Ravensong (11 page)

“
Be my guest,” said Joshua,
feeding his surly mood.

“
Nooo, hold on, Josh,” said
Elliot, moving to intercept his friend. “Julian, back off, all
right?” Elliot hooked Joshua around the shoulders and pulled him
back into the room. “Come on, Josh, we need ya. Can’t seem to get
even one set down right.”

Joshua moved into place.
Both Robert and Elliot exchanged worried glances. Joshua might
ignore the morning meetings and he might skirt interviews, but he
never failed to show up for rehearsals or concerts. This wasn’t a
good sign.

Still it took all of half a
song before the old Joshua Ravensong came out. The perfectionist in
him just couldn’t continue wallowing in his own problems when the
music called him. Soon the rest of the band members were smiling at
each other knowingly as he bounced from one instrument to another,
pulling the hanging threads together into a masterpiece.

Elena watched from the back
of the auditorium, amazed by his energy and brilliance. Parts of
songs that sounded a little off to her became polished and
perfected with Joshua’s attention. Nothing escaped his notice. As
the hours wore on, the band members would get irritated by his
constant interruptions and repetitions, but in the end, they had to
admit he’d been right to change the way the music
flowed.

David moved back, taking a
seat on the bleachers beside her. “You’re seeing genius in
action.”

“
Seems that
way.”

He laughed. “Julian hates
seeing Joshua’s brilliance, but he just can’t make himself quit
watching. It’s like seeing a meteor shower or watching lightning
flash in the sky.”

Elena looked at the band
manager. “You really think a lot of him, don’t you?”

David nodded. “I’ve worked
with a lot of musicians, but never one like Joshua. If you’re damn
lucky, you get to see this genius once in a lifetime. You ought to
hear him play the piano.”

“
I have,” she said,
remembering the other night.

“
Take your breath
away?”

Elena didn’t hesitate.
“Like I’d died and was standing at the gates of heaven.”

For a moment David looked
at her closely, then his eyes lowered to the engagement ring on her
finger. “He puts up one hell of a front, but there’s a lot on the
inside.” He leaned back and folded his hands over his stomach.
“I’ll never forget when he first came here. His older brother sent
us a tape without his permission. ‘Course we all knew who Ravensong
was, we’d heard about his drug overdose and hospitalization, and
despite his talent, we wanted no part of him. But when we heard
just one song off that tape, we knew we had to have him in the
band.”

“
At the time we were just
small timers, headlining for other small timers, but Joshua
catapulted us to the top with that first album. He was surly as
hell, wouldn’t talk to anyone, except Elliot. Somehow Elliot got on
his good side nearly from the get go, but the rest of us, shit, for
a while I didn’t think he remembered how to talk. He’d just grunt
at me and look away.”

Elena smiled.

David shook his head in
memory. “Until we went into the recording studio the first time.
Joshua threw such a fit about how we were recording and over
dubbing, I thought they’d throw us out. He kept arguing that we had
to sound like we would live or we’d be selling a false product -
exactly what he said, false product. We tried to explain how the
business worked, but he flat out refused to do the album unless we
followed his instructions. Still don’t know why I agreed, but it
turned out to be the best gamble I ever took.”

“
How long before he warmed
up?”

“
It was a while, but with
clowns like Elliot and Ralph, and good, decent guys like Michael
and Robert, he didn’t stand much chance. Even though he’s been with
us for eight years, I still don’t know him very well, but I sure as
hell respect him.”

Elena narrowed her eyes on
the manager. “Why does Julian hate him so much?”

“
Where would I begin?” said
David with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s jealousy, pure and
simple.” David shifted his eyes to her face. “Joshua shuts himself
off from everyone, only letting in a very few, and I’m not saying
he hasn’t made a lot of mistakes - still is - but he’s got guts and
intelligence and honesty and this incredible sense of virtue that
forces you to like him unless you get completely caught up in
envy.”

