Read Online Face the Music by Andrea K. Robbins - Free Book Online Page B

teased. 
    Determination tugged at her brow as she flipped ahead a few pages.  “See?”  She stabbed at a picture with her little finger.  “I told you so.  It’s magic.”
    The two of them were so cute sitting there.  It wasn’t often that Molly had the luxury of male company.  “Molly, do you want to go outside?” I asked.
    They both looked up at me.  Molly’s eyes were round with excitement.  Chris’s were round too, but I didn’t know why.
    “The park?” Molly asked.
    I nodded.
    “Yes!” she squealed, jumping off Chris’s la p and running for her coat. 
    Chris was still looking at me.  “Your hair looks really nice down.”
    I felt myself redden as I played with the hair - band around my wrist.  I never left the house without one.  “Thanks.”
    Molly tugged on my pants.  “ Aunt Allie, i s Chris coming too?” she whispered.
    “Why don’t you ask him?” I whispered back.
    She walked right up to him but stopped short of his knees.  With her hands on her hips, she batted her little eyelashes and gave him a sweet smile.  “Sup-a-star Chris, do you want to go outside and play with me?” 
    He looked at her with complete adoration.  “How could I possibly refuse ?  Are you ready?”
    She took his hand and pulled him towards the door.
    “How long have you been singing?” I asked once we were outside.  The breeze was having a field day with my hair.  I really wanted to pull it back.
    “As long as I can remember.  I’ve always loved music.  My mom put me in piano and guitar lessons when I was six.  I’ve been playing ever since.”
    “So , you always wanted to be a musician?”
    “I wouldn’t say always.  I hit a rough patch as a teen.  It took a few years for me to pull my head out of my ass.”
    I didn’t want to pry, but curiosity got the best of me.  “Rough patch?  What happened?”
    He frowned a bit and shrugged.  I wanted to kick myself for asking .  “Let’s just say I had a rebellious streak.  Found some trouble.”
    Fascination doesn’t even begin to describe what I felt.  If I had been a cat I would have suffered nine deaths to find out more.
    “I was working as a mechanic when I auditioned for the show.  Some friends and I had a garage band.  We did okay, played a few nights a week at a local club, did a wedding every now and then.  It was pretty low-key. ”   He laughed.  “I’d never even considered going out for the show.  My sister was the one who convinced me to try.”
    “Are you close with your family?”
    “Oh yeah.  They’re great, I couldn’t ask for anything better.  I’ve got three older brothers and a sister.”
    “You’re the baby?”
    He nodded .  “Yep.”
    “I’m so jealous- I’ve always wanted a big fa mily.  It was just Emily and me .  Things were always so quiet.  Someday I’m going to have lots of kids.  I want a whole house ful .”
    “Me too,” he said, fixing his eyes on my face.  “Someday.”
    I shuddered.
    “What about you?” he asked.  “ What’s your story?”
    I gav e him the run-down on my family, composed entirely of me, Molly, Emily, and Grams.  “Grams suffers from dementia.  She’s in a nursing home in the city.  Most days she doesn’t even know her own name, much less mine.”
    “That must be really hard, ” he said.  “I can’t imagine.”  We stopped to let a car zoom by , and I held onto Molly’s hand as we crossed the street.  “I guess Emily was pretty young when she had Molly?” he asked once we got to the park.
    “Yep, she was a senior in high school when she got pregnant.  Molly’s father was a few years older and took off when Emily told him she having a baby.”
    Chris groaned.  “That’s too bad.”
    “Yeah, it was tough,” I agreed.  “But Molly’s great.  I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”
    “ Of course not.  What about the rest of your family?  Where are your parents?”
    I looked at the ground and kicked a rock.  It rolled a few