Never My Love

~~~~~~

Chapter Twenty Four

THAT NIGHT

OUR FIRST SHOW

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," the announcer said, "I GIVE YOU, HOUSTON'S OWN, COVENANT," and the crowd went into a frenzy of applause, as we opened the show with the song I wrote, "Out of the Fire."

As I sang the opening lyrics, I had a smile on my face at the way that every female member of not only my family, but also the bands families, were, every single one, dancing right there in the very front row.

We decided that that song would be the one where every band member got the opportunity to take a lead run. Of course the Harris sisters each took their leads, and then Keith, God love him, laid down an incendiary lead guitar run that almost had me dancing right there on the stage. However, when I began my lead run, I heard a loud cheer coming from the backstage area of the arena.

Imagine my surprise when I looked stage right to see Rick Wakeman himself, also dancing to the music of Covenant, as he twirled and spun Lindsay Peterson backstage, while she wore an excited grin the whole time we played...

~~~~~~

We'd been playing for about twenty minutes and had just finished playing a song that Rob wrote called, "Just in Time," which was a really good one. What I did next was pre-planned, and after I let the band in on why I wanted to play this particular cover song, they quickly learned it and were ready to perform it, too.

"Thank you for all of your appreciation thus far, ladies and gentlemen," I said, into the microphone. And then after looking down at Ashlyn who was sitting next to Mom, I smiled, and into the microphone, and told the audience, "We're going to play a cover song by the group, "The Association," and when you hear it, I would like you all to imagine sitting in front of someone you love with all your heart, and telling them these words as we play the song, "Never My Love."

It suddenly got so quiet in the arena that you could've heard a pin drop as we played, letting me know that we had the attention of every single person there. I sang the lead vocals, while Camryn, Rob, Keith, and the Harris Sisters backed me up.

I looked into Ashlyn's beautiful eyes throughout the entirety of the song, not even blinking once; and when I was done, she looked at me and silently mouthed the words, "I love you," just as the song was ending.

Normally, the Hofheinz Pavilion has a capacity of 8479 people during sporting events. However, because it was being used as a concert venue, the capacity was increased by roughly somewhere between 1800 to 2000 people. Overall there were ten thousand people there that night, and it felt like every single one of them were standing on their feet, whistling, cheering, and basically applauding us after every song we played. Right before we played our last song, I made it a point to introduce every single member of Covenant to the audience, also reminding them that we would be opening for Rick Wakeman the following night, and that he had a very special surprise in store for them as well...

~~~~~~

We ended the show with the very first song I ever wrote; the song for Ashlyn, called, "In My Heart," and once I'd tenderly finished singing the very last note, and the song had come to a quiet and gentle close; I looked out into the audience with a warm smile on my face and softly told everyone there, "Thank you, and we hope to see you all back here tomorrow night..."

~~~~~~

We were given a ten minute standing ovation before the crowd finally quieted once "Covenant" exited the stage. And after the curtain closed and the house lights came back up, I appeared from backstage and made my way to where my darling Ashlyn was seated, waiting for me to come to her, just as I'd told her I would before we left our house earlier that evening...

~~~~~~

"Oh, my God, Jake," Ashlyn excitedly grinned, jumping up from her seat and throwing her arms tightly around my neck to hug me, "You guys sounded fantastic."

"Thanks, baby," I happily replied, "I'm glad you liked the show."

"Like it, are you kidding me?" she grinned, "I absolutely loved it. Hell, we all did, just ask anyone here."

However, as opposed to saying anything further, I simply grabbed her by the hand, and being followed by my sisters and my parents, I led them all backstage to the dressing rooms Lindsay gave us before the show...

~~~~~~

"Come here, boy," Dad grinned, pulling me into his arms the moment the door to my dressing room closed, "I can't find the words to tell you how proud of you that I am, son," while he silently held me as the eyes of my wife, Mom and sisters sweetly watched the exchange between us.

"Thanks, Dad," I smiled, returning the hug, "I want you and Mom to be proud of me."

"We most certainly are, baby," Mom sweetly sniffled, as Dad relinquished me from the hug so that she could hug me, too, "Do you remember when you were a little guy and you're friends were out playing football and baseball, and I made you stay in and practice your piano?"

"Yes, ma'am," I knowingly chuckled, "And I see now what you meant when you told me that I would thank you for it later so; thank you, Mom. I love you."

"You're welcome, baby," she sweetly replied, "And I love you too, my beautiful, handsome son."

