Brodie thought for a moment. To his surprise, the first picture that flashed into his mind, was of Maeve and Zoey at the cabin. He saw Zoey bringing him cereal and Maeve doing her yoga upstairs. But he wasn’t going to say that to his brothers.
Whatdidhe want?
“For Ethan to come back,” he said, without really thinking about it, just saying what came to mind after Maeve and Zoey. “To write songs together again.”
“Really? Are you sure about that?” Logan reclined back, narrowed his eyes at him as if he were in a boardroom. “Brodie, you can look back on it rose-tinted and all, but you’d had enough by the time your solo career ended.”
“Yeah, I’d had enough solo.” Brodie heard the defensive edge to his voice. “Not in the band.”
Noah almost choked on his beer. “Don’t go getting any ideas about reforming the band.”
Brodie thought he would reform in a heartbeat.
Logan, however, scratched his head. “You ever think that it’s not the fame or the band, that it was the music? It was having people listen to what you wrote, to what you could sing?” He reached forward for his drink, took a sip, then added, “All the other stuff, Brodie, that’s just fame. None of that’s real. There’s nothing to say you can’t form another band, you can’t write more songs—you don’t even need Ethan to do that—but maybe it doesn’t have to be quite so huge.”
“But then what is it, if it’s not huge?” Brodie asked, uncertain by the prospect. “If it’s not like the success of Silver Sky, then wouldn’t it just feel like failure?”
“Or a real good time?” Noah suggested. He’d never been a fan of the trappings of fame.
“Or it would be a success,” Logan chimed in. “Just a different kind of success. It depends how you look at it, Brodie. Would you say Silver Sky was a success? Sure, we made a lot of money, but it didn’t do us any good as a family, as brothers. There were times when we became people who I don’t think any of us would want to be again.” He let the comment linger for a moment, before adding, “I mean, I like you, Brodie, but you could be a pain in the butt when you were famous.”
That made Noah laugh.
Logan softened it, adding, “But then I think we all could.”
Brodie nodded slowly, only half listening, his mind had wandered off on a tangent as he considered what it might be like to pick up a pen again. To do something small but committed. Not the odd guest appearance with the Autumn Falls band, but something proper, that meant something. Something that gave him reason to write something. Something withpurpose. That word made him imagine his dad saying,I told you so. But then he imagined writing songs for Zoey. Maybe about being a dad. About Maeve. He thought of Maeve rolling her eyes at his love songs—they’d have to be darn good to impress her. He felt a tingle of excitement over his skin at the prospect. “It would be nice to be a writer again, and be a little more in control,” he mused.
Noah raised both brows and nodded as if that was a given.
“Do stuff I’m proud of rather than—” He thought back to some of the dismal records he’d put out nearing the end of his solo career, bad decisions made by both him and his manager. But then, without the fame and the success, would there ever be the same rush, the same impetus to continue? And like Logan said, did he even want that? “I don’t know. I’m older now. Maybe I need to do something different.”
“Maybe,” Logan agreed. “I know you don’t like to have to sit and think too much about things, Brodie, but you don’t have to decide everything right this second.” He laughed fondly, like a big brother. Then he leaned forward, forearms crossed on the table, and looked at him more seriously as he said, “You got a kid now. You got something worth staying for. You’ve got a reason to stop running right there in front of your face.”
Brodie felt a bolt of trepidation shoot through him and he almost flinched. But then came something else, something gentler yet also more powerful, that it dawned on him was longing. Maybe even nerve-shredding, stomach-clenching love.
“You got an orchard of trees to buy,” Noah added over the rim of his glass. “May they rest in peace.”
Brodie snorted into his beer.
Logan stifled a laugh. Then he raised his hand to order another round of drinks.
Out on the ocean, the sun glittered on the gentle waves, winking and sparkling like diamonds. People were taking afternoon strolls, coming down to the beach after work to catch the late sun, stretching out on loungers.
Noah looked around and said, “Don’t you get bored here?”
Brodie turned to take in the view, then back to his brother. “It’s pretty easy doing nothing.”
Noah rolled his eyes, incredulous at the idea.
Fresh drinks arrived. Brodie looked back out at the rolling ocean, the line of the horizon, the bathers stretched out on the golden sand, then he took a deep breath and said, “What if I can’t hack it? What if I leave?”
“I’ll come and drag you back,” Logan replied without hesitation.
Noah smiled as he drank his beer. “You won’t leave.”
“How d’you know?” Brodie asked, sitting back, folding his arms.
Noah put his glass down on the table. “Because I trust you. And every time anyone’s really needed you, Brodie, and I meanreallyneeded you, you’ve been there. For Logan, after Jack died—” Noah glanced at Logan who nodded in agreement. “For me, all the time in the band. You’re more of a support than you give yourself credit for. And I truly don’t think you’d walk away from what you believe is right. You left a number-one solo career because it wasn’t right for you anymore, not because you couldn’t be bothered. Maybe you’re here because you needed some space, but I get the feeling you would have come back on your own.”
