Page 10 of Free to Breathe
Keene says, “I know, right? All because someone got sick and she had to fill in.”
I have no idea what they’re talking about, and right now, I’m not sure I care.
* * *
We’ve been instructedto stay in our seats so we can be escorted backstage after the concert. Time and again, people come by to ask us to leave. In unison, we lift our badges.
Sheepishly, they move on.
Finally, a burly man wearing a crew member shirt and a member of security behind him walks up. It’s been forty-five minutes since the show ended.
“Thanks for your patience, guys. Everyone’s backstage. Ready?” En masse, we all stand and start walking. “Name’s Smith. We finally got the fans out. Your people have been hanging out with the band.” He pauses. “Do they always talk that much?”
Caleb looks at Keene, Keene turns to Jason, and they burst out laughing. Jason answers, “Yes.”
Smith shakes his head. “Don’t know what you do to get a word in. It was like a roomful of groupies when it comes to the sound. I offered to get you guys just to hear myself for a minute.”
I volunteer, “You should see a family dinner. Sometimes they dance on tables.”
Keene shoots me a glare.
“I can only imagine. And knowing Cori”—Smith shakes his head, and my insides freeze. He knows Corinna? How long has she known this country bootlicker? “—she’s right up in the thick of it. She’s a doll though. Always sending the kids on the cancer floor cupcakes and whatnot. Though, from what I hear from Brendan’s girl, Dani, the nurses are beginning to intercept them and keep them for themselves.”
Cori sends what kids with cancer cupcakes? And how’s Brendan Blake involved?
I keep silent as Jason asks, “Smith, how’s Brendan’s nephew doing?”
The old-timer shakes his head. “Much better. The last trial he was in did wonders, so we’re all optimistic. I’m sorry y’all won’t get to meet Joey tonight, but he’s still in Seattle getting his treatment. He’s bummed he’s still only met Cori on FaceTime. Dani flew in tonight because she wanted to meet Cori finally.”
“Alison told me Cori won’t take a dime from any order on any kid’s cake,” Keene tells the group. “Not since she met Brendan and was on that show. Now, her part of the profits are being directed to the University of Washington research programs for childhood and young adult leukemia research.”
Smith chuckles. “You know, Brendan was all excited to see Cori again even before her sister let that slip earlier.” He directs his attention to Keene. “He might’ve twirled Cori around once or twice when he heard that. I think one of the crazies—I mean, her sisters—got that on video.”
Keene barks out a laugh. “For everything Cori’s done? I’m sure she deserved it.”
“I’m sure my husband was jealous though,” Jason pipes up.
Everyone starts laughing at that. So much, they don’t realize I haven’t joined in.
Wait, what show?I want to ask, but I know I’ll feel like a schmuck with these guys. I’m missing some huge piece to why we’re here tonight.
When we turn the corner, I stop short, staring across the tent we’ve been escorted into.
Brendan Blake has his arms wrapped around Corinna like he’s never going to let her go.
And from the look of pure joy on her face, she might not want him to.
6
Colby
“So how was the concert last night?” Jack O’Brien, my best friend since college, asks me.
We’re kicked back at his house in Darien, where he’s a partner in a lucrative medical practice.
Taking a sip of bourbon, I contemplate the answer. “It was…intense? I guess that’s the right word.”
Snorting into his glass, Jack takes a quick drink. “Somehow, I can’t imagine a country concert being intense. I still don’t understand how you listen to that garbage.”
