Never My Love

The only member of the band that would not be playing on this particular song was our drummer, Rob Walters; but he simply grinned and said, "While you guys are on stage playing, I'll be backstage harassing the stage manager..."

The blending of Keith, Randy, and the Harris sisters as they played their instruments was only enhanced when I sat down on the piano I learned to play on at Mom and Dad's house, as every single person there stopped what they were doing to listen to Camryn's pure, sweet voice the moment it hit the air.

We sang and played until the song was finished, and when we were done, I saw a smile across my father's face that was unlike any look he'd ever had before. Of course Mom, Ashlyn, and the twins were crying their eyes out like they always had whenever I'd played for any of them.

"That was beautiful, babies," Mom tenderly smiled, kissing first me, then Camryn, followed by everyone else who'd played, "I don't know how I know this, but I have a strange and wonderful feeling that you kids are going to take the music industry by storm."

"I sure hope so," I replied smiling, "Or otherwise this will have all been for nothing."

"Relax, baby, you're going to be just fine," Ashlyn warmly smiled, hopping into my lap, "And when our baby is born; she's going to be the best musician in the country."

"She, huh," I teased, "And just what makes you so sure that we're going to have a girl, my love?"

"Oh, I don't know," she delightfully grinned, "Wishful thinking, I guess..."

~~~~~~

LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LAX)

FIVE DAYS LATER

Once we'd all de-barked the private jet, a brand new Gulfstream, which Ahmet had sent to Houston to pick us up fly us back to L.A., we saw a rather large panel truck pulled upright onto the tarmac a few yards from the aircraft.

"Hi, my name is David Lockland, the driver of the truck greeted us smiling, "You guys are the band Covenant, right?"

"That's us," I politely replied, "What can we do for you?"

"You must be, Jake," he smiled, "Ahmet sent us to retrieve your gear and take it to the studio."

"Oh, wow," I excitedly smiled, "That's great. Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"Not at all," he smiled, as a rather large limo pulled up, "We've got it covered."

I was about to politely object until the facing back passenger door of the limo opened and Ahmet Ertegun himself stepped out onto the tarmac wearing a smile on his kindly face.

"Hello everyone," he graciously said, "And welcome to Los Angeles."

"Hello, Ahmet," I smiled, excited to see him, "As you can see we all made it."

"Fantastic," he grinned, "I'll bet you're probably tired from your long flight. I'm here to take you all to the hotel you'll be staying while you're here..."

~~~~~~

This time we stayed at The Peninsula, also in Beverly Hills. However, it's located on Santa Monica Boulevard, which was about a twenty minute ride by limo to Dashwood Studios, which is o longer there. I have to say, it was as nice as the Beverly Wilshire, with the exception of the suites being much bigger.

The entire top floor had been leased out for our service, accompanied by a wait staff that was at our beck and call, twenty four hours a day; seven days a week. Once we were all settled into our suites, Ahmet called us all into one of the many conference rooms there at the hotel for a brief meeting...

~~~~~~

"I'm glad you all made it and I can't wait to get started. We start recording in two days so; I want you all to go ahead and do the tourist thing tonight and tomorrow, because after that, it will be time to get to work. I only hope that you guys are as excited to get started as I am. On the journey we're about to embark on," every member of the band nodding their heads in agreement.

'You don't know how happy that makes me," he widely smiled, "The hotel has all of my contact numbers so; I want you to call me if you need me. Otherwise, today is Monday, and at eight o'clock, bright and early Wednesday morning, a limousine will be here to collect you all and bring you to the studio. In the mean time, have a good time until we see one another again..."

~~~~~~

Everybody wanted to go out to dinner as a band that night so; that's what we did. We got all dressed up, and because Ahmet left it for our use, we pilled into the limo and asked our driver, Sam, a great big black guy whose as gentle as a kitten, to take us to a place that we could enjoy a leisurely dinner.

We pulled up to another place which is no longer there called Carlucci's. It was, at the time, one of the premiere restaurants in town. Sam was going to wait for us in the car until I insisted that he come in and eat with us. Of course he quickly let me know that it was not allowed by his employer so; as opposed to getting him in trouble with his boss, Ashlyn and I made certain the we brought him out a nice serving of Veal Parmigiana, with all of the side dishes that accompanied it.

