“I don’t want to let either of you down,” whispered Riley, roughly wiping away her tears.
“And you won’t,” he assured her. “I’m going upstairs to grab us both a coffee and some water. You work out what song we’re starting with when I come back.”
Riley nodded then bent to pick up the fallen lyric sheets.
“Riley,” said Jake as he reached the door to the dragon’s lair. “I know you can do this. I know what you’re capable of delivering. Trust me, you’re going to nail this.”
A few minutes later, as he poured two coffees from the pot in the music store’s small kitchen, Jake heard Garrett approaching.
“How’s our little songbird?” asked the older musician as he fetched a mug for himself.
“Nervous,” replied Jake. “But she’ll get there. She won’t let either of us down.”
“How nervous?” quizzed Garrett a little too swiftly.
“Almost as nervous as you,” joked Jake. “I get the feeling this is more than just a show to her.”
“What do you mean?”
“She sees this as her way out,” revealed Jake. “Doesn’t want to go back home.”
“She wants to stay here?”
“Not necessarily here with you but she wants to stay in New York,” replied Jake, stirring the coffees on the countertop in front of him. “Kind of sad really. You could do worse than help her out though. Do what we did with Todd. Sponsor her through school. Pay it forward.”
“Why in God’s name would she want to stay here with me?”
“Because she’d do anything to please you,” stated Jake bluntly. “I’d best get back downstairs. Think about it though. Kid deserves a break.”
The crystal clear vocal of Being Silent greeted Jake when he re-entered the dragon’s lair. He paused just inside the door, not wanting to disrupt Riley’s concentration. There was so much raw talent in her young voice that the teacher’s heart in him swelled with pride. She hit and held the long lingering final note of the song and he smiled.
“Told you that you could do it,” commented Jake, causing Riley to whirl round. “You sing like that tomorrow night and you’ll be able to hear a pin drop. That’s spellbinding, Miss Riley.”
“Thanks,” she said, blushing as she accepted the mug of coffee from him. “I love that one. Love the lyrics.”
“Lyrics are awesome,” he agreed with a nod. “Garrett’s really come up with something special there.”
“Can we do Young Eyes Old Soul again?” asked Riley hopefully.
Nodding, Jake said, “Coffee first then we can do it as many times as you like.”
“Thanks,” she replied with a smile. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. Singing and playing has been the dream since I was in kindergarten.”
“How old were you when you picked up a guitar?” quizzed Jake, curious to learn more about her background.
“Sixteen,” replied Riley, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “My grandma taught me how to play the piano when I was little. She had one that she got when she got married. A wedding gift from my grandfather. I never knew him. He died before I was born. Got killed in Vietnam. Airforce.”
“You play anything else?”
Riley shook her head, “A bit of bass if I have to.”
“I suck at playing bass,” Jake confessed with a grin. “Ask Grey when you see him tomorrow.”
“How old were you when you started playing?”
“About fifteen or sixteen,” revealed Jake. “I didn’t start singing till I was in college.”
Shyly, the teenager said, “I’d love to do a duet with you sometime.”
“A duet?” teased Jake, noticing that Riley’s cheeks were scarlet. “With me?”
“Yeah,” she giggled. “I was at the show in Baltimore. I saw Ellen Lloyd and Tori up there with you and thought “I want to do that”. Silly, I know.”
“Not at all,” said Jake, flattered by her admission. “What would you want to duet on?”
“Oh, tough one!”
“Well, you’re the one who’s given it some thought,” teased Jake with a mischievous grin. “Pick a song and we’ll give it a go. Just for fun.”
He could almost hear Riley mentally flicking through the catalogue of songs in her repertoire. After a moment or two, she said, “Would you be offended if it’s not a Silver Lake song?”
“Of course not!”
“Can we try Miles From Home?”
“Good choice,” agreed Jake, setting his coffee cup down and reaching for guitar. “I duetted it with Ellen about five years ago.”
“I know,” confessed Riley. “I’ve got that CD in my car.”
“So, you know the words and the split?”
Riley nodded.
Opting to play a slightly slower, bluesy version, Jake began to play the intro to the Weigh Station classic then nodded to Riley to come in. Picking up on his lead, she sang with a voice oozing with pure honey tones. Soft and warm, Riley’s powerful vocal echoed with emotion as she sang the first verse. Together, they sang the chorus then, in a change of plan, Jake nodded to her to lead on the third verse before letting her sing the final chorus on her own.
“Awesome!” he declared when they were done. “Love what you did there. Great job, Miss Riley.”
“I love that song. I can relate to it only too well,” she said with a smile.
On impulse, Jake suggested, “Want to do it tomorrow night? I can add it into my set.”
“Wouldn’t Garrett be mad that I’m singing with you as well as him?”
“Not if I say that singing a duet with me will help calm your nerves about singing for him later on,” Jake countered, genuinely seeing the sense in taking that approach with his former student.
“You really think he’d be ok with it all?”
Jake nodded.
“Then let’s ask him,” giggled Riley, reaching for her lyric sheets. “Guess we better get back to these. Young
