"You've got to call me every day. Even if it's the middle of the night."
"I will."
"And make sure your dad stays out of trouble."
I laughed.
"I'll try."
Mom wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tightly.
"Aunt Angel will take your dad's place in a month. I want you to listen to her just like you would me or your dad."
I smiled. "I will," I said patiently.
Mom stepped back and looked at me.
"Don't cry," I warned. She turned her head.
"That's a hard thing to ask of me BooBoo."
"Hey, can I play with your video games while your gone?" Peyton asked. She snuck up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I smiled.
"Yeah, just be careful. Don't let Landon play with it."
"Why? I'm a big boy!" Landon protested. He jumped up on the chair that I was standing next to and began to bounce. Mom caught him mid-leap right before he ended up tackling me. He giggled as mom flipped him upside down.
"Are you going to kiss your sister goodbye?" she asked.
"I wanna go!" Landon said. Mom flipped him right side up.
"No."
"Why?"
"Cause I'd miss you too much," mom said lovingly. Landon stretched out his arms and wrapped them around my neck. He made his best fish face and kissed me noisly.
"Bye Book!" he said.
"Be good for mom," I said. He just grinned impishly. Mom put him down and he scampered off.
"Hey goldie!"
I turned. Noah was halfway down the stairs. I self-consciously touched my hair. After a marathon session with my stylist yesterday, I had changed my nearly white blonde hair to a beautiful deep golden blonde. Noah had been calling me Goldilocks since I walked through the door.
"Catch!"
He pulled back his arm and something small flew through the air at me. I jumped up and caught it. When I opened my fist, I saw a small memory card.
"Is this your next hit?" I asked. Noah jumped down the last three stairs.
"Maybe," he said. I hugged him tightly. It was so weird that my younger brother was taller than me. I missed the days when I towered over him.
"Well, you better save all your good stuff for me to record," I said. He laughed.
"If you're lucky, I will. But you can't call me NoNo in public," he warned. I stepped back and smiled up at him.
"I will never stop calling you NoNo," I said. His eyes sparkled goodnaturedly.
"I think we're ready BooBoo," dad announced. "I got the last of the bags on the bus."
The tour bus was parked outside of our house. Half of the neighborhood was outside gawking at it.
"Alright," I said softly.
Dad made his rounds. He hugged Noah. He kissed Pey. Landon tackled his legs and wouldn't let go until dad tickled him and forced a kiss on his messy hair.
The last person he said goodbye to was mom.
"Bye mama," he whispered.
"Be careful," mom said. Dad's arms went around her.
"I will. Don't take any baths while I'm gone."
Mom's eyes sparkled. "Will you ever let me live that down?"
Dad grinned. "Never."
They kissed so passionately that they made me blush. When dad pulled away he leaned in for more. Mom put her palms on her chest. He took her hands and kised them before stepping towards me.
"Have fun!" mom called.
"Remind everyone your amazing brother wrote Chaotic!" Noah called.
"Take pictures of anything weird!" Peyton yelled.
The three of them followed dad and I outside. I stepped on the bus and looked back at them.
Mom was already crying. That made me start to cry. Dad wrapped his hand around my shoulder. He looked like he was trying not to cry.
"Getting on the bus the first time is the hardest part," he reminded me.
"But it doesn't get any easier," I complained. Dad smiled softly.
"On the count of three. One...two..."
On three we both ran up the steps. I ran over to the couch and pressed my face to the window. I cranked it open.
"Love you!" I called.
"Love you too!"
Five minutes later the bus roared to life. Landon (with mom following after him) ran alongside it.
"I wanna go!" he screamed. "I wanna GO!"
Mom finally ended up tackling him. The bus rounded the corner and Landon's screams faded away.
Dad sat down beside me on the couch. The wind whipped through the open window and tossed my hair around.
"You ready?" dad asked. "The venues are going to get bigger. The crowds will be louder," he warned.
A thousand excited butterflies came to life in my stomach. My homesickness gave way to my ingrained desire to perform. I closed my eyes and smiled.
"I'm ready," I said breathlessly.
"Bring it on."
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When Brooke Carter embarks on a whirlwind tour, the last thing she expects to do is fall for Nate, her sexy new photographer and web tech. To make matters worse, just when her love life starts to heat up, someone else reappears to shake things up. Will Brooke make the right choice in the messy game of love?
Find out in the exciting sequel, Heartbreaker. Click here to start reading!
