Unfortunately, Chloe was also on the phone, so the first person Brooke got introduced to was...
“Oliver, this is Brooke,” Flash said, leading Brooke over to an imposing-looking man who was clearly Flash’s brother, a little taller and broader, with silver shot through his hair. Otherwise, they had practically the same eyes, the same chin. But not the same smile—that much was clear when Oliver grimaced. In an undertone, Flash added, “Be nice or else.”
If Oliver heard the threat, he didn’t react. Instead, in a deeply professional voice, he said, “Ms. Bonner, a pleasure to see you again.”
Brooke notched an eyebrow at that. Flash had warned her that his brother could be a bit stiff. She’d barely met the eldest Lawrence sibling at the Fort Worth rodeo before she’d disappeared with Flash. But she remembered someone who’d been very...overwhelming, especially when compared to Flash’s easygoing nature. That, at least, hadn’t changed.
“Don’t worry,” the blonde woman next to him said, handing Oliver the baby girl she was struggling to hold on to. “The awkwardness won’t last. Welcome to the Lawrence family!”
“This is Renee, Oliver’s wife,” Flash said, leaning over and giving Renee a kiss on the cheek. Then he mock-whispered to Brooke, “Don’t believe a word she says about what we did as kids. It’s lies, all lies, I say!”
Renee laughed and stuck out her hand. “I never thought I’d meet the woman who could rein Flash in, but I’m glad I finally have.” Renee had a wide smile that seemed vaguely familiar. She patted the little girl. “This is our daughter, Trixie. She’s almost nine months old.” Trixie barely looked at Brooke before burying her head in her father’s neck. “I’m so glad she has a cousin!”
Brooke exhaled in relief. Another mom, another baby—she felt less out to sea already. She only hoped Renee would prove to be as friendly as her smile.
Renee leaned forward, staring at Bean with open adoration. “Look at you,” she whispered. “I know tests have to be done, but Oliver, do you see the resemblance?”
Bean chose that moment to launch one of his daddy’s smiles into the room, and Renee gasped at the same time Oliver said, “Well, that settles that.”
“Yeah,” Brooke agreed. “We’re all in trouble, aren’t we?”
Oliver gaped and Brooke was sure she’d screwed up. But then, unexpectedly, Oliver burst out laughing. “You’re going to be very good for my brother, aren’t you?” he said, slugging Flash on the shoulder.
Apparently, the awkwardness didn’t last long. “The better question is, how good will he be for me?”
Oliver beamed, which was sort of unsettling because when he wasn’t scowling, he was almost as charming as Flash. “He better be great for you—or else.”
“Boys,” Renee scolded as she held out her arms. “May I?” Brooke handed over Bean, who immediately gurgled in what sounded like approval. “I practically grew up with Flash—although he was still Frasier then. Oh, the stories I could tell you!” She fixed him with a piercing gaze. “Remember the elevator incident?”
Next to Brooke, Flash groaned. “You’re killing me, Renee.”
“It’s good for you to be brought down a peg or two,” she replied with an easy grin, and it was clear these two had a long history of teasing each other.
“I think discovering fatherhood has run me right out of pegs,” Flash countered. “Come on,” he said to Oliver, taking Trixie from his big brother’s arms, “I could use a drink. A ginger ale,” he said, meeting Oliver’s scowl head-on. “Sheesh, man. Even when I drank, I never drank before a rodeo. Babe, you want green tea? I had them get some just for you.”
Brooke’s cheeks heated. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.”
Flash winked at her, and then the brothers headed off to the side of the suite where a variety of nonalcoholic beverages were displayed on a sideboard.
“I remember when Trixie was this little,” Renee said, bouncing Bean in her arms. The baby trilled in delight. She eyed Brooke sympathetically. “How are you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess.” Sure, she hadn’t seen or spoken to her mother in two days, nor had she decided what to do about Kyle Morgan.
