Ballroom Blitz (6 page)

“Billy,” Eden said, “you’re causing a scene. Let him go.”

He listened to his wife, but kept his focus on Maggie. “I want to know what the hell you’re doing with him.”

Maggie raised her chin. “Hi, Billy. Nice to see you too. I see you know Jon.”

“Yeah, I know Jon. But my question is do
you
know him?”

“What is your problem?”

“That.” Billy gestured to the women gathered around the tour buses. “Because that’s who he is. Johnny Feather. His fuck ’em and leave ’em reputation doesn’t bother you?”

Jon swore and lunged at Billy, but Eden inserted herself between the men.

“Jon. Back off. And you—” Eden poked Billy in the chest, “—leave it alone. This is not our concern.”

Maggie wondered why Billy had overreacted. He never pulled the
I’m your big brother
bullshit when it came to her relationships. There had to be more going on here, but this wasn’t the time or place to find out.

Eden faced Jon. “So, the reason we tracked you down, Jon, was to tell you awesome show tonight.” She stroked her hand over her rounded belly. “Even the papoose was rockin’ out in here.”

“How are you feelin’?” Jon asked, giving Eden a soft smile.

“Fat. Happy.” She shot her husband a sideways glance. “Most of the time. But it is past our bedtime and we’ll be goin’ home.”

A fuming Billy looked at Maggie. “Need a ride?”

“I’m good. But thanks.”

The other band members exited the back door. A group of fans broke free from security on the opposite side and they were surrounded.

Jon let go of Maggie’s hand, stepping in front of her, but people moved between them—and Maggie got pushed back by the doors.

It was total chaos. She jumped up and down, waving to try and get Jon’s attention, but he had his back to her. When she finally caught a glimpse of his face, he was deep in conversation with someone.

He hadn’t been looking for her at all.

Disappointment dogged her. She scoured the crowd to see if Billy and Eden had escaped, but mostly to make sure they hadn’t seen that Jon had forgotten about her. She also didn’t want her pain-in-the-ass brother to think he’d been right.

On the long walk back to her car, Maggie realized she hadn’t given Jon her phone number. The fact he couldn’t call her didn’t bother her as much as the thought she would’ve slept with him without them exchanging basic information. That was so unlike her. She’d practically done a full background check on other guys she’d just considered dating.

By the time she’d reached her cabin, she’d almost convinced herself the interruption from her brother and the crowd had been for the best.

Almost.

Chapter Six

Jon wouldn’t say he stormed into Billy Buchanan’s office on Monday morning, but the new secretary working at Feather Light might argue that point. And she did.

“I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen,” she huffed, following Jon into the room.

Billy looked up from the drafting table, his eyes decidedly frosty. “It’s okay, Dani. This is Jim’s brother. Evidently that entitles him to walk into whatever office he wants, whenever the hell he feels like it.”

“Would you like me to tell Jim his brother is here?” she asked.

Jon and Billy said “no” simultaneously.

Dani slunk out and shut the door behind her.

Billy moved from behind the drafting table and pointed to the chairs in front of his desk. “Sit.”

Jon preferred to stand. And pace. So he could take a swing at Billy if he got the chance.

Tough talk. He wouldn’t do it. Not because this was his brother’s partner, but he’d left his fighting days behind him.

He watched Billy, trying to find a family resemblance between him and Maggie. Same blue eyes. Same blond tones in their hair, although Maggie had more red in hers. Besides that, they looked nothing alike. Acted nothing alike either.

Billy seemed to be scrutinizing him too. “So, you’re here because you’re pissed off about what I said Saturday night?”

“Do ya think? Where do you get off—”

“She’s my fucking sister! She deserves better than you.”

“Because I’m Indian?” Jon had clenched his jaw so tightly he wasn’t sure how the words had forced themselves out.

Billy shook his head. “Race has nothing to do with this. And fuck you for even bringing that up. I’m married to an Indian woman and our child will be mixed race. My partner is Indian. My sister Lacy’s husband is part Indian. The goddamn color of your skin plays no part in it.”

“Then what?”

“You really need me to spell it out for you? You use and discard women. A different city, a different girl every night. That’s not hearsay, Jon. You yourself told me that. So I’m just supposed to smile and say nothing when I see you practically fucking my sister in public?”

