Understanding his meaning, Lori smiled. “I will.”
Switching guitar to the borrowed Martin, Jake said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome a hot new talent out on stage now. This young lady has an awesome future ahead of her. Give it up for Miss Riley Johnson!”
Hiding her nerves well, Riley walked smartly out on stage to a warm reception from the New York audience. Someone further back in the auditorium wolf-whistled, causing her cheeks to instantly flush scarlet under her makeup.
“Ready?” checked Jake quietly.
Smiling, Riley nodded.
“Folks, this one will be familiar if you’re a Weigh Station fan,” introduced Jake. “This is Miles From Home.”
Just as she had done during rehearsals in the dragon’s lair, Riley kept her vocals warm and husky, complimenting the slowed down, blues heavy version of the Weigh Station classic. Taking care not to drown her out, Jake kept his playing and his vocal turned down and controlled, allowing his young guest to shine. The audience loved it and, as they sang the final chorus together, many of them were already on their feet cheering.
“Thank you,” said Riley shyly, addressing the largest audience of her life.
“New York, give it up once more for Miss Riley!” roared Jake to be heard over the crowd, his heart swelling with pride at the enthusiastic reception she’d received. “Riley will be back out later on.”
With a wave, the tiny teenage rock goddess strode off stage, her nerves long gone. Still dazzled by the lights, she never noticed that there was someone standing in the shadows in the wings until she walked into them.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“No harm done,” said Lori, keeping her own voice low. “You were amazing out there. Love that song.”
“Thank you,” replied Riley, unaware of who the pregnant woman in front of her was.
Out on stage, Jake felt a fresh wave of nerves creeping through him. Stalling for some time, he took a few mouthfuls of water then turned his attention back to the auditorium.
“That young lady is the future,” he predicted with a knowing smile. “Now, to something I wrote for another special lady. This was on the debut Silver Lake record. This is Stronger Within.”
Deliberately, Jake kept his gaze on the Silver Lakers in the front row, not daring to risk a glance into the wings. If he looked and Lori wasn’t there, he would lose it; if he looked and Lori was there, he would lose it.
In his heart, he was wishing he’d thought the emotional toll of his short set through. Deep down, he’d held onto the fragile hope that Lori would be there to watch. Now, he was riddled with fears that she wouldn’t be there at all.
On impulse, he decided to deviate from his planned set. There was no way he could hold it together to play Lady Butterfly and Bonded Souls.
“Thank you,” he said humbly as Stronger Within came to a close. “I’ve three more for you but I’m going to mix up the plan.”
Reaching for his resonator, Jake continued, “Before we secured our record deal Silver Lake played weddings…… a lot of weddings. This one was frequently requested by the happy couple. I’ve not played it in a while so this could crash and burn spectacularly. This is Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N Roses.”
Hidden in the shadows, Lori was barely keeping her emotions under control. Watching Jake perform, she could sense his nerves. His personal pain was written all over his face but he was doing his best to disguise it. Beside her, a copy of Jake’s planned setlist lay on a transport case and she could see he was supposed to play Lady Butterfly next then Bonded Souls. Her heart almost broke as she realised why he wasn’t sticking with the plan.
“The boy’s struggling,” observed Jethro softly, as he appeared behind her.
“I know,” whispered Lori, a tear escaping down her pale cheek. “I just want to reach out to him. He hates doing solo stuff. He must be feeling physically sick out there right now.”
“He’ll be fine. Let him work his way through this,” counselled Jethro wisely.
Having regrouped his thoughts out on stage, Jake decided to take another gamble, largely to avoid playing Bonded Souls.
“Folks, let’s just have a bit of fun for a few minutes. There’s a new Silver Lake record due next spring and I can’t play anything from it for you but, if you don’t tell anyone, I’m going to improvise for a few minutes and there might just be some sections from some of the new material.”
By opting to play a Delta blues-influenced instrumental, Jake had skilfully bought himself a few minutes to calm his mind before his closing two numbers. The risk of incurring Maddison’s wrath was worth it.
Keeping his head bowed, he focussed on the vintage resonator and allowed the music to flow from his fingertips. Expertly, he played sections from various Silver Lake and Weigh Station classics then slotted in short snatches of Gone Today Tomorrow Forever, Back In The Day and ended it with a section from Shattered Hearts.
In front of him, he could sense the die-hard Silver Lake fans hanging on every note trying to figure out which bits were from the new unreleased material.
“Ok, back on track,” he said, switching back to his favourite acoustic. “Whenever I play for my family, this next song is always the first one my wife requests. It’s not even one I wrote. Lori, this is for you. This is Simple Man.”
As he began the distinctive intro to the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic, Jake risked a glance towards the side of the stage.
“Go on,” encourage Jethro, his hand pushing gently on the small of Lori’s back. “The boy needs to know you’re here.”
