"I can't wait until she gets a little older. That's when I can really spoil the shit out of her," Quinn states.
"You already spoil her too much." Emerson kisses her husband.
"It's good to see you, brother." Quinn claps my shoulder. I spot my parents walking towards us. "Come on, babe. Let's get the birthday girl something to eat." Quinn takes his daughter from Emerson and places her on his shoulders. "Got a cold beer waiting for ya when you're ready."
"Thanks. I may need it," I tell him, then my sister gives me an encouraging smile before they stroll away.
"I'm so glad you made it." My mom opens her arms to hug me, and I embrace her. She pulls back. "You look tired."
"A little."
"Good to see you, son," my dad says.
"You too."
A moment of silence hangs between us.
"You put on one hell of a show last night," my dad breaks the silence.
"Catch some highlights someone posted online or from the news? Is that the only way you can support me?" My voice sounds bitter because I am.
"We were there, sweetie," my mom adds, and her admission surprises me. All I can do is stare. "We've been to three of the concerts on this tour."
"And you're just now telling me this?" I look from her to my dad.
"We didn't want to say anything because we didn't want the knowledge of our presence to bother you in any way," Mom confesses, and I suddenly feel regret for the attitude before. There was a time when I didn't speak to my parents at all and it took them almost losing their relationship with Emerson, as well, for them to open their eyes and finally accept their children for who they are.
"Easton." My dad grabs my attention, and I look at him. "I realize I haven't said this in a very long time, but I'm proud of you."
I never realized three simple words spoken by my father could hit as hard as they are right now. I swallow hard past the lump of emotions clogging my throat.
"Thanks, dad."
"We love you, sweetie."
"I love you guys too."
Night has fallen, and the younger kids are starting to pass out from exhaustion. I sit back in my lawn chair and knock back the rest of my beer. I'm the most relaxed I've been in weeks. I look around at my family, thankful to have them in my life. My parents are missing. They went back to Emerson's place more than an hour ago for Dad to do a conference call with his chief of staff back home. He's on the budget committee this year andis hoping to get some much-needed equipment approved for the hospital's children's wing.
"What are you thinking so hard about over there?" Jake, the club president, asks.
"Damn," I scrub my palm down my face. "Everything."
"What are your plans now that the tour is over?" Reid reaches for another beer chilling in the cooler next to him.
"Going on hiatus for a while, or until things settle down." I want to kick myself in the ass for the last part of what I said. My eyes cut to Emerson, who cocks her head and glares—giving me thatyou're hiding somethingexpression.
"Alright, what are you hiding?" she asks.
"Nothing."
"Liar." My sister folds her arms, and her foot gets to fidgeting.
She isn't going to let this go. I sigh. "I'm leaving Seattle for a couple of weeks while Miles and a friend investigate a minor issue with an overzealous fan." I try to word it in a way that makes it sound less than it is.
"What do you mean? Is someone messing with you or something?" Emerson moves to the edge of her seat.
"Calm down. I'm dealing with it," I reassure her. "Lev is on it too."
