A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) by Karolyn James Read Free Book Online Page A

a suit took them to their room. He then held the
door open and thanked the band for staying at his hotel. Of course, the hotel
wasn ’ t his , but he
needed to say such things to appease corporate policy.
    The hotel room was massive and
unnecessary. But someone paid for it, even if the hotel gave it to Fallen
Tuesday for free.
    Mack went right to the fridge and
let out a cheer when he found it stocked with beer. He took out five beers and
lined them up.
    “ Can
we have a little toast to our show? ” he asked. “ Before we get
into this bullshit? ”
    “ Yes, ” Gray said.
    Luke, Trent, and Jake walked to the
counter. They all twisted off the caps to their beers and cheered each other.
    “ That
was a great show, ” Luke
said. “ We have a few more
and then we ’ ll be back on
the road. Hotels and the tour bus will become our home. ”
    “ I
love it, ” Mack said. “ I don ’ t know how you wimps are going to make it work
though. ”
    “ Who? ” Trent asked.
    Mack smiled. “ You, Trent. And Luke. And Gray. ”
    “ What
about us? ” Gray asked.
    “ Those
women have your hearts all twisted. How are you going to survive? ”
    “ Dude, ” Trent said shaking his head. “ You know the road is where we
belong. ”
    “ I
know, ” Mack said. “ I ’ m
breaking your balls a little. It ’ s
not like you could bring them on the road, right? ”
    “ Maybe, ” Luke said. “ Maybe not. ”
    “ Why
the hell are we talking about this? ” Gray asked. He looked at Jake.
    “ I ’ m sorry for what happened back
there, ” Jake said. “ You know me, guys. This is my
life. If I didn ’ t have this
band and music, I ’ d be long
gone. Today was just overwhelming. Seeing so many people like that. So close.
Fans crying …”
    “ Gets
to me, too, ” Luke said. “ That our music conveys such
emotion that people connect so deeply. It ’ s
special. ”
    “ Yeah, ” Gray said. “ I get that. ”
    “ It ’ s not just that, ” Jake said. “ The emotion, yes, but there ’ s more. And it involves Chloe. ”
    “ I
can ’ t stand hearing that
name, ” Mack said.
    “ Get
used to it, ” Jake said. He
grabbed his beer and drank. He then took a few steps away and knew he needed to
just spill his guts. He took two more sips from the cold beer. He then looked
to his band, to Fallen Tuesday, and said the two words he knew would change it
all. “ Chloe ’ s pregnant. ”
     
    *
     
    Mel couldn ’ t sleep. There was no such thing as a nap for her.
She got back to her apartment and the second she opened the door, she felt
alone. The apartment always smelled musty, no matter how many candles she lit
or air fresheners she plugged in.
    After tossing her mail to the
table, Mel went to the kitchen sink and looked out the window. The window was
too small for the best view out of the apartment. Off in the distance was a
wide horizon. She always stood there and wondered where her father was. Was he
close? Or was he somewhere else? Different town. Different state.
    Her father could even be dead.
    That prompted her to grab a
notebook and pen. She plopped down at the kitchen table and started to write
out everything she knew about her mother and her family and friends of her
family.
    Her mother was one of two sisters,
which meant the family tree wasn ’ t
going to be very big at all. Her mother ’ s
sister was named Jane and lived somewhere in Washington state. The last time
Mel saw her Aunt Jane was at her mother ’ s
funeral. Aunt Jane was the complete opposite of her sister; an executive who
wore expensive clothes, drove an expensive car, and thought of her career as
her child and her money as family. She was single, not dating, and there was no
connection between Jane and Mel ’ s
father. Mel knew this because she asked Aunt Jane once about him.
    “ That
man … that man is no
good. Never was. Never will be. I hated that man from the moment I met him, and
if there ’ s one
regret I ’ ll admit to
you …” Aunt Jane