All ready

Both Bret’s landline phone and cell phone go off at the same time. One hand goes to his caller ID, the other to flip open his phone to see who’s calling.

A groan escapes his lips as he sees his caller ID, and he let’s the answering machine pick up as he goes ahead and answers his cell. “Hey, Charlotte.” He tries to sound cheery the best he can. “What’s up?”

As he talks, his answering machine starts recording. “Bret…I know you’re home…I saw your car a few minutes ago as I drove by. Still know how to take care of that baby, don’t you.”

Bret struggles to hear what Charlotte has to say, over the other voice, and he growls. “Hang on a minute, babe.”

Holding his cell phone out to one side, he leans over to his other phone and picks it up. “You call me one more time,” he hisses, “and you’ll be sorry. Drop it, Ron. The answer is no.”

He listens for a moment, his voice getting a little louder. “Look, been there done that. I’m not risking it again. No! Tell him I said no! I don’t care. Just…dang it all, Ron, shut up and leave me alone.”

Slamming the phone down, he takes a deep breath, and runs a hand over his face. Suddenly he remembers the cell phone in his hand. “Aw, Charlotte…” He sits up straighter on the couch, then leans to rest his elbows on his knees. “Sorry, um…what were you saying?”


Con and Wyatt receive Katie’s instructions, nodding and holstering their weapons. Both start to roam the room, checking doors and windows and hallways, sniffing out the corners. The band sets up and soon people are filtering in and out, noise starting to fill the room.

Once the stage is set, Jen takes her place behind the table down in front for the sound check, signaling the guys one by one to test out their instruments and mics. Kyle tries out the keyboard with one hand, doing a fair job for not being able to use his right. He directs Misty to her own mic beside him, giving her a thumbs up. Once all together, the band plays through one song, Jason leading vocals as usual, Kyle giving Misty her cues for backup.

Soon, everyone is ready, and the families are starting to filter in. The guys leave the stage for a few minutes to regroup before they're on.

Scott wanders in from the back and scans the room, finally spotting Katie. Smiling, he comes up next to her and nudges her with an elbow. "Evening ma'am. I looked in the mirror and saw a suspicious man. You won't arrest me, will you?"


Back down the hall, the band converses about several of their songs, have a prayer, then try to get ready.

Kyle leans back against the hallway wall and closes his eyes, letting out a sigh.

Phil's eyes narrow slightly. "Hey, you alright?"

Kyle throws his eyes open and pastes on a good smile. He nods. "Never better," he croaks.

Phil smirks. "Yeah, you sound like it."

Jason shakes his head. "You sure you want to be up there?"

Kyle rolls his eyes and thumbs to Misty.

"Yeah, I know you got backup so we could do this thing...but you know good and well we agreed because you were stubborn. Now are you sure you'll be alright?"

Kyle sighs and throws up his good arm. "Will you guys just shut up and leave me alone? If I wasn't fine, I wouldn't be here!" He blinks and shakes his head, slapping on a quirky grin, then moving to knock his brother upside the head.

Phil gives a dry laugh. "Alright, alright... Let's get this show on the road."

Mike, Jason and Phil head back down the hall, while Kyle stays behind a moment, throwing Misty a wink. He was running on pure adrenaline right now and had no idea how he'd make it through the night. But he would...he would.


Half an hour later, the lights were being dimmed and JetStream was walking on stage.