Page 23 of Born Into Trouble (Occupy Yourself)
She nodded. “Might do so. Let’s get you set up.” She preceded them up the hallway, calling over her shoulder, “Miguel, Roderigo, don’t forget about practice tonight. Gather your baseball stuff.” To the three men following her, she said, “Youth league, takes a ton of time, but will be worth it if those two learn to be teammates.” Her tone was loving and casual, tolerant of the steady riot of noise from the two boys.
“You’ve adopted them, right?” Andy had said as much, but since neither she nor Bear were Mexican, the lack of birthparents was glaringly evident.
“Bear did. It was final about a month ago.” Even from behind he could see her head tipped down, hear a tone he couldn’t decipher enter her voice when she said, “They are his family. Those are his boys.” Framed pictures on the wall captured Benny’s attention, and he stopped stock-still in front of one. An image of his brother was on the wall. Andy, a broad grin on his face, sitting astride his bike, what looked like a dozen kids piled on with him. In front, behind, hanging from his shoulders, in his lap—they were attached to every possible location. The two boys he’d met today, a taller girl, half-hidden behind Andy’s shoulder, and a whole slew of others who all had the same look to them. Eddie’s voice carried amusement when she said from beside him, “Slate looks good with them, yeah? It’s good he loves kids.”
“He wants kids?” That was something he’d never thought about, being an uncle to his brother’s children. It seemed weird asking her a question he should know the answer to, but thought she probably already recognized, like everybody else did, how the two brothers weren’t really friends.
Eddie giggled. “Ruby’s preggers, so I hope he does.”
Twisting to face her, he stared in shock at her brilliantly happy face. “No shit?”
“Shit free.” Leaning in, she gave him a quick hug and then backed up the hall towards an open door. “Barely, but this is good.” A serious expression hit her face, and he grimaced because he knew this was about Ruby getting kidnapped. “She didn’t get pregnant until after everything, so she and Slate can just be happy about it. And they are.” Gesturing to the door, she waited. “Come on, play your guitar for me. I love music.” She grinned and teased him as he hesitated. “Sing to me, kind sir. Regale me with one of your, no doubt, many talents.”
An hour later, his fingers had a steady, deep burn stinging the tips, but he and the guys had an audience of four smiling faces he wouldn’t trade a full venue for. The oldest brother, Rafe, wandered in early during the session and sat on the floor next to Eddie, who was leaning against a bed. She already had Miguel’s head in her lap, so Rafe took possession of her shoulder, angling into her. Roddy, the middle boy, was lying on his back, head pointed towards where Benny, Vic, and Mitty were seated on the second bed, chin tipped to the ceiling so he could look at them upside down. Eddie seemed to have forgotten baseball practice and Benny didn’t remind her, not wanting to break the moment. He and the guys were jamming and flowing, rolling the lead back and forth between the guitars; Vic showed himself a taskmaster, pounding on the beatbox and sounding out the rhythm, keeping them marching ever forwards.
The door opened to show Bear with Andy walking in behind him. Eddie startled and looked at her watch, wrinkling her nose. Bear went to her first, stooping to ruffle Miguel’s hair and then cupped her jaw, lifting her mouth to his. It wasn’t sappy or stupid, didn’t make him look pussy whipped or foolish, simply a natural action that let you know this couple was affectionate like this all the time. It looked good, sweet, and beautiful. She whispered to Bear, and he grinned, kissing her again, a quick reassurance for whatever worry she’d shared.
Grabbing a well-worn six-string off a stand by the closet, Bear settled onto the bed near where Eddie sat while Andy leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. Looking at Bear, Benny asked, “Anything in particular?” Vic and Mitty laughed, and Bear grinned at them before turning back to Benny. “What?”
“Dude can play anything,” Vic said, starting a distinctive beat using the heels and palms of his hands to improvise the bass lead-in for a hugely popular song. “Check this.” Looking at Bear, he grinned, bobbing his head in time. Eyes closed, Bear listened for a minute, then he smiled, fingers moving on the strings, and he rounded the corner on the melody, picking up where Vic was in the tune. Mitty—Benny had adopted the nickname already—grinned, also falling into line.
Benny listened for a minute more, then found his place. Support to Bear’s lead, counter to Mitty’s adaptation of the bass line, Vic taking over the percussion. Perfect. Seamless. As if the four of them had been playing together forever. They went from that to an 80s classic, which got Andy’s fingers snapping, and then to a different decade, followed by another current popular selection. Eyes closed, Benny followed the lead of whoever felt moved to pull them into a song.
