In Your Honor (3 page)

“
What if I let you hire
your own replacement?” Carl proposed. He knew she didn't want her
old job back. But he didn't want to have to go through all the
trouble of finding a person who would never hit the standards that
she had set for him on the previous tour. Lenny was the
best.

Her brow furrowed in thought. “That's
not a bad idea, actually.” Carl mentally high-fived himself. Of
course it wasn't a bad idea, it was a great idea.

“
Would you be willing to
train them and everything?” Carl looked down at his coffee, afraid
she'd read his mind if they had eye contact.

“
I guess I could... I
mean, that would be the easiest option.” Lenny tapped her finger
against the handle of her mug. “Yeah, okay, I can do
that.”

“
Great.” Carl picked up a
stack of applications sitting next to him in the booth and slapped
them on the table. “Here are your candidates. They need to be on
the crew bus on Monday.” He ignored Lenny's slack-jawed expression
as he stood and slipped on his coat. He clapped his hand on her
shoulder as he strode to the door. “Thanks, kid, it's good to have
to you back.”

***

Lenny shook her head and
chuckled lightly at Carl's abrupt departure. She should have seen
that coming. Carl didn't do anything without making a plan first.
She pulled the stack of applications towards her and thumbed
through them, probably close to fifty.
This is going to take awhile.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she
pulled it out, grinning automatically when she saw Luke's name on
the screen.

“
Hey,” she greeted her
husband.

“
Hey, you left before I
was ready to go.” He sounded wounded but she knew it was only an
act.

“
I was already running
late and you know how Carl hates to wait,” she replied, skimming
the top application.

“
Are you at the corner
diner?” She could hear him moving swiftly, he must be on his
way.

“
Yes, you want me to order
you anything?” she asked, flagging the waitress down.

“
Yeah, pancakes. Be there
in a bit.” He hung up and she set her phone on the table just as
the server walked over.

“
I'm gonna need your
biggest order of pancakes and a western omelet. Oh, and more
coffee.” She smiled her thanks as the girl went to place her order
and then refocused on the applications.

A few moments later, Luke kissed her
on the neck before sliding into the booth across from her a few
moments later.

“
What's all this?” He
gestured to the papers.

Lenny rolled her eyes. “Carl got me to
agree to hire the new assistant for the tour.”

“
Makes sense.” Luke nodded
his approval and picked up the top sheet, giving it a thorough
scan.

“
You always take his
side,” she chided.

“
Of course, he hired you.”
He winked at her and she felt the blood pulse in her veins. The
simplest of expressions coming from Luke could make her forget her
name. “Besides, he has those higher-ups breathing down his neck to
make sure the tour is as successful as the last one.”

“
Maybe I should appeal to
his boss then.” She raised a suggestive eyebrow and Luke narrowed
his eyes and made a growl sound in the back of his
throat.

“
That sounds like a
very
good
idea.”

“
You're terrible.” She
laughed at his playful expression and he grinned.

It was true, though, it was a whole
new regime. The band's contract had expired after the last tour and
they had decided to start their own label. No more being pushed
around by people who didn't care about anything but the bottom
line. They could be musicians again. Real ones.

As such, a lot of vetting and hiring
had taken place in the past couple of months. The band had recorded
and released their first album on their own label, and a touring
schedule had been created. A new bus had been purchased for the
newlyweds, and Carl had been given a significant raise. They had
been so busy that Lenny was more thankful than ever for the
month-long honeymoon they had gotten to take before the craziness
began.

“
You suppose Carl will
flip out if I hire a girl?” Lenny asked as the waitress set down
her omelet and Luke's pancakes.

“
Probably,” Luke muttered
as he poured the syrup. “Why? Did you find a good one?” He nodded
at the paper Lenny was holding.

“
Maybe.” She chewed on the
inside of her cheek. “She's still in college, a business management
major...”

“
What?” Luke asked when
Lenny didn't speak again for a few seconds.

“
I don't know, gut
feeling. I think I'll call her, set up an interview.” She pulled
out her cellphone.

“
And then can we have
breakfast as husband and wife?” Luke's crystal blue eyes sparkled
and she felt a tingle go from her toes to her earlobes.

“
Yes, my love.” She gave
him a crooked smile as she dialed the number on the application.
Damn, but she loved him.

The slight breeze blew the thick, wild
hair across Harrison's forehead as he leaned his back against the
tour bus. His large, mirrored aviators covered most of his face as
he watched the last of their belongings being loaded. He crossed
his arms over his chest and kicked the dirt at his feet.

He was anxious for the tour to begin.
A lot of changes had taken place in a short span of time, and
Harrison had never been a fan of change. He wanted to get out on
the road, feel the shows, meet the fans, and return to the flow
that he was comfortable with. Not that he didn't like the changes.
He did, they had all been great. He just struggled with
adapting.

“
Mister O'Neil?” a small
female voice said to his left. “I... uh, I'm sorry to bother
you...” She sputtered and stopped as Harrison turned his gaze in
her direction.

“
Kendra, I told you, just
call me Harrison,” he patiently reminded the new
assistant.

“
Right, Harrison, sorry.”
Her tanned skin blushed deeply and she tried again. “I was
wondering if you, um, if you had decided which bus you were going
to be on.”

Harrison had no idea where Lenny had
found this girl. She was sweet enough but she was so damn nervous
she could hardly get her words out half the time. He didn't know
how she would hold up under the pressure of touring. Or the
scrutiny of Carl.

