Page 4 of Hard Road Home
Xander dropped thebags onto one of the beds and plopped down beside it. He could tell from her blithe, impersonal friendliness Bonnie still hadn’t gotten over the harsh words at their last meeting. Now he had to imagine her in his bed, knowing he wasn’t welcome. It was almost four years since her nan passed on. He’d thought, finally, she’d come away with him. Instead, she’d shot through to the other side of the world. Out of reach. He’d pushed for the Canadian leg of the tour with the band, only to find her gone by the time he arrived close enough to make a casual contact seem unplanned.
He could have flown directly there when he first found out where she was hiding, only it would have meant missing a visit home. And also swallowing his pride. There’d been so much happening at the time; Bonnie’s defection had been put on the backburner. Between problems within the band, which could have ended their careers, and his concern for his grandparents, he hadn’t had room in his head to deal with the way he felt about her leaving.
He hadn’t appreciated what his grandparents had done for him as a teen. Once he was out in the world he woke up fast to how lucky he’d been. He now had money to throw at them, but it was time they needed and deserved. They’d been abandoned too, by their only daughter, Christine. His mother was still out there somewhere, but she hadn’t been in touch for more than fifteen years. He had no idea where Sunny, his older brother, went. He’d gone missing around the same time, but not necessarily in the same direction. At least Sunny had a choice being already sixteen. Xander had been too young at barely eleven.
Stifling a groan, he picked up the backpack. It had everything he needed for the performance tonight. He’d stop by and let his grandparents know he was heading out. They wouldn’t be going tonight to the outdoor venue, but he’d fixed up tickets for them for the big concert. He’d organised one for Bonnie, then changed it to two in case she was seeing someone. He’d gritted his teeth when he’d spoken to his manager about it, but he suspected Roger knew the smile was fake. It was getting harder to call the damn pearly whites out on demand.
Downstairs he spent a couple of minutes with Flo, who told him Don had gone to order more wood for the fires. More likely have a natter with his mates at the hardware store. His grandfather had an arrangement with the owner to supply offcuts from the sawmill, since he’d had to give up cutting his own wood more than a decade ago.
Xander was putting his heavy coat on in the foyer when Bonnie came out of the dining room.
“I thought you’d gone.”
“I stopped to chat with Gran.”
She looked tired, her skin tight over her broad cheekbones. He’d always thought her beautiful, but there was an ethereal look about her with her fair skin contrasting with the black curly hair escaping from the closely woven plaits on each side of the centre part. French braids, she called them. He’d watched her more than once, plaiting the long strands as tight as she could to try and keep the curls under control. She’d had a sprinkling of freckles across her small nose as a teen, but they’d faded over the years. Like his. It had been something they had in common. One of many things, or so he’d thought.
“Are you all right?”
He came back to the present with a jerk. “Still a bit jet-lagged. Once I get this thing tonight out of the way, I’ll be able to relax for a few days. The guys are planning to take off to the coast. They’ll be back in plenty of time to start rehearsals for the concert.”
Her green eyes dulled. “I was sorry to hear about Tinker.”
His stomach lurched at the mention of his former bass player. He’d grown up with Tinker, in the same grade at high school, along with Leo Farrell, the other original bandmate. Even when he didn’t always like Tinker, there’d been that connection. “Yeah. It was a bit of a shock. We knew he’d been seriously playing around with the stuff. Didn’t expect an overdose.”
“I suppose you had to find someone else halfway through the tour?”
“Leo stepped up. We didn’t really need a second lead. I covered it and he did the bass.”
She looked lost for something to say. “Lucky you had him.”
“Lucky.” The whole thing had made the band look at where they were going. Another good reason for this break at home. Decisions would have to be made. After ten years, the boys were restless. Financially, none of them would ever have to work again. Tinker had pissed his money away long before his death. Xander could still feel the anger at the waste.
“Look, I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”
Chapter Two
The weather hadcleared by the time he walked into town, meeting the other guys at the bistro on the second floor of the hotel where they were staying. It was only a short set and they’d cover their biggest hits and a few Christmas carols. A taster for the main event in a couple of weeks.
A couple of weeks during which he would try and reconnect with Bonnie. He’d known her since he was eleven, brought back to his grandparents after his mother’s ex abandoned him near Byron Bay. He’d been skinny as, the only thing he owned the clothes he wore and the violin he’d been given by a pregnant Honey Appleton when he’d been three, living on the Appleton place with his mother and a bunch of other ragtag families.
It had belonged to the unborn baby’s father and was lying idle after his unexpected death. Xander had expected to have to give it back once baby Briar was older, but Briar wasn’t interested, preferring plants and animals to music. It was only later Xander appreciated the great gift he’d been given. He had a few scars from fighting to keep that violin.
Bonnie was his friend, even when he’d been a pimply teen with an unhealthy relationship with food. He’d known what it was to be hungry and Flo had fed him up out of pity for the malnourished child he’d been. Not a good combination.
He walked past the lift to the wide stairs leading up to the bistro. It had a coffee club type theme, decorated in dark browns and dimly lit with red lamps even in the middle of the day. The guys were out on the verandah, overlooking the mall. There were used plates stacked up at the end of the table and he shifted them onto a neighbouring table before he sat down. He’d spent enough time as a teen helping out at the Highland Inn to do the service thing automatically.
Leo put down his coffee and indicated the lightening sky. “The weather is clearing. At this point we are good to go on the outside venue.”
He’d seen it as he came along the mall; a raised stage with a cantilevered roof sheltering the performance area and part of the area in front. “Should be okay.”
“Have you seen Bonnie?”
“She was at the inn. I dropped off my things and spent some time with my grandparents.” They all knew Bonnie. Three of the initial band members—Xander, Leo and Tinker—were locals and the various other members of the band, who’d come and gone over the years, had got to know Bonnie on the frequent visits to the Crossing in the years before he and Bonnie had fallen out. Ben Hollis, the keyboard player, was a Sydneysider who had stuck around almost from the start when they were doing clubs. They’d picked up a new drummer, Andrew Samuels, in the US when the original Sydney recruit decided university and a career in finance was a better option. His mistake. Or maybe not.
It was only the two locals now that Tinker was gone. Back when the fledgling band first started practising in his grandparents’ back shed, Tinker had teased Bonnie about being their first official groupie. She had blushed and laughed, and even when the band expanded they’d all stayed good friends. For Xander, his feelings for Bonnie had been more. He’d thought it had been more for her, too.
“Here comes trouble.”