The Greatest Show (Willow Son #5/Brothers of Rock #20) (2 page)

Brantley pressed his lips to Emma
’
s.

She tasted as he had hoped.

Beautiful yet dangerous.

**

Brantley couldn
’
t get into the hotel room fast
enough. Emma had her hands up his shirt and was demanding it off his body. He
let the door shut behind him and tossed his shirt to the floor. He turned and
her nails dug into his skin and went to his neck. She jumped up and wrapped her
legs around him.

That put her eye level with him.

“
You
know, this is the least amount of work I
’
ve
have to put in to get a woman in bed,
”
he said.

“
One,
”
Emma said as she kissed him.
“
We
’
re
not in bed yet. And two
”
-
she kissed him again -
“
I
never ever do this.
”

They kissed hard, their tongues
touching, wrestling, Brantley sliding his hands under her shirt. That fucking
white shirt stood no chance against him now.

Emma broke the kiss.
“
That guy
…
was an asshole
…”

They kissed again.

“
I
know,
”
Brantley said.

“
It
was a really bad first date. The last date too.
”

“
Good
to know.
”

“
Just
so you know I
’
m not
cheating.
”

“
I
wouldn
’
t care either way.
”

“
You
’
re disgusting,
”
Emma said. Then she kissed him.
“
Take me to the bedroom.
”

“
You
’
re wild,
sexy moves
. I
haven
’
t showered yet since
the show.
”

“
I
don
’
t care,
”
Emma said.
“
I
’
m
not here to smell you.
”

Brantley laughed. He started to
walk, carrying her.
“
That
’
s not what I meant. You and me,
sexy
moves
, are going to start in the shower and end in bed.
”

“
That
’
s the most romantic thing I
’
ve heard all night.
”

“
I
don
’
t do romance.
”

“
Neither
do I.
”

“
So
then we
’
re perfect for each
other.
”
Brantley kicked
open the bathroom door. He put Emma down.
“
You
better be naked by the time the water gets hot.
”

Brantley wasn
’
t joking when he said it yet he
was surprised when he turned to face Emma and she stood there, beautifully
naked. The curve of her hips in flesh was intoxicating. The smoothness of her
belly, the way her breasts were so perfectly full with erect, rose pink
nipples. And she stood there with a sense of confidence that turned Brantley on
even more. He stepped toward her, gently, slowly, wanting to savor the moment.

Why? Just put her in the shower,
man.

His hands touched her sides and
then cupped her breasts. Emma groaned and put her head back, exposing her neck.
Brantley kissed her neck and smelled her. She smelled like the show. Perfume,
sweat, beer. He kissed to her mouth and then stared at her.

Their foreheads touched and Emma
began to open his jeans.

When she touched him, Brantley
gritted his teeth.

Emma had a cute little smile but
her eyes were full of vixen lust.

Something occurred to Brantley in
that crazy moment
…
he
didn
’
t want
the night to end.

**

They were in bed, finishing just as
Brantley had said they would. Emma was on her right side and Brantley on his
back, staring at the ceiling. He never did the whole
best sex ever
ordeal because he never knew what was coming the next night, but one thing  was
for sure - Emma knew how to use her body. So much so that Brantley couldn
’
t wait to go at it again.

He rolled to his shoulder and
touched her shoulder. His hand spread across her and he pulled at her.

“
Hey.
You okay,
sexy moves
?
”

“
Fine,
”
Emma said. She took Brantley
’
s hand and placed it on her
breast.

Their bodies then touched and
Brantley realized he was breaking one of his unsaid rules. No cuddling. No
touching unless it was going to lead to more sex. And if she wanted any of that
shit, she had to go.

“
I
hope your night got a little better,
”
Brantley whispered.

Emma rocked her hips, teasing him.
“
Best night ever.
”

He kissed her shoulder.
“
I agree.
”
Then he kissed her neck.

