Chapter 28

When the lights went down, even though it was still light, the crowd roared, Lucky just sat there; the people next to her just looked down and frowned then carried on.

She heard to beginning strains of Prayer and really wondered if she just shouldn’t leave!

On stage David saw Mike and Mark on the side, but no signs of Lucky, where the hell was she?

Mike and Mark knew he was looking at them, but didn’t make eye contact.

In the audience Lucky stood and started to leave, but damn it the music seeped into her breaking heart and started to sooth and take her over.

By the time they started on Captain Cash all thoughts of leaving had fled, her eyes were closed and she was singing and swaying to the beat. Music had always had this effect on her that’s why she’d become a music teacher, to share the music with children, to show them the raw emotion it could pull from a person, and how one song could take you back in time.

David was pissed, she wasn’t there! What the fuck had happened, had he lost his one chance at throwing himself at her feet and grovelling for another chance to be with her. He glared at Richie, who kept giving him shifty looks, for that matter so did Jon, the bastards knew something.

As Jon headed for a drink, he knew David was about to explode, and he knew if he didn’t say anything blood would be spilt later. Taking a deep breath he sang his way to Dave just as he hit the guitar solo in Blaze, he yanked out his ear pieces and so did David. ‘She won’t come.’ Was all he said.

David blanched he knew he was screwed; he glanced into the audience to see if he could see her, futile he knew, but damnit he wanted to say he was sorry. His shoulders slumped, he was a beaten man, and there was nothing he could do to get her to talk to him.

Tico had been watching everything; he gathered Lucky had said no to meeting Dave again. He sighed, he liked her, she was good for Dave, and he was the only one of them that had really talked to her. He’d got a vague idea how Dave could tell her he wasn’t playing a game with her, but how the hell did he set it in motion?

He caught Rich’s eye and he wandered over, after much shouting at each other Rich got it. He grinned and nodded yes, he walked to Jon as they started Diamond Ring, he motioned he needed to talk and they kicked into an instrumental extension, giving them time for Richie to tell him what Tico had said. Jon’s face split into a great grin. They finished off that song and went into Always, at Richie’s guitar solo, Jon went to David and quickly told him what they were doing, he loved his brothers at times!

Lucky was deep into the music, but every chord David struck felt like his fingers gliding across her, when he sang she could pick him out. God she’d got is so damn bad it wasn’t funny.

Always drew to an end and Jon started to talk, her eyes flew open, ‘How we doin folks?’ The crowd roared, ‘I’m going to give up the mic tonight, not to the King of Swing, but to our very own Piano Man, Mr David Bryan!’ The crowd went wild again, David bowed and grinned, in the crowd Lucky wondered why, as David didn’t sing very often, she realised Jon was still talking. ‘You see folks, Davey boy fucked up, big time, he let a wonderful lady walk out on him, without getting a phone number, plus he acted like an asshole!’ People laughed and shouted, on the big screen she saw David blush, and then she started to move through the crowd, all she could think about was to get away.

On stage Jon continued, ‘He didn’t tell this lady that he’d see her later on, and that he wasn’t playing about and dumping her, his head wasn’t thinkin, so he never explained to her he thought things were going to fast and he wanted to slow them down, but she ran, as the idiot never told her these things.’ The women in the crowd awed at it, Lucky slammed to a halt, and started to listen, was Jon telling the truth, mind you she didn’t think he’d drag David’s ass through this, making him look stupid, if it wasn’t.

‘Yeah I know genius he ain’t? Well now, David spotted his lost lady earlier in the audience, and asked her to meet him. From what I’ve heard she told him to take a flyin leap, and that’s cleaned it up folks.’ The crowd enthralled laughed, Lucky smirked.

‘Now Lucky darlin.’ She couldn’t believe he’d said her name, mind you no one about her knew she was the woman and she relaxed a little. ‘I know this isn’t a perfect apology, and he really does want to talk to you..’

David finally found his voice, ‘Well thanks Jon for airing what a moron I’ve been to these people.’ He rolled his eyes, ‘Lucky, please, just stay and talk to me.’

‘Yeah Lucky, he’s been trying to find you for the last damn week and if you don’t talk to him we’re gonna kill him; he’s been like a bear with a saw head and bitchy…’

‘Thanks Rich.’ The crowd laughed and Lucky grinned, he’d been looking for her? ‘Well darlin, a little Cuban bird told us this is your favourite song.’ With that the strains of In These Arms, David’s version, drifted over the crowd, a lump formed in the back of her throat, each chord he played spoke to her soul, his fingers caressing the keys. The passion he put into the words nearly took her to her knees, especially when he sang ‘I’d love you, I’d please you, I’d tell you that I’d never leave you,’ the look on his face on the screen showed all that he was feeling. He meant it, he really did, nah she’d only known him one night, but…..aw hell she was so confused.

Mike and Mark had left the side stage and had been looking in the crowd again, walking to where she’d disappeared into the crowd. Mike spotted her first; she was stood there looking at the stage a smile on her lips and tears sparkling in her eyes. He nudged Mark and they walked towards her, and as the closing notes faded away they got to her, ‘Lucky baby.’ Mike’s hand rested on her arm.

The people around them realised the woman in their midst was the woman David was singing to and started to shout towards the stage that she was there, as the song drew to the end. Lucky looked shocked and Mike and Mark took up defensive positions about her.

One woman looked at her, ‘Oh Lucky you need to talk to him.’ Others agreed and by now the commotion was noticed by Bo who zoomed in saying ‘Hot dayum’ when her realised they’d found Lucky, he radioed Matt who threw it onto the big screen where Lorenz spotted it and ran to David and told him, he stood and moved to the edge of the stage, he could see her, just, Jon and Rich looking up at the screens and grinning like fools, they done it!

David took the mic, ‘Will you come Lucky, say yes, let’s talk.’ He held his breath.

He wasn’t the only one; the whole place seemed to wait!

She looked at David, standing there; she turned to Mike, ‘Take me to him please.’ The woman shouted ‘yes’ and as Mike and Mark and several other security men ushered her towards the barrier a wave went through the crowd and they started to clap and whistle.

On stage David saw her begin to move and thought for a minute she was leaving, till they headed for the barrier down front and a wave of clapping following in their wake and he started to grin, she’d said yes. He watched as they picked her up and hoisted her over the fence, Mike quickly following her and leading her out of sight.

‘Well folks looks like we can get on with the show, she said yes!’ Richie announced, the crowd whooped and shouted again.

David, a stupid smile on his face, took to his keys and they swung into Blood on Blood, his heart bursting that he’d found her again, god must love him! Now just to get her to give him a chance at redemption!