His heart swelled and his fingers faltered as he saw Lori standing there.
“Well mama told me,” began Jake, his voice strong and pure.
Barely able to tear his eyes from her, he poured every last fragment of his soul into the song.
“Baby be a simple kind of man,” he sang, allowing the final notes to linger.
He wasn’t dreaming. Lori really was standing at the side of the stage. Lori was really standing at the side of the stage and she was smiling. With a glance out at the crowd, for a split second, he thought of darting off stage to hug her but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to let her go if he did.
As the cheers from the fans died down, Jake said, “New York, you’ve been fantastic. It’s been an honour to play for you tonight. Who’s looking forward to hearing Garrett Court in a few minutes?”
A thunderous roar surged back at him.
“Just one or two of you,” Jake joked. “A Silver Lake show always ends with Flyin’ High. Seems like a good one to end on. Sing along if you know the words.”
The capacity crowd didn’t disappoint and Jake was thankful for their support with the vocals. He could feel Lori’s eyes on him; could sense her smile. His emotions were in turmoil as he went into autopilot to finish off his set.
She had come.
She was there.
He still had a chance…….
“Thank you, New York, and good night,” called out Jake. “You’ve been amazing. Garrett Court’s out next!”
Without a backward glance towards the fans, Jake rushed straight into the wings.
For a brief second, he paused then, seeing the tears in Lori’s blue eyes, he wrapped his arms around her, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair and her perfume.
“I love you, li’l lady,” he whispered into her ear. “And I am so so sorry…”
“Sh,” she said softly, resting her tear-stained cheek on his warm chest. “Later.”
Wrapped in each other’s arms, they stood there oblivious to the hive of activity going on around them.
Feeling Jake’s heart pounding against her cheek, Lori felt herself relax. Even as she’d stood at the side of the stage, she’d harboured doubts that she could truly forgive him for the whole Nicole incident. Wrapped in his arms, she knew in her heart that they could work their way through things.
“I love you, rock star,” she said quietly, smiling up at him.
“I love you too, Mz Hyde. I thought you weren’t coming….”
Jake paused mid-sentence as a realisation struck him.
Eyes wide, he ran his hand down her ribcage and rested it on her prominent baby bump.
“Lori!” he gasped. “You’re….”
“I know,” she giggled nervously.
Hugging her tight, Jake felt a tear slide down his cheek.
“How? When?” he asked, struggling to take it all in.
“If after two kids, you don’t know how,” teased Lori, her own cheeks glistening with fresh tears. “This not so little Power Pack is due in the spring.”
“But that means you were…… when…” he spluttered.
“Later,” said Lori, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt. “Plenty of time to talk later. You’ve a show to play first.”
Reluctantly, Jake took a step back from their embrace but kept one arm protectively around her still slender waist.
“You promise you’re not going anywhere?”
“Jake,” she said sincerely. “I’ll be right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
A cough behind them brought both of them back to reality. It was Jethro.
“Boys and girls, there’s a show to play,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Jake, you’ve five minutes.”
Nodding, Jake bent to kiss his wife on the forehead.
“I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be right here,” she said, squeezing his hand. “We’ll be right here.”
Less than ten minutes later, the house lights dimmed again. In the wings, Jake stood beside Lori, still reluctant to leave her side. Guitar in hand, Garrett was pacing restlessly, his normally tanned face pale and gaunt.
“I’m going to be sick,” he declared, passing his guitar to Jake.
Before anyone could say a thing, the older man had darted down the hallway away from the stage.
“Is he going to be ok?” asked Grey, staring after their nervous friend.
“He’ll be fine once he’s out there,” stated Jethro with more conviction than any of them shared. “Give him a minute or two.”
A couple of minutes later, Jethro gave the nod to start Garrett’s intro music. It worked like a charm. Within a few seconds, Garrett was back at the side of the stage, still looking pale. Without a word, he accepted his guitar back from Jake and walked purposefully out on stage.
The fans in the auditorium went wild.
Without looking up, Garrett began to play the opening instrumental. In front of him, the capacity crowd fell silent. At the end of his third number, Garrett finally addressed the audience, “Thank you. It’s an honour to be here tonight in this beautiful theatre.” He paused then said, “I’d like to invite a few friends out here to help me celebrate the album launch. If you’ve not picked up a copy yet, there are some for sale at the merch desk in the foyer.”
Wrestling with his nerves, Garrett said, “Mr Power, get your butt back out here!”
With a final squeeze of Lori’s hand, Jake bounded out on stage to a warm welcome from the fans.
“This is Darkest Of Nights,” said Jake as he took up his position at the mic stand to Garrett’s left.
At the side of the stage, Grey and Paul stood beside Lori, waiting for their cue to join Jake and Garrett. To one side, Riley sat crouched against the wall looking almost as nervous as Garrett had a few minutes before.
“You ok?”
