Page 4 of Burning Ember

Except, that wasn’t exactly true, was it? I had been writing songs using my newest muse, a sexy firefighter who had been on my mind far more than I cared to admit.

I held up my right hand to block the sun so I could see where Kit was paddling through the white caps of the Pacific Ocean. There were already about ten people out there on surfboards, and when Kit arrived at the spot where they were floating, they all bumped fists. It appeared they were all chattering as if Kit knew all of them.

“Does he surf a lot?” I turned to my best friend, who was staring at his fiancé with a beautiful, adoring smile. It nearly took my breath away.

River snapped out of his trance and turned to me with a soft chuckle. “As much as he can. He surfs in the morning and then in the evening when we’re home. During the day, he has the charter boat business. You should come out on the boat with us sometime. It’s a lot of fun. Many of the folks at the marina are very friendly.”

The idea of it was a bit intimidating, but maybe I could? “Sounds like it could be a good time. I’ll think about it. What have you got so far for the song?”

Riv picked up his six-string and placed it in his lap, running a scale to tune it. He opened a notebook in front of him and slid a pen behind his ear.

He strummed some beautiful chords—which didn’t surprise me because the man was a master with a melody—and he hummed along. The song was sad and beautiful, a fitting tribute to Hardy.

When he finished, River looked at me. “Come on, man. You’ve got words inside you. I looked at your notebook while you were having your second surgery. You’ve been holding out on us with those fucking songs, JD.”

I laughed. “Of course you’d go through my shit, you asshole.”

Riv played the melody again without humming, and I picked up his notebook, plucking the pen from behind his ear as I closed my eyes to listen to the music.

Words finally came.

Come Back

(verse)

Together we were magic

The days we ruled the sun

We walked the road together

And on the way we had some fun

Without your steady beat to guide us

We have lost our way

The time we had with you beside us

Will never fade away

(chorus)

We wish you could come back

We really need you

We wish you could come back

We really love you

We wish you could come back

We really miss you

(bridge)

Your guiding beat was what we needed