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He slid to the edge of the rocking chair. “The Sympathy Gags?”
“Apparently, they just go by the SyGs now.”
“Cute.”
“Well,” Benji continued, “I saw them the other night, and they were fantastic. I talked to them after the show. I didn’t think they were into using Trax at all, probably because they were ridiculously stoned. But they called me yesterday, then they came by. They’re actually interested. They loved our, quote, ‘old-school vibes.’ They want to start recording next week.”
“That’s amazing!” This was the type of break they’d been waiting for, that Cole had been pushing for. Getting the new Seattle punk scene to give them a chance.
“There’s only one problem. They want to meet. Tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Cole said. “The service up here isn’t fantastic, but I can drive into town to do a Zoom—”
“That’s the thing. Apparently, they don’t Zoom. Or use social media. Or cell phones. The lead singer used a pay phone to call me, and I wish that was a joke. They think ‘technology is the end of civilization as we know it.’ They want to meet in person, otherwise they’re going to go somewhere else.”
“Can’t you meet with them?”
“I offered that. They want you.”
“Me?”
“The one and only.”
Getting to his feet, needing to pace, Cole said, “Shit, Benji. I can’t meet with them tomorrow. I’m here for another week. They won’t give me a week to get back?”
“They wanted to meet today. I had to beg them to give us until tomorrow. Look, I can send the jet in the morning and have you back in Red Falls by dinner. This is huge for us, Cole. I’m sure Madigan will understand.”
Tomorrow was another off day for the guys, and there were only a few visitations scheduled. If there was ever a time when Cole might feel okay asking Maude Alice to cover Little Timber by herself, that would be it. He’d have to clear it with Mad first, but a trip back to Seattle, only for a day, just to show her how easy it could be to visit him there…
“Can I bring someone with me?”
* * *
Cole couldn’t tellwho was more exhausted after the visitations, him, the guys, or Murphy after he’d spent the entire day running from cabin to cabin, meeting and greeting everyone who’d come to the mountain. Walking up the lodge steps after getting an unexpectedly enthusiastic thumbs-up from Madigan to take the day off tomorrow—especially after he’d confessed his hope that Mira would come to Seattle with him—Cole filled Murphy’s bowl with food and fresh water, then made his way toward the kitchen.
“Maude Alice? Davis?” he called out. “You home?”
“Back here,” Davis answered.
When he opened the door to Ashley’s office, he slowed, the hairs on his neck rising one by one.
Davis stood staring out through the window, her arms crossed, her shoulders drawn in so tightly the ridge of her spine poked through her shirt.
“Everything all right?” he asked. “You look—”
“Do you want to know something?” she said to the window, so quietly he had to strain to hear her. “Despite what people might think, Kev and I have never been intimate. Not physically, anyway.”
While Cole stepped into the room, Murphy pushed through the door, trotting over to sit at Davis’s side. Raising a fuzzy brow, the dog fixed Cole with an expression that said, “Here’s your chance, pal. Don’t blow it.”
“Oh?” Cole eventually said. It wasn’t poetry, but if it kept her talking…
“We’ve been together, or whatever you want to call what we’ve been, for over six months, and we’ve never even kissed. He said it was because of Madigan’s rules, because he wanted to keep things simple while he was learning how to stay clean.”
Cole wasn’t sure how to respond, but for some reason, no matter what, he knew he needed to get her away from that window. Because whatever she was looking at down there, it was sucking the life out of her right before his eyes. “Do you want to sit down?” He took a step toward her. “We can talk about it.”
Turning to look at him, tears standing in her eyes, and like she hadn’t even heard him, she said, “But we used to at least hold hands. He used to hug me, touch me. We used to be close. We used tofeelclose.” She blinked a tear down her cheek, then swiped it away while she faced the window again. “I’ve tried my hardest to support him. But that’s all I feel like I’m doing now, justbeingthere for Kev. And every day, it feels more and more like it doesn’t matter, because he’s just…gone.”
Gingerly, he edged closer, trying to look past her through the window.
