Page 76 of In This Together

Randy folded his arms across his chest and leaned casually against a large amplifier that wasn’t in use but was on standby at the side of the stage.

‘We’re not.’ He gestured with his head toward Seth, who was starting up his most upbeat track, strumming his guitar and smiling like fun knew no limits. ‘I came to see him.’

Rosalie knew that Randy was amidst a tour with his band, Armstrung.She had no idea how he’d managed to make it to Nashville and she doubted he could be staying any longer than a night. She felt an overwhelming affection toward him on Seth’s behalf.

‘Randy Jonson, aren’t you just full of surprises? One minute you’re signing a girl’s breasts and the next you’re a doting brother.’

Randy shrugged. ‘He’s my brother. I’ll always have his back.’

‘It’s really nice that you came.’

‘Just nice to see he’s finally doing what he was born to do. Ain’t no one in this life deserves it more than my kid.’

Rosalie smiled. ‘He looks like he’s been doing this all his life.’

She watched Seth tease the crowd, singing to them, winking at them, playing tricks on his guitar.

‘How did you know he was playing? Your dad? He’s out in the crowd, by the way. He wanted to get the whole experience.’

‘He’s always preferred being in the crowd,’ Randy said. ‘No, Seth told me he was playing and I couldn’t pass up his first show without me.’

They turned back to the stage and watched Seth command the set. Rosalie dialled Sofia on video call and held up her phone to let her friend see the incredible product of all her hard work. When she got back to New York, Rosalie was convinced she was going to offer Sofia an investment in Sanfia to help promote Seth.

After a second upbeat number, Seth said, ‘How’s about we bring it down a notch or two? Would that be all right?’

A girl right in front of the stage called out, ‘You can do anything to me and it’ll be all right.’

Seth laughed into his microphone. ‘I’m gonna take that as a yes, then.’

Six minutes later, a sweaty Seth came jogging off the stage. Rosalie handed him a towel and a bottle of water, then Randy pulled him into a rough embrace and said something into his ear.

Before even Frankie and Billy had made their way off stage, a group of young girls wearing lanyards that said they were VIPs swarmed Seth, asking for his autograph and selfies.

Seth glanced to Rosalie, somewhere between humbled and embarrassed. Rosalie rolled her eyes and laughed. ‘Get used to it,’ she said, though she wasn’t sure he heard her over the sound of the young girls.

She gave towels and water to Frankie and Billy, then went in search of Tim in the crowd and ushered him inside.

After Tim had congratulated his son on a great performance, Randy announced he’d had enough – by which he meant enough of every person backstage: groupies, stagehands, managers, artists, everyone accosting him for pictures and autographs. Randy had a car waiting for him and offered to take Tim and Rosalie home. Seth and the guys wanted to soak up some atmosphere first and have a beer. He told Randy and Tim they would meet them back at the ranch.

* * *

Randy and Tim had been sitting on the porch, eating burgers that Tim had thrown on the grill and drinking beers. Wearing Seth’s joggers and sweater from the night before, freshly showered and with still-wet hair, Rosalie made her way outside.

‘Do you mind if I join you?’ she asked.

‘Hell, no, darlin’. Grab a seat on the swing seat there and I’ll get you a burger,’ Tim said.

‘Why are you staring at me like that, Randy Jonson?’ Rosalie asked. But she knew why…

‘I’ve just never seen you in anything other than fancy dresses, with your hair all done up and your make-up on.’

‘It’s shocking what sits behind the mask, isn’t it?’ She laughed as Tim handed her a plate with a burger on it and offered her a bottle of beer.

She pondered the beer. It wasn’t really her thing, but then none of this scene was, really. So she took the beer with a shrug and sipped the cold drink straight out of the bottle, coughing as it went down the wrong hole.

‘Nope, the uptown girl is still in there,’ Randy said, making all three of them laugh.

‘I like it here,’ Rosalie said after clearing her first bite of Tim’s delicious grilled meat from her mouth. ‘The air. The ranch. The music. Do you know, I haven’t heard a car horn or a siren since I’ve been here? And it’s like, you can walk outside and not worry about who might see you, what they might say about you, whether you’ll be snapped by a magazine and have awful comments made about you like,Socialite not eating after break-uporFollowing her break-up from business tycoon, daughter of supermodel looks like hell.’ She laughed sadly. ‘Who would have thought I’d feel happy in a pair of oversized jogging bottoms and a borrowed sweater, drinking beer from a bottle with no make-up on?’

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