Found this story on my computer as something I never finished a while ago and after a little bit of tweeking, thought it would be a good way to finish this little collection of stories. Hope you enjoy it! Also major EEEEEEEEEE at the 2nd promo for Nashville! Thanks for all the wonderful comments! They are incredibly encouraging and so appreciated.

Chapter 4

I look around the cabin desperately trying to find my cellphone charger. Maddie has an absolutely terrible sense of direction and it is the first time she's driving by herself up to the cabin. If my phone is dead, she will probably end up in Canada before someone turns her around.

Okay, she's not actually driving herself. Technically Tyler is driving her. I roll my eyes at that thought. I suppose he's nice enough for a nineteen year old sophomore from Duke, whose major goals in life are: to own every possible collared shirt known to man and to misquote country music songs in every conversation. In some ways Tyler reminds me of an odd mix of Teddy and my father. God help us all if this becomes a lot more serious.

But Tyler isn't my biggest problem right now. I look out towards the water and see Daphne's blonde hair glowing in the sunlight. Nope, my biggest problem is the fifteen year old standing out on the dock fishing with Deacon. Every day, my youngest looks more and more like jailbait and less and less like the sweet, innocent thing I pray she stays for years to come. Deacon says Daphne inherited my genes: long legs, lots of personality, and my knack for maturing way too fast. Deacon and Teddy have bonded slightly over protecting Maddie from the press and disliking Maddie's high school boyfriends; but, they've formed a brotherhood over beating off the boys with a stick when it comes to Daphne.

I shake my head. Maddie at seventeen went a little boy crazy for a while and we survived that. Of course, there were a lot of tears: some from Maddie, some from the boys, but most were from Teddy and Deacon. We all got through Maddie's craziness with no pregnancies, no major emotional trauma, and is now just six weeks away from being done with her freshman year of college. We will get through Daphne's high school years too.

I check the oven: the ham is still a good hour away from being done. I go through my mental checklist: biscuits are unthawing on the counter, potatoes are boiling on the stove, and pineapples are in the fridge. Deacon has the baked beans going on the grill and I finished icing my cake this morning.

Daphne wonders in and mentions she is going upstairs to take a shower. I look around at the house and try to find some picture that needs dusting or some pillow that needs fluffing. I look out at the water and see Deacon is packing up his fishing equipment. Daphne is upstairs, Maddie and her boyfriend are almost here, and Easter lunch is almost done. Even with all that, my man is so incredibly good-looking, I can't help but stare. He may be turning 50 next year, but he is just so beautiful. He hates when I say that, but it is so true. The timer goes off on the stove and I pull myself away from the window.

Forty-five minutes later, Deacon and Daphne have showered. Most of the food is ready. Maddie and Tyler arrived ten minutes ago and the weather is just beautiful for early April. Despite Deacon's best attempts to set Tyler up in Daphne's room and have the girls share Maddie's room, Maddie and Tyler just marched straight up stairs without so much as a word.

Deacon looks at me with a "fix-it" look but I just shrug. I was living with Deacon by my seventeenth birthday and Maddie is more mature than I was then. Hell, Maddie may be more mature than I am right now. I tell Deacon if he wants Maddie and Tyler to sleep in separate beds, he is going to have to do the dirty work.

Daphne rolls her eyes, much like I do, and tries to change the subject.

My smile widens as I lean over to kiss my husband's cheek. It is my way of telling him that everything will be fine. His frown grows as his eyes venture back to the steps. I encourage Deacon to go check on the baked beans. He grumbles as he walks outside about "his daughter" and "that punk".

Lunch itself is relatively quiet. I do notice several looks pass between my daughters. I learned a long time ago that those specific looks are never a good thing. It either means they are plotting something or are sharing a secret.

During dessert, Maddie brings up that there is something she wants to talk to us about. I look down at Maddie's hand and see that there is no diamond ring on her finger. Of course, that could be because she and Tyler aren't engaged or it could be because they've simply hidden the ring until after the announcement. Then a scarier thought occurs. A crying baby flashes through my head. I steady myself. If Goldie Hawn and Cher can be a sexy grandmothers, so can I. Time seems to stop as I look over at my husband. Deacon is a deep shade of something between green and red, clearly having the same thoughts that I am.

