experience that no amount of yelling would penetrate their jam session, so I flicked the light switch a couple times to catch their attention and was rewarded with a brief moment of near silence.
“Yeah?” called up Brian.
“I’m home. Did you guys have enough to eat?” I asked, as if eighteen-year-old boys ever had enough to eat. They were like locusts, consuming everything in their path. What I wouldn’t give to have their metabolisms.
Muffled murmurs, all male by the sound of it.
“Yeah, we’re good.” That was Tommy. His voice was just a tad deeper than Bri’s.
“Awesome. I’m going to grab a bite and then do my thing.”
“Cool.”
Before I even closed the door, the song started up again, a hard-pounding beat I recognized as one of Dark Wing’s. I smiled to myself, wondering what the boys would think if I told them I’d just spent a good part of the day with Jace Logan. The man was practically a god in their eyes, and, considering their father was the legendary rocker Ian Flynn, that was saying something.
As I put the groceries away, I decided that the next time I saw Jace, I’d ask him to sign a few things for them. Or better yet, maybe he’d be willing to let the boys sit in on a recording session. Normally, I wouldn’t even consider asking, but unlike so many of the massive egos I dealt with on a regular basis, Jace seemed fairly down-to-earth. When he wasn’t chasing tail anyway.
With the boys fed and occupied, I had a couple minutes to take my shoes off and chill. I loved my kids, I really did, but after the day I’d had, I definitely didn’t mind a few minutes of peace for myself. They were the loves of my life, the very reason I forced myself out of bed every morning, but they were teenagers and they were exhausting.
I checked the nuke time on the frozen entrée box I’d taken out, then popped the little black plastic tray into the oven, and pulled a bottle of red wine out of the fridge.
Alone in the kitchen, I lifted the bottle to my lips. To hell with a glass.
And to hell with sipping. I took a mouthful, appreciating the robust vintage, and then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Take that, world.
It was a small F-U in the grand scheme of things, but as a working, single mother of teenage twin boys, that was about all I could afford at the moment.
My private cell phone buzzed, which was never a good sign. I was off the clock now; I should just ignore it and let someone else take care of it. Then I remembered that Ross was out of town, and I was that someone else.
I looked down at the caller ID and recognized Ted’s number. My first thought was, What kind of trouble have they gotten into now?
I was already mentally rifling through my list of bail bondsman when I accepted the call. “Yes?”
Ted spoke quickly, the words a mangled jumble in his excited state. It took nearly a full minute before I was able to get a word in.
“Ted, breathe,” I said in my best soothing but not-taking-any-shit Mom voice. “What happened?”
“I lost them.”
“Lost who?” I asked, but of course, I already knew the answer.
“Jace and Kurt.”
“What about the others?”
“They didn’t come. They’re hanging out with their wives.” The way Ted said wives conveyed his horror.
In his mind, rock stars had no business being married or having families. I tended to agree with him. The rock-and-roll lifestyle—the fame, the traveling, the ever-present temptation—wasn’t exactly conducive to the kind of stable environment most families needed to thrive. But I had to give them some credit. The fact that Dave and Chaz had chosen to spend time with their significant others instead of going out and partying deserved my respect.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut against the images now assaulting me. I would not think about what Jace and Kurt were doing. Sending them off with Ted had seemed like a good idea at the time.
I hadn’t been thinking clearly, but then, what woman would be when enclosed in an office with a man like Jace Logan? Now, because of my momentary obfuscation, they were missing. Or more likely, they’d ditched Ted, probably as a message to me. I recalled the look on Jace’s face when I’d handed him off, the one I realized now was not just