“I always wanted to see inside this place,” Rick said. He set up his drums without looking at anything.
“All right. Out with it. What’s with you?” I asked.
Bobby plucked out a funky bass line and ignored us both. The look on his face pointed out that the acoustics of the old greenhouse were much more interesting than some awkwardness.
Rick shrugged. “So, that’s the woman I saw you with at the party?”
His casualness rubbed me the wrong way. “Do you know Cora?”
“Do you?” Bobby interrupted with a suggestive twang.
I snapped my mouth shut, not ready to talk about my one night with Cora. “You’re right. Let’s just play.”
Bobby picked up on the song within seconds and laid down a subtle bass line beneath it. Rick took his time adjusting his kit and then finally tapped out a light beat. Once they were in, I started some variations and waited to see what got them going.
“It’s been a long time,” Rick said.
“I know. I’d almost forgotten what it feels like to be inspired,” I said.
“I meant seeing you with a woman. And she’s staying at the mansion?” Rick asked.
I scowled and worked my way into the bridge. “Like I told you, she’s been hired to photograph the place and now Ian’s collection.”
Rick’s drumbeat got louder. “It’s just the last woman I saw with you here was Betsy, and that was like two years ago.”
I faltered and had to go back to the main melody. Rick’s words were like a knock in the head. I suddenly realized how intimate it felt to have Cora staying at the mansion. We hadn’t slept together again but I’d said goodnight to her barefoot and watched her climb up the stairs to bed.
It had just felt so natural that I hadn’t noticed until now.
“Man, this place has really got it,” Bobby interrupted again with his easier point of view. “Hang some lights up, throw down some more rugs, and you’ve got a sweet little club here.”
“Now that would be something worth investing in.” Rick looked up at the domed ceiling of the greenhouse and tried out some sharper drum hits. “Great sound, great look.”
“Too bad I’m not making any more investments in this mausoleum,” I said. “It’s time to move on.”
“With Cora?” Rick asked.
I shook my head. She may have been the inspiration for the song we were playing, but now the music had a mind of its own.
“Shut up and play.”
We played for a few hours with only a quick pause to order some food. I was in no mood to have another run-in with Tyson but once our session was done, there was no other reason to avoid the mansion. Rick and Bobby headed for the only room we ever hung out in: the kitchen.
Tyson was there with loaded pizzas, pasta, and fresh garlic bread. “Don’t worry, I paid the bill for you,” he said.
I groaned and went straight to the refrigerator to grab a beer. “Thanks. You remember the guys, right?”
Tyson ignored me and shook hands with Rick and Bobby. He laid out the food for them and grabbed dishes from the cupboards. I got the cold shoulder then another exasperated announcement. “I also took the liberty of ordering groceries, so you have something to feed your houseguest.”
I choked on a huge bite of pizza. “I meant to invite Cora down. Could you press the intercom?”
Tyson gave me a cold look. “I already told Cora to come down when she’s ready.”
We drank beer and ate in peace for all of two minutes before Tyson burst out again, “So, did Storm tell you he cashed out the house account and hired a real estate agent?”
Rick and Bobby exchanged looks. Bobby started filling up a plate to go and Rick downed his beer.
“Yeah, we’ve heard rumors,” Rick said.
“Your choice, man.” Bobby cut off Rick and jerked his head toward the door. “See you at the shop.”
“You better buy the beer because Storm is now flat broke,” Tyson called.
“Don’t all real musicians start out that way?” I asked.
Rick and Bobby agreed on their way out of the door and left me to face Tyson’s upset on my own. I took my time eating my pizza but soon I had to throw down the slice and face him.
“Look, I’m not going to leave you out in the cold, Ty. You’re pretty much the only family I’ve got. But I’m selling this place and striking out on my own,” I said.
“And you really think that investment you made is going to be your safety net?” Tyson asked.
“Sink or swim,” I retorted.
“Some people sail in boats.” Cora paused in the doorway, unsure of what to do, until Tyson started making her a plate.
“Exactly. Stop denying you’re a sailor,” Tyson snapped at me.
I ground my teeth and tried to distract him by getting a beer from the refrigerator for Cora. She thanked me in a minute whisper, very aware of the tension in the air.
“Please don’t leave,” I whispered to her.
Cora smiled and picked up a piece of garlic bread. “Don’t worry. I’ll at least stay through dessert.”
Tyson changed tactics. “Cora had a great idea. She thought the east wing could easily be renovated into a private museum. Visitors could come and go through the solarium and not bother you at all.”
“Sounds like a good thing for me to tell the real estate agent,” I said.
