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

fell and Brantley lifted
his drumstick. “ We did it,
man. ”
    He put his fist out and Seth did
the same. They touched and Brantley smiled.
    “ Hey,
go get that drumstick, ” Brantley said.
    There was something about watching
Seth touch a drumstick. He held it like a sword, amazed.
    “ Okay,
man, ” Brantley said. “ I think we did it. You can keep
that drumstick, okay? But you have to make me a promise. ”
    “ What? ” Seth asked.
    “ You
can ’ t hit anyone with it.
It ’ s very powerful. Okay? ”
    Seth nodded.
    “ Only
for the bad guys, Seth. Right? ”
    He kept nodding.
    “ Okay,
Seth, ” Emma said. “ Why don ’ t you say goodnight to Brantley. Let ’ s go get some sleep. ”
    “ Seth,
can I keep this drumstick? ” Brantley asked. “ In case
anything happens down here? ”
    “ Are
you sleeping over? ” Seth
asked. He smiled big.
    “ I … uh … uh …”
    “ Seth,
just say goodnight. ”
    “ Goodnight,
man, ” Brantley said.
    “ Goodnight, ” Seth said.
    He walked to the stairs slowly,
looking back. Brantley could feel the tug in his chest. Goddamn, he wanted to
just grab the kid and hug him.
    Seth made it up two steps and Brantley
stood up.
    He ’ s my son. Even if I wasn ’ t there …
    “ Wait, ” Brantley said. “ Real ninjas … they hug before saying goodbye.
Or goodnight. ”
    Brantley walked to the steps. He
looked at Emma and nodded. He was begging with his eyes.
    He leaned down and felt Seth ’ s little arms wrap around his
neck. He put one hand to the kid ’ s
back and hugged him. Brantley never felt anything like that in his life. It was
so much Brantley caught himself getting overwhelmed with emotion.
    He said one more goodnight and
broke away from Seth.
    He walked to the kitchen and
started to get the food out of the oven. He managed to get the containers out
and then stopped. He gripped the oven door handle and gritted his teeth.
    The anger for himself was rampant.
It was real.
    Brantley stood there until he saw
Emma from the corner of his eye.
    “ What ’ s wrong? ” she asked.
    He looked at her. “ Everything. I am so fucking
sorry, Emma. I can ’ t
believe this happened. I can ’ t
believe I didn ’ t get up
that day in the diner and chase you down. Grab you. Tell you we could work it
out. I just sat there, not wanting to tell you my story. Not wanting to bring
you into it and hurt you. Goddamn myself. ”
    Emma stepped into the kitchen. She
put a hand up Brantley ’ s
shirt and pushed at him. He turned sideways and then let Emma push him against
the fridge. A couple empty dishes on top of the fridge rattled.
    “ That ’ s right, ” Emma said. “ Goddamn
you. ”
    Brantley opened his mouth to try to
find the next set of right words to say … but he didn ’ t have to.
    Emma moved to her toes and
kissed him.
     
    **
     
    Brantley grabbed her and put her on
the counter. Their mouths were going wild at one another. This had been
building for years. Lots of long years at that. Brantley grabbed the bottom of
Emma ’ s shirt and lifted. He
was going aggressive because he needed it. The emotions running through him
left him with two choices: finding a punching bag or ravage Emma right here,
right now.
    Her shirt went up and over her head
and Brantley dropped it to her floor. She did the same to him. Her eyes and
hands clawed at his chest, admiring what the years of touring and hours of
drumming had done to him.
    “ Oh,
shit, ” Emma whispered.
    “ We
could stop, sexy moves , ” Brantley said. “ I don ’ t want …”
    “ Shut
up, ” Emma said. “ Just go for it. Don ’ t be a pussy right now. ”
    Holy shit. Did she just call me
a pussy?
    Brantley buried his face into her
chest and kissed her. She leaned back to her elbows and let out a sigh. His
hands reached around and unsnapped her bra. Emma wiggled it off her arms and
Brantley grabbed her by her sides and nuzzled his nose to her left nipple. His
tongue rolled across her nipple and then gently