The Greatest Show (Willow Son #5/Brothers of Rock #20) (6 page)

Crying, Emma lunged forward and
buried her face into Brantley
’
s
chest. She clutched the back of his shirt. His hands hung at his sides for a
few seconds before he touched her. When he did, it ignited that old flame
again. The instant connection. Maybe it was just something deeper, maybe the
fact that they created a child together.

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
Brantley whispered.
“
Tell me what I can do right now.
”

“
Just
give me a second,
”
Emma
whispered back.

So they stood there in silence.

Emma took deep breaths, smelling
Brantley, hating herself with each breath she took of him. She then quickly
collected herself and pushed away. She backed into the house and kept a hand
out, putting distance between she and Brantley.

“
I
shouldn
’
t have done that,
”
she said.

“
You
have every right to do that and then some,
”
he said.
“
You have every
right to slap me, punch me, kick me in the balls even. You didn
’
t answer your phone so I came to
see you. I shouldn
’
t have
contacted you when I was drunk. That was a bad move. We played this little
acoustic set at a bar and the entire time I just thought about things
…”

“
Let
’
s go outside,
”
Emma said.
“
So Seth doesn
’
t wake up.
”

They backed up to the porch and
stood there.

Never in Emma
’
s dreams did she imagine
standing on her father
’
s
porch with a rockstar. But it was happening. It was actually happening.

“
How
’
s he doing?
”
Brantley asked.

“
Now?
He
’
s good. Doesn
’
t mean he
’
ll stay that way for long.
”

“
So,
what happens?
”

“
His
immune system is messed up. He picks up everything he
’
s around. It
’
s
a double hit with him because the medicines they give him kill infections but
in turn it makes his immune system even weaker.
”

“
Jesus.
There
’
s nothing they can
do?
”

“
Well
…
there sort of is.
”

“
Which
is what?
”

Emma didn
’
t want to go there just yet.
“
Last night
…”

“
Don
’
t.
”

“
No.
My father owns a bar, Brantley. I
’
ve
grown up there. I help on the weekends. I
’
ve
seen a lot of stuff in my life, okay? One thing I know for sure is that when
someone is drunk they
’
re
able to muster the strength to say what they really mean. So I
’
m going to just put it out there
with us, Brantley. Do you think I
’
m
lying about Seth?
”

“
No.
”

“
You
never once thought
…”

“
How
do I answer that?
”
Brantley
asked.
“
I
’
m sorry, but we met, hooked up,
and you were sort of with another guy.
”

“
That
was a first date.
”

“
Okay.
Sorry. But still.
”

“
Still
what? I
’
m some whore that
just spreads her legs and says
have at it
?
”

“
Emma,
I never said that.
”

Don
’
t say my damn name. It
sounds too good.

Brantley approached her. Emma threw
her hand out and stopped him.
“
Don
’
t do this. Don
’
t get close to me.
”

“
Okay.
Fine. Let
’
s open the book
then. Yeah, I
’
ve thought
about you every now and again. How do I know you weren
’
t with other guys? You just came to me and dumped
that on me. We didn
’
t know
each other then.
”

“
We
don
’
t know each other now.
”

“
I
’
m here right now,
”
Brantley said.
“
Trying
…
I want to talk to you about everything. What
happened wasn
’
t fair. What
I did wasn
’
t fair. What I
decided upon wasn
’
t fair.
”

“
This
is about Seth now,
”
Emma
said.
“
Okay? Not us.
”

Brantley touched Emma
’
s hand and moved it out of the
way. He squeezed her hand and inched closer. He stared down at her.
“
This is about us, Emma. What we
did. And I
’
m here now. I
’
m here to do anything you need.
I
’
ll give you anything I
have.
”

“
I
hate that,
”
Emma said.
“
I shouldn
’
t, but I do. It
’
s
like you got off free for years and then show up to be the hero?
”

“
I
’
m not trying to be a hero. I
’
m trying to be a man. The man I
should have been a long time ago.
”

Emma felt her knees buckle a
little.

“
Brantley
…”

“
I
’
m not asking you to let me walk
right in, okay? But if you need money. You need help. You need
…
me
…
don
’
t
hold back now. Don
’
t lie to
me. I
’
m sorry I called you
drunk last night. I
’
m sorry
I even brought up the idea that Seth couldn
’
t
be mine. That was wrong. That was me being scared and hiding.
”

“
I
don
’
t see you ever being
scared or hiding,
”
Emma
said.

“
You
have a lot to learn about me,
sexy moves
.
”

And right there, he
’
d done it.

Sexy moves.

Emma was swept back to the night
they met. She felt her lips tingling, her mouth craving the taste of Brantley
’
s mouth to hers. She told
herself she would never let it happen again, even though she was already
lifting up on her toes.

They were a second away from
kissing, something dangerous and insanely stupid.

