Page 57 of Jonny’s Redemption

“Just a note for future reference, should this ever happen again. Never, and I mean never, suggest a pregnant woman wear light gray. I looked like an elephant. And flowers…um, no. Ditto on small prints.”

“Noted. Bobby, call me back with some dates.”

“I will.”

I disconnected and pinned Evie with a stare.

“What?” Her gaze went over my shoulder and I sighed.

“All right, who is it?”

“She’s so sweet, Bobby. And her voice…” Evie zoned out like she always did when she was thinking about music. “It’s magic. Low and husky and a little raspy. She plays the drums better than Sandy West ever did. Great breath control. She’s a throwback to Joan Jett. Leather-wearing, choppy cut black hair, gobs of makeup, loads of silver. The girl was born to be a star, she just needs to be polished.”

“She’s a rocker.”

“Girl, she is rock ’n’ roll. I want to sign her. She’s all for it but her manager is a money-grubber. Wants her with a label that he feels will elevate her status, not foster her career. He has no clue about the business. The issue is the manager’s also the boyfriend and he’s not real management. I want her to come to The Farm to cut a few tracks. But more, I want her here so we can show her a different side of this business. She’s young, just turned twenty and she’ll be eaten alive and spit out within a year she goes the way her boyfriend’s leading her.”

There were a lot of reasons I loved working with Evie—this was one of the big ones. She spent more time mentoring than she did making money. The artists she signed to her label were treated fairly. Evie didn’t take the industry standard as far as royalties went; her contracts were heavily in favor of the artist, the way it should be. Evie was well-aware of how many hands were in the coffers. Agents and managers got their cut. Assistants, stylists, crew—they all needed to be paid and that came out of the artist’s cut. Therefore, Evie took very little and offered a whole lot.

“What’s her name?”

“Penny Cash.” Evie smiled and nodded her excitement. “Straight up, Bobby, that’s the name on her birth certificate.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Evie’s enthusiasm.

“Okay, that’s pretty rock ’n’ roll. If you’re serious about giving Penny the full experience I’ll talk to Sean, see if he’s down to come when she’s here. He might be the King of Country but there’s a lot he could teach a Rock Princess.”

“Yes. That’s brilliant,” Evie rushed out. “We’ll go old-school, show Penny and Sean what we’re all about.”

“Does that mean you’ll perform?”

Evie groaned and gritted out, “Sure.”

“Awesome. I’ll call Colleen. And if Sean and Penny are good with it, we’ll do a whole set.”

Colleen was Evie’s publicist. She was going to be thrilled to have something new to promo for the benefit concert.

“This is the part I miss,” Evie said softly. “The music.”

“I know.”

“I want Penny to see this part, the good side. I want her to remember what it’s like when you strip away all the shit and it’s just you and your guitar, your words, and your people.”

“You want that for yourself, too, Evie, and that’s okay.”

“I do and I get it every time I step into the studio we built. That’s my real. That’s where I’m safe to be Evie. My life is now free of the shit. It’s all about the music. That’s what I was talking about earlier, what you give me, what we built. You gave up a lot to give me my soul back.”

Evie was full of crap, I didn’t give up anything.

“No more gushy, I have calls to make and a studio to run.”

I pushed off the couch in preparation to do just that but I had one more thing to tell Evie.

“You are the bestest best friend ever.”

“I know.” She winked and I moved toward the foyer but stopped when Evie called my name. “You are the bestest best friend in the whole world.”

“I’ll remind you of that when I schedule your wax and polish.”