Page 27 of Burning Ember

“Yeah.”

“Hi, I’m here to pick up JD Horn. He said I should ask to go to studio four.”

A female voice chuckled. “You must be Thatcher. Come in.” The door buzzed, and I opened it to see a lovely silver-haired beauty sitting at the security desk with a big smile.

I walked up to the desk, happy to see a welcoming grin. “I’ve heard about you, Lieutenant Emberly. Thank you for keeping us safe.”

She reached over to a stand and handed me a pass with a white lanyard attached. “Pass this over the scanner by the door.”

I grinned and took the lanyard. “Thank you…”

“I’m Mildred, handsome.” She winked, which made me laugh. She was definitely a cougar.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mildred. Call me Thatcher.” I gave her a wink before I headed down the hallway to the elevator and flashed the badge over the scanner. When the elevator door opened, I stepped in.

I hit the button for the fourth floor, and when the door opened, I was just outside a large studio with lots of windows. JD was leaning on a stool with a tambourine in his hand as they sang their hearts out. Someone knocked on the door of a small room and motioned for me to come in.

When I stepped into the room, I saw a big console with a lot of buttons. “Hi, Lieutenant Emberly. It’s nice to see you under better circumstances.”

I glanced toward the soft voice to see Lerner Carmichael with a bright smile. I stepped over and hugged them. “Thanks for leaving this.” I held up the lanyard with the pass.

Lerner smirked. “That was all JD. He asked that I make sure you could get in if you came. You know, he wrote this whole album since the accident with you as his muse. River helped with the melody, but JD wrote those lyrics with you as his inspiration. You wanna hear it?”

Lerner pointed to the guy working on the mixing board, so I nodded. The booth suddenly filled with sound, and I was mesmerized.

Still Holding On

(verse)

Another lonely night beneath a pitch-black sky

And one more cheap motel, another long goodbye

I hear your beautiful voice on the phone

But every mile makes me feel alone

I’ve been running hard just to make it through