Never My Love

"I love you, Ashlyn," was all I could say, being too moved to speak any further just then.

"I love you, too, Jake," she softly replied, "And now that I'm able to truly comprehend what it was I saw as a young girl, I can see that God was showing me that we were meant to be together; do you know what I'm saying, baby?"

"Of course I do," I gently smiled, pulling her into my arms, "We're one another's destiny, Ashlyn Leigh Benson."

"I knew that you would understand, Jake," Ashlyn smiled, placing her lips against mine, "I've always known..."

~~~~~~

The next day I'd just come home from college and went straight back to our bedroom to change my clothes when all of a sudden my phone rang. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only a few minutes before noon so; I knew that it wasn't Lindsay, because she wasn't supposed to call until one o'clock or so.

"Hello," I answered, "This is Jake."

"Jake," said a male voice, "This is Bill Sanders. May I speak with your beautiful wife, please?"

"NO, you may not," I said, in no uncertain terms, "And if you call back here again looking for her, I'll see to it personally that you eat all of your meals through a little plastic straw for the rest of your life, as will happen if you contact her where she works. Do you understand me, you son of a bitch?"

"I'm not trying to make trouble for anyone, Jake," he said, "I just want to talk to her about something, that's all."

"Is that right?" I abruptly asked, "What do you want to talk to her about?"

"It's of a rather personal nature," he said, the sound of his voice being akin to that of oozing sludge, "It also falls under Doctor/Patient privileged so, I don't have to tell you, now, do I?" and then he began to laugh.

"In that case, I'm going tell you this as nicely as I know how...It would be wise on your part to find another doctor, Mister Sanders," I told him, "Besides, you and I both know why you're trying to contact my wife; and the answer is not simply no, but hell no so; back the fuck off, this is your last warning."

"I see," he hissed, "It's quite apparent to me that you don't know who you're dealing with, boy."

"Is that right?" I grinned, "I don't give a damn if you're Moses on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. I'm telling you right now, you'd better leave my wife alone or you're going to regret it for the rest of your miserable life, you crooked piece of shit," and then I hung the phone up before he could reply...

~~~~~~

I immediately called Lindsay's office and left a message with her secretary asking her if there was anyway that she could be at my house any earlier than one o'clock, because something very important had come up, and that I needed speak with her at her earliest available opportunity. Her secretary, who was a very nice lady, told me that she would see to it personally by contacting Lindsay immediately; and then she wished me a nice afternoon, hanging up the phone shortly thereafter.

After that was done, I called Ashlyn at work and told her that I was coming there to the hospital to follow her home, and that I would explain why once I got there. Needless to sat, Ash not only told me that she loved me very much, but also that she would be ready to leave the moment I got there...

~~~~~~

Granted, I'd not gone through the four years of the formal training that my sisters had when it came to fighting. Hell, I didn't find out until later that they had both gone on and study long enough, and as a result, they both earned their Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do, making me very proud of them. However, because my father was a U.S. Marshall and had been not only professionally trained, but he also became extremely good in the art of self defense; and therefore he saw to it that I was more than capable of taking care of myself in any confrontational situation that might come my way. So, when I informed Bill Sanders of the things that would befall him if he didn't leave my Ashlyn alone, you can rest assured that I meant every single word I said to that asshole politician...

~~~~~~

"Hi, baby," Ashlyn smiled, when I greeted her in her office.

However, after taking only a brief glance at my face, she fearfully asked me, "What's the matter, Jake? I can tell by the look on that beautiful face of yours that something is wrong so; please...tell me what it is. Okay, baby?"

I then told her of the phone call that I'd received from Bill Sanders, as well as the things he'd said to me about Doctor/Patient privilege. When I was finished, I also conveyed my feelings to her about her being there at the hospital, alone; with no one to protect her."

"Thank you for thinking about me, baby," she sweetly replied, "But we've got armed security guards on every floor, and I assure you that I'm as safe as I can be."

"I'm asking you to blindly trust me, Ash," I told her, "If for any reason, it's because I don't trust that son of a bitch, Bill Sanders, any farther than I can throw his slimy ass."

"Oh, my God, Jake," Ashlyn fearfully replied, "You're really scared, aren't you?"

