Page 29 of Nashville Lights

Dakota pulls up a chair and sits next to me. “We didn’t want you to feel like we’d invited you here just to listen to them play or anything like that, Rox. We know you’re a high-powered manager now but there are zero ulterior motives to the hoedown.”

“Got it,” I assure her. “But I invited myself, if I remember correctly.”

“True,” Dakota smiles, helping herself to a piece of my bacon. “But the hoedown is a new development.”

“Dakota Beatrice Boone, let the child eat.”

“I need her help.” I put my fork down because I’m already getting full even though I’ve hardly made a dent in my breakfast. “There’s seriously no way I can eat all this.”

“Her stomach has shrunk, Lou, because of her lifestyle.” Betty-Ann sounds concerned. “Roxie, how long are you staying?”

“Just the weekend. I have to go back to the city on Monday.”

“That’s not enough time for us to feed you properly,” Lou protests. “Child, you’re wasting away. Can’t you stay a little longer?”

All four of them are watching me hopefully.

“Well, the tour’s over, so technically I’m supposed to have a few days off. But I?—”

“It’s decided then,” Lou declares. “Two days isn’t nearly long enough.”

I’m wondering how long they think it’ll take to both fatten me upandfind me a local to marry. “I guess I could stay an extra day, but I definitely need to be back in the city on Tuesday afternoon. I’ve got a meeting with one of my new clients.”

“Do it by Zoom or whatever they use these days,” Betty-Ann suggests. “Nate does it all the time.”

I take a bite of bacon and it’s literally the best bacon I’veever tasted. “I wish I could, but she’s flying to Nashville from Austin just to meet with me.”

“How was your sewing circle last night, Lou?” Dakota, bless her, might be deliberately steering Lou away from the topic of both my overly-busy work schedule and my non-existent love life.

“Oh.” She holds her palms up, as though she thought we’d never ask. “Well, Mildred Johnson is all up in arms about the new business venture of Mitch’s. You remember the old Johnson barn on the edge of town, Rox?” I nod, remembering it as a place that sometimes held farmers’ markets in the late summer. “Well, turns out Mitch decided it would be the perfect place for his new brewery. He’s calling it ‘Johnson’s Jolly Juice’ and now the whole town's in a tizzy over it. And apparently it packs quite the punch. Maureen O’Neill—you know her, Dakota, she chairs the town’s historical society—well, her husband’s taken a real liking to it. Maureen’s telling everyone at Town Hall that the barn’s a historical landmark and should be preserved, not turned into a glorified speakeasy.”

“Only in Sugar Falls would a batch of home brew cause such a scandal,” Dakota laughs.

Aunt Lou loves nothing more than a good scandal. “Mayor Simons had to get involved on account of all the biddies knocking on his door 24/7. He told them it’s good for the town’s economy. And he asked Mitch to bring some samples to the town meeting to make his case. But then half the council ended up tipsy. Even Maureen was dancing onthe tables. She broke one of ‘em and rolled halfway across the gymnasium.”

The kitchen erupts into laughter.

The laughter, the lighthearted melodrama, the sense of belonging—it all feels like a breath of fresh air.

“I’ve missed you all so much.”

Aunt Lou reaches over, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “And we’ve missed you, dear. Don’t leave it so long next time.”

Earl nods, looking at me with misty eyes.

“At least consider staying a little longer.” Aunt Lou blots her eyes with a tissue.

“I’ll stay until Tuesday, then.”

But if I’m being honest, three more days on Sugar Mountain doesn’t feel like nearly enough.

10

Betty-Ann setsa final platter of food onto the table, a giant bowl of potato salad. “There. That’s everything.”

“Ma, sit and eat something, will you,” Dakota says as Betty-Ann goes back to the sink and starts washing dishes.

“I’ll eat up whatever the boys don’t want. Anyway, I’m on that special diet the doctor gave me. No butter and not too much meat on account of my cholesterol. Takes all the fun out of it, if you ask me.”

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