She was thin and lithe, a former
ballerina who had injured her knee and changed direction with her
life. Her light brown hair had professionally applied streaks of
red and she had a cute button nose that Harrison had noticed
instantly. He liked noses. Her wide hazel eyes were adorably
innocent. And always nervous.

“
I'll be on the blue bus
with Mike,” he answered, wishing he could give her confidence like
a stick of gum.

“
Okie dokie.” She blushed
again. “Sorry, that was stupid.” She gripped her clipboard to her
chest as she hurried away, her ponytail bobbing up and down with
her stiff steps.

“
How long till you think
we have to buy her a ticket home?” Mike remarked as he came up next
to him.

Harrison shook his head. “I have no
idea... a week, maybe.”

“
Lenny seems to think
she's perfect for the job, and she's not usually wrong,” Mike
reminded him as he shoved his hands in his pockets and settled
against the bus with Harrison.

“
Yeah, but she's just
so... jumpy.” Harrison scrunched up his nose.

“
I don't know... people
can surprise you,” Mike said thoughtfully. “Don't write her off
just yet.”

Harrison studied his shoes for a few
minutes, trying to word his next question carefully, but there
really were no better words for it. “How do you feel about the
schedule?”

Mike's deep intake of air told
Harrison what he needed to know. It was going to be an emotionally
jarring trip for at least one of them. But it really couldn't be
helped. Harrison had been part of the planning process, and he had
done everything in his power to protect his friend from having to
face his issues. But maybe it was time for him to face
them.

“
We'll find out when we
get there.” Mike's voice was low, noncommittal.

“
He always has us. He
doesn't have to do anything alone.” Harrison murmured more to
himself than to Mike.

“
I know.” Mike chuckled.
“And I promise I won't let him get any misguided tattoos on my
watch.”

“
I can't believe he did
that.” Harrison shook his head in wonder. “He wasn't as mad about
it as I thought he would be.”

“
He's still in love with
her. I think it's a bigger problem than just the tattoo,” Mike said
pensively.

“
What's gonna happen when
we actually get to Oklahoma?” Harrison worried out loud.

“
I don't know. But we
should probably warn Lenny and Kendra so they don't freak out.”
Mike sighed and pushed away from the bus.

“
Family meeting?” Harrison
questioned.

Mike paused before answering. “Not
yet. Let me talk to him about it first. No one likes their dirty
laundry aired without their permission. I know that better than
most.”

Harrison watched his back as he went
around the corner towards the hotel. Yep, this tour was going to be
a whole new rodeo.

***

Kendra Salem pushed her heavy, sweaty
hair out of her eyes as she tried, once again, to convince her
shoe-laces to stay tied. Double knot, triple knot, nothing was
working and she was getting frustrated. It was only her first day
on the job and she had never felt more alone in her
life.

The band was friendly enough and the
crew was trying to be as helpful as possible, but Kendra still felt
like the outsider. Because she was. They were a family and she was
the new girl. What had she been thinking when she had even applied?
She couldn't take care of rock stars, she could barely keep a
goldfish alive.

She straightened from her task and
trudged to the crew bus. She still had another page of items to
check off the list before she could retire to her hotel room where
she planned on eating her weight in ice cream before crying herself
to sleep.

She still hadn't figured out why Luke
Casey's wife had hired her. The interview had been a disaster. She
had overslept and dressed in such a rush that her shirt was on
inside out and backwards. She froze up during most of the questions
and then tripped and fell in Luke Casey's lap before leaving in
humiliation.

She came around the back of the red
bus and collided with a hard, male body. Her tiny frame flew to the
ground and she scrambled to her feet, feeling the color change on
her face.

“
I'm so sorry,” she
apologized as she tried to chase the papers that had disengaged
from her clipboard and were blowing around her feet.

“
New girl, you have got to
chill.” Blake's voice caused a fresh surge of embarrassment to
flood her veins. She couldn't handle humiliating herself in front
of the band members. She wanted to quit. She had to talk to Lenny,
she couldn't do this. She wasn't cut out for it.

Strong hands gripped her shoulders and
she looked up into friendly green eyes.

“
I'm sorry, Mister
Diedrich...” was all she could say.

“
Calm down, darlin'.”
Blake spoke to her slowly and waited for her to catch her breath.
“You're doing a good job, there's no need to be so
jumpy.”

Kendra felt tears burn her eyes and
she swallowed hard. Crying right now would only make things
worse.

“
Hey, hey, hey,” he
soothed, and pulled her against his chest in a hug. “Don't cry, I
can't handle it when girls cry.”

Kendra sniffed back her tears with a
small laugh. Blake held her at arms' length again and looked at her
seriously.

“
We're regular people.
Just like anybody else. You don't have to be as worried as you
are.” He paused, and one corner twitched in a hint of a smile. “And
for Pete's sake, please call me Blake.”

Kendra nodded, feeling her racing
heart begin to calm down. He oozed confidence and she desired
nothing more in that moment than to be as sure of things as he
seemed to be.

“
I don't want to let any
of you down,” she suddenly confessed.

“
You can't. Lenny has
total faith in your abilities and she's never wrong. You already
possess the skills you need, you just have to tap into them.” Blake
grinned at her, and Kendra felt her shoulders relax a bit at his
encouragement. She took a deep breath and nodded.

He patted her shoulder. “Chin up,
chick. Now, I have to go see a man about a dog.” He gave her a
final smile before disappearing around the side of the
bus.

Kendra picked up her
clipboard and brushed the dirt off. Maybe Blake was right, maybe
she just had to believe in herself.
Please
let that be true.