of a flour-dusted hand. âYour dad brought me a crate full of the dreaded green matter.â
Terrence laughed, pulling a bright yellow squash out of the crate. âSheâs either color blind or sheâs not giving me a chance here.â
Mimi lifted a thinly sliced wedge of eggplant. âOh, weâre doing it. Lunch
and
dinner.â She tried again to push that piece of hair off her face. âBut Iâm making Terrence stay so when the guys come gunning for me, heâll take the brunt of the blows.â
âViolent group you got here.â His dadâs big grin was infectious.
And goddamn, it felt good to see him happy like that.
Raised voices outside had them all looking out the window.In the middle of the yard, the band stood in a semicircle facing Dak and Sam. The conversation grew heated.
âLooks like thingsâre coming to a head,â his dad said quietly. âYou talk to âem?â
âYeah.â
His dad clapped him on the shoulder to show his approval.
âWhatâs going on?â Mimi asked.
Sam broke from the group, jogging back to the studio. Itâd taken months to convert the old barn into a state-of-the-art facilityâand Slater had spared no expense. He wasnât just a rock starâhe was a musician. Heâd be making music the rest of his life.
And that was one of the best things about these guysâit was all about the music for them. Not the fame or rock star lifestyle. Calix hadnât worked with many bands that got it the way these guys did.
âThings arenât working out with Dak,â Calix said.
âSo why arenât you out there with them?â Mimi asked.
Because he couldnât get more involved. He wrote and arranged songs, played with them . . . He practically lived with them. He had to draw the line somewhere.
He could feel his dadâs smile but refused to look. âNot my place.â
She made a sound of exasperation. âYouâve worked with them a long time. They think the world of your talent. Of course itâs your place.â
He stepped closer to her, counting on his size to quash her attitude. âNot my band.â
Didnât work on this one, though. Mimi tipped her chin to look at him. âThey need you.â That hair slid forward again, and she blew out the side of her mouth to push it away.
He tucked the hair behind her ear, stroking it a few times to secure it. Her eyes widened, her lips softened, parted.
âI said my piece.â He spoke quietly. âTheyâll work it out.â She was so fucking beautiful. His body hummed with a desire that was growing harder to tamp down.
âLooks like theyâre coming in,â his dad said.
Stepping back to the counter, Mimi dredged the eggplant in the flour mixture, then dropped it in a skillet of hot oil.âBetter get this in the oven. Theyâll probably want to eat lunch earlier. How long will it take to cook?â
âForty minutes,â his dad said.
âOh, thatâs perfect. Iâll put some snacks out in the meantime.â
âTheyâre not coming in to eat,â Calix said as the door banged open and the whole group stomped inside.
âThatâs just bullshit, man,â Ben said. âItâs our fuckinâ music.â
âYou havenât even heard the tracks yet.â Sam sounded exasperated. âYou know, youâre not the first band heâs worked with that thinks they know better than him. But until you listen to what heâs doing, you really donât know.â
âHeâs trying to change us,â Cooper said.
Sam kept her cool. âHeâs trying to turn good songs into hits. Thatâs what he does. You have to trust him to do that. And before you roll your eyes, why donât you guys give it a listen?â She held up a thumb drive. âPlay this, and youâll get it.â
âWeâll listen,â Coop
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley