Yes to Everything (2 page)

“A hundred bucks…hell,” he paused, “She’s three hours from here? Where’s she from?” Decklan asked curiously.

“Little town called Idabel, Oklahoma, just over the border of Texas.” Both men got huge grins on their faces. “You know the place? I never heard of it.”

Logan clapped Travis on the back, “It’s twelve miles from our hometown of Broken Bow. I tell you what, Travis, you damn sure have a knack for right place, right time. This is going to work out just fine.”

Putting his hand over Logan’s forearm, the older man said quietly and with all sincerity, “Y’all know you can’t bed that girl. You know that, don’t you?”

Sighing, both men nodded. Decklan said truthfully, “She’s so perfect. But we’re twenty-six. Way too old for her in more ways than one, I bet. And I’d like this to work. I think she’s going to be just what we didn’t know we needed.”

Travis poked his head in and asked her to join them and leave her instruments. Brooke looked confused but nodded and came out to the control room. “Are you hungry, Brooke?” She shook her head and her chin came up. Logan remembered giving people that look himself. He could almost hear her say, Of course I’m hungry but I’m not asking for a damn thing. “Travis ordered food for our sessions today.” Decklan handed Travis his credit card behind Brooke’s back. “We want to talk to you for a bit in the conference room down the hall.”

Putting her between them as they walked, they asked her questions about her life. Her answers were vague. Decklan wondered how she’d handle school with the schedule they were going to throw on her. “When do you graduate, Brooke?”

“I had to get my GED. I haven’t been in school for a while now.”

“Okay. Are your parents going to be cool with you coming down here? We might need them to sign some things on your behalf.” Logan looked down as she was looking up and met her eyes, watching as a look of pain crossed her face.

Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “I…I lost my parents almost two years ago. Daddy had a heart attack behind the wheel leaving Tulsa with my mama.” They watched as she clenched her fists and bit her lower lip to keep from crying. By the time they stepped aside for her to enter the conference room, she seemed to have herself under tight control. She saw a bathroom and pointed at it without speaking before ducking inside.

Logan said, “Poor kid.” Decklan nodded and they took seats around the smaller of the two conference tables with seating for four people. Travis came in and told them he’d ordered enough food for an army.

Brooked stepped out of the bathroom. She’d washed her face and none of the men could help but watch her graceful, long-legged walk across the room toward them. “Okay. So what do y’all need me to play?” She stood with her hands on the back of the chair and a cheerful smile on her face.

Logan met her eyes, “Actually, we’d like you to join Broken Bronco, Brooke.”

Brooke’s smile dropped off her face, replaced by a blank look of shock. Decklan and Logan leaned forward when she swayed, worried she was going down. She gripped the chair harder, her knuckles white. “Wh…what did you say?” Brooke’s eyes were huge in her delicate face. “I…I’m supposed to play fiddle. I’m just here to play fiddle.”

They grinned and Decklan told her, “I’m sure you’ll have many opportunities to play fiddle when you join our band, Brooke. As a matter of fact, I can guarantee it.”

A slightly hysterical laugh bubbled up from Brooke’s chest before she clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes drifted closed and she took several deep breaths. When she opened them, she held up one finger and took out an antiquated cell phone that looked like it had been through a vacuum cleaner.

Flipping it open, she dialed a number and moved to pace in front of the huge windows overlooking Dallas. One hand propped on her hip, they watched her long legs go back and forth, hips swaying, accidentally seductive. None of the males could to look away.

“Molly. Yeah, I made it. No, I’m alright, sugar, no, oh honey, I should have called to let you know I made it safe. I’m sorry, baby. Listen, is Jackson around? Can you get him for me? Okay, I’ll talk to Becca in the meantime. I love you too, Molly.” A bright smile lit her face as she said, “Hi, Becca, baby. Yes, I’m still in Dallas.”

She did a back stretch, touching her hand to the back of her thighs and all three men tilted their heads to follow the movement that pulled her shirt snugly over her breasts. “Honey, I’ll try to find you a postcard with Dallas on it. I told you I would. How was school? Uh huh, he put gum in your hair again, peanut? Nope, I can get it out. Boys have always been stupid like that. I won’t have to cut it; no, don’t cry. Okay, yup, I love you, too.”