The tip of his tongue flicking at
her skin. She reached up and moved her hair out of the way.

“
I
like it there,
”
she
whispered.

Oh, fuck
…

Brantley knew this was a dangerous
game to play right now. He couldn't stop kissing her though. And when he kissed
her cheek, Emma turned her head and looked at him. Their eyes met again and it
was deeper than ever.

“
It
was a really shitty night,
”
Emma admitted.
“
Really
shitty. It wasn't just about seeing your band, Brantley. I just needed an
escape.
”

Brantley pulled his arms tighter
around her.
“
You have it
right here. I
’
ll be your
escape.
”

“
Right
now,
”
Emma said.

For a second she looked ready to
cry.

It caught Brantley off guard.

Then they started to kiss. Fast.
Hard. Wildly.

They had almost slipped in the
shower and started without any protection.

This time, when Emma slid her hand
down and touched him, he caught himself losing his mind. A second later, he was
on his knees, touching her inner thigh. She groaned, wanting him. Brantley
touched her body and entered her body. All he could think about was her
pleasure and the feel of her.

Nothing else mattered.

They were each other
’
s escapes and nothing else.

There would be no strings
attached.

(3)

*NOW*

“
What
are you trying to tell us?
”
Colby asked. He leaned against Harry
’
s
desk.

“
I
mean, it
’
s a great story,
”
Ryker said.
“
You stole some dude
’
s girl for the night. Like we
haven
’
t done that
ourselves?
”

“
It
’
s more than that,
”
Brantley said. He stood up.

“
Then
give it to us,
”
Jett said.

Van put a hand to Brantley
’
s shoulder.
“
You didn
’
t kill her, did you?
”

Brantley shook Van away and made a
fist.
“
I
’
m in the mood to fight. Don
’
t mess with me.
”

“
Then
quit fucking around,
”
Van
said.
“
What the hell is
going on with this band right now? We
’
re
supposed to have secrets from each other?
”

“
There
’
s only one of us that has a
secret,
”
Ryker said.

Brantley nodded.
“
Fair enough. I never said
anything because it was painful to do. There was an agreement made between me
and her and I don
’
t think
many people would understand it. And truthfully, it hurt me for what I did. To
her. To us. Then time sped up and
…”

Standing at the window, Brantley
looked out across the city.

She was out there. She was probably
at a hospital. Probably offering up every piece of her life in exchange for
anything that resembled realness. A chance to give her son a healthy life.

Her son.

“
Brother,
”
Colby said.
“
You have to just spit it out.
”

Brantley looked over his shoulder.
Spit
it out.
He nodded.
“
Okay.
Here is it, guys.
I have a son
…
and he
’
s
sick.
”

(4)

Emma didn
’
t want to be at the bar. She didn
’
t want to sit at the end of the
bar, picking a few fries, smelling the freshly cooked burger, her mouth
watering, desperate to eat it. Everything made her feel guilty. The worst
feeling in the world was not being able to help your sick child. There was
nothing she could do for Seth though. A rare immune disorder left him
constantly battling with illnesses. Something as simple as a head cold for
normal kids sometimes put Seth in the hospital for days, fighting for his life.

The last scare had been one of the
worst.

A bout of pneumonia had Emma starting
to accept that her Seth might not see grade school. The doctors had told Emma
they could keep treating him as needed. A couple doctors told Emma that if it
got worse they wanted to do a blood transfusion. Of course, in the spirit of
Seth, he had a rare blood type.

And that
’
s what put everything into motion.

“
Are
you going to eat or stare at it?
”

Emma looked at her father, Mike. He
had age spread across his face but had a set of brown, lively eyes. Here was a
man who lost his wife when his daughter was just ten years old. Never did it
stop him, crush him, or make him give up on pushing forward. He was Emma
’
s inspiration. The little bar
had no name but Mike ran it so that it provided himself a life, Emma a life,
and was a place to hide when needed.