Elena looked back at the
band, where they were still arguing over another song. Joshua was
adamantly shaking his head, refusing to back down. He was pretty
complex, she decided. Just when she had him figured out, he went
and changed the game on her, forcing her to start all over. Maybe
that was why she couldn’t get him off her mind, or maybe, she
thought with a wicked smile, it was the way his jeans hugged his
hips and rear end.

CHAPTER 5

Joshua plucked a string on
Elliot’s guitar, listening for the tone, then adjusted it once
more. Elliot could never tune his own guitar. It wasn’t that he
didn’t know whether it was in tune or not, he just didn’t have the
patience to get it right. He expected Joshua to do it for him.
Joshua didn’t mind, he’d tuned all the guitars in his brother’s
band as a kid, before James would agree to let him join.

Elliot listened, screwing
up his face in concentration. “So what’s been eating you lately?”
he asked.

Joshua held up a hand to
silence him a moment. Again he plucked the string and they both
listened expectantly. Elliot nodded that it sounded good, but
Joshua wasn’t pleased. “Nothing, why’d you ask?”

“
You’ve been acting
strange, even for you.”

Joshua gave him a chilling
look before returning to the guitar. “I’m fine.”

“
My ass,” said Elliot,
swinging the leg that dangled over the stool.

Joshua lifted his brows at
his friend. “Whatever.”

“
I think you miss Megan.
Maybe you were a little hasty in cooling things with her. She’s
been your longest steady for awhile now.”

“
Maybe you’re right, El,”
said Joshua calmly.

Too calmly for Elliot. “So
if it ain’t Megan, then what?”

“
Then nothing.”

“
Come on, Josh, you never
miss rehearsal.”

“
I obviously didn’t or I
wouldn’t be spending a whole damn hour tuning your
guitar.”

Elliot chewed on his lip a
moment in silence. “So, what do you think my chances are with
Elena?”

Joshua’s head snapped up,
but Elliot wasn’t watching him. His eyes were fixed on the back of
the auditorium where Elena was talking with David. “She’s engaged,
El, remember?”

Elliot glanced at his
friend. “She isn’t very thrilled with it. I asked her point
blank.”

“
You did what?”

Elliot met his friend’s
stare. “I asked her if she wanted to marry her fiancé and she told
me she didn’t know. So what do think my chances are?”

“
About as good as getting
struck with lightning and about as enjoyable.”

“
Bull shit, look at her and
tell me you haven’t had dirty thoughts.”

Joshua permitted himself
one glance. “Maybe, but I’m not stupid enough to act on it and
neither are you. Stay away, El, or she’s gonna hurt
you.”

“
What if she’s the
one?”

Joshua frowned. “The one
for what?”

“
What’s going on?” asked
Robert as he moved into the conversation.

“
Just asking Josh what he
thinks my chances are with Elena Harris.”

Robert seemed surprised.
“Thought she was engaged?”

“
She is,” said
Joshua.

“
Maybe not,” amended
Elliot.

Robert looked at the woman
in question. “I think she’s out of your league, El,” he said
soberly.

Joshua nodded grimly.
“Thanks, Bobby, at least someone’s got his head out of his pants
around here.”

Elliot waved his best friend off, but
Robert suddenly turned his attention to the lead singer.

“
I still say she might be
the one.”

“
The one to knock you on
your ass,” said Joshua severely.

Robert’s brows lifted in
surprise. “So ask her out and see, El?” he said, but his eyes never
left Joshua.

Joshua met his gaze for a moment, but
he deliberately shifted his attention back to the
guitar.

“
Maybe I will,” said
Elliot.

Joshua shook his head in
disgust. “Setting yourself up for a real hard fall,
pal.”

“
Maybe not,” said
Robert.

“
Yeah, anyway, maybe I’ll
just ask her to go play pool at the pizza parlor with us tonight.
Make it a casual, group thing, no strings, and see what
happens.”

