A Time to Move On Read Online Free Page A

said. “I
tried talking to him and he damn near wanted to fight me.”
    Luke smiled. “That’s Mack. Big
heart and big fists.”
    “Think he’ll be good?” Frank asked.
    “I hope so,” Trent said.
    “Well, if it means anything… that
favor you asked, Luke, I got it taken care of. There’s a delivery waiting right
now for you four if you want to see it.”
    “Sure,” Luke said. “Just make sure
Mack doesn’t see a thing.”
     
    *
     
    Standing on the side of the stage,
Mack watched Gone By Autumn perform. They didn't just run their set list. They
put on a show for the crowd. Lead singer Ryan walked the stage from corner to
corner making sure everyone was engaged. The music was fresh, the songs
connected to the audience, and considering the majority of the fans were there
to see Fallen Tuesday, Gone By Autumn seemed to have won them over. Mack
wouldn’t have been surprised if some of the fans traded in their Fallen Tuesday
shirts for Gone By Autumn ones.
    The road crew worked hard all
around Mack, moving instruments and cases of cables and supplies, getting ready
for when Gone By Autumn finished their set. These shows weren’t just to promote
the album, they were practice for the crew so they knew what to do when they
went out on tour with the bands.
    Mack finally walked away to find
the rest of his band. They were getting ready under a pop up canopy tent. Luke
drank water while Gray and Jake warmed their fingers up on their electric
guitars. They weren’t plugged in so there wasn’t much sound at all. Just the
occasional ping and twang of a note or two. Trent had his bass
around his neck and stretched his fingers.
    “You ready?” Luke asked Mack.
    “Hell yeah, man. I want to go at
this one hard. I need it.”
    “Good,” Luke said.
    Gone By Autumn was done and they
came off the stage. They were whisked away and the road crew quickly got to
work. They took all the equipment of Gone By Autumn's equipment down while
pulling all  the Fallen Tuesday equipment forward. It was an interesting process
to watch.
    Mack grabbed a pair of drumsticks
and started to mess around on a table. He warmed up his wrists and hands. He
focused on the movements of his hands and the sounds of the sticks. It was how
he made everything else fade away.
    The head of the road crew gave a thumbs
up and clicked a flashlight a few times to get the attention of Frank and the
band. Frank made sure everything was set up and when he gave the thumbs up
back, the intro music started to play. The moment it started, the crowd went
wild. It was an intense sound, loud even in the wide open outdoors. The crowds inside
an arena were going rumble the buildings.
    Luke put his arms out and nodded.
“Let’s go.”
    He took the lead and everyone
followed. At the steps to the stage, Luke stopped and pointed to Mack. Mack ran
up the three steps to the stage. The second the crowd saw him and he saw the
crowd, Mack froze. They screamed even louder. A guy came up behind him and made
sure he had his wires all hooked up so he could hear everything. Mack put the
earpiece in and walked behind his kit. Then the rest of Fallen Tuesday came out
on stage.
    Mack took a few breaths, calming
himself as best he could.
    The intro music stopped and there
was nothing but the cheers of the crowd. Luke grabbed the mic.
    “You guys are loud,” he said.
    The crowd started cheering even
louder and Luke laughed.
    “Anyone here for a concert?” he
asked.
    Mack shut his eyes for a second.
When he did, he saw Kelly. She was standing front row at a show, reaching for
him. Screaming for him. Wanting him.
    Fuck, it hurts…
    Mack opened his eyes just as Luke
let out a scream to start the show. Mack went into a quick intro and drum fill
and the show started. No matter what Mack did he couldn’t keep his eyes off the
damn crowd. The parking lot was full and the windows to the building of the
radio station were full too.
    After the first couple songs, they
stopped to let the crowd