The High Notes: A Novel(37)

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While Clay and Iris ate dinner in her room, Rosie slept peacefully on her lap. She looked as though she knew she was home. She was only three months old, and wouldn’t weigh more than two or three pounds full-grown. She didn’t weigh more than a pound now.

“It’s almost worth having gotten beaten up to get her,” Iris said to Clay, and he winced.

“I would have gotten her for you anyway. I don’t want anything like that to happen to you again. That man is a complete monster. What if he had killed one of you? And all of that because you left the tour, and we broke the contract. He’s seriously deranged.” She remembered all the times she had seen him berate and verbally abuse the performers on tour. Clay was right. He was insane.

Clay stayed for a long time talking to her that night. Boy didn’t wake up and she closed the door between their suites.

“I was happy to find out that Boy wasn’t your boyfriend,” he said cautiously after dinner, testing the waters. He was feeling closer and closer to Iris the longer he knew her, and more attracted to her, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or risk the relationship they had. She looked up to him, and trusted him, and he didn’t want to spoil that. But seeing her injured had made his feelings for her even stronger.

“I’ve never had a serious boyfriend,” she said simply, “for more than a few weeks anyway. Moving every five minutes when I was a kid, and nine years on tour made it impossible to have a real relationship or really get to know someone. Nothing lasts on tour. But I’ve always had my music.” She smiled at him. “That’s always been my first love. I want to finish the album soon,” she said, angry that it had been interrupted by her injuries.

“You will,” he assured her. “I can’t wait till we release it. It’s going to be a huge hit, Iris. And then we’ll go on tour. Not the way you did before. This will be very different.” They were going to take care of her like a precious jewel, which was what she was to him. Rosie woke up then, and waved her long fluffy tail like a flag and Iris laughed.

“She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” she said happily.

“So are you.” He smiled at her. It was nice having a moment alone with her. That never happened, they were always surrounded by musicians and technicians, or Boy and his backup band. It was nice being alone in a room with her, and if he had dared to, he would have kissed her. But he didn’t.

They talked for a long time, and when she looked tired, he left her with her puppy, and went home and thought about her, grateful that she hadn’t been more seriously injured.

He had canceled dinner with one of his big stars that night. He still had all his other artists to attend to. But Iris had the priority. And dinner with Iris and her puppy meant more to him than an evening with any star. As his driver took him home, Clay was smiling, remembering the look on her face when she saw the puppy. He was more in love with her than ever, and wanted to be with her to protect her for as long as she would let him, if she ever would.





Chapter 10





The story about Boy and Iris getting attacked at the hotel eventually hit all the tabloids. Bellboys were bribed, maids on their floor, there was always someone willing to talk after an incident. A nurse in the emergency room answered some questions. The name of the hotel was kept out of it, to make sure that no one decided to try it again, or maybe rob them. The hotel kept a security guard outside the door of each of their suites. One of their attackers had gone straight back to prison after a parole hearing, the other was still in jail pending disposition of his case. He had confessed, so he was awaiting sentencing. The man who had sent them had cooperated with the police fully so he was being charged with a misdemeanor, which was reported to his parole officer and would go against him, if he was involved in any other incident in future. And Glen Hendrix had been arrested, posted bail himself, and was being charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and battery. Clay had his lawyers request a restraining order forbidding him to come anywhere near Iris. As far as they were all concerned, she was safe.

After a week, her ribs were feeling better and she could breathe more easily, but she wasn’t feeling up to singing yet. Boy was walking around the room, more awake, in less pain, but his broken ribs made it hard to move, and the bandages over his nose, which covered most of his face, drove him crazy.

Clay came to see them every day, and spent most of his time visiting Iris. The first time she sang and held her guitar, she sang a song to him that she had composed while she was recuperating. It was called “Kindness,” and had been inspired by him. She’d written a funny song about Rosie, whom she was madly in love with. The tiny puppy kept making her and Boy laugh. It was painful for both of them with their injured ribs. The hotel had cleaned the bloodstains out of the carpets, and covered one with a handsome rug, until the room could be re-carpeted. Iris noticed that a female singer from Boy’s backup band had visited him too, and brought him cookies. She teased him about it when she left. Her name was Star and she was very sexy. She was tall and slim like Boy, with bright red hair. Iris thought she seemed crazy about him.

“No, she’s not.” He rolled his eyes. “We just work together.”

“Yeah?” Iris grinned at him. “You don’t see any of my backup guys here, do you? No one brought me cookies,” she said and laughed.