New tune old vinyl, p.1
New Tune, Old Vinyl, page 1
New Tune, Old Vinyl (Man of the Month Club: Magnolia Point Series) by Ember Davis
Copyright © 2024 Ember Davis
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, organizations or locals is entirely coincidental. The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as an advertisement. Trademark names are used editorially with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
For permission requests, email Ember.A.Davis@gmail.com
Contains explicit love scenes and adult language. The suggested reading audience is 18 years or older.
Cover Design: Cover Girl Designs
This book is available exclusively at Amazon.com. If you’ve obtained it anywhere else, you have an illegal copy.
For those who believe music is a way of life.
And hot bikers, of course.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
EPILOGUE
MAN OF THE MONTH CLUB: MAGNOLIA POINT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY EMBER
CHAPTER 1
TALLULAH
I plop down on my couch with a new bottle of wine in my hand and look over at my best friend, Addyson. She’s been by my side for as long as I can remember. We’re not unique in Magnolia Point when it comes to best friends. In a town like this, there tends to be cliques and people whose friendships stretch decades.
I fill up our glasses and share a long look with my best friend. I’ve just laid a lot at her feet and it’s going to take her a moment to process everything. It’s how she’s always been.
I know I’m lucky to have a friend like Addyson. I’m a better person because I’ve had her at my side for so long. We’ve been there for each other through the awkward teenage years, first kisses and crushes, and got to witness our dreams for the future crystalize.
Back then I had no idea I would live my dream. Or how it would be crumbling right in front of me now. It’s no one’s fault. It is what it is.
When I was growing up, I thought Same Old Spin would be around forever. Why wouldn’t it? My parents had spent years running the record shop and it was a staple in Magnolia Point. It stood against the rise of digital music and saw waves of vinyl popularity which seemed to come around every few years because of hipsters and people going through a mid-life crisis, in equal measure.
All I ever wanted to do was run the store. A lot of my best memories happened within the walls of Same Old Spin. I learned a deep appreciation and love for music by sitting next to Dad as he played me the greatest of his generation and beyond. We’d sing along and I found myself being torn apart and put back together by the music.
It was a balm to my soul just as much as it raged inside of me and gave voice to all the stages of my life.
The shop helped me heal and grieve when my parents died a few years ago. They left the shop to me because my older brother, Crosby, had moved away from Magnolia Point and found his own life in New Orleans a long time ago.
I didn’t resent him for it—Magnolia Point was never the kind of place to keep my brother. For him, the small-town mindset and pace was a cage. I didn’t understand why at the time, but he’s also five years older than me.
By the time I turned 18, the same age he was when he left our hometown behind, I had a better understanding of how he could feel stifled and why he wanted more. I understood, but I had no problem sticking around and taking on more responsibility at the shop while taking a few courses online.
Then our parents died, and my dream was dropped into my lap with them leaving me the store. I might have wanted to run it, but I never thought it would become mine because my parents were gone.
Grief is a strange thing. I was only 20 when they died; I thought we had so much more time. It taught me to appreciate what I have while I can. I became determined to get closer to Crosby, even if we were 700 miles apart; I wasn’t going to lose the last bit of family I had left.
Running Same Old Spin for the last four years has been healing, but it’s also been stressful as hell. Once I realized the store was failing, something Mom and Dad would have never said out loud, I tried everything to get the business moving forward again.
I became a master at social media and used it to try and get more business into the store. It worked on some level, and I even had a few videos go viral, but it wasn’t enough. Not for a record store in a small town with a tourist season economy.
Taking everything that I learned from trying to keep Same Old Spin open, I started a side business as a social media manager and marketer. It’s the only thing that kept food on the table. At least my parents’ house, which they left to me as well, is paid off. Sure, those taxes aren’t fun, but my side hustle made living and trying to get the store in the black possible.
A month ago, I sat down and had a hard look at the numbers. There wasn’t any other choice but to accept I couldn’t keep going the way I had been. I was exhausted and the store was going under. With Record Store Day, which Dad always made a big deal out of once it became a thing, on the horizon, I knew it would be a fitting day to close.
I’d rather go out with a bang than whimper into the darkness as quietly as possible.
“What are you going to do when the store closes?” Addyson’s curious voice pulls me out of my thoughts and gives voice to one of the biggest questions which has been echoing in my soul from the moment I decided it was time to close up permanently.
“You mean other than keep being awesome?” I give her a big smile which I hope can cover up the turmoil swirling inside me. When her chin drops to her chest as she stares at me without blinking, I know she can see right through me. I sigh and take a big drink from my glass before shrugging one shoulder. “I’ll keep working with my clients and put more into the social media manager thing. Other than that, I’m not sure.”
