The Greatest Show (Willow Son #5/Brothers of Rock #20) (16 page)

“
I
know,
”
Emma said again.
“
That
’
s why I
’
m
so
…
is it wrong to want a
family?
”

“
No,
it
’
s not. I
’
m sorry you
’
re going through this. But if
you tell him and something goes wrong
…”

“
It
’
ll crush Seth,
”
Emma said.
“
I know that. We
’
re waiting on blood work from
Brantley. Then we
’
re going
to talk to the doctor and see what the next step is. So far, it
’
s been great. One little fever
and it
’
s okay. So he might
not even need to worry about a blood transfusion for a while. Or ever. So if Brantley
stays
…
beyond that
…”

“
Emma,
you
’
re talking to the wrong
person,
”
her father said.
“
I
’
ll
always be straight with you. I was pissed when you came here pregnant. But what
was I going to do? Kick you out? No. We
’
re
family. I love you. I love Seth. And now there
’
s
a third party involved outside me. That
’
s
a tough thing. I know you
’
re
worried about everything you
’
ve
done for Seth. But I
’
ll
never forget it. I
’
ll never
look beyond it, Emma. And if Brantley loves you and Seth, he won
’
t either.
”

“
Please
shut down the bar,
”
Emma
said.
“
Let me make you
something for dinner. Or buy you dinner. Go get rest.
”

“
No,
”
her father said.

Emma backed away from the bar. She
grinned.
“
I thought you
’
d say that. So I called in some
help.
He
’
ll
be here soon.
”

(16)

Brantley stared at Emma.
“
It
’
ll
be fine. I
’
ll make sure he
doesn
’
t kill himself, okay?
”

“
Thank
you. He
’
s so stubborn. Just
help him keep everything stocked up. There
’
s
only a few people who show up. He just
…”

“
Emma,
it
’
s okay. It
’
s the least I could do here. If
it helps you, Seth, your father, I
’
ll
do it. Relax. Spend the evening with Seth. Order some pizzas.
”

“
Pizza?
”
Seth
’
s voice chimed in as he opened the door.
“
I want pizza.
”

“
No,
Seth. Not tonight.
”

“
Why
not?
”
Seth asked.

“
Why
not?
”
Brantley asked.

Emma squinted her eyes.
“
Maybe I made dinner.
”

“
Maybe
you didn
’
t,
”
Brantley said. He reached into
his pocket.
“
Here, get some
pizza. Spend more time with the kid. You both deserve it.
”

“
Money?
You just show up and give me money?
”

“
Whoa,
”
Brantley said.
“
Let
’
s be fair. I
’
m
not giving you money to go away. I
’
m
offering to buy you and
…
Seth
…
something to eat.
”

“
I
don
’
t want it.
”

Brantley was taken back for a
second. He squeezed his hand around the money.
“
Hey.
What
’
s
…
did I offend you?
”

“
I
can pay for my own pizza, Brantley.
”

Emma started to turn but Brantley
wasn
’
t having it. He
touched her arm and tugged at her.

“
Talk
to me,
”
he whispered.

“
Not
in front of Seth,
”
Emma
said.

“
Seth,
”
Brantley said.
“
Here. Take this money and put it
on the table. Okay, buddy? You can get some pizza tonight.
”

Seth let out a squeal.
“
Nice! Thanks.
”

Seth ran back inside and Emma
looked away.
“
Great. You
’
re the hero now.
”

“
What
are you talking about? Emma, I
’
m
trying to help you.
”

“
I
don
’
t want your money. I
survived without it.
”

“
I
helped you,
”
Brantley said.
“
What
’
s going on right now?
”

Emma looked at Brantley. Her eyes
were filled with tears.

“
What
if Seth doesn
’
t ever know?
”

“
Know
what?
”

“
Everything.
What if we tell him and he never understands it was me who did all this before
you showed up? Or what if we never tell him and he really needs you?
”

Brantley felt his mouth fall open.
He hadn
’
t expected this.
Not right now.

“
Oh,
Emma. I will spend the rest of my life making sure Seth knows you
’
re the reason why he
’
s alive. I
’
ll tell him every story.
”

“
Then
he
’
ll grow up to be mad at
you.
”

“
So
what? He
’
ll figure it out.
He
’
s a smart kid.
”

“
I
couldn
’
t do that to you.
”

“
So
then what
’
s our plan?
Pretend this is something serious but he
’
ll
never know?
”

Emma swallowed and sucked in a
breath.
“
I
’
ve thought about it.
”

“
Wow.
That would hurt me.
”

“
Would
that be so bad?
”

Brantley felt like someone had
punched him in the stomach. He put his hands to Emma
’
s arms and nodded.

“
I
hurt you bad, I know that. Maybe I deserve to hurt. I accept that. I don't want
Seth to hurt. I don't want the future to be hurt by the past. I
’
m not bribing you with pizza
money. I
’
m not stepping in
on your dinner plans. I know you didn
’
t
make dinner because the house doesn
’
t
smell like your cooking. And I thought maybe I could help your father and you
and Seth could have a little pizza party. That
’
s
all. If that gesture hurt you, then I
’
m
sorry. As far as what to do with him
…
you have to make that decision, Emma. I
’
ll
do anything you want. We start over and I end up as a father figure, okay.
”

“
No,
Brantley
…”

“
I
have to go. I
…”

Brantley pulled Emma in and kissed
her.

He then stroked his thumb next to
her left eye and wiped away a tear.

He turned and walked away, staring
at his glistening thumb.

