Battlescars: A Rock & Roll Romance Read online

  My ideas were flowing like crazy when they came to tell us it was time to go on. Aubrey was going to stand off the side of the stage with Vin and Brett, who were both packing .40 calibers. I took her hands and helped her to her feet. We walked hand and hand over to the stage. I did a quick survey of our surroundings and relinquished her to them, but not before getting my pre-show kiss.

  Aubrey

  I was standing off to the side of the stage holding Bella. I watched as Jake approached the middle of the stage. I had Brett to my right and Vin to my left. They were both huge. Vin was probably around my age and Jake said he was really into boxing. He was about the same height as Brett with bulging muscles. I noticed his gun peeking out from his jacket. I looked over at Brett who winked. I knew in that moment I’d been Jaked. I knew Jake was worried about Ian, but seriously the guy is like my size and probably even skinnier. I could take him down no problem if I had to, and I’m positive that Brett could obliterate him with his pinkie. Jake picked up the mic. I looked at him with his Mohawk with pink tips. I was crazy in love with that boy.

  “Ladies and gentleman LET ME HEAR YOU!” He yelled.

  The sound that followed reverberated from everywhere.

  “How’s everybody doing tonight? We’re going to start with a song that will be on our next album once we get into the studio. It’s called, ‘Life Starts Now’ and it’s dedicated to my incredible fiancée. I love you baby!”

  I knew that they had been playing around with some new songs, but I had no idea that they actually had a full song with music and everything. The song was basically about letting go of the past and embracing the future. I watched the show feeling bittersweet about the whole thing. I reflected over the past three and a half months. It was so surreal. It almost seemed like Jake was sent to me to help me heal. When we met I was scared. I thought I was protecting myself by shutting him out. Somehow he managed to worm himself into my world and right into my heart. He was jumping around on the stage like a crazy person. The crowd was completely enthralled by him. I was in awe like always. Finally, when they finished up their set, he tossed his towel and walked over to me. He scooped me right up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I handed Bella over to Brett in order to save her from being dropped or smothered. Jake leaned down and kissed me dripping sweat on my face in the process. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I tried to get down, but he wouldn’t let me. He started walking back toward the dressing room with the guards flanking. He stopped midstride.

  “Hey asshole, nice stunt you tried pulling. I really appreciate it fuck-face.” He yelled.

  I turned to see that he was talking to Ian. Bella started barking like crazy. His dark hair was combed over to the side. He smirked at Jake and I felt him tense up. I moved my head and licked his neck in an attempt to try and distract him. I didn’t want him to get into a fight with Ian because he definitely wasn’t worth it. They were locked into some staring contest. Jake wasn’t responding how I had hoped. I bit down on his earlobe gently. That got his attention, but he still stood unmoving.

  “Jake, just go.” I pleaded. I knew he wanted to listen to me but his pride, manly-hood, etc. just wouldn’t let him move. “It’s not going to change anything. Just let karma take care of it. What comes around goes around…”

  “You’re going to let your woman boss you around like that, Parker?”

  Jake started shaking. I leaned into his ear to whisper.

  “Baby, you’re all sweaty, and I really need you right now… Let’s go home. Please.” I ended with a low moan.

  That did it. He started walking toward the back door. I looked over my shoulder and saw Vin full on body check Ian. Blake and Derek emerged from somewhere and saw the tail end of things. Blake looked murderous. Derek looked enraged. I watched as Blake walked up to Ian and punched him right in the throat. Kevin appeared next.

  “I was thinking blunt force trauma to the voice box might make your voice less annoying. You’re a spineless, dickless, piece of shit.” Blake spit in his face and stormed off kicking over a garbage can in the process.

  “I don’t know how you look at yourself in the mirror.” Kevin scoffed. “Is Jake Parker really that much of a threat to you that you needed to stoop low enough to hire her stalker?”

