Never My Love

"Thank you," he quietly replied, his face a bright red color, "I'm really lost when it comes to this kind of stuff."

"Then leave everything to me," Sheri grinned, "The girls in the audience are all gonna go crazy when I get done with you," making the rest of us chuckle as he walked away with a shit eating grin on his face, and Sheri on his arm...

~~~~~~

Chapter Thirty Nine

Picking out our clothes and getting measured for our suits, whatever they were going to look like, had taken up most of the morning, and now my stomach was beginning to growl. I guess Sheri must've also been a mind reader, because no sooner had my stomach begun to growl when she looked at us with a smile on her face and said, "How about some lunch, fellas? I don't know about you guys, but I'm about to starve."

"Hell yes," Rob spoke up, "I've been starving to death for the past hour."

"Please," Randy laughed, "You're always hungry, dude. I think you've got a tape worm..."

~~~~~~

After a quick drive down Hollywood Boulevard, our limo pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant named Musso & Frank Grill,, and I was delighted to see the limo that the girls were in pull up right next to ours...

~~~~~~

"Hi, baby," Ashlyn smiled, hugging and kissing me the moment she exited the limo, "How has your morning been?"

"It's been crazy," I grinned, "How about you? How has your morning been so far?"

"You're going to absolutely love the way that I'm going to be dressed," she impishly smiled, "But you need to know ahead of time that the men in the audience are going to go totally batshit when they see what the girls are going to be wearing so; don't say I didn't warn you, baby."

"Aw, man," I groaned, making Ashlyn giggle, "That's all I need...another distraction..."

~~~~~~

After lunch was over with, it was back to shopping. Personally, I don't see how women do it. I was worn out after we finished getting our measurements taken, and our shirts fitted. But still, Sheri had more places for us to go. The first one was a spa for men where we each received a personalized massage, as well as getting our nails trimmed and sealed; after which we each received a facial.

"From there we were taken to a hair salon somewhere in West Hollywood called "Shangri-La". The man who owned the place was named Eric; and trust me when I tell you that he ran an extremely tight ship. None of us cared that he was gay. He was as nice to us as could be, as were the rest of his staff, and when he was done working his magic, as I called it, my hair looked like something you'd see in a magazine. He hadn't cut the length of it, mind you, but what he did do was to add a little body to it, giving me a wild, untamed look.

"Your wife is going to rape you when she sees you," he laughed, "So don't blame me, okay?"

"Not a problem," I laughed, as we shook hands, "Besides, she can't rape the willing."

"This is the one I was telling you about, Eric," Sheri told him, "His name is Jake."

"Oh, wow," Eric smiled, shaking my hand again, "I really like your band's music."

"Thank you, Eric," I cordially smiled, making it a point to introduce him the guys in the band, "The girls are in another limo somewhere today, or I would introduce you to them, too."

"Perhaps you could get me two passes to the label party tonight," Eric suggestively grinned, "And maybe I could meet them then?"

However, before I could even turn around to speak to her, Sheri handed him an envelope, saying, "I was going to give theses to you anyway so; stop schmoozing our artists."

"Our Artists," I asked smiling, "Exactly who are you, Sheri? And we're not budging another inch until you tell us, right guys?"

"He speaks for all of us," Rob said, "So; I suggest you tell him what he wants to know."

"Oh, alright," she replied, seemingly flustered, "Ahmet is my maternal Uncle and he's giving me an opportunity to work with you guys as part of my thesis for my Master's Degree in college."

"Uh, huh," Rob said, "Why didn't you tell us that to begin with?"

"Because," she quietly replied, "I didn't want you guys to think that I was some snot nosed kid who doesn't know shit."

"Damn, girl, look around you," I laughed, "You're surrounded by a bunch of snot nosed kids that don't know shit, other than how to play good music. At least you've got a graduate degree which is more than I can say for any of the rest of us."

"Don't forget about Ashlyn," Sheri teased, "If the information I have is correct, I believe your wife is a very brilliant, as well as very gifted surgeon, is she not?"

"You're right," I proudly replied, "She's the best there is at what she does."

