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Chapter Twenty Nine

"Excuse me, I just want to--"

"Nobody's allowed back here without a pass. How'd you get this far?"

There was no ignoring the huge commotion that was taking place. The show was going to start in thirty minutes and it appeared that a fan had managed to sneak her way around the mountains of security.

"Like I told the other officer, Brooke knows Nate Blosser and I--"

Okay, whoever it was had my attention. I made my way around the crew rushing around doing last minute things. My big hulk of a guard was standing like a stone gargoyle between the girl in front of him and the whole backstage area.

The girl that was stubbornly facing off against him was about my age, maybe a little older. She was almost as tall as me and had reddish blonde hair and a perfect turned up nose.

"Is there a problem?" I called out. My guard waved me back.

"No problem, she's--"

"Brooke! My name's Kelly and--"

She tried to rush forward but my guard's arms wrapped around her waist. The pieces fell into place quickly.

Nate Blosser. Kelly. His ex. His possible baby mama...

"WAIT!" I shouted. The guard paused.

"Let her back here," I said.

His arms dropped reluctantly. Kelly straightened her shirt and walked past him with a glare. She smiled when she saw me.

I wasn't sure I could do the same. Even so, I held out my hand.

"Brooke Carter," I said.

"Kelly Juster," she replied. "Nate's told me a lot about you."

I almost snorted. Did Nate tell about how he de-virginized me while neglecting to tell me about his ex and possible baby?

My guess was probably not.

"Oh?" I said.

Kelly nodded. "He told me you were the one that finally convinced him to take the paternity test."

"I did," I said slowly. "Did you...get the results?"

Her eyes sparkled. Before she spoke, I knew the answer.

"Frank's his son. I knew it all along."

Frank. Frank?

Kelly opened her purse and rooted around. She pulled out her wallet and unsnapped it.

"Here he is."

I took the wallet from her and studied the picture. Even I didn't need a paternity test to see it. The dark hair...the green eyes...

The dimple.

I felt like I had a rock in my stomach. Even though I had broken up with him, made him do the right thing, and decided to move on, it still hurt.

What everyone said was true: you just never got over your first time.

"He's adorable," I said softly. I handed the wallet back. Kelly put it back and smiled at me.

"So...what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I just came to thank you," Kelly said sincerely. "I made a stupid mistake when I cheated on Nate. I never stopped loving him. Now that he knows he's Frank's dad we're working things out and...and...I owe it all to you."

I swallowed around the other rock that had lodged in my throat.

"I didn't do anything," I said awkwardly. "I'm just...glad it all worked out."

Kelly rocked on her heels. "It did," she said softly. She bit her lip. "Nate told me that you and him..."

I blushed. "It's in the past," I said. I waved my hand for emphasis.

"I just don't want you to think he's a slimeball," Kelly said. "Everyone makes mistakes, y'know?"

I nodded. I knew all about mistakes.

"Anyhow...I saw you were performing tonight and me and my friends drove down to see the show."

Her arms wrapped around me and she hugged me.

"Thanks again!"

With that, she turned and walked back down the hall. I stood there staring blankly down the corridor.

Had that really just happened?

-------------------------------------

"You're bitchy tonight."

I scowled. "I am not bitchy."

"You're kinda bitchy."

I lowered the playing cards I had been holding up to my face. My bus was bumping along merrily to our next location.

I didn't feel merry.

"It's nothing," I said shortly.

"Do you need a cinnamon roll? I bet g-ma can make us some."

"We don't need cinnamon rolls!"

Jasper laughed. I scowled. We had gotten an early start after the concert and I hadn't been tired. Grandpa had talked me and Jasper into a game of euchre, but he had fallen asleep on the couch. It was down to just me and Jasper until the next stop.

Then I was kicking everyone off my bus and going to bed.

"Seriously, what's going on? Cramps? I can get you an aspirin or something. I was always the pill runner for my sis--"

"It's not cramps," I said. I put the cards down on the table. My concentration was shot.

"Nate's girlfriend came backstage before the show tonight," I said. Jasper leaned back.

"You mean Nate as in chimp #2?"

My eyes narrowed. "Yeah."

"What did she have to say? She didn't try to maul you did she?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's not a joke, Jas."

The smile slid off his face. "Okay. Go on."

I sighed. I don't know why, but I ended up telling Jasper everything. Even the part about losing my virginity to Nate. He leaned forward, listening attentively.

"She just wanted to thank me for talking Nate into the paternity test. The baby is so his," I said. "They're working things out."

I stopped talking. There was a moment of silence.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Jasper said it so gently that I couldn't hide the tears from my eyes. I lowered my chin to my chest, but they were still coming out whether or not I liked it. I heard a creak. Jasper came over and hugged me.

"It's okay, Brooke. It's okay to feel hurt. You know, the only bad quality you have is that you love too much."

I looked up at him in surprise.

"I do?"

Jasper smiled. "There's something about you that makes people love you. And you tend to love them right back."

He brushed a tear that had been clumsily dripping down my cheek. He wrinkled his nose teasingly.

"What a horrible quality."

I let out a choked laugh. "Shut up."

Jas smiled and sat back down. We both picked up our cards.

"Am I really bitchy?" I asked. Jasper's eyes twinkled and he shook his head.

"Naw, I've just learned that's an easy way to get girls to talk."

I scoffed. "No it's not."

He tapped my cards playfully.

"It worked, didn't it?"

I huffed behind the cards, but truthfully I was trying not to smile.

It had totally worked.