Free A Song For Us (Fallen Tuesday Book Two) (A Brothers of Rock Novel) by Karolyn James

touched the keys and started
to play. She closed her eyes and took a few breaths as she tried to calm
herself. She let her hands and mind do all the work. Working into the song, she
purposely skipped where she needed to start singing. She needed more time.
    When Carina finally did start to
sing, it was quiet.
    “Can’t hear you!” Angie yelled,
making her presence still known.
    Carina shook her head and regained
her thoughts. She sang a second time and it was much louder. Carina kept her
eyes shut. Her faced burned like she stood in the middle of summer heat. But
she sang and played one of her favorites she wrote, and she didn’t stop.
    When the song came to an end, Carina
took a deep breath before facing Angie.
    “That was amazing,” Angie gushed.
“You sing better than I do.”
    “That’s a lie,” Carina said.
    She turned off the keyboard and
stood. “I did my part. Can I have my ice cream back?”
    Angie laughed. “Sure.”
    Ten minutes later both women were
sitting on the couch, eating ice cream.
    “I’m serious about what I said,”
Angie said. “About the singing. The playing. You’re really good. You could be
something.”
    “I’m happy here.”
    “No, you’re not. Maybe you should
call your rockstar and play for him. He’ll give you a break.”
    Carina smiled. “Jealous?”
    “Not at all. I think you’re stupid
for not calling him.”
    Carina didn’t reply. She shoved a
spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and dealt with the cold pain.
    Angie was right though. She was
stupid for not calling yet.
    But there was always tomorrow.

(7)
     
    It became one of those nights .
Gray rolled out of bed and felt like he’d been smacked in the head with a
hammer. He wandered the hotel room, looking for coffee though half open eyes
when Luke came from the bathroom smiling.
    “Haven’t done that in a while,” he
said.
    “I feel like hell, bro,” Gray said.
“We’re not young rockstars anymore, are we?”
    “You’ve been out of the loop,” Luke
said. “Let’s get some food.”
    “And coffee,” Gray said.
    “And booze,” a third voice added.
    Of course it was Mack. He looked
like hell but he was still smiling.
    Soon the five members of Fallen
Tuesday were huddle around the kitchen counter that separated the kitchen from
the living room. They called for room service and wasted no time in talking
about the night before.
    “We need to record,” Mack said.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush. All those songs we played last night.
Man, that was real…”
    “That was good,” Luke said.
    “They all need work,” Trent said.
    “Sure they do,” Jake said.
    “But it’s something,” Gray said.
“That’s the fun of it, right? We got back to work.”
    “Unexpectedly,” Mack said as he
elbowed Luke.
    “Are you sure though about this?”
Gray asked Luke. “With your voice and everything?”
    “I’m sure,” Luke said. “Remember
what we talked about. Start small. Bring the fans back into it all. Build the
buzz… and then explode when the time is right.”
    “I like it,” Mack said.
    “Let’s call Frank,” Jake suggested.
    “Whoa,” Gray said. “We need coffee
and food first to deal with Frank.”
    “Yeah,” Luke laughed. “Plus, he’s
going to give you hell, Gray. About your plans…”
    “Plans,” Gray whispered.
    “Which are?” Mack asked.
    Gray looked at Mack with pissed off
eyes.
    “Relax,” Luke said.
    Gray sighed. “He’s right. I need to
figure this out. Maybe I can shoot over to the studio for a day or two, then
stop back here. I don’t know what to do.”
    “Do the doctors know anything yet?”
Luke asked. “I mean, are they going to let your brother…”
    “Just be there in a hospital bed?”
Gray asked.
    “Well, yeah.”
    “I don’t know,” Gray said. “There’s
going to come a point where someone may have to make a decision. I’m sure it’ll
be put on my shoulders.”
    “Shit,” Mack said. “That’s a tough
spot to be