Page 123 of Songbird: Black Kite
“I, uh, have something for you,” I started, suddenly awkward. When the idea had come to me last night, I’d been really excited about it. A couple of phone calls later, and I had exactly what I was hoping for, sitting in my inbox. But now that it was time to show Cooper, I was suddenly nervous. Was this too much? Too soon? What the hell was I even thinking, flashing my celebrity around so brazenly?
But it was too late now, because she was staring at me with wide, eager eyes, like I was offering her the Hope diamond.
Not wanting to drag it out any more, I held up the iPad, tapped the necessary buttons to navigate to my email, and started the video I’d been sent, my heart in my throat as I waited.
“Hey there, Cooper,” came the voice, sounding strange through the speaker on the device, but recognizable none the less.
“Holy shi- uh, smokes! That’s Remington Ford!” She looked at me, mouth hanging open and her face a concerning shade of gray. “Remington Ford just said my name.”
“Remi here. Just wanted to send you a quick shoutout. Seems you know a friend of mine, Hawk. He reached out and said that you and your friend Jillian are fans ofThe Gun Show. Me and the guys just wanted to thank you for your support. We love making music for you all and we’d love to see you out at a show one of these days. Tell Hawk to hit me up for tickets, alright? Take care, Cooper, and I hope to see you real soon.”
“Oh, my God! Oh, myfreakingGod!” Cooper squealed, the sound something I hadn’t heard outside of a concert setting in a really long time. “Jillian! Did you see that? Remington Ford just said our names!Ahhhh!”
She squealed again, this time jumping around the kitchen with Jillian, the two of them chattering back and forth far too fast for me to follow.
“How?” Cooper finally asked when she’d calmed down enough to take a breath. “How did you do that? How did youknow?”
“I saw the posters in your room the other day,” I offered, watching her as she practically vibrated. “I’ve met Remi and the guys a couple times, so I called him up. I asked, and he answered. Simple.”
“You called him up?” She placed her hand to her forehead, her whole body sort of rocking back and forth, and I wondered if I’d have to catch her. “You just happened to have the number for the greatest rock star in the world in your pocket?”
“Hey, now,” I said, more than a little offended, but the next words she said wiped away any resentment I might have felt toward Remi in an instant.
“This is the greatest day of my life!”
Yeah. I did that.
Chapter seventy-one
Hawk
Present
“Yourserverwillberight with you.”
The hostess who had shown us to our table smiled at me, then turned to leave, but not before casting one more withering glare at Wren.
It was something I had noticed since we had left her place a little over thirty minutes ago. The people in this town were weird as fuck. Every single person that we passed all seemed to stare at Wren. The couple walking their dog outside her house paused their conversation, their eyes lingering on Wren and me as I helped her into the truck. The man and woman exiting the restaurant just as we were about to enter both actually froze halfway out the door, their surprised faces turning our way before they both scuttled off, their heads bent close together as they whispered furiously.
And then there was our hostess, a young woman who had seemed polite and professional enough when I’d first entered, but whose demeanor had shifted rapidly once she noticed Wren standing by my side.
I didn’t understand it, but I really didn’t fuckin’ like it.
“This place is so fancy,” Wren said, reaching out to run her fingers over the heavy silverware lined up on the table.
“It was the nicest place I could find without leaving the time zone,” I joked, but that wasn’t really far from the truth.
The town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, was not exactly a hive of high society and bustling entertainment. The best restaurant in town was situated on the main floor of an old hotel, something with colonial vibes and dated black-and-white photos on every wall. The restaurant tried to pass itself off as somewhat Italian, but only ended up looking like it was trying too hard.
But they had clean plates and low lighting, and I was more than happy to sit at the table and stare at Wren in her killer dress no matter how shitty the food might end up being.
We sat awkwardly, like neither of us could come up with a way to start the conversation, so instead we just stared, Wren playing with the silverware, me, drumming a gentle beat on the table with my fingertips.
There was a soft hum of conversation around us, every person in the restaurant cutting their eyes to our table when they thought I wasn’t looking.
And for the first time in a very long time, I didn’t think it wasmethat they were looking at.
“That was very nice of you,” she said quietly after the waiter had introduced himself and then gave Wren an assessing look that held more surprise than contempt, so I didn’t feel the need to feed him my fist. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Cooper that excited.”
