Page 15 of Rescue

“Oh, he can,” I say quickly. Daisy smirks a little and leads me away. “Who do you want me to meet?”

“No one. I just wanted to get you away for a minute. You looked like you were about to punch your brother.”

I blow out a breath, trying to ease the tension in my shoulders. “It’s like having a babysitter following me around all the time.” She opens her mouth, and I cut her off. “Don’t say they’re just worried about me. Iknow, okay?”

“Wasn’t going to say that,” she says mildly.

I blow out another breath. “Sorry, Daisy. I don’t mean to snap.”

She pats my arm. “God, Len. You don’t have to apologize tome.” We walk around the perimeter of the room, and I try to let myself relax. Daisy is about the only person in my life right now who might understand how I feel. I offer up a small prayer of thanks that my little brother got his head out of his ass long enough to keep her around.

“They should lay off a little after tonight,” she says. “I talked to Daltrey about it. He said he was going to talk to the other guys.”

“Thanks, Dais.” I doubt it will actually pay off. It’s way too much to hope for that my brothers will stop driving me crazy. But I do appreciate the effort.

“I hear you had an ultrasound today.” I look down at her. “Everything going okay?”

“Baby looks totally healthy.” A little look of satisfaction comes across her face. It’s getting familiar, that look. I see it on her and Daltrey’s faces all the time. Like they couldn’t possibly be happier about the direction their lives have taken. A part of me feels a little jealous about that look, about that certainty that life is good and happening the way it’s supposed to. But mostly I’m happy for them. No one deserves that kind of happiness like Daisy does.

“Are you going to spill the beans?” I ask. “Can I look forward to a niece or a nephew?”

She laughs. “I’m not finding out. I want it to be a surprise.” She grins. “Which is killing your brother, let me tell you.”

“Then by all means, keep it a secret. Anything that tortures Daltrey is a damn good idea.”

She tilts her head a little so it’s resting on my shoulder. “I’m so excited, Len. We’re all going to have so much fun with this baby. Can you even imagine?”

I try to, I really do. My brothers and Daisy, Paige, Sam, maybe Levi and Karen, all hanging out in Tennessee or on a tour bus somewhere with a kid. It’s hard to picture it, though, even with the evidence of her pregnancy becoming clear in her midsection. Then again, it’s hard to picture anything beyond the next few weeks. When I try to see my life after this tour, everything seems hazy, blurred. Whatever the future holds, it’s not showing itself to me.

I wonder if that should scare me.

“Oh, look,” Daisy says, her eyes on something across the room. “I think your opener is here. That guy Daltrey is talking tohasto be in a band. Normal people don’t just go walking around with hair like that.”

“Are you saying people in bands aren’t normal?”

She merely rolls her eyes before redirecting her attention to Dylan, Intrigue’s keyboardist, who, admittedly, is rocking a particularly bright shade of blue streaks in his spikey hair. “I’ve never heard of these guys, but Dalt said they were really good?”

“They’re awesome.” I scan the room to see if the rest of Intrigue has joined the party as well.

“Are there really two girls in the band?” she asks. “I’m totally in favor of that. We need a little more estrogen backstage.”

“Hey, your best friend is coming with us. And Karen and Sam are meeting up with us in Paris. It’s starting to feel like girls are completely taking over—”

I don’t remember how I was going to finish the sentence. I don’t even remember what we were talking about. Every bit of space in my brain is completely occupied by the sight across the room.

Haylee. Haylee in a dark purple leather mini dress, her long black hair pulled into a messy pile on top of her head. The dress is strapless, showing off miles of bare ivory skin, vivid tattoos stretching across her right shoulder and halfway down her arm. She’s standing with her bassist—James, I think—by the bar, laughing at something he says, and I’m pretty sure there’s no air left in the room.

“Lennon?” Daisy asks, sounding worried. Belatedly I realize she’s tugging on my arm. “Len?”

I shake my head, trying to clear it.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” But my voice is shaky, and it still feels hard to breathe.Holy shit.

“Len—oh.”

I finally manage to tear my eyes away from Haylee long enough to look back at Daisy. Her gaze has followed mine to the bar, and her eyes are wide.