She reaches over and grabs my hand with surprising force considering she’s such a tiny, pixie-like woman. Never underestimate her strength though—it would be a mistake. Other than my mom, Addyson is the strongest woman I’ve ever met. Mentally and physically.
She’s the one who tries to drag me to the gym or go out and run with her. No, thank you. I’m good sitting on my ass and listening to music or reading in my spare time. Who wants to lift weights or walk up an infinite number of stairs on one of those machines? Honestly, both sound just awful.
Addyson nods slowly before grimacing. “Have you told Crosby yet?”
I wiggle my eyebrows at my best friend who used to have a major crush on my brother. Giving her shit about it is not only my prerogative, but it’s kind of an obligation at this point. She grew out of her crush years ago, but what fun would it be not to poke at her a little bit, especially when I’m feeling down?
She reaches over and slaps my shoulder before I can even say anything. “Don’t even start. I was a preteen with hormones that were going wild.” She glares at me and pouts, “Considering he was one of the few guys I spent time around who I wasn’t related to, you can’t blame me for my crush.”
I bark out a laugh and think about how much her three older brothers would have hated it if anything had happened between her and my brother. I’m glad she’s not pining for him. Don’t get me wrong, if they were meant to be I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but the last time I spoke with Crosby he was hung up on a woman for the first time in his life.
“I haven’t told him yet,” I whisper. “He probably won’t care. I mean, it’s not like he was into running the store, but…,” my voice wavers as my throat closes up with emotions I’ve been trying to suppress since I made the decision to close the store.
Addyson must be able to read the expression on my face because the next thing I know she’s risking her glass of wine to give me a hug. Everyone needs a friend like her. Someone who knows all your deepest fears and emotions, the one who can read your every thought by looking at you.
“But it’s a part of your parents,” Addy’s voice is soft and small.
I nod and blink away tears. I’m not going to cry, not now at least. There were enough tears the night I decided it was time to let Same Old Spin go.
“They would be so disappointed,” I whisper more to myself than to my best friend.
Addy’s grip tightens on me and there’s an edge of steel in her voice, “Don’t you dare do that. They would be so damn proud of you.” She pulls back from me and stares into my eyes. “You worked your ass off for the store and you did it all by yourself. You even created your own business just so you could try and help the store while helping yourself.”
“But I failed,” my voice is a little whiny and I could smack myself because of it. But, then again, if you can’t fall apart a little bit in front of your best friend, who can you do that with?
“You did not fail. You did your best and you put your all into keeping the store open and thriving. It just wasn’t meant to be. So much has changed since your parents opened the store.” She shrugs and cringes. “I’m a little bit surprised a record store was able to stay open as long as it did.”
I gasp and scold her, “Addy.”
“What?” She winks at me, and it makes me chuckle softly. “I’m just saying.”
“You’re not wrong.” Addy leans back onto the couch, and I match her. “I’m not looking forward to telling Crosby,” I admit honestly while not looking at my best friend.
“Have you told him any of the issues the store has been having or what you’ve been doing to keep it going? How you’ve learned how to maximize visibility on social media and have been making videos or how some of them have gone viral?”
Yeah, I still don’t look at her as I answer sheepishly, “No.” I glance at her and her mouth pops open, but I keep talking. “I’m not sure if he would care. You know Same Old Spin was never his thing and he’s busy in New Orleans with his club and whatever else he has going on down there.”
It’s been too many years since I’ve seen my brother. I’ll admit that the fact that he’s more than happy to have his own life there without me does sting. I get it, we weren’t close growing up, but we’re adults now and we’re the only family we have left.
I thought some things would change after our parents died, but it didn’t really. I had to put in even more work to maintain even a sliver of a relationship with him because our parents weren’t there to keep us together in the same way. Mom was always good at telling me what was going on in Crosby’s life and I’m sure she did the same thing for him with mine.
Now if we want to be in each other’s lives then we need to reach out and make it happen. It’s not always easy to do and I find myself putting in way more effort than he does.
Thankfully, Addyson lets it go and we continue to chat about lighter topics, which does not include either of our dating lives since that has been dry for both of us for far too long. Which is why we make plans to get together and head over to The Diddle Fiddle and grab a drink together soon.
Will there be any guys there worth our time? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a damn good time together. And the owner, Jill, is always fun to be around.
Once Addyson is gone, I sit down and do the thing I’ve been avoiding. Talking with her made me realize I can’t keep putting this off. It’s time anyway.
“Tallulah,” Crosby’s voice is gruff when he answers. I’m not worried about it being a little late since he’s always been a night owl and going to bed early doesn’t really jive with his whole biker persona. “What’s up?”