"Look at him blush, Lee-Lee," Laura began to tease.

"Aww, ain't that the sweetest thing?" Leah played along.

"You girls leave your brother alone," Dad told them, trying desperately, but failing miserably to hide the grin that was on his face.

"Leave them alone, Dad," I laughed, holding my arms open wide toward my sisters, "C'mere, you two, and give your Bubby a hug."

Needless to say, with a happy squeal, both of my little sisters rushed into my arms and hugged me tightly.

"Ya'll sound so good tonight, Jake," Leah smiled, as she hugged me.

"You sure did," Laura added, "And me and Lee-Lee are so proud of you."

"Thank you, babies," I gently replied, "I love you two very much."

"I'm not one to say that I told you so, my love," Ashlyn smiled, coming back into my arms once my sisters let go of me, "But I knew you were meant to be on that stage the very fist time I heard you play for me, Jake."

However, before I could reply there was a knock on the door

"COME IN," I yelled, "IT'S OPEN."

The next thing I knew was that the door opened, followed by the rest of the band as they flooded the room, each and every one of them wearing bright and happy smiles on their faces as they surrounded me in the process.

"We did it, Jake," Camryn giggled, as she excitedly hugged me, "We really did it, I can't believe it."

"We sure did, pretty girl," I grinned, returning the hug she gave me, "I don't want to sound condescending, but I'm so proud of everyone."

"Not nearly as proud of you that we all are," Jessie Harris said, and then she began to cry, "We all love you very much...Big Brother."

"Aww, it's going to be okay, Jess," I gently replied, "I love you all just as much; and you don't have to cry."

"Oh, yes I do," she sniffled, pulling me into her arms and burying her face into my chest, "Yes I do..."

~~~~~~

Moments later Louis Smith, Senoir Partner of the prestigious downtown Houston law firm, Smith, Walters, Johnson and Hobbs, walked into the men's dressing room and stood in the midst of us all and announced, "Congratulations, Covenant, my name is Louis Smith; and I'm one of the senior partners at Smith, Walters, Johnson, and Hobbs. For those of you who don't know who we are, that is the name of the law firm at which your drummer, Rob Walters', father, Will, works and is also a senior partner. I'm sorry for just jumping in and interrupting your conversations, but those of us at the firm, wanted to invite you all to a celebration that's being thrown in your honor at the Hyatt-Regency downtown, so that we can show our appreciation for what you young men and women in the band have accomplished."

"What do you say, guys?" I asked, looking at the band; "Sounds good to me."

"Us, too, Jake," Camryn grinned, "I think I speak for all of us when I say, Hell Yeah!"

"I guess that's it then," I happily smiled, looking at Mr. Smith, "We'll be there, thank you very much, sir."

"I look forward to it," he smiled, "Can we count on you all to be there within the hour then?"

"No sweat, Uncle Lou," Rob laughed, "Give us time to get changed out of these clothes and we'll be there as soon as we can," and with that said, the female members of the band returned to the ladies dressing room, while the guys in the band remained.

"I hate to have to say this," I said to Ash, as well as the rest of my family, "But we need..."

"Don't worry about it, baby," Ash smiled, as she made a hasty retreat, followed by Mom, Dad, and the twins, "We'll be right outside waiting for you," and with that said, everyone left except for Keith, Rob, Randy, and me...

~~~~~~

"Holy shit," Keith excitedly grinned, as we were changing our clothes, "What a show."

"I heard that," Rob wildly smiled, "Did you guys see all of those people out there?"

"I sure did," I also grinned, "Man, I can't wait for tomorrow night..."

~~~~~~

THE HYATT REGENCY HOTEL

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON

AN HOUR LATER

The party was in full swing when me, Ash, and my sisters got there. Mom and Dad had to return home because Dad had something that, as a U.S. Marshall, he was suddenly called upon to take care of. Still though, Keith and Rob were waiting at the door for Leah and Laura, whisking the two of them away the moment we arrived.

"Holy cow," I grinned at Ashlyn, as I looked around the banquet room, "There has to be at least a hundred and fifty, to two hundred people here. What do you think, baby?"

"At least two hundred," she smiled, "Maybe even more."

"I'll be damned," I told her, the moment I saw him, "There's the mayor of Houston, David Hanson, standing next to Rob's Dad."

"And there's the front runner for the Governor's office, Bill Sanders, on the other side of him," Ashlyn knowingly grinned, "What do you wanna bet that you guys get asked to help that crooked jerk with his campaign this year?"

"Bull shit," I harshly replied, "I'll leave the band before that shit happens, I promise. I'm not a politician, I'm a musician, and the first time someone even hints at something like that, I'm going to light him up like a Christmas tree."

"Calm down, baby," Ashlyn knowingly replied, "This can work to your advantage if you let it."

"Oh, really," I asked, "How so?"

"It just so happens that your wife knows exactly how to deal with slime like this," she smiled, taking my arm, "Rest easy, baby; now it's my turn to look out for you," and with that said, Ashlyn took my hand, leading me into the room and told me, "Come on, baby, I've got you covered."

Rob, who already knew we were there but wanted to give us a few moments before he made his move, slowly walked up to us and excitedly said, Hey, Jake, Ash; I'm glad you two could make it. I've got someone who's been dying to meet you both."

"Is that right," I smiled, "And who would that be?"

"Please," he said, "Come with me..."

