The Greatest Show (Willow Son #5/Brothers of Rock #20) (11 page)

He kissed her forehead and then
walked toward the living room. He gave a quick peek on Seth, feeling his heart
jumping a little.

Brantley left the house and stood
on the porch for a few seconds. He covered his mouth and took a deep breath.

There were some heavy promises
being thrown around.

And Brantley was going to keep
every single one of them.

**

“
You
have stuff to worry about later on,
”
Harry said.
“
Right now,
this is about pulling together the music and working with the marketing team.
Well, more me than you guys. You
’
ll
need to show up for photo shoots, interviews, a few autograph sessions. I
’
m working on equipment deals and
maybe a big summer tour.
”

“
Maybe?
”
Colby asked.
“
We want it.
”

“
Everyone
does,
”
Van said.

“
The
financing needs to come through,
”
Harry said.
“
Which it will.
”

“
Tell
Portis to break out the checkbook,
”
Ryker said.

“
What
about the opening band?
”
Brantley asked.
“
I know we
touched on it and then it faded out.
”

“
I
know what I would do,
”
Jett
said.
“
I
’
ve been saying it for a while
now. There
’
s an east coast
band that
’
s tearing it the
hell up. They
’
re too big
for their own good, believe it or not. They have offers to come out west but
they
’
re hanging east, just
living it up.
”

“
Who
is it?
”
Ryker asked.

“
They
’
re called After the Run. Trust
me, they
’
re good. They
’
re already big time on their
own. They had a small label working with them. Two of the guys have a clothing
line. It
’
s crazy to think
about. All on their own.
”

Brantley pointed to Harry.
“
Make the call then. Figure it
out. Let
’
s go to a show.
”

“
What
about your situation?
”
Colby
asked.

“
Me?
”
Brantley asked.
“
It
’
s
all good. Taking things slow. I
’
m
letting her lead the way. She has every right to do so.
”

“
How
’
s the kid?
”
Jett asked.

“
Good.
Amazing. It
’
s a different
world, man. I
’
m learning my
way. We made pancakes together. I gave him a drumstick and he uses it to fight
off bad guys.
”

“
Bad
guy?
”
Van asked.

“
You
know kids, man. Stuffed animals and stuff.
”

“
I
wish I was a kid again,
”
Harry said.

“
No
you don
’
t,
”
Ryker said. He walked to Harry.
“
You love being grown up
and watching after us.
”

Everyone laughed.

“
I
’
m going to jam,
”
Brantley said.
“
I have to go back later. This is
a quick trip here for me. I
’
m
far from out of the woods with any of this. The kid is sick, you know? Emma
said something about a blood transfusion. I guess I
’
m the matching type. If he is mine.
”

“
Any
doubts?
”
Colby asked.

“
No,
”
Brantley said.
“
Not a chance. When I look at him
…”

The room was silent for a few
seconds. Brantley had no words. That
’
s
exactly how it felt. There were no words for it all.

“
Okay,
”
Ryker said.
“
Let
’
s write a sad song. Let it all out, brother.
”

It wasn
’
t the worst idea in the world.

The five of them grabbed acoustic
guitars and went to work. Brantley felt the gears in his mind going wild. Not
musically but lyrically. Ryker and Jett took the lead, strumming a few chords
they called
the standard sad song chords
…
G, E minor, D, and C. Ryker started to mess around with some riffs and playing
the chords an octave higher to give it more sound.

Then out of nowhere Harry started
to whistle. It sounded like shit because Harry couldn
’
t carry a tune with a dump truck, but it gave
Brantley an idea. He started to whistle, able to line it up with the music.

Colby nodded, agreeing. He whistled
too.

“
Wait,
”
Ryker said.
“
Jett, play the chords and let me
get some notes together to whistle
…”

Just like that, the jam session
turned into a real writing session. What came out of it was an amazing, deep
song. Colby whistled the riff Ryker wrote on guitar while the rest of the band
played chords in different positions giving the song an amazing depth.

“
All
we need is some words,
”
Van
said, looking at Colby.

Colby looked at Brantley.
“
That
’
s you, brother.
”

“
I
’
ll get back to you on that,
”
Brantley said.

Brantley traded the guitar for a
view outside the studio. His eyes scanned the buildings and he thought about
Emma and Seth. All that went right and all that had gone wrong.

And after all we
’
ve done wrong, we can
still find some right.

Lead ourselves from this
darkness, bring it all into the light.

