Sweet Heat at Bayside(41)

     



 

"Exactly," Rick said. "She knows you. She wanted me to watch out for the  most important part of you. And even though she's not here, she's still  doing it." He pointed to the back road, where a line of police cars was  escorting a black Suburban.

"Holy sh …  What's going on?" Drake pushed his way through the mass of  people toward the commotion, but the crowd moved with them, shouting and  cheering. Drake grabbed Rick's arm. "What's happening, Rick? This is my  opening. I've got to know what's going on."

"Control freak," Rick hollered back. "Just go with it. Live in the moment."

He led Drake around the back of the stage to where their buddy Caden  Grant, Evan's father, who was a police officer, was standing guard  alongside several other members of Wellfleet's finest. The Suburban  parked, and a tattooed guy stepped from the vehicle. The crowd went  wild, pushing forward and shoving Drake into Rick.

"Holy cow," Drake said with awe. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Boone Stryker," Rick confirmed, holding his phone up as he videotaped  Drake's reaction. Boone was the lead guitarist in Strykeforce, Drake's  favorite band. "You can thank your girlfriend for this one. She pulled  some major favors with just about everyone connected to him."

Drake's chest constricted. He pulled out his phone, then realized Serena  was at that stupid company event. "She's going to miss it!"

"That's why I'm videoing it!" Rick hollered over the noise of the crowd.  "Wow. She really did knock the wind out of you with this one."

Drake looked into the video camera, his emotions bowling him over.  "Baby! What have you done? You should be here!" His gaze coasted over  the sea of people, and his heart swelled. "I love you, Supergirl, and I  will thank you properly when I see you!"

"That's what I'm talking about," Rick said with a laugh.

Drake couldn't shake the awe inside him. "Baby, how did you do this?" he  hollered into the video as the crowd pushed him toward the barricades.  He'd read in a magazine that Boone and his wife, Trish, an actress, were  both on hiatus and spending time with their son. That was just a few  weeks ago. How had she managed this? "I wish you were here! Babe, there  are no words! Thank you!"

Rick and Drake barreled through the crowd, catching sight of Boone  helping his wife out of the vehicle. She carried their little boy, J.R.,  in her arms. Drake had read that he was six or seven months old now and  was named after Boone's father, Jeremy Rykerts, which Drake remembered  because he hoped to one day honor his own father in the same way.

An entourage surrounded Boone and Trish as they made their way up to the  stage with the rest of his bandmates. Stagehands were busy setting up  equipment and mics. Whoops and cheers filled the air as Boone stood  centerstage, his arm around Trish. Their baby wore a black-and-white  onesie and a bandanna around his head.

"Drake!" Caden waved them toward the barricades. He said something to  the officer next to him, and then he made his way over to Drake and Rick  and told them to come through.

They climbed over the barricade while Caden and several other officers kept the rest of the crowd back.

"What's the plan?" Drake asked, feeling like a fanboy, gawking at his  hero on the stage. Boone had come from nothing, literally, and had taken  the music world by storm. Drake's idol was standing before him, his  brother was by his side, and they were surrounded by loads of people he  knew-and hordes he didn't-and all Drake could think about was the  absence of the only woman he wanted by his side.

Rick shrugged, but his smirk told Drake he knew exactly what Serena had been planning all along.

"How did all these people know he was coming and I didn't?" he asked Rick.

"Boone tweeted earlier today."

Tweeted. Serena had long ago hired a social media assistant to handle  their social pages for the store and the resort. He'd forgotten they  even had them.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Boone's deep voice cut through the din  of the crowd, and more cheers rang out. "Thank you! My beautiful wife  and I are so happy to be here to celebrate the opening of Drake Savage's  Bayside Music and Arts!" The crowd went crazy. "That's right, so make  sure you head inside before you leave and show your appreciation. Buy  something from the man who brought this show to you! And just to make it  even more enticing, I'll be autographing purchases for thirty minutes  after my set."         

     



 

More applause and shouts rang out.

