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Zane’s jaw had dropped open as soon as she’d begun to speak.
Reaching out to shake his hand, she continued, “And you’re not half bad on that old guitar, either.Hello, Zane. Izzy’s been messaging my daughter, Eve, and singing your praises. I’m…”
Zane’s jaw finally snapped shut.“Danielle Reardon.”
She grinned. “It surprises me that you know who I am. It’s been a few years since I’ve been out there actively entertaining. I go by Loughlin now. But you can call me Danny.”
Lex smiled widely, realizing that Zane was getting the well-deserved break that he’d always wanted him to have. It was the reason Lex had subtly steered the three of them to Crystal Rock, when he’d heard about the music camp auditions after they’d gotten away from Milwaukee.
ChapterSix
Despite the fact it was obvious that Zane had instantly developed a huge crush on Danielle, Harry made all the formal introductions of Lex, Zane and Caleb to Jake, Danny and Eve.
Lex frowned, because Izzy seemed to be a little disappointed, and he couldn’t blame her after everything she’d done for Zane. He might have been his friend, but at that moment, Lex was surprised to realize that he kind of wanted to punch Zane in the nose for leaving Izzy out of their current conversation.
Everyone gathered around the table for pizza, which had been delivered shortly after Zane had put down his guitar, and some of the food—mostly appetizers—that Jake and Danielle had brought along from the Dragonfly Pointe Inn.
Lex was impressed with Harry’s girlfriend Eve. She sure knew a lot about music. Harry held an arm around her possessively most of the time, which she didn’t seem to mind.
Millie and her two puppies, Lily and Peanuts, were running around the room excitedly, waiting for crumbs to drop from the table.
After everyone ate, Lex was relieved as he watched Zane approach Izzy. Apparently, he was a little less star struck after noticing how close Danny was with her husband, Jake.
“You’re sure quiet. Is something wrong?” Zane asked.
“No. I was just thinking how nice it was to have everyone here, including you guys. Next year, Harry’s probably going to be in the Air Force, and you might even be famous by then. I have a feeling that Danny might want to train you herself. If that happens, you’ll more than likely be an overnight success. Eve is going on to Julliard in a few years and she may begin touring pretty quickly too.”
Seeming to be slightly overwhelmed by her words, Zane raised a brow. “She sings too?”
“The first time Danny heard her voice was on my karaoke machine,” Izzy admitted. “They weren’t too impressed with mine though. That’s when I decided to retire my machine.”
Zane grinned.
It was funny how Lex just liked to watch people while they interacted. He seemed to learn a lot that way.
“Boys? Let’s go into the library and have a chat,” Gabe suggested. “Jake and I need to go over a few more things with you so we can come up with a plan.”
“Okay,” Lucy said. “While the boys are coming up with a plan without our input, Danny and I can get the coffee started and put away some of this food.”
Gabe winked at her. “You know you’re going to hear what we come up with eventually. You and Danny always lecture us about whatever we failed to consider.”
“We do, don’t we?” Danny agreed, reaching for some of the empty platters and stacking them on the table before scooping them all up to follow Lucy.
After Jake, Gabe and the three boys filed out of the solarium, Caleb and Amy began playing video games again.
Chapter Seven
Zane and Lex followed Harry as he led him into Gabe’s study, where Jake and Gabe were both sitting behind a massive desk, a flat computer screen attached to the wall behind them.
There were three upholstered chairs lined up around the desk and Gabe motioned for Zane, Lex, and Harry to each take a seat.
After they settled in, Jake cleared his throat. “Okay, boys. We don’t need to go into graphic details, at least for now. I know exactly what you’ve been through.” He hesitated. “And I mean that literally.”
Zane’s eyes met Lex’s in disbelief. But when Lex studied Jake, there was a deep look of sadness in his eyes that told him yes, Jake was telling the truth.
Jake continued, “All you can do is try to move forward the best that you can. We should have the results of the blood tests by Monday, possibly sooner. The DNA tests will take a little longer, even though I did put a rush on them. And Zane and Lex? You’re going to be seeing a psychiatrist. Caleb too. We’ll just have to figure out how to do it without putting you in danger. After you’ve each had a few in person visits, video chats will hopefully be acceptable. If you have any fears, ask Harry, Eve, Izzy or even Amy. Each of them has gone through intense counseling.” His lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile. “And I have too, although it was much later in my life.”
“Any questions, guys?” Gabe asked.