At least Alex was here. Brooke glanced over to see that Flash had somehow gotten Alex over to the drinks and was introducing her to Trixie. It was sweet of Flash to make sure Alex was a part of what was, essentially, a family gathering. And despite all her protestations that she wasn’t going to like Flash, Brooke could tell her friend was relieved Flash was including her.
“I understand Chloe has a whole plan in place,” Renee said.
Brooke felt awkward standing in the middle of the room, so she moved to the huge picture windows that overlooked the arena. Renee followed. Below, she saw someone who might be Pete Wellington making the final preparations. In a few minutes, the doors would open and the stands would begin to fill. And once the crowd was in place...
It was just another performance, one where she wouldn’t have a guitar in her hands. Just a baby. “Yes. I ran it through the record label’s PR department and they signed off on it, as well. I think Chloe’s got a job at the label if she ever gets tired of the rodeo.”
“Trust me, that’ll never happen. The only one who’s tired of the rodeo is Oliver.”
Redemption arcs for everyone, apparently. Chloe was probably on the phone with Kari right now, coordinating the Big Reveal, as Brooke had started to think of it.
Right before Flash’s first event, she and Bean, who had his own set of baby-sized noise-canceling headphones, would go behind the chutes where she would very publicly give Flash a kiss for good luck. The cameras would zoom in to capture the moment. Alex would be right behind her, just in case.
The announcers would draw everyone’s attention to her and Flash, at which point Flash would lift Bean out of Brooke’s arms and cuddle him. If Bean was cooperative, he would smile, and Brooke would put her head on Flash’s shoulder and it would be perfect.
Brooke looked at her son, who was currently attempting to stuff his whole fist in his drooly mouth. Life was so rarely perfect. “It’s going to be very messy for a while, though,” she said, and sighed.
To Brooke’s surprise, Renee wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave Brooke an awkward hug. “You’ll get through this,” she said. “No matter what happens, you and this special little guy are family now and family is everything to the Lawrences.”
“It is?” Brooke was horrified to hear her voice catch. Family had done nothing but let her down for the last few days. Weeks. Lifetimes, it seemed.
Renee nodded. “It absolutely is. Even when Flash had a rough few years there—which he mostly brought upon himself,” she quickly added, “his family stood by him. I don’t know your history, aside from your official bio. But my own family was—” she shrugged and turned her attention to Bean “—less than ideal. Having the Lawrences stand with me when everyone else bailed? It’s everything.”
Brooke blinked hard. “I don’t really have anyone else but Alex. My mother stopped speaking to me when she found out about Flash.” That was a gross simplification of the situation, but it was all she could cop to without crying.
At least with Flash in the house, she’d been able to get some more sleep. She wouldn’t have had a prayer of getting through this night otherwise.
Renee handed Bean back to Brooke and then gave her another sideways hug. “I’ll be honest—the Lawrences can be overbearing, overwhelming and completely over-the-top. But they’ll fight for you and this little guy until the very end, if you let them.”
Bean launched his daddy’s smile at Brooke. “I just want things to work out,” she said softly, hugging her baby tight.
“They will,” Renee promised. “Just maybe not the way you thought they would.”
* * *
Flash stood off to the side, making Trixie giggle as he blew bubbles on her tummy. T
he whole time, he watched Brooke, who was deep in conversation with Renee.
Chloe came up and topped off her water. “It seems to be going well,” she said, nodding toward the two women.
Flash introduced Chloe to Alex. “She’s nervous,” Alex announced. “Excuse me.”
“I’d be worried if she weren’t,” Chloe agreed. Once Alex had joined Renee and Brooke, Chloe turned her full attention to Flash. “All the pieces are in place. You know what you need to do, right?”
“Yes. I knew the last three times you asked, too.”
He was not going to let everyone’s nervousness get to him, though. The situation was under control. The babies were happy, the tea was steeping and Brooke’s introduction to his family was going well. Really, really well.
