Chapter 33

CHAPTER

THIRTY-THREE

B oston Simpson stood with his arms folded as he watched the cameraman do a test shot of where Harry would be standing once the concert started. He shifted his feet back and forth and lifted his thumbnail to his teeth, though he’d never been much of a nail biter before. Of course, he’d never been a physical facilities coordinator before either, and he had no idea what Harry saw in him that had prompted him to offer him such a position.

“How does it look?” the man called to where Boston stood with the main cameraman, the one who had the frontal shot of the stage. The drum set had already been set up, along with two mics, two stools, keyboards off to the side, and an additional guitar. Sometimes Harry played and sang acoustically, and that second stool wouldn’t always be there, as Bryce only played a few songs with Harry.

Boston, dressed head to toe in black—black slacks, black dress shoes, black polo—would don a headset and stand out of the way until it was time to bring out what Bryce needed to perform with Harry. His pulse positively pounded. He couldn’t believe this was where he stood, and this was his life for the next three months.

He’d lived in Coral Canyon since the age of seven and had grown up with Harry and Bryce. They’d always included him, but he was a decade younger than Bryce and five years younger than Harry. He hadn’t truly thought they’d seen him as they’d been off living their own lives for the past several years while he finished up high school and tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life.

Boston had no idea in that department, but he’d gone to school for a year, taken a lot of general studies and some engineering classes—enough to know he didn’t want to do engineering—and come back. He hadn’t wanted to move back into his mom and dad’s place, but he didn’t have anywhere else. He’d been helping Bryce and Kassie at the Rising Sun Ranch until two days ago, when a text from Adam Harmon had blown up his whole world. A contract had come in. He’d had breakfast with Harry and Adam, and he’d signed on as Harry’s physical facilities coordinator that very morning.

Harry managed all of his own social media, and he’d posted that morning about tonight’s first live stream for the online concert tour. He’d given everyone a discount code if they hadn’t gotten their access ticket yet, and sales had been through the roof. All of that was part of Boston’s job. He was supposed to monitor how many people watched live, how many logged in later with their ticket, and how many overall tickets had been sold.

Rebel Records had dedicated tech support for anyone who couldn’t get in. Boston had spoken to them yesterday at length to make sure he understood the procedure and could help as well.

His laptop waited on a small two-top table that didn’t have a great view of the stage. When he wasn’t helping Harry get his guitars and guiding Bryce on the stage, he’d sit over there watching online to make sure everything went the way it was supposed to.

The camera crew had a manager doing the same thing, and he gave a thumbs-up to the man doing the crowd visuals. Harry was here somewhere as the concert started in another ninety minutes, and Boston forced his hand away from his mouth and tried to infuse some measure of comfort and calmness into himself. This would be his life for the next three months, and he’d never been more excited.

Harry, of course, had toured for both of his previous albums, and walking out onto a small stage in one of the most popular restaurants in Coral Canyon would be nothing like taking the stage in a football stadium that could hold sixty thousand people.

No, Boston wasn’t worried about Harry at all. He’d seen his cousin’s videos on social media already, and Harry could set up on the landing of a staircase, sing a song, and get millions of views and likes. That was free, though, and they were expecting people to pay for this experience.

There was no opening band and no break for Harry. It would be him for one-hundred-twenty minutes, charming the crowd who’d managed to get reservations at Devil’s Tower, as well as anyone tuning in through their computer screen with a mic and his guitar.

Please, please, let the technology work , Boston prayed. He wanted this to be a success. He’d want this to be a success for Harry, whether he was on his team or not. He figured a prayer couldn’t hurt.

His phone buzzed, and Boston held it in his hand so he could easily lift it up and look at it.

After party tonight at the band’s house , Shane had texted. Starting about ten-thirty, and it’ll run until one. You don’t need to bring anything. Rebel has ordered food and drinks, and we can’t wait to celebrate Harry’s first online concert!

Boston swallowed because he’d literally been in this job for forty-eight hours. Adam had given him a folder of all the people playing with Harry, as Harry didn’t really have a band.

Rebel had assigned them to him, and they’d recorded Harry’s album with him. They’d rented a house in the gated community for the next three months where they would live and work with Harry as he did his online concert tour.

Boston had studied them yesterday morning as well as again today, and he knew them by face and name. But that didn’t mean he knew them. He wasn’t friends with them, and they probably hadn’t been given a sheet with his name, picture, and facts about him.

He’d never been the greatest at making friends, and as each individual bandmate confirmed, as well as Harry and Adam, Boston wondered if he could simply skip the after-party.

The camera crew continued to call back and forth to each other, and Boston paid attention so that he knew what they were looking for and could be aware of it at other venues. They’d play The Branding Iron and Daily Grind this week, and the coffee shop would present a massive challenge.

Aunt Michelle owned it, and the Youngs had had their New Year talent show there a couple of years ago. It had barely fit all of them, and there had been no cameras. No angles that needed to be met. No acoustics that really mattered. Boston had already been in contact with her, and he planned to visit Daily Grind tomorrow morning, about the same time Harry would be performing on Friday.

That evening, he’d go to The Branding Iron and do the same thing. Harry had said that Boston didn’t need to start until next week, but he didn’t see the point in saddling horses and mucking out stalls when he could dive right into this new responsibility.

He’d much rather be doing this, and Boston wondered what that meant for his future.

“You haven’t confirmed for the after-party.”

He startled and looked over to Adam, who wore a knowing expression. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll go.”

“You’re part of the team,” Adam said. “The camera crew will be there, the band, me, Harry, and anyone contributing to the tour.” Adam didn’t look at him as he spoke, and Boston wondered if he’d be a good assistant to celebrities and the rich and famous the way Adam was.