"Thank you, Jake," he graciously smiled, "You didn't have to do that, and I appreciate it more than you know."

"No sweat, brother," I grinned, "We take care of our own...always."

~~~~~~

After dinner, we went over to a place on Pico Boulevard called The Mint to listen to not only some of the local talent, but also maybe some of the competition. We heard some really good song-writers play that night, which inspired me to go back to the hotel and work on something I'd started long before I helped put "Covenant" together...and way before I ever met Ashlyn...

~~~~~~

Ashlyn went to bed not too long after we got to our suite, and after I kissed her goodnight, I picked up my guitar and began to play a series of notes accompanied by the matching chords. For a solid hour I worked until I had a melody unlike anything I'd ever written. Shortly thereafter came the lyrics, and once I was completely finished writing the song, I picked up some staff paper and began composing the orchestral accompaniment that would go with it, I wrote, and then after being dissatisfied with that, I erased it and wrote something else in its place until I'd completely finished the song which I named, "Till I found You."

It was a song that perfectly described all of the bullshit I went through until I met Ashlyn for the very first time. In the song, I talked about how afraid I was of what I was going through until I met the angel (Ashlyn) who calmed all of my fears and replaced them with her love.

It was a very good song, which, whether or not it went on the album, that would be Ahmet's decision, but it was still a good song, regardless, and I was certain that my precious and darling wife would love. Besides, she had become the inspiration for everything I wrote these days, and I was thankful for it...'

~~~~~~

The next morning found Ashlyn and me walking along the Pacific shoreline hand in hand. I carried our shoes and socks so that we could wade in the sea as it gently lapped against the sandy beach. Granted, it was only six o'clock in the morning, but I'd gotten enough sleep the night before, and it was something that Ashlyn wanted us to do so; you know I went along with it. Hell, I went along with anything my wife wanted, I still do, but that's only because I love her so much...

~~~~~~

By two o'clock that afternoon, everyone was either down at the pool, or like Ash and I had done that morning, took a cab to the beach. The only other person still at the hotel was Joanie Harris, and I was very happy to see her when she knocked on our door.

"Hey, Joanie," I smiled, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek, "What' cookin, good lookin?"

"Hi, Jake," she giggled, returning the hug I'd given her, "Where's Ashlyn? I need to talk to her about something."

"Uh oh," I said, "Is there trouble in paradise with you and Randy?"

"Lord, no," she brightly smiled, at the mention of his name, "He's a doll and I absolutely adore him, and that's what I want to talk to Ashlyn about."

"Why can't you ask me?" I teased, "I'm pretty good at this love thing, just ask my wife."

"Duh, Jake," she laughed, "Anyone who sees the two of you together can automatically tell that you're in love," then her face turned serious when she said, "This is about me, okay?"