There
’
s nothing else that
matters, except the one
…
this life
…

“
What
are you thinking?
”

Brantley lost his thought and saw
Colby standing next to him.
“
I
don
’
t know, brother. How do
you write a song?
”

“
Just
make shit up and hope it works.
”

“
Thanks.
”

“
You
know, I can
’
t imagine what
you
’
re going through,
”
Colby said.
“
My advice though? Write it all
down. Don
’
t try to be
lyrical right now. Just get the emotion out, man. Then we can go back and sort
through it all. And hell, if you decide not to share it, I
’
ll take over.
”

“
I
’
m trying to figure out the right
thing.
”

“
You
’
ll get it. It
’
s still new.
”

“
Not
to her. She
’
s been doing
this alone.
”

“
Yeah,
she has.
”

“
She
gave up so much, Colby. She pushed me away on purpose, knowing I
’
d hold it against her for not
pursuing this dream. She gave her body to have a kid. And the thing is, man,
she
’
s still fucking
beautiful.
”

“
Oh
yeah? You jumped back into old habits?
”
Colby asked with a grin.

“
I
consider it unfinished business. But she
’
s
just amazing, man. Like, the changes she
’
s
worried about are driving me nuts because they
’
re
sexy. I can
’
t even describe
it.
”

Colby patted Brantley on the back.
“
I can
’
t believe I
’
m
hearing this. You know, five years ago, you
’
d
be standing here with a dozen eggs, throwing them out the window at cars. Then
you
’
d press your ass
against the window. Then the cops would be called. Then we
’
d call Harry for help. Instead,
we
’
re talking family. And
romance.
”

“
Time
is a fucking weird thing,
”
Brantley said. He then grabbed his jeans and opened them. He turned, dropped
his jeans, and stuck his ass against the glass.
“
But
not everything has to change, right?
”

Colby laughed.
“
There is something wrong with
you.
”

“
So,
here
’
s the
…
whoa,
”
Harry said as he entered the room.
“
Is your bare ass against that
window?
”

Brantley stood up and fixed his
jeans.
“
Not anymore.
”

“
Oh,
Christ,
”
Harry said.

“
What
’
s wrong, Harry?
”
Colby asked.

“
Besides
the fact that Brantley
’
s
boney ass print is against the window
…
that After the Run band is playing a gig. I can arrange you guys to fly out and
attend. Just give me the word.
”

“
Where?
”
Brantley asked.

“
New
York,
”
Harry said.

“
Oh
…”

“
No,
”
Colby said.
“
We can
’
t fly out. Brantley can
’
t. Not with this kid thing.
”

“
You
guys go,
”
Brantley said.

“
We
decide this as a band,
”
Colby said.

“
Can
’
t we fly them here?
”
Brantley asked.

“
No,
”
Harry said.
“
They don
’
t give a shit.
”

“
Fucking
rockstars,
”
Brantley said
and smiled.

“
You
’
re telling me,
”
Harry said.
“
You guys talk and let me know. I
can arrange a private jet to take you out. See the show, meet the band, fly back.
One night thing.
”

One night thing,
Brantley
thought. That seemed to be his specialty.

“
Brother,
”
Colby said.
“
Don
’
t worry about this. You
’
re not leaving that kid.
”

“
No,
I
’
m not,
”
Brantley said.
“
But let me see what I can do
here. I have an idea.
”

Brantley grabbed his leather jacket
and was on the move. He had to say his goodbyes to the guys and then head north
to see Emma.

They technically still hadn
’
t had a first date yet
…
and if Brantley was going to
give her a real first date,
he was going to do it in total rockstar style.

**

Emma heard her father
’
s back pop as he climbed to his
feet. He reached for the table and then wrestled with his right leg to make it
work. She jumped forward but held back knowing it would offend him to say
something. It also pained her because it didn
’
t
seem fair that her father had taken on such intense duties with Seth. It should
have been Brantley with Seth on the floor.

Someday
…
we
’
ll work this out
…

Her father turned around, biting on
his lip.

“
Thought
the leg was fine,
”
Emma
said.

“
It
is,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m
old, Emma.
”

“
An
old fart,
”
Seth said.

“
Seth!
”
Emma yelled.

Her father chuckled.
“
He got that from me.
”

“
Then
you go to time out,
”
Emma
said.

“
I
’
m in trouble, Seth,
”
her father.

“
That
’
s okay, Pop. She won
’
t stay mad long.
”

Her father laughed again.
“
Where does he get these one
liners from?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Emma said.