Sinners On Tour 01 Backstage Pass (34 page)

Myrna shook her head. “She obviously loves her son.”

“Yeah, now that he’s famous. She completely ignored Brian as a kid. She was too concerned about Kara’s blossoming beauty.

Do you know who Kara is? Brian’s little sister.”

“Brian told me she died.”

Trey nodded, a deep sadness in his eyes. “When Kara died, Claire’s competition for best-looking in the family was gone. I think she was relieved that her daughter would never surpass her in the modeling world. And Malcolm is the same way with Brian. It’s strange to watch. And it eats Brian alive. He always makes excuses for the man.”

“Aren’t parents happy when their children are more successful than they are?”

“These aren’t normal parents, Myrna. We’re talking about a pair of highly successful people beyond their prime. Now the reason I’m even bringing up Brian’s family baggage, at risk of a serious ass whippin’, is because Brian saw fit to introduce you to his parents. That’s a big deal for him, you know. He’s never opened a relationship to criticism from them. He identified you as being worthy of their approval. Approval even he can’t seem to obtain.”

“You mean he’s never introduced a romantic interest to his parents before?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Wel , why didn’t you just say that?”

“Because if I cal ed you his ‘romantic interest,’” he said, using finger quotes, “you’d probably go hide in the bathroom again.”

“I wasn’t hiding.”

“Yeah, uh-huh, okay. Myrna, you real y shouldn’t blow this thing with Brian. There wil come a time when that fortified wal of yours wil turn him away. I mean a guy can only take so much abuse.”

She scowled at him.

“Lucky for you, he’s a glutton for punishment.” Trey grinned. He paused and ran a finger along one eyebrow. “And he doesn’t like guys.”

Myrna’s eyes widened. Was Trey implying what she thought he was implying?

Trey laughed. “I’m kidding, Myrna.”

“Trey, you better get dressed,” Sed said. He leaned against the stal partition next to Myrna.

“If you tolerated his parents tonight, it would mean a lot to him, Myrna,” Trey said.

Myrna nodded. She’d pretend to be Brian’s doting girlfriend for his parents’ sake, but he’d owe her one. Trey winked at her and headed for the dressing area.

“What were you two discussing?” Sed asked. “Looked serious.”

“Parents.”

Sed sighed. “Mine didn’t show up. Both of them had to work.” He leaned closer to her and grinned. “So al those squats I’ve been doing have real y been paying off, huh?”

“What?”

“Don’t tel me you didn’t check out my ass when I was in the shower. You’d be lying.”

She snorted with laughter. “Yeah, Sed. I can’t stop thinking about it. Thoughts of your perfect ass wil consume my every waking moment, interrupt my dreams and send me into an insatiable lust even Brian won’t be able to satisfy.”

“I could offer my assistance.” He ran his fingers over her lapel, his eyes trained on her neckline.

“Only if you want to lose some teeth,” she said, brandishing a fist at him.

He laughed. “You know it turns me on when you play hard to get.”

“Try
impossible
to get.” She patted his recently shaved cheek and headed toward the locker room exit, hoping Brian’s parents wouldn’t notice that she’d just spent twenty minutes in the locker room with their son and two other guys.

She found Claire laughing hysterical y with Eric. Claire wiped tears from the corner of her eye and gave Eric a heartfelt squeeze.

“I’m going to adopt you one of these days.”

“If you adopt me, I can’t marry you,” he said, grinning ear to ear.

“Hey, wait until I’m dead before you start hitting on her,” Malcolm said, drawing his wife away from Eric and against his side.

Claire started when she noticed Myrna standing at her elbow. “Oh, you’re back,” she said. “So, how did you meet my son?”

Myrna wondered if Brian had already told her. She knew better than to get caught in a lie, but if Brian had already lied about it, then he’d be the one who looked bad. She smiled, deciding to be as vague as possible.

“I met him in a hotel lounge. I was at a conference for work and he…” Why
had
the band been in the hotel that night instead of staying on the tour bus?

“…was staying in the hotel suite the concert venue provided free of charge,” Eric supplied. “Nothing better than a long bath after being on the road for a month.”

At Eric’s mention of the hotel bath, Myrna’s lungs stopped functioning.

Claire giggled.

“I hear you,” Malcolm said.

