Jack
I’D HEARD ROSES for Anna’s music by now and Rex wasn’t wrong, the guys could play. Despite their more obvious southern rock leanings, I could hear a younger version of RatHound woven into their music. I could also hear a half dozen of our peers like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden that I’m sure had influenced them. I could respect what Roses for Anna was doing, but honestly had a hard time listening to them objectively. The truth was, I didn’t want to like them. At least, I didn’t want to like their drummer, who was currently walking toward me with a goofy grin on his face.
“Jack this is Bam Nelson, my son-in-law and drummer for Roses for Anna,” Rex said as he ushered Bam toward me.
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir. I’m a huge fan. Really, you have no idea,” Bam said as we shook hands. “I’ve been listening to you since I was a kid.”
Shit, I’m getting old.
“Call me Jack, please.”
“Okay… please call me Bam… but, why wouldn’t you?” he said nervously, still shaking my hand. “That’s my name, well my real name is Beau, but you wouldn’t know that—”
“Sorry, Uncle Jack, Bam is a big fan,” Lucy said smiling, gently pulling her husband’s hand from mine.
Little Lucy has a husband. Shit, I really am getting old.
Lucy was more than just Rex’s daughter to me. She was the daughter Pam and I never had. We were about her age when we got married which made me miss Pam all over again.
“Uncle Jack, are you okay?” Lucy asked, and snapped me back to the present.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry. It’s nice to meet you Bam. Rex says you’re a good guy and that you understand you’ll be murdered without haste if you hurt our little girl here.”
“Yes sir, um… Jack, I’ve been informed,” he replied with a grin. I did have to admit that despite his awe shucks charm, he did seem genuine. I also had to admit that Lucy was far from stupid, so if she saw something in this… drummer, perhaps I should be open minded. On the other hand, I hated the idea of Lucy rushing into a marriage with any Tom, Dick, or Ringo.
I choked back my urge to cast him out of the inner sanctum. “Lucy said you’d be okay with hanging around and watching us work out some new songs,” I said.
“Okay with it?” Bam grinned. “Yeah, I’d love that, as long as I’m not in y’all’s way.”
“I’m sure you know your way around a studio and know how not to be in the way,” I said dryly.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Jack, he can sit right here next to me on the couch,” Lucy said.
“Watch it, little lady. Shouldn’t the two of you have a Bible between you at all times?”
“Not any more. Remember, we’re married now, Uncle Jack,” Lucy said, proudly displaying her ring adorned finger.
“Oh, right. Does that matter?”
“Now you’re sounding like the God-fearin’ people of Elwood, Alabama,” Bam said.
“Never been there, but I guess you could say I grew up playing in the church, none-the-less.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
I cracked a smiled at the pair and excused myself back to the tracking room where I joined Rex and Robbie.
The space had high, vaulted ceilings that suited the kind of big, open drum sounds we liked on our recordings. The room was separated from the control room by two thick panes of soundproof glass. A pushbutton talkback mic and wall-mount speaker system was used to communicate between the two rooms.
“He’s a good kid, right?” Rex asked while putting his bass on.
“How the hell should I know, Rex? I met the guy for two minutes. You’re the one that seems so in love with him,” I snapped.
“Jeez, lighten up Francis, I was just asking what you thought of my new son-in-law,” he replied.
“Guys,” Robbie said.
“I already told you what I thought, Rex,” I snapped back. “I asked you what the fuck you were thinking letting her marry a drummer.”
“Hey, guys,” Robbie said, this time a little more impatiently.
“Hold on a second, Robbie,” Rex said, and turned back to me. “I didn’t let Lucy do anything. She’s an adult and she made her own decision.”
“Bullshit, Rex! If you had told her you thought it was a bad idea she would have listened to you. She respects your opinion.”
“Yes, she does, and in my opinion, I think Bam is a good man. Not to mention, I trust my daughter’s judgment. What the fuck is your problem?”
“He’s a musician, Rex! He’s clearly a road dog and he’s going to hurt her. He’ll be a piece of shit like every other guy we know out there, and she’ll get her heart broken.”
“Guys!” Robbie yelled one final time.