The front door opened and a voice
said,
“
Mommy?
”

(8)

*THEN*

Brantley sat backstage with a towel
over his head. The sweat poured down his face. He was burning hot and the beer
in his hand was sweaty and cold. The band had finally done it. A thirty day
stretch of thirty consecutive shows. Something unheard of but something they
all wanted to do to prove they were the next big band. They were on the covers
of magazines, online blogs, and were in the sights of some of the biggest bands
going, like Chasing Cross, Fallen Tuesday, and Gone by Autumn. They were
finally in control of their destiny, complete with a bidding war between two
record companies.

The last bid had gotten so high for
the next album that Brantley didn
’
t
want to hear anymore. The amount of money being thrown around was sick. It didn
’
t just cement the band
’
s place in the music world, it
cemented Brantley
’
s dream
of never needing to depend on anyone else to survive.

It also meant a chance to give back
to Emma. And the baby. A boy, too. He had a son somewhere out there. He tried
talking to Emma a few times but she was busy and flustered. He offered to get
off the road and help but she said not to worry about it.

Then came the call that the little
guy was sick. After that, the call that the little guy would always be sick.
Brantley didn
’
t know what
to do during that time so he just listened. When he offered money, Emma got mad
and hung up. That
’
s when he
brought Harry into the picture. It was easier to have him as a middle man. Emma
wanted to stick to their agreement. That meant going their separate ways.
Brantley made sure she had money to survive and made it clear if there was
anything else she needed
…

Brantley saw a set of black heels
appear before his eyes. Then the towel left his head. He looked up and a
beautiful woman stood before him. Whatever the hell she was wearing couldn
’
t be considered clothes. Hell,
it could be barely be considered lingerie.

The woman touched his face and
smiled.
“
Hey.
”

“
Look
at you,
”
Brantley said.

“
Look
at me.
”

She reached to her shoulders and
grabbed the straps of her top. She slid them down and forced her top down,
exposing her breasts.

“
Are
you busy?
”
she asked
Brantley.

“
Not
anymore,
”
he said.

His hands touched her sides and he
pulled the woman on top of him.

This was always
I
’
ll let you know if I need
to know your name
kind of thing. Because that
’
s
what it was for Brantley. Because nobody would be Emma.

But this was what she wanted.

And that was the greatest lie
Brantley would tell himself for years.

**

*NOW*

Brantley looked at the young boy
and instantly dropped down to one knee. He had Brantley
’
s dark hair and dark eyes. His eyes were half open
and he rubbed them, looking around the porch. An urge went through Brantley.
One to grab the kid, hug him, and begin an apology that would take the rest of
his life to fully tell.

“
What
are you doing awake?
”
Emma
asked.

“
I
heard a noise,
”
Seth said.
“
I thought it was the bad guys.
”

“
What
bad guys?
”
Brantley asked,
looking at Emma.

Did she live in a bad
neighborhood? Was my kid in danger?

“
Ninja
stuff,
”
Emma said. She then
mouthed
pretend
.

“
Oh,
okay,
”
Brantley said. He
looked at Seth.
“
You have a
good side kick?
”

“
Who
are you?
”
Seth asked.

“
I
’
m
…”

“
This
is Mommy
’
s friend,
”
Emma said.
“
He
’
s
here just to say hello. He plays drums in a band.
”

“
Cool,
”
Seth said.
“
I have a drum at daycare.
”

“
Yeah?
”
Brantley asked.
“
Play anything good?
”

Seth shrugged his shoulders.
“
Mommy, I
’
m thirsty.
”

“
Okay,
buddy. Let
’
s go back
inside.
”

Emma moved toward Brantley but he
didn
’
t want Seth to go
away. He took a chance and reached forward, making a fist.
“
It
’
s
nice to meet you, my man.
”

Seth looked at Emma. She nodded.

Seth slowly put his hand forward
and touched Brantley
’
s.

It sent a feeling through him he
never felt before. He started to reach for Seth but Emma was already ushering
the kid back into the house.

Brantley clutched his chest and
took a deep breath. He felt emotion wash over him.

Shit. It hurt. It hurt really
bad.

He suddenly had images of Emma
being pregnant. Her belly growing big. Her body changing. Being alone. Being
scared. Not being taken care of the right way. He then thought about what she
looked like now. How her body had remained changed. If anyone had been with
her. And whoever that was
…
if they appreciated what she went through.

Brantley stood up and ran his hands
through his hair. He felt like the biggest piece of shit in the world.

He stepped back and leaned against
the porch pillar. From the corner of his eye he saw someone walking along the
sidewalk. He turned and nodded. The woman walking stopped, looked at him, then
pointed.

The last thing Brantley wanted was
for his visit to become a celebrity sighting.

He quickly side stepped and tried
to hide. He waited a few seconds and then heard the clank of shoes hitting the
porch steps.

