“Yeah,” Cody said, scooting over on the sofa.
Cash joined him, placing the crate on the coffee table.
“First off, my mom made you some lemon squares,” Cash said, lifting out a foil-wrapped plate and setting it on the table. “Those are my favorite, so she’s hoping you’ll like them too.”
“Wow,” Cody said.
Bella felt another tug on her heartstrings. If his family was involved, then maybe this wasn’t just about Cash coming over here to try and put a Band-Aid on asituation. And it sounded like he even had their approval, which was saying a lot in a small town where a scandal could follow a family for generations.
“And I thought you might like this,”Cash went on, pulling out a black sweatshirt withNew Year’s Eve - Battle of the Bandsin faded white letters on the back. “It’s from the first time I performed live, back when I was just a couple of years older than you are. So, you know, it’s vintage, I guess.”
“Thanks,” Cody said, taking it.
Bella noticed that although his response wasn’t exactly jolly, Cody actually looked at the shirt, and instead of setting it down beside him on the sofa or the table, he kept it in his hands.
She wasn’t sure if he was holding on because of nerves, or because the shirt was important to him. But something about it made her want to cry.
“Last thing,” Cash said, scooping a worn notebook out of the bottom of the crate. “This was my song book. I wrote all the lyrics to my first album in there. You can see all the versions of them, I guess. If you want it, that is.”
Cody gazed in awe at the notebook, making no move to take it from him.
Bella knew that an item like that from a star like Cash Law, was… well, priceless. Just a single page with original lyrics from other stars in the past had fetched small fortunes at auctions. But for Cody, she suspected that it would be more valuable than any amount of money.
“I never thought I would be giving this to anyone,” Cash said, sounding awkward suddenly. “But we have a lot of lost time to make up for. And if you want to get to know me, I thought maybe this would help.”
Bella held her breath, wondering how Cody would handle such a big gesture.
11
CASH
Cash sat on the sofa beside the boy, trying to stay calm on the outside while his heart pounded in his chest as he held out the last of his gifts.
This whole situation was so strange. He was grateful to his mom all over again for making sure he brought some things for the boy, if for no other reason than to give him something to do other than grab him and hug him hard, which he was pretty sure wasn’t allowed to do, at least not yet.
He was hoping the notebook wasn’t a stupid gift. Itreallywas a part of himself. Those lyrics and notes were the closest thing he’d ever come to keeping a diary. If Cody wanted to get to know Cash from back in the days before he was some kind of rock star, the answers were in those pages.
But Cody gazed back at him, his dark eyes filled with uncertainty.
“Really?” he asked after a moment.
“I want you to have it,” Cash told him, nodding.
Cody didn’t say more, but he did take the notebook and practically curl himself around it. He began paging through it immediately, smiling at the doodles in the margins.
That’s my son,Cash thought to himself in wonder.
“‘Snowstorm Rock,’” Cody murmured to himself.
That had been Cash’s first big hit, and he still closed most of his concerts with it. It was an upbeat, country-rock song about getting snowed in at a party and having nothing to do but dance all night.
“Do you have a notebook?” Cash asked.
“Huh?” Cody said, looking up.
“Where did you write down the words to your song?” he asked.
“Oh, just on my phone,” Cody said shrugging.