Myrna decided it would be better if she asked the questions. “So I assume the two of you have seen Sinners in concert before.

They put on a fantastic live show, don’t they? The best.”

Eric beamed at Myrna’s compliment and shifted from Claire’s to Myrna’s side. Myrna hoped he didn’t start with the perpetual fondling. She glanced up at him and found him behaving himself for a change. Claire didn’t look too pleased to have lost Eric’s undivided attention. Trey obviously understood this woman quite wel . Myrna made a note to never look more attractive than Brian’s mother while in her presence.

“We’ve seen them quite a few times,” Malcolm said. “They sound a hel of a lot better than they did when they were making noise out in the garage as teenagers.”

Claire giggled again and patted her husband’s chest. “They were awful, weren’t they?”

“And now they’re one of the most popular and talented bands out there,” Myrna said, stil smiling.

Eric touched the smal of Myrna’s back, as if trying to protect her from impending doom.

“Just because you’re popular doesn’t mean you’re talented,” Malcolm said, scowling.

If Myrna had a cotton swab, she would have cleaned out her ears. He didn’t real y just say that, did he? Eric’s fingers gripped the back of her jacket. Was he trying to keep her from jumping Brian’s father and kicking the shit out of him? Probably a good move on Eric’s part.

“They just don’t make music like they used to,” Malcolm added.

“Thank God,” Myrna grumbled.

“I mean Sed doesn’t even sing,” Malcolm said. “He just screams and growls.”

Eric’s fingers gripped Myrna’s jacket even tighter.

“And Brian solos constantly,” Malcolm continued, the furrow in his brow deepening. “He wouldn’t know a good riff if it bit him in the ass.”

“Malcolm…” Claire said in warning, but she was grinning to herself in agreement.

“And why in the hel do you need three bass drums, Sticks?” Malcolm asked. “You only have two feet. And fourteen cymbals? I mean real y. What’s the point?”

“Different sounds,” Eric said quietly.

“You’re a fuckin’ drummer. Your job is to keep the beat, not make different
sounds
.”

“Eric is the best drummer in the business,” Myrna said, her blood pressure sky high. “Sed has a beautiful voice and Brian’s solos are amazing!”

“Yeah, wel , it sounds like a bunch of noise. It ain’t music.”

“What the hel do you know, you washed-up has-been?” Myrna sputtered. “Why don’t you step off your self-erected pedestal and offer your son some support? You don’t want him to succeed, do you? He thinks you want him to appreciate his success, but in reality, you didn’t want him to surpass you. Too late, O’Neil. He already has.”

“Did you just cal me a ‘has-been’?” Malcolm asked.

She doubted he’d heard anything else she’d said. The important stuff about his son had apparently bounced off his overly large ego. Frustrated to the limits of her tolerance, she shoved Eric away and spun on her heel. Sed, who was standing directly behind her, caught her by the shoulders to steady her. And beside Sed stood Trey and… Brian.

Shit!

From Brian’s stunned expression, she gathered he’d overheard her tirade.

“I’m sorry.” She ducked her head so she didn’t have to see his face. What was she thinking? Cal ing a rock legend—Brian’s
father
—a washed-up has-been. To his face. She wouldn’t take it back though. She’d meant every word. “We’l talk later, Brian. I’l go wait on the bus.” Maybe she could think of the right thing to say in the interim. She was at a complete loss at the moment.

“Why?” Brian asked.

“You heard what she cal ed me,” Malcolm bel owed.

“I also heard what you said.” Emotion made Brian’s voice waver, but Myrna stil couldn’t garner the courage to look at him. “If you don’t want to be here, you should leave.”

Malcolm grunted.

“Is it that hard for you to be proud of him?” Trey asked.

“Trey, stay out of this,” Brian said. “He doesn’t have to support everything I do.”

“But he should,” Myrna murmured. She wondered how it was possible to produce words with her entire foot in her mouth.

“You don’t want to watch the show either?” Brian asked Myrna.

“Of course I want to watch the show.”

“I never said I didn’t want to be here,” Malcolm added.

“It’s settled then. Everyone has to suffer through my solos for the next hour.”

Myrna reached for Brian’s hand, but he threw her off and stalked out of the dressing room. Before she could start after him, Trey caught her arm. “Thanks for saying something,” he whispered. “He’d have kicked my ass for that.”

