Page 14 of A Daddy for Christmas 3: Matty

With a nod, Tank picked up the guitar he’d been salivating over. “Cherry…” he mumbled, plugging it into a nearby amp.

It was interesting that our sponsor band was playing in our hometown while we were in theirs. But Midnight Hunt’s show had to be arena-sized huge, not the shitholes Star Fly had been playing in.

A few minutes later, we had everything set up and ready to go, and Cat went into the other room. Her voice came across an intercom system. “Okay, guys. Whenever you’re ready.”

And just like that, we were recording our first song. It was one we played a lot, so it was comfortable, which is probably why we were starting with that.

Front man

Killing it and kicking ass

You’re next

A big star, making it

Front man

Show ‘em how it’s done

Fucking take your run

When we finished the entire song, Cat asked us to play it again. This time, she stopped us in several places and had us rearrange some of the song, cutting most of the bridge. Then we played it again her way. Twice.

“Wolf was right. Lots of potential. How about I work with Finn for a bit on his own? The rest of you can go to the breakroom or lounge.”

Was this how it was supposed to go? I didn’t know, but Cat was a pro, so the rest of us packed it in and made for the breakroom.

The fridge was full of bottled water, soft drinks, and energy drinks. Not unlike the house we were staying in. It was large and fully stocked, thanks to Jinx. I tossed a water to Tank and Gonzo before grabbing one for myself. “What do you guys think?”

Tank shrugged.

Gonzo tilted his head back and forth. “Decent changes. Weird taking direction from someone outside of the band, but fuck…it’s Cat McPherson. Right?”

“Exactly.”

“This could be huge.” Gonzo wasn’t wrong. “I mean, with this backing. Not only Cat but the Midnight Hunt guys. And their promoter.”

“Things are going to change. And probably very fast.” Tank didn’t talk a lot, certainly not like our motormouth, Finn, but when he did, it was important. Or at least, he felt it was worth saying. So I listened.

Everything was changing fast. It already had. Since we’d agreed to this gig, they’d moved us out here and now we were recording, all within a few weeks. We had only just signed the contract. And now…

An album. Touring. Fans.

Just like that.

How the fuck was Matty going to fit into this new world? How would he feel about us doing a tour while he gets left behind?We’d only played locally before. Dive joints, really. Fuck. I missed him, but I didn’t want Matty to join me here with my life in such a state of flux. I didn’t know if I could keep Matty through it all.

Wolf called us into the conference room to talk about progress, I assumed. I also felt like things were going well, but what the fuck did I know? I took a seat and waited for everyone to get coffee and water and join us around the big table.

Jinx sat at one end between Miami and Wolf. Once everyone else was seated, including Cat and that kid who was doing the marketing—his name was Kai or Sky, or some shit—Jinx tapped on the table in front of him. “How’s it going?”

We all mumbled ourgreatandgoodcomments, but he had to see we were uneasy.

“Alright. I’ll just jump right in on this…” Jinx looked at Wolf. “We want to make some changes. In particular, the band name.”

Wolf leaned forward to back him up. “We can’t release it like this.”

I scowled deeply. I didn’t like this at all. “What the fuck?”