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He knew it, because he’d been trying to get there all damn night.
“Timing was off,” Wade said finally. “It happens. In my business, it means the difference between a bestselling song and one that’s doomed to be a B-side from now until eternity.”
Colt smiled, but the reminder of the success his baby bro had found with his singing career was just one more blow in a night full of them. Not that he wasn’t ridiculously proud and thrilled that Wade had made so much of himself. A famous fucking singer, with his own backup band and gold albums to his credit. He’d stumbled a bit sales-wise in recent years, but the album Wade was working on now with some hotshot songwriter out of LA was sure to put him right back on top.
He hadn’t washed out of the NFL in a matter of years and returned home to lick his wounds, choosing to hide out in a horse pasture all day rather than deal with the looks from people who still wondered what the hell had happened to Quinn’s one-time golden boy.
His tarnish was shining bright tonight.
“You’re a lot more philosophical than I would be in your place,” Colt said, raising his hand to the bartender for another drink. Wade had stood by while his older brother impregnated and married the girl he’d loved since high school, though Colt had been oblivious to Wade and Char’s high school feelings.
Oblivious to way too much, truth be told.
If Char hadn’t lost their baby after their shotgun wedding, would they all still be standing there today? Or would he and Char have continued on pumping out kids for eternity, existing as friends who happened to be married and nothing more, happy enough but without that spark that made life worth living? Or would she and Wade have somehow found their way to each other anyway?
Maybe the questions didn’t matter, because
the answers were at the bottom of his glass. He’d find them all eventually. Collect them like sand dollars he could scatter and watch gather at his feet.
“Cheers,” he said to his silent brother, picking up his refilled glass.
“Listen, man, why don’t you finish that one and I’ll give you a ride back to the ranch? It’s getting to be that time of night.”
Colt barked out a laugh, well aware that several heads swiveled their way. They’d probably been expecting a scene all night. He’d hate to disappoint anyone else.
“What time of night is that? The time when you pour the drunk sod into his own bed?”
Alone.
“Nah, it’s a tradition. Remember when you dumped me in bed a million years ago when I got wasted at Uncle Petey’s wedding?”
“You were sixteen,” Colt said drily. “Not quite the same.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t want Mom to find out I’d gotten lit at the ceremony. You did me a big favor by cutting me off.”
Colt swirled his glass. “So what favor will you be doing me? Keeping the rest of the guests from knowing I’m a maudlin jerk who can’t hold his liquor?”
“You’re holding it just fine.” Wade gave him a steady look and went to wrap his arm around his older brother’s shoulders. “C’mon, let’s—”
Colt shook him off. “No. I’ve got this.”
Wade gave him an easy smile and held up his hands. “Never said you didn’t.”
Jesus, he hated being coddled. Or managed. Worse, he hated the idea of Wade not enjoying every damn minute of this night. He’d earned it. Both he and Char had.
Colt shifted his gaze behind Wade to where couples danced to an old Frank Sinatra standard. His mother had probably suggested it. She loved ol’ Blue Eyes. But in between the swirling pastel dresses and laughing faces, he glimpsed pity. Aimed at him. No one would come right out and say it, but some of the good people of Quinn felt sorry for him. And that was a distraction Wade didn’t need.
Tonight was supposed to be about him and his new bride—and only them.
“I’m fine,” Colt said quietly, reaching out to clasp his brother’s forearm. His grip was strong enough that Wade nodded. “But I have an early day tomorrow.”
“Yeah, since I’ve been back helping out Coach and Lorelie, I’ve become intimately reacquainted with the realities of farm life.” He grinned. “Holy shit, I didn’t miss the early wakeup time.”
It was surprisingly easy for Colt to grin back. “Yeah, that’s because you’re a lazy-ass musician who prefers to sleep half the day.”
“Truth, brother.”
They smiled at each other, and for that moment, Colt felt nothing but gratitude that his little brother was back in his life. They’d barely spoken for the better part of a decade, during the time Colt had been married and divorced from Char and Wade had been off making his fortune in Nashville.
