Page 99 of Sing For Me

“Ooh, you’ve been called out, Son,” my dad shouts from the other end of the circle, and Silas huffs.

“Give me a guitar then,” he says arrogantly. “I’ll blow you all out of the water.”

There’s a lot of laughter and shouts of, “Sure, kid,” but Daltrey passes a guitar down to Silas. He slings the strap over his shoulder and looks around the circle. “What’s up next? Give me something hard.”

I roll my eyes and reach over to mess up his hair. “Keep talking shit, kid, and you’re going to get shown up.”

He gives me a cocky grin, looking so much like our dad that I have to bite back a laugh. “Nah. I can back up my mouth.”

“Let’s see it then.”

Dad starts the opening strains of “Heartache”, one of Ransom’s biggest hits, and Silas does a pretty good job keeping up. I can tell my dad is showing off, adding a bunch of riffs and shit you don’t really need for a campfire sing along, but Silas holds his own.

“Not bad,” I tell him when it’s done. “You got a little muddled in the bridge.”

He scowls. “You know he was going way faster than it’s supposed to be.”

I laugh. “Keep up or shut up.”

“You think you can do so much better?” he shoots back.

Several people around us stop talking, lots of heads turning in our direction. I try to keep my shoulders from tensing, try to stay relaxed and—

“That’s not a challenge you want to make,” our older brother says, grinning. “You know Will is better than anyone in this circle.”

God damn it, Wyatt.

I can feel Eva’s surprised gaze on the side of my face and I force myself to stare straight ahead. “You play?” she finally asks, sounding every bit as surprised as I know she must be.

Almost everyone is watching us now, the circle suddenly very quiet. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my dad frowning.

“A little,” I mumble, praying Rose or River will jump in to change the subject and save me.

“He’s being too modest,” Wyatt says, and I swear I’m going to kill him. I level a glare at him and he stares straight back. He knows exactly what he’s doing. “Will is amazing. Better than Dad.”

“I’m not—”

“Why don’t you play something?” he suggests in an overly innocent tone. “Show your girl what you can do.”

Everything in me is screaming that I should just stand up and walk away. Leave my brother and my dad and their knowing expressions sitting right here by the fire. Leave the silence and the nervous energy I can feel emanating from every member of my family.

Only Eva doesn’t seem to register the mood that’s fallen over the previously easygoing gathering. “I would love to hear you,” she says, and I tear my gaze away from my brother to look at her.

Her expression is bright, expectant. She has no idea what she’s asking me to do.

“I haven’t played in a while,” I mumble.

She grins and slides the guitar strap from Santana’s shoulder, holding it out to me. “I hadn’t played in a while, either,” she says softly. “And it felt amazing. You should give it a go.”

I catch Rose’s wide-eyed stare from the other side of the circle, where she’s sitting close to Wyatt and Reed. I’m pretty sure she’s holding her breath.

I can do one of two things. I can refuse the guitar. Be a rude bastard and stomp away from the fire like a little kid who didn’t get his way. I can make Eva feel uncomfortable and guilty on a night when she’s clearly really happy.

Or I can take the damn guitar like I’m not a huge pussy and play the thing.

I take the guitar.

For a few seconds, no one says anything. Finally, Lennon tosses me a pick. “How about “Finality?”” he asks, and I close my eyes, my fingers already going to the correct frets.