"Oh, okay," I replied, understanding what she meant, "Let me go get Ashlyn for you, sweetie..."

~~~~~~

"Randy told you that he was in love with you?" Ashlyn asked Joanie, "Oh, sweetie, that's wonderful news," and then when Joanie didn't reply, Ash looked at her and asked, "It scared the hell out of you, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did," Joanie sullenly replied, and then began to cry, "But I don't want to lose him; and I feel like if I don't tell him that I love him in return, he might walk away."

"There's only one thing you can do, sweetheart," Ashlyn told her, "The two of you need to sit down and talk about it. Otherwise you stand a far greater chance of losing him if you don't."

"I love Randy very much," Joanie told her, "But I don't know if I'm in love with him."

"Alright then close your eyes and let me ask you a question," Ashlyn knowingly grinned, "And I want an honest answer, okay."

"Of course," Joanie smiled, her eyes closed "What do you want to ask me?"

"I want you to imagine that we're all out at the pool having a good time, can you see it?" Ash began, Joanie nodding her head in understanding, "All of a sudden, this hot little blonde in a tiny bikini ran up to Randy and started hugging all over him, trying to kiss him. What would you do?"

All of a sudden Joanie's eyes flew open, and then with a touch of fire in her tone of voice, she quietly snarled, "I'd stomp that little bitch's ass...Aw, damn," she smiled, her eyes beginning to fill with happy tears, "I guess I really am in love with him."

"Then I suggest you go find him," Ashlyn softly smiled, "And tell him to his face how much you love him. You'll be a lot happier once you do, trust me."

"Oh, he's gone surfing with Rob and Keith," Joanie smiled, "Can I ask you something about you and Jake? You don't have to answer if you don't want to though."

"Ask me anything you want to, sweetie," Ash sweetly replied, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"What made you fall in love with Jake, besides his obvious good looks?" she asked, "I mean, isn't he almost seven years younger than you?"

"Yes, but he's very mature for his age," my sweet wife softly smiled, "And he treats me like a queen; hence one of the many reasons I love him so much."

"I know," Joanie smiled, "But when did you know that you were in love with him?"

"As you already know, Jake's face didn't always look like it does now," Ashlyn replied, "It was because of the reconstructive surgery that I performed on him after he got burned that he looks so good; but I started falling in love with him long before I ever began repairing his face."

"Please," Joanie asked, "Please tell me more."

"Hell, why not," Ashlyn began, "I was just finishing my shift in the Emergency Room at the Galveston Burn Center, where I work, when we were put on notice that a burn victim was being flown in by the Life Flight helicopter and would landing at any moment. And because I specialize in reconstructive surgery, I went to the Helo-Pad to await the victim's, Jake's, arrival..."

"...It was night time and I could barely see his face, plus his eyes had been wrapped by whoever attended to him before he came to us. I didn't remove them immediately just in case his eyes had been burned, too. Jake still doesn't remember this, but he began to panic so; I gave the order to sedate him until I could take a look at the report on him, as well as look at his x-rays so that I would know what I was dealing with."

"Poor Jake," Joanie sadly replied, "I'll bet he was terrified, bless his heart."

"He was when he first came out from under the sedative I'd ordered," Ash replied, "But his family was there by that time, and they managed to get him to calm down immediately. I thought it was amazing that they were able to calm him so quickly, but when I found out how he got burned, I understood the reasons for him being so upset...he was still worried as to whether or not he'd gotten his sister out of the fire in time; now how kind and noble is that?"

"Oh, my God," Joanie gasped, "I never knew how Jake got burned; I only knew he was burned very badly on his left side. Now you tell me that he did it risking his own life for his sister. Wow, I'm going to look at him a whole lot differently than I used to; Holy Cow!"

"That was when I first began to develop feelings for him," Ashlyn brightly smiled, "And the more I got to know Jake, the deeper I began to fall, until one day, I realized that I was totally and irrevocably in love with him."

"That's so romantic," Joanie softly replied, "I can see now why you love him like you do. Randy treats me the same way ya know."

"Good for you, girl," Ashlyn giggled, "In that case, you'd better snatch him up while you've got the chance."

"Wait till he gets back from surfing," Joanie impishly smiled, "I've got something for him that he'll long remember for the rest of his life..."

~~~~~~

Finally the day arrived that we began recording, and because she was fascinated by it all, I made sure that Ashlyn was allowed to sit in the control room, or engineer's booth, to be able to watch and observe.

The first thing Ahmet wanted us to do that morning was to start by recording all of the rhythm tracks, with scratch vocals, of each song we'd written. And, for the next ten hours that first day, that's exactly what we did. Ahmet chose to produce our first album so; after recording all of the basic tracks, scratch vocals included, he called it a day.

(Scratch vocals are the first set of vocal tracks that are used simply to know where in the song we were when it came time to lay additional tracks, i.e. lead guitar, keyboard tracks, etc; before the final, finished lead and harmonies vocals are laid down.)

"You guys did a great job," Ahmet told us that afternoon, at the meetings we always held at the end of each session, "These songs are going to go very quickly because of the great work ethics I can tell that you kids have."

"Thanks, Ahmet," Rob grinned, "We're just trying to give plenty of bang for the bucks you've already spent."

"I like that, Rob," he laughed, "Do you mind if I use that saying?"

"Not at all," Rob jovially chuckled, "I heard it from my father so; I'm sure he won't mind you're using it at all."

"Speaking of family," Ahmet gently smiled, as we all sat round the big table in the meeting room, "What do all of your families think about what you guys managing to land a record deal with us?"

"Our parents are tickled to death," Jessie said, speaking for her sisters, "My mother was a singer until she fell in love with my father. Then she had the three of us and had no more time for music."

"How delightful," Ahmet smiled, "So, you, Joanie and Janie are true triplets then?"