A discordant twang pulled Mitty’s playing to a halt, and Benny opened his eyes to see his friend nursing a finger, pulling it from his mouth to see blood welling from a cut caused by a broken string. “My cue,” Eddie said, sliding Miguel to one side, the deeply-sleeping boy not waking. Andy moved to one side, as pushing to her feet, she walked out while the musicians all stretched hands, which seemed to be painfully cramping all of a sudden.
Benny glanced at the window to see only artificial lights outside.Jesus, we’ve played all afternoon and into the night. A noise at the hallway caught his attention, and he twisted in time to catch the barest glimpse of what might be the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Dark hair trailing over her shoulders and down her back, she walked past the doorway and down the hall, calling in a musically accented voice, “Eddie, I’m home.”
Benny ripped his gaze away from the door to see Andy watching him closely, eyes narrowed.What now?He shivered, the beauty of the woman moving through him in a way he felt might mark him forever. Memories of dreams from rehab washed over him, and he closed his eyes.
Dark eyes, red lips, smiling up at me. Singing.
Fingertips touching the strings of the guitar, gliding over the frets and stopping, then moving, stopping, strumming. Humming, he sang in his head,If you’d told me I’d see her once and be hooked, I’d laugh at you. If you’d told me her beauty would call to me in the night, I’d laugh at you. If you’d promised me a lifetime of beauty like hers, I’d laugh at you. Knowing nothing is as sweet, nothing is as pure as the promise of love.
“What’s that?” Bear called across the narrow space between them.
Benny shook his head, fingers already digging for his phone. “Nothing,” he lied, and Bear laughed, clearly understanding what was going on.
“Gimme a sec,” Benny muttered, then froze in place as Bear’s fingers picked out the song as Benny had played it, then added alters to make it better, embellishing and changing phrasing in a way that made Benny’s fingers itch to play. “Wait up. Jesus. Hold on,” he said impatiently, then hit record on his note app, frustrated because when the music had him in its grip like this, wringing his heart in his chest, nothing moved fast enough to keep up. “Okay, go.”
Picking up the main melody, Benny held it steady, repeating the verse phrasing until Bear and Vic were with him, Bear adding in the alters again, changing it up even more. Then Benny opened his mouth and softly, so softly it felt like he was in church back in Enoch, whispering on the back bench with Danny, he sang.
When the last notes died away in the room, he looked up to see Bear grinning at him, lips stretched wide in his face. “Exquisite, man. Honored. Nothing more beautiful than the birth of a song.”
Benny grinned back and was looking down to save the file on his phone when he heard Eddie coming back up the hallway. Eyes to his phone, he didn’t see the two women walk into the room, so was startled when he heard the musical voice again, so close he could feel it against his skin. Looking up, he had a brief glimpse of her face before she angled away to talk to Rafe. He focused on her eyes first. Luminous and brown, they fit perfectly in her beautiful face. Then he saw her mouth, generous, full lips. Lips he wanted to feel moving under his.
She lifted her chin, and he had a flash, like a memory, but knew he’d never met her before. He was sure he’d remember her. If there were a million women lined up, he would pick her out if he’d ever been blessed to see her before. In his head, music and lights surrounded her, and he could swear he saw her crimson lips moving, smiling as she sang along to an OY song. Shaking his head, he finished with the file, tucking his phone back into his pocket. “Feels good.” He belatedly responded to Bear’s statement, picking the guitar back up, hissing through his teeth when he set his fingertips back to the strings.
“Give it a rest, Benny. You don’t have anything to prove to me, man.” Mitty scowled at him over Eddie’s head as she wrapped tape around his finger. “That was a good one to end on if you want.” Shaking his head, Mitty looked at Eddie. “Well, doc, am I gonna live?” Benny shivered at the words, not sure why they bothered him.
Laughing, she tucked his finger into his palm, closing the rest of his fingers around it. “I think so.” Twisting to put one knee to the floor, she looked up at Benny. “This is Bear’s daughter, Lucia. She’s Rafe and the boys’ sister.”
Lucia. He would definitely remember her name. Still filled with the unsettling thought that he’d met her before, he smiled and stuck out his hand. “Benny Jones.” With her chin tucked to her neck, she gave him a quick smile before lifting one hand in a wave, keeping her distance and leaving him hanging in a way no one in the room could miss. Shifting to a similar wave, he said, “And you’re Lucia. Pleased to meet you.” Definitely not a fan.Shit.
It felt as if every person in the room were staring at him. He had performed in front of hundreds of fans, lit up like a Christmas tree by spotlights, and never felt as exposed as he did at this moment.Time to run away.Jerking his gaze from her, he looked at Andy, feeling more like a kid than ever when he asked, “Ready to go home?”
