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Nora looked over to watch the scene unfold and she saw the grip Lawson had on Evie’s hand. Evie merely smiled up at her dad sweetly and replied, “Uncle Finn’s. Duty calls.”
“Let me get this straight: my eighteen-year-old, who is graduatin’ from high school tomorrow, instead of goin’ out with her friends on a Friday night, is goin’ to babysit?”
Evie’s smile grew into a grin. For all intents and purposes, she was the Vollucci Security babysitter. They joked all the time about how they should just put her on the payroll.
“Daddy, in a couple months, I’m gonna have to say goodbye to all my kiddos. Until then, I’m not givin’ ‘em up. Besides, mom already said I can go out with my friends after Sunday dinner.”
“Fair enough. Drive safe.”
She pressed up onto her tiptoes in order to kiss his cheek. “Always do. Bye, love you!”
This time, Lawson let her go.
“Hi, daddy,” greeted Genny, colliding into his side as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Hi, Genevieve.” He bent to kiss her forehead and, satisfied with his affection, she let him go so he could dole out his other helloes.
He came to Nora first, resting a hand on the small of her back. She tilted her head in order to receive the kiss she knew was coming.
“Hey, baby,” he mumbled against her lips.
“Hey, yourself.”
Knowing he would come to them, Lili and Court remained in their seats, lovingly accepting their own kisses from Lawson.
“How was work?” asked Court.
“Busy day, but I think I’ve got the new guys broken in. Glad to be home.”
“Can we throw the football after dinner?”
“Sure. How long ‘til dinner?” he asked, looking at Nora.
“Twenty minutes?”
He nodded. “I’m gonna go change. I’ll be right back.”
Nora made sure Court helped with the dishes after dinner before he went outside with Lawson. Given that there was a football involved, Lili was right behind them, pom-poms in hand. Not wishing to feel left out, Genny followed the crew into the backyard, leaving Nora to enjoy a little alone time in the quiet house.
The first thing she did was put the finishing touches on Evie’s graduation gift. It was so hard to believe her first baby was about to leave for college. To say Nora was proud was an incredible understatement. Nora never regretted not going to college. It wasn’t for her. But Evie—Evie was brilliant and talented. Far more talented than her mother ever claimed to be, and she had the cheerleading scholarship to prove it. She was going to go to Knoxville and do amazing things. Sometimes Nora wondered how it was possible that she—a girl who grew up in a trailer park—somehow managed to raise the cheer captain and salutatorian of her graduating class.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
Nora was nowhere near ready to send her mini-me out into the world, but the last thing she wanted to do was hold her daughter back. She was so kind, sweet, and thoughtful. She was wise beyond her years, and she deserved every opportunity that lay before her. Anytime Nora got anxious about being apart from Evie, she reminded herself that she and Lawson had brought up a young lady who valued family and knew her way home. She could trust her daughter out in the world. Not to mention, if she never let her go, Evie wouldn’t be able to experience what it was like for all her dreams to come true.
When she was finished wrapping the gift, Nora grabbed her latest songbook from her nightstand and headed downstairs. She settled herself in a comfy chair beside the window, looking out into the backyard, and watched the sun as it began to set. Then she wrote.
It had been a long time since Nora-Jean and the Pick-a-ninnies had graced any stage, but Nora knew she would write songs until she ran out of words—and she doubted that would happen anytime soon. Most of the time, her songs were for her, but she’d written quite a few songs for other people, too. Even though she never sang in front of thousands of fans, it made her proud to seeNora-Jean Steelein the fine print under some big artist’s name.
Creed had stolen her words nineteen years ago—but it was an honor when someone asked to bring her lyrics to life.
“Oh, mommy!” cried Lili before she came skipping into the room.
“Hi, my Lili-G. Did you have fun outside?” Nora asked, folding her journal closed.
“Yup. And guess what?”
Nora reached over and swept a loose strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear. “What?”
