“They would if Daddy asked.” His grin tightened.
That was it. Not knowing if he was wanted or if they were just doing Hank King a favor. Her heart ached for him. She removed his sunglasses. “I think you should do it, Trav. You deserve some time in the spotlight. I want that for you.”
Travis tried to hold his long-suffering expression in place. But it didn’t work. He tugged her into a monster bear hug. “You’re a good sister, you know that?”
She hugged him back. “Because I love you and believe in you?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He let her go. “I know that can’t be easy.”
“Loving you and believing you?” She laughed. “It is so easy. You’re my brother. And even though I worry that you’re going to wind up with some horrible disease that will make your man parts rot off or you’ll drink until your liver explodes, I love you dearly.”
The horror on her brother’s face had her laughing all over again.
Sawyer tried to cover his laugh with a fake cough.
Melanie didn’t even try to hide it. Her high-pitched wheezing giggle wound up making them all laugh.
“Who said Krystal was the wordsmith in the family?” Travis leaned back against his seat, laughing—but still horrified.
“Hold it.” Emmy Lou held her phone up and snapped a picture of her brother. “I will post that.”
“Of course you will.” He put his arm around her, pulled her close, and held her phone up for another picture. He was tickling her and trying to take it, so the picture was at an odd angle, but they were both smiling. “Post that.”
“Fine.” She did, adding hashtags like #siblinglove, #bigbrothers, #hedrivesmecrazy, and #boundaryissues. “Better?” she asked.
He grinned. “Now your fans won’t worry something happened to you.”
She shook her head and went back to staring out the window, her foot resuming its restless tapping against the floorboard of the black suburban.
She’d been so excited about this. Drug Free Like Me was such a great program for so many kids in need. She was still excited for the most part. But now that she knew who she’d be working with, there was also an element of…anxiety. Yes, today was only a photo shoot—something she’d done more times than she could remember—but this was a photo shoot with Brock. Brock, who was one of the main DFLM ambassadors. She was a professional. She could do this. I got this. But she was having a hard time convincing herself.
“Who else is doing this?” Travis asked. “This ambassadorship thing.”
She pulled the folder from her bag and handed it to him.
“Or you could tell me.” He took the folder.
“Leon Greene.” She ticked off. “Linebacker for—”
“I know who Leon Greene is.” Travis opened the folder. “He’s sort of a legend. And…” He started flipping through the pages of the glossy folder the Drug Free Like Me marketing team had provided.
Emmy had made sure to do a little research on the players she’d be working with. Clay Reese was a wide receiver for the Green Bay Bears. He was ranked third in number of yards last season and, from online sound bites, a healthy dose of self-confidence.
“Aw man, Demetrius Mansfield? Tree-Man? No shit? He’s the best. Untouchable. Still pisses me off he was traded to the Miami Raiders.” Travis shook his head. “Good guy. And Brock, too, huh? That’s it? There aren’t more of you?”
“The AFL supports a lot of different charities, but these are the players I’ll be working with.” Too bad she’d picked the one charity Brock was involved in.
“Momma’s got to be thrilled.” He snorted, flipping through the pages.
Emmy glanced at her brother, unwilling to voice her suspicions.
“Oh.” Travis’s eyes met hers and widened. “She doesn’t know. If she did, she’d be here.”
Emmy chewed her thumbnail, her stomach churning.
“My lips are sealed. I’m not opening that can of worms. But, you know, let me know when that little nugget will be shared so I can get a front-row seat.” He hugged her again. “If it comes up, I mean.”
“If you’re trying to make me laugh, it’s not working.” She frowned.