"Oh, I'm not afraid of Sanders, not one bit," I said, "I'm only afraid of what he'll do to you if he ever gets his hands on you. So, as your husband, who loves you more than life itself, will you please let me follow you home...now, please?"

"Alright, baby," she quietly replied, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers, "I've already got the time off cleared through Harry so; let's go home."

"Thank you, Ash," I softly replied; feeling very relieved just then, "I'll be right behind you, baby, all the way back to the house..."

~~~~~~

"It's good to be home," Ashlyn softly told me, kissing my lips as soon as the front doors of the house closed behind us, "We were as busy as hell from the minute I got to work, until right before you came to follow me home."

"Well, you know what they say, baby," I knowingly grinned, placing my arms around her waist and gently pulling her body against mine as I kissed her sweet lips, "Practice makes perfect, Ashlyn."

"If that's the case, then I should be well past perfect," she smiled, "Especially after today anyway."

"You guys were that busy, huh?" I asked, as Ash eagerly nodded her head, "Have I ever told you how proud of you that I am? If not, I'm very proud of you, Ashlyn...my perfect wife...

~~~~~~

Chapter Twenty Eight

By this time, Ashlyn and I had only been home long enough for us to get changed into more comfortable clothing when the phone began to ring.

"Hello," I answered, "This is Jake."

"Hi, Jake, sweetie," I heard Lindsay's voice gently reply, "I need to come talk to both you and Ashlyn, and, if you can get them to come to your house; the rest of Covenant, too. It's about an extremely important gig out in Los Angeles, well; it's in Beverly Hills to be more precise."

"Wow, that's good news," I unknowingly smiled, "If you'll give me about an hour or so, I'm fairly certain that I can get everyone over here. But why don't you come on over anyway? That way you'll be here when everyone else and we can talk about the gig, okay?"

"Thanks, Jake," Lindsay appreciatively smiled, "I knew I could count on you..."

~~~~~~

"Alright," I asked Lindsay, once everyone was at the house, "Now that you've got us here, Lindsay, what's going on, and what's up with the gig in Beverly Hills?"

"Let me begin by apologizing to you, Jake, for making you wait until now before I responded to the message you left with my secretary," she smiled, "I'm, really sorry about that."

"It's not a problem," I grinned, "Please, continue."

"Alright then," she smiled, "I talked to Herb Albert and Jerry Moss of A&M Records yesterday and they want you guys to play a gig out in Beverly Hills in less than a couple of weeks. It's the after-party that they hold every year for the recipients of The Academy Awards, and this is their way of showcasing the new up and coming acts."

"Holy shit," Cameron suddenly exclaimed, making us all laugh at the rare sound of her swearing, "This means that we're playing ball in the big leagues, doesn't it, Lindsay?"

"Yes, it most certainly does," Lindsay seriously replied, making it a point to look into the faces of each and every one of us, "And it also means that you can't screw up, not even once, or this crowd will eat you alive. I mean it...I've seen it happen once before and the folks left town and went back home with their tails tucked between their legs."

"That's not going to happen with us," Jessie said, with an almost defiant tone of voice as she stood, "We plan on being the best that any of those prima-donna actors have ever heard; ain't that right, you guys?"

The next thing I knew was that every single member of the band, me included; all stood in defiance with one another. And then after receiving a silent acknowledgement from the rest of my band mates, I stood up and told Lindsay, "We want you to tell Mister Albert and Mister Moss that we'll be there. And then when we're finished chewing the crowd up and spitting them out, they can pay out hotel bill for us."

"That's part of the bet," Lindsay happily said, "If you guys can make it through one night with this crowd, then Herb Albert said that he would sign you guys to a five record deal, with all of the trimmings to go with it."

"Uh huh," I skeptically replied, "Tell us, Lindsay, what happens if we lose this so called bet?"

"Then you belong to A&M Records for the next six years, and they release your music when and if they feel like it."

"That sounds about right," I acerbically replied, "But I know that there's more to this bet than just our career. We all know that A&M Record doesn't need us to be successful so; that means that there's something you're not telling us, Lindsay. What is it?"

"If you lose the bet," she slowly began, "Then...then...I...I have to sign the ownership of my talent agency over to them...both of them."

"What happens if we don't show up for the gig?" I asked, "That way all bets are off."

"NO," Lindsay quickly replied, "You don't want to do that either."

"And why not" I indignantly asked her, "These assholes don't run our lives."

"If you don't show up for the gig, then they will tell every president of every record label in the country that you people are unmanageable," she warned, "It's called "Being Blackballed" which means that no one in the industry will touch you. I've seen them do it before...but the ultimate decision is your's."

"Can you give us a few minutes to talk about this, Lindsay?" I asked

"Come with me, Lindsay," Ashlyn smiled, raising from her seat the couch next to me, "We'll go out by the pool and talk..."

