“Well… You must be worth a lot of money, but you’re living with your parents—above a garage.”
He laughed again, and it sent shivers down my spine that had nothing to do with the cool air. It was like joy sprinkling over me. One of those moments that were supposed to be lived and felt and remembered—impossible as it may seem for me to be having it with the superstar.
“It does sound funny when you put it that way,” he said, and even though I couldn’t really see his smile in the shadows, I could feel it.
We got to my corner, and I stopped. “I’m just down there. You don’t need to come.”
“You’re living at Elana’s?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I should have guessed that, I suppose.” His voice was choked. “I’ll walk you the rest of the way.”
I let him, but his joy had disappeared, and I felt sadness wash over me as well. At his sorrow. At the loss of my grandmother. Self-pity that I hated to wallow in filled me.
“You weren’t at her funeral,” I said. There was no accusation in my statement, just curiosity. He seemed to care about my grandmother and yet hadn’t come to say goodbye.
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t? I mean, you came for the box.”
“My mom left a note about it in a stack of messages,” he said, a bitterness etched through the words that surprised me because he didn’t seem like the kind of person to let sour thoughts color his world.
We got to my porch. The lights were on, and the TV was flickering through the window, but no childish screams reached us, which meant Jay had likely gotten all three kids to sleep. Stacy and Jin’s littles were staying with me so they could prolong their celebration.
“I’d like to help somehow,” he said, and the acrid tone was gone, as if I’d just imagined it. “With the festival. The shop. Anything. Something…for her.”
“I’m presenting at the city council meeting on Thursday night to try and fight for the permits.” The words slipped out of me, but they felt right. Grams would have appreciated the help. She would have loved to have Brady there.
“I’ll be there. Anything else?”
“I’ve had one of the acts back out since she died. Have you ever performed at Apple Jam before?” I asked.
“Yes, a lot when I was growing up and then again the year my first record released, but the next time it came around, I was on tour in Japan.” His voice was sad again. “I thought I’d be able to do it this time, so it hadn’t felt like that big of a deal, but then she didn’t ask…”
His voice trailed away.
“That was probably my fault. When Grams asked me to contact the bands, I just took the list from the last festival and started with them.”
He didn’t say anything.
“It’s the weekend before Memorial Day. If you have an opening in your schedule, and we can get the council to approve the permits, would you like to fill the slot? That’s stupid. I’m sorry. You probably have a calendar that’s filled years in advance.”
“No, I’d love to do it. For Elana. I’ve had my team clear my schedule for the next few months. I’m sticking around to help Cassidy with her new baby.”
His words settled in over me with surprise and a tug that I didn’t quite understand. The sweetness of him staying to help his sister. It seemed so…not something a famous musician would do.
“Oh. Well. That’s pretty amazing of you,” I said softly.
Brady laughed again, and this time, the sourness was back as if he didn’t believe it.
He stared into my face for a long time. I knew I should go in. I knew there was nothing that could come of the physical attraction brewing between us, but I also knew he felt like comfort. Or he needed comfort. Maybe both.
I wrapped my arms around myself and swayed slightly. A sway I’d picked up from when Hannah was a baby. A soothing motion that had stuck long past the time when she’d needed it to a time when I needed it more.
“You have her eyes,” he said quietly.
I knew immediately who he meant.