Maddie takes another breath and announces she is, "going to take a year off of college to see if I can get a record deal."

I close my eyes in thankfulness that I won't be shopping for veils or cribs anytime soon. Deacon calmly asks Maddie to explain her change in career direction. After all, a year ago we went through this same discussion at length.

While Maddie often spoke about writing music and performing, she'd faced several hard years in the media limelight. The paparazzi eventually got tired of following Deacon and I around endlessly. That was when we felt comfortable enough to go forward getting married. But when the news of our marriage certificate surfaced, the press went crazy again. When that finally died down, Luke released another album and did about a million and half interviews. That threw everything back up into the spotlight. He started talking about Deacon and I; nothing was too personal or slanderous. Still, his jokes about Deacon and I were hurtful to the girls.

Then the media went from a boring ass married couple to our very pretty teenage daughters.

Maddie's first performance at Tootsie was nearly ruined by those damn flash cameras. Then one of those so called journalist did a nasty internet piece of work about nepotism. The article claimed that Scarlett and Deacon each wrote songs for artists in exchange for Maddie getting slots at the Bluebird and The Big Lagoon. The article also mentioned Maddie sang back-up vocals for Juliette on several tracks because I offered Juliette a higher percentage of album sales. The accusations were ridiculous but still it hurt Maddie deeply. The first time I saw Maddie on the front page of the tabloid wearing a bikini I nearly passed out. She had been sunbathing in Teddy's backyard but it was apparently visible from the road. Then stories starting popping up about Maddie's paternity, her bra size, and the failed attempt by Teddy of getting Maddie signed to Edgehill.

At the same time, Maddie's friends from high school were doing college applications and picking out dorm furniture. Despite how much she wanted a career in country music, Maddie wanted to experience an anonymous, normal lifestyle for a while. So Teddy and the two of us took turns doing campus tours and helping Maddie with studying for her SATs. Then when her letters of acceptance came in, she decided North Carolina was where she wanted to go.

Despite how often I toured and how much time Highway 65 took up, it amazed me how truly sad and lost I felt when Maddie went to college. Daphne and Deacon both moped around a lot too. Daphne asked if we could get a dog. Instead we got a beta fish, a hot tub, and new kayaks.

I hear a loud shout followed by Maddie running full-fledged down the stairs and jumping on top of the couch. A moment later Daphne squealed coming out of her room and joined her sister on top of the couch. Between both of them yelling and squealing I could make out "snake" "big" and "rat".

A moment later, Tyler came downstairs holding a small garden snake. It couldn't have been more than a foot long but it was still a live snake. I back away towards the corner as Tyler walks outside with the reptile.

"Kill it!" yells Maddie as Tyler walks out the door. He yells back that he's just going to put in near the tree line. Daphne says something insane about "all God's creatures deserve to live" and then squeals again about that "rat in my room."

"Rat?" I ask trying to figure out what is going on.

Deacon comes into the cabin and a very odd expression. Daphne yells that there is a rat in her room and tells Deacon to "kill it!" Maddie yells back wondering what happened to "all of God's creature?"

Daphne yells back that, "rats are rats, not creatures!"

I watch as my husband walks calmly walks into the master bedroom and he emerges a second later with a shoebox in hand. I raise an eyebrow considering that I don't remember there being a shoebox anywhere in our room. Deacon walks into Daphne's bedroom and comes a few minutes later with a closed shoebox and a trapped rat.

The girls finally calm down as they share another piece of cake. They they announce they want to go for a walk. Maddie hasn't been to the cabin since Christmas and says she misses just exploring the wide openness. Tyler hangs back, saying he wants to catch a nap.

It's just the four of us, walking on the same beaten path we have walked for the last five years. The big bushes near the woods are already blooming and Daphne and Maddie pick a few flowers to put in their hair. Somewhere along the way, Maddie grabs my hand and we start talking about her decision to pursue her career. She is thinking about renting an apartment with Jenny Brankcroft, