Instead, Mom came into the kitchen, carrying a bunch of empty plates. Tristan took them from her, insisting on doing the dishes. I joined her so my family wouldn’t be stuck cleaning up after my mess.
When the kitchen was put back to normal, Lee and Alice joined the three of us as we headed to the SUVs. The cameras and voices broke into a cacophony of light and sound as soon as they saw us. Marco, Trevor, and the team shielded us from the waiting hyenas. I was used to it, but I felt Tristan tremble under my touch, and I saw Hannah’s eyes grow wide, which left me feeling like a schmuck for bringing this to their doorstep.
I’d blown into their world without much thought, and it had backfired. I’d focused on what I wanted instead of what was good for everyone, and the guilt hit me. Especially when the crowd at Tristan’s was even bigger than the crowd at my house. Marco had to get out and move people from the entrance to the tiny driveway along the side of the house. We all disembarked and headed toward the front door. Waterton’s men were there, and they let us in with the lead agent, Prabhjot, handing Tristan back her key.
“Let us get settled, and then you can walk us through the systems you installed, okay?” I said to him. He nodded.
“I’ll be out here when you’re ready,” he said, taking up a post outside the door.
Inside, Molly bounded over to us. She and Hannah were a mix of beads, fringe, and fur as the dog yipped and barked in excitement at seeing her females back with her.
“Go up and wash up, and I’ll be right there,” Tristan said to Hannah, who took off for the stairs with the dog on her heels like always. Tristan turned to Lee and Alice. “Come on in. Let me get you the festival files. Grams has a lot of it in hard form. I’ve slowly been transitioning the majority of it online, but it’ll give you an idea of what’s planned, the schedule, and the vendors we’ve got coming.”
She disappeared into a room off the entryway that I realized for the first time was a home office of sorts. Bookshelves and a desk. I’d never spent much time at Elana’s growing up. Our time together had revolved around the music store. Tristan came out with a plastic file box and set it on the dining room table next to a laptop that was already there. She took the lid off the box and started unloading manila folders while she waited for the computer to boot up.
“These are the files going back for the last ten years. The older stuff is in storage at the store, but this will give you the most relevant details.” She logged into a website on the computer. “And this is the website for the festival. I can give you numbers when I come back down.”
Alice and Lee started diving into the files, and I followed Tristan up the stairs.
We stopped outside the bathroom where we could hear Hannah singing “I Have a Dream.” I smiled at the sound. She really was a musical savant.
“Is this really okay?” I asked Tristan as we both listened at the door. “Me…the team?”
“Honestly, the festival has overwhelmed me from the get-go. If they’re willing to help with ideas to keep me from screwing it up, I’ll forever be grateful. I just don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay it.”
I pulled her into me, hand going to her cheek, and her eyes fluttered closed.
“Not everything needs to be repaid,Cari. Sometimes, we just need to accept help as the gift it is. No strings. No expectation of a return. Sometimes people just do good things because they want to.”
“I feel like ever since Darren, that’s all I’ve done. Take. Take. Take.” She said it with a tortured regret in her voice that I hated.
“I’m pretty sure Elana didn’t see you as taking from her.”
“I did. She let me live here rent-free. She got the damn loan just so she could renovate the second floor of the store into my studio…” Her voice broke completely. I put a hand to her neck and pulled her into my chest, crushing her with my arms.
“We’re going to figure it out,Cariño. I promise,” I said.
She nodded, pushing away from me and turning toward the bathroom where her daughter waited. I realized I had a lot of work to do if I was going to be the man at Tristan’s side. Work to help her see her worth. Work to help her see the gift she was to others.
???
My team and I spent the majority of the day working with Tristan on the festival. Alice came up with the brilliant idea of adding an online version of the event where people could pay a reduced price to have an all-access pass to the performances via the Internet. We had to clear it with the bands who were already scheduled, but she dove into action-mode to make it happen.
I was hopeful those tickets alone would help offset any real increased costs Tristan saw from the city, and I saw the hope reflected in her eyes at the idea. My chest pressed with happiness. If we could somehow hold this together for her and Elana, anything was worth it. I took Alice to the side later and told her to offer my collaboration with any of the bands who hesitated at signing off if she thought it would sway them.
“Are you sure?” she asked, and I nodded. I was.
While Alice made calls to bands, Lee worked on getting me time with Victoria Chan. She finally agreed to a meeting on Thursday before the interviews Lee had set up with potential new PR managers. While I hated the thought of leaving Tristan and Hannah, heading out of Grand Orchard for a day or so might help smooth out the media circus, which was growing instead of decreasing.
Lee and Alice left after a vegan spaghetti dinner Tristan made them, and I left with them because I wanted to make sure my mom didn’t have a reason or a chance to not get on the plane the next day. Kissing Tristan goodbye and trusting her in the hands of men I didn’t know very well made my heart pound, so I asked Marco to stay with them.
He didn’t look happy about it, but he agreed.
My sacrifice in not staying with Tristan proved itself needed as I was confronted with my mom pacing through the living room with Chevelle, worry written on her face. I was itching to pick up my guitar and write some of the lyrics and chords that had been filling my head since my skin had touched Tristan’s the night before, but just like I hadn’t stayed with Tristan herself, I didn’t dare leave the house. Instead, I stayed until everyone yawned and went off to bed.
Then, I allowed myself to get lost in theadagioof loud and soft notes filling me to my core. The depths of my being poured out onto the strings. It wasn’t country. It wasn’t blues. It was just emotion I could finally share after living so long without it. It was early in the morning before I finally put the guitar down, sending a slew of videos to Ava to filter through when she woke.
Because I’d stayed up so late, I was a twisted mix of exhaustion and pent-up energy when I helped my parents stow their bags in the back of the SUV Trevor was driving them to the airport in. My worlds were weaving themselves together, and instead of feeling uncomfortable, it felt right.
