Sing For Me by Rachel Schurig

Will

“Ithink this was a mistake,” I mutter from the back of the rental car.

“Quit your bitching,” River shoots over his shoulder from the driver’s seat. “We’re almost there. Besides, Aunt Paige is making those brownies we love. What could be wrong about a vacation with those brownies?”

Eva pokes me in the side. “He has a point. Brownies make most things better.”

I can’t manage to muster up a smile. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

She rolls her eyes. “You talk like we’re going into battle, Will. It’s your family, not Napoleon’s army.”

“You might prefer Napoleon by the time the afternoon is through,” I mutter.

“You’re ridiculous.” She leans forward in between the two front seats to talk to River and Rose. “Okay, quiz me again.”

“You do not need to be quizzed, Eva,” I say, but they all ignore me.

Rose clears her throat. “Reed is married to…”

“Paige,” Eva says immediately. “And their kids are Everly, Santana, and Vega.”

“Missed Presley,” River says, and Eva swears.

“She comes between Everly and Santana?”

“You got it. Okay, next up is Cash—”

“Married to Sam,” she cuts in. “Kids are Wyatt, Will, Silas, and Cecelia.” She shoots me a smile. “Easy.”

I don’t know if I should be impressed or annoyed. I hate that she thinks she needs to impress my family. On the other hand, she looks damn cute smiling like that, all proud of herself for getting the right answer.

“Speaking of the Warner branch,” River cuts in. “Is Wyatt going to be here?”

“It doesn’t sound like he can get away.” I turn to Eva and explain. “He’s a concert pianist and he tours a lot.”

“He hasn’t been home in ages,” Rose says. “I wish he would come.”

I do too. Wyatt would take a hell of a lot of pressure off of me when it comes to our parents. As much as they bitch about my so-called absence, his are much more extensive.

I also would really like to introduce Eva to my brother. I try not to think too hard about what that might mean.

Rose and River continue to quiz Eva on the families. She gets Levi’s and Lennon’s kids right, but forgets about Ash in Daltrey’s family.

“Not bad,” Rose tells her, pleased.

“Lot of good the names will do me when I don’t know what anyone looks like.”

“If you want to get someone’s attention, just say, hey you,” Rose suggests.

“Yeah, I don’t think even my mom has gotten my name right on the first try ever in my life,” River adds.

“You’ll do great, Eva,” Rose says. “Don’t stress.”

I’m stressed enough for the both of us.

It feels like not enough time has passed before River is turning up the familiar winding driveway. “You guys really are in the middle of nowhere, aren’t you?” Eva asks as the thick forest creeps by through our windows.

“My dad always bitched about their parents buying this place,” I tell Eva. “He was not a fan of being off the grid.”

“Until him and the other brothers started having kids too,” Rose says. “All of a sudden they could see the benefit of having an escape like this.”

“So, your parents own the house?” Eva asks Rose.

“They own the original farmhouse,” she explains. “The other guys bought the land surrounding it and built the lodge.”

Just then we come out through a break in the trees and the old farmhouse comes into view in front of us. “Oh,” Eva breathes. “That’s so sweet.”

“And there’s the monstrosity my dad built,” I say, pointing at the excessively large log and glass home set off on a nearby hill.

“Uncle Cash is such a show-off,” River says, laughing.

“Yeah, sometimes I don’t understand how you’re not his kid,” Rose mutters.

At the sound of our car, a bunch of kids come running around the side of the barn. As River pulls in to park next to the long line of cars already here, the front door bangs open, more people spilling out onto the porch.

“Looks like they’re laying out the welcome mat for us,” Rose says, and I bite back a groan.

“Of course they are.”

Eva reaches over and takes my hand, giving it a squeeze. “It’s going to be fine,” she tells me.

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that to you?”

“Well, I’m not the one who’s acting like a giant baby, am I?”

River and Rose crack up. “I knew I liked you, Eva,” River says, unbuckling his seatbelt. Eva winks at me and follows my cousins out of the car.