Rex and I snapped our heads toward him in unison and shouted. “What, Robbie?”
“Vic wanted me to remind you that the talkback mic to the control room is currently broken… and stuck in the on position.”
We turned around and looked through the glass to see Lucy and Bam sitting stone-faced on the sofa. Lucy wasn’t stone-faced for long. She dissolved into a puddle of tears and Bam shot me a look that could kill.
Fuck!
I set my sticks down and rose to my feet just as Hadley wrapped an arm around Lucy and headed toward the exit.
Bam stormed into the room, his hands fisted at his side. “What the fuck, asshole?”
“Hey man, I’m sorry, don’t take it personally, I—”
“Don’t take it personally?” Bam cut me off and pressed forward. “Are you fucking kidding me? Did you see the look on Lucy’s face?”
“You weren’t supposed to hear any of that. It was meant to be a private conversation,” I argued.
“Right. A conversation with two other people about me and my wife,” he snapped.
The expression on Bam’s face grew more intense. I relaxed my posture and took a step back. Bam was right to protect Lucy and he was right to get in my face. I was being a prick about the whole thing, but it still didn’t change the way I felt or my opinion on the subject. I didn’t want Lucy to settle for a musician who would end up destroying her life.
“Lucy is family to me,” I said, adjusting my tone. “She was family to my wife. I’m very protective of her.”
“No shit. So is everyone else in her life. Hell, I practically had to kung-fu fight her driver/assassin, Rex just about roasted me on his gigantic fire pit…”
I glanced and Rex who simply grinned and nodded.
Bam continued, “The fact that y’all feel she needs protecting is the funniest part. She can handle herself just fine.”
“That’s just it, Bam. You don’t know what she can or cannot handle because you don’t know what’s out there. You weren’t around back in the day. There’s a big reason Rex had to hire Sully, and Robbie had to hire someone for his twins. There are a lot of shady people out there and the bigger you get, the crazier they get.”
“Well, she has me to protect her now, so you can all back the fuck off,” he said in a slow a low tone.
“Bam, with all due respect, I don’t know you,” I replied.
“Respect? You think you’ve been treating me with respect? Was that respectful to Lucy? To speak about her like she’s a child, or her father’s property? What about all your shitty assumptions about my commitment to her, or my intentions? You’re right, you don’t fucking know me, so what gives you the right to judge me?”
I could clearly see Bam’s anger level was entering the red zone and he didn’t appear like a man you’d want to mess with when pushed too far. I was well schooled in several forms of martial arts, but this guy looked like he was a little more schooled in ‘broken beer bottle to the neck,’ and I didn’t care to push my luck.
“You’re right,” I replied.
Before I could get another word out, Bam said, “Excuse me, I have to go find Lucy,” and left the room.
Robbie grinned. “I believe that young pup just gave you a tongue lashing, Jack.”
“Fuck you, Robbie.”
Rex walked up to me and laid his hand on my shoulder. “Still question his devotion to Lucy?” he asked softly.
“I’m starting to see what you mean.”
* * *
Hadley
After Bam had walked into the bathroom and taken over the comforting Lucy position, I stepped back into the studio waiting area and focused on my notepad again. I jotted down a few things I needed to look at when I got back to Rex and Roxie’s, which is where I’d do the most work… I needed complete quiet which this environment didn’t offer. Roxie had insisted I stay with them once Bam and Lucy returned, which meant I’d be heading over there tonight after practice. I really liked Roxie and couldn’t wait to get to know the woman who’d raised Lucy.
There was a lot to do when planning a tour, but Lucy and I had most of it covered, and since Lucy had a relationship with every manager at every venue where we’d be performing, our planning had been a hell of a lot smoother than previous ones.
Although, I think part of the reason things were going so well, was because Roses for Anna had finally fired Chas Chambers, their previous manager and the man who’d stolen a great deal of their money. I had managed to get some of it back, but I couldn’t get it all, and I still had pangs of guilt surrounding that fact.
Bam had assured me everything was okay and he didn’t care about the rest of the money, but I still wished I’d discover Chas’ evilness sooner. I sighed.
“You okay?”
I jumped a little and glanced up at Jack.