I sigh, “I need to talk to you about something important. Do you have a few minutes?”
He whispers something to someone on his side of the phone and I blush a little because it’s clear he’s speaking to a woman. I shouldn’t have called him so late. I don’t need to know anything about his love life beyond him being happy.
“Sorry, Tal, I just needed to pause the movie I’m watching with Sioux.”
I breathe a sigh of relief internally because he doesn’t sound annoyed at the interruption. Still, I find myself wincing, “I shouldn’t have called so late. I’m sorry about that. If you’re busy, really, we can talk later.”
“You said it’s important,” he prods gently.
I close my eyes and dread fills my chest. He’s never been interested in the store, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to this conversation. Honestly, I should have done it a long time ago.
But then it would have been real sooner. I wasn’t ready. Even now, saying it out loud has me freaking out a little bit.
“I’m going to close Same Old Spin,” I blurt out the words without even a little bit of finesse.
I would slap my hand over my mouth right now if I thought it would do anything to pull the words out of the air and back into me. I should have had more tact. Fuck. Why does talking to Crosby always make me feel like that little girl who was watching her brother leave her behind instead of the woman I’ve become?
“You’re closing the store?” His words are slow and measured, like he can’t believe what he just heard.
I can’t blame him for being blindsided. I’ve been committed to the store for years and I never shared with him how we were failing. My pride prevented me from saying anything—I never wanted him to think I couldn’t do it myself and he’s had his own life for so long.
“I am. I’ve been trying to improve business for a while now by using social media. It helped, but not enough,” I admit, a hitch in my voice at my own failure.
“Tal,” his voice is gentle and soothing in a way I haven’t heard since I was much younger, “I have no doubt you did your best. If you were struggling, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to worry you. You have your own thing going on in New Orleans,” I admit.
“You can always come to me,” there’s a sadness in his voice that makes my heart clench. “I would have helped you anyway I could.” He pauses before asking, “Do you want to stay open? I have money. You can invest it in the business.”
“No,” I shout as I blanche even though he can’t see me. “I mean,” I start to back pedal, “I don’t think there’s coming back permanently from the downward trend the business has been on. If I thought that it could bounce back, I would take you up on the offer. I’ve done everything possible. Some of the videos I’ve made have even gone viral and gotten the shop some business, but it’s just,” I sigh and take a deep breath, hating to admit the ultimate truth, “it’s time.”
“Okay,” Crosby’s voice is full of understanding. “When are you closing?”
“National Record Day will be the last day we’re open. I think it’s fitting.”
“I’ll be there,” his voice is firm, like there’s no room for argument.
“You don’t need to come here for that, Crosby.”
“Yes, I do. I’ll be there. I’m going to help you close the shop and be there for you. This is big and,” he pauses for a second, “Mom and Dad would want me to be there for you and for Same Old Spin.”
A lump forms in my throat. We don’t talk about our parents very often when we do talk to each other. It’s like we’ve both agreed that if we don’t talk about them then we don’t have to deal with their loss in the same way. We both know it’s there though, no matter how much life goes on.
“Thank you,” I whisper, meaning it with my entire heart and soul.
We chat for a few more minutes before hanging up. Even though I’m sad about closing the store, I’m looking forward to seeing my brother again. It’s been far too long and having him here with me might just make this whole thing easier. I hope.
CHAPTER 2
SCYTHE
Being out on the road has been a fucking dream. I’ve been on the road with Apostle and his woman all day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I jumped at the chance when Apostle mentioned he needed to go home to see his sister.
Even if he weren’t my brother and one of my best friends, there’s no way I would pass up the chance to be out on the road on the back of my bike. Especially when the weather is starting to warm up. It’s been far too long since I’ve had a reason to take a nice, long ride on my bike.
I’m more than a little curious about Apostle’s sister. He doesn’t talk about her very much or his hometown. I know his parents died a few years ago, but he keeps a lot of his history locked up tight. It’s not because it was anything bad, that much is clear, but he’s just not a guy who shares a lot about himself.
With how close Apostle’s hometown is to Charleston, where there’s a chapter of the DSMC, we’re heading there for the night until we head to Magnolia Point tomorrow. I haven’t seen anyone from the Charleston chapter since the summer when a few guys came in for the charity poker run we organized.
It ended up being a shit show which left Apostle’s woman, Sioux, shot, one of our former angels dead, and a guest for us to have some fun with. The man behind the whole thing was a rival MC’s Prez who became obsessed with someone from the club’s past.
It all worked out in the end because Prodigal, our VP, and Apostle found their women. It seems like they set off a domino effect in the chapters because, from what I understand, some of the brothers in other chapters, especially Seattle, are finding their soulmates.
