Gabe points to the curse jar, and I shove a dollar into it without argument. “You’re our best customer this week,” Gabe says.
“Glad to keep you in business.” After I jam a slice of bacon in my mouth and swallow it down with some juice, I hold up my glass. “Got some news.”
Rhett sets down his coffee. “Good or bad?”
My oldest brother is the glue that’s kept this family together since I was a kid, and I think he’s always braced himself for bad things to happen. Because, well, we were feral children. “Good. Really good.” I can’t hide my grin. “Guess who’s going on the All In tour this summer?”
“Congrats,” he says cautiously.
I already know what he’s thinking. “It’s a paid gig. We’re even getting a tour bus. If things go well, Bandit Records is gonna offer us a record deal in August.” His brows lift as I rattle off the bands.
“You’re touring with Garrett Gamble? Hell, yeah!” He pushes out of his chair, and I’m already out of mine. He’s built like a lumberjack, and he lifts me off the ground with a hard pat to my back. “Way to go, brother. Proud of you.”
Everyone peppers me with questions. When does it start? How many stops? What will we get paid? I share as much as I know.
The news spreads fast. Twenty minutes later, Beau and Honey arrive, and within the hour, Maverick and Baylee come over with celebratory cookies.
Even Isaiah, our long-lost brother, manages to drag himself and his kid out of the Airstream to see what’s going on.
We sit around the living room, and I pull up the tour info on my phone. “Looks like we’re playing in Austin in June and in Dallas a week later. I’m guessing I could get y’all tickets if anyone wants to come.”
Rhett looks like a proud dad. “Don’t worry if you can’t get them comped. We’re happy to pay. Let us know which show you want us to go to.”
I’m so fucking jazzed, I could probably levitate right now if I tried.
Mav yanks me into a side hug. “Proud of you, boogerface. I always knew you’d do it.”
Beau gets out his phone and starts taking photos of us. Mav and I grin like two little kids.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.
I’m about to ask if there are any more cookies left when someone knocks on the door.
Rhett’s closest to it, so he gets up to answer. He calls to me over his shoulder. “Jace, someone’s here for you.”
I hop off the couch, still riding the high of what this means for my life, when I see my brother’s hard expression. His smile is gone, his jaw is tight, and his shoulders look like he’s bracing himself for hurricane winds. “What’s up?”
When I reach the doorway, I spot the pretty blonde on the other side of it. “Hey.” She doesn’t look familiar, but I smile. “How’s it going?”
She sniffles and crosses her arms. “Not good, Jace.”
Lots of girls come to my shows, but it’s strange she tracked me down uninvited. “Do, I, um, do I know you?”
Her expression flattens, and Rhett sighs and gives me a nudge. What am I missing right now? He motions down, and I follow his eyes.
To the baby in the car seat at her feet.
The woman sniffles again. “She’s yours, Jace, and I need you to take her, or I’m giving her up for adoption.”
That’s when the ground drops out from under me.
5
JACE
My vision blurs,and I press the palms of my hands into my eye sockets. When I open them, the baby’s still there, all serene and asleep, bundled up like a prop in a movie.
Rhett closes the door behind us and quietly talks to the woman.What’s the baby’s name? How old is she? When did you “meet up” with Jace last?