~~~~~~

"Mayor Hanson," Rob smiled, "Please allow me to introduce you to our illustrious leader, Jake Benson, and his lovely wife, Doctor Ashlyn Benson."

"Mister Benson," the mayor smiled, extending his hand, "I caught your show tonight, and allow me to be the first person to tell how much I enjoyed myself. I understand that you're going to be opening for Rick Wakeman tomorrow night."

"Thank you, Mayor, that's correct," I smiled, not wanting to shake his slimy hand, but for the purposes of being nice, doing it anyway, "Thank you for the compliments, and please feel fee to call me, Jake."

"Hi, Will, it's good to see you," I smiled, eagerly shaking his hand, "I wanted to thank your firm for throwing such a nice party for us..."

"It was our pleasure, Jake," he nicely smiled, "And how is the lovely Doctor Benson doing tonight?"

"I'm quite well, thank you, Will," Ash smiled, shaking his hand, "How is Maryann?"

"She's around here somewhere," he replied smiling, "I know that she would love to see you, though."

"Thank you," Ash sweetly replied, "I'll be sure to tell her you said so when I see her."

"In the mean time, "Rob smiled, "Let me introduce you both to the front runner for the gubernatorial race. This is the honorable Mister William, "Bill" Sanders."

"It's nice to meet you, Jake, I recognize musical genius when I see, or should I say, hear it in this case," Sanders eloquently smiled, the lying deceit in his tone of voice obvious; and then with a lecherous glance, he looked at Ashlyn and he sickeningly told her, "And it's especially pleasant to meet a beautiful lady such as yourself, Doctor Benson, is it?"

"It is," Ashlyn curtly replied, taking my arm as the slime ball tried to touch her hand, "And Jake is my husband, or don't you remember?"

"I don't think we've ever met before, gorgeous," Sanders blatantly leered, "Perhaps you'd like to dance with me."

"Perhaps you'd like to take a hike," I gruffly intervened, "Just who do you think you are?"

"BILL," Lou Smith quietly shouted at him, suddenly showing up in our midst, preventing the well deserved ass whipping that was about to befall him, "Back off, now; or I'll pull the firm's support contributions for your campaign, dammit. You've been warned about this kind of thing once tonight already."

Just then, two rather large men dressed in dark suits suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and quickly led Sanders from our group, taking him to God knows where.

"I'm really sorry about that, Jake," Lou Smith said, "He was way out of line."

"It's my wife that you should be apologizing to, Mister Smith," I rather heatedly but quietly replied, "Furthermore, if that asshole comes around my wife, my family, or anyone in the band ever again, I'll see to it personally that he never touches another thing for the rest of his disgusting life."

"Please accept my most sincere apologies, Doctor Benson," Lou very kindly told Ashlyn, "Bill Sanders was way out of line just now, and he's being escorted from the premises as we speak; and also, I would really like it if you two called me Lou, as opposed to Mister Smith."

"No harm done," Ashlyn smiled, gently squeezing my arm, "And as far as my husband is concerned, he was taking up for me, I assure you gentlemen."

I was about to add something else until, unseen by both Lou Smith and Will Walters, Ashlyn gently squeezed the underside of my arm, her secret signal to me meaning that she and I would discuss the issue later; and then with a smile on her face, Ashlyn asked Rob, "Where's your Mom, Rob? I'd really like to see her tonight."

