Page 58 of Wildfire
"Can't I invite my baby brother to dinner?"
"Not without an explanation if you want me to come."
"I fell in love. Okay?"
He groans and starts to walk away. "I don't want to talk about your love life like a couple of teenage girls."
"We don't have to talk about it. But I…Goddamn it, Cody, turn around!"
He turns slowly and crosses his arms with a shit-ass grin. The same shit-ass grin that Caleb gets.
These two…
"I would like us to spend some time together. When we were kids—"
"We're not kids anymore. I hear you have a pyromaniac to deal with, and I've got some weird shit going on up here, too."
"That doesn't mean we should only see each other a few times a year. Unless…” I thought about the letter from Renée's dad. I thought about how he'd realized he'd not been good to her. That he'd woken up from the slumber he was in and seen past his own shit. "Did I do something to you?"
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Did I do something that made you so distant?"
My brother descends back down the trail and places his big, rough hand on my shoulder as he stands on a rock that juts out in front of me. Suddenly, I feel like I am the younger one, pierced by his deep, thoughtful eyes.
When did my brother become the wise man on the hill?
"You've never done anything to me that wasn't what a big brother should do. Have you annoyed me? Yes. Have you pissed me off? Hell yes. But you were always the big brother I needed. Now, can we talk about something else?"
"Sure. How about you tell me about the weird shit you have going on up here."
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Renée
I've only been gone a few hours and already want to text Cole to check-in.
We arrive at our first gig. We're playing at a bar on the water in a small city I've never been to, even though it's only a few hour's drive away. I snap a picture of the bay to send him and try to focus on what's about to happen.
We pull into the parking lot and start to unload our gear. There's an electric current in the air, a palpable excitement. I try to tune into that as I let Trevor lead the way into the back of the bar. We meet the manager and he shows us where to put our stuff. They've got a big party this weekend, and we're the opening act.
I put my guitar on the stand and set the microphone to the right height. Jordy and Trevor set up their gear, and we start the sound check.
My first sound check as a touring musician.
I need someone to pinch me as we check the guitar and mic levels. The sound guy seems pretty nice, but a couple of times, I catch him looking at my boobs instead of my face when he is talking to me, and I haven't even changed into my sexy outfit yet.
The crowd expects Georgia up here, so I need to put on a great show. But I start to get nervous as I change in the bathroom. What if I'm not as good a performer as her?
My vocals and playing are good, but they don't come just for that. I saw how she moved on the stage and worked the audience. I'm applying more eyeliner, and it is finally dawning on me that I have to not just play well but put on a killer show.
I grab my phone and shoot off a text to Zoe.
Me:I think I'm in over my head.
Zoe:What the hell are you talking about?
Me:Performing in half an hour, I don't know if I can do it like Georgia.
Zoe:You don't have to. You have to do it like Renée.
