Deal, but then I don’t have to pay you, right? You’re gone for the guy, aren’t you?”

Was I? I could tell myself all day long that I didn’t want anything more than a good hard fuck with Skyler, but there was something there, whether I wanted to acknowledge it or not.

“Oh, you’re going to pay me, or I’m going back to the NFL, and you’ll have to find somebody else to put up with your bullshit. Good luck with that. Skyler trusts me, and if he doesn’t trust people, he can’t be creative. Your little movie deal goes right down the shitter if he doesn’t produce, doesn’t it?”

Of anyone in the world, I knew Marsh’s pressure points. I knew his ambitions, his wants, and how hard he’d fight to get it. I also knew his weaknesses and how to exploit them, not that I wanted to do that. For Skyler, though, I’d do anything I could.

“Fucking hell, Sandy. You’re kidding me about this shit.”

“Not at all. If you want me to organize and look out for those guys, you gotta meet my demands. I’m not going to fuck this up, but you gotta do your part.” I turned to walk away and got about ten feet.

“Stop. Fucking stop, Sandy. Yes, I need your help, or Alicia’s going to kill me. She’s pissed things are going so slowly with this deal. I need to show her I’m the best to bring this collaboration to fruition. My career depends on this.”

The desperation in Marsh’s voice told me something more was up. “Why? Why does your career depend on this, Marsh?”

My brother sighed. “I…I’ve made some bad recommendations lately. The groups I’ve suggested haven’t been stellar. This is my last chance, Sandy. You’ve gotta help me.”

It was my turn to sigh. Was my brother setting me up to convince Skyler to work for nothing so he could reap more of the rewards than he wanted to admit?

I laughed. “Help you what? Manipulate Skyler into doing something? Are you trying to get the song from him to sell it to another group? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Staring at the contortions on Marshall’s face pissed me off more than anything. I had to dig my nails into my palms to keep from decking my brother.

“Look, Sandy, you don’t understand how this game is played.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? I played a much rougher game, Marsh. You’re not the player on the field. You’re the puppet master, and you’re not making the right choices for your team. Think about it. You have no faith in the band. You need Skyler to make this shit work, and you’re trying to play hardball with him? You should be kissing his ass every step of the way.

“I’ve heard a lot of what he’s written, and you should thank the gods every day that he’s involved. The original song is good, and Skyler has only built on that. He’s worked on the song, and he’s been busy outlining his ideas for the score, Marsh. Don’t fuck this up for either of you.”

I was trying to get my little brother to see how shortsighted he was being, but I knew he was proud. Marsh wouldn’t go down without a fight, but I had no problem smacking the shit out of him.

“I’m scared, Sand. I don’t have other options. If I can’t make this work with CEA and get From the Ashes to produce, I’m out on my ass.”

I stared at my little brother. I held his gaze for a moment to see if he was being honest, and I pulled him closer. “I love you, Marsh. I’ll always try to support you, but this time, you gotta look at the band’s best interests. They need Skyler, and if you nickel and dime this bullshit, he’ll take off and never come back to help any of you.”

Marsh reached up with his index and middle fingers on each hand and wiped tears from his eyes before he nodded. “Okay. I’ll give up on the idea of talking them into licensing it to another band. If you think they can pull it off, I’ll give them a shot.”

I nodded. “Go put your shit upstairs and change into something else. That expensive suit makes it seem like you’re going to steal the eggs from under the chickens.”

Marsh glanced down at his flashy suit and nodded before taking off upstairs to his room. I pulled out my phone to send a text to Skyler.

I’m coming over to the farm, and Marsh is coming with me. Just giving you a warning. Sandy

I didn’t want to scare the guy, but I wanted him to be ready. A surprise visit wouldn’t help anyone at this point, especially with Skyler worrying about the song already. He needed confidence, and I’d help him find it however I could.

We pulled up to the rescue farm to see a lot of cars parked around the property. I knew three of them belonged to the residents, but the other five, not a clue.

“Oh, I guess the whole band is here. That’s a good sign. Let’s go.” Marsh jumped out of the SUV before I even had my seatbelt off.

I hurried to follow him to the building to the right of the house—the studio, I was guessing. As we got closer, I recognized the song as Skyler’s version of ‘Bury Me’, but the voice belting it out wasn’t Skyler.

“Let’s go to the booth side in case they’re recording.” Marsh led me around the building to a side door. He tapped on it lightly, and a man I didn’t recognize opened the door.