It’s tempting to sit here in the car for the rest of the day, but it would probably be pretty shitty to leave Eva to fend for herself with the crazy that is the Ransome family. I mentally cross my fingers that this whole thing doesn’t go off the rails and climb out of the car.

The little girls—Violet, Vega, and CeCe—are crowded around Rose, hugging her like they haven’t seen her in years, instead of just a few days. River has somehow managed to get his gangly thirteen-year-old brother Ash over his shoulder and he’s spinning around while the kid laughs. “Will!” Silas calls and then I’m surrounded by three teenagers as my brother, Lyric, and Nix all press in around me.

“You’re totally famous, Will,” Lyric singsongs. “You were all over twitter and Instagram.”

“I heard you have a girlfriend,” Nix adds in a pretty good imitation of her high falsetto. Behind him, I see most of the parents descending from the porch and shit, I’m already overwhelmed.

“You hanging in there, buddy?” Eva murmurs in my ear and I look down to see her grinning up at me like she finds all of this so amusing.

“You just wait until they start asking you questions,” I warn. “I hope you’ve picked out your wedding colors already.”

“My what?”

I smirk at her. “That’s what I thought.”

“Let’s give them a little breathing room,” a familiar voice says and the kids miraculously listen, parting to let my parents through. Immediately my palms start to sweat.

“Uh, Dad,” I say, trying not to fidget. “I think you met Eva at the gala?”

“It’s good to see you again,” he says, shaking her hand with a huge grin on his face.

I swallow hard, turning to my mother. Her expressive brown eyes twinkle up at me, filled with amusement and what looks a lot like gratitude. My stomach dips as I think about how long it’s been since I’ve been here, and how much that probably hurt her. But then my mom grins and her smile is as familiar to me as my own reflection.

“Mom. This is Eva.” I take her hand in mine. “Eva, meet my mother.”

I can’t shake the feeling that this moment means something, but what, I’m not exactly sure. All I know is that when my mom turns that smile on Eva and immediately pulls her into a hug, something in my chest tightens, pulling taut and almost painful, before it dissolves into warmth.

“I’m so glad to meet you,” my mom murmurs, pulling back to study Eva’s face. “And so glad you’re going to be spending the week with us here.”

I can tell that Eva is affected by the moment as well from the way she has to swallow several times before answering. “Thank you so much for having me.”

My mom waves the thanks away. “It’s our pleasure. Now, listen.” She gives Eva a stern sort of look. “This crowd can be overwhelming. Please feel free to ignore any and all of us as needed.”

Eva laughs. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“A few of the younger girls are a little overexcited about your visit,” my mom continues in a lowered voice, and from a few feet away I can see a cluster of them—Santana, Violet, and Vega—pretending not to stare at Eva. “We had a talk with them about appropriate behavior, but if any of them step out of line, you let me know.”

Eva’s cheeks go pink. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” she stammers.

I cut in. “I’ll make sure they keep it together,” I tell my mom.

“Good.” She takes a glance behind her, probably notices all the curious stares, and rolls her eyes. “Do you want to go get settled first, or go through the gauntlet and get the introductions over with?”

“Do we really need to do introductions?” I ask, feeling tense again. “They all freaking know who she is.”

“It’s fine,” Eva murmurs, squeezing my hand, but I can see the glances she’s throwing out towards the crowd milling around the grass behind my mom. She’s getting uncomfortable.

Before I can insist that we go inside, my mom slings an arm around her. “Let’s do this, instead,” she says, then raises her voice to a shout. “Hey everyone! Say hi to Eva.”

“Hi, Eva,” they all chorus loudly.

“Eva,” my mom continues. “This is everyone.” Then she smiles down at her. “There. All done.”

Eva laughs. “Thank you, Mrs. Ransome.”

“Call me Sam,” my mom insists. “Why don’t you guys go get settled.” She turns to me. “We put Eva in the blue room on the second floor. You’re across the hall.”

My eyebrows go up. “In the farmhouse?” My uncle Daltrey is usually very strict about keeping the farmhouse as uncrowded and peaceful as possible. Unless I was having a sleepover with Rose and River, I usually slept in the lodge.