He still couldn’t get over the fight between Brooke and her mother, though. Meeting Crissy Bonner had made sense of a lot of stuff. He could see how Brooke had been completely overruled by her mother, how Brooke keeping Flash’s contribution to their son quiet hadn’t necessarily been a selfish act but one of quiet rebellion.
Oh, he was still plenty mad at Crissy Bonner. But between that fight and everything Brooke had told him since then, it was getting a lot harder to hold on to his anger at Brooke herself. He’d always understood on a logical level that she hadn’t told him about the baby because she’d seen those headlines and panicked. But when he counted how Brooke’s mom had been manipulating her...
Brooke had stood up for Flash. More than that, she’d stood up for herself.
God, she was amazing. And, better than that, she was wearing his ring.
Oliver rumbled, “You are going to marry her, aren’t you?” while snatching Trixie from Flash’s arms.
“That is the literal definition of engaged,” Flash said, refusing to allow any resentment to take hold at the note of doubt in Oliver’s voice. “But I’m not going to drag her down the aisle tomorrow. That was the deal.”
“Of course I’m not saying that.” This serious declaration was interrupted by Oliver spinning in a circle with his daughter, making the baby shriek with glee. “I’m saying, make it legal.”
“Working on it,” Flash said through gritted teeth as he squeezed the honey into Brooke’s tea.
Chloe slapped Oliver on the arm. “It’s been four days, dude. Give the man some room to work. We have a plan.” She turned back to Flash. Any gratitude he might have felt toward her for standing up for him evaporated when she added, “You remember your part, right?”
“Would you two back off?” Flash was really proud of the way he kept his voice calm. “I’m not going to blow up and I’m not going to lash out. I know why I’m here and what I’m supposed to do, so stop acting like I’m still nineteen, got it?”
Chloe and Oliver exchanged a look. It did not inspire a great deal of confidence.
“Got it?” Flash said more forcefully.
His phone buzzed—a message from Dad. Good luck tonight—and bring that girl and that baby home on Monday! I want to meet my grandson!
Flash grinned. At least they’d convinced Dad to stay home for this night. Things tended to go haywire when he showed up at rodeos. Besides, Flash hadn’t wanted to overwhelm Brooke with relatives and if Milt Lawrence was anything, it was overwhelming.
Will do. Thanks, Dad, he texted back.
“You need to head down,” Chloe said after listening to the earpiece. Pete was no doubt on the other end. “Hey—about the Cowboy of the Year championship...”
“Listen,” he told his siblings. “I’m still in it to win it, okay? Tomorrow we’ll work on setting up visitation schedules around the All-Stars and her concert dates. But that’s tomorrow. Tonight, I’m counting on you to keep Brooke and James safe and happy. Do not upset her. No mentioning lawyers or money or anything that starts with the phrase ‘you should.’ Can you handle that?”
“Of course,” Oliver scoffed, as if he hadn’t spent a few decades telling Flash what he should or should not be doing.
“Promise,” Chloe added, looking about as chastised as Flash had ever seen her. “The situation is under control.”
“The more you say that, the more worried I get,” Flash muttered as he cut around them and headed toward Brooke, tea in hand.
Awkward family meetings aside, this was the sort of thing he could get used to. Brooke and James were looking out at the arena. They’d watch him ride and then they’d head back to her place for the night. James would probably exercise his lungs at some point in the wee hours and Flash would get up with him, letting Brooke sleep as long as possible. Then they’d flop back in bed together, taking comfort in each other’s bodies.
He hadn’t been lying—tomorrow would bring schedules and negotiations and complications. But tonight was his. This was his rodeo and she was...
She might just be his forever.
Because if he married her, there was no going back on that. Lawrence men—and women—were one-and-done people.
“Hey, I’ve got to head down,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. Renee shot him a wink and excused herself. Alex did the same, giving him and Brooke as much privacy as possible in the crowded suite. “Your tea. Doing okay?”
“Your sister-in-law is nice,” she said, and he was thankful to hear relief in her voice. “I didn’t tell her everything, but I got the feeling she’d understand.”