Never in his life did he think he
could hurt someone so bad, but he had.

Never in his life did he want
someone so bad
…
never in his life did he want a family
…

**

“
Did
you kiss Brantley?
”
Seth
asked.

“
What?
”
Emma asked as she touched the
money on the table.

“
I
saw out the window.
”

“
No,
Seth. No. I mean, he
’
s my
friend.
”

“
You
don
’
t kiss Auntie Cassie
when she leaves.
”

Emma slowly clutched the money and
knew she needed to change the subject, and fast.

“
Do
you want pizza?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Then
let me order pizza.
”

“
I
don
’
t understand why you
two kissed. Are you married now?
”

Emma felt her heart twist.
“
Seth, listen to me.
”
Emma crouched down.
“
Brantley and I have been friends
for a long time. Okay? A really long time. I haven
’
t seen him in a while because of his band. He has
free time and it
’
s nice to see
him. That
’
s all. When we
were younger we used to kiss goodbye. So it just happened. Does that make
sense?
”

“
I
’
m never kissing a girl,
”
Seth said.
“
No way.
”

“
Good
thinking,
”
Emma said.

Seth walked away but that didn
’
t ease the tension inside Emma
at all.

She stood up, called and order
pizza for delivery, and then put the money on the kitchen counter.
The same
counter where Brantley had put her on it
…

Emma felt her cheeks burn red.
Never in her life had she experienced such an intense attraction to someone
like she did with Brantley. She believed him, too. That was the scariest part.
When he said he wasn
’
t
going to leave. When he said he trusted her to make a decision on Seth. That
’
s what pissed her off a little.
Brantley was supposed to be a storm and take over everything. Well, he was
doing that, but in his own subtle way. And the truth was there now, at the
worst time. Emma shouldn
’
t
have freaked out like that on the porch. Not over forty dollars.

It had nothing to do with the forty
dollars.

It had everything to do with the
long nights of Seth crying. Of checking his temperature every two hours. Of
managing medications, doctors appointments, trying to work and pay some bills,
waiting for the next sliver of hell to show up. And at the end of every long day
would come a longer night where Emma would have to curl in bed, alone. Even on
the nights when Rick was around, it wasn
’
t
real. It was comfort and compared to Brantley, it wasn
’
t all that much comfort at all.

Emma knew it was only fair to give
Brantley a real chance at all of this.

Seth let out a yell and cried,
“
I
’
m going to destroy you!
”

Smiling, Emma wiped a tear from the
corner of her eye.

She just didn
’
t want Seth to get hurt anymore
than he
’
d been in his young
life.

Emma put her hand on the forty
dollars and looked forward.

Then again, if she just pushed
Brantley away, what would that say about her?

Emma hung her head and exhaled,
letting tears fall.

Making that agreement with Brantley
was hard, sure, but it was supposed to make everything somehow right. They were
young, dumb, but whatever. It made sense. They both survived. Now everything
was getting mixed together.

“
Mommy?
”

Emma sucked in a breath.
“
Seth. Hey, buddy.
”

“
Are
you crying?
”

“
No.
I was just thinking.
”

Seth walked to Emma and grabbed her
hand.
“
It
’
s okay to cry.
”

“
What?
”
Emma asked. Sometimes it
shocked her how much Seth acted like an adult.

“
You
kissed Brantley
…
you
probably have cooties now
…
it
’
s okay to cry.
”

**

Brantley lifted the empty keg and
walked it out back. He plopped it down with a hollow
dong
sound. A towel
hung over his shoulder and he looked out to the night. The anger inside him
hadn
’
t subsided yet. The
truth was, it made sense right then to just head back south and be with the
band. Get back in the studio, get back on a stage, do something. Hell, go to a
bar like old times and play a guitar, sip some whiskey, and have women all over
him.

But that
’
s not what he wanted. He wanted Emma. He wanted
Seth. He wanted to figure it out.

“
Hey,
no smoke breaks.
”

Brantley turned and walked back
into the bar, head down.

“
Whoa,
”
Mike said and pushed at
Brantley
’
s shoulder.
“
You
’
ve been a little quiet all night.
”

“
Let
me just work, Mike. Okay?
”

Brantley went down the basement and
grabbed a couple cases of beer. He carried them up and put them in the cooler
under the bar. The traffic was minimal in the place. It started out with three
guys arguing over baseball. Then two more people came in and quickly recognized
Brantley. They asked for a picture, which was then plastered all over social
media, and that led to a little flurry of business.

That flurry meant twenty people in
the bar at once, ordering drinks, wanting to talk to Brantley.

“
Hey,
bartender,
”
someone said to
Brantley.

He turned, half ready to unleash on
someone.

It was Ryker sitting at the bar.
“
How about a draft?
”

“
What
are you doing here?
”
Brantley asked.

The bar started to swell a little.
There were still about twenty in the place, now the eyes were on Brantley and
Ryker.

Brantley poured the guitarist a
beer.
“
Twenty bucks.
”

“
What?
”

“
Rockstar
special.
”

Ryker put a twenty on the bar.
“
Fine.
”

“
Can
we get a picture?
”
two
women asked Ryker.

Another hour went by and Brantley
took a ton more pictures, signed napkins, and made sure to tell everyone to get
their ass back to the bar and support Mike.

Ryker drank two and cut himself
off.

He then pointed to the side door
and nodded.
“
Talk?
”

“
Sure,
”
Brantley said.
“
Let me just get this keg hooked
up.
”