Tate looked over at me with wide eyes, then blinked. I licked my lips but said nothing.
“So, that’s... uh, what?” Tate stammered, looking for the words. I rolled my eyes.
“I just told him.”
He strode over quickly and reached for me. I shifted away. Ronny’s words, despite being said just to hurt me, did their job. Did I really get suckered into something I didn’t want to do?No, that wasn’t true.
“I’m sorry. It sounds like it went just about as well as it did the first time. Are you okay?”
“I will be. He just needs time to process it. Where’s Cara?” I just realized that he had come in alone.
My heart ached to see her. It killed me, thinking of all the things I was missing staying here without them.
“My mom took her for a few hours. She’s taken on photography as a hobby now and wants to do a photo shoot of her,” he laughed. “I can only imagine how ridiculous the pictures are going to be.”
I smiled, remembering the few times I’d met Gabby Whitlock. Over the top, but so kind.
“Oh stop, I’m sure they’ll be fantastic. She does have experience with that kind of stuff,” I teased. He grimaced. His parents had made their wealth in the sex industry. Starting as adult film stars and eventually branching out into all other aspects of that world. He hated it, but I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever heard. “I can’t wait to see what I’m sure is the first of many, many pictures she takes of her.”
“Well, it is her first grandchild. We all knew she was going to be over the top like this when she was born.”
First?My heart skipped a beat.
Tate saw my face and a soft smile crept up onto his face.
“What? You didn’t think that Cara was the be all end all to kids, did you?”
I frowned. I supposed, I had. For so long I had convinced myself that we were never going to be together, that the thought of having children was... non-existent. Especially having them with Tate. Was that something I wanted? My hand went to my flat stomach and before I could ponder it further the front door clicked open again and was swung open with a swift kick.
“The party has arrived!” My older brother shouted. We turned to him. He came in like a hurricane, smiling and bouncing on his feet. His guitar was strapped to his back. “We playing?”
“Playing?” I asked.
“Yeah, I heard that Cash was taking off for a while, and since I’m around anyways taking care of Ol’ Ronny Boy,” he paused to look around for him, but frowned when he didn’t see him. “Might as well do some jam sessions. I haven’t played with anyone in forever. That’s why I called Tate.” He smiled as he walked over to us and threw his arm around him.
“I don’t really feel like singing,” I complained.
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Dallas teased.
“I could play,” Ronny’s voice came from across the room. “I’d like to learn how to play sitting down.”
We all turned to look at him. He didn’t look happy to see us all grouped together, but the truth was finally out. There was no point in hiding Tate and I’s status any longer. He’d just have to adjust. I licked my lips.
I weighed my options. I could go make some music, or I could kick the two guests out and have another conversation with Ronny. Perhaps we could both be adults and discuss the future of the band, our friendship, and his living situation. I had to laugh at the thought. Ronny, having an adult conversation? Yeah, right. I guess we were going to jam.
“Do you think your arm is up to it? You just took the sling off a few days ago,” I protested. I may not love him as a partner anymore, but I still cared for my friend’s recovery. His voice was flat as he answered me.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve got to get used to holding my guitar again. Retrain my muscles.”
“Okay. I’ll go get water. Can you set up?” I looked over at Tate. He clearly didn’t want to be alone with Ronny, understandably.
“Yes!” Dallas interrupted our moment and started jumping all around the room. He hurried over to Ronny who was turning his wheelchair towards the rehearsal room. Dallas reached for the handles to push him down the hall to go get plugged in. Tate stayed behind a moment, following me into the kitchen.
“I have a feeling we’re gonna have an uphill battle with the band stuff. I’m already getting flashbacks of that last night on tour,” he chuckled nervously. I rolled my eyes but didn’t disagree with him.
“Hopefully by the time Cash comes back from Brazil and we start playing live shows again everything will be hashed out and we can be professional.” I grabbed some water out of the fridge and turned back to him, motioning past him towards the room where Dallas and Ronny were. “You ready?”
“I guess. Maybe banging out some of this tension will help some.”
