The Hardest Set (Willow Son #4/Brothers of Rock #19) (23 page)

For both of them.

That was fine with Van.

Serves me right for falling in
love
…

Natalie eventually slammed the door
to the car.

And Van slammed the door to his
heart.

17.

Van hit the last note and stood
there, nodding. The empty feeling was still very present, but Van could manage
it for now. The new song was killer. It was finally cut as a half decent demo,
which meant they could all listen to it and figure out what needed to be
changed.

To Van, it was damn perfect as is.

“
Hey,
”
Jett said.
“
I was thinking about what Van
said before. This should be the opener.
”

“
Yes,
”
Van said.

“
That
’
s risky,
”
Colby said.
“
All
those people ready to jam and they get a new song
…”

“
Leak
it,
”
Brantley said.
“
Fuck the lawyers and the piracy
shit.
”

“
Whoa,
”
Ryker said.
“
Someone wake up on the wrong
side of the bed?
”

“
No.
Just an empty bed. I don
’
t
like that.
”

“
Join
the club,
”
Van said.

“
Wait,
”
Colby said, looking at Van,
“
what happened with you?
”

“
Nothing.
Just didn
’
t work out. We
were just
…
enjoying our
time together. It came to an end.
”

“
I
call bullshit,
”
Jett said.
“
I know how your mind works, Van.
”

“
How
so?
”

“
What
happened?
”
Jett asked.

“
She
took a job in Texas, okay? She told me I should face Vanessa one last time to
get my final closure and then just be done.
”

“
Not
the worst idea,
”
Colby
said.

“
Fuck
off,
”
Van said.
“
She just wants to throw that
ring in my face. I don
’
t
need that memory.
”

“
Maybe
you do,
”
Brantley said.
“
Then you can trade the ring in.
Or burn it. Or run it over with a tank.
”

Van hated that the guys were making
the same case as Natalie did. It was like they all talked or something about
this. Like the studio had now become some kind of intervention.

“
Can
we talk about music?
”
Van
asked.

“
Fine,
”
Brantley said.
“
Leak the new song. Do it.
”

“
Portis
may not like that,
”
Colby
said with a smile.

“
Who
cares?
”
Jett asked.

“
It
’
s a good idea,
”
Ryker said.
“
Leak the new song. Then open the
first show with it.
”

“
Yes,
”
Van said.
“
Yes. Let
’
s just do it all. I don
’
t care. I want to play it again. Come on. Let
’
s do it.
”

Colby turned and faced the mic. He
gave the orders to record the song again. This time was going to be for real.

The recording light went on.

Brantley started the song with his
drums. Van came in with his bass. Anger flowed from the pit of his stomach and
depths of his heart as he played. He couldn
’
t
remember a time playing when he was so angry.

The band recorded the song two more
times before having everything the way they wanted it. Then they were in the
sound room, in front of the mixing board, perfecting the sound.

All Van could think about was
Natalie. He had made sure the jet got her home safe and sound. From there
…
whatever.

The crumbled up piece of paper she
had given him didn
’
t stay
on the floor of the car either. It was smoothed out and folded up. And it was
in Van
’
s back pocket.

And, yeah, fine, he was planning on
going to see Vanessa one last time.

From there
…
maybe it was time to grab a cowboy hat and head to
Texas.

**

Natalie pulled a piece of tape over
a box and then rested the tape gun on the box. She really didn
’
t have all that much. The
initial move would be her car full of stuff and the rest would come later.
Andrea was such a good friend in all this. Making sure to help with everything
she could for the big move to Texas. Peter was a big help too, giving Natalie
advice on the best places to look for. In fact, Natalie had lucked out when a
friend of Peter
’
s took a
year long economics job in China, leaving his house empty and available for
rent. Natalie paid basically nothing, other than keeping the house standing and
clean.

It was all going way too smooth and
way too easy. Part of Natalie told herself that if there was any kind of bumps
in the road, it would be a sign that she was meant to stay and be with Van.

But that wasn
’
t happening.

Her stuff fit in the boxes
perfectly. She had enough tape. She had enough money to cover most of the
expenses to do this. The little bit left over was going to go on a credit card,
but Peter offered her a generous offer to relocate her. She
’
d get that check when she moved
and got through her first month of teaching. Oh, not to mention the salary was
double what she had been making. What could make it any better? The contract
was for three years. So there was no chance of losing anything here. That meant
for the first time in her life Natalie could work a job with plenty left over
to save.

Plus, being in a new town would
give her a chance to meet new people. She
’
d
have a big house to take care of and have time to work on her drawings and
artwork.

Did I forget to mention that the
previous art teacher was still very active in the school? And that her best
friend was a renowned artist? And that she was looking forward to meeting me
and talk
ing
about art?

Yet Natalie sat on the floor of her
bedroom, her back against the wall, knees bent, and she felt empty. Damn empty.

