Fast Lane - Kristen Ashley Page 0,107

had to say what I had to say.

“I had a thing, with Cat,” I whispered.

The grin disappeared.

But he just said, “Okay.”

“It didn’t—”

“How ’bout, in that, we do what we did before. You knew you weren’t my first. We didn’t talk about that. Now you do the same,” he suggested. “When we were together, it was just you for me, and me for you. And now that we’re back together, we got that back too.”

I totally could do that.

So, I nodded.

Preacher didn’t say anything.

I didn’t either.

Okay.

Now what?

Were we…?

What?

He said “back together” but what did that mean?

Exactly.

“You listen to the CD?” he asked.

“No,” I told him.

“You gotta listen to the CD, baby.”

I now wanted to listen to the CD.

But in that moment, I needed something else.

“Where do we go from here?” I asked.

“Well, in a little bit, I gotta be in Louisiana to start rehearsin’ with the boys. But between then and now, you wanna see my cabin?”

Lyla and McCade:

(Lyla) As much as we could be together in that six weeks, we were together. The cabin was an easy drive from Phoenix, so I went up on the weekends if Preacher was there, and sometimes Preacher stayed at my place in Phoenix as well.

But he had a lot to do in LA with the album about to drop so this wasn’t as much time as we would have liked to have.

While all this was happening, we had no idea that Jesse was facing an onslaught.

(McCade) We shoulda guessed.

[Grins]

Reckon we were in our own world.

(Lyla) We absolutely were in our own world.

But we’d made the decision that this would be just us. We had this little window of time where it would be just us in a way that it never was.

So, we took it and in doing so, kinda forgot the people we loved would be worried about what was happening between us.

[Off tape, directed to Lyla]

Both you and Simms said you were worried about telling McCade that you were pregnant. Obviously, this worked out well. Why was it that you were concerned?

(McCade [visibly stunned, and perhaps annoyed] to Lyla) You were worried?

Yes, honey. (Lyla)

For fuck’s sake, why? (McCade)

Well, we’d just gotten back together. The album was about to drop. The media were beginning to hound. You’re within days of starting rehearsals to do your first show in six years, and then embark on a tour. You’d been through hell. I’d been through hell. It wasn’t a time to start a family. I mean, we weren’t even living together, and with you going off to tour for five months, that wouldn’t happen soon.

And I know you. If you weren’t pissed I was pregnant, and even if you were in the beginning, you’d want me close. You’d want to keep an eye on me. You wouldn’t want to miss anything. And you were off on tour and I had a job. (Lyla)

All right, I hear you.

Though no way in fuck I’d ever be pissed you were havin’ my baby.

But why didn’t you tell me you were worried? (McCade)

Because you weren’t pissed so I didn’t think it factored. (Lyla)

[McCade turns attention to interviewer]

Make it clear I was in no way pissed.

I was over the goddamned moon. (McCade)

He was. He really, really was. (Lyla [smiling slowly])

[Off tape, directed to Lyla]

That day at the beach house, when you reunited, did you listen to the Follow Your Star CD?

[Smiles quickly, openly and brightly]

It took a while.

We had other things we got busy doing.

But after a few hours…

Yes.

[Turns head to look down at her husband, still smiling]

Oh yes.

I did.

Jesse:

They got married up at that cabin.

The day after the tour ended.

Lyla was seven months pregnant, and both times she was pregnant, she hit around six months, she was pregnant.

Big ole belly.

[Chuckles]

She did not care.

She knew how beautiful she was.

Don’t matter anyway.

She was happy.

Shawn’s aunties made her wedding dress, and, outside Natalie, Lyla was the most beautiful bride I’d ever seen.

Left her job in good hands down in Phoenix and started volunteering at an animal shelter up there.

She runs that animal shelter now.

Preacher himself cleared out another patch of their land, little bit farther up the mountain. But it wasn’t only him who built the studio up there.

Roadmasters recorded our next album there and then…

[Slowly smiles]

Well then, the rest, I guess, is history.

Interviewer’s Notes:

Since their comeback, regardless of some of the bandmember’s side ventures—including DuShawn Williams’s ongoing solo efforts, the Second Coming carrying on throughout the aughts before disbanding in 2011 after Dave Clinton’s partner had their first baby and