She took a deep breath and bent forward, touching her nose to her knees, her hair brushing over the tops of her boots. “Jackson. I need to talk to you, bro. I know your cast won’t come off for another week. I can bring in the hay but can you help me with the girls when summer starts? Yeah, I can get a couple of the girls to come by and drive y’all places.” Taking another fortifying breath, she whispered, “I could be joining Broken Bronco…”

Brooke was interrupted by loud yells from the young man, obviously her brother, on the other end of the phone. It made the three men chuckle from across the room.

“Jackson. Jackson! Settle down. I can’t leave y’all alone so I’ll have to figure that out. No. You’re not quite sixteen. Because the law doesn’t consider you technically a man if you can’t legally drive a car. Yes, I know how mature you are. You’re totally distracted again. Yes, I said Broken Bronco. Jackson. Please focus, oh god, please focus. I need you to help me figure out if I can say yes.” There was a long pause and rapid speech on the other side of the conversation. “It is not a given, Jackson.”

She walked to the other end of the room and dropped down. The men stood in sync and saw her on her knees on the other side of the large conference table. She was sitting back on her heels and the position pulled her jeans taut over her ass.

“Oh sweet baby Jesus…,” Logan moaned.

“Have mercy…,” Decklan added.

Even Travis softly whistled between his teeth, “Be strong, boys.”

She was whispering fiercely, “Jack, you’re looking at it for me. There’s you and the girls to consider. You have another few months before you can help me with driving and stuff. The hay has to come in. I’ll see what kind of time frame I’ve got to work with.”

Brooke listened for another long pause. “Thanks, Jackson. We’ll talk more when I get back. It can’t be about me, honey. You can’t think like that, Jackson. What they’d want is to know I did what I promised, that I took care of y’all.” The afternoon sun had her hair lit up like spun gold with darker honey shot through it. “I’ll try to make it work. I haven’t thought about performing, haven’t thought further than that ranch, to be honest. Yeah, I know, I love you too, buddy. Don’t get your cast wet, Jack. ‘Kay. See you soon.”

Slipping the phone in her back pocket, Brooke put one foot on the floor and leaned on her knee, staring out the windows for a couple of minutes. She was obviously deep in thought when she whispered, “Sure do miss y’all.” Then she stood and turned to rejoin the men at the other end of the room. “I’d love to be able to have my dreams back, I would. The fact is I have responsibilities, a tight schedule that doesn’t leave room for much else. I don’t see how I’d be able to give you studio time, much less touring. But I sure do appreciate the offer.”

She gave Logan and Decklan a pretty smile, “I’m a big fan. It’s really cool that y’all are from my neck of the woods. The kids at Jackson’s school had a ‘Logan-n-Decklan’ talent show. Your mama was there. I think there are streets named after you now in Broken Bow.” She smiled sadly, “I should head back.”

Travis stepped forward, “Honey, you need to come sit down with us.” He put his hand on her shoulder and guided her to the table, Logan held out her chair. “It doesn’t have to be either/or. I think I can speak for the boys when I say you bring big guns to the table. Multiple instruments, a damn phenomenal voice, and you’re smokin’ hot, sweetheart. Men are gonna pay huge money and drive for hundreds of miles to see you on stage. Logan and Deck have the female demographic tied up. The men will come for you, Brooke.”

She was blushing hot, her lips slightly parted. None of the men could believe there were still women who had the grace to blush. “And you obviously don’t have enough people tellin’ you how pretty you are. That’s gonna change real fast.”

That made her redder and she stammered nervously, “Wow, um, I’m not sure if I should be happy about that. I’m pretty, uh, grounded. Anyway, Mr. Cash…”

“You need to call me Travis, sweetheart.” He might be thirty years older than her but she sure made him miss his youth. He’d have to watch the Bradshaw boys like a hawk with this tempting young woman in the mix.

Brooke took a deep breath. “Okay, then. Travis. I have to bring in the hay. I have cattle to get to auction next week. My sisters, Molly and Rebecca, they’re still little, only six and nine. They have to go to school, they have homework. Jackson broke his wrist when we were fixing the tractor. He’s almost sixteen and he’s struggling in school trying to help me. I’m all they’ve got. I’m it. My…my mama and daddy trusted me to take care of them. I can’t be selfish, sir.”