She thought pushing Van to get
closure would help. That he
’
d
go face Vanessa, get it over with, and then they
’
d
work on this next part. California to Texas was far but not that far, right?
They could make it work. Van had a private jet. He was going out on tour. So he
could travel, fly around, whatever. Plus, on the weekends, Natalie could do
whatever she needed to do to meet up with him.

Or maybe somewhere in her heart she
envisioned Van doing something crazy like showing up in Texas, wanting to live
with her.

Natalie shut her eyes and shook her
head. A tear escaped as she realized she was making the same mistake again.
Going too far with her damn mind. Instead of just accepting reality she had to
go and try to dig deeper. Making something out of nothing. Life was made up of
moments, not scenes from a movie. Because if this was a movie and this was
really real, then Van would be at the
…

There was a knock at the door.

It echoed through the almost empty
apartment.

Natalie thought she had imagined
it.

Then the knocking continued.

She jumped to her feet and wiped
her face.

Van was here. Just like I knew
he
’
d come.

Natalie charged through the
apartment, jumping over a couple small boxes in her way. She grabbed the
doorknob and tore the door open, ready for anything Van wanted. No matter what.

“
It
’
s over.
”

Natalie gasped.

It was Mark standing there.

No, no, no, no
…

**

Van knew the place. A little upper
class kind of retail development. Where people with luxury vehicles came to
shop. Where jeans were on sale for two hundred dollars. Where the cheap cup of
coffee was a little under ten bucks. The stone walkway was intricate and
pretty. Purposely planted trees with speakers sticking out of the ground like
an extra root, playing soft and soothing music. Van kept his head down, making
himself as hidden as he could. It was almost dark out, but every few feet stood
a lamp, making sure it was bright enough to make everyone feel safe and keep
them shopping.

The corner cafe was where Vanessa
was. Her and some of her friends were apparently having a gathering to talk
about dresses, flowers, and food. All the stuff that Van thought he
’
d be dragged into with Vanessa a
long damn time ago.

He had sent her a text to let her
know this was her one chance to talk.

When he got to the cafe, he sent
another one, telling her he was here.

Then he spotted her as she stood
from a table that had to have at least ten other women seated around it. They
were all dressed way too fancy for a cup of coffee, almost like they were all
competing with each other. Who had the most money? Who had the nicest car?
Whose husband brought home the biggest paycheck? Better yet
…
whose husband wasn
’
t having an affair?

Vanessa opened the door and a
little gust of wind stole some hair from behind her ear and spread it across
her face. She fought the hair and stared at Van.

She was as damn beautiful as the
first day Van met her. She still had those wild eyes and a little flicker of a
smile.

“
Van.
”

“
I
’
m here.
”

“
Then
let
’
s talk.
”

“
Am
I holding things up in there?
”

“
No,
”
Vanessa said.
“
They
’
re fine. They have magazines and opinions. Plus,
they get to suggest how to spend Will
’
s
money. That
’
s a dream for
any woman. Spend someone else
’
s
money.
”

Van gritted his teeth and kept his
hands in his pockets.

Will. The fianc
é
.

“
Okay,
”
Van said.
“
Should we just stand here and
talk?
”

“
There
’
s a bench around the corner,
”
Vanessa said.
“
Come on.
”

Everything about Vanessa now
screamed fancy. She had certainly landed herself into some money. That didn
’
t surprise Van though. She
always had an ability to read people and find what she needed, maybe not what
she wanted. Then again, Van never knew what the hell Vanessa wanted.

Vanessa sat down and patted the
seat for Van.

“
I
’
m good here,
”
Van said.

“
Okay.
Always stubborn.
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
I
never got the chance to tell you how proud I am of you. I mean, you went out
there and put it all on the line. With the band, I mean. It
’
s amazing to see Willow Son so
famous.
”

“
Yeah,
thanks.
”

“
I
know you gave up a lot.
”

“
Not
that much,
”
Van said.

“
Van
…”

“
What?
”

“
If
you stayed, and we stayed together, you wouldn
’
t
have been happy.
”

“
Because
you were screwing other people all the time.
”

Vanessa nodded.
“
I was the one who watched you go
out there and disappear. I never knew what would happen. So I was scared. And
lonely.
”

“
I
made sure to take care of you,
”
Van said.
“
From the second
I signed my first deal. Christ, when I was signing my name, staring at the
payday, I thought about you.
”

“
I
know you did. You were such a good person. I mean, you still are. I
’
m sure you are. Whoever is with
you now
…
she
’
s lucky.
”

Van gritted his teeth.
“
Why did you want to meet me so
bad?
”

“
To
just be honest for a second. To tell you that I really am happy.
”

“
You
found money.
”

“
Yeah,
I have. Will is a doctor. He
’
s
smart. He
’
s rich. Is that
what you want to hear?
”