Page 14 of Sing Me Home
Charlie?
I looked around, never missing a word.
I’m still waiting for you to see?—
Our voices blended like we’d sung together a thousand times before. Because we had. Not this song though. How did she know the words?
Even though Dad had warned me to play it cool, I couldn’t. I turned left, but all I saw was Randy, my lead guitarist. I spun to the right, but the only person there was the bass guitarist.
Gasps broke out—probably from my family—bringing my focus straight ahead. Did they see her? Aunt Tally was sobbing into her hands. Uncle Ashton looked like he’d seen a ghost. And my cousins, who’d made it their mission to embarrass me with their loud mouths, were suddenly speechless.
Mom and Addie stood in front of them, waving frantically so I’d know they’d finally arrived.
Mom beamed, so happy.
“Miracle! Miracle! Miracle!” Addie screamed, pointing behind me.
I whirled…
And it felt like someone had stolen my vocal cords.
Because Charlie was walking toward me, like Jesus on the water, about to save Peter from drowning. She sang into a handheld mic.
I see your ghost in the rearview glass,
Every road I take still leads to our past.
A complete contrast to Millie, everything about her said simple. Effortless. Her dark hair was in one long side braid hanging over her shoulder. She had on a blue and white floral shirt with puffed sleeves, a basic pair of jeans, and brown leather Ariats I recognized from when we were in high school.
She waved at me and grinned.
My hands shoved into my bangs, still unable to form words.
“Hey, Cash.” She laughed, her voice light and perfect. “Aren’t you gonna sing your song with me?”
But I couldn’t. I had no air. My eyes were cooperating about as well as my lungs—watering uncontrollably, obstructing my view. The best view of my life.
I swung the guitar to the side and rubbed my eyes. My legs had no problem doing their job though. I jogged across the massive stage.
My earpiece clicked.
“Cash! Center stage!” Joanie warned.
I skidded to a stop, my toes touching the yellow tape.
“We need those Opal and Ivy cameras to get all of this.”
My eyes dropped to Charlie’s left hand. Her ring was gone!
Standing still as she made her way to me was the hardest thing I’d ever done. My band stalled, replaying the build-up to the second verse over and over.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” my dad’s voice broke over the speakers and the stadium went insane. “Give a hearty welcome to Cash’s favorite cousin, who’s technicallynothis cousin. At all,” he said in a flirty tone. “Chaaaarlieee Duuupreeee.”
The way the fans cheered, I had no doubt they knew who Charlie was. They seemed to know every member of our extended family.
Dad’s voice came through my earpiece. “You needed a diversion and you got one. Take advantage of it.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