About that time, my sister Laura showed up, and gently taking Rob's hand, she gave me a knowing wink and said, "Come on, you two. Maryann was just asking about Ashlyn..."

~~~~~~

As we were walking away from his father, Rob turned to me and said, "Please don't hold my Dad and Uncle Lou responsible for Bill Sanders' actions, okay, Jake? Bill Sanders is a piece of shit, and he always has been. The only reason that Dad and Uncle Lou let him come around is because he's supposed to be this big tax genius or something like that."

"Is Louis Smith really your uncle?" I asked.

"No, not really," Rob said, as he led us to see his mother, Maryann, "But he and my Dad went to law school together, and then because Uncle Lou's family had money, he and Dad started the firm together, plus; I've known him since the day I was born so; I guess that's why I call him Uncle Lou."

"Oh, okay," I replied, giving Ashlyn a knowing look, "I think I understand..."

~~~~~~

"I don't know, Will," Lou Smith quietly commented, after Ashlyn and I walked away with Rob, "I have a feeling that Jake Benson might be a problem."

"What do you mean?" Will Walters asked, "He's just a musician. How could he cause us any problems?"

"You heard what Robbie just called him, didn't you?" Smith said, "The whole band thinks of that kid as their leader; and I have the distinct feeling that he could throw a wrench in our plans after we get those kids signed to a record label."

"I wouldn't worry too much if I were you," Will smiled.

"And why not," Smith pointedly asked, "Do you know something that I don't?"

"You just said so yourself," Will told him, "He's a kid, he's just a kid."

"Maybe so," Lou replied, "But Alexander the Great was just a kid when he took the command of the Macedonian Army, conquering the whole of Greece, as well as all of Persia shortly thereafter..."

~~~~~~

"Ashlyn, dear," "Maryann Walters sweetly smiled, "It's such a pleasure to see you again."

"Hello, Maryann, it's good to see you, too," Ash warmly greeted her, "So, tell me, how did you like the show this evening?"

"It was absolutely splendid," she grinned, proudly placing her arm around her son, Rob's, waist, "I thought that everyone in the band played very well, don't you?"

"I most certainly did," Ash proudly smiled, leaning over and kissing my lips, "I'm so proud of them, too."

"We couldn't have done this without, Jake, though," Rob proudly replied, patting me on the shoulder, "He's been a great inspiration to all of us."

"Come on, Rob," I smiled, brightly blushing by this time, "You and I both know that we all did this together, man...together."

"Yeah, well, that may be true," Rob knowingly grinned, "But the whole rest of the band knows that you're the glue that hold us together. Hell, bro, I'm just a drummer."

"That's crazy. You and Randy are the heart beat for the rest of us," I told him, making certain that he understood what I was saying, "We can't breathe without you two, and you and I both know it."

"Thanks Jake, thank you very much," he humbly smiled, "I can't begin to tell you what it means to me to hear you say that."

"You're more than welcome," I gently replied, as I shook his hand, "But I was simply telling you the truth, that's all."

"I know that you guys all sound so good together," Maryann smiled, happy tears beginning to fill her eyes, "Besides, I never really took the time to see what an accomplished musician my son is until now, and I've got you to thank for that, Jake, and I'm so very grateful."

"I appreciate that more than you know, Maryann," I humbly replied, "But if you want to thank someone, then it's my wife that deserves it, not me. She was the one who inspired me to really dig deep down inside of myself to find the music I never really knew existed until I met her."

"I love you," Ash softly told me, again leaning over and kissing me, "It's because of you that I live and breathe, my love."

"That's so sweet," Maryann smiled, "I think that the two of you truly complete one another."

"I don't just think so, Maryann, I know so," Ashlyn sweetly replied, looking deeply into my eyes, "You see, I was so lost until I met this man; and then the first time I laid eyes on Jake, I knew that God had given me a second chance to not only live, but to also love and be loved more than I'd ever known until that moment."

"Thank you, Ash," I softly smiled, "And I love you, too..."

~~~~~~

Later that night when Ashlyn and I got home, as well as once Leah and Laura were both asleep, Ash looked at me and said, "You know that you guys are more than likely going to get a record deal out of all this, don't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not, it doesn't matter to me;" I quietly smiled, reaching over to touch the tender softness of her cheek, "My life means nothing to me without you in it, my love. I mean that, Ashlyn."

"I know you do," she tenderly replied leaning in and softly touching my lips with her own, "What would you say if I told you that I want to have your son or daughter, and that I want to start trying as soon as possible?"

"I'm ready whenever you are, Ashlyn," I smiled, "But first I think you need to stop taking that little pill that you take every morning when you first wake up."