Page 96 of Pretend and Propose

Noah squeezes my hand like he understands what this means to me and I lean against, letting him wrap his arms around me for a moment. “I love you,” he whispers.

“I love you,” I whisper back.Home.The word thrums through me. Home with my sisters. Home with my husband. Home in Catalpa Creek.

Noah kisses my cheek and helps me climb onto the stage. I cross it to cheers and whistles from the audience. I look out at the crowd and spot Gloria and Joy, waving and cheering.

I wave back. When did I become a part of this town? It must have happened while I was trying to figure out how to get out of it.

Jesse smiles at me, stepping back from his spot, hand on the bass.

“You can play,” I say. “You’re already here and you’ve practiced.”

“This is your band. I was always just the fill in. Call me if you need me again.”

I take the bass from him, feeling terrible. “You should play.”

He pats my back. “I’ve been playing all my life. It’s your turn.”

I glance back at the crowd, but don’t see Sadie anywhere. “My friend should be here soon with my bass. I can’t use yours.”

His eyes are bright when he grins. “You sure can use mine. I’m not doing anything with it at the moment.”

I am so not worthy, but he walks away before I can argue more, so I step behind the bass.

“Ready?” Goldy asks from her spot next to me.

“We should have let him play. I haven’t even practiced with you all.”

“First song is Lost and Found.” Her attention is on her instrument as she tightens a string.

It’s one of the first full-length folk songs we played together as kids. As my sisters play, I join in with pure muscle memory. It’s not one I practiced with them, but somehow I remember every note from the years we played it thousands of times together. I don’t play it perfectly or as well as Jesse probably would have, but I get through the song.

Asher’s voice is a beautiful complement to the notes. I get lost in the sound, in the playing, in the remembering.

Goldy smiles over at me, and my heart warms. My family. Why did I push them away so hard for so long? Why did I think I needed to be successful before I could come back to them?

I can’t remember now. I think I forgot my true motivations years ago and just kept going because I didn’t know what else to do.

The song ends and the crowd roars. They like us, they really like us.

“Next song is Bluebird Morning,” Goldy says.

We practiced this song together before I left, but I haven’t practiced since, and I miss a few notes. The crowd doesn’t seem to mind.

And that’s it. Two songs are all we get.

We carry our instruments back stage and my sisters pile on me in a giant group hug while I’ve got my bass in my arms and can’t escape.

“We’re so glad you’re back,” Honey says in her sweet voice.

“You shouldn’t have left in the first place,” Dani says. “What’s New York City got we don’t?”

“Nothing good.” My cheeks hurt from my huge smile.

“So, you’re really staying this time?” Clover asks.

“I’m really staying.”

My sisters cheer and every one of their faces reflects true happiness that I’m staying. For so long, I’ve been trying to carve myself a place in the world, a place made of career with a cityscape background, when all along my place has always been here with these people.

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