~~~~~~

We waited until Ashlyn escorted Lindsay outside, and then the moment the back patio doors closed, Camryn looked at us and said, "Let's do this gig, you guys. That way, when we win this bet, and we will win, we'll make damn sure that we bleed A&M Records for everything we can, maybe we can even get a platinum album somewhere along the way."

"I don't know," Rob warily replied, "These guys are pretty slick. We'd better make sure that we get a good lawyer first."

"That's only if we get a record deal, bro.," Keith said, "I think our main concern right now ought to be about blowing the roof off of this so called gig we've been lined up to play."

"Don't you mean railroaded?" Joanie laughed, "Because it sure sounds that way to me."

"Wait a minute," I replied, as a strange thought suddenly occurred to me, "What about Lindsay, why do those guys want her talent agency so badly?"

"I agree with you, Jake," Randy said, "I think that maybe we should talk to her first before we make any hasty decisions."

"He's right," Jessie agreed, "I'll go get her back in here..."

~~~~~~

"Jake is such a good guy," Lindsay smiled, as she and Ashlyn were sitting on the back patio drinking iced tea, "I can tell that the rest of the kids in the band absolutely love him."

"They sure do," Ashlyn tenderly told her, "But because I'm married to him and can see what it is that they see in him, my opinion is a bit biased."

"He's awfully mature for his age," Lindsay said, "I've never seen that quality in someone who's as young as Jake is."

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Ashlyn smiled, as Lindsay nodded her head, "And he's the most loving man God ever put a breath in."

However, before anything further could be said, they were interrupted by Jessie walking out onto the patio and beckoning Lindsay to come back into the house..."

~~~~~~

"Okay, Lindsay," I asked, my band mates closely watching us, "Why do Herb and Jerry want your talent agency...and I think it would probably be best if you told us the truth, don't you?"

"Oh, okay," Lindsay sighed, taking a seat as she began to tell us what we wanted to know, "My agency, Peterson Talent Productions, is, as it stands at this moment, a multi-million-dollar company. I haven't taken it public yet, but when I do, the price of the stock will quadruple, making it a billion-dollar corporation. Herb Albert and Jerry Moss have been after me for years about selling my company to them and I've turned them down every time. But...if I could find the right group, with the right sound...well, it could take Peterson Talent Productions far and beyond all of the rest of them."

An idea suddenly came to me, but before I could say anything I had to make sure that the people in the band trusted me. So, with that thought in mind, I turned to my band mates and told them, "I've got an idea that's going to be good for all of us, but I need you guys to blindly trust me...and this means you, too, Lindsay."

"He's never failed us before, you guys," Jessie told not only Lindsay, but the rest of the band as well, "I make a motion that we trust him."

"She's right," Randy stood up., grinning as he spoke, "I second that motion."

"You guys know me," Camryn giggled, "I always go with the flow."

"Yeah, you do," Janie Harris laughed, "Especially if it's coming out of a beer keg," then she looked around the room, and with a big smile on her face, Janie looked at me and said, "Lighten up, Jake. You're too handsome to be worrying all of the time; we're in...all of us."

"Okay, I'll bite," Lindsay began to laugh, "What have you got up your sleeve?"

"Even I'm curious now," Ashlyn smiled, "Tell us, Jake."

"Alright then," I said, looking at Lindsay while still speaking loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, "How would you like it if we, Covenant, wanted to be represented by Peterson Talent Productions, how would that be?" Lindsay sat there with a stunned look on her face, which I mistook for silence, making me tell her, "Come on, Lindsay, you even said so yourself that we were too good to be just an opening act when we auditioned for the Music Festival. Give us a chance, we won't let you down."

After sitting down acting like she'd been momentarily blinded, Lindsay suddenly smiled and told us, "I would be proud to represent you guys."

