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Chapter Forty One

"I can't believe mom grew up here."

"She's my little country girl," dad said happily.

I laughed.

We had arrived in Wisconsin a day before I was scheduled to play the Wisconsin State Fair. Mom had asked dad to take a little side trip with me. I peered out the window of the rental car. He slowed down in front of a pleasant looking house.

"This is the house where your mom grew up," dad said. "I told your grandma that your mom was pregnant with you right in the kitchen."

I smiled. "You told her?"

Dad grinned. "I kind of blurted it out. I was excited!"

Dad crept up a little more. "And see that window? I climbed through it so that I could spend the night."

"You climbed through a window?"

He nodded. "I did." He gave me a very 'dad' look. "But don't get any ideas."

I smiled. "Not at all."

Dad accelerated and we took off into town.

"There's the library where your mom worked," he said. It wasn't near as big as the library in Tampa, but I could imagine mom going to work all young, happy, and in love with dad.

He drove another block over.

"And that's the restaurant where I took your mom to lunch and she puked her guts out," he said happily. "We didn't know she was pregnant with you then. They had awesome food."

"You ate while she was puking?" I asked.

"Well, I ate as much as I could."

I rolled my eyes.

We were headed to the cemetary. I had never been there, but mom or grandma made the trip every year. Grandpa Mike was having knee surgery and mom had been so busy with Landon that they had asked dad and me to pay the respects this year while we were up here.

"And your mom sweet talked my way out of jail right there," dad said. He pointed at the police station.

"You were arrested? For what?"

Dad smirked. "Your mom's first husband was a jerk. I taught him a lesson."

I thought about Garrett. I knew all about jerks. I also knew about guys who taught lessons. Trevor. I smiled.

After another ten minutes of small-town country life, dad slowed the car down. We hit a shady gravel road. The thick trees finally broke and we were in the middle of a lush green cemetery.

It took dad a couple minutes, but he found the right section. He parked and we got out of the car.

I had never met my maternal grandfather. He had died before I was born. I didn't know whether I was supposed to feel sad or not. It was hard to miss someone you had never met before.

As we stared down at his headstone, I thought about how I would feel if I lost my dad. I couldn't imagine not being able to call him or see him or asking advice.

"BooBoo what's wrong?" dad asked. I brushed a tear away from my face.

"I was just thinking about how I would feel if you weren't here," I said in a small voice that sounded way too young for a girl my age. Dad's face softened.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. He wrapped his arms around me and I cried into his chest.

"I plan on living until at least two hundred," he declared. I laughed through my sniffles.

When I had stopped crying and we had both said a silent prayer, we headed back to the car.

"Do you think mom misses living here?" I asked dad as we buckled our seatbelts.

Dad smiled. "I used to worry about that," he admitted. "But she's always told me that home isn't a static place. It's wherever the ones you love are."

I smiled. That sounded like mom.

"I like that," I said. Dad put the car into drive.

"Me too, BooBoo. Me too."

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

After our brief detour through mom's hometown, it was back to the grueling schedule that I had made myself for the tour. Night after night it was a different place. The second week of July melted seamlessly into the third.

Before I knew it, I was standing backstage eating a quick dinner at my last concert before Baylee's wedding. Dad caught me with my phone poised for a picture.

"What are you doing BooBoo?"

"I'm taking a picture of this Philly Cheese Steak to rub it into Noah's slimey face," I said.

Dad smiled. "You're not still mad at him for not telling you about writing the song are you?"

"Of course I am. He's a turd."

Dad laughed. "He's a talented turd."

I pressed send and took a big bite of the sandwich.

"Agreed."

An hour later, I was standing onstage with the wind whipping though my hair. There was a high chance of rain, but like any good performer, I wasn't going to stop until the end.

"I've had a great day in Philly," I said. "In fact, I guess you could say I'm stuck on you."

That corny line led me right into Stuck Like Glue. I worked my way along, grabbing hands. I was just about ready to head back towards my guitarist when the last hand I grabbed wouldn't let go.

The guy must have been in his twenties. I struggled. The security guards were on him like flies. I tried to shake it off and continue the song.

I was a little distracted for the rest of the night. It didn't take much to unsettle me. I was relieved when I took my last bow with my band.

"You okay?" dad asked immediately. He was pacing like a caged tiger.

"I'm fine," I said.

Dad kissed my temple. I excused myself to go take a shower. We were staying overnight in Philly and flying home the next morning.

I had talked to Kayleigh for about thirty seconds in the morning. She told me in high dramatics about how insane her mom and Claudia were being.

"Mom's like the mother-in-lawzilla," Kayleigh declared. I laughed.

"Well, just think about how much fun we'll have at the reception. The wedding is the quick part."

Kay had snorted.

"This wedding is going to take over an hour," she whined. "Plus, you'll be busy with Trevor at the reception."

"I will never be too busy for you," I promised.

I thought about all of that as I wrapped a towel around my hair. I thought about how Trevor would have probably punched that arm grabber guy's lights out. I also thought about the kiss Trevor and I had shared.

I was hoping for another one of those. Or maybe two.

The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't help but deny that we made a really cute couple.

I had a feeling he thought so too.