“Why?”
She shakes her head. “Liam Junior is going to have a flock of women coming after him.”
“I’m not ready for those days.”
“Yeah, well they’re coming soon.” She leaves me standing at the counter, watching the men put their equipment together. I’m startled when a warm hand encases mine. I look down to find Peyton by my side. For all my worries about Liam, I tend to forget about how much Harrison leaving is affecting Quinn and the girls. I thought Quinn would be used to it, but he always went on tour with the band, so this will be something new for him. It’s a good thing he has Katelyn to help him through it. It’s refreshing to see how well she and Quinn have adapted... you’d think she’s his biological mom. Peyton and Elle, on the other hand, are so attached to Harrison that it can’t be easy for them to know he won’t be there when they wake up in the morning. I’m expecting some serious meltdowns from Peyton.
“I don’t like what he’s wearing.”
My eyes go from her to Harrison and back to her. She’s dressed in her usual wear: gym shorts, a football shirt and tennis shoes.
“You don’t like what your dad is wearing?”
Peyton looks up at me with her baby blue eyes. Her long brown hair is in a messy pony tail, which I’m sure she did herself because she refuses to let Katelyn touch her hair.
“Noah. I don’t like that he looks like that. Football players aren’t supposed to dress funky.”
I can only nod and keep my comments to myself. I’ve suspected a crush was developing, but thought it would pass. The five-year age difference, while it’s an issue now, won’t always be. Not that I expect them to end up together.
“I don’t know why Noah is dressed like his dad tonight, maybe they got dressed together?” I’m grasping at straws here and she knows it. Since she and Harrison found a common bond, we’ve all been able to relax a little. Losing Mason, while extremely hard on all of us, shattered her world. For the longest time it was like we were walking on eggshells. That is, of course, unless your name is Liam or Noah. They can do no wrong when it comes to Peyton.
As soon as Noah pulls out his guitar, my heart starts to beat a little faster. Liam is encouraging Noah to do anything he wants, and when he asked to learn how to play, Liam happily taught him. Occasionally, I hear Noah practicing in his room, but he’s never played for me.
“I think we should get a seat.” I tug on Peyton’s hand and even though she sighs loudly, she follows. Katelyn, Elle, Jenna and Eden have seats saved for us. Eden is yelling for Jimmy and getting angry that he’s not coming for her. She has him wrapped around her finger. If ever there were a family that needed each other, it’s them. Jimmy needed Jenna to change his ways, and she needed him to find herself again. Eden was just the icing on their proverbial cake. She makes them both better people.
“We want to thank everyone for coming tonight. I know there’s a bunch of you still outside and if you can hear me, please listen to Sarah at the door when she tells you to wait.”
Liam pulls a stool closer to his mic stand and winks at me. “So, tonight, 4225 West is heading back to LA.”
The collective groan from the patrons reverberates through me. I can relate.
“In our careers, we all start somewhere and the place where we started is going under. We’re going to try and save it. We don’t know if we’ll be successful, but we owe it to the owner to help her. So tonight, we’re going to give you a little show before we have to catch the red-eye. But up first is my son who has something special to say.”
My heart soars with pride as Noah steps up to the microphone. He clears his throat, looks at Liam who nods, and then looks at the audience.
“My dad helped me learn this song for my mom.”
Katelyn squeezes my leg as once again, my mouth falls open. Noah and Liam sit down on their respective stools, both holding guitars. Noah strums the first chord, followed by Liam, who can’t take his eyes off our son. A look of pride and encouragement is in the smile Liam holds as he watches Noah move his fingers up and down the fret board.
I know the song in an instant as the lyrics come pouring out of Liam’s mouth. His eyes are focused on me as he sings. She’s Like the Wind is one of my favorites and I used to make Noah dance to it with me over and over again. It has always reminded me of Liam and to hear him sing the words now brings tears to my eyes.