“Hey, Ace.” The two men shook hands and added a one-armed hug. Marsh stepped back. “Ace Gregory, this is my big brother, Sanders—”

“Kensington! Number 82. Nice to meet you, man. Big fan.” Ace gave me the same hug. His long brown hair was in a braid at the bottom of his head, and his nails were painted red and black. He had a bit of a gut, but he looked pretty fit otherwise.

“Thanks.” I turned to look through a large glass window as Ace sat back down and punched one of the zillion buttons in front of him. “Marshall’s here, guys. Let’s take it from the top.”

Skyler was behind a massive drum kit and my dick definitely took notice. Thankfully, I hadn’t tucked in my polo shirt when we left the house. At least I had a little cover as I watched a shirtless, sexy-as-fuck Skyler hold drumsticks over his head and hit them together to set a beat.

He smashed two cymbals with the sticks, one on his left and one on his right. JD began plucking out a steady baseline in time with the beat Skyler set, and then River joined them with a wild guitar riff that rang through the speaker in the room where Ace was busy adjusting the sound levels of each instrument.

Another guy was standing to the side, his head nodding in time with the air guitar he was playing. My brother couldn’t take his eyes off the guy, who was younger than Skyler but probably older than River.

“Good, ain’t they?”

I turned to my left to see Regal Ashe sitting on the couch behind me, tapping out a beat with his left foot. His arms were moving in time with Skyler’s, his eyes closed as if he could see the music in his head.

The guitar-heavy sound softened, but the tempo didn’t slow. Another guy I hadn’t noticed sitting at a keyboard to Skyler’s right started to play the familiar music Skyler had been playing in my living room. The guy Marsh was staring at stepped up to the microphone and the background music, except for the piano, got softer, the lead guitar playing a rhythm that blended with the keyboard’s hypnotizing melody.

You say I’m cold you think I’m meanYou claim when I’m with you,you always feel unseen

But you don’t knowHow hard I try To be the man who walksThrough life by your side

“I can’t fucking believe Sky took our old song and made it into this.” Dusty sat on the couch next to Regal, who had opened his eyes and was staring through the glass at his sons. I had no idea who the other two guys were, but together, the five of them were incredible.

“Do you not like it?” I couldn’t hold my tongue. I’d still rather hear Skyler sing it while he played piano, but what I was hearing was definitely better than the original.

“Oh, God no. I love it. I had no fucking idea it could sound like this when we wrote it back then. It’s phenomenal.” Dusty stood and walked closer, smiling as he watched the guys playing together.

“Who’s the singer?” The guy’s voice soared and grew soft as he sang the rest of the first verse. On the chorus, Skyler swung the mic in front of him and sang harmony, as did JD on bass. It sounded like they’d been singing together their whole lives.

Bury MeOh, set me free Lay me in the groundRight there beneath your feet

Without your love I have no need to breatheHave mercy on mePlease have mercy on meIf you ever loved me,won’t you bury me

“He’s Arlo’s friend.” Dusty pointed to the keyboard player.

“Who’s Arlo?” Was I supposed to know these guys? How fucking old was I?

The guys in the room laughed as Dusty responded. “He could be any of our undisclosed son.”

My heart nearly stopped before I turned to look at Regal. He was smiling like a fucking loon. “So, you might have three sons in there? Do Skyler and River know?”

Ace spoke up. “Nobody knows for sure who the kid belongs to ’cause he doesn’t look like any of us. We all had a round with Cindy Timmons back when we were touring, but the timeline sounds like Regal is the boy’s dad. Though none of us have taken the test, we all chip in to take care of him. Hell, even Ripper chips in, and he never cheated on Franny.”

I almost couldn’t believe my ears, but then Arlo’s friend started singing another verse that sounded like a whisper.

You want to leaveAnd lock me in the pastIf you’re not in my armsI don’t think I can last

He won’t know youHe won’t love youHe won’t kiss youhalf as well as me

Before the last word of the verse faded, River took over the melody with his guitar riffs and they were rocking hard. I could see the sweat flying off Skyler’s hair as he slapped the heads of the drums, lost in the rhythm.

The music died down and the singer sang the chorus and final verse.

Bury meOh, set me freeLay me in the groundRight there beneath your feet

Without your loveI have no need to breatheIf you ever cared then please won’t youHave mercy on me

Have mercy on me Have mercy on me and

Bury meLay me lowWithout your loveThere’s nowhere else for me to go

Then came the cherry on the top. All music stopped, and they all harmonized on the final two lines of the song.

So bury me before you walk away

The silence that followed as the last note trailed off was nearly deafening. I felt the tears glide down my cheeks as a soft cymbal faded.