Redemption Song (12 page)

Alaina placed her right foot lightly on the edge of the metal bed frame in front of Ethan. She grabbed the bars at the top and slowly lifted her body up so she could peer at Ben on the top bunk. The metal gave a slight creek. She hoped neither had heard.

It was almost ten o’clock. Ben was starting to sleep later and later every day. When the summer had begun a few short weeks earlier, he had been up at six on the dot every day. Now, whether asleep or awake, he never left the bed before eleven.

Alaina lifted Ben’s cap just long enough to give a quick check to his forehead. The fever was trying to return. Oh, how she longed to just be able to stay home with him when he wasn’t feeling good. Most normal kids got that privilege when they were sick. One of their parents would stay home and give them constant care and supervision. Alaina was forced to leave him with Granny Mae, who had enough to worry about without having to deal with a sick little kid.

“Hey you.”

Ethan’s voice was a little raspy and it was obvious he was trying to not wake Ben. His fingers wrapped around her bare ankle and he gave it a slight squeeze, leaving a burning ring in its place.

Alaina lowered back down to the floor. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

He shrugged and cast a sly grin, “A little. How bout you?”

“A little.”

Ethan’s hand found hers and he pulled her down to where she was sitting on the edge of the mattress beside him.

“You really worry about him, don’t you? I’ve noticed how protective you are of him.”

Alaina looked into Ethan’s eyes and saw nothing but true concern. She wanted so badly to tell him the truth right then, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. There had to be a better time.

Instead, she settled for a different version of the truth. “Ben has been through a lot in a really short time. If something happened to him . . . I . . . I don’t know what I’d do.”

Alaina didn’t realize that she had become silent. Ethan studied her carefully. He reached up and rubbed his finger along her cheek, snapping her out of her trance. “Hey, you okay?”

She replied quickly. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t look completely convinced, but his next comment surprised her.

“Why don’t I hang out with Ben a little today, you know, since you have to work? That way, he won’t be stuck here alone.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” Alaina replied. Although her heart melted at the idea of Ethan offering to give up his free time in order to keep her little brother company, she knew that he had to have better things to do with his time. “He’ll be fine. He’s pretty used to it by now.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind.” Ethan grinned. “He’s actually starting to grow on me a little. Yesterday, while I was in here getting ready for our dinner, he gave me . . . the talk.”

Alaina looked at him skeptically. “The talk?”

“Yeah,” Ethan said. “You know, the talk. He asked me what I planned to do with ‘all that money I’m raking in’. He asked about my intentions, except he called it detentions.” Ethan laughed. “He even gave me a curfew.”

Alaina laughed, but a part of her broke on the inside. Ben was the most special little boy on the face of the planet.

“You mean to tell me that my ten-year-old little brother managed to intimidate the famous Ethan Carter?”

Ethan laughed. “Maybe a little, yeah.”

“Well, whatever you guys do,” Alaina said, “just don’t let him overexert himself. He hasn’t been feeling well the past couple of days. He needs to take it easy.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Alaina smiled and took one last look at Ethan, taking in all she could of his sleepy morning appearance, bed hair and all. Why did he get better looking every time she saw him?

“Well, I’m off to work. Unlike some people, we can’t all take off when we get a whim to come visit our grandparents.”

Alaina was joking, but a strange look flashed across Ethan’s expression. However, it was gone so quickly she dismissed it as nothing.

Alaina rose from her spot beside Ethan and made her way for the door. Ethan hung on behind her, reluctant to let go of her hand. But finally, he did. When Alaina reached the door, she paused at the sound of his smooth voice.

“Have a good day, Ali.”

Goose bumps rose on Alaina’s arm and the goofy grin returned. She didn’t turn around. She just kept walking.

Ethan

“So, Ben, what should we do today?”

The mid-morning sun beat down in warm, soothing rays on their heads as Ethan and Ben sat at the white wrought iron patio table in the little garden, surrounded by the rose bushes and all their glory. They had just finished off a plate of pancakes. Well, truthfully, Ethan had finished off a plate of pancakes. Ben had fiddled with a few bites, but none of them ever reached his mouth. Ethan figured Ben must not be much of an eater, but it still surprised him considering it was almost lunch time by the time Ben awakened. The kid could really sleep. Ben was in bed the night before when Ethan returned from his date with Alaina. He knew for a fact that Ben had not woke up once since then.

