Brianna just rolled her eyes, but she smiled all the same.
Jake’s voice came through Brock’s comm. “Badger, come in. We have eyes on Twin B at the food vendors with his family,” he said.
“Copy that,” Brock said under his breath. He really hoped that the man would make the right choice and head straight from the festival to an ER or rehab center. He was half-surprised that Brian wasn’t sent to one after his arrest, but who knows? Maybe his parents bailing him out so quickly had something to do with it. He resolved that if Brian didn’t check himself into a center, he’d talk to the man at the festival tomorrow.
“My turn to ask you if everything’s okay,” Brianna said, looking up at him.
“Yeah, great. I was just checking in.” He tapped his ear with the near-invisible comm in it. They’d gotten to the food stalls and noticed Brianna’s family picking up their order at a vendor specializing in crepes. Maybe he could actually take Brian aside and talk to him tonight. “Do you want to eat with them?”
Brianna looked over and shook her head. “No. The line’s too long. They’d be done eating by the time we even ordered. And besides, I think my uncle and my mom need to talk without me there. It’s been a long time.”
“So your mom and uncle, your grandparents named them Sonny and Luna? Like the sun and the moon?” Brock asked. “Really?”
Brianna shrugged. “Named by hippies, so what do you expect? Uncle Sonny’s real name is Sol, like the sun, but call him that and die.”
Brock chuckled. “Noted. Whatdoyou wanna eat?”
“If I don’t get one of those flame-grilled burgers, I just might die,” she said, pointing to a stall at the far end near the gate.
“Sounds good. Lead the way.”
While they waited in line to order, Brock thought about Brian’s conversation with Brianna. “Hey, Lifesaver, speaking of secrets—”
“Cherry hadbetterstay a secret,” she said, mock-sternly.
“Don’t worry, it will,” he said with his palm up. “But, now I’m curious about your secret place. From when you were a kid.”
“Oh.” She smiled the most bittersweet smile. “It was something else. A place only a couple of curious kids could find. Probably dangerous as hell if it rained, but it was always clear when we needed it.” She looked up at the empty sky now turning pale blue and pink after the sunset. “It would be safe now, too.” Then she looked at Brock. “I should show you.”
“Really? But, I thought it was yoursecretplace.”
She shrugged as they moved forward in line. “Brian’s obviously not using it, and I haven’t been there in ages. But it would be really, really cool, especially right now with the festival going on actually.”
Perfect. “So, it’s still special to you?”
“Oh yeah.” Her smile turned warmer, sweeter. “Yeah, I want to show you. It’ll blow your mind. I actually can’t believe I haven’t gone back in so long.”
Beyond perfect. “Cool. I can’t wait. But I’m still working tomorrow, and you’ve got more lessons, right?”
Brianna nodded. “Tomorrow night, when Rachael is doing her second set. That’s when it’ll be perfect.”
Brock tilted his head. “I would’ve thought you’d want to see her perform?”
A giant smile brightened her face. “Who says we won’t?”
* * *
The next day was a good one. After dropping Brianna off, Brock ran the most important errand of his life. When he got back, Brianna was busy practicing and getting a critique from Anthony so she didn’t notice his absence. The festival was humming along like it did every year, with few security problems beyond people trying to sneak in for free. The Boulder police were handling most of those, while Watchdog focused on personal security for the talent.
Brock looked around for Brianna’s family. Mack had followed her parents and brother home last night. Brock was disappointed that Brian hadn’t followed through with checking into a rehab, but he was hardly surprised. He quickly found Brianna out of the sun behind the pavilion where she waited with the others for the announcement of the winners from yesterday’s voting. She looked half-wilted in the heat—the temperature had soared into the nineties and shade was a precious commodity. She was gulping down a cup of water.
“It’s hotter than blazes out here, babe. You need salt along with water. Here.”
Her eyes lit up at the sight of the red box. “Cheez-Its are my Kryptonite. How did you know?”
“I had a hunch.” Also, she’d had three boxes of various flavors in her pantry, which he’d raided for midnight snacks after they’d made love.
“Of course you did.” She reached into the box and pulled out a handful. She offered it to him first.
