Page 57 of Love is a Drum Beat
He didn’t respond.
“Noah and I filled in for a band who’d cancelled opening for Blake. Noah would never admit to being Blake’s opener, but really, we’d just wanted to play.” She sucked in a breath. “My dad showed up at the venue. It was the first time I’d seen him in years, but I knew he was coming. He’d called me the week before and told me he’d found Mom, that she wanted to meet me, but that they needed money to travel there.”
Jo focused on the feel of Dax’s hand, the way he lent her his strength. This was a long time ago, she reminded herself. Except her dad had been calling, and she’d sent him money to go away. Again.
“My mom wasn’t with my dad. He’d lied to me. The moment he showed up backstage, I knew he was drunk. He’d come needing money… again.” It was a never-ending cycle.
“I’m sorry, Jo.”
She pasted on a fake smile. “Me too.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
“After security escorted my dad out of the building, Blake appeared. He’d heard everything. When he put an arm around me, it felt good. There was no comfort in the act, but I hadn’t wanted to be comforted. I’d wanted to be angry. To rage. And Blake let me. I could have gone to Noah, and he’d have let me rant, but eventually, he’d have calmed me down. I didn’t want to be calm.”
She rubbed her free hand over her belly. “I hated that I was pregnant at first. Okay, I hated it almost the entire time. But the moment your mom told me I had pre-whatchamacallit—”
“Preeclampsia.”
“Yes, that. When doc told me I had it, that’s when I knew I wanted this baby. I no longer care he has a deadbeat dad just like mine; there is one thing he will have that I never did. Me. This baby boy has someone who will love him and take care of him. I’m scared, Dax. So bloody scared, as Noah would say.”
Dax didn’t let go of her as their hands balanced between the chairs. “This baby is lucky to have you, Jo.”
She offered him a weak smile. “Well, the bar in my family is pretty low for what constitutes a good mom.”
“You won’t only be a good mom, you’ll be a great one. There’ll be mistakes, but mistakes are okay. But you… you’re stubborn. There’s no way you’ll be bad at this.”
She laughed. “Just because I’m stubborn?”
“No, but that’s the main feature you let people see. You’re beautiful, and I’m not talking about your looks—though you’re beautiful there as well. You care about people more than you let on.” He turned in his chair. “I see you, Jo.”
Gone was the man who’d stuttered around her, the rock star who avoided her, judged her. Though, she’d started wondering if that had all been in her head. “We’re friends, Dax. I don’t think you’re supposed to say those things to me.”
One corner of his mouth curled up, and he picked up his guitar, setting it in his lap before he started playing.
The wordless song drifted out over the sea. Jo had only ever had one person who knew her history, one person who hadn’t walked away from her. Noah.
But maybe it was okay to let someone else in.
She rubbed her hands together, missing the heat of Dax’s palm.
His glasses shone in the dark, bouncing starlight back into the universe while the rest of him was shrouded in darkness.
Jo stayed for a few songs before weariness overcame her. Dax put his guitar on the chair when he stood to help her up. He latched onto her arm and pulled.
“I’m good from here.”
He shook his head. “I’ll get you to your room. We have to be careful.”
Jo hid a smile behind a cough. It seemed Dax had been talking to his mom again.
They stopped outside her room, and Jo turned to Dax. She wrapped her arms around him, not giving him time to second guess the hug. He stiffened for a moment before hugging her back.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”
The hug ended long before she was ready, but long after was appropriate for friends. She gave him one last smile and entered her too-quiet room. This time, when she closed her eyes, it wasn’t Blake she saw or her father.
Dax filled her mind with their friendship, with their version of more.
