“Yeah. To introduce new brothers into the Bragg Brother Bunch.”
I swallow. “There are more of us?”
He shrugs. “There are bound to be.”
“No.” Damon shakes his head. “Cash is the last Bragg brother.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
Before he can answer, the devil cat saunters into the room. She hisses at me before jumping onto the sofa between Riley and Brody.
“What does the cat say after making a joke?” Elder asks. His brothers’ groans don’t stop him. “Just kitten!”
“Don’t worry,” Riley says as he picks up the cat and cuddles her close. “His jokes are harmless.”
I gape at him. “You’re cuddling the devil cat.”
He scratches behind her ears. “She’s not the devil.”
Brody reaches to pet her and she swipes at him. “Devil cat.”
Miller growls. “Can you stop discussing the cat and allow Damon to explain why he knows there are no more Bragg brothers out there?”
Brody raises his hand. “I, for one, would be happy to discover there are no more Bragg brothers.”
My stomach falls. They don’t want me. I finally found my family and they don’t want me. Fucking hell. Why did I go in search of my father? The band is my family. I don’t need anyone else.
Riley glares at Brody. “Don’t be an asshole. Now Cash thinks we’re rejecting him.”
“I don’t think you’re rejecting me,” I lie.
Brody frowns. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply I didn’t want to meet you. I just wish Dad would have learned to keep it in his pants.”
I can’t help myself. I sit on the chair next to the sofa and lean toward him. I’ve always wanted to know about my dad. “Keep it in his pants?”
“Dad never heard of the word faithful.”
I know this since he had an affair with my mom when he was married to their mom. But he didn’t go around sleeping with women all the time, did he?
“My mom loved him,” I murmur. She put him on a pedestal and when he fell off it, she dove into a bottle and never came up for air again.
“Ah crap. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… It’s …” He blows out a puff of air.
“What Brody is trying to say is our dad had a habit of having affairs with women,” Damon says. “But I’m sure he cared for your mom.”
Silence falls and I scan the faces of my half-brothers. None of them will meet my gaze. They know their brother’s lying to try and make me feel better.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to soften the blow. I figured my dad was an asshole after my mom died when I was a minor and he sicced his lawyers on social services when they tried to get him to accept custody of me.”
My lawyer dug up that little gem. While I was roaming the streets, trying to find places to sleep after Mom died, I had a Dad who refused to accept me. Who didn’t bother to meet me when I had no one else.
“Dad was an asshole,” Miller growls.
“What happened to you?” Damon asks. “Did you go into care?”
I shrug like the whole situation wasn’t a big deal. Like I wasn’t terrified where my next meal was coming from. “I was seventeen and a senior in high school. I stayed with friends until I graduated.”
“And then you formedCash & the Sinnersand became a huge success.” Riley grins. “Our brother is a freaking rockstar.”