The Greatest Show (Willow Son #5/Brothers of Rock #20) by Karolyn James

I
was using you. ”
    Brantley touched Emma ’ s shoulders. “ New rule. Use me, sexy moves .
Use me for everything you need and everything you want. You ’ ve done so much. ”
    Emma nodded, eyes glossy. “ Okay. Brantley … this is …”
    “ I
know it is, ” he whispered.
    He kissed her forehead and then
walked toward the living room. He gave a quick peek on Seth, feeling his heart
jumping a little.
    Brantley left the house and stood
on the porch for a few seconds. He covered his mouth and took a deep breath.
    There were some heavy promises
being thrown around.
    And Brantley was going to keep
every single one of them.
     
    **
     
    “ You
have stuff to worry about later on, ” Harry said. “ Right now,
this is about pulling together the music and working with the marketing team.
Well, more me than you guys. You ’ ll
need to show up for photo shoots, interviews, a few autograph sessions. I ’ m working on equipment deals and
maybe a big summer tour. ”
    “ Maybe? ” Colby asked. “ We want it. ”
    “ Everyone
does, ” Van said.
    “ The
financing needs to come through, ” Harry said. “ Which it will. ”
    “ Tell
Portis to break out the checkbook, ” Ryker said.
    “ What
about the opening band? ” Brantley asked. “ I know we
touched on it and then it faded out. ”
    “ I
know what I would do, ” Jett
said. “ I ’ ve been saying it for a while
now. There ’ s an east coast
band that ’ s tearing it the
hell up. They ’ re too big
for their own good, believe it or not. They have offers to come out west but
they ’ re hanging east, just
living it up. ”
    “ Who
is it? ” Ryker asked.
    “ They ’ re called After the Run. Trust
me, they ’ re good. They ’ re already big time on their
own. They had a small label working with them. Two of the guys have a clothing
line. It ’ s crazy to think
about. All on their own. ”
    Brantley pointed to Harry. “ Make the call then. Figure it
out. Let ’ s go to a show. ”
    “ What
about your situation? ” Colby
asked.
    “ Me? ” Brantley asked. “ It ’ s
all good. Taking things slow. I ’ m
letting her lead the way. She has every right to do so. ”
    “ How ’ s the kid? ” Jett asked.
    “ Good.
Amazing. It ’ s a different
world, man. I ’ m learning my
way. We made pancakes together. I gave him a drumstick and he uses it to fight
off bad guys. ”
    “ Bad
guy? ” Van asked.
    “ You
know kids, man. Stuffed animals and stuff. ”
    “ I
wish I was a kid again, ” Harry said.
    “ No
you don ’ t, ” Ryker said. He walked to Harry. “ You love being grown up
and watching after us. ”
    Everyone laughed.
    “ I ’ m going to jam, ” Brantley said. “ I have to go back later. This is
a quick trip here for me. I ’ m
far from out of the woods with any of this. The kid is sick, you know? Emma
said something about a blood transfusion. I guess I ’ m the matching type. If he is mine. ”
    “ Any
doubts? ” Colby asked.
    “ No, ” Brantley said. “ Not a chance. When I look at him …”
    The room was silent for a few
seconds. Brantley had no words. That ’ s
exactly how it felt. There were no words for it all.
    “ Okay, ” Ryker said. “ Let ’ s write a sad song. Let it all out, brother. ”
    It wasn ’ t the worst idea in the world.
    The five of them grabbed acoustic
guitars and went to work. Brantley felt the gears in his mind going wild. Not
musically but lyrically. Ryker and Jett took the lead, strumming a few chords
they called the standard sad song chords … G, E minor, D, and C. Ryker started to mess around with some riffs and playing
the chords an octave higher to give it more sound.
    Then out of nowhere Harry started
to whistle. It sounded like shit because Harry couldn ’ t carry a tune with a dump truck, but it gave
Brantley an idea. He started to whistle, able to line it up with the music.
    Colby nodded, agreeing. He whistled
too.
    “ Wait, ” Ryker said. “ Jett, play the chords and let me
get