I'm Not Who I Used to Be Ch. 02

I sat and watched while the two of their sweet, pure and beautiful voices rang across the back yard that night. Their harmonies were more perfect than anything I'd ever heard before in my life. It might've been an up-tempo song to begin with, but the way that our girls performed it, which was slow sweet and perfect, made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

I looked over at Michael to see a giant smile on his face and even larger tears proudly poured from his eyes and rained down his face. I was never more proud of my girls than I was the very first time I saw as well as heard the two of them performing together. I guess it seemed that they were truly their father's daughters, blood related or not.

Granted, there might've only been a small handful of people in the back yard watching them that night, but the moment the song ended. Every single one of us there, bar none, were all on our feet, whistling, screaming, applauding our newest members of the family, mine and Michael's daughters, at the vert tip-top of our lungs...

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"Thank you all very much," Karlie proudly smiled, once the applause died down, "This next song is a song that was written by John Denver just before he made it big."

"It was recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary," Kerrie softly told us, "And it's called Leaving on a Jet Plane."

Kerrie began the intro on her guitar, and then Karlie came in right behind her on the piano, and then Kerrie took the lead vocal this time, with Karlie harmonizing with her on the chorus lines.

From where I sat it sounded like two seasoned professionals performing together that night as opposed to two young teenagers, and I was never more proud of our girls than I was that night. Michael was absolutely beside himself because the only time I'd ever seen him smile like he was now doing was when he and I got married and then it was the sweetest thing I'd ever "known...until now...

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The twins played Bob Dylan's, "Don't think Twice It's Alright" which again they performed flawlessly and then when it came time for them to play their final song, Kerrie took the microphone this time and looking directly at Michael, she smiled and softly said, "We're gonna play one more song, and this one is dedicated to you, Daddy."

I knew what was going to take place the moment the song began...it was Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," and before they were even halfway through the song, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Michael laid his head on my shoulder and silently wept with not only paternal pride, but the deepest, sweetest love for these two precious little angels that God had place into our lives. And when they finished, it wasn't two seconds before both girl were in Michael's lap, their little heads on both of his shoulders as the three of them sweetly wept together, all with deep love for one another, and an even deeper bond because they, too, had proved themselves worthy enough to be called musicians...just like their father.

"Don't I get hugs, too?" I smiled, opening my arms to be quickly filled with my husband and daughters...

~~~~~~

ME

"Oh, My God," I silently said to myself, as I watched and listened my girls as they played, quite flawlessly, too, I might add. It was then that I looked to the heavens and thanked God almighty for the gift he'd given Sarah and I in the form of these two precious angels who were now my daughters.

They were about to turn thirteen in a couple of days, and the fact that they were this good to be as young as they both were only meant that as they grew older, their talented would soar to heights I knew that I could never achieve if I lived to be a hundred...

~~~~~~

Once their gear had been broken down and placed back in the "Music Room" Mom had given them, they both came to sit in my lap, one on each leg.

"How did we sound, Dad?" Karlie sweetly asked me.

"My precious beautiful daughters," I softly smiled, hugging the both of them closely, "I thought you two sounded absolutely wonderful, a whole lot better than I did when I was your age, that's for sure."

"Thank you, Daddy," Kerrie tenderly smiled, leaning over and kissing my cheek, "We worked really hard because we wanted you and Momma to be proud of us."

"I'll always be proud of you girls," I told them in no uncertain terms "It doesn't matter what you do."

"Did Mom like the show?" Karlie asked.

"I loved it, baby," Sarah replied smiling, having come into the room just in time to kneel down to the floor in front of us, "And I'm so proud of my girls that I could just scream."

"I need to tell you and Mom something, Dad" Karlie suddenly seriously replied, "And it's something that me and Kerrie both want to tell you."

"By all means, sweetheart," I quietly replied, "I want you girls to know that either one of you can always come to your mother or me and tell us anything you want to, baby."

"Okay then, here goes," Karlie began, "When we first heard Odyssey on the radio we thought that you guys were the best band we'd ever heard, so, we learned every word to every song that you guys played. And then when we won that contest on the radio we were so excited that we going to get to go and see you."

"We almost didn't get to go to your concert because of the way our school principle, Father Thomas acted," Kerrie said, "But I snuck into Sister Agnes' office and called the radio station and they made sure that we were able to go see you guys by threatening to tell the press about how awful Father Thomas was acting about the whole thing."

"I'm glad you did, baby girl," I warmly smiled, pulling her into my arms "Otherwise you two wouldn't be here, now, would you?"

"And that's what I...we, wanted to tell you, Dad," Karlie continued, "My sister and I wanted to not only say thank you for everything that you and Mom have done for us," and by this time her pretty blue eyes were beginning to fill with tears, "But we love you and Mom so much, Dad, and we always will," and by this time little Karlie was so emotionally distraught that all she could do was t lay her pretty little head on my shoulder and quietly weep.

