I look around Nina’s quaint living room with the mantel of family photos and realize there’s nothing to close. I’ve moved on with a new family, so to speak, a wonderful woman, and a career I never dreamed of.
“I’m going to call someone because I owe it to everyone, especially Wynter, to be the best version of myself, but sitting here in the house Clara grew up in, I realize there’s nothing left to close. She’s gone and I’m ready to move on.”
“I’m happy to hear that. Both things.”
“Also, before everything blew up, I made a decision. A professional one.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t want to record a new album and do the whole rock star thing. I love the life, and the music, but I’m not willing to start over. At least, not completely. Would I be willing to put together some musicians to open for Onyx Knight this summer in Europe? Yes. I’d even be willing to record a single, see what happens. But I’m not willing to sacrifice the job I love, and the life I want to build with Wynter, for a second shot at fame. That’s not me. Not anymore.”
“That sounds perfectly reasonable to me.”
“But when the tour is over, unless there are extenuating circumstances—like I record a single that goes platinum or something—I want my old job back. We can train Pete and I’m happy to oversee everything, but I love running the tour.”
“One step at a time,” she says gently. “Seriously. You need to go talk to the band, because while I think they’re willing to forgive and forget, there still has to be a conversation. And then once that’s settled, we work on hiring musicians and what it will look like opening for them through Europe.”
“Thank you,” I say, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my voice. “Really. I’m incredibly grateful the lot of you didn’t write me off the second I walked out the door.”
“That’s not how a family operates, and that’s always what this has been. Yes, it’s business. Yes, there’s a lot of money at stake. But my mother and I don’t need the money, and Onyx Knight doesn’t truly need management, in the most general sense of the word. They could pay anyone to run the logistics because their music sells itself. This was about family. For them and for us.”
Dammit, I’m all choked up again.
Family.
It’s always been about family.
We’ve never framed it that way in words but that’s always how I’ve been treated—as part of their extended family. And after everything they’ve done for me, I didn’t even give Tommy a chance to explain. Not to mention ghosting Wynter and quitting my job. I walked out right before a show too.
Christ.
I down what’s left of the bourbon and then go out to my car to get my bag and my computer. I need to book a flight to New Mexico and then get a good night’s sleep. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say to Wynter but hopefully it’ll come to me by the time I get there.
I can’t lose her after one moment of insanity, not after how far we’ve come.
I love her.
I just hope she can forgive me.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Wynter
As usual, it’s a busy day at the clinic. It’s Friday, so everyone seems desperate to get in before the weekend. We’re open from eight to one on Saturdays, but it’s by appointment only and they fill up quickly. So, the waiting room is full, all five treatment rooms are occupied, and someone just walked in with a little girl who’s projectile vomiting.
I rush to get her a bag to capture it, take her mother’s insurance card, and then try to figure out where I’m going to put her because people get uneasy with vomit. Not to mention how unsanitary it is.
“Can you grab a mop, Mary?” I ask our receptionist.
She nods and hurries into the back.
“Just give me a minute,” I say to the woman with the sick baby.
The teenager with mono in Room 6 can go home; they’re just waiting for Dr. Minny to write out his orders, so I shuffle them out to the front desk and then bring the mom and baby in.
“Just give us a few more minutes,” I tell her.
I’ve just walked back to the front when I see someone in my peripheral vision that gives me pause. I freeze mid-step and turn, blinking a few times like my eyes are the problem.