Jon tapped his fingers on the armrest. “Number one, I wasn’t ‘practically fucking’ Maggie; I was kissing her. Number two, you sure your feelings aren’t misplaced out of guilt? You don’t want me around your sister because you’re afraid I’ll tell her that we had a threesome…with your wife?”

Billy glared at him.

“I’m not off base, am I?” Jon prompted.

“Fuck. Maybe that is part of it.” Billy ran his hand through his hair and muttered, “We can’t change the past.”

“But we sure as hell can hide it, right?”

“I’d hoped that would be a given.”

Jon shrugged. “I haven’t told anyone, because contrary to what you believe, I don’t blab about my sex life.” When Billy started to contradict him, Jon held up his hand. “And please don’t pretend you think you know me, based on that one time we stayed together in the condo, for two days, over four years ago.”

Billy snorted. “You saying you’ve changed?”

“I’m saying what we talked about, how much pussy I was getting back then was brought up by you—not me. I won’t deny I’ve taken what was freely offered to me. Does that make me a man whore? No doubt. But I take offense to your statement that I use and discard women. I don’t.”

“Maybe that’s the way you see it, or how you justify it. But I watched you Saturday night. Within minutes of being surrounded by adoring fans, Johnny Feather forgot about Maggie Buchanan entirely. She tried to get your attention but you didn’t see her. Know what sucked about that? I had to witness the disappointment on her face. I tried to prevent my sister from getting hurt and it happened anyway.”

Jon hated that Billy was right on that point. He hadn’t realized Maggie hadn’t hung around until the crowd had thinned and everyone had gotten a piece of him.

“Go ahead and call me a dick for saying this, but I’m glad Maggie saw that side of your life—of you—before you two get more involved.”

And what really stung? Jon wished Billy was wrong, but he wasn’t sure he was.

“Did you call her and apologize?” Billy asked.

“I don’t have her phone number.” He scowled. “And I wasn’t about to call you or Eden to get it.”

“Smart choice.” Billy leaned back in his chair. “Make another smart choice, Jon. Walk away from her.”

I don’t know if I can.
“I’ll remind you that Raven and I are taking dance lessons from Maggie and Seth.”

“I wish Eden wouldn’t have suggested Maggie teach that dance class. It’s just giving her false hope about returning to dancing when she needs to look for a real full-time job.”

“Jesus, Billy. Have you actually said that bullshit to Maggie?”

“What’s wrong with telling her the truth?”

“That’s not the truth. That’s crushing her dream and her spirit. Maggie loves dancing and she’s damn good at it. Why shouldn’t she have a chance to do something that she loves?”

Billy leaned forward. “Because it is a dream. Dreams don’t pay the bills and provide for the future. I’m sure you’re telling her something completely different, you creative types don’t tend to be grounded in reality. But Maggie is. She had a great job and a great career. That dance partner has filled her head with pipe dreams. She’ll just end up disappointed again.”

“Again?”

“Like in college. She got to the point her dance schedule affected her academics. I sat her down and talked to her about her future, telling her the best she could’ve hoped for with a performance degree was to end up teaching. She buckled down in a field of study that would be financially rewarding and stabilizing, made decent grades and ended up with a better-than-average job right after graduation.”

Jon kept his mouth shut. But his gut clenched, thinking of the joy on Maggie’s face when she danced. And the wistful look when she’d told him how much she’d missed that part of herself. What would Jon have done if his brother had sat him down and told him not to pursue a music career? Because Jon respected Jim so much, he would’ve listened.

Luckily Jim had backed Jon one hundred percent. Neither his siblings nor his parents had projected their life goals and expectations on him and he was grateful for that. More grateful than ever, now that he understood how rare that was. Jon didn’t doubt Billy had done it out of love and concern for Maggie. But it broke his heart a little that she’d just given up.

The intercom on Billy’s phone buzzed. “Yes?”

“Jim said to tell his brother he wants to see him in his office when you’re done with him.”

“Will do, Dani. Thanks.” Billy cocked his head. “So we done?”

“Yep.” Jon got up and walked out. Straight to his car. Jim would be pissed he’d ignored him, but he’d deal with it later.

Right now he just needed to think.