"Before we get started," Boone said as he gazed out over the crowd, "I'd  like to bring Serena Mallery and my man Drake to the stage. Let's hear  it for Serena and Drake!"

The crowd chanted, "Serena and Drake! Serena and Drake!"

The air rushed from Drake's lungs.

"Go on, man." Rick nudged him in the direction of the stage, videoing once again.

Drake's head spun as he crossed the stage.

Boone was a formidable guy, and as he embraced Drake, he said, "Congrats, man. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you. Thank you for coming."

Boone put a hand on Trish's back and said, "This is my wife, Trish, and our little man, J.R."

Trish opened her arms, giving Drake a warm hug. She was tall and slim,  with long dark hair, and dressed in jeans and a pretty blouse, there was  not a bit of pretentiousness about her. Their little boy reached for  Drake and clung to his shirt. He had a fake tattoo of a heart with Mom  written across it on his tiny arm.

"I guess you get to hold J.R.," Trish said as she handed him the little boy. "Serena said you were amazing with children."

A collective aww rose from the crowd.

"Where is Serena?" Trish asked. "I was looking forward to meeting her. We've been talking about this event for months."

Months? Serena had set this up for him before they'd even come together  as a couple? Drake's heart broke even more for her to have missed it.

"She got held up in Boston, but she wishes she could be here." The baby  reached up and touched Drake's cheek with his soft little hand. Drake  glanced in the direction where he'd left Rick and was glad to see him  standing by the stage, still videoing.

Boone handed Drake the mic and said, "Sell your business, man. Now's your time."

As Drake looked out over the crowd, holding the baby in his arms, he  spotted friends, neighbors, and too many strangers to count. He had no  idea what he was supposed to say in a moment like this, but when he  lifted the mic, his words came easily. "Thank you all for coming out for  the grand opening and to hear Boone play. Unfortunately, you've missed  out on meeting one heck of a special woman. My girlfriend, Serena, got  tied up in Boston, but she's the one who pulled this incredible event  together and made it possible for you to see this legendary musician."

Cheers and shouts ensued.

"I hope you enjoy the show," Drake said, and handed the mic back to  Boone. "Thank you for coming out today. I can't tell you how much this  means to me." He stepped away.

Boone grabbed Drake's arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

Trish took the baby from Drake and said, "Have fun!"

She hurried off the stage as another guy handed Drake a Fender  Stratocaster guitar and a pick and set up a mic. Drake shot a look at  Rick, who was grinning like a fool, just like he was. He mouthed, Holy  cow. This is really happening!

"I think you know this one," Boone said as he grabbed his guitar. He put  the mic on the stand, and the pianist began playing "Don't Stop  Believin'."

Adrenaline pumped through Drake's veins as his fingers hit the strings,  and for the next few minutes he played like he'd never played before-and  every single note, every single breath he took was for Serena.



SERENA SCHMOOZED, SMILED, and said all the right things at KHB's Client  Appreciation Day, but the entire time she'd thought about nothing other  than wanting to see Drake's face when he opened the front doors of the  store to customers for the very first time and the moment Boone showed  up and Drake finally met his idol. He'd told her he wouldn't text during  her work event, and he hadn't. She hoped that for once in his life he  was enjoying the day and not worrying about her. She had dozens of  messages from the girls with pictures of the opening. It looked just as  fantastic as she'd hoped it would. They were lifesavers, helping out at  the spur of the moment. Rick had sent a link to a video he had uploaded  to YouTube of Drake hearing the news about Boone, meeting him, and  playing onstage. She'd shed tears of happiness while watching, and she'd  noticed that the video already had more than eleven thousand views.  Trish had told her that one tweet from her and Boone would make the news  of the event go viral. She must have tweeted about the video, too.  Serena was sad not to have met Trish and Boone in person, but Trish had  left her a message saying they were sorry they'd missed each other and  they'd like to plan a trip in the fall and catch up, when there weren't  as many tourists around.