Ah, damn.

He popped forward and the woman let
out a small yell.

“
Sorry
if I scared you,
”
Brantley
said.

“
Who
are you?
”
the woman asked.
“
What are you doing here?
”

“
Whoa.
I
’
m Brantley. I
’
m, uh, a friend of Emma
’
s.
”

“
Friend?
I
’
ve never seen you before.
”

The front door opened and Emma
stood in the doorway.

“
Emma,
”
Brantley said. He then nodded
to the woman next to him.

“
Who
is this?
”
the woman asked.

Emma rushed forward.
“
Cassie, hey. This is Brantley.
He
’
s a friend of mine.
”

“
I
’
ve never heard of him.
”

“
Brantley,
this is Cassie, my good friend. She lives down the street.
”

“
Cassie,
”
Brantley said.
“
Nice to meet you.
”

“
Yeah,
you too,
”
Cassie said.
“
I saw someone on the porch and I
got worried.
”

“
I
’
m not breaking in,
”
Brantley said.
“
Just waiting here.
”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Emma said.
“
I
was
…
well, I can
’
t get a hold of my father. I was
going to ask him to keep an eye on Seth for a couple hours. Brantley and I need
to talk.
”

Cassie eyed Brantley up and down.

“
I
have good intentions,
”
Brantley said.
“
I
’
m just catching up with an old
friend. We met on the road. She was dancing to my songs.
”

“
He
’
s the drummer for Willow Son,
”
Emma said.

Cassie let out a gasp and covered
her mouth. Her cheeks turned red.

“
I
take it you know the name,
”
Brantley said.
“
Just not
the drummer.
”

“
Oh
my
…
are you serious right
now?
”
Cassie asked.
“
I love you guys.
”

“
You
just don
’
t know us,
”
Brantley said.

“
No.
I mean, yeah. I mean
…
I
like Ryker. A lot. You know Ryker?
”

Brantley laughed.
“
Yeah, I know Ryker.
”

“
Nobody
is going to believe this,
”
Cassie said. She looked at Emma.
“
You
never told me you knew someone famous.
”

“
It
never came up,
”
Emma said.
“
I used to travel a lot. I was a
music and art journalist. But, yeah, I need to go. I need to check up on my
father. He
’
s not answering.
I
’
m trying not to panic
here but he mentioned something last week about his leg bothering him. I get
paranoid
…”

“
Let
’
s go then,
”
Brantley said.

“
What?
”
Emma asked.

“
We
’
ll go check on him. Make sure he
’
s okay.
”

“
I
’
ll watch Seth,
”
Cassie said.

“
You
will?
”
Emma asked.

“
Yeah.
Ted has the kids. He
’
s
doing some baseball thing or whatever. I could use some Seth time. I haven
’
t played with the little guy in
forever. I miss him.
”

“
Auntie
Cassie!
”

Seth came running out of the house
and jumped at Cassie.

Seeing that made Brantley jealous
and hurt. Rightfully so though, right? This woman, this neighbor, Cassie, she
had been involved in Seth
’
s
life. Brantley hadn
’
t been.

“
I
think that
’
s your answer,
”
Brantley said.

“
Auntie
Cassie, this is Mommy
’
s
friend, Brannley,
”
Seth
said.

“
It
’
s Brantley, buddy,
”
Emma said.

“
No,
that
’
s okay,
”
Brantley said.
“
Tell you what, Seth, you can
call me B.
”

“
B?
Do you have a stinger?
”

Seth giggled.

Brantley laughed. He reached for
the kid but stopped himself.

Watch the line, Brantley. Don
’
t step over it.

“
Okay,
then we have to go,
”
Emma
said.
“
Right now. Let me
get the carseat
…”

“
We
’
ll take my ride,
”
Brantley said.
“
Leave your car here. In case
Cassie needs it. Okay?
”

Emma looked at Brantley and
grinned.
“
Sure.
”

They then left, together, side by
side.

Far from perfect but at least
they weren
’
t
far apart.

**

Emma looked out the passenger
window and tried not to let it sink in.

I
’
m in a car with Brantley. A car he
’
s driving. To go see my
father.

It was going to prove very
interesting.

“
You
know, he knows everything,
”
Emma said.

“
What?
”

“
My
father. He knows everything about us. Just so you know.
”

“
I
’
m not worried about it,
”
Brantley said.
“
I want to make sure he
’
s okay.
”

“
You
never met him.
”

“
But
he matters to you. And he helped with Seth.
”

Emma shut her eyes and groaned
inside.

Was he seriously going to say
the right thing over and over?

Emma gave the final directions to
the bar.

There was a wooden sign out front
that was faded. There used to be
Mike
’
s
written on it, but that was done with cheap letters that tore off and wore
away. The bar had never really had an official name.