My mom winks. “We figured it would be a little calmer for you over there. More quiet.”

I lean down and kiss her cheek, filled with gratitude that she’s making all of this so much smoother. “Thanks, Mom,” I whisper in her ear.

She pats my chest and there’s a distinct wetness in her eyes before she blinks it away. “I’m just glad you’re here.” She smiles at Eva. “Barbecue in twenty minutes if you’re up for it.”

“I cook a mean burger,” my dad adds.

My mom rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry, there will be plenty of food he had nothing to do with.”

“Hey!” My dad grabs her around the waist, pulling her into his chest, and I can see her trying to fight the smile. “You love my cooking, woman.”

“Uh huh,” she deadpans, then squeals when he starts to tickle her.

“We’ll go get settled,” I say, pulling Eva back to the car as the unmistakable sound of my parents kissing hits my ears.

“They’re really in love, aren’t they?”

“Yup,” I confirm. “It’s both sickening and really nice.”

She laughs as I pull our bags from the trunk. “Well I think it’s just nice.”

“That’s because you’ve never brought a date home at the age of fifteen and found them making out on the couch.” She slaps a hand over her mouth to try and cover the snort of laughter. “I’d like to say that’s the only time something like that happened, but I’d be lying.” I hold up the bags. “We can head inside in one minute, but I need to say hello to my grandparents first. You can hang out with Rose if you want—I’ll just be a second.”

“I want to meet them,” she says, and that too has a flood of warmth simmering in my chest. They’re standing over by my Uncle Reed and as we approach, I feel Eva falter a little at my side. “Does your grandmother have purple hair?”

I laugh. Sure enough, Grandma’s short pixie haircut is dyed a shocking shade of bright purple. She’d had blue tips the last time I saw her. “Of course.”

My grandfather’s eyes light up when he sees us. “If it isn’t my namesake,” he says, and I laugh, going in for a hug.

“Eva, this is my grandfather, Will.”

“The original version,” Grandpa says as my grandma pulls my face down to place a smacking kiss on my forehead.

“And this is Ruby,” I continue. “She’s one of a kind.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Eva,” Grandma says. “We’ve heard so much about you.”

I groan. “The kids are spreading gossip to the two of you now?”

Grandpa laughs. “Son, nothing happens in this family without me knowing.”

“Great,” I mutter. “Well on that note, we’re getting out of the mob.” I look to Eva. “Ready to make a run for it?”

“Lead the way.”

We manage to make it through the throngs of cousins—the parents must have given them a good talking to, because no one does anything more than wave or shout hello, a few of them making kissy faces at me. But our good luck runs out when we’re nearly to freedom, only a few feet away from the front porch.

“Will!” My Aunt Paige steps in front of us, cutting off our escape route, and I nearly groan out loud.

So, here’s the thing about my Aunt Paige. She’s one of my favorite people in the world. She’s by far the most fun person I know. I have literally never been bored with her around—she always has some game or adventure planned. She loves fiercely and she’s incredibly loyal. If someone is sad, it becomes her life mission to make it better. She’s wonderful and I love her dearly.

She’s also the last person I want to talk to right now.

“Will!” She wraps me up in what has the be the shortest Paige hug ever—the reason for which is obvious when she practically pushes me away to greet Eva.

“Hello! It’s so nice to meet you!” Eva is also pulled into a hug and I can see her wide, bewildered eyes over Paige’s shoulder.

“Eva, this is my Aunt Paige,” I tell her, shooting desperate glances at the crowd in search of Reed or Daisy or anyone else to come and get us out of this.

“I’m so happy you’re here, Eva,” my aunt says, not letting go of her hands. “I’m such a big fan—”

“Oh my God,” I mutter, closing my eyes. Of course, my mom made it a point to talk to the little kids about not fangirling over Eva but apparently didn’t mention it to Paige.

She shoots me a wounded glance. “I’m just saying that I hope we can get to know each other.”

“That would be nice,” Eva says and I scan her face for signs that she might be overwhelmed. Instead, she looks like she’s doing her best to keep from laughing. At me. I narrow my eyes at her.

