Beat Of His Own Drums: Band of Brothers, #2

By Ann Lister

For All The Right Reasons introduced Ben and Simon Gallo, the two brothers who together created what would become the legendary rock band Reckless. For every step towards glory which Ben took on their rise to fame, Simon's footsteps faltered along that same journey. Nothing he did seemed to measure up and it was one misstep after another, until Simon no longer knew the man he was looking at in the mirror.

Substance abuse covered up his anger and far too many poor decisions to count concealed what he really wanted in his life: acceptance and self-love along with a meaningful and committed relationship with a soul mate.

Beat Of His Own Drums is Simon's story, and gives insight to who Simon really is as a man and why he did the things he did to try and find his happiness. Everyone deserves a second chance at life and even at love, and Simon is ready for his. He's walked the walk and talked the talk, now Simon wants the world to know why he's always had to go through life using the beat from his own drums to guide him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Lister
• Release date: Sep 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223817468

Book preview

Chapter One

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Simon Gallo? The sound of a deep voice sliced through the silence in the room.

He spun around to face the man with the raspy timbre, and his eyes hit the wall of a broad chest. Then he saw the name tag with the official club logo on it, which was stuck to the man's shirt pocket, and knew the visitor was one of the guys he'd be interviewing for the drum tech job.

Their management company had lined up numerous potential techs for Simon to choose from today's interviews, and since Simon was committed to working with his band again, that meant he had to at least try and hire someone. It would be a very long day, and Simon wasn't overly optimistic he'd find someone he'd gel with on the same level as his old drum tech–the tech he'd compared all the others who had attempted to fill his shoes, but had failed. The same former tech Simon hadn't managed to forget and who still owned a very large piece of his heart.

Simon made no attempt to hide the visual inspection he gave to the man's solid form. How could he not? The man had obviously spent a lot of time in the gym so others could appreciate his labor. Muscles were meant to be looked at, like famous works of art, right?

Yeah, that's me, Simon eventually said. Are you here to interview for the tech job? His gaze drank in a set of gray-blue eyes and lush lips that he somehow expected to see on a woman, but the person staring back at him was definitely all man.

What is it with you and drum techs? One whiff and you lose your fucking mind every damn time, Simon scolded himself.

I'm Garret Kingsley, and it looks like I'm your first interview of the day, he said and stepped closer to Simon with a beefy hand stretched out for him to shake. Friends call me King or G.

"If you get the job–and that's a big if, I'm not calling you King," Simon stated flatly and his expression was creased with annoyance. The interview hadn't even begun, and he was already irritated with this King person. He was even hesitant to shake the man's hand for fear the strength of his grip might crush the bones in his fingers, and as a drummer, he needed his fucking fingers for work.

G or Gary works, too, King added with an easy grin. I answer to them all.

Well, no fucking way I'm calling anyone King, so G it is, Simon said. He grasped the calloused hand before him and shook it firmly but pulled back quickly before he did something that might raise a red flag. Shit like grasping a hand even for a few seconds too long, or something as simple as holding eye contact for more than what might be considered the norm, had gotten him into trouble. Things like that had cost him his marriage, and the need to keep this piece of himself hidden had also isolated him from his brother, Ben.

Simon wouldn't dare complain about losing his sham of a marriage. Knocking up a Vegas stripper wasn't one of his prouder moments, but the beautiful baby girl that came from it was worth the brief train wreck of a marriage he had to endure. His daughter, Delena, was the one bright spot in his life, and it killed him that he couldn't see her nearly as often as he wanted to.

The little girl was four years old now–or was it five? Jesus, he was a shitty father. He'd been in and out of rehab for the last couple of years doing his best to get himself back on track. He had an enormous amount of hope that the reunion tour with his old band, Reckless, might help to get his head back into the game–maybe back to being present in his own life. For far too long, he felt like a bystander watching his life pass by from the sidelines. All that needed to change.

The couple of brief phone conversations he'd had in recent months with his brother were promising and seemed to be slowly healing their rift, and at the same time, it was also lifting his spirits. They still had a lot of work to do to repair the animosity they both harbored, but it was a start. Ben seemed genuinely excited for them to work together again and even sounded open to trying to rebuild their brotherly relationship.

They'd never had a typical sibling relationship, and Simon knew what his part had been in perpetuating that. There was also the other nagging difference between the two brothers–the secret that Simon had never had the balls to reveal. Instead of being honest, he felt forced to bury a huge piece of himself deep enough so as not to give himself away. Hiding like that kept Simon treating his brother like shit in the hopes it would keep him at a safe distance. If he didn't allow Ben to get too close, he couldn't smear the same stain on his brother as he felt he wore on himself.

Growing up, it was Ben who excelled at everything. Whatever he touched turned to gold–or so it seemed. When they were younger, Simon had done his best to compete with that, but after a while he'd given up. He'd learned early on that he'd have to settle for being good enough. He'd spent far too many years trying to get his brother's attention and exhausted himself, both physically and emotionally, in the process.

Shitty life decisions and behaviors never failed to earn negative attention from Ben. As an older and wiser man, Simon understood his brother's adverse reactions back then were justified. Being a more mature man now, Simon also had no problem admitting that it could all be boiled down to the big green-eyed monster: jealousy.

Ben was always the shiny penny, while Simon was the tarnished, beat up coin people haphazardly kicked along the sidewalk. Ben was a problem solver and Simon created them. That was their relationship until Ben grew tired of cleaning up Simon's messes.

What he lacked in moral compass, he more than made up for with humor and a good-natured personality. He was the class clown in school, and the prankster with the band. Anyone looking for the party could just follow Simon and he'd take you–if he wasn't already there. His fun-loving sense of humor is what made him shine, and he used it to survive his darkest days. He might never be as polished as his brother–always making the right decisions, but he'd learned in recent years it was okay to just be himself. Simon Gallo was all right. Yes, he fucked up from time to time; lord knows he wasn't perfect. So what? There was nothing wrong with that. It was his flaws that made him human, and the mistakes he'd made along the way were what made him the man he was today.

Healed. Whole.

For the first time in his life, Simon liked the man he saw staring back at him in the mirror, and he was excited to introduce that man to his brother. It felt like a pretty great place to start this next chapter of his life. With a renewed spirit, a better sense of his self-worth, and his head on straight from sobriety, Simon was ready to face anything–including his brother.

The new shows they had lined up with their band meant he and Ben would soon be spending a lot of time together. He hoped they'd have a chance to clear the air, clean the slate, and begin that fresh start they had often talked about but never got around to doing. Time marched on and the brothers had taken different routes along the way. A lot of miles of hard road had separated them, but even on the worst of days, Simon had always loved his brother, and he knew deep down Ben loved him back.

The water that had passed under the proverbial bridge was behind them. He wanted his brother to be part of his life again, but he also wanted to live his true life. Doing that meant he'd have to tell Ben the truth about everything–going back to the beginning of when things had started to change for Simon.

He'd thought long and hard over the years about when he'd first noticed his desires, puberty he supposed, but beyond a stolen kiss with a childhood friend, he couldn't remember anything specific. Until his band started to play club gigs. Backstage at those early shows was a party in and of itself. The booze and debauchery was unlimited and always readily available.

That's when Simon had experienced his first taste of the forbidden: the salacious treat he'd never fully allowed himself to have until that very moment. Hiding together in a cramped storage room, Simon finally gave himself permission to let go and truly feel. In some very real ways, he considered that to be the day he was reborn. He came to life in the arms of a stranger–a man he didn't know and would likely never see again after that night, but nonetheless, his true self was set free.

Chapter Two

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