Cora kept her eyes on her plate and took a long sip of beer. Again, it struck me how natural it seemed to have her at the kitchen island. Tyson must have felt the same because he argued in front of her without any reserve.
“If your investment comes through, why don’t you buy your own place on top of keeping the mansion?” Tyson asked.
“Vacation house in the midwestern suburbs,” Cora said. She looked up at me with a tentative smile.
I took a breath to steady my frustration. I didn’t want to scream and yell in front of Cora. In fact, watching her eat and keep the peace was making me want to kiss her more and more.
“Are you really telling me you’re going to miss all the upkeep and rehab and random expenses of this place?” I asked Tyson.
He snorted. “And are you really telling me you can walk away from the place your father loved, the home you grew up in?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I seem to remember growing up on the road or in boarding schools.”
Cora gave me a sympathetic smile but couldn’t help asking, “You really don’t love this place? You know it’s amazing, right?”
I couldn’t blame her. She’d spent all day looking over the mansion’s best treasures with the biggest fan of ditching my plan and staying. “So, Tyson’s turned your head, huh?” I asked Cora.
“No.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin before saying, “I got lost three times today, so I’m not going to say this is the best home ever.”
Tyson gave a cry of dismay as his ally remained neutral. “This is more than just a home!”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s a slice of rock ‘n’ roll history and blah, blah, blah,” I said. “I’m sure Cora knows the mansion was historic almost one hundred years before my father bought it.”
“It’s one of a kind. You shouldn’t just toss it away on some whim!” Tyson cried.
“Starting over isn’t a whim,” Cora said. “And I bet it feels pretty good to decide it for yourself. Otherwise, you’re just waiting around for something to happen.”
I grinned. “See? Cora understands.”
She shook her head. “But there’s something else that’s been bothering me. I dreamed for years of getting away from my home and becoming someone completely different, and it still hasn’t worked.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “You’re here in Murtaugh working as a celebrity home photographer. That’s gotta be a far cry from where you grew up.”
“But it’s still the same stuff,” Cora said. “We’ve been talking about it since we met. Our parents were a big part of what shaped us, and they come through no matter how opposite them we try to be.”
I scowled. “I’m not my father.”
“And I’m not my mother, but the more I try to pretend I’m not her daughter, the worse of a mess I seem to make out of my life,” Cora said.
Tyson finished a slurping bite of pasta while he contemplated Cora again. “You know, you still look so familiar. Maybe I’ve met your mother?”
I scooped up my beer and finished it. Then I noticed the time. “Well, none of this matters because it’s almost a done deal. My business partners should be here with the paperwork for my investment any minute.”
“You’ll have to face them alone.” Tyson threw up his hands and walked to the door before calling over his shoulder, “I won’t have anything to do with you cutting your roots.”
“Off to take more photographs?” I asked Cora.
She gave me a cautious look but shrugged. “I’ll stay. Might be fun to look over some numbers instead of staring through a camera lens.”
My phone buzzed to let me know someone was at the front gate. I pushed the code to release the big wrought-iron gates that blocked the formal driveway and held out an arm to Cora.
“Who should we tell them you are?” I asked her. “Visiting royalty? Runaway celebrity daughter? Movie producer?”
Cora laughed. “How about we tell them I’m your corporate accountant? Make ‘em sweat a little.”
I chuckled as we walked to greet my guests at the front door. Cora was just as suspicious of my daring investment as Tyson, but she was willing to play along in order to get a closer look. Her muscles felt rigid around my arm, and I wanted her to relax.
“It’s no biggie. I’ve been playing with house money all my life. Time to risk some of my own,” I said.
Cora held me back long enough to ask, “You invested all your royalties from your big hit?”
“Exactly. Just what I’ve earned. All of what I’ve earned by myself but nothing of my father’s and nothing of Tyson’s,” I assured her.
That did not help loosen her up, and she gave my new business partners a very grave look as they swept into the grand foyer.
“Whoa, watch out, he’s brought an attack dog,” Chip said when he saw Cora.
“Groupies go to accounting school?” Alex asked when I had made the introductions.
They evaded Cora’s pointed questions and never gave her any real numbers, but I tried to explain to her this was just a friendly get-together. They wanted to see the place and make sure I wasn’t some house-poor formerly rich investor who was lying about my part.
“None of what they are saying adds up,” Cora told me later. “What if it’s a scam?”
“Look, I grew up helping my father spot scam-artists and cons. And I fought off my fair share when my hit was number one. Don’t worry,” I said.
“Don’t sign anything tonight,” Cora replied.
“Then you better stay and keep an eye on me.”
I joked but I was happy when Cora did stay and despite my business partners’ rudeness, we had a great time. And it felt even better when we said goodbye to the guests and walked up the stairs together.