“Sorry,” he said with a gentle smile. “Didn’t mean to scare you… again.”
I rose to my feet and squared my shoulders. “I’m good.”
“Can you tell me which way Lucy went?”
“I can…”
“Okay, which way?”
“Oh, I’m not going to.”
He crossed his arms. “Why not?”
I matched his stance. If the jerk was going to close himself off to me, I would close myself off to him. “Maybe because she’s upset and you’re the reason why. Or maybe because you said some pretty nasty things about one of my favorite people. Take your pick.”
He dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling for several seconds before meeting my eyes again. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to apologize.”
Rude!
“Well, that’s good. I hope you plan to apologize to Bam as well, because let me tell you something about my best friend. Bam Nelson’s had a tough life, but you’d never know it. He’s always happy, always sweet, and will always stand up for the ‘little guy.’ He’s the best person I’ve ever known and you saying all those nasty things about him makes me angry. So angry, I might just lose my religion.”
“Had―”
“I’m not done,” I snapped.
His eyes widened and he got a weird (but sexy, damn it) look on his face. I jabbed a finger toward the door. “That man… the one you called a piece of shit―”
“I never called him a piece of shit.”
“You implied it,” I countered.
He took a couple of deep breaths, but didn’t argue.
“That man is more than my best friend, he’s my brother. And like any big sister, I will cut anyone who steps to him. And if you’re that little bitch, don’t doubt that I will cut you too.”
A familiar chuckle had me turning my head toward the sound.
“You can put your sword away, Had,” Bam said.
Lucy stood slightly behind Bam, her hand on his arm.
I uncrossed my arms and stepped away from Jack. I watched his body war with his emotions… it was written all over his face as he studied Bam and Lucy.
“Lucy, honey, will you let me apologize?” he asked.
“Go for it,” she said, her eyes still wet.
“I was a jerk. I won’t make excuses, but I let my love for you overtake my common sense. I never had the honor of raisin’ my own daughter, so you were it, baby girl, and I overreacted. Will you forgive me?”
Lucy rushed to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I love you, Uncle Jack. Of course I’ll forgive you.” She glanced up at him. “But if you ever disrespect my husband again, I will kick you in the family jewels.”
Jack chuckled, giving her a gentle squeeze. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Jack?” Rex called as he opened the door. “We need to get back to it.”
Jack called back. “I’ll be right there, I’m doing something more important.” He cupped Lucy’s face. “I really am sorry, honey.”
“I appreciate that, Uncle Jack.”
He kissed her forehead and turned to Bam. He extended his hand and said “I owe you and your bride an apology. I was in the wrong, and for what it’s worth, I respect you for standing up for Lucy. I hope you can accept my apology and my hand in friendship. I’m usually a great guy… you can ask the two friends I have.”
Bam chuckled, along with the room and shook Jack’s hand.
“Shit, man, if I’d know you were such a dick I wouldn’t have dropped all that coin on your signature drumsticks for all those years.”
Jack erupted into laughter and it was great to see the dark cloud that had been hanging over him all day finally lift.
“Thanks, man, and again I’m sorry everyone. I guess all of this has been a little rougher on me than I thought.” He smiled and gave a genuine bow of humility to all in the room before exiting to the tracking room.
“Ohmigod, I was not expecting that,” Lucy said with a sigh, sitting back on the sofa. “Jack’s always been the quiet one. He never says boo to anyone, let alone shares his feelings like that.”
Bam shook his head. “He’s hurting, obviously. Just gotta be patient.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, he better think twice about doing that again.”
“He will,” Lucy assured me. “Despite what you just saw, he’s a really good man, so he tends to learn from his mistakes.”
I gave her a wary smile. I envied Lucy in a lot of ways. She had a great family and seemed to forgive easily. Plus, she married Bam. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t romantically interested in Bam, but I would like to meet and fall in love with someone as good as him. Unfortunately, I didn’t trust people enough to let myself get that close. Too much betrayal.
“Alright, I’m gonna head out,” Bam said, kissing Lucy’s temple.
“Okay, honey. We’re almost done here, so I’ll be in home a bit.”
He nodded and walked out, and Lucy and I got back to work.