Page 86 of When the Storm Breaks
Chapter Twenty-Six
Shiloh
The next morning,I met Landry at a coffee shop on Melrose Place. I hadn’t wanted to go to the house he shared with Dean and since Bastian was in Europe, it didn’t feel right to invite my brother to a house that wasn’t mine. When I arrived at the white stucco Mediterranean style cafe with ivy climbing the walls, Landry was waiting for me at a sidewalk table under a black and white umbrella. When he saw me, he stood up and waited for me to reach him then pulled me into a hug. “I missed you.” I squeezed my eyes shut to keep the tears at bay.
“Missed you too.”
He released me and we took our seats across from each other at the small wrought iron table. Landry’s hair was dark but not black like mine and his eyes were more blue than gray, hidden behind Ray Ban Wayfarers. We looked a lot alike, enough to tell we were siblings. His dark hair was cut in short layers, kind of spikey on top, and we had the same smile. We both looked more like our mom and nothing like Rhett.
“You look great,” he told me.
“So do you. Really good.” He wore a floral-patterned button-up he wouldn’t have been caught dead in as a teenager, untucked over frayed khaki shorts. I hadn’t seen him since January when I’d asked him to be my date for the Grammy Awards. Big mistake. Bastian had been the one to pluck Acadian Storm out of obscurity and give us our big break, and when we opened for him on his world tour five years ago, Landry had worshiped the ground Bastian walked on. Now he resented Bastian. So rather than being a joyous occasion, it had been fraught with tension and animosity.
Landry drummed his fingers on the table, probably tapping out whatever beat was playing in his head. For as long as I could remember, that had been Landry’s tell sign when he was nervous. I checked under the table and sure enough his leg was bouncing up and down. Which made me think this wasn’t just a friendly coffee date or a chance to catch up after five months of not seeing each other.
Before I could question him, a server turned up at our table. Landry ordered a breakfast burrito and a cold brew, and I ordered a sparkling espresso with orange zest and an egg white omelet. I wasn’t in Texas anymore. And I was trying my best not to think about it or wonder what Brody was doing right this very minute.
“All set to conquer Europe?” Landry asked with a smile after the server left.
“Pretty sure it’s already been conquered. I’m nervous but excited.” Which was accurate. I’d missed performing and was looking forward to getting back on the stage.
“You have nothing to be nervous about. They’re going to love you.”
I loved him for saying that. We made small talk until our food arrived, neither of us saying much of anything important.
“Gus left the band.”
I stared at him, thinking I’d misheard. “What? But Gus… why would he leave?”
“It all got too much for him.”
“God. I’m sorry, Landry. Are you okay?”
“It wasn’t a shock. It was a long time coming. But yeah, it hurt. We replaced him. And Noel said he’d stay.”
Noel was a keyboard player who had joined us for my final tour with Acadian Storm.
“We need you, Shy.”
I opened my mouth to protest. He held up his hand. “Just hear me out. I’m not here to ask you to come back to the band. But Dean … he needs a break, man. He’s good. You know how good he is.”
I knew how good he was, but I also knew how bad he could get and how toxic he’d made everything. His talent had taken a backseat to his volatile personality.
“One of us had to go, Landry. You know that. I mean… you know I’d do anything to help you but as long as you’re in a band with Dean, I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“You don’t have anyone to open for you on the final leg of your tour yet.”
I stared at him, not completely grasping what he was getting at.
“Let us open for you.”
Oh my God. No. No fucking way. “Landry… I would do it for you, you know I would but…” I shook my head. “No. I can’t do it.”
“Shy, you broke up the band and now we’re scrambling to pick up the pieces. You owe us.”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t fucking believe he’d just said that. “I owe you? Wow. You sound exactly like Rhett.”
“Fuck that. I’m nothing like him. I was there for you. I was there for you through it all.”
