THE BIGGEST STAGE (A Brothers of Rock - WILLOW SON - novel) by Karolyn James Page A

Bullshit, ” Ryker said.
    “ Why
would I lie? ”
    Out of nowhere, Harry came pushing
through. A finger pointed at Colby. His face red. Sweat collecting at his
hairline.
    “ You
son of a bitch, ” Harry
spat. “ You really fucked
things up last night. ”
    “ How
was your meeting with Portis? ” Colby asked.
    “ We
weren ’ t allowed to go, ” Brantley said. “ So we came back here and wrote a
song. ”
    “ What? ” Colby asked.
    “ He
wanted you and me, ” Harry
said.
    Colby shook his head. “ No way. Never. This isn ’ t a lead singer thing. No. ”
    “ Colby, ” Harry growled.
    “ We ’ re a band, ” Colby said. “ The five of us or nothing. Let
me hear the new song. ”
    “ Wait
a second, ” Harry said. “ We need …”
    “ Let
me hear the new fucking song, ” Colby ordered.
    He walked into the converted garage
and the band followed.
    “ Bro, ” Van said, walking side by side
with Colby. “ I appreciate
the love here, but if there ’ s
a chance to get signed …”
    Colby froze.
    He was already damn grumpy. The
last thing he needed was everyone up his ass. Seeing the look on Tessa ’ s face when he left stuck with
him. He knew he should have just woken up and left. But then Tessa ’ s friend started bugging him.
And each time he looked back and saw Tessa sleeping, he wanted to stay. To see
her when she woke up. To see her hair a little messy. To see her sleepy eyes.
To kiss her one more time, taste her mouth.
    Fuck.
    Getting close was a big mistake.
    At least she was leaving today.
There would be no more chances of running into her. If she called or sent a
text, that was one thing. That was fine. But soon enough, Willow Son would be
back on the road, in the studio, and all of these caring feelings would just
fade away.
    Plus, if Tessa got too close … if she wanted to really get
into knowing the truth …
    “ You
hear me? ” Ryker yelled.
    “ What? ” Colby asked.
    “ Bro,
did you hear me? ”
    “ No.
What? ”
    “ We
recorded the song. Just to get a feel for it. I want to work on the solo a
little more. But it ’ s totally
solid. Jett really killed it with this riff … listen …”
    Ryker hit a button and sound poured
from speakers throughout the garage.
    Colby stood, listening. His head
quickly started bobbing. The song was explosive. Almost like a big middle
finger to anyone who doubted the band. A minute into the song, Colby walked to
a table. He grabbed his bag and took out a notebook. With a pen to follow,
Colby was quick to start writing some lyrics. The pen flowed as fast as the
words did. Yeah, it was going to be choppy as hell, but the song was still in
its infancy.
    The last chord rang out and Ryker
killed the sound.
    Colby was still writing.
    Words were easily coming to him.
The annoyance and slight anger worked magic sometimes. Annoyed that his night
with Tessa was gone. Angry that she could type his name into any computer and
get fed a lot of bullshit lies. Annoyed and angry that Portis wanted to talk to
just he and Harry. As if the rest of the band didn ’ t matter.
    Pulling the guys apart would keep
them apart. That ’ s not how
Willow Son functioned. When the world turned away on Colby all those years ago,
the fours guys he called brothers - Van, Rkyer, Jett, and Brantley - were right
there with him. Through the trial, lawsuit …
    “ Fuck, ” Colby growled.
    He put the pen down and was almost
shaking. He stood up and the chair flew back.
    “ What ’ s wrong? ” Jett asked.
    “ Get
your bass, ” Colby ordered. “ Brantley, get on the drums.
Ryker, Jett … it ’ s time. ”
    “ Can
we talk for a second? ” Harry asked.
    Colby looked back. “ No. If Portis doesn ’ t want to meet with Willow Son,
then he ’ s not signing
Willow Son. I ’ ll pay for a
show myself. Find a venue. Start planning it. Whatever we need to do. I ’ m not going to beg for anything.
Want to know why? ”
    “ Why,
Colby? ” Harry asked,
crossing his arms.
    “ This
is