“I should have kept my mouth shut.” Now she had to fix things. She didn’t want to be remembered as Brian’s crazy ex-girlfriend who’d cal ed Malcolm O’Neil a has-been.

Trey grinned. “You just showed how much you care. Brian wil be stoked when he cools down and realizes it.”

“I don’t think he’s stoked that I made an ass of myself in front of his parents.”

She glanced at Malcolm and Claire who were talking with their heads close together as they fol owed Eric out of the dressing room.

“The name-cal ing was a bit much,” Trey said.

“And who instigated the entire thing?” She jabbed Trey in the chest with her finger. “You. I wouldn’t have gone off if you hadn’t alerted me to the situation.”

“I’ve been wanting to tel off Brian’s father for years.”

Trey started after the rest of the group and Myrna fol owed, her mind racing. “How can I make this up to him?”

“Do you want my honest opinion?” Trey asked.

“No, Trey, I want you to lie to me.”

He grinned at her crookedly. “If you can get Malcolm to admit Brian is a great guitarist, I think he’l forgive you.”

“That should be easy enough. Al he has to do is listen to Brian play.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Do you think I can talk Malcolm into joining Brian on stage while he’s soloing in the middle of the show?”

“Doubtful.” Trey paused and took her by the arm, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Maybe if the band plays a tribute to Winged Faith. Malcolm’s problem is he’s stuck in the seventies. He’s an amazing musician but refuses to change, which puts him out of a job.”

“That might work. Does the band know any Winged Faith songs?”

Trey’s eyebrow arched. “Do you real y have to ask? Every band knows every Winged Faith song ever written.”

She chuckled. “True.” Problem was, she doubted that Malcolm would agree to any suggestion she made. She squared her shoulders. She just wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Trey laughed and tugged her into motion again.

She glanced up at him. “What?”

“The look of determination on your face. Papa Sinclair won’t know what hit him.” He hugged her against his side.

When they entered the backstage area, Myrna and Trey went in opposite directions. She spotted Brian near the stairs behind the stage. He always had preshow jitters, but tonight he looked physical y il .

She considered going to talk to him, but figured she’d probably make things worse and he didn’t need the added anxiety right before their set. Trey, now equipped with his yel ow and black guitar, approached Brian and pounded him on the back vigorously. He leaned close and said something in Brian’s ear. Brian smiled, seeming to relax slightly, and whispered something back.

Trey was so good to Brian. She loved Trey for it and was jealous of him at the same time. She didn’t quite understand that jealousy part. Trey had always been there for Brian. She should be happy that he had that kind of friend. And in a way she was. In another way, she wished she was the one who Brian depended on.

Brian’s eyes met hers across a sea of sound equipment. He sucked his top lip into his mouth and lowered his eyes to inspect his shoes. Her heart twisted and tears prickled her eyes.

He couldn’t even look at her.

Was this the end? God, she hoped not.

But even if he never forgave her, she wanted to patch things up between him and his father. She’d put her psychology degree into ful operational mode.

She continued around the stage, hurting more than she should. Why did she care if Brian no longer wanted to be with her? She never expected him to be a permanent fixture in her life, but this was too soon. She wasn’t ready to give him up. Their three months weren’t over. She stil had six more weeks of data to col ect for her project.

Myrna stood next to Malcolm on the floor to the side of the stage. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a look of tried patience on his face. Myrna bit her tongue and turned her attention to the stage. A camera crew stood ready to film a live video the band would be releasing soon. They’d chosen their hometown for the video because the crowd was guaranteed to be pumped up.

When the stadium lights went down, the roar of the crowd was so deafening Myrna covered her ears with both hands.

Knock ’em dead, guys.

The curtain dropped and blinding white streams of fireworks fel behind the stage. The bril iant light-curtain silhouetted Brian, who stood on a platform behind and above the drum kit wailing on the intro to “Gates of Hel .” Myrna’s heart thudded with a mixture of pride and anticipation. Claire clapped excitedly. Malcolm didn’t move a muscle. The crowd erupted in chaos.

Plumes of fire shot into the air on either side of the drum kit the instant the rest of the band joined Brian. The crowd screamed their approval.