Rock and a Hard Place (4 page)

“
Garrett!” They answered
again. Garrett shrugged his shoulders. He enjoyed the perks of
playing in a band. Andrea smiled like a satisfied
feline.

“
Who is the morning
person?”

“
Adam,” Garrett answered.
“He likes to take pictures of the sunrise.”

“
Who in the group is a
night owl?”

“
Peter,” Garrett and Adam
said.

“
No I’m not,” Peter
said.

“
Dude, you’re always up
late writing. We can hear you,” Adam said.

“
Who is the leader of the
group?”

“
Peter,” the other two said
in unison.

Peter wasn’t sure why that was. Taking the
lead on stage seemed as natural as breathing. He felt connected to
the crowd. His brothers were often awkward and stilted. Garrett
made up for it by hitting on the girls and Adam was the grinning
puppy they all loved.

“
Who is the goof
off?”

“
Are you kidding? It’s all
Adam,” Peter answered.

Adam shrugged, never a care in the
world.

“
Okay, who is the
shyest?”

Garrett and Adam looked straight at Peter.
No words necessary.

“
Really, now that surprises
me,” Andrea said. “You write the music, and lead the band, yet
you’re the shy one?”

“
I don’t know that I’m shy,
but I keep to myself more than Garrett and Adam. They’re more
outgoing. I like to spend time alone.”

“
Aw, the brooding artist.
No wonder your music is so successful.” she responded. “I think I
know the answer to this next one. Who is the biggest ladies
man?”

“
Garrett,” Peter and Adam
laughed.

Garrett raised an eyebrow suggestively at
Andrea. She fanned herself with her papers.

“
This last one is for each
of you. What is your idea of the perfect girl?”

“
I’d say it’s a girl who
makes me laugh,” Adam smiled.

The camera moved to Peter.

“
I’d like someone who is
interested in me and not all the other crazy parts that come with
success,” Peter said.

“
I’m looking for a
beautiful girl who wants to get out and party,” Garrett looked at
her pointedly.

The camera refocused on Andrea. “There you
have it girls. Now you know what it takes to attract one of these
charming young men. Thank you for your time guys and have a great
concert tonight. It’s sold out, but I’m one of the lucky ones who
hold a backstage pass.” She looked at Garrett with silent
meaning.

Peter was happy to see the interview end
before Garrett embarrassed them all. The guy couldn’t keep it on
the down low. He bet Libby would never act like the reporter.

Chapter 3

A few days later Libby sat on a giant
outcropping of rock that reached out over the rushing creek. The
warm September breeze blew gently through the trees and swept a
leaf into the water below. Her eyes followed its progress. As it
floated along, she pondered the events of the past week. Miss Orman
had tried to cheer her up after Libby couldn’t support her story
about Peter. It all seemed unreal. If she hadn’t experienced it
herself, she wouldn’t believe it either. Famous people didn’t just
appear out of nowhere, especially not in Rockville.

But Peter had appeared. And she did spend
time with him. He was beautiful and perfect and she couldn’t
remember the last time she’d felt so happy. The best part was that
he didn’t know about her life or that she lived with crazy Aunt
Marge. Peter didn’t know that her dad’s grief was so strong, he
brought Libby to Wisconsin and left her to live at his
sister-in-law’s house before driving off into the depths of
depression.

The sound of wind rushing through the trees
increased. It sounded like the roar of the nearby highway. Libby
lay on the large stone slab, her back warmed by the sun-heated
rock. She gazed at the movement of the tree branches overhead as
they bent and swayed in the wind. The leaves were a patchwork of
green, yellow and orange. Fall was near and creating a beautiful
scene. She wished she had a camera to capture it, or the talent to
paint it. The breeze whispered on her cheek, the sun warmed her
skin. Her thoughts returned to Peter and how wonderful her life
would be if he were in it.

A shadow moved over her and blocked the sun.
She jerked onto her elbows to discover the intrusion. People rarely
came to this part of the preserve.

“
Are you cutting class?”
Peter stood before her, a broad smile on his face and the familiar
hair falling in his eyes.

“
Oh my God.” Libby popped
up from her spot. “What are you doing here?”

She never thought she’d see him again.
Hoped, yes, but not in her wildest dreams did she believe it could
happen. She stared, her mouth agape. Was he real? Perhaps she’d
lost her mind after all.

His t-shirt hugged him snug across the chest
and shoulders, revealing strong arms. His jeans hung low, his
thumbs looped in the top of his pockets. She looked at his handsome
face. His eyes sparkled with mischief as the breeze tossed his
hair.

“
Mom really likes this
spot, and now, so do I.” He grinned and a gorgeous dimple appeared.
“We’re heading up to Minneapolis for some taping.”

“
Guess it’s my lucky day,”
she bubbled.

“
Guess so.” With a devilish
grin, he raised an eyebrow.

Imaginary gymnasts did flips in her stomach.
She thought Peter would be a distant memory, like so many others
she stashed safely away. Now here he stood, in the flesh. He
couldn’t be more real.

“
How much time have you
got? She wiped her dusty hands on the back of her jeans then slid
them into her back pockets. She stood a few feet away, hopeful he
would stay forever. She wasn’t sure what to do.

“
As long as we want,” Peter
answered.

Her face beamed.

“
Well, an hour, at the
most,” he corrected, another cute smirk in the corner of his
mouth.

“
We better not waste time
then.” They faced each other, a momentary pause and an instant of
awkwardness. Libby refused to let this opportunity fail. She broke
the silence. “Have you seen the rock formations at the back of the
glen?”

“
No, but I’d love
to.”

His smile touched her heart.

“
It’s this way.” She tilted
her head toward the trail, and fought the urge to squeal with
joy.

