Page 9 of Second to None

“Don’t do it,” she parroted, the very picture of angelic innocence, her eyes the same clear green as mine, the same as Jessica’s had been. Emily’s curly blonde hair was a different matter, must have come from her sperm donor. “But I can totally get up without complaining tomorrow.”

“Bet you can’t,” I said because a good challenge worked like a charm in this family. It would be awfully nice to sail smoothly into her last day of school before the summer.

“Can too!” she protested.

I was about to reply when my phone buzzed against my thigh. Usually, bedtime was sacred—it was the only half-hour during the day when I wasn’t available to my acts. The display said it was Mason, though, and Emily loved him. Plus, I was curious what Jace’s cryptic message had been all about. Closure?

“It’s Uncle Mason,” I told her. “You wanna tell him goodnight before you turn out the light?”

“Yes!”

Which meant she’d talk his ear off for about five minutes, and then she’d crash. Good enough for me.

I picked up with, “Hey, mate.”

“Levi!” Mason sounded delighted to hear my voice, as though it had been months when he’d really visited us just a couple of weeks ago—taking over the guest room and filling the whole house with his big laugh and cheerful energy, spoiling Emily rotten.

“Emmy wants to talk to you,” I said. “Unless you’re in a rush?”

“Like I’d ever be in too much of a rush for her.”

I handed over my phone so they could do their thing. Mostly, that meant Emily telling Mason about the muffins I’d baked and how chocolatey they’d been, how gooey. Good to know my career as a baker wasn’t off the table.

When they were done, I tucked Emily in, closed the blinds the rest of the way, and shut the door before taking the call out onto the balcony. The countryside was doused in golden evening light that softened every hill and hedgerow, stretching long shadows across the fields. A faint breeze carried the smell of freshly cut grass and wildflowers.

“Sounds like the muffins were a big hit,” Mason told me. “Didn’t think you even knew how an oven works.”

“Sure I do. You put stuff in, close the door, and pray to the food gods.” Even though he couldn’t see me, I shook my head, smile fading as my voice dropped low. “Seriously, though. Never thought I’d be raising a daughter and baking muffins so she could impress the other kids at school.”

“You’re doing a great job, bro. I hope you know that.”

“Thank you.” My throat felt a little tight. “Means a lot.”

“It’s the honest truth.” Mason went quiet for a moment as I studied the wash of fading light across the fields. It might be only me whose thoughts slid back to how out of the five of us, Ellis had been the one who’d always talked about how he wanted a family, a dog, all that jazz. Me? Not really. I’d liked kids just fine, but I wasn’t cooing over babies like Cass. He’d met Emily just once, before things fell apart, and when my sister had shown him how to hold her, he looked like his entire life had just changed for the better.

Maybe that had been the moment I realised I couldn’t keep going like this. If Cass wanted normal, wanted a wife and kids rather than... well,me... I was better off knowing.

“Hey,” Mason said into the flow of my memories. “You guys made plans for Emmy’s summer break yet? Other than her going to summer camp.”

“No more than when you were here—one week in Italy at the end of August. Why? You’re gonna join us after all?”

“How do you feel about showing her California?” he asked. “Disneyland, beaches, could take her to the Hollywood Bowl so she can see how cool we are for having performed there... You could stay with me; you know I’ve got the space.”

I’d long since sold my house in LA, hadn’t visited since the end of Neon Circuit. It wasn’t like I’d deliberately avoided Cass’s city—not as such. But the label I worked for hadn’t asked me to travel to the US, and I’d done enough crossing of time zones to last a lifetime.

Visiting Mason would throw me back into the hectic pulse of a city that used to feel like a second home. Was this what Jace had meant with closure?

“Not that I don’t appreciate the idea,” I said. “But what brought this on?”

“Well.” Mason turned the word into a standalone sentence. “So. Here’s the thing, right?”

“Right...?”

“Remember how we didStand Up to Cancera couple of times?”

“Uh.” I frowned. “Obviously, yeah. What with how it’s, you know, a major charity event and all.”

The first time, we’d performed an acoustic version of our first single; the second time, we’d done a duet with a British singer Jace had been half in love with at the time. They’d dated for a hot minute before she called it quits since she was into parties and he was into chilling at home.

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