Page 57 of Perfect Composition

“Same. If I can’t see it at the pens, I love watching it at Rodeo Ralph’s.”

I frown. “You’re too young to get in there.” Rodeo Ralph’s is a dive bar located in downtown Kensington and has been around since I was a kid.

“He’s turned it into more than just a bar. Now you can get food there.”

“Really? Is it any good?” The idea of the behemoth of a man cooking sends my stomach reeling while simultaneously intriguing me.

Austyn smirks. “No, it totally sucks. I go just to get a free beer on occasion.”

I bark a laugh. “How does your mother feel about that?”

She rolls her eyes. “Ask her yourself.”

“Trust me, I will. After we find her.” I turn to Ward, who’s texting on his phone. “Can you do me a favor? Have my plane fueled and ready on standby at Teterboro in two hours?”

“I already texted your pilot. He said closer to three because of holiday traffic.”

“Wait. What’s happening?” Austyn’s head swivels from one of us to another.

“We’re flying down to Austin to find your mother.” And while I’m there, I can lay some old ghosts to rest.

“Shut the hell up,” Austyn breathes. “I just came in here hoping one of you would call her.”

Carys chuckles. “That’s what I was going to suggest, but your father is obviously taking control of this show.”

I lift my hand to flick her off, but damnit, I have an impressionable nineteen-year-old looking at me like I’m her hero. Not because I’m the rock god, Beckett Miller, but because I’m willing to drop everything and help her mother.

Of the two, I’d give up my career in music just to experience the second for eternity.

I clear my throat. “Right. Wheels up in three hours. Austyn, do you want to pack and then meet me here so we can get to the airport, say in two hours?”

She gestures behind her. “I already packed. I was going to head out to JFK to get a flight if I couldn’t get anyone to take me seriously.”

“Right.” Just that alone tells me how serious her concerns are. “Then why don’t you ride with me to my place, I’ll pack a couple of days’ worth of clothes, and we’ll head out.”

“Hold on, Beckett. You’re planning on staying? In Kensington?”

Grimly, I reach for my daughter’s hand and press it firmly against my chest. “I made your mother a promise to come back for her. It’s taken me too long to keep it.” Especially knowing she needed me this whole while. The guilt that wants to suffocate me is like a tidal wave.

But I’m not left to drown in the emotion. Instead, I’m poked in the chest by Paige’s and my offspring. “Damn straight. Now, let’s go. I’ve heard about some legendary parties at this place of yours. I’m dying to see it.”

“Those are a thing of the past,” I inform Austyn as I push her out the door. “I intend on becoming a model of propriety.”

Carys chokes on air. David calmly thwacks his wife on the back.

With Austyn in front of me, this time I do give them the middle finger. But I have a goofy smile on my face when I do. Therefore, I’m not surprised when they all burst out laughing.

Carys shouts just as I’m about to close the door, “Let us know how Paige is!”

“We will,” I call back.

Then I close them out and focus on the part of my heart that manages to live and breathe outside my body—my daughter.

BECKETT

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I can only speculate Beckett Miller was headed to his home in LA. Sources indicated he and another passenger boarded a plane early in the day at Teterboro. And there goes New York until after the Grammys.