Page 24 of Drive
Rainey bit her lip. “More than you, Ash, and Mom, youmean.”
Holi sighed again and coughed twice. “Yes, but let’s face it, Rainey. Ash loves you, but the only reason he’s in your social circle is because I’m init.”
Holi didn’t say it, but Rainey thought it anyway. Holi wasn’tinher social circle. Shewasher social circle. And even though Rainey was nervous about the prospect of moving beyond that — the circle of safety she’d narrowed around herself for the last six years — she knew the burden it put on her sister wasn’t fair. And it wasn’thealthy.
“I’m not telling you to marry the guy,” Holi coaxed. “Just show up onThursday.”
And Rainey realized then that she would. She would be near-terrified of going out by herself. She would expect nothing but disappointment. But she’d go because going meant she’d at least get to see Jacques Gilchristagain.
Chapter 7
While he’d talkedon the phone with her, Jacques had painted a picture of Kate Crawford in his mind. Medium-build girl with an undercut. Probably dyed black. But possibly pink, given the hot-pink flyer she’d posted at Guitar Center. And a nose ring as a definitemaybe.
The only thing he’d gotten right was the nosering.
Kate Crawford, in high-heeled boots, was all of four-foot-nine. Her hair was a springy mass of brown curls that fell past her shoulders. Her lips, painted a vivid red, were full, and her cheeks fuller. Fair skin, freckles, and bold eye makeup rounded out herlook.
One glimpse, and Jacques got her immediately. Kate Crawford was rude and pushy because she had tobe.
He’d also guessed wrong about her band’s musical genre. After their two — albeit short — conversations, he’d been expecting alternative punk. But what he got was dream pop. A little Silversun Pickups, a little Beach House, and a twist of Day Wave. But younger. Andfemale.
Heroine was definitely hard to pigeonhole, and Jacques liked that. With his sound and theirs, they might be able to make something new. And Kate hadn’t lied. They were good. By the sound of it, even if they were young, the girls had been honing their talents for years. And the lyrics weren’tbad.
But they could bebetter.
Those were his thoughts as he approached the front door of her family’s palatial home in Bendel Gardens. The white stucco, sprawling two-story smacked of money in a way that the home he’d just left hadnot.
Jacques smiled to himself as he rang the doorbell, his mind’s eye turning inward to the hour he’d just spent with Rainey Reeves. She’d opened and closed a dozen times before his eyes — like a butterfly’s wings — and the show had been fascinating. He wantedmore.
The door swung wide, punching a hole in his reverie, and he found Kate Crawford scowling in front of him. With the briefest greeting possible, she dragged him through the monstrous house — which also attested to money and lots of it — and she didn’t stop talking the entiretime.
“Dad’s a personal injury attorney and Mom’s a pediatric cardiologist, and they arealwaysat work, so Kara and I do pretty much whatever we want.” She told him all this as she pulled him past the formal dining room, a service kitchen and a “presentation kitchen” — whatever that was — and then finally outside to a brick patio that led to a custom-designedpool.
“We practice in the pool house,” she announced, tugging him by the sleeve past the luxury outdoor furniture. And then he could hear the resonance of a bass guitar and the accompaniment of asynthesizer.
Without hesitation, Kate pushed open the door of the pool house and yanked himinside.
“Heroines, this is Jacques Gilchrist,” she said, jerking a thumb back at him. “Jacques, this is Kara andDes.”
Des, the girl on bass guitar was an Amazon. Lean, long, with natural hair, clipped close at the sides, light brown skin, and huge dark eyes. Eyes that were trained on Kate after they’d given him the most cursory of glances. Kara moved from behind her keyboard and came at him with an outstretchedhand.
“Hi. I’m Kara Crawford, Kate’s sister,” she said, and except for the dark hair and the full mouth, Jacques wouldn’t have known it. Their demeanors were nothing alike. But Kara had a good four inches on her sister — and she had Kate for a sister, so there was bound to be a contrast. Jacques guessed Kara probably never had to fight her own battles since Kate waged them all forher.
“I saw you last month at Agave downtown. You did a cover of Peter Gabriel’s ‘In Your Eyes’ that left me speechless,” she gushed, pumping his hand. “Say Anythingis my mom’s favorite movie, and I love thatsong.”
“Wow. You saw that show?” Jacques askedsurprised.
“We all did. It was the first time I had the chance to see you, but Kate and Des have caught a few of Epoch’s shows at The Grouse Room.” Then she wrinkled her nose. “I wasn’t eighteen then, so Icouldn’t—”
“Enough smoke blowing,” Kate interrupted. “Let’s see if this shit’sreal.”
They jammed for four hours. The shit was, indeed, real. And Jacques loved every minute. He slipped into Heroine’s songs as though they were made for him. Sometimes his voice harmonizing with Kate’s. Sometimes singing solo. About midway through the session, Kate handed over her Strat, and he led them through three of his songs, and Kara’s synth, Des’s artistry with the bass, and Kate’s voice made them allnew.
Serotonin spiked his blood, and the rightness of the union made his feet leave the ground more than once. He’d heard synergy like theirs up close before— when Pal would play with two of his cousins from Arnaudville — but he’d never been a part of it himself, and it was the closest he could ever claim to a religiousexperience.
But even though he knew Pal would be able to relate, he didn’t leave the Crawford’s house eager to share the experience with his grandfather. He wanted — for reasons he couldn’t name — to share it with RaineyReeves.
So much so that he texted her as he walked back to his car, the sun already draining from the sky on the cool Aprilevening.
