Page 107 of Hard Rock Muse

“I can’t wait to start,” I said, letting out a small breath of relief. If Frank had said no, I didn’t really have any other back up ideas.

“You know I’ve only got part-time hours for now, though,” he said, looking worried. “Can’t swing full-time yet. I’m not gonna fire that other guy out of the blue. That wouldn’t be fair to him.”

“I’m okay with starting part-time,” I told him. “I’ll get my feet wet again before jumping all in.”

Frank beamed at me and clapped me on the back with enough enthusiasm to almost made me stumble forward.

“Good to have you back, kid,” Frank said.

The shop door jingled, signaling a customer entering. Frank turned toward them. His mouth dropped into an O.

“Isn’t this just a day for surprises,” he said.

I turned and saw who Frank was talking to.

Seth stood in the doorway.

“Hey Frank.” He raised his hand in a small wave and smiled at me nervously. “Hey Ever.”

“Well, look at you!” Frank bellowed out a laugh. “Since when did you start looking like a grown-ass man? Last time I saw you, you were just this gangly little squirt.”

Seth chuckled too, not taking offense.

“Guess that’s what going through puberty does to a guy,” he said easily.

“What have you been up to?” Frank asked. “Aside from living it up with all that fame and fortune.”

“It has been a wild ride,” Seth agreed. “I’ve got about a million stories.”

“I’d love to hear them,” Frank said.

“I’d love to tell you.” Seth grinned at Frank before his smile turned somber. “Right now I need to talk to Ever, though. It’s important.”

I folded my arms across my chest. I should have known Seth was going to show up eventually. Whenever Julian was in hot water or needed help, Seth was there to drag him out of it — or sometimes into it, depending on the situation.

“What do you need to talk about?” I said.

Seth’s expression turned forlorn. I felt a little bad for being so curt with him, but I was still sore over what had happened with me and Julian, and the two of them usually came as a matched set. It was hard to talk to one without thinking about the other.

“I know you’re mad at Julian, but does that also mean you have to be mad at me?” Seth asked.

I heaved a slow sigh through my nose. He was right, as much as I hated to admit it. However Julian had treated me, it had nothing to do with Seth.

I lowered my defensive arms.

“All right,” I said. “I’m listening.”

Seth scanned the music store. There were still a couple customers wandering around, looking at albums and instruments. Frank was scrutinizing the two of us with a careful gaze.

Seth looked back to me and nodded his chin to the front door.

“Let’s go for coffee or something,” Seth said. “I don’t want to get into this in the middle of Frank’s store.”

So Seth didn’t want an audience for what he had to tell me. I didn’t know whether that was going to end up being a good thing for me or a bad thing.

“There’s a coffee shop across the street,” I said.

Seth’s expression eased, looking relieved.

“Thank you,” he said. “I promise, you’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”