Page 71 of In This Together
‘All right, let’s go,’ Seth said.
Rosalie squealed as she was hoisted into the strong arms of Seth’s tall, extremely masculine frame. ‘Put me down,’ she yelled, kicking her legs as Seth held her as if he was about to cross the marital threshold.
Ignoring her entirely, Seth stepped into the back of the van with Rosalie in his arms and set her down on the front seat.
With his body leaning over hers, Rosalie breathed him in, surprisingly affected by his scent – soap and natural musk, that was manly and disturbingly delicious. She found herself wetting her lower lip as she released her grip on his neck and the tips of her fingers traced the line of his ever-present dog tags, taking advantage of the closeness to his firm chest and enjoying the brief investigation into what was under his T-shirt.
To her surprise, when she glanced up to him, Seth’s eyes were firmly fixed on hers.
‘You can’t just manhandle me like that,’ she said.
Shaking his head, he moved to the back of the van, muttering something about time, his death and Rosalie getting in the van.
It was going to be a long three days. Made even longer by the fact she was likely to be spending it in a sleeping bag on some worn sofa in a tiny little wood hut with four men who all wore ripped stonewash jeans and smelly, styleless shirts without exception.
But as the van moved into motion, Rosalie had a thought. ‘Ooo, I almost forgot…’ Digging into her purse, she took out a small paper bag and clumsily got up from her seat, moving to each of Billy, Frankie and Seth, handing out the gifts she had bought them for the trip – mostly in an attempt to win them over.
‘They’re solid gold plecs. Not really for use but as a little memento of the occasion. See, on one side, they say Seth Young, CMA and the number one. You know, because its Seth’s first CMA. And on the other side you have your own name. So either Billy, Frankie or Seth. Do you like them?’
Billy bit down on the plec between his teeth. ‘Yep, solid gold.’
‘They’re pretty neat,’ said Frankie.
And Rosalie raised an eyebrow, eyeing Seth until eventually, his straight lips broke into a chuckle and he said, ‘It’s sweet. Thank you.’
Rosalie smiled. Mission accomplished. ‘I have one for Sofia too,’ she said, retaking her seat. ‘It’s such a shame she didn’t feel able to make it. She would have been so proud of you guys. But I totally get it. I mean, she just felt like she shouldn’t have fun and leave New York with her husband in rehab.’
‘Jay’s a jackass,’ Frankie said. ‘You have to want to get clean to get clean. He’s no more likely to get off the drink and drugs this time than any other.’
‘Yeah, I’m with you, man,’ Billy said. ‘It kills me watching Soph run herself into the ground, scrimping and scraping to keep Sanfia afloat, when he spends every spare dollar they have on his habit.’
‘God, I want this… us… to work out more for her sake than my own,’ Seth said. ‘I know she’s breaking the bank to help me out and I can’t give her anything back right now.’
‘I overheard her telling Jimmy that the bank won’t lend her any more cash on her apartment. It’s mortgaged to the hilt,’ Frankie added.
‘Oh my goodness,’ Rosalie said, turning in her seat to face the guys. ‘I had no idea things were so bad. Why wouldn’t she ask me for help?’
‘Because, Ros, Sofia is a great producer, with or without her big-shot sister. She wants to make her own way,’ Seth snapped. ‘Not everyone wants to live on handouts.’
She wanted to retort. She wanted to argue that she made her own money. But something told her to save her breath.
Turning her back on the guys, Rosalie considered her designer outfit, her perfectly manicured nails and the large platinum diamond flower decorating her finger. She wouldn’t be able to convince Seth to take her seriously any more than she could convince anyone else. But her dad had faith in her. He was signing over a recording label to her. And when she made the label a continued success, maybe even more successful than Andrea’s Stellar label, everyone would take her seriously.
But right now, in a van full of people, she felt sad and lonely.
‘Crank the tunes, driver!’ Billy called out. Country music filled the vehicle as the highways and city lights of Nashville turned into fields and open country roads.
After forty minutes, they took a left onto a bumpy track that was lined with trees and horses in fields beyond. Rosalie’s jaw dropped as they approached the huge ranch that Seth’s dad called home.
‘Are you shitting me?’ Billy asked. ‘Man, you didn’t say you were loaded.’
Seth laughed. ‘I’m not. Randy bought the ranch for the old man a few years back. Before that, we had a much smaller place.’
Seth’s attire, coupled with the whole struggling musician, ex-military thing, had led Rosalie to assume he would have come from not much at all. But, of course, when you had a rock star brother, things changed. And Rosalie found herself smiling. Not because she wouldn’t have to stay on a grotty sofa for three nights but because she found herself thinking that one day, Seth would be a star, too. Something told her he would also be quick to spend his money on his loved ones.
‘Randy Jonson is a decent fucking guy,’ Frankie said of Seth’s brother. ‘Who knew?’
They pulled up by the porch that ran the length of the large house. White decking was surrounded by white railings that broke in the middle to allow for wood steps leading up to the front entrance. Two large swing chairs and two bench seats were positioned on the porch to look out across the ranch’s land. The driver came around to the side of the van and opened the door. Putting her shades in place over her eyes, Rosalie moved to the open door, looking left and right, taking in the beauty of the place. The silence of the fields. The vibrant green of the grass. The fresh air.