He didn’t even know how to get into that business, but he had someone right beside him to ask. Still, he kept the questions buried, because Adam wasn’t going anywhere, and Boston had plenty to learn for what he’d already been tasked to do.

“Even Bryce said he was coming,” Adam said with a chuckle.

“All right,” Boston said, giving in. “I’ll be there.”

“You can drive separately,” Adam said. “So you don’t have to stay the whole time if you don’t want to. You know the code to the garage.”

“Yep.” Boston really appreciated that Adam didn’t say “Harry’s garage,” though it absolutely was Harry’s garage. He’d moved in yesterday because he’d barely unpacked after returning home from college, so all he’d had to do was a load of laundry, pack up his clothes, make his bed in his momma’s basement, and move into Harry’s. He’d only been there for a single day, and he was already far happier than he’d been living with his parents.

And Boston loved his parents. He did. He loved Maverik Young, who’d raised him and taken care of him the way a daddy was supposed to. It was nothing against them.

He just didn’t enjoy being the odd man out in his own family. Beth, Mav’s daughter, who was only a year younger than him, had not returned home for the summer. She’d opted to stay in Jackson Hole with her mother. Her mom had gotten remarried too, but she had not had any more children.

Boston’s mom and Mav had had two more, and it often felt like he and Beth were islands floating out in the middle of The Great Young Sea, forgotten specks that people wondered about every once in a while, but didn’t truly care to visit.

He thought he’d been alone in feeling that way until Beth had brought it up a few years ago. She said Joey felt the same way, but none of them knew what to do about it.

Harry had been texting all of the older cousins, and that included Boston, Joey, Beth, Bryce, Cash, Corinne, Rosie, and Cole. Lynnie too, though she didn’t have the Young last name either. She and Matthew had been married last year, and they had jobs in Seattle. Aunt Hilde and Uncle Gabe put things about them—their accomplishments, how amazing they were, the wonderful lives they lived—on the family text.

His mom and dad never put anything about him because he wasn’t special. He didn’t do anything noteworthy.

Even as he thought it, the Lord chastised him. You and Harry got a million texts on Sunday , Boston thought. That had more to do with Harry than him, because his cousin had sent a picture of him and Boston grinning from ear to ear while Boston held up the contract, and Harry explained that he’d just hired Boston to be on his tour team. There had been hundreds of texts that day, lots of congratulations, and Boston could admit that he’d felt loved. He’d felt part of the Young family.

He finally felt like he belonged.

“How are we doing here?” the manager at Devil’s Tower asked as she approached Adam and Boston.

“Good,” Boston said as he stepped forward and shook Sally’s hand. “I think they’re set with the cameras.”

“Our diners are here,” she said. “We’d like to seat them in this area and get their orders, so that when the concert starts, we won’t have waitstaff in the way.”

“Absolutely,” Boston said, glancing over to the cameraman. “You guys are set, right, Jake?”

“All set,” Jake said, and he got down off the step stool he used when he filmed. “This is going to be here, but it’s off. We’re not recording right now.”

Sally smiled and clapped her hands. “I’m so excited about this.” She checked over her shoulder, and Boston saw the line of people waiting to get in too. “We’re bringing in our diners now. Everyone will be served and have their drinks and dessert before Harry comes out.”

“Harry wants to do a few minutes with everyone before the cameras start streaming,” Boston said. “He’ll come out about six-fifty and just chat with people at the tables, if that’s all right.”

Adam cut a look over to Boston, and he’d forgotten something. His mind blitzed, and he searched for what he needed to also ask. Adam waited patiently, and Boston loved him for it.

Thankfully, his mind kicked in, and he remembered. “ Oh, as you seat people, would you have your waitstaff talk to the diners and ask if it’s okay if Harry talks to them right before the concert starts?”

“It won’t be on the live stream,” Boston added quickly, cutting a glance over to Adam, who nodded almost imperceptibly. “But Harry wants me to do a little bit of filming for his social media. We’ll set it to music, so it doesn’t matter what the patrons say. We just want to show Harry interacting with people before the concert starts, and he wants to thank people for coming to be here in person because it is much easier to play for a crowd than for a camera.”

“Absolutely,” Sally said. “I’ll instruct our hostesses to ask, and I’ll give you a list of any tables that don’t want to talk to him.” She trilled out a light laugh. “I can’t believe anyone wouldn’t want to. They purchased tickets to eat here, for crying out loud, just to see him.”

“Well, I’m sure your reservation docket is full,” Adam said.

“Oh, it is,” she said. “But we’ll make sure that this section is cleared for him before he begins.”

“That’s great,” Boston said. “Thank you so much, Sally.” And he reached out and shook the woman’s hand. Harry had said that he could get Boston into some online PR classes, and Boston had taken him up on that offer. He’d done one last night, and one simple thing he’d learned: use someone’s name.

Everyone wanted to be recognized by their name, and Sally beamed at him as she shook his hand and said, “We’re going to start seating people now. ”

“Sounds great,” Boston and Adam said together, and then Boston looked at Adam and said, “I’m going to go see what else Harry needs.”

Adam smiled and nodded and said, “I’m going to order a tower of onion rings.”

Boston chuckled as he walked away, but he entered the private dining room in the back corner of the restaurant straight-faced. Gratitude overcame him the moment he looked at his cousin, who plucked over his guitar strings with a pair of headphones on. He paused and simply watched him, overcome with the goodness of God.

Harry had seen him , but Boston knew that it was the Lord who had inspired him, who had opened his eyes, and who had prompted Harry to bring Boston back into the Young fold.