Mid-afternoon, Jon’s cell rang. The call wasn’t from his brother, as he’d expected, but his agent. “Johnny-boy! How are ya, kid?”

Kid. Anyone under forty qualified as a kid in Marty Goldman’s world. “I’m all right. What’s up?”

“I’ll cut right to the chase. Someone from
Indie Rock
magazine was at Sapa’s show in Spearfish Saturday night.”

“Yeah? Why’s that matter?”

“Because she heard rumors that the band is going on hiatus indefinitely.”

Jon paced to the big window in the living area. “Not a rumor, Goldman, as you know.”

“That’s what I told her yesterday. So is it a coincidence that today I get a call from Darkly Dreaming’s management company? They’re auditioning drummers. They want to talk to you.”

“Whoa. Wait a damn second. I’m on hiatus too. Remember our conversation about me being tired of touring and having no life? That hasn’t changed.”

“Which I understand. But damn, kid, Darkly Dreaming is big time.”

“I don’t care. I’m burned out. I need this time off.”

An exasperated sigh echoed in his ear. “It’s almost been a month.”

“That’s the longest break I’ve had in years and it hasn’t been near long enough.” Jon rubbed his forehead against the impending headache. Did his agent understand him at all? Or did he just see dollar signs? “Tell them I appreciate their interest but no thanks.”

“That mean you don’t want to know who else is expressing interest in you?”

Fuck. Marty just had to dangle another carrot, didn’t he? “Who?”

“Push and Radioactive Tar are also auditioning drummers.”

Holy shit. He’d kill to work with Van Conner, who produced Push and had scored a Grammy on their last CD. Radioactive Tar was a group of studio musicians in Nashville that had a rotating roster of who’s who in music. Just making contact with any one of those bands could give a big boost to his music career.

But you’re taking a break, right?

“Kid? You still there?”

“Yeah. Just picking my jaw up off the floor.”

“I thought you might say that,” he said smugly. “But here’s the catch. All of them want to set it up for this week.”

Dammit. He had dance class with Raven in four hours. “Is there any way we can get it postponed for another week?”

“Nope. In fact, Push wants the meeting in Seattle tomorrow night.”

As much as he still needed a break from his hectic lifestyle, meeting with these bands wouldn’t be like touring and promoting. It would be about music. His music. No harm in hearing what they had to say, was there?

His artistic subconscious sneered at him for being fickle, accusing him of missing the rock-star life of fawning fans and fame. Throwing in a final jab about lying to himself and everyone else about settling down.

But his practical side warned him opportunities like this didn’t come along every day and he’d be a fool to let it slip away.

The phone clunked. Paper rattled. Marty sighed. “I hate to pressure you, but my secretary says there’s one seat left on the nine o’clock flight to Denver tonight leaving out of Rapid. And the flight from Denver to Seattle puts you in Seattle around midnight.”

He’d figure out something to tell Raven—just as soon as he made sense of his decision himself. “That’ll work. Have your secretary book me at the Cooper Hotel in downtown Seattle.”

“Done. I’ll have her book your flights to L.A. and Nashville to meet with the other bands. Call me in the morning and I’ll give you all the details. But remember; keep a lid on this, kid.” Marty hung up.

Jon showered, packed and closed up his house, although he wouldn’t be gone more than a week. While getting ready, he’d come up with a possible solution to his dance class dilemma. Or at least, he had an idea who could help him. He paced while he was waiting for her assistant to ring him through.

The line clicked. “This is Eden Buchanan.”

“Knock, knock, knocking on Eden’s door…”

“Jon, you magnificent bastard. I miss you serenading me.”

“Doubtful, or you would’ve picked me over old what’s-his-face. Still… How is it you look more beautiful now that you’re knocked up? It pains me to admit you’ll always be the woman I let slip through my fingers. The gold standard that I hold all other women to.”

She laughed. “That sweet talking means one thing… What do you want?”

“A really big—and we’re taking huge—favor…”

Chapter Seven

The week had started out on a bad note and had gone downhill from there.

Maggie had ended up working extra time at the doctor’s office when they had a security breach with their server. She’d fixed it, but it was a pointed reminder that she missed the challenge of working in her field and not just killing time doing data entry.