Now, Ben sat directly across from Ethan, wearing an eager grin along with his signature baseball cap. Messy brown curls hung out the bottom. Ethan wondered if Ben even took the hat off long enough to bathe. It wouldn’t surprise him a bit to find Ben in a bubble bath with the hat remaining firmly attached to his head.

“How should I know?” Ben answered after a moment. “I’m just a kid.”

Ethan smirked. Ben had been a bit skeptical when Ethan offered to spend the day with him. “Is my sister putting you up to this?” he’d asked. Ethan assured Ben that it was his own idea to hang out with him. Granny Mae had even given Ethan a strange look, but when he shrugged and gave a guilty grin, she understood his reasoning perfectly.

He was doing it for Alaina. Sure, Ben was a cute kid—and sometimes the things he said were hilarious—but would he be hanging out with Ben if it wasn’t for Alaina? Probably not.

“I could teach you to play guitar,” Ethan suggested nonchalantly.

“No way! For real?” Ben slammed his hands down on the table causing his fork to fly from his plate into a pot of tulips on the opposite side of the walkway.

Ethan noticed that Ben had Alaina’s eyes. They caused the same igniting glow when they lit up.

“Sure, if you want.”

“Could you teach me 'Fallen', or how about 'Reckless', or maybe . . .”

“Whoa, slow down big guy,” Ethan laughed. Ben was naming off all of Ethan’s hit songs from the past year. “It took me a long time to learn to play those songs. Maybe we should start with a something a little easier . . . like 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.”

Ben scrunched his nose up in a cute little line of disapproval, a trait that Ethan had also noticed in Alaina.

“Maybe if you get good at it, we can do a duet tonight for Granny Mae?”

This perked Ben right up. “Awesome!” he said.

Ben jumped up from his chair and darted into the house before Ethan even had time to rise to standing position. Walking in from the garden, Ethan found his grandmother in the kitchen washing up some dishes from breakfast. Ted was nowhere to be found. Ethan guessed he was going into town for a while because the rental car was absent from the front drive.

“Ben and I will be in our room if you need us,” Ethan said as he walked to the staircase.

“To learn guitar, I hear,” Granny said with an amused grin.

“Yep.”

Ethan reached the staircase as Granny Mae spoke again.

“I’m really proud of you, lil’ E.”

He paused and turned back toward her. “Why’s that.”

“What you’re doing for Ben.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. What else am I going to do? I’m stuck here, remember.” Ethan smiled realizing the difference in the tone of that statement from his conversation yesterday with his mother to now with his grandma.

Granny responded. “Well, it may be nothing to you, but I promise you that it is something to that little boy up there. Alaina might not have known much about you before you arrived, but Ben did. He really looks up to you.”

Looks up to me?
Ethan thought. Why on earth would anybody look up to him?

“Granny, I’m just a singer, not superman.”

“Baby, you’re much more than a singer to those young fans of yours. Think about someone you looked up to and wanted to be like when you were little. Now imagine them willingly offering to spend time with you. That’s what you have done for Ben today. In his eyes, a singer is the least of what you are.”

Granny Mae’s words stuck in Ethan’s mind with heavy dissonance. He had never thought about it like that. What would Ben think of him if he knew the real reason Ethan was in Alabama? Would Ben still admire him? Ethan didn’t know, but Granny’s Mae’s words changed something in him. The entire day had begun as an attempt to do something nice for Alaina, but now, he felt somewhat of a responsibility to Ben, too.

Ethan nodded, showing her that he understood, and headed up the staircase. When Ethan reached the doorway to his bedroom, he found Ben sitting Indian style on the carpet; Ethan’s guitar case was laid out carefully in front of him. Ben’s knees tapped up and down with excitement.

