Chapter 20

Katie stood up and rummaged through the drawers in the hotel dresser looking for something to put on. She picked out a pair of navy yoga pants and a white tank top. Then she proceeded to check out her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was a knotted mess. After smoothing it out with her comb she put it back up in a ponytail. She thought she heard the TV on in Jon's room, so decided to see if he was up too. Opening the door she saw him sitting on the overstuffed sofa in the sitting area flipping channels. His face lit up when he saw her walk in the room. He smiled to her and patted the sofa beside him.

"I ordered a couple of burgers with all the fixin's from room service." He told her as he put his arm around her bringing her close to him.

Katie curled up next to him, snuggling into the soft cotton of his t-shirt. He had also put on something besides a sheet, she noticed, chuckling to herself. "Oh awesome, I am hungry." She said.

"I figured you would be after our workout....and our other workout..." he laughed. "What do you have on your mind for the afternoon? We got an earlier start today." He paused for a few seconds. "Katie, if you want to go off on your own or just chill alone, I understand. I know you were going to come alone originally."

"That is sweet of you, and the same goes for you." Katie smiled up at him. "But I am fine either way." She wasn't quite sure how to tell him that she would prefer nothing more than spending every second she could with him.

Jon took care of it. "Ok, well, I'm happy right where I am. There is no place I would rather be." He looked into her eyes as he twisted her ponytail around his fingers.

Katie answered practically before he was finished, "Me, too." She nodded. "Happy right where I am."

His eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled, "Then it's settled. What should we do this afternoon? Any requests?"

Katie had noticed a movie listing available on the TV when she had looked through the hotel information. "We could watch a movie." She thought curling up next to him for the afternoon sounded like heaven. Jon couldn't agree more.

There was a knock on the door, and as Jon opened it the waiter brought in their tray setting it down on the table. Jon watched Katie devour her burger. She had a healthy appetite he thought, but then chuckled to himself when he realized he might be part of the cause. After lunch Katie searched the movie menu while Jon cleaned up and put the tray outside the door. He sat down next to her on the sofa wrapping his arms around her, softly kissing her neck. Katie giggled, "You're not making this easy." as she tried to find a movie, finally settling on a comedy. They snuggled down into the sofa to watch the movie.

As the final credits scrolled on the screen, Katie suggested dinner plans. "Since we have been holed up in this hotel for the past, is it two or three days, how about we go down to the restaurant for dinner?" Katie had eaten there before and knew the food was delectable.

"Sure, sounds good." Jon looked at his watch, 4:10 p.m. "What do you say we go down in about half an hour? I need to make myself look pretty."

Katie adopted a deep southern drawl, "Well, honey, you are just so damn gorgeous already, I don't think I could handle it if you looked any better."

Jon laughed. "But I, on the other hand, do need to freshen up." She got up and walked toward her room. "I will see you in half an hour."

Katie closed the door behind her and went to the closet. She picked out a silky floral dress that fell to just above her knees. In the bathroom she pulled her hair out of the ponytail, leaning over shaking it out. She ran her fingers through her scalp and combed it, satisfied with the results. She applied a coat of mascara, a touch of blush on her cheeks to enhance the bit of tan from their beach day, and a touch of lipstick. Then she spritzed a bit of perfume in her hair, the crease of her elbow and behind her knees. Back in the bedroom she pulled the dress over her head, it fell gently to her knees. She slipped on a pair of sandals to complete the outfit. Looking in the mirror she was pleased with the results. She opened the door to Jon's room. Hearing him in the bathroom, she tiptoed to the bathroom door. Leaning her hand against the door jam she said. "Hey there, sexy."

Jon turned around and let out a slow whistle. "Whoooaaa, hey there, beautiful."

Katie found herself holding her breath as she looked at him. He was dressed in a pair of snug dark blue jeans, a white shirt untucked and a black jacket. He had shaved and his hair styled back to its usual rock star state.

Jon took Katie's hand and slowly twirled her around. "Mmmm, you clean up pretty good there." Katie returned the compliment, "Not half bad yourself, not bad at all."