They followed the trail through the rocky
ravine, the walls progressively greener with rich moss. Every so
often water trickled down the sides, flowing into the stream they
walked along. Peter moved next to her in all his glorious beauty.
She tried not to look at him too often.

“
You never answered my
question,” Peter said, stepping over a sharp rock.

“
What was that?” Libby
glanced up.

“
Are you cutting school?
It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and where I come from we go to school
on Wednesdays.”

“
No, it’s teacher
in-service. We get a Wednesday afternoon off once a month, so the
teachers can meet and talk about how horrible today’s youth is.”
That’s about all they did too, lots of talking and not much
action.

“
You must be at the top of
their list.” He grinned, and held his hand out to help her over the
large rocks.

“
You have no idea.” She
placed her hand in his, reveling at his warmth in the cool
ravine.

Gravel crunched beneath their feet as they
made their way along the crooked path. Occasionally, he bumped her
shoulder playfully with his, as if he wanted to make sure she was
still there. Something about him fit. He didn’t ask too many
questions or judge the things she told him. It had been a long time
since someone accepted her.

“
Tell me again, why your
family comes here?” She wanted him to say it was so he could see
her and then promise they would be here every day.

“
They like this spot. It’s
close to the interstate and we pass this way a lot when we’re
traveling between Chicago and Minneapolis. Mom is always trying to
make us feel normal and keep us grounded.” Peter jumped easily from
one boulder to another, as though he’d climbed them his entire
life.

“
But you are
normal.”

“
Are you kidding? We’re far
from it.” He gave her a look of disbelief.

“
But, you’re together. You
have a Mom and Dad and a big family that spends lots of time
together.” To her they seemed like the most magical, perfect
family, almost as good as hers had once been.

“
We spend too much time
together.” He ran his fingers through his long bangs pushing them
out of the way. “I can’t tell you how often I wish I could ditch my
family. I never get any privacy.”

“
That is one thing I have a
ton of.” She looked out at the creek as it rushed over age-old
rocks. Her days were filled with solitude. Even at school, the kids
stayed away. They knew her past was tragic and that made her
different. She didn’t match their perfect picket fence lives, so
they treated her like a pariah. She didn’t care though. It was
better to be alone, than to explain her past.

But sometimes she wished someone special
cared about her. It might be nice to have a friend to keep her from
spending too much time alone, or to drag her into a game of
Frisbee, or even someone to talk to about nothing at all.

Peter’s voice brought her out of her silent
lament.

“
I’d like to trade my
little brother Adam for more privacy any day.”

Their eyes connected giving her another
little jolt. She thought of her little sister. Libby would trade
anything for one more day with her.

“
I shouldn’t complain,” he
continued. “But once in a while, it’d be nice not to have every
minute of my life planned.”

“
What do you mean?” She
hopped from one large rock to the next.

He considered her carefully. “You don’t get
it, do you?”

“
Of course, I do.” Her
backbone stiffened. She hated being talked down to, especially by
Peter. He was not like everyone else, at least not in her eyes. She
left his side and moved ahead. She jumped from rock to rock and
crossed the stream to the other side.

“
Don’t get all stuck up on
me, but do you really understand what I do?”

“
Yeah, you sing with your
brothers. You travel around in your bus and perform. I’m not a
total moron.” Why did he have to show his jerk side? Everything had
been perfect.

“
I didn’t say you were a
moron, but, there’s a lot more to it than that.” Peter easily leapt
over the rocks to reach her side. He held her arm to slow her down.
The stream rushed by noisily, the raw smells of moss and ferns
surrounded them.

“
Okay, for example, we just
came from New York where we were on Rock Hits Live.”

She stared blankly, arms crossed. She
refused to admit her ignorance.

“
You don’t know what that
is?” He shook his head in disbelief. “It’s a live music interview
show. Do you ever watch TV?” He asked in disbelief.

Libby huffed a sigh of irritation. “No. I
haven’t laid eyes on a TV for over a year.” Other than Aunt Marge’s
ancient set, which was permanently turned to the Home Shopping
Network.

She didn’t know why she admitted even that
small detail. She hated when people looked down on her
unconventional life, especially since she had no control over it.
She hated it even more from Peter. She refused to believe he was
like the others.

“
Really?” He
responded.

She could see the unasked question behind
his eyes.

“
Okay, listen,” he said,
determined to help her understand. “We just came out with our third
CD.”

“
Yeah, well anyone can make
a CD. We have a media class where kids create them for extra
credit.” Ahead an enormous boulder dominated the end of the trail;
the creek poured out on each side. Libby climbed over the
surrounding rocks, reached the top and sat. Peter
followed.

“
Your right, it’s not that
hard to put together a CD. But we’ve got a major recording
contract. We spent a month in the studio recording our latest
music. We’re doing massive publicity for our new CD.”

The more he spoke, the more she noticed a
serious side in him. This was his life, and his passion. Libby’s
pulse quickened as she listened. It seemed even more impossible
he’d be here talking to her.

“
Everyday is filled with
rehearsals, interviews, and appearances.”

“
Really? That does sounds
like a lot.” How foreign it was to her pithy little Rockville life.
He had no idea how easy his life was.

“
So between all that work
and travel, it doesn’t leave much time to think, let alone
relax.”

Peter’s concentration moved from Libby for a
moment as he noticed their surroundings. They perched on the top of
a huge boulder in the heart of the glen. Every inch of the steep
rocky sides dripped with silky moss and ferns poked out their
feathery fronds. The moist scent of the glen’s lush vegetation
filled the air. A cool mist floated around them. It was Libby’s
magic place.

“
This is amazing.” Awe
colored his voice.