  Jake stopped and turned around. Ian looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

  “I didn’t know he was her stalker until the police told me the other day. Jeremy said that they used to date, but I didn’t know anything else that happened. I think Jeremy had this whole thing planned out from the beginning.” He stammered. “Mark left mid-tour with no notice right after the Texas show, and we needed a new bassist. He practically appeared out of thin air. He was really good, so we took him on as a replacement knowing that it would get back to Jake.”

  Derek’s fists were curled so tight I could clearly see every tendon in his hand. If looks could kill, Ian would have been dead right where he was standing.

  “The tour is over, and we’re not going to have any reason to see each other again. I may seem all laidback and mellow, but if you as much breathe in our direction I will personally take you out. Do you understand?” Kevin bellowed.

  I’ve never seen him angry before. He was actually intimidating. Ian nodded anxiously.

  “Good, now go change your underwear.” He barked.

  I looked down and saw the front of Ian’s pants were wet. He’d pissed himself. That’s when I knew there was no way in hell that he could have known about Jeremy’s sinister plans. Ian was all bark and no bite, despite what he wanted other people to think. I pulled on Jake’s hair to bring his attention back to me. He looked lovingly at me. I moved so that I could peck his lips. We continued kissing as he walked until we got safely into the car. Brett handed me back Bella, and she licked Jake’s face and wagged her tail. I told them to stop and get me a banana milkshake on the way home. I sipped it happily. When we got home, Brett insisted on taking precautions and checked the entire place before giving the okay for us to go inside. We headed straight to the bedroom with the intention of packing for Ohio since we were leaving in the morning. The second that Jake lifted his shirt over his head I was too sidetracked to do anything, other than him. I walked over and put my arms around him breathing in his cologne. My sense of smell was heightened from the pregnancy and he smelled even better than before. I looked up at him with lust filled eyes.

  “I need you.” I whispered.

  I didn’t need to say anything else. We made quick work of the rest of our clothes. He kissed me, devouring me. He lifted me up, wrapping my legs around his waist and walked over to the wall to shut off the alarm. He carried me over to the sliding glass door and opened it up leading me outside to one of the lounge chairs. He carefully placed me down and kissed down my neck, my breasts, and my stomach stopping to pay extra attention to where the babies are before ending up at my core. He lifted my legs around his shoulder blades and licked a long swipe up my moist heat paying special attention to my swollen nub. It only took a couple of circular motions with his talented tongue before I was writhing underneath him.