Still holding on to her hand, he led her to the door and out into the hall. The Inn had a small restaurant just off the side of the lobby area complete with a large stone fireplace. The host greeted them at the door, hesitating as he took notice of Jon. If he recognized him, he didn't let on. But then Katie knew they were also very discreet here. He seated them in the far back corner near a window draped in white lace curtains overlooking the ocean. There was a small Tiffany style lamp in the table center that let off a soft glowing light. Jon ordered a bottle of their finest chardonnay from the waiter. They placed their order and settled in with their wine.

Jon looked around the restaurant, "This is a really nice place, very quiet and out of the way. I could see myself coming back here to do some writing sometime."

After their previous two days of barely seeing the outside world, Katie found her mind overflowing with questions. She leaned forward, touching his arm lightly with her hand. A slight blush rose to her cheeks as she said, "I know we have been a bit busy, but I want to hear more about what you are up to next? Obviously you have a solo album and the greatest hits album coming out. What all does that involve?"

Katie had to admit to herself all thoughts of anything else beyond being with him the last two days had flown out the window. Maybe she was getting used to his company, having him with her. But before all of that, she had always been a huge fan. Submersing herself in the music and lyrics of the songs during this last tour. She found herself really curious about what he had planned next, where the band was going with the next phase.

Jon took a moment to gather his thoughts. He was touched at how much she admired the band and their music. He knew she was the kind of fan that had kept them where they were after all these years. Granted the fan base had aged a bit along with the band, but they had their fare share of younger fans as well. It was very important to him that they remain relevant in the music world. The last thing he ever wanted to be was a washed up 80's band performing at casinos.

"Well, we figured it was time for a bit of a change. The last few years have involved back to back tours, and album after album. We figured out over the years that every once in a while we have to change it up a bit. Even I need a fresh perspective, get back to my roots. So we decided after this surprise with Lost Highway, we would roll out a world tour, do it big, give it our all. And we did. It was an amazing tour. The audiences were so receptive to the new album, it was a real high. Everything just clicked. This is the best band of brothers anyone could ask for." He looked at Katie very seriously. He could see in her eyes that she was truly interested in what he was saying. That fact warmed his heart. "I might sign the record contract, but we are brothers, through and through. I couldn't do this without them. Yet we are all individuals as well. And it has become apparent that it was time for all of us to revisit our roots. Each of us and the band as a whole. So we decided to put out a greatest hits album. Though it will contain a few new tracks, mainly it is a compilation of everything we have been about in the last 25 years." Jon took a moment to look out at the ocean. "And we all felt it was time to take a step back, get back in touch with ourselves and see what came of it. Richie has spoken about doing a solo album over the last couple years, though he doesn't seem to have concrete plans at the moment. Tico said he would love time to golf and paint. David is getting busy with his musicals. And just like years ago, I have a desire to strap on my six string, hop on my bike, and ride. See what happens. See where the journey takes me. I won't deny the divorce really threw me for a loop. But it also pushed me to get back in touch with myself, what makes me tick. To figure out why I do this everyday, you know?"

He looked up at Katie, seeing her green eyed gaze on him, listening to every word with great interest. "So I am getting back to basics. Just me, the pen, paper and my guitar."

Katie had to chuckle. She knew he was a workhorse. Even though he obviously decided to take time to get back in touch with the artist within, he was always thinking business, hence the promotional photo shoot she had done for him.

"So that is the long answer to your question." he continued. "I am thinking about heading down to Nashville in a few weeks for a month or so to do some writing. The boys will be coming to the studio at my penthouse one day next week to work on some stuff for the greatest hits album. We will have some more work to do on it a bit later in the fall. So really the only thing I will be working on for a couple of months is the solo album. I may have Richie work on a couple of tracks with me, but other than that, I am a one man show for a little while.

Katie knew he had worked on most of the Lost Highway album in Nashville, she and Becca had been fortunate enough to fly down for the concert."You must really like it down there. It fuels the creative beast, eh?" she asked.

"Yeah, you know, I found it a very fruitful place to create, so I figured I would head back. Especially now since there isn't much holding me here on the weekends I don't have kids. I am sure I will be back and forth, but that is the norm anyway." he shrugged.

"I really admire your creative drive. And I won't be sorry for some new stuff to listen to. I can never get enough." Katie smiled.

