The Greatest Show (Willow Son #5/Brothers of Rock #20) by Karolyn James Read Free Book Online Page B

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