Chapter 79

Dinner went well. Ian was unusually quiet and they all agreed to begin the album process the week after New Years. That gave them all a little time off and Pearl and Dylan time to write a few more songs. Pearl was planning on joining Rhys in Ontario the week after Christmas so it would be a nice break for her also. Ian wouldn't be available until later January but they figured they wouldn't actually begin the feeding process until then.

Jason and Jax were very happy and Jax said he would fly to their home studio in a few weeks to work with them after they had a few more songs.

"It's all done, Pearl. What a day!" Iris said as she caught Pearl heading back into the hotel, handing her a box.

"I can't thank you enough. You are welcome anytime at the house and I hope to see you more." She hugged her.

"Actually, I was going to talk to you about that." Iris said. "I like Blake. A lot. And I'm thinking about quitting my job here. I was wondering if you and Rhys needed an assistant? I would work my butt off for you guys. I could help with band things too. Think about it?" She pleaded with her eyes. It was a great idea, actually. Pearl got a taste for how chaotic her life was going to be moving forward and she couldn't imagine continuing like this on her own.

"You're hired." Pearl said. "We have a guest house you can stay at, rent free. I'll let Rhys know. Start as soon as you can."

"I'll be there next week!" Iris was ecstatic. "Maybe sooner. I'm talking to Jason today. I'll let you know. I'm so excited. Thank you! This is going to be great." Iris hugged her, and walked away.

Pearl went up to her room to get packed and take a bath. Their flight was leaving early in the morning and she was in desperate need of some down time.

She had just settled into the tub when her phone rang. "Hey, love of my life. Was thinking about you. How was your day?" Rhys asked.

"It was good. We are all set to start recording in a couple of weeks, so I can spend a week with you in Ontario. Apparently a video of us at Bowerys went viral. John said he has been slammed with followers and messages. He's trying to have a website made for us. Oh, and I hired Iris to be our personal assistant, I told her she can start whenever she can and I offered our guest house to her."

"Wow! That's all great!" Rhys always was so positive. "I have an assistant actually, but he's more for my work stuff and has been staying in Ontario. I like the idea of you having one and us having one at home. Great idea! Also....My family is coming in the day after Christmas. Don't stress. I have Martha flying in that morning to help and I ordered food. All you'll need to do is be there and relax. They are only staying until Friday."

Pearl was nervous as hell. What if they didn't like her? Three days with his family? But at least she find out what was going on with what Ian said about the inheritance. She almost didn't want it to be true. She already looked like a gold digger to people that didn't know the background of their story.

"Sounds great. I miss you." She said.

"I miss you, too. See you tomorrow." He said and hung up.

She got home before Rhys was supposed to land. The guys were all happy to be back. Dylan was exhausted from still healing from the gunshot wound and all the running around had caught up to him and John was overwhelmed to say the least. They were all happy for a break. When she got to the gate, she saw Jim standing there. "Oh, hey. I didn't know you'd be here. Nice to see you, stud." Pearl said.

"I'm here for awhile. Looks like we are going to have to tolerate each other. Merry Christmas and welcome home." He opened the gate for her.

She walked into the foyer and gasped.

There were roses in vases all over the room. Petals lined the floor and lead a path into the hallway, past the kitchen. She sat her bags down and followed it into the library. It was breathtaking. The chair she bought wasn't alone anymore. There was a giant, fluffy white and grey rug on the floor, in the middle of the room and an oversized white couch with several pillows to match her chair. There was a large ottoman in front of the couch and a desk by the window. Candles lined the on the hearth and the fireplace was on. And books! The previous owner had moved theirs out when they left and all they had were a few shelves filled when they unpacked. There were so many books now! She walked around, finding first editions of all her favorites, the Brontes, Austen, and an entire section of poetry and so many others. The library was almost completely full! It was glorious. She walked to an entry table and picked up an envelope.

"Merry Christmas. I'm giving you this today because I wanted to surprise you. Jim did it all so don't be too mean to him. I have one more surprise but you'll get that tomorrow. I love you so much. Thank you for loving me back. -Rhys"

She cried tears of joy and took a deep breath in and out. Her life was something out of a fairy tale and she prayed it would last forever, just like this.