  He lifted his head looking at me contently. He nudged his angry erection at my entrance slowly pushing forward until he filled me completely. When we were like this it made me feel whole. He rocked in and out to the rhythm of the crashing waves. I ran my fingers through his hair, looking into his handsome face. My heart swelled with the love that I had for him. He was pushing me closer and closer to my orgasm. When it came it was the seeing stars, glorious kind. I felt him thicken and fill me. I never wanted this moment to end. He picked me back up and carried me inside to the bathroom. He sat me on the vanity and cleaned me up before placing me in bed. I turned on my side and closed my eyes feeling euphoric.

  ~~~~~~~~

  We found a nice piece of property not too far from my parents. It was ten acres, and we could start building right away. Jake made arrangements to meet with an architect today, so that’s where we were headed. He had all of
these elaborate plans that he wanted to incorporate. I wanted a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom. Those were my must haves. We pulled up to the office and Jake came to help me out of the car as if I was incompetent of opening my own door.

  When we walked inside and were greeted by Nick, the architect. He led us into his office where he had a large touch screen set up with some plans already drafted. Jake looked like a kid in a candy shop. We talked about our wants and our needs. I let Jake handle the money because I didn’t even want to know what the whole thing was going to cost. It would probably end up giving me nightmares. By the time we left the plans were already underway. I talked Jake down from twelve bedrooms to eight. I tried for five but was vetoed by both parties. Instead, the guesthouse was going to have five, and its own studio. I was actually really impressed with some of the ideas Jake came up with.

  We stopped on the way back to my parents and picked up some sandwiches for lunch. Today was also the day that we were putting the final touches on our wedding plans. We didn’t have much time left before the big day. We needed to get anyone that didn’t already have their airfare a plane ticket, make sure they had arrangements to pick them up from the airport and transport them to the ranch. I was excited and nervous. I was really hoping that I would like Ron and vice versa. He seemed like such a special person for Jake, and it was extremely important to me that we got along. I know he looked up to him as a mentor, but Ron seemed to have taken the father figure role in his life. Once everything was squared away, I went to go lay down because I was exhausted. I demanded that Jake come and cuddle with me while I napped. I always slept better when he was there.

  “Jake, did you remember you skirt this morning?” My dad teased and rolled his eyes.

  “Shut up old man. We all know that Aubrey wears the pants in this relationship.” Jake grinned.

  “Don’t you forget it!” I told him teasingly.

  Those two were something else together. I was really glad they got along so well, especially since I’m a daddy’s girl and I don’t see that changing, ever. My dad wholeheartedly loved Jake. They picked on each other mercilessly, and it was rather entertaining to watch. I curled into Jake and closed my eyes.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Ranches and Wounds

  We arrived at Ron’s ranch the week before the wedding. We planned to get there first so that we could have a couple days to get know one another and make sure everything got set up correctly. Jake still hadn’t told him about the babies and was bursting at the seams to tell him the news. He had a car waiting for us at the airfield. They loaded the bags in the trunk and Jake gave the driver the address. We drove for over an hour to the middle of nowhere. There was literally nothing around for miles, except for the occasional cactus. Finally, we came right up to a driveway with a gate. The entire place was surrounded by a fence. Jake was grinning from ear to ear. He pushed in a code, and the gate opened. I sucked in a deep breath trying to quell my nerves. He rubbed my hand reassuringly. Jake grabbed our luggage and fished a key ring from his pocket. He opened the door and called out for Ron. A man came around the corner in a wheel chair. He had snow-white hair and a black cowboy hat on. He smiled the brightest, whitest smile I’d ever seen. Jake put Bella on the floor, and she ran off to explore.

  “Jake, my boy. You’re here.” He beamed. Jake leaned down to embrace him. “I’ve missed you son.” He patted Jakes back.

  My heart swelled and I felt the tears coming on. Damn pregnancy hormones.

  “Pops, I’d like you to meet my beautiful fiancée Aubrey. Aubrey, this is Ron.”

  “She’s a beaut Jake.” He looked at me. “It’s lovely to meet you, Aubrey.”

  “You too.” I blushed feeling embarrassed.

  “Come on, I had Janine set up a spread for you guys before she left. We can sit and catch up. Well I’m already sitting, but you get the idea.” He joked.

  Ron had such a warm aura about him. You could tell that he was without a doubt a good-hearted person, and I immediately felt comfortable. I also felt a huge wave of relief. I looked around the house. It had an open floor plan and was decorated mostly in earth tones. We went over to the kitchen. Jake pulled a chair out from the table for me to sit down. I sat, and Jake went over to make some plates of food.

