| Chapter 5 Tara was in one of their guest rooms getting it ready for Howie when she heard Nick coming down the hall. "I'm in here," she said just as he reached the door. "Damn Tara, how do you do that?" he said. "Do what?" she asked turning to face him. "Always manage to scare the hell outta me," he said laughing. "Nick, I can hear you walking down the hall," she said. "Oh, so it's not like one of those left over angel things?" he asked teasing her. Tara put her hand on her hip, "I have no left over angel things." "OK, just checking," he said. "So, when is Howie gonna be here?" he asked. "He's suppose to call and let us know when to pick him up," Tara answered. "Oh, hey you haven't heard from Bri this morning have you?" Nick asked. "No, and don't you dare call over there," Tara said giving him a knowing look. "What?" Nick asked, putting forth his most innocent of all looks. "Carter, I know you to well, leave them alone," Tara said in a stern voice. Nick threw his hands up in defense, "Eww, she used the last name, I'm in trouble." They both laughed. The phone rang. Nick took a flying leap across the bed and grabbed the phone. "Hello," he said. "Hey Nick, it's Howie." "Hey D, when you gettin here, I need back up man," Nick said with a laugh. "Oh lord, what'd you do now?" Howie asked. "Nothing! Why is it that everyone always assumes that I did something?" Nick asked. "Well, because you usually do," Howie said with a laugh. Nick rolled his eyes, "So, when you coming in?" "I'm on the plane, I should be there in an hour. Gate 4," Howie replied. "OK man, we'll be there," Nick said. "All right, see you then," Howie said and hung up. "He'll be here in an hour," Nick told Tara who was starring at him. "Good, that'll give me enough time to get everything done," she said. "You need some help?" Nick asked. Tara smiled at him, "Sure, you wanna vacuum?" "The whole house?" Nick asked. Tara burst out laughing, "No silly, in here. I did the rest of the house yesterday." "Oh, OK," Nick said getting up and walking to the door. "Umm, Tara.....?" he started. "It's in the closet downstairs," Tara answered. Nick smiled and headed downstairs to retrieve the vacuum. Tara rolled her eyes, and laughed, "That boy, does he think the vacuum fairy comes or what?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian rolled over and slowly opened his eyes. He had slept better last night than he had in a long time, finally things seemed to be on the right path. He looked around, he could hear Leighanne in the shower. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes, I'd love to just sleep all day, he thought. Just then the phone rang. Brian rolled over and picked it up. "Hello," he said. "Hi, Brian is it? This is Gary, would Leighanne happen to be there?" "Yeah, but she can't come to the phone, can she call you back?" Brian asked. "Sure, she has my number. Thanks." Gary said then hung up. Brian hung the phone up. There was something about Gary that always put him off. He always seemed a little to confident of himself. Brian could hear Leighanne turn the shower off. He got up and walked in the bathroom. "Lee?" "Hey, I didn't wake you up did I?" she asked drying off. "No, Gary just called. He wants you to call him back," he said. "Oh, OK," Leighanne replied. "So I take it you decided to do the film?" Brian asked. Leighanne turned around and looked at him, "Yeah, it's a really small role. I'll probably be shooting about as long as you'll be recording." "OK," Brian said. Leighanne put her robe on and stepped past Brian, "Do you want some breakfast?" she asked. "No, I kinda got a headache," he said, "I think I'm gonna take something and go back to bed for a while." Leighanne looked at him, "Bri, you never have headaches." "Yeah, I must have slept wrong or something," he answered pulling the Tylenol out of the medicine cabinet. "OK, if you need anything holler," Leighanne said as she walked out of the bathroom. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie stepped off the plane and walked down the hall to the waiting area. He was already feeling better about coming, Yeah, I defiantly needed to get away for a while, he thought to himself. He rounded the corner to see Nick and Tara standing there waiting on him. "Hey!" Nick said as he walked up to Howie and gave him a hug. "Hey," Howie said as he turned and greeted Tara. "Come on, lets go get your bags and get outta here," Nick said, steering the two in the direction of the baggage claim. "OK, why are we in such a hurry?" Howie asked a little confused. "Cause I don't wanna miss Brian calling," Nick said. Howie looked at Tara, "What's he talking about?" "Well, Bri and Lee got into a fight the other day, and Lee called him and said she had a surprise for him. Nick's dying to hear what it was," she explained. "Oh, I see," Howie said with a laugh. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne sat down on the couch and grabbed the phone. She dialed the number and waited for an answer. "Hi Anne," Gary said. "Um, hi. How'd you know it was me?" she said a little startled. "Caller ID. So, you ready to start on the film?" he asked. "Yeah, I guess," Leighanne replied. "Oh come now, surly you're more excited about it than that," Gary said sounding hurt. "I am, just a little tired this morning," she said. "OK then, I'll bring the script over later today. Will that be all right?" he asked. "Sure," Leighanne said. "All righty then, see you in a while," Gary said and hung up. Leighanne put the phone down and got up. She walked upstairs to check on Brian. She entered the bedroom, Brian was in bed sound asleep. Leighanne stood there watching him for a moment. Then she headed back downstairs to get some breakfast. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick, Howie, and Tara got back to the house and were settling in. Nick was disappointed that there were no messages on the machine. Howie was in his room putting things away, and Nick was catching him up on the news of Brian doing a solo album. "So, he's really gonna finally get to do that?" Howie asked. "Yeah, and it's not gonna take him no time. He already laid the tracks down while we were on the road, all he has to do is vocals," Nick replied. "So that's why he spent so much time on his bus," Howie said. Nick laughed, "Yeah, and we all thought he was just lonely." Tara walked into the room. "You guys want something to drink?" she asked. "No, I'm good," Nick replied. "No thanks," Howie said. Tara sat down on the bed. "Tara, the house is absolutely gorgeous," Howie said. "Oh, thanks," she replied. "When I finally buy a house, you've gotta come and decorate it for me," Howie said. Tara laughed, "I don't know bout that." "Yeah man, when are you gonna get a house anyway?" Nick asked. Howie looked at him, "I dunno. Houses are meant for families. I feel weird about getting a house when it's just me." Tara looked at Howie, she could tell he was really feeling alone. Howie caught her eye and quickly turned back to the task of unpacking his suitcase. "Well, I'm gonna go lay down for a while," Tara said. Nick looked at her, "You feeling OK?" he asked. "Yeah, I just kinda got a headache," she answered. "OK, I'll come get you for lunch," Nick said as she walked out of the room. Chapter 6 |