Page 71 of Rescue

My head snaps up to look at him, but he’s looking away now. “Yeah?”

“I do,” he says. “I don’t want you to bottle things up so much. And I know your brothers aren’t always the easiest to talk to.”

I can’t help sniggering at that, and he grins, the awkwardness disappearing. “None of us has ever done emotional maturity very well,” he says wryly. “I’m sure you have me to thank for that.”

I shrug. “I don’t know. We could always get better.”

The grin slips from his face as his expression becomes more serious. He watches me for a long moment before nodding. “Yeah. We could definitely get better.” He shakes his head, and I can tell he’s uncomfortable with the double meaning of his words. Emotional maturity indeed. “All right, you should get back there. I’ll be in for the first interview.”

“Thanks, Dad.” But as I turn to go, he reaches out and grasps my shoulder.

“Lennon… you know you can talk to me too, right?”

I turn back to face him. “Sure, Dad.”

“I mean that. I know I might not seem like the best person to confide in—”

“You’re fine, Dad. You’ve always been fine.” I take a deep breath. “I mean, that’s why I asked you for help before, right? Because I knew I could trust you.”

He draws in a ragged breath, and I realize, not for the first time, how much it must have hurt him, to have my brothers turn on him so fiercely. He’s been keeping a low profile on this tour, barely around when we hang out in the venues or out in the cities. I assumed he was trying to make it easier for them. But maybe it’s easier for him too.

He swallows a few times, and I get the distinct impression he’s finding it difficult to talk.

“I’m gonna head back,” I tell him, my voice soft. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

He nods, eyes on the floor. If we were different people, I would hug him. But when it comes to family stuff, my emotional maturity is about as stunted as my brothers’. Luckily my phone rings, saving both of us from any more embarrassing displays of emotion. “Gotta get this,” I say quickly. “See you.”

“See you,” he says, his voice a lot more steady now as I head to the wings.

A quick glance at the screen tells me it’s Haylee. I’m grinning when I bring the phone to my ear. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Just the slightly raspy sound of her voice makes my heart rate pick up. “Whatcha doing?”

“Heading to a lame interview,” I say. “Which means hanging out with my brothers for the foreseeable future. Aren’t I lucky?”

“Damn,” she says. “I was hoping you’d be free. We just finished our rehearsal.”

Something about her calling me right after rehearsal makes me grin like an idiot, and I lean against the wall, feeling stupid and happy at the same time. “I’ll definitely try to hurry,” I say. “We still on for dinner?”

“Yeah.” A pause. “But that’s ages away.”

If I thought I was grinning like a fool before…

“I’ll get out of here as soon as I can,” I say. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“Okay. Talk to you soon.”

I slip my phone back into my pocket and turn in the direction of the dressing room, practically jumping out of my skin when I see Cash leaning against the same wall just a few feet away. “Oh, man, it’s worse than I thought,” he says, shaking his head. “You should see the soppy look on your face right now.”

“Whatever,” I say, way too happy to care.

He grins back. “Why don’t you get out of here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just go. Hang out with your girl. We can handle a couple interviews without you.”

“I don’t think—”