Page 11 of Two Hearts' Ploy

Jeff grinned when Eve gave him the thumbs up as he gazed through glass walls into the recording studio office. He’d masterfully mixed some background music for the young teenager whose mother was convinced she was a superstar, and both mother and child appeared incredibly happy after hearing the recording.

After they left the studio another twenty minutes later, Eve joined him for coffee in the lounge, where Jeff was playing some of his own music on the piano.

“That’s beautiful, Jeff,” Eve said softly. “Have you got lyrics?”

“Not yet. Writing the music comes easy, but it usually takes a while for me to come up with the right words.”

“Drew Kendall might be able to give you a hand if you find you’re writing a lot of music without lyrics.”

“Marielle McKinnon’s husband? He really wouldn’t mind helping out an amateur like me?”

“Of course not,” Eve said, huffing out a breath. “Besides, you’re no amateur. You’ve been doing this most of your life.”

He snorted. “As a hobby.”

“Like your hobby of working with your dad in home restoration and your hobby of teaching classes at the wounded warrior home along with your hobby of working here in music?” She grinned. “You’d be qualified as an expert in each, I’d dare say, judging by your expertise when you’re here working with us.”

“You know that I’ve always loved music, and I seem to have a pretty good ear.”

“Enough to make a living at working in a studio if you wanted,” Eve agreed. “You come up with some of the most unique instrumentals that I’ve ever heard.”

“That’s because my love of music extends far into the past. But I just seem to require a lot of activity in my life,” he admitted. “And I’m still in the Air Force, so teaching is something I was offered as opposed to sitting behind a desk. That’s the last thing I want to do. I get antsy since I don’t know what the future’s going to bring.”

“You don’t have any idea whether you’ll see more active duty or not I suppose? As much as Harry loves being home, I know how anxious he gets when he has no itinerary. He’s afraid to make any other plans. And now that we’re finally starting a family, he’s got to make some hard decisions about his career.”

“You and Harry share all the responsibility of housing a bunch of foster kids, so that probably worries him too since you guys seem to be here in town more to hold down the fort than anyone else in the family. Even though I have a million things to do to keep me busy, no matter what the future might bring, I can leave at the drop of a hat if I need to,” he admitted. “How’s the recording studio doing?”

“We’re hanging in there – mainly because of the music camp students’ parents who decide to have their kids cut a few more songs after hearing the freebie mix that we offer to everyone during each session.”

“You definitely do seem to draw in the business of an awful lot of the students who don’t make any of the final cuts,” he said dryly. “I ought to know, since you offer most of the recordings to me for mixing.”

Eve laughed, before responding, “Although I don’t necessarily expect to make a profit since we’re relatively new, I would like the place to pay for itself. What we need is an influx of more famous musicians. I wish I could come up with a plan to draw in some successful vocalists to record here, without them feeling like they’re doing me a favor.”

“You might need to spend a little more money on advertising to draw in some talent,” he admitted.

“Yes. That’s what Mom’s been saying. She’s offered to pitch in, but I kind of want to do this on my own.”

Eve’s mom just happened to be Danielle Reardon, a three-time Grammy-Winning artist who’d been popular in the nineties. She’d given it all up to run a landscape business in New York before running into Jake Loughlin, the man she’d been in love with as a teenager. After marrying, they’d taken his hotel business empire to a whole new level, despite settling down here in Crystal Rock, where they ran the Dragonfly Pointe Inn.

Her daughter Eve had inherited her mother’s talent and had won a few Grammys herself. But Eve preferred her life here in Crystal Rock, where she assisted her husband Harry and his entire family, made up of several foster children. The Giordanos, Harry’s foster parents, had eventually adopted each child, just as they had Harry.

Jeff’s oldest sister, Lucy, was married to Gabe Giordano. They were both pretty amazing people.

Curious, Jeff asked, “What does Harry have to say?”

“Not much. Harry’s never critical cause he’s my most adoring fan,” she admitted, batting her lashes.

Jeff laughed before standing from the piano. “I guess I’ll be on my way.”

“Would you like me to talk with Drew?”

“Sure. Why not?” he answered. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Thanks, Jeff. You’re becoming a master at this, even better than most of the guys that I’ve hired. How would you feel about mixing some music just for me? I’ve got a new single that I’d like to record. Every once in a while, I put out something new because I don’t want to be forgotten. I might suddenly decide to go on tour again. Especially if Harry returns overseas.”

“I can understand why you might need the distraction. And I’d be happy to assist with your music. But what if you’ve got a kid of your own by then?”

“I don’t have to do any kind of touring on a big scale. If they’re young, I could take my kids along. It’s just a thought for now.”

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