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As she holds out a particular high note, her voice soaring above the music, the entire festival audience seems to hold its breath. It’s as if time has stopped and all that exists is Devyn, her guitar, and the emotions she’s sharing with us.
I’m as captivated by the raw emotion she conveys through her music as the audience, a feeling that brings me back to the days we were together, living in a small studio apartment in Venice Beach.
Movement from the corner of my eye distracts me and I grit my teeth when I realize it’s Harrison lurking near the edge of the stage. There’s a familiar almost predatory grin on his face as he watches Devyn perform.
Suddenly he begins making his way onstage, his guitar slung in front of him.
“Damn it,” I mutter as I rush toward him. This is Devyn’s moment as a solo artist, not as a part of a duo that met its expiration date two years ago.
As I rush toward him, two members of security get to him first.
“Get off me!” Harrison protests as one guard wraps an around his waist and another grabs him by the shoulders, yanking him backstage. Their movements are swift and practiced and soon, they have pinned to the ground. His muffled curses fill the air, but the cheering of the crowd drowns them out.
“That was close,” Chloe says as the security guards haul a struggling Harrison away from the stage.
“That sure was.” I breathe a sigh of relief, grateful to see that Devyn’s completely unaware of the commotion backstage. She’s lost in her music, giving her all to the audience. As the applause reaches a crescendo, I feel a surge of happiness and excitement course through me. This is her time to shine, and nothing – not even Harrison’s desperate attempts at sabotage – can take that away from her.
“She’s incredible, isn’t she?” Chloe says, beaming.
“Absolutely,” I agree, my gaze on Devyn as she agrees to sing another song, the crowd still cheering. “I’ve never seen her this happy before, being onstage.”
“A big part of that happens is because of you,” Chloe says. “The two of you together again… it just feels right, you know?”
“I’d do anything for her. Anything she needs to achieve her dreams.”
“Speaking of which,” Lana nudges me playfully. “I hear you’re going to build her a recording studio. That’s pretty amazing.”
“Devyn deserves every opportunity to succeed as a solo artist,” I say, feeling my cheeks heat up slightly. “And if I can help make that happen, then it’s worth it.”
Lana smiles, her blue eyes twinkling with gratitude. “You have no idea how much that means to both of us. She’s been through so much in this industry, and having someone like you by her side is invaluable.”
“I’d do anything for her,” I say as Devyn hits the final, soaring note of her song, filling the air with an electrifying energy that courses through the crowd like a tidal wave. Phone cameras held up high document the whole performance and even though I may not know much about the music industry, I know Devyn just showed the world she has what it takes to be a solo performer.
And this time, no one’s going to stop her from shining on her own.
Epilogue
TWO YEARS LATER
DEVYN
If anyone told me years ago that I’d hit the charts as a solo performer one day, I’d have told them they were out of their mind.
But as I read Chloe’s latest text message again and enlarge the screen shots she included, turns out that day has come because my latest song,Home to You, has hit the charts. It’s not number one but it’s high enough that Chloe hasn’t stopped sending me updates on how many copies have been sold and streamed every hour.
Even better, I did it on my own with no studio executives dictating what I had write or sing, and certainly no band partners micro-managing every little thing I did.
I did get a lot of help and support from a man who loves me unconditionally and his network of friends, some who just happen to come from pretty high places like Dax’s father Daniel Drexel who provided the seed money for Todd and I to start our own record label.
With Chloe still managing my career and her extensive network of contacts in the industry, it meant being able to build the recording studio of my dreams right here in Taos, and outfitting it with the best equipment. Sure, we’re off the grid since Todd built the studio next to our sustainable home, but we harness enough solar and wind energy to power everything in it. The thick insulated walls not only provide the best acoustics but it’s warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
We even have two tour buses that just got us across the country for my first solo tour. It was tough being on the road for almost a year but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. With Todd traveling with the band, it made what would have been a lonely tour a fun one.
There’s nothing like waking up next to him whether in our narrow bunk inside the bus as my drummer snores loudly a few feet away or in a comfortable hotel bed. Todd may not be able to hold a note but he’s my everything.
Some days I wonder how my life would have turned out if my engine never died just outside of Taos. Or what if Sarge hadn’t escaped, running after some critter that jumped out of the brush on the side of the road and Todd didn’t happen to just drive by?
Would our paths have crossed at all?