"That's good," I grinned, "How soon can we sign the contracts with you?"

"How about tomorrow?" she gratefully asked, "Would that be too soon?"

"Not for us," I replied, "What time?"

"Is one o'clock tomorrow afternoon alright?" she kindly asked, "We can all meet here if that's alright with you, Ashlyn."

"Of course it's alright," Ash grinned, "And we can have dinner afterwards, sort of a celebration kind of thing before everyone has to buckle down and rehearse for the show in Beverly Hills."

"Damn, Jake," Rob teased, whispering so no one but he and I could hear, "Is Ashlyn our new motivational coach now, or what?"

"Nah," I chuckled, "She just gets excited; that's all."

"Well, damn," he disappointedly replied, "I was kind of hoping she was. It's not like we all couldn't use a good kick in the ass every once in a while."

"I'd say that you're probably right," I laughed, "That gives me an idea, but don't say anything to anyone else...not just yet, okay?"

"No problem," Rob proudly replied, "You've gotten us this far, Jake so; you know that I trust you....and so does everyone else in the band..."

~~~~~~

After we were done talking about business, we agreed with Lindsay that we would all meet her back here at our house at one o'clock the following afternoon to sign a management contract with her.

"You won't be sorry that you did this, you guys," Lindsay humbly told us, as she stood up to leave, "I'm going to take really good care of you kids, believe me."

"We do believe you, Lindsay," I gently replied, as I escorted her to the front door, and then opening it, "Otherwise we wouldn't have even had this discussion."

"I'm still going to say "thank you" anyway, Jake," Lindsay smiled, quickly kissing me on the cheek, "I'll see you all tomorrow," and then with that said; she walked down the sidewalk and then got into her car and backed out of our driveway, waving as she drove away...

~~~~~~

I had asked everyone in the bad to stay afterwards so that we could all discuss what was about to happen to us amongst ourselves.

"What does it mean to have a manager?" Camryn asked me, "Is Lindsay going to start booking us to play more gigs?"

"Yes, she does that," I smiled, "But she's also going to be consulting with us on setting an image for ourselves and maybe getting a new look in the process."

"Ooo, hell yeah," the Harris triplets simultaneously giggled, "That means new clothes for everyone."

"Aw, man," Randy groaned, "This means that we guys are going to have to try on a bunch of different stuff and let the girls in the band see, in order for us to be certain that we meet with their approval...I just know it."

"Relax, baby," Janie gently and playfully teased him, "It's not like I've never seen you in your underwear before, Randy, honey," which of course elicited laughter from everyone in the room, me and Ashlyn included.

"Screw you guys," Randy half frowned/half smiled, "This shit ain't the least bit funny..."

~~~~~~

That night as I lay next to my precious, beautiful wife, I was thinking about how much I loved her and also about how far we'd come together. We'd not faced any of life's storms that would upset our marriage, yet it still didn't mean that we wouldn't either. But if we did, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the strength of our love would be there to push away that which men would try to cast asunder, due to their own jealousies and insecurities.

Still though, Ashlyn knew that she belonged to me, and only me, as I knew that I forever belonged to her and only her, sealing the matrimonial vows we'd made to one another in front of our closest friends and family members. I still remembered that day. Ashlyn was the most beautiful bride I'd ever seen. Of course it might have been because she was marrying me that day, but her radiance was beyond compare that day, too. Hell, it still is, and that's why...ooppss, sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself again...back to the story.

Anyway, I was lying in bed next to Ash, when she softly spoke to me, breaking me from my reveries just then, telling me, "I've been off of the pill for a while now, and nothing has happened yet."

"Aw, it's okay, baby," I soothed her, pulling her close to me and kissing her soft lips, "It'll happen when it's supposed to happen, my love. What is it that you tell me about how I need have a little more patience sometimes?"

"Oh, hush," she playfully pouted, yet still leaning over to kiss me, "I guess I'm just anxious to be a Mom, that's all."

"And it's a beautiful Mom you're going to be, too," I softly told her, gently kissing her throat, "You have to relax, baby, that's all."

"Mmm," she sensually purred, as I slowly and gently continued my ministrations on her throat, slowly moving to the underside of her jaw, "I'll give you the rest of my life to stop that, Jake."