"We're not only triplets," Jessie playfully teased, "But we also comprise the entire string section of this band...except for when Jake adds a little more on his synthesizers."

"You girls are, all three, excellent players," Ahmet smiled, "Not only do you sound great together, but you make an extraordinary addition to this band. Plus, the fact that you're triplets is a stroke of pure luck, and will make a fabulous marketing tool, which will boost sales even higher than I'm already predicting them to go."

"Wow," Jessie smiled her face alive and dancing like a candle in the wind, "Thank you for paying us such a nice compliment Mister Ertegun."

"Please, child," he gently smiled, in a grandfatherly sort of way, "My name is Ahmet, and I want you to call me that henceforth, please," as the Harris sisters all nodded their heads smiling.

"Jake," he smiled, turning to me, "I understand that you and your lovely wife are expecting a child. Is that correct?"

"Is sure is," I proudly smiled, taking Ashlyn's hand into mine, "I hope that won't be a problem, Ahmet."

"On the contrary," he graciously replied, "I think it will provide you with some excellent experiences to write about. Besides, there's nothing like having a great motivational tool when you're trying to write music...or so I've heard."

"You heard correctly, Ahmet," I smiled, as I looked into my beautiful Ashlyn's eyes, "I have all of the influence and motivation that I'll ever need, thank God," and then I leaned over and gently kissed her soft lips."

"Joanie," Ahmet smiled, "Are you and Randy dating engaged, or what?"

"We're in love," she quickly replied smiling, "Randy's face suddenly lighting up like a Christmas tree, "And I hope that one of these days that he asks me to marry him, because if he doesn't ask me, then I'll ask him."

"Really," Randy softly asked her, "You'd really marry me?"

"I just said so, didn't I?" she sweetly giggled, "I love you, ya big lug," as tears of joy began to slowly fill both of their eyes.

"That's really sweet," Ahmet gently sighed, looking around the room at all of us, "God told me that you were nice kids and that's why I decided to sign you to Atlantic Records."

"Speaking of which," I politely asked, "When is our next gig, Ahmet, and where?"

"Let's not put the cart before the horse," he gently smiled, "I want to get your music on the radio first, which will hopefully be in about three days if everyone works hard and does their jobs."

"You'll never have to worry about that, Ahmet," I replied smiling, "What time do you want us back here in the morning?"

"I would like to see you all back here no later than nine o'clock tomorrow morning," he replied grinning, "In the mean time, have fun and remember to be safe tonight..."

~~~~~~

Chapter Thirty Seven

FOUR DAYS LATER

"Jake, Jake," Ashlyn excitedly smiled, as we were getting ready to go to work that morning, "Come in here and listen to this. You guys are on the radio!"

I immediately dropped what I was doing and ran into the main living area of our suite to listen, as "Out Of The Fire" played on the radio that morning. It wasn't even at the halfway point before I heard a loud knock on our door, as Ashlyn opened it and the rest of the band came pouring into our suite, all in various stages of undress yet still decent.

"We did it, Jake," Rob grinned, as he hopped up and down smiling, "I can't believe it. We're on the radio, dude...holy cow."

I can't begin to describe what I was feeling, as Ashlyn suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck, and with a wound up look in her eyes, sweetly said, "I knew that you were going to be a star the very first time I ever heard you sing baby, and now listen. That's your voice that I'm hearing...I'm so proud of you, my love..."

~~~~~~

Needless to say, by the time we reached the studio, we were all about to bounce off of the walls from the excitement we'd experienced the first thing that morning. I can't describe to you what it felt like, but please know that it was one of the best feelings in the whole world.

"Congratulations," Ahmet knowingly smiled, when we reached the studio that morning, "I heard Covenant's music playing on the radio as I was driving in this morning, and I must say, it sounded excellent."

"Thank you, Ahmet," I proudly smiled, "None of this would've been possible if it weren't for you."

"We only have three more days to go until we're completely finished with your first album, you guys," Ahmet told us, "And I must say, in all the years that I've been doing this, I've never seen a group of young people who work as hard as you all do, and yet get along just as well, if not better than most groups I've dealt with."

"Thanks, Ahmet,' Camryn smiled, "Oh, and thank you for allowing the new song that Jake and I wrote to go on the album. It really means a lot to me."