“So, I thought about it,” Ben started with a matter-of-fact tone, “and I guess 'Twinkle Twinkle' will be okay. I mean, everyone has got to start somewhere, right? Besides, you can’t put the horse before the car.” Ben paused. “Or is it cart?”

Ethan tried to suppress a laugh. That expression sounded comical coming from a ten-year-old. “Where did you hear that, Ben?”

“My dad used to say it.”

Whoops.
That was not a subject Ethan wanted to bring up. He hurried to pull his guitar out of its jet black case, trying to change the subject quickly.

Ethan started by showing Ben a few of the most common chords on the instrument and how to hold his hand properly so that he could place his fingers for each one. After Ben got the hang of those chords, Ethan showed him how to pick out a few notes with his other hand. Ethan was amazed by how quickly Ben caught on. When a little over an hour had passed, Ben was playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as if he had written the song himself.

Ethan was also a little surprised by how their lesson made him feel. He had never taught anyone how to play before. He’d always been the student, never the teacher. But Ethan got a happy little adrenaline rush every time Ben played a few chords correctly and lit up the room with his proud smile.

A while later, Ben seemed to be getting bored so Ethan suggested breaking for a while to do something else. When asked, Ben decided that he wanted to go hang out at the pier.

Ethan initially objected, Alaina’s words from that morning—“Don’t let him overdue it. He hasn’t been feeling well.”—echoing through his memory as Ben suggested the idea. But when Ethan ran it by Granny Mae, she agreed that it was a good idea. Granny said Ben needed to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Said it might be good for him. At one point, she even said it could help. Ethan didn’t know what that meant, but he didn’t bother to ask. Ted had returned from town with groceries which meant that the car was free for use.

Ethan and Ben hopped into the Charger and headed for the pier. It had been years since Ethan spent time on the beaches of Fairhope. He’d always loved going there as a kid.

The car ride with Ben was amusing to say the least. He had, of course, insisted on bringing his
Ethan Carter
CD. Ben sang every single lyric to each song at the top of his ten-year-old lungs while Ethan drove. They parked at a spot on the outskirts of Municipal Park, and after throwing a few pennies into the huge fountain that sat in the center of the park, Ethan and Ben made their way down to the beach.

Considering the great weather, there weren’t nearly as many people out in the water as Ethan predicted. It was a perfect eighty degrees and holding; the waves were calm on the sea, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The brightest, clearest blue sheet hung above their heads like a mirror reflection of the sea below.

Ben started with sandcastles. Ethan helped a little, but he was fairly terrible at it. Ben, somehow, could make the perfect tower with no cracks to be seen. Ethan’s towers, however, crumbled with the slightest bit of wind. Eventually, Ethan gave up and took to lying in the sand, watching Ben play at the water’s edge. He couldn’t help it, but his focus constantly shifted to the little restaurant on the pier, which was only a couple hundred yards away.

That’s where Alaina was at that very moment, probably waiting on some vacationing couple, smiling and being polite in her own little Alaina way. His mind averted back to their almost kiss in the car.

Ethan had run through the events of the past night over and over again in his mind. Had he moved too quickly? He didn’t feel like it. Ali seemed genuinely interested in him, too, but when he’d tried to kiss her, she’d pulled away. Said, “She wasn’t ready.”

What did that mean? Was she talking about her parent’s accident? Was it too soon after their death for her to show interest in guys? Surely not. That happened over a year ago. Had someone broken her heart recently? Maybe she wasn’t ready because she’d been burned in a past relationship? Ethan wasn’t sure, but for some reason, he didn’t feel like any of those hypotheses would ring true. Alaina talked as if there was something going on right now that she was dealing with and that kept her from becoming close to anyone.

Ethan wanted to know what it was. He wanted to help her. Not because he wanted her physically, but because he wanted her emotionally. He loved talking to Ali. She excited and calmed him all in the same breath. Their personalities meshed. But he knew that as long as she was dealing with whatever was bothering her, she would never fully open up to him.

Ethan continued to focus on the pier as a shadow fell in the midst of his gaze. It was the shadow of a little boy. A dripping, sopping wet little boy. Ethan looked up to find Ben peering down at him as though studying him with a microscope.