"Aw there, there, sweetie, you don't have to cry, Karlie honey," I softly soothed her, wrapping my arms around her while Sarah's arms immediately went around Kerrie, as all of us shared a tender moment with each other, "You mother and I love you girls more than anything in this world sweetheart, and I promise you that we always will."

Suddenly, and completely out of character, for her anyway, Kerrie began to giggled as she told her sister, "Look at it this way, Sis; when we start school, we're gonna be the envy of every girl there, because not only is our Daddy the lead singer for Odyssey but he's a real hottie, too. Those girls are going to be so jealous," and by this time my face had turned beet red making Sarah and the girls all three, giggle like schoolgirls.

"Look at Dad's face," Karlie impishly giggled, "He gets embarrassed easy; has he always been like that, Mom?"

"Yes," Sarah also girlishly laughed, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me, "But that's one of the reasons I fell in love with him to begin with..."

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AFTER TH FIRST EIGHT WEEKS OF SCHOOL

Because of the fact that they were attending a private school, Karlie and Kerrie were required to wear uniforms that were not too dissimilar to the school uniforms that girls wear these days. The only disconcerting thing about is as far as I was concerned was that without my even noticing it, my girls had begun to start developing figures in what seemed like overnight during the short time they'd been living with me and Sarah, and I wasn't doing well with it at all.

I brought it to Sarah's attention one afternoon who told me, "You can't fight the inevitable, Daddy, little girls grow up to be women."

"I know," I sighed, "But I don't have to like it, do I?"

"No, you don't," she laughed, "But look at it this way, our daughters are smart and don't take any bullshit from anyone, you made sure of that..."

~~~~~~

Chapter Eleven

Meanwhile, Jimmy Don Worley, who went simply by, J.D., to his closest associates had somehow made bail and was bound and determined to "put a lid" on that pain in the ass musician, Michael Taylor, who'd caused him so much trouble, not to mention murdered his oldest son. At least that's how he saw it.

"I'm gonna find a way to silence the little bastard," Jimmy Don disgustedly spat to his lawyer, Richard Howard, "If it's the last thing I do."

"You need to lay low and chill out, J.D." Richard advised his client, "I had to promise Judge Nathan that you would not cause any trouble in order to let you post bail. Besides, Mike Taylor and his band have become very popular these days, and to do anything to any of them would quickly make the headlines of every paper in the English speaking world."

"I don't care," J.D. viciously growled, "That motherfucker killed my boy..."

~~~~~~

ME

We, the band and I, were in the recording studio having just finished laying down the final tracks for our second album and had just begun the mastering process when one of the student interns came into the control booth, disturbing us.

"Mike, I'm really sorry to interrupt you," he worriedly told me, "But your wife is on the phone...she says it's urgent and that she needs to speak to you immediately..."

~~~~~~

"Hi, baby," I said into the phone, "What's wrong?"

"It's the twins," she cried, "They've gone missing..."

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The moment I arrived back home I was met by Sarah who was, by this time, on the verge of hysteria. And not too long after getting her calmed back down, well, as calm as a mother whose children had been taken could be, the phone rang.

"This is Mike," I answered, knowing who it was before I even answered it, "What do you want, Worley."

"I want you," Worley coldly replied, "I want you to meet me, just you and me; hand-to-hand, man-to-man. Are you up for it?"

"Where the fuck are my daughters?" I growled, "I want to talk to both of them, NOW!"

"Daddy, Daddy where are you?" I heard Kerrie crying, "Please come and get us."

"Are you okay, baby girl?" "I softly asked her, "Where is Karlie? I need to speak with her, too."

"I'm right here, Dad," Karlie answered, "He's got us on speakerphone and we're both okay. Just do what he wants so that we can come home, please?"

"You've heard them and they're both fine," Jimmy Don Worley hissed, "And as long as you do what I say they'll both stay that way."

"When and where do you want to meet?" I angrily seethed.

I want you to meet me at the north shore along Lake Conroe a mile past the boat ramp on the day after tomorrow at midnight," he instructed, "You're to come alone...oh, and I want one million dollars in small, untraceable bills. And whatever you do, DO NOT bring the police in on this or I'll mail you your daughters to you in pieces. Do you understand?"

"I'll be there," I told him, "But if I find so much as one hair out of place on either one of my daughters, there's not gonna be anywhere in this world that you'll be able to hid from me. Do you understand?"

"This ain't about your daughters, asshole," he spat. "This is about you and me, and I'm gonna break you in half with my bare fucking hands for killing my son, so; you'd better be there." And then the phone line went dead...

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The End...for now
To Be Continued...