Fade to Red (23 page)

“You will. I just don’t want to miss any more time with him if he
is
my son.”

“If you get his hopes up in
any
way, whatsoever, I will destroy you,” she said under her breath.

He heard her loud and clear. “You’ve already said that, and I’m done being bullied by you, Roxie Taylor.”

She threw both hands up and wanted to throttle him. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to regain her composure before she turned and walked back to the table. He was on her heels. When they sat down, his brows were drawn together, but then he looked down at Leo next to him and his face lit up.

“There’s this phenomenal restaurant we’ll visit, too. You’re gonna love it, Leo. They have these amazing crepes.”

He went into a long explanation of what crepes were and how the chocolate oozes out of them. Leo sat there, spellbound.

Roxie rested her forehead in her hands and tried not to cry. She’d always wanted Leo to have a dad, but nothing was worth the fear of losing him. Beckham seemed so determined for Leo to be his, she wasn’t sure a test result would settle it for him one way or the other.

Ian looked around and settled onto a stool. He had arrived at the hair and makeup trailer before Suzanne and Coco, which was a first. It was usually bustling in there by the time he showed up. He looked at his watch—oh, he was way
later
than usual. Maybe they’d assumed he wasn’t coming … sometimes he didn’t.

The bright lights showed the sun he’d gotten the other day. He hadn’t realized he’d gotten that much. He noticed skin peeling around his right eyebrow and started pulling it.
Damn
. That made it worse. He looked around for lotion or something that might help.

He found lotion and squirted some—a huge glob filled his hand.

“Shit!” He jumped up and looked around for a paper towel. He didn’t see any on the counter, so he opened a couple of nearby drawers. Nothing but hair products, makeup, and pain medication.

“Ian?”

He turned around and saw Coco standing by the door.

“I got way too much.” He showed her his hand. “Thought I might find some paper towels.”

“You can wash it off in the sink.”

He nodded. “Should’ve done that in the first place,” he said.

She leaned down to shut the drawer. “Been waiting long?”

“No. First time I’ve been the only one in here, though.”

“I was a-about to lock up. Thought you weren’t coming.”

“If you could just put some junk in my hair to get it to stay—it’s getting too long and I’m out of the good stuff.”

“Sure.”

He watched her grab the hair paste. As she got closer, her hand shook, and he felt bad if he made her nervous. They’d never really talked much. He knew she was shy and usually Suzanne was available when he walked in.

She fixed his hair and studied him when she stepped back. He lifted his eyebrows and she turned around and got lotion, getting the perfect amount out and putting it above his brow.

“Thank you,” he said. He looked down. Her hands had a few painful-looking cuts. “Oh wow, doesn’t that sting your hands? What happened?”

“Got a bigger pair of scissors than what I usually cut hair with … d-didn’t work out so well for my hands.” She blinked and gave him a shy smile.

“Oh, thought you were gonna say the oven or a flat iron.” He cringed. “Scissors, ouch!”

“F-flat iron doesn’t like me much either,” she agreed.

Poor girl. She really was awkward. Surprisingly good with hair though. He stood and walked toward the door, trying to get out of there before he gave her a heart attack.

“Thanks for the hair,” he said, with a wave.

She held up a hand. “B-break a leg tonight,” she said.

He had almost reached his bus when he heard his name called. He turned around and Coco was walking toward him holding out the hair product.

“Had extra. You take it.”

His hand accidentally brushed hers when he took the container. He felt her stiffen and he quickly pulled his hand away. Her eyes were wide when she looked at him.

“That’s so thoughtful. Thank you,” he said. “I’ll make sure to replace it when I get a chance.”

“Not necessary,” she said slowly. “Haircut next time.” She gave him a big smile and walked away.

“Okay then.”

He was shaking his head when he got on the bus.

“What’s the matter?” Sparrow asked.

“I’ve met someone clumsier than you,” he teased.

She frowned and jabbed his side. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said against her lips. Before he could feel her up, she backed away. “Aw, come on, I didn’t mean it. Kiss me.”

She smiled but shook her head. “Who is it? You didn’t fall in love with their clumsy ways, did you?”

He snorted. “No, definitely not. You know Coco, hair and makeup girl?”

Sparrow scrunched her nose. “You’ve actually had a conversation with her? I’ve never heard her say a word. She’s pretty though.” She jumped when he tickled her side.

“You think so? I haven’t noticed.”

“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes.

“I’m not kidding even a little bit.”

“She’s strange, but obviously,
pretty
.”

“The ‘strange’ I picked up on.” He held up the hair paste. “Got this out of the deal.”

“Aw, someone’s got a crush on you…”

He tickled her harder and she fell into his neck, laughing.

“Stop,” she wheezed, “I don’t want Journey to wake up yet.”

“You didn’t tell me she was asleep.” His eyes got hazy as he reached under her shirt and tweaked her nipple. He leaned down and kissed his way up her stomach until he reached her bra. “Why aren’t we naked yet?” He unsnapped the bra and grinned up at her when it fell to the floor.

“Someone came in all distracted by clumsy girls,” she said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He lifted her skirt and turned around to sit on the couch. “Mmm, this is gonna be good.”

“You’re supposed to be onstage in twen—ohhhh, mmm…” She grabbed his hair and held on.

“I’ve been off all day,” he said. “I just need a little taste.”

By the time they were done, he’d had more than a little.

She giggled when he pulled out of her.

