“Nope. Those are all yours.”
She looked like she wanted to shovel in the whole handful but she picked out a single orange square and daintily crunched down on it. Her eyes rolled back in her head. “Yum. These are perfect. Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” He bent and kissed the tip of her nose, which she scrunched up in the cutest way that made him want to sweep her up and carry her off into the trees.
“Everyone, can I have your attention?” a voice boomed out over the speakers from the main stage. “We’re about to announce the finalists from yesterday’s competition.”
Brock watched as the hopefuls all grabbed each other’s hands, closed their eyes, and bowed their heads, waiting for what had to be eternal moments. The camaraderie reminded him of his team days.
The announcements came one by one but instead of reacting, they kept their heads down and their eyes closed.
“And finally, the finalist in the fiddle category is Brianna Taylor. Congratulations, everyone!”
The group moved as one into a giant hug full of laughter and tears. Even before she turned to Brock, Brianna hugged Amber tightly and apologized—actually apologized—for winning. Amber took it in stride—all the contestants did—probably because they knew that to make it this far meant they’d be getting offers from musicians and even producers anyway.
Brock gave her a quick hug and kiss before she was off with Anthony to perfect her songs for the final competition tomorrow night.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Brianna said. “Meet me by the footbridge across the St. Vrain and I’ll take you to the secret place,” she said.
“It’s a date.”And a surprise for youBrock thought.
Mack’s voice came over the comm. “Beach Boy and Moon at the gate. No sign of Twin B. Over.”
Fuck. “Copy that. Moving to engage.” Where the hell was Brian now? Brock cursed himself for not going straight to Brianna’s parents’ house to question Brian first thing. Kyle’s words came back to him about becoming distracted and that’s exactly what had happened. The best he could do was ask Luna and Brian Senior where their son was.
They’d gotten through security and were strolling arm in arm past the vendors when Brock spotted them. Luna raised her hand in greeting, her eyes and smile droopy, her whole face looking like a slab of putty. Her husband didn’t look much sharper.Wake and bake, great. This should be fun.
“Brian, Luna,” he greeted them. “Where’s Brian Junior?”
“Badger,” Luna said, turning his nickname into at least five syllables. “So good to see you.” She threw her arms around him. He awkwardly hugged her and repeated his question.
“Brian won’t be here today,” she said. “He’s in rehab.”
“What? Really? He went this morning?” He couldn’t wait to tell Brianna.
Brian Senior nodded. “Police escorted him. Not cool, but part of the deal, I guess?”
“Ah.” Sure, even if it was court-mandated, the facilities were hard to get into. A spot had probably just opened. He’d ask Sargent Williams if he knew anything. Or, maybe Tex could look into it faster. “Well, that’s good news, right?”
Luna shrugged. “It leaves us kinda vulnerable. Maybe you’d like to come work security now that you’re family?”
Oh boy. “Thanks, but I’m happy where I’m at.”
She smiled her putty smile. “That’s great.” The food stalls caught her attention. “Man, it’s breakfast time.” She linked arms with her husband and they drifted off in that direction.
Well, all right then. Conversation over. But at least Brian was where he needed to be. Brock went off in search of Brianna to tell her the good news.
Chapter 21
Brianna waited on the wooden bridge over the St. Vrain for Brock. The sound of the water rushing underneath usually calmed her, but tonight she was way too keyed up.I can’t believe I won. She’d held so tightly to Amber and Twila’s hands during the announcement, getting ready to congratulate Amber, that when they called her name her brain practically stopped mid-thought in disbelief. She actually felt embarrassed as she opened her eyes and looked at her friend. Sure, Amber was disappointed—who wouldn’t be?—but she congratulated Brianna and told her she’d already gotten an offer to play on Emma Birch’s next album, which was amazing.
The rest of the day was one of the best of her life, with people congratulating her and Anthony’s one-on-one teaching. They’d become friends through the week and Brianna intended to keep taking lessons from him after the festival. She was so lucky he lived in Boulder and not across the country like a couple of the other instructors.
But maybe the best news was that her brother was finally getting the help he needed.
Brianna paced from one side of the bridge to the other, waiting for Brock. The sound of the festival crowd upriver echoed off the cliffs on the other side of the bridge—a mix of laughter, improv music, and cheering. Rachael would be performing in about forty-five minutes, giving them just enough time to get where they were going,ifBrock would hurry up.
Finally, she saw Brock’s big-framed figure on the road to the bridge.Here comes my guy. The thought came naturally to her.My guy. She hoped Brock felt the same about her, even though she had no reason to doubt it. Everything he’d said and done showed her that he thought she was special, and that he could see a future together. But if life had taught her one thing, it was that she couldn’t always trust that the good times would last.
