Poor Ellie. It had been over a year since she had been home. Back to Texas. It was getting close to her November birthday, and there was nothing she wanted more than to see her family. Her little sister had emailed her just a month ago. She was following in Ellie's footsteps,skipping yet another grade. She'd be in college right around the same age her older sister started. It was about 8AM when Ellie's phone went off in her room. She was careful to answer it before Rory and Logan woke up. Rory had been working very hard lately to make up the time she had lost during recovery after her accident. She had been a little snappy lately. Everyone knew she didn't mean it,but they still tried very hard to stay out of her way if they could help it. The area code read 972. Her hometown.

"Hello?"

"Ellie?" Her dad.

"Daddy,what's wrong? Is everyone alright?" Her dad's chuckle made the lump of fear in her throat subside.

"Yes, punkin. I was going to see if you wanted your birthday present a little early..."

"Sure! But it's like late September!"

"So??? Don't you want to know??" He heard her little squeal of anticipation. And once he told her what the surprise was, she nearly bolted out the door squealing. They said goodbye,as she hurried into the kitchen to make coffee. She knew her latest excitement had probably woken the other two.

Right as the coffee was finishing up, Rory and Logan were dressed and coming out. Logan smiled and kissed Ellie's cheek. He saw the excitement in her eyes. It was something really good. But his girlfriend was angry. Moody was a better term for it. As she poured herself a cup of coffee,she sat at the bar and basically glared at Ellie. The blonde smiled as she whispered out an apology,almost as if she was scared to speak.

"So, Elle, what do we owe this morning's alarm clock to?" Logan,trying to ease the situation,began prying into the mystery.

She nodded,took a deep breath,and looked at Rory mostly.

"Well,my dad called." Logan and Rory's eyes got a little brighter. It wasn't often she actually talked to her dad and she was really amped up. It usually made her a little sad,knowing they were so far away.

"And?" Now Logan was even excited.

"He asked if I wanted my birthday present early. I told him yes,but I found it a little odd seeing as my birthday is almost two months away, but sure..." She was smiling so big she almost couldn't get her words out.

"He asked if I wanted to go to Texas!" They both smiled,knowing how much this was going to help her out.

"And..." Logan looked up,puzzled. There was more?

"He said I can bring as many friends as I wanted with me!" She was bouncing up and down again. He looked to his girlfriend, and her scowl had turned to a huge grin. This was going to be a great trip.

"How long?" Rory was game.

"Two weeks! We should be there for the Red River Shootout, and maybe, just maybe for the Cowboys game!" She bounded in her room, throwing clothes around to pack,even though they weren't leaving for a couple of days.