Page 15 of That One Touch

“Thanks.” Presley rolled his eyes at him, but Marley’s smile widened. The ying to his yang. The light to his darkness. The two of them had been inseparable since the day they were born.

He couldn’t help but notice how his mom was squeezing his dad’s hand. Or how she was mouthing ‘thank you’ to Marley when she thought he wasn’t looking.

This was clearly part of their ‘Operation: Get Pres out of the house for something other than work’ plan.

Maybe they were right. He owed it to them to at least try it. He might not have played much music in the past few years – at least not in public – but he’d written enough songs for them to fill a full set list without trying.

“Did somebody say my name?” Delilah muttered, one eye opening.

Presley bit down a smile. “About half an hour ago.”

She blinked, her other eye opening. “Why?”

It was funny how she hated being left out of anything. “We were talking about me and Uncle Marley playing some music together some time.”

“Can I play?” she asked.

“You can come watch us rehearse sometime,” he promised her. “But if we play in a bar you’d have to stay here with Granny and Gramps.”

“We could make pizza and watch movies,” his mom said. Delilah’s face immediately lit up. “And you could sleep over those nights.”

“Can I?” she asked, her gaze sliding back to her dad’s. “Can I stay over here and do that?”

So much for feeling guilty for abandoning her. Right now it felt like she was the one doing the abandoning. And she didn’t look guilty at all.

“Yeah, you can stay with them if we have a gig.”

“Yes!” She shot her hand into the air, clearly completely awake now. And happy as a clam that she got to spend even more time with her grandparents.

At least somebody was. And he was glad it was her.

Chapter

Five

This was stupid, Cassie thought a week later, as she sat in her car on a Tuesday evening.

Yes, she was lonely, and yes she needed to find new friends, but maybe this wasn’t the way of doing it.

She looked at the crumpled flyer sitting on the empty passenger seat of her car.

Wanted – keyboardist and supporting vocalist. Open Auditions, Moonlight Bar, Tuesday the 25th.

She’d picked the flier up at the coffee shop yesterday, while she was waiting for her cappuccino. And at the time she’d thought maybe this would be a good thing, because she needed friends outside of her best friend and her family.

Cassie could play the keyboard easily. They’d all had to learn an instrument at school and she’d chosen the piano. It had been useful over the years, and after the accident she’d found it mindful to play her favorite tunes while she was stuck at home, recovering from her injuries.

And yeah, she could sing too. Another skill that had been drummed into them as students. And the ad said the vocalist would only be supporting. She assumed it was harmonies rather than having to take the lead.

And she could do that.

It’s not as though you’re auditioning to be the next Taylor Swift.

Well, that was true. It was just a local band. They’d probably practice once a week and play a gig every now and then. It was a way to meet new people and fill her evenings up.

And if she was being truly honest, part of her missed the buzz of performing on a stage. Sure, it was great teaching little ones.

But sometimes – not too often – she craved that adrenaline rush of knowing she was in the spotlight. That everyone was looking at her.