“
Docs
said there
’
s nothing you
could do right now,
”
he
said.
“
The little man is
resting up and waiting to come home.
”

Emma nodded.
“
And his mother is at the bar.
”

Mike laughed.
“
You
’
re kidding me with that bullshit, Emma. You
’
re here to eat something your
old man cooked for you. You
’
re
not partying it up, drinking and sleeping around.
”

Nope. Those days are long gone
now.

“
I
know. I just feel guilty.
”

“
That
’
s okay to feel guilty. Don
’
t let yourself lose to it
though.
”

Emma nodded.

There was more than just Seth weighing
on her.

It was about Ricky (
dubbed
‘
the asshole
’
years ago
) and the
way he reacted to finally understanding that Seth wasn
’
t his son. Not that he really took care of them
anyway. Ricky was more or less convenient. He fixed the car, took care of a leaky
faucet, and on more than one occasion gave Emma the physical comfort she
needed, even if he wasn't what she wanted.

The second the notion of a blood
transfusion came into the picture, Emma went into a panic. Her blood wasn
’
t compatible, meaning if they
tried, the cells would be attacked, rendering it useless. Ricky demanded he
step in and prove that he was Seth
’
s
father once and for all. No matter how much Emma tried to tell Ricky he wasn
’
t, he fought against her. When
his blood type didn
’
t
match, all hell broke loose.

That was the least of Emma
’
s worries though.

She knew there was one person to
try and call.

If it was going to save Seth
’
s life, then it was worth making
that call.

To track down Seth
’
s rockstar of a father
…

**

*THEN*

Emma stared at the pregnancy test.

Hmmm
…

Logic took her back to one night
but that night seemed way too impossible to be the result of this. Then again
…
they had gone at it without
protection. That second time, when they just lost their control. When Brantley
thrust into her, she had reached for her stomach, wanting to push him away and
tell him to go get something. But it felt good. Really good. She had been kind
of taking birth control. It was more or less a
when I remember
kind of
thing.

Standing up, Emma realized she had
been sitting on the toilet the entire time, waiting. She fixed herself and
checked the pregnancy test again, in case the answer changed.

It didn
’
t change.

It wasn
’
t going to change.

She looked at herself in the
mirror.

I
’
m going to be a single mom to a rockstar
’
s baby.

Emma was the forced to survey her
life in that moment. A journalist at a local paper, writing about music and
art, getting paid almost nothing, living in a small apartment with an annoying
roommate. The apartment was no place for a baby. Hell, Emma knew her life wasn
’
t a place for a baby.

She touched her stomach and felt
the weight collapse upon her. She leaned forward, grabbing the edge of the
sink. Her hands shook and her eyes filled with tears. She looked up, something
she always did, remembering her father explaining to her that her mother was
above them.

All the times he
’
s said that to me, I
’
ve looked up and have
never seen her there. Just once, could I see her? What about right now? Why can
’
t I see her?

The entire night played back in her
mind.

Meeting Brantley instantly set
something loose inside her. She wanted him. She craved him. It was an instant
obsession and wasn
’
t just
about the rockstar thing. Something about Brantley stuck. Emma never got the
chance to explore that. Funny as it was, Brantley didn
’
t kick her out of the hotel room, she left on her
own that night. After they had fallen asleep Emma woke herself up and gave
Brantley a kiss on the cheek. She then snuck out of the bedroom, wrote her cell
number down on a piece of paper, and never expected to hear from Brantley
again.

Now things were very different.

Emma needed to see Brantley.

Right now.

She would need to find him, meet
him, and then tell him he was the father of her unborn baby.

The notion caught up to her and she
leaned forward, getting sick right into the sink.

Her roommate, Steph, came barging
in a second later.