  “Glad to see you still got your manners boy. I might be in a chair, but I’ll still find a way to kick your ass.” He eyeballed him. Jake smirked and laughed. “So tell me about yourself, Aubrey.”

  “There’s not too much to tell. I’m from Ohio, and I work as a stewardess for my dad’s small airline.” Jake cleared his throat.

  “Used to baby. You used to work as a stewardess.” He smirked.

  “Whatever.” I rolled my eyes at him and turned back to Ron. “I’m an only child and would like to say that I come from a good family. That’s about it.” I said bashfully.

  “She’s modest. I like that in a woman, Jake.” He looked at me and winked. I smiled back. “I am so happy that you two are here. Thank you for having the wedding here, it means a lot to me.”

  “Pops, I wouldn’t have it any other way. You know that.”

  “I know son.”

  Jake placed plates down in front of us and took a seat next to me. I started picking at my food. One of the cheeses smelled, and it was making me feel really nauseous. I got a lump in my throat. I was trying my best to conceal it, but I had to push the plate away before I threw up. Jake noticed and smirked.

  “Pops we have some news… We were going to wait until tonight to tell you.”

  “Spit it out, boy.” Ron laughed. He lifted his fork to put a piece of melon in his mouth.

  “You’re going to be a grandpa.” Jake beamed.

  “Seriously?” Ron asked skeptically.

  “Absolutely.” Jake reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

  He took out the ultrasound picture and pushed it over to Ron. He picked it up and looked at it with tears in his eyes. It was emotional just watching it, and I started to tear up along with him.

  “Aubrey, I don’t know if Jake told you this or not, but I was never able to have children of my own. I was married to the love of my life. Unfortunately, some years ago she was tragically killed by a drunk driver. We were already in our forties when it happened, and I never remarried. Instead, I ended up putting everything I had into giving back. It was either that, or suicide. I started working with a youth mentoring group, and that’s how I met Jake. He was such a lost boy when I met him. Scrawny little thing he was.” He wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and took a long sip of water. “Years later I tried to adopt him. They didn’t see it as a fit environment because I was a single, middle-aged man. Regardless, I think of him as my son. I made sure no matter where he was that I spent as much time as possible with him. Then one day when I brought Jake to my house he walked over and picked up my old guitar. You see, when I was a youngster in the seventies I used to jam with a group of guys. I saw he had musical talent and made sure that he got lessons and had whatever he needed to thrive. The rest is history.” He said proudly.

  I was a full on blubbering mess.

  “Th-that’s wonderful.” I sobbed.

  Jake reached over and rubbed my back.

  “It was much more than that, and you know it.” Jake told him.

  “Just because you were dealt a shit hand doesn’t mean you had to play it. You’re a smart kid, and you’ve made me proud, son.”

  “Thanks Pops.”

  I could see that Jake was starting to get emotional.

  “It’s twins.” Jake laughed trying to change the subject.

  “Of course it is.” Ron shook his head laughing.

  We headed outside to see where the wedding was going to take place. It was beautifully landscaped. There was a fountain a little ways out where we would be saying our vows. I could envision the whole thing already. My parents, Granny Jean and Piper would be here in a couple days along with Mark. Mama Bee and Rosie were coming in to prepare all the f
ood. Penelope was coming with her mom and dad. She was so excited when Jake asked her to be our flower girl and the doctors said it was fine. Blake, Derek, Kevin and Kevin’s girlfriend Bryn were coming in on Wednesday night. Brett, Ri and Kayley were coming in last minute since Jake sent them on an end of tour vacation. That was it for the guest list since we wanted to keep it as small as possible with just the people that mattered most to us.

  Jake excused himself to answer his phone. He had a brief conversation with the foreman from the construction company he hired to oversee the build. They were supposed to be starting on digging the foundation for the new house tomorrow. My parents were thrilled we would be living so close, especially with the babies coming. We sat outside in the fresh air for most of the day. At dinner, we ate barbecued chicken around the fire. The sky was so clear that you could see every star in the sky. We said goodnight to Ron and retreated to Jake’s room. He led me down to the other side of the house where his room was and opened the door.

  The room was very much Jake’s style. The walls were painted a bright blue. It had a queen size wooden bed with a rust colored comforter. There was a dresser against one wall and a giant flat screen hanging on the other. He put our luggage down and led me into the bathroom. There was a sunken tub in the actual floor. I grinned at him. He turned on the faucet and pulled my shirt over my head. He kissed his way down the throat.

  “I adore you.” He whispered in my ear.

  He pulled his shirt over his head and helped me slid out of my shorts. I stepped down into the lukewarm water. He slipped in next to me. I moved over so that I was straddling his lap. I looked into his eyes. I was feeling completely captured in his trance. He lifted his hand to the side of my face. I leaned into it. We were both completely lost in the moment.