Jon couldn't help but catch the play on words, as he looked at her and cocked one eyebrow at her. Katie caught the small gesture and laughed, but their dinner had arrived. After dinner they took a stroll down the edge of the shore, and talked about the rest of the week. They sat on the small rocky ledge and Jon decided to ask her a few questions. It didn't quite seem fair that she knew so much about him, and there were small details he had yet to learn about her.

"Alright, I have a few questions for you. Seems like I should be privy to a bit more information about you, my darling, considering the terms we are now on."Jon said inquisitively.

Katie nodded. "This is true. I do know a lot about you. At least the superficial stuff. Ok, shoot. What would you like to know? I warn you though, it isn't very interesting."

"Full name, age, height, weight, birthday, nationality, biggest fear, greatest joy. Let's start there." he said.

"You really get to the point, don't you?" Katie paused a moment "Full name is Katherine Francis McKenzie, 38 years old, 5 foot 3 inches, 132 pounds, October 25th, Scottish/Irish descent. My biggest fear is dying before my children and not seeing them grow up. My greatest joy is seeing my children grow up and marvel at what amazing people they are turning into." She looked at him, he seemed satisfied as he nodded.

"Ok, what is the craziest thing you ever did, most embarrassing moment you remember and finally, what has been your biggest accomplishment in life?" He said bringing on round two.

This took a bit more thought, she decided. "Hmmm. Well, I have to say the craziest is most likely meeting a famous hot rock star and going away on vacation with him." She smirked at him. "Besides that, I can't think of much that was very crazy. I was pretty tame as a kid and young adult. This really, for me, is stepping out of my element. The most embarrassing thing I can remember was when Becca and I were in college, we were at a frat party. Now keep in mind, we were young and foolish. This was also the only time anything like this happened as I am not that kind of girl." Katie blushed slightly.

Jon was intrigued, he sat back and waited for her to continue.

"Well, there was lots and lots of alcohol at this party, loud music and all around partying. I had a bit too much to drink. There was this guy that was hitting on me, and I thought he was pretty cute. We started dancing and kept drinking. One thing led to another and we ended up in his room and...." Katie blushed deeper, clearly squirming."well, lets just say we went to town most of the night. When we woke up the next morning I couldn't remember much, but looked over and saw this guy. He was the ugliest, most nasty thing I had ever seen. I don't mean to be mean, but seriously. Talk about beer goggles. He woke up and acted all lovey dovey with me, talking about all this stuff we were now going to do because I was his girl. It was awful. All I wanted to do was get out of there as fast as I could. I finally faked sick and left. But he was in two of my classes and kept coming up to me, putting his arm around me and junk. I finally had to tell him it was a huge mistake and to leave he alone. He made my skin crawl. I still can not imagine what made him so appealing that night. And my friends, to this day, won't let me live it down." Katie visibly shuddered.

Jon laughed. "Oh babe, that is nothing. In my younger days you wouldn't believe some of the things I would wake up next to. It happens to the best of us."

Katie realized that was most likely true, the band did go through their wild phase. "I can imagine." she said." Ok, on to a better question. My biggest accomplishment, besides my children of course, was quiting my job to start this business with Becca. It was really scary at first. But it was the best thing we ever did. It has become a big success, and the freedom of working for myself has been awesome."

"You are really an amazing woman." He said looking at her intently, causing Katie to blush again. Damn Irish skin, she thought.

"Oh please, I told you I am about as boring as they come."

"You are far from boring. You are strong, independent, smart, funny, talented, beautiful, and damn sexy. You sell yourself too short. And I am hooked." Jon said as he brushed his hand lightly over her cheek. He then leaned in to kiss her, slowly, deeply. He pulled away and spoke softly as he looked into her eyes, "Will you come to New York with me for a few days."

Katie held her breath upon hearing his question. She had not dared let herself think past Rockport. But she had thought about going anyway to do some shooting on her own and explore the city. "I would love to!" She felt she answered too eagerly. But she also knew there was no way she wanted to stop this road they were on, even if she didn't know where it might lead.

Said goodbye to yesterday
Hit the gas, there ain't no brakes on this lost highway...

Chapter 21