Page 61 of Doc Rock
“G’day,”he called out to the men who shared the wild ride of fame with him, and Donnie, who was alwaysthereto steer the ship.
“Mate. You found Sie! I can’t believe it,”Scotty yelled out in return as he rounded the car.
Ford lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Donnie; it appeared their manager had been a little silent about his‘guiding hand’in finding their long-lost member.
“Donnie found her,”he stated flatly and glared at the other man, who grinned ruefully.
‘It doesn’t matter who found her. I can’t believe she’s alive! I thought for sure that for her to have left Ford behind, something awful must have happened to her,” Joel said as he grabbed his suitcase out of the back of the car.
“Yeah. Those two were disgustingly in love,”Scotty said as he strolled up the steps and slung his arm around Ford’s shoulders.
“Young love is weird.”Ford shrugged and gave Scotty a pat on the back.
It had been years since he’d had the opportunity to be with his friends without Ryanthereto cause trouble, and for the first time in a long time, they didn’t irritate him on sight. Maybe his annoyance with Joel and Scotty was more to do with Ryan than with the men who had been his friends for his whole life.
“Come on in. Make yourselves at home. Help yourself to anything out of the fridge.Thereare three spare rooms, so chuck your bags in whichever you want.”Ford stepped out of Scotty’s embrace and held the door open for his bandmates and manager.
“What time is Sie getting here?”Scotty asked Donnie as he strolled in the door.
“She should be here soon,”Donnie answered, his eyes flickering to Ford, who made sure he kept his face a blank mask.“A car picked her up about thirty minutes ago.”
Ford’s heart thumped. Kissing her was a huge mistake; once his lips touched hers,it waslike coming home again. All the feelings he’d spent so long suppressing were becoming harder and harder to ignore.
He shoved the need for her down.She left him.He wouldn’t go running back to her the moment she came back into his life.
“Got any beers, mate?”Joel asked as he threw his bag down and wandered over to the fridge.
“Yeah. Help yourself.”Ford gestured towards the fridge that his friend was already rifling through. Glad to change the topic from Sie, he didn’t want to think about her.
But even as he told himself that, his eyes slipped back to the front windows of the house, searching the long drive toseeif her car was approaching.
“Do you want a beer?”Joel asked the room in general.
Fordfelta little irritated when Scotty immediately said yes.It wasonly eleven in the morning, and they were cracking into the beers.
He caught Donnie’s eyes, who must havenoticedthe frown on Ford’s face, as their manager shook his head at Ford, warning him not to say anything to the others. To leave them alone to drink in the morning if they wanted to.
Ford had to look away. He was desperate to numb his feelings with alcohol. But after his last stint in rehab, he'd made a rule for himself: no day drinking, which he needed to stick to, however much he wanted a beer right now. And alcohol would be a bad idea around Sie. He didn’t want to drop his inhibitions.
“Cheers, mate,”Scotty popped the top of his can and took a loud sip.
“So what’s the plan?”Joel asked as he threw himself onto the sofa, getting comfortable.
Donnie was all business.“I’ve got the photographer coming at two this arvo. That’ll give you guys a couple of hours to chat and catch up. I’ve got the shed out back set up with drums and your instruments, so if you fancy playing, you can.”
Ford blinked in surprise. When had that happened?
His gaze swung to Donnie, who kept his expression very innocent and didn’t answer the question in Ford’s eyes.
“This is photos only, and we’ll put a statement out to accompany them.”Donnie reached down and pulled his laptop out of his bag.“I’ve got a copy of it here for you all to look at.”
He held the computer out to Ford, who took it and sat down, reading what Donnie wanted to tell the public.
‘Midnight Thunder would like to make a statement about their ‘lost member’, Sie Harrington, as rumours have recently surfaced that she is living in a small town in Australia.
‘The truth is, Sie was never lost. She decided after the death of her parents that she did not want to pursue a career with Midnight Thunder; instead, she wanted to live her life as a private citizen. We have supported her through this endeavour of living her life out of the limelight. And would ask you to respect her decision going forward.’
Ford scoffed.
