Page 15

Pronounced.
The word echoed in my brain, my mind refusing to understand it until Kalini let out a wounded cry, and I had to acknowledge it. I didn’t seem possible, but…
Bair was gone.
Nine
Jae
I wasn’t wearinga nicer shirt than I usually wore to work in hopes of seeing Damon Holden again. He’d bought everything he’d needed in that one trip, and if he came back, it’d most likely be to return the guitar, and that wouldn’t be a good thing.
Even if I did want to prove to him that I wasn’t a complete moron.
“Nice shirt,” Jamie said as she came into the kitchen. She yawned and reached for the coffeepot. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear that to work.”
I rolled my eyes and ignored her as I finished putting together my lunch. I’d told her about my encounter with Damon Holden, and she’d been teasing me about it ever since. I was starting to wish I’d kept it all to myself.
The TV turned on, the volume low to keep Kevin asleep for a little while longer.
Jamie’s gasp had me turning even as what the newscaster was saying finally processed.
“…death of thirty-year-old Bair Appleton has shocked the country music world. He and two other members of the award-winning band, Holden, were coming from the airport when the tire of the town car they were in blew and the driver lost control.”
I sank down in the closest chair. Damon couldn’t be one of the other two in the car last night. He hadn’t been coming back from the airport since he’d already been in Houston.
Unless he’d been the driver.
No, they would’ve used Damon’s name if it’d been him.
“Former Navy Seal Otis Kritzer is in critical but stable condition. Kritzer is the bass player…”
“Jae, are you–”
“Shh.” I didn’t take my eyes from the screen.
“Sources say that Hawk Youngen wasn’t seriously injured, but he hasn’t been released from the hospital. Kalini Volek, the only female member of Holden, was in a cab ahead of the car holding her bandmates and has declined to comment…”
“Vultures,” Jamie snapped. “The girl saw her friends’ car wreck, and someonedied.”
A picture of Damon appeared on the screen. “Lead singer Damon Holden was not with his friends at the time of the accident and has declined to speak with us.”
I turned the television off. I didn’t want to see anymore. My heart was already breaking for Damon and the rest of the band. I couldn’t even imagine what they were going through right now. I’d never lost anyone that close to me.
“That’s awful,” Jamie sat down next to me. “I mean, even if you hadn’t met Damon the other day, this would’ve been horrible. Those poor families.”
“He was married,” I said quietly. “Bair Appleton. Caught his wife cheating a few months back and filed for divorce. It was messy.”
“I remember. It was all over the news.” Jamie stood up and took my coffee cup back to the sink. “Shit.”
I spun around. “What?”
“Jetta’s going to flip.”
“Shit,” I echoed. She was right. Our baby sister loved Holden, and Bair had always been her favorite. She was going to be devastated.
“I’ll call Mom,” Jamie said. “You need to get to work.”
I pushed my hair behind my ear. “You’ll have your hands full when Kevin gets up.”