love of music, and when Blue, Roger and Daz had started hanging around the music room at lunchtime too, Rock Hard Place had been born and they hadn’t looked back.
‘Mate, good to hear from you,’ Yanni said, holding up his hand in a wave. ‘How you doing?’
‘Okay.’ He hefted his walking boot into the air. ‘Apart from this.’
‘What the hell happened?’
‘I battled your quad bike and lost.’
‘Dickhead. Bad?’
‘Fracture.’
‘I was talking about the bike.’
Yanni never failed to make Kody laugh, even when he didn’t feel like it. ‘I’ll replace it.’
Yanni waved away his offer. ‘So how are you, apart from a bung ankle?’
‘Not bad.’ Not good hung unsaid between them. Evading the truth was much easier than flat-out lying to his best mate. ‘The damnedest thing has happened.’
Yanni waited for him to continue. Another thing Kody liked about his friend: he didn’t waste words. Some guys blathered for the sake of it, spinning bullshit as naturally as breathing, but not Yanni. He was a good listener.
‘Have you ever met your neighbour here?’
‘Nah. I keep a low profile when I’m in Brockenridge. That’s the whole point of having a place out there: to decompress.’
‘Fair enough.’ Kody inhaled a breath and blew it out. ‘You’re not going to believe this but … remember Tash?’
‘Your Tash? From back in Melbourne when we were gigging at the Princeton?’
Kody nodded. ‘Turns out she’s your neighbour, and she has a kid, Isla, who’s mine.’
Yanni’s jaw dropped. ‘Tash had your kid and you didn’t know?’
Kody didn’t want to get into Tash’s lie so he said, ‘Biggest surprise of my life, but in a good way.’
‘You’ve got a kid …’ A slow grin spread across Yanni’s face. ‘I’ll be damned.’
‘Yeah, it’s a real spin out.’
‘So that would make her … what? Thirteen?’
‘Yeah, almost.’
‘That’s great news, mate. I’m happy for you.’
‘Thanks.’
Kody wanted to ask so much. Do you think I’ll make a good dad? What happens if I can’t get my shit together? What will happen to my new relationship with my daughter once I leave town? But no use asking Yanni questions he might not want to hear the answers to.
‘Uh … how’s Tash? Are you guys getting on okay?’
‘Yeah, she’s been helping me out since the ankle. And she’s facilitating my relationship with Isla.’ Only Yanni knew how gutted he’d been when she’d walked away from him all those years ago. Yanni had been the one to watch over him as he’d downed enough tequila shots to pickle his liver three nights in a row, who’d given him a pep talk about bucking the hell up before they got to LA, who’d taken him on a double date with two American cheerleaders the first week they’d landed in the City of Angels. Yanni had his back and always would, which meant revealing the real intent behind this call.
‘Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something.’
Yanni nodded and pointed to his face. ‘I knew you weren’t calling just to look at this mug.’
‘As handsome as you think you are, you’re right.’ Kody huffed out a breath then rushed on. ‘I know all of you saw shrinks after the accident, but how are the boys coping these days?’
‘At the risk of you biting my head off again: better than you.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. Being back in Melbourne, killing time until you’re ready to join us, has been good.’
That may never happen hovered on the tip of Kody’s tongue. He didn’t want to stuff his mates around and now that he had Isla, he had to make careful decisions and not rush in.
‘Any idea when that’s going to happen?’
Kody shook his head. ‘Not a bloody clue. I still can’t pick up a guitar, let alone sing a note.’
‘Fuck,’ Yanni muttered, concern clouding his eyes. ‘Still that bad?’
‘Yep and it shits me.’ Kody thumped the table in frustration, causing the screen to pixellate for a second. ‘I want to get past this but I can’t.’
‘You need professional help.’
‘So I’ve been told.’ He hesitated. ‘Tash virtually said the same.’
Yanni’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You opened up to her about all this?’
‘A little.’ A lot—he hadn’t anticipated telling her any of it but she’d always been a good listener and he’d fallen into old habits. Or maybe she’d got under his skin? Because as angry as he may be that she’d withheld Isla from him all these years, spending time with his daughter had shown him exactly what kind of a person Tash was: a caring, loving mother who’d raised an amazing kid, a resilient, well-adjusted girl