Reid stretched. “Yeah. Let’s hear what you got.”
“All right.” Thane stood. “You can give me your opinions on a couple of new songs I’ve written.”
While Thane went to his truck, Reid and Celine helped Lauren clear the table.
They were in the kitchen when Thane returned with his guitar and a rectangular case. He looked to Reid. “I keep a portable keyboard with me. I’m not as good as you, but it helps when I’m writing music. Thought you might want to warm up your fingers.”
“Sounds good.” Reid tossed the dishtowel on the counter. His smile didn’t light up his eyes.
Lauren looped her arm through his as they walked to the deck. He’d handled listening to Thane share stories he couldn’t remember. How would he take it if he couldn’t recall how to play?
The guys commandeered the benches and table. Lauren and Celine laid on towels and throw pillows.
Thane strummed a few chords on the guitar. “This new song is called ‘Fire and Ice.’”
The upbeat tempo naturally inspired movement.
Lauren and Celine floor-danced.
Then he launched into acoustic versions of current pop hits. Reid nodded to the beat and tapped his thigh. He didn’t play the keyboard. Seemingly unconscious to him, his fingers started to move as if he were playing it.
Thane glanced at Reid as he took a sip of beer. “Let’s slow it down a bit.”
Reid smoothed his damp palms on his thighs. The cut-off sweatpants absorbed the moisture. His hands itched to touch the keyboard. It was as if he stared down at a part of himself as familiar as a gun. Still, he hesitated. So far, revelations had led to nightmares and murky recollections. Trying to put it together was like nailing JELL-O to a tree. As he’d listened to Thane, the stories felt right. He did approach life and speak his mind in the way Thane had described. He’d longed for that guy to emerge. Something inside of him said music had brought him joy and peace. It had also soothed a lot of pain. If he laid his hands on the keys and none of that happened, it would hit him like a betrayal of the worst kind.
Thane played. The haunting lyrics he sang hung in the breeze.
Goose bumps raised on Reid’s arms. He placed his fingers on the keys. Without hesitation, he added in the accompanying chords. Love. Loss. Holding on to your soul as you travel the roads of life. He didn’t just know the words. He’d lived them. His voice, clear and lyrical, blended with Thane’s.
Recollections rolled over him like the tide. Suddenly, it was if they were there. Colby, Mace, West. He had a bond with them that went beyond music. They’d fought and bled as brothers in battle. They’d accepted Dalir’s gift as a team.
The final notes of “Shadows On the Road” passed, but Reid continued playing. He recalled the band’s last show as Thane’s Redemption. Lauren, stunning in a white dress, had come to him at the after-party. After convincing Celine to wait for Thane, they’d focused on their own desires. The vision he kept seeing of them together was from that night.
Reid stopped playing. He met Lauren’s gaze. She blinked back tears. He’d taken solace in her not remembering. Now, more than ever, he wanted her to recall everything about them…and never forget.
Thane clasped his shoulder. “Welcome back, brother.”
That night, while Reid lay in bed, Thane’s words echoed in his mind. But he wasn’t all the way back. The mission and what had landed him on Lauren’s doorstep eluded him. And he still couldn’t phase.
“It was nice to hear you play.” Lauren snuggled to his side. “You’re a gifted musician.”
“Thanks. I’m lucky Thane had the keyboard with him. Playing opened up a lot.” Knowing more also weighed a heavy-ass load. It was if he could hear her mind working. He braced for questions he couldn’t or didn’t know how to answer.
Is this how Beth felt with him? Pretending and not knowing how to confess the truth. He’d recalled memories of her, too. How she’d remained with him through his grandfather’s illness. He’d believed it was about love. When he’d proposed to her, he’d found out she’d stayed out of a sense of obligation. She hadn’t wanted to end things while he took care of and grieved his grandfather.
“You and Thane talked for a long time. Did you figure out what to do next? Is there family or someone else who may know what happened to you?”
Reid wrapped an arm around her. “I don’t have any close living relatives.” Earlier, he’d recalled the month he’d lost his grandfather and then Beth in an instant. The sting of it had lingered as he’d played the first Tchaikovsky piece his grandfather had taught him. “I need to talk to the rest of the band. They might know something that can help. Thane checked around. No one has reported an accident or an abandoned camp in the woods. And I’m not involved in anything illegal.”