Logan put his hand on her arm and squeezed gently, “Brooke, don’t you have any other family? No one older than you?” She shook her head. “Damn, honey. You have an awful lot on your plate for someone so young; three kids and a working ranch.”

Her chin came up, “I’ll be eighteen soon. Then I’ll legally be able to become my siblings’ guardian. I’m on probation with the state right now. When Jack broke his wrist, I thought they were going to take them all from me.” Brooke swallowed hard, remembering the terror she’d felt when the social worker had shown up at the ranch with a notebook and a sour look on her face. “Even when it’s legal, I have to be careful or they can snatch them away.”

Decklan watched her intently, knowing they had to do whatever necessary to get her in the band. “What if we could come up with a workable solution for you, would you consider it if we could make it possible?”

Brooke tilted her head with a little chuckle, “Y’all realize there are probably hundreds of women who’d love this chance, right? Hell, you could have a contest. Your popularity would double overnight.”

Logan snorted, “Yeah but we never even considered it until we heard you sing and play. It has to be you, Brooke. If not you, we’ll go on like we have.” An assistant came in with their food and they let her think while they ate. Brooke picked at her food, her brain on overdrive. Both brothers could almost hear the gears racing. After a long while, he told her, “I bet we could come up with a hundred solutions to help you.”

“The tour doesn’t start until summer. Why don’t you let us work up some ideas and we’ll meet you up at your place with Travis in a couple days?” Decklan leaned in close. “Brooke, you’re looking at this all wrong, girl. You think you’re being selfish but it will change all your lives for the better. You’re too talented to spend your life bringing in the hay.”

With a shrug, she said, “I don’t mind working hard. I really don’t. Even when my folks were alive, we all worked hard. There was time for other stuff though. Like cheer, barrel racing, music. I…I’d like to know I could take care of them better. I don’t want them going into the system.” Staring off into space for a long moment, she turned back with a determined expression and nodded, “If you can think of something that will work for my brother and sisters, too, I’ll do whatever y’all need me to.”

They finished eating and she asked them one question after another. How often they toured, how long they generally stayed on the road. When they were recording, what the schedule was like. Logan and Decklan answered her without reservation, being honest with her about the grueling tour schedule and the twenty-hour days they spent in the studio.

After they finished eating, Brooke insisted on cleaning up. When the chairs were pushed back under the table, the two singers led her back to the sound booth and handed her a song to play with them. They’d planned on asking Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert to cover it with them. It was one of the last tracks to finish for the album.

“We’ll go through it once by ourselves so you can get a feel for it. Sound good?” Travis was on the other side of the glass talking to the technicians.

She nodded and sat down at the piano, spreading out the sheets of music. They picked up their guitars and sat on stools to either side of her. Decklan led the first verse, Logan singing backup before they started the chorus together. By the time they started the second verse she had the idea and added piano. Glancing at one another over her head, they were grinning ear to ear. She sang the chorus with them on the third verse then did the woman’s verse of regret before the last chorus. The song drifted away.

“Damn, it comes so naturally to you. That was great, Brooke. Let’s take it from the top.” Logan looked at the control booth and their manager nodded. After playing through it twice more, they nodded to Travis. They played it all the way through, both guitars and piano adding to the richness of the lyrics. When it wrapped, she smiled gently and they asked Travis to play it back.

Her head was tilted and at the end, she said, “You need some mandolin, maybe some fiddle. Want me to lay them down for you?” They raised their brows and nodded. Giving her headphones so she could hear their first version, she was handed a mandolin and played it again. Brooke kept her eyes closed and plucked it, adding the distinctive sounds where she felt they were needed. She did the same with the fiddle and once Travis had what he wanted, the techs laid the instruments over their original and played it through the studio. She smiled at the result.

They came to sit at her sides, facing out from the piano bench. Logan said, “You are very good, Brooke.” She blushed and shrugged. “We’ll work it all out, don’t worry. We’re going to let you get headed back so you aren’t home too late.”

Decklan said, “I’ll help you get your instruments to your car, Logan and Travis will meet us downstairs.” He packed up her guitar while she put away her fiddle. She grabbed a brown backpack off the floor and slung it over her shoulder. “You sure travel light.”