“
You’re a friggin’ idiot,”
muttered Joshua. “She’s gonna grind you under her heel.”

“
And I’ll enjoy every
minute of it,” said Elliot with a laugh.

Joshua couldn’t help but
return his smile.

* * *

Joshua had no intention of
going to the Friday night pool party. He’d expected to spend the
weekend with his daughter, but Terry had prevented that by
demanding Tiffany stay home as punishment for not doing her
homework. Then Elena had accepted Elliot’s invitation, causing
Joshua to bristle with irritation, and the combination had worked
to put him in a foul mood. There was no way he intended to stay
home, moping about his empty house while Elliot made passes at the
woman
he
wanted.

Joshua felt not a little
guilty by his uncharitable thoughts toward Elliot. When he and
Elliot had become friends, Elliot had insisted they swear no woman
would ever come between them. To date Joshua had never found a
woman worth the risk. Whenever Elliot showed interest in a woman,
Joshua deliberately and obviously backed off. Still Elena Harris
was different. Why? Joshua wasn’t exactly sure, but she was and he
wasn’t going to back off this time.

He knew the others were
taking the limo from the office. These Friday night pool parties
tended to get a little rowdy and no one wanted to risk driving
while under the influence. No one wanted to be the designated
driver either, so they agreed to have the limo chauffer them
around. Joshua rarely attended a Friday night blow out - he wasn’t
a drinker and if he didn’t have his daughter, he usually had a
private evening planned with a date. Still, on the unusual occasion
when he did attend, he always drove himself. He was always ready to
leave before anyone else. This night was no exception, even though
he bristled at the knowledge that Elliot had Elena to himself in
the limo on the way from the office to the pizza parlor.

Parking the Cherokee in the
parking lot, he noticed the early crowd. A lot of people knew the
band members from
Avalanche
frequented this place. Joshua drew a deep breath.
God, he didn’t want to be bombarded by people tonight. Flexing his
shoulders, he resolved himself to the situation.

Throwing open the door, he climbed out
and strolled across the parking lot. His body guard, Dominic fell
into step behind him. He knew Joshua liked to drive himself, and he
knew that Joshua didn’t want him hovering over him. They had worked
out this arrangement years ago.

A few young women standing
outside the door started whispering and giggling as he walked by,
but he deliberately ignored them. He knew Dominic’s dark scowl
would keep them away, unless Joshua acknowledged them.

Inside the room was smoky and smelled
of beer. Joshua moved through the thick crowd, drawing attention as
he went. Dominic melted into the crowd. Joshua wouldn’t see him
again until it was time to go, unless he needed Dominic’s hulking
presence. He found Ralph at the bar, talking with two college
women, the women laughing at everything he said.

“
Hey, Josh, how’s about a
beer?” he said, hooking Joshua around the shoulder with an
arm.

Joshua threw a negligent smile at the
women and nodded to his friend. Ralph yelled at the bartender over
the music.

“
Ladies,” he said, turning
back to his captive audience, “let me introduce you to the one and
only Joshua Ravensong.”

Joshua frowned at Ralph, but threw
another smile at the two women. They both offered him their hands
and laughed effervescently at him.

“
You both must be college
students,” said Joshua, turning on his charm.

The women glanced at each other and
laughed again. Joshua took in their pretty California faces, both
blonds wearing enough makeup to make it look effortless. They each
had nice even teeth, and were tall and thin, their clothing hugging
every curve of bodies he would usually find more than
tempting.

“
State,” said the taller
one, tilting her head at a deliberately seductive angle.

Joshua met the frank gaze of her brown
eyes. She was nearly as tall as he was and had nice, full lips. His
gaze lazily swept down her body and she feigned modesty by looking
into her drink, then glancing at him through her thick lashes. It
would usually be enough invitation for him, but not tonight.
Turning and casting a half-smile on the bartender, he lifted the
beer to his mouth and took a sip.