Chapter 4

“We did a concert last night in New Mexico. Our contract stipulates we get paid at the end of the show, which they agreed to with a signature. Then, after the final bows, ‘The check’s in the mail,’ the venue’s owner says. The way things work, payment for one show gets us to the next. Sure, our entire existence is built on a financial house of cards, but we don’t do it for the Benjamins. We do it for the music. Make a joyful noise.”

AC had come to hate that phrase. Looking out the window, he didn’t think any of the other eleven men looked the least bit joyful, either.

“No concert here in Texas?” Belle asked.

“No. We’re just passing through,” Murphy explained.

“We could have one!” she said. “A benefit. You could play. We’ll have a donation pot. Maybe you’ll raise enough money to get your bus fixed and get you to Vermont.”

It sounded good to AC. He’d drop in a twenty on his way out the door and that would be that.