“I wrecked your hair,” she said.

“I’m gonna leave it like this for the show … that way you can look at me and know that I’m still enjoying the taste of you.”

He sauntered off the bus, still buttoning his jeans, even though he was about to be late.

After the show, Ian was worn out and headed back to the bus.

“Ian, wait up!” Beckham called.

Ian turned and waited for Beckham to reach him.

“Hey, you killed it tonight, man,” Ian said.

“You think so? Thanks. I expected tonight to be hard, but it helped to get out there and let out all my frustration. Now I’m wiped out.” He put an arm around Ian’s shoulder. “I feel like I’ve learned more working with you the last few months than I have the last ten years of touring. Your musicianship ups the quality of every player out there—we all do better. I’m
so
glad you’re here.”

Ian squeezed Beckham’s shoulder. “Grateful you feel that way. It’s been a kick. I’m loving it. You’ve spoiled me, you know that, right? I’m not gonna want to tour without you now.”

“I’ve been so burned out. You almost make me never want to quit.”

Ian laughed. “I’d say it was meant to be then!”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something—should have long before now. Besides what happened with Sparrow spraining her foot, has Brooke given you any reason to think she’s violent? Roxie thinks she was responsible for that. What do you think?”

“I don’t trust her…”

“But do you think she hurt Sparrow on purpose?”

“I don’t know—her apology surprised me. And she’s backed off since then,” he admitted.

Beckham blew a long breath out of his nose. “Okay. I’ll try to get to the bottom of it.”

Beckham had agreed that Roxie, Chloe, and Leo should stay on Anthony’s bus when he remembered his mom was coming the next afternoon. In all the havoc, he’d completely forgotten about her visit. He was so glad he hadn’t told her about Roxie yet—relief did not even begin to cover it. That had been the cosmos finally aligning right there.

He’d sat in on the questioning of Brooke. She swore she didn’t damage Roxie’s things, said she’d never liked her but that she’d never done anything like that. By the time she was done talking, all five of them in the room had been fairly certain it wasn’t her. Just in case, Beckham and a detective friend he’d called just to scare her, made sure they put the fear of God in her to not step near Roxie or her things.

The next morning was an unusually bitter cold day in Atlanta. He’d talked up the Ferris Wheel so much, there was no getting out of it. The ride was about to close due to the weather when they showed up, but Beckham convinced them to keep it open for one more ride. They froze. Leo gasped when the ride started and the air felt even colder. He looked at his mom for reassurance, but when she cuddled him closer he smiled the rest of the ride. It was worth it.

When they got off and walked to the Jeep, Leo started squealing and pointed to his nose. Apparently his nose had started to run and froze mid-stream. Leo looked terrified, but when Beckham and Roxie laughed hysterically, he nervously chuckled too. Roxie pulled Kleenex out of her purse and got the gross icicle off, making him give his nose a good blow while he was at it.

They’d picked up Beckham’s mom together, despite Roxie arguing all the way that he needed to go get her alone. Under his breath, he made a deal with her to not say a word about Leo, but said the deal was off if she’d heard about it on TV.

Leo was a hit with Sophia. Actually, she was immediately taken with both Leo and Roxie. Beckham realized his mistake in bringing Roxie as soon as his mom’s eyes lit onto the three of them together.

By that night, Leo had managed to tell the whole crew about his ‘icicle boogies’ and was still getting laughs out of everyone he told, so he made the rounds a second time.

Beckham noticed how Roxie always kept an eye on Leo, even when she let him roam around a room. She knew where he was at all times. It was obvious from how they interacted with one another that she was a really good mother. As angry as he was with her, deep down he knew she was protective of her little boy. Looking back on his history, all the things she’d probably heard in the press, he could
somewhat
understand why she’d want to keep Leo from all of that. He’d never completely understand why, but when he saw her with Leo, it almost softened him toward Roxie again. Almost.

He just knew Leo was his. There could be no other explanation for the bond Beckham felt with him. It had been immediate and he only felt the connection growing.

Somehow he’d have to work past the former feelings he’d had for Roxie and the new mixed-up ones and move forward so Leo would have the best possible upbringing. Beckham was determined to make up for the years they’d lost. He was thankful Leo was still young enough that he wouldn’t hold it against Beckham for not being around before now. At least that’s what he hoped.

As for why Roxie would continue to insist that Leo wasn’t his, he couldn’t figure that out. Maybe she was afraid he’d try to take Leo from her, but every child needed both parents—he had to remind himself of this at least a hundred times a day since he’d found out about Leo. As much as he wanted to steal away with him, he knew he could never take his son from his mother.

A couple of days went by and Beckham thought for sure they’d have the results back by the time they arrived in Washington, D.C., but no such luck. Nate called and told Beckham to let him know the minute he knew anything. Cleveland and Boston went by, and still no word.

They arrived in New York and would only be in town a few days for two shows and the late night circuit. Then they’d all fly to L.A. for the Grammy Awards for a couple of nights. Without a concert every night and staying in a hotel, it would almost feel like a break, even though it’d still be hectic.

He tried to get Roxie to come to the hotel too, with Leo and Chloe, but she insisted on staying on Anthony’s bus. She was so stubborn.

He stretched out on his bed for about an hour and slept. As soon as he got up, he felt restless. The hotel room felt claustrophobic. He missed them.
Leo.
He missed Leo. He swallowed his pride and called Roxie.