Page 15 of Strike a Chord
“Dax taught me to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the electric guitar,” Levi said, running over to where a very expensive looking guitar sat on it’s stand in the corner.He went to pick it up.
“Don’t touch,” Jennifer blurted out.
Levi hesitated, totally crushed.He appealed to Dax.
“It’s fine,” Dax said, taking long strides over to Levi and picking up the guitar.“Remember to sit down since this isn’t quite the right size for you.It’ll just make it easier to play.”
Levi nodded and sat down on the red velour chair, then accepted the guitar into his lap.He carefully arranged his fingers on the frets, and Dax plugged the guitar into the amp.
“Show your mom how you’re going to become a rock star,” Dax said with amusement.
It was a slow ballad, with several botched chords, but she could still tell it was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.However, it was the absolute delight and joy in her son’s eyes and on his face that really stole the show.Jennifer wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Levi that happy or excited about something.
“Do you think I could start taking guitar lessons, Mom?”he asked, letting Dax stow the guitar on the stand again.
“We can talk about it,” she said.“Gloria said she’s going to bake cookies and a pie if you want to help her.”
“What kind of pie?”Levi asked.
“She didn’t say.”
“Does it matter?”Dax asked with a chuckle.
Levi paused for a moment, then shrugged and shook his head.“No.Not really.Okay, I’m going to go help Gloria.I hope you had a good nap, Mom.”Then he headed down the stairs, his boots clomping echoing all the way down.
They waited until the door to the barn slammed shut.
“I understand your fear and wariness of me.And I know there’s nothing I can say to truly reassure you, but your son is safe with me.I would never hurt him.Or any child.Or any woman.”His eyes widened.“Or any person.”
Her lips pressed together and she nodded.“I believe you.I just … Levi’s father is in prison.And when Levi was a baby, he beat me and left me for dead, then kidnapped Levi.He drugged him so he fell asleep and didn’t make a fuss.Then he snuck into his ex-girlfriend’s house and tried to kill her and her new boyfriend.”
Dax shoved his fingers into his hair and shook his head.“Jesus.”
“Yeah, it was a nightmare.Emma and Tom dated for a while.Then she left to go teach English in China.I didn’t know they never broke up and started seeing Tom.I got pregnant and almost as soon as Levi was born things got really bad.It took a lot for me to leave him.And leaving him was what triggered him to attack me and kidnap Levi.So anytime I can’t find my son, I go a little crazy.Worst case scenario and all.”
“I’m really sorry you went through that.”
She took a seat in the red velour chair Levi had been in.“I mean it’s been ten years, and yet sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday.I don’t think I’ll ever not have a reaction like that when I can’t find my kid.”
“And I don’t blame you.”
“Have you ever been married?”
He nodded.“I was.For a brief time.”Then he sighed.“I’ve only had one great love, though.And it was an instance of wrong place, wrong time and a lot of miscommunication.We were young.Music was my life and she thought I was playing the field while on the road.I wasn’t.She got pregnant.Never told me.Lost the baby.Never told me.Then suddenly disappeared.She moved to The Netherlands on an exchange.Broke my heart.”
“But that wasn’t your wife?”
He sat down on the blue velour couch across from her.“No.Amy Shaw was never my wife.I married Sharla and we were in love, but … I think part of the reason we never worked out was because I was still hung up on Amy.I never got that closure.So it was like there was a third person in our marriage.Which wasn’t fair to Sharla.I didn’t put in the work to keep her.”
“Amy Shaw?”
He blinked at her.“Yeah, why?Do you know her?”
“Does she have a brother?”
“Yesssss.James Shaw.Do you know him?”
Her eyes went wide.“James’s wife Emma was my ex, Tom’s girlfriend.The one who he cheated on with me.”
