Chase the Road (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) by Karolyn James

…”
    “ He
loves you. Maybe if he hears your voice …” Maya sighed. “ No, that ’ s not right to say. I ’ m sorry. But you can at least
say goodbye. ”
    “ Okay, ” Blake said. “ If that ’ s what you want. I ’ ll
be there. ”
    “ What
about the shows …”
    “ We ’ re done now. We get a break. I ’ ll talk to Sam, sweetheart. I ’ ll work everything out. ” Blake felt a sting in his heart
with his next question. “ Is
Hunter driving you? ”
    “ He ’ s not here, ” Maya said. “ He ’ s
on his way to London. ”
    “ Oh. ”
    “ I
called you first. I just …”
    Blake felt his heart swell. She
called me first. “ Okay.
Take a breath, okay? Can you wait for me to get there? ”
    “ I
don ’ t want to, ” Maya said. “ I want to get to him … I can ’ t …”
    “ I ’ m sending a car for you. Right
now. You are not driving by yourself, sweetheart. ” Stop calling her sweetheart, dammit. “ Let
someone drive you. Pack a bag, take a breath, charge your phone. I ’ ll have mine glued to me. I ’ m getting a car right now. I ’ ll be there as soon as I can. ”
    Maya let out a breath.
    She calmed herself a little.
    “ Okay, ” she finally said. “ Okay. ”
    “ You
just pack and wait, ” Blake
said. “ I ’ ll take care of everything else. ”
    “ Thank
you, ” Maya said. “ Blake … when we talked …”
    “ No,
no, swe … Maya. No. We ’ re not doing that. This is about
Ted. Your grandfather. Nothing is wrong here. I swear on it. ”
    That was a lie. There was something
wrong. Blake loved Maya and he needed to say it.
    Not right now, man.
    “ Okay,
Blake, ” Maya said. “ I lo … I appreciate this. You. Everything. ”
    “ Okay,
sweetheart, ” Blake said and
winced. “ Just go. I ’ ll be there soon. ”
    Blake ended the call and jumped up.
He started barking orders at Sam and the band. They all moved with speed and
were willing to do anything. Willow Son quickly stepped up and told the guys
they ’ d take care of all the
after show interviews and would cover any radio shows as needed.
    Blake had one focus - Maya.
    And not just for this … no … this was the start of
forever, again.

(10)
     
    The show had been their best one
yet. Maya knew she always said that to the guys, but this was the truth. It
was their best show. The bar had been packed with people spilling into the
streets, hoping to get in. The owner even had a cover charge that people paid
without fight, meaning Gone by Autumn was actually going to get paid for this
show. In fact, the last two months, they ’ d
been getting paid handsomely to play gigs. Part of the shows did include cover
songs, but this was working. The band had money to survive. They could gas up
the van without using Sam ’ s
credit cards. (Sam had two more cards left before he was completely maxed out.)
    The entire place cheered, sang when
Ryan told them to sing, and they all commanded the stage for an whole hour.
That was a real set.
    Maya slipped along the side of the
bar toward the backstage area. She had a little backstage pass strapped around
her neck, looking and feeling so cool and official. The bar was big enough to
actually have a backstage area, which made the show even cooler.
    She showed her pass to the security
guard blocking her way and he moved to the side. There was a handful of people
backstage, most of them employees of the bar, trying to get to the kitchen to
get food, give more orders, and get supplies.
    When she spotted the band standing
there, the look on their faces was priceless. Better yet, Blake looked fucking
sexy in a sleeveless shirt, his muscular arms sweaty.
    Maya still couldn ’ t wrap her mind around what she
and Blake had been going through. The sex was so hot. But it was so much deeper
than that. They just hadn ’ t
really talked about it. A week ago, Blake had been stumbling drunk and grabbed
Maya by the shoulders, held her at arm ’ s
length, and confessed to her that he loved her