“
Emma!
Don
’
t throw up on my
toothbrush!
”

Emma looked at Steph.
“
Really?
”

“
I
told you not to drink vodka. This is what happens.
”

Emma shook her head. She hadn
’
t been drinking vodka. She hadn
’
t had a drink in over two weeks
because two weeks was when she realized she was very late for her period. She
told herself to just wait it out. It would come. It had to come.

It never came.

And now there were two lines on a
pregnancy test.

Emma went to her room and grabbed
her laptop. She searched for Willow Son and found out where they were playing
next. They had three shows in and around Seattle. Then they were coming back
down the coast. That put it at about two weeks until she could attempt to get
to Brantley.

That was enough time to take ten
more pregnancy tests, go see a doctor, get an ultrasound, and figure out a way
to approach Brantley without sounding like some crazy groupie looking for a
winning lottery ticket. Rumor had it that the band had extended their record
contract with a heavy advance against their upcoming album. So, yeah, that
meant Emma would be showing up at the perfect time to look as though she wanted
to dig into his pockets.

Emma started to search for
pregnancy pictures, knowing the gist of what was going to happen to her.
However, too many of the pictures that popped up showed a man standing behind
the woman, touching her very swollen belly, both of them smiling.

That won
’
t be me.

**

“
Are
you pouring that whiskey for you or me?
”

“
Emma,
”
her father snapped.
“
You can
’
t drink. Don
’
t
even joke about that.
”

“
I
’
m just trying to ease the mood.
”

“
This
will help,
”
her father
said. He took a sip and smacked his lips together.

“
Is
that because of me?
”

“
Emma,
everything is because of you. You
’
ve
given me the craziest ride of my life, darling. But I love you. You
’
re my daughter. You
’
ll understand that love soon
enough.
”

Emma felt her heart twist. Her lips
started to quiver.
“
I just
wish
…”

Her father reached across the bar
and wiped a tear off her cheek.
“
I
wish it everyday, too. But your mother is watching from a different place. Now,
the reason I
’
m drinking
this whiskey is because of what
’
s
going to happen next.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
I
don
’
t have much to offer,
”
he said.
“
But you
’
re my daughter and I
’
ll
give you everything I have. You
’
re
going to move back into the house with me. I could use the company anyway. It
gets lonely.
”

“
I
’
m not doing that,
”
Emma said.
“
You should be with someone
…”

“
Emma,
you are not going to argue this. You need a place to stay. The baby needs a
home. I
’
m going to provide
that.
”

“
Please
don
’
t hate me for this.
”

“
I
don
’
t hate you.
”

“
I
know who the father is,
”
she said, as though it were some accomplishment. Honestly, it made Emma feel
whorish and she felt like she let herself down.
“
I
’
m going to talk to him. But I
don
’
t
…
Dad, he
’
s a musician. A rockstar. He
’
s wild
…”

“
Then
you do what you need to do,
”
he said.
“
You talk to him
but don
’
t expect the world
in return. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. You
’
ve seen the doctor, right?
”

Emma reached into her bag and took
out the ultrasound picture. She put it on the bar and slid it across for her
father to take. He lifted it and his eyes went wide. His eyes became glossy and
a smile grew across his face.

Everything was a complete disaster
but the hope on her father
’
s
face was going to save it all.

“
This
is beautiful,
”
her father
said.
“
So beautiful. Emma,
you do what you need to do in all this. I
’
m
going to support you. You already have an idea of what will happen with this
guy.
”

“
He
’
s not a bad guy,
”
Emma said.
“
It
’
s
just a bad situation.
”

“
Okay.
I
’
ll respect that. But that
doesn
’
t mean I won
’
t give him a swift kick in the
ass for what he
’
s done.
”

“
Thanks,
Dad.
”

Her father gave the ultrasound
picture back and Emma had to go. She had a forty minute drive and would then
get her chance to see Brantley. It would be the hardest and weirdest
conversation of her life.

What Emma didn
’
t expect
…
was that when she saw Brantley again, she would
start to fall in love with him.