Page 72 of Wylder and the Almost Rockstar
Just when she was desperate enough to consider going out for a run, Logan stepped through the front door looking pale and terrified.
“What happened?” Wylder met them in the foyer. Judging by the looks on the twins’ faces, it wasn’t good news.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Luke moved to sit on the couch, dropping his head into his hands. Logan and Sebastian followed silently.
“I’m Bruce Cook.” The older man reached to shake her hand. “You must be Wylder. I’ve heard a lot about you, young lady.”
She nodded and stepped aside to invite their uncle in, though she had a lot of things she’d like to say to the man who should have stepped in to be a father to his three nephews when their father died. But it wasn’t her place to tell him off.
“I’d like to thank Mr. Anderson for allowing my boys to stay here under the radar.” Bruce held his fedora hat in his hand, looking out of place and eager to leave.
“It’s my pleasure.” Becks stood leaning against the kitchen counter, his guitar propped against the patio door.
“Please, have a seat.” Wylder guided Bruce to the chair opposite his nephews.
Wylder joined Becks at the kitchen counter to give them some privacy. Logan watched her cross the room, not taking his eyes off her until she sat at the bar.
“It could have gone better,” Sebastian said. Wylder heard the note of panic in his voice. She knew it was killing him that he couldn’t fix this for his brothers.
“They’re dropping us,” Luke’s voice grated like gravel in his throat. “It’s over.”
“It’s not official yet,” Logan interjected. “The PR team has decided to back away for the moment to see how the rumors will play out in the press.”
“It’s the kiss of death. We all know that.” Luke scrubbed a hand over his face.
“They were optimistic.” Logan sighed. “But they’re worried.”
“Let me guess.” Becks stepped into the living room and took a seat beside the brothers. “They have set up some sort of interview with a crazy story that just might work?”
“Yeah.” Luke leaned forward. “They want us to say I went to Defiance Academy to sing for Logan to help him out of a tough situation. That even Wylder didn’t know it was me.”
“It’s not a bad plan, Luke.” Bruce stood, nodding to Sebastian. The two hadn’t exchanged a word. “Let me know how it goes. You boys know I’m always just a phone call away if you need legal counsel.” He put his hat back on. “I’ll see myself out.”
Wylder watched Bruce walk away without a care for what happened to Luke’s career. A career that belonged just as much to Logan.
“What about the switcheroo situation?” Becks pointed from Logan to Luke. “They aren’t going to like… let you keep doing that?”
“Of course not.” Logan sighed. “But they wouldn’t discuss a plan for the future.”
“They’re throwing us to the lions to see if we survive.” Luke scoffed with a shake of his head. “If we come out the other side with a shred of our career intact, then they might throw us a bone.”
“It’s a scary place to be,” Becks said softly. “I’ve been right where you are with my career on the line and no one in my corner but my friends and family.”
“What did you do?” Logan asked. “We’ve got nothing, so we’ll take whatever advice you’ve got.”
“Bad hats and all.” Luke nodded with a wry grin.
“You wish you could pull off my cool hats.” Becks grinned.
“You wish you knew what cool was.” Luke leaned back, the tension easing from his shoulders.
“You want to know what worked for me?” Becks took on a rare serious tone. “The truth. In the beginning, I went along with the PR scheme my team cooked up. Adding one lie on top of another until I didn’t know what the truth was anymore. I almost lost the most important person in my life because of it. In the end, I learned a valuable lesson. A lie is never the answer for a lie. Your fans deserve to know the truth. They deserve to know why you’ve made the choices you’ve made that have led you to this point. Don’t let them think for a single moment that you’ve done this for the fame, fortune, and glory. Tell them the truth, and if they love you, they’ll stick with both of you. And if it all falls apart, and the label drops you, you move on and start over. I promise, it won’t be the end of the world. Just the beginning of something new.”
“Who knew SexyBecksy could be so… profound?” Luke gave him a friendly smirk.
“It comes out when you least expect it.” Wylder deadpanned.
“I’ll leave you with one more piece of advice.” Becks grabbed his guitar and his phone. “The truth is what matters to me, and it set my career back on the right path, but you guys have to decide what really matters to you.” With that, Becks dropped one of his least ridiculous cowboy hats on his head and walked out the front door.