"Your wife is a surgeon," Eric chuckled, as I nodded my head, "What in the world are you doing playing music?"

~~~~~~

"Let me be the first to congratulate Covenant on the release of their first album," Ahmet smiled, press photographers scattered everywhere, taking pictures of us; "You've heard some of their music playing on the radio already, but that only the tip of the iceberg. Believe me, there's plenty more to come...wait and see," and for the next twenty minutes or so, we were peppered with different questions by different members of the press.

"I've got a question for you, Jake," this one lady smiled, "Is it true that your wife is a plastic surgeon, the one that operated on you when you got burned badly when you were in high school?"

"Yes, it's true," I told her, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, not at all," she jovially smiled, "I just happen to think that it's one of the most romantic stories I've ever heard, that's all..."

~~~~~~

Ever since the attack that was made on the band I took to carrying three weapons as opposed to just two. It was a good thing, too; because not too long after Ashlyn and I left the release party, out limo was stopped by two men, both wearing tactical uniforms. One man held a gun on the driver while the other one came back to where we were sitting in the limo.

"Get you asses out," he sharply barked, "You're coming with me."

"Fuck you, asshole," I growled, and then began shooting. I hit the man that was trying to kidnap us right between the eyes, and the man who was holding a gun on the driver in the back of the head...

~~~~~~

"Are you kids aright?" Dad asked, who had been following us two cars back, "I've had enough of Bill Sanders' shit, and now I've got him on attempted kidnapping charges, as well as attempted murder."

"So, you're going after him then? I asked.

"You're damn right; I am," Dad angrily replied, "Nobody fucks with my family."

To make an even longer story short, three days later, Dad and several U.S. Marshalls descended on his place in Texas, taking him into custody. What really surprised me the most was when Dad told me that, because of the fact that Herb Albert and Jerry Moss had been working for the United States Department of Justice all along, they were instrumental in helping the authorities capture Bill Sanders.

"But these two men are not only very well known, but very highly respected men in the recording industry, Dad," I pointedly inquired, "What in the world are they doing mixed up with the likes of Bill Sanders' crooked ass to begin with?"

"Sanders had twenty million dollars in drug money that needed laundering,

"Dad began, "And because of the political position he was in at the time, he told Mister Albert and Mister Moss that if they didn't launder the money, the he was going to hurt their families so; needless to say, they came to us straight away."

"What about Ashlyn?" I asked more, "Why did Sanders want her?"

"Damn, boy, open your eyes," he laughed, "She's freaking beautiful, that's why he wanted her. Damn, Jake, isn't that one of the reasons you fell in love with her to begin with?"

"Well," Ashlyn teased, "The man is waiting for an answer, Jake."

"Don't listen to Dad," I chuckled, pulling her into my arms and tenderly kissing her lips, "He'll get you in trouble."

"Uh, huh," she giggled, "Why do you tell that shit to someone who doesn't know any better, my silly husband?"

~~~~~~

THREE DAYS LATER

"I'm really sorry about any trouble we might've caused you guys, Jake," Herb Albert told me, as we shook hands, "But we had to act like we were after you as well. Otherwise, Bill Sanders would've never been captured."

"Maybe so," I replied, "But you could've at least let me in on it. I could've helped you."

"That's why we're working with Ahmet," he smiled, "We're going to get you guys an audience with the Queen of England as well as the Royal House."

"Holy shit, Jake," Rob smiled, "This is so cool..."

~~~~~~

Bill Sanders ended up getting two consecutive life sentences, one for each charge. Covenant went on to release four more albums, all of them going platinum within a week of release.

And I guess because it's in my family gene pool, Ashlyn ended up having twins, a boy and a girl, and we named them Jeffery and Julie. Leah married Rob, and Laura married Keith, both of them having two children each. Camryn met a guy out in L.A. named David Fox, and married him a year later. Of course Joanie and Randy got married, as did Jess, and Janie as well. They met a set of twins when we went to New Zealand to play, and the rest is history.

I was watching the television the other day, the kids were at school, and Ashlyn was home. She came and sat in my lap and with a smile on her beautiful face; she asked me, "Now that you're retired, do you think you'll ever get tired of being home with us, baby?"

I simply smiled and told her, "Never my love...."

THE END