“She would. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever known, but—and I mean this—don’t ever trust her when she’s holding water balloons.”
Brooke chuckled, which made Bean look up from where he was gumming a rattle.
“You up for this, little man?” Flash asked, stroking his son’s soft hair. A week ago, he’d been a single man, pining for the woman of his dreams. Now?
Now he was so much more.
James grinned around his rattle.
“That’s my boy.” Flash leaned his chin onto Brooke’s shoulder. “We’re going to get through this, babe. Just a few hours and then we’ll be back home. You can do it.”
She blew a hard breath. “Trust me, no one knows that the show must go on like I do. Now get going.”
“I’m going—but I’m coming back,” he said with a grin, kissing her on the neck. “See you soon.” When he turned around, he found the attention of every single person in the room on him. Oliver almost smiled, which was the same as a normal person jumping for joy. Chloe gave Flash a thumbs-up, and he could tell that was exactly the sort of display she wanted to see in an hour. Renee beamed a huge smile at him, and even Alex nodded in approval.
So far, so good. Now they just had to get through the rodeo without tanking his place in the standings, and then he could have Brooke all to himself again.
Yup, he was feeling lucky tonight.
Sixteen
“Ready?” Alex muttered.
“Yes.”
This was just ten minutes out of Brooke’s life. She’d basically handed over the reins of her social media to Chloe and Kari so she wouldn’t have to deal with the notifications for a few days. So really, this was no big deal.
Brooke did a final check on Bean’s headphones to make sure the baby hadn’t knocked them off in the last three minutes. Then she squared her shoulders and put her game face on.
“And Dan Jones makes the time!” an announcer yelled over the roar of the crowd.
Dan was their cue.
“It’s time,” Chloe said, guiding them out from the tiny alcove created underneath the chutes that had been blocked off from public view by promotional banners. Brooke followed and Alex brought up the rear.
They climbed the rickety metal stairs to the top of the chutes where Flash was waiting. He turned to her just as the announcer said, “Up next is Flash Lawrence, who’s having a heck of a comeback year.”
“Hey babe,” Flash said over
the roar of the crowd as he stepped into her. “You okay?”
She knew it was for the show, that they were both playing to the cameras; still, the obvious concern in his eyes was touching. “Holding steady,” she said as he lowered her head to hers.
“Good girl,” he murmured against her lips.
“That’s right,” the other announcer said. “After a rough...uh, Jimbo? Who’s Flash kissing?”
Brooke kept her eyes closed because she didn’t really want to see Flash kissing her blown up on a jumbotron.
“Is that Nashville’s own Brooke Bonner, the country superstar?” Jimbo asked. “Larry, is there something going on we didn’t know about?”
A hush fell over the arena, and Brooke knew everyone was staring and asking the same questions.
“Almost there,” Flash whispered as he lifted Bean out of her arms. “Being good for Mommy?” he asked as he pressed a kiss to the one small section of Bean’s head the headphones weren’t covering. And, bless his little heart, Bean smiled.
Brooke exhaled in relief and remembered to smile. Hopefully, it looked real and not like she was having a low-grade panic attack, because there was no going back now. Bean was officially public knowledge.
“Jimbo—is that a baby? Did you know Flash Lawrence had a baby?”
The crowd gasped in complete unison as Brooke flattened her palm high on Flash’s chest so the massive diamond he’d bought her was right next to Bean’s back.
“Larry, is that an engagement ring?” Jimbo asked.
“Look at the size of that rock!” Larry was clearly impressed.
Seconds later, the crowd erupted into cheers so deafening that even with his protective headphones, Bean flinched.
“Flash, you’re up!” Pete said. “Good job, everyone!”
Brooke took Bean back and gave Flash a kiss for luck while the crowd cheered. So far, so good. She’d been in front of enough audiences to know they had the arena eating out of the palms of their hands. This might be a show, but it was a good one.
And Flash knew it.
His for One Night Page 14