Page 35 of When the Stars Rise

I pocket my phone and earbuds as Dean gets to his feet and introduces me to his friend, who needs no introduction.

“Taj Goodall, this is Noah McCallister, Shiloh’s stepson,” Dean says when they join me on the sidewalk and Dean lights a cigarette.

Interesting choice of introductions, but it makes sense, I guess. Shiloh knew Taj from her Acadian Storm days and introduced me to his music years ago. I’ve been a devoted fan ever since.

“It’s great to meet you. A real honor,” I say, shaking the hand of the R&B and soul legend.

Taj gives me a big smile, his teeth gleaming against his dark skin and his eyes lighting up like he’s found the key to happiness. “How’s Shy doing?”

“Yeah, she’s good.” I nod a couple times. “We’ll be seeing her in Denver in a couple of weeks.”

“Tell her she needs to put out another album.” He shakes his head. “It’s been too long.”

I glance at Dean, who’s standing a few feet away smoking like his life depends on it, but I can tell he’s listening intently.

Pretty sure he still has a thing for Shiloh, even though she’s happily married to my dad and has been for well over a decade.

“Shiloh is happy with the life she’s living,” I tell Taj. “She said she has no interest in going back on tour or living the life she did before. She loves the wide open spaces on the ranch and she loves my dad and their son.”

My message to Dean is clear—my dad makes her happier than you ever did.

Shiloh chose love over fame and unlike Dean, my dad treats her right. He’s loyal to the core and would never cheat on her or abuse her or abandon her when the going gets tough.

Taj considers my words before responding. “I don’t doubt that, but when you have music in your soul the way she does… the way Dean does… you can’t just walk away. It’ll always call you back like a siren’s song. Am I right, Dean?”

“You know it, brother.”

Taj glances at the SUV idling by the curb and says he needs to get going.

I stand back while Taj and Dean exchange a bro hug and thump each other’s backs a few times like old friends do.

“See you soon, my brother,” Taj says before turning to me. “Nice to meet you, Noah. Send Shiloh my love.”

After Taj leaves, Dean turns to me. “You heading back to the hotel?”

I nod, and he lights another cigarette, smoking it while we walk the few blocks to the hotel in silence. I guess he swapped drugs and alcohol for chain smoking.

“Come on,” he says, clapping my shoulder when we enter the lobby and steering me toward the bar. “I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Should you be hanging out in a bar?”

“Should you be jumping off cliffs?”

Touché.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Noah

“Never got into those fancy cocktails,”Dean says, eyeing my Negroni.

For a second, he sounded a lot like my dad, who said the same thing the last time we had a drink together.

I never thought I’d see the day my dad and Dean Bouchon had anything in common, but here we are.

“So if someone put this drink in front of you when you were still drinking, you would have said, no thanks, I’ll pass?”

He laughs under his breath. “Hell no. There’s gin in there. I wouldn’t have said no. Guess that was the problem,” he says, considering it. “I always envied those people who can have a drink or two then walk away like it’s no big deal.”