“I think you’ll have so much fun here,” Aunt Paige is saying. “There’s a creek on the property for swimming, if it gets warm enough. And we can kayak if you like that. Oh, and we’re going to have marshmallows every night because they are my favorite and—”

“Hey,” an amused voice says and Aunt Karen slides onto the porch next to Paige. I shoot her a pleading look and I’m pretty sure she’s trying not to laugh too. “I think the kids were heading in to get settled, Paige.”

“Oh, I’m just saying hi,” she says quickly.

“Uh huh,” Karen says. “The day you just say hi is the day I take up a career in the circus.” She shoots us a grin. “Head inside. I’ll hold her off.”

“Hey!” Paige yells, but I grab Eva’s hand and pull her into the house before she can say anything else.

“Wow,” Eva says in the sudden quiet of the front hall. “I didn’t realize your face could turn that shade of red.”

“Shut it,” I mutter, heading towards the creaky staircase that will lead us upstairs.

“I’m serious, Will. You’re practically turning purple.”

I flip her off over my shoulder and the sound of her husky laughter has me fighting a grin in spite of my earlier annoyance.

That annoyance makes a sudden, sharp return when we get to her room and are greeted with the sight of about fifty pictures of my head, cut out from various tabloids, scattered all over the bedspread.

“Your cousins?” she asks, picking up one of the heads. I’m scowling particularly hard in that picture.

“Or my siblings.” Or possibly one of my uncles. I wouldn’t put it past them.

I close my eyes, knowing that this is only the beginning. Karen might have saved us just now, but I know it won’t be long before she’s joining in on the grilling along with everyone else. I can’t remember why I ever thought this would be less invasive than the paparazzi camp-out at home.

I’m just about to apologize and suggest we turn around and leave, when Eva turns to me, her face lit up with a smile. “Your family is great, Will. Really.”

“If by great you mean loud and nosey.”

Her smile dims a little. “I’m sure it isn’t always easy, having such a big group up in your business.” She swallows. “But I think you’re really lucky. Not everyone has so many people in their life to care about them, you know?”

And now I feel like shit. Sometimes I forget that Eva’s entire family consists of her and her sister.

“I’m sorry. You’re right.” I take a deep breath. “I’ll try not to complain so much.”

She raises up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek and my body immediately goes into interest mode. “How about this—I promise to tell you if I’m getting overwhelmed and you can promise that you’re going to trust me to tell you.”

I pull our joined hands behind her back, so my arms are wrapped around her and her’s are trapped in my grip. “I can do that.” I lean in to rest my forehead against hers.

The sexual tension that had brewing between us after that amazing hour in the hot tub came to a crashing halt the next day, after the paparazzi disaster. We’ve spent practically every minute together, even sleeping in the same bed at night, but nothing else has happened. I’ve been trying to be patient, not wanting to push, but alone together in the quiet of this room, it’s hard to not want to kiss her.

“We could check out the bed,” I suggest. “Make sure it’s comfortable.”

“Do you have a secret fantasy about making out on top of many creepy pictures of your own head?”

I burst out laughing. “Can’t say that I’ve ever considered it but if it sounds good to you I’m not going to complain.”

“We should probably get ready for the barbecue,” she whispers. I pull back and can see the indecision on her face. She’s still not comfortable with whatever there is between us.

Don’t push.I force myself to release her hands then take a step backwards, and then another. Even though everything in me is demanding that I pull her back into my arms and refuse to let go.

“I’m right across the hall here,” I tell her. “Bathroom is down at the end. My apologies to your inner diva that you don’t have an en-suite.”

She makes a face at me. “My inner diva is actually pretty terrifying. You should have seen what I did to the hair and makeup girl who messed up my look before the MTV Video Awards. You’d better watch it or she might come out to mess with you.”

“Diva Eva doesn’t mess around, huh?”

The firm press of her mouth tells me she’s trying not to smile. “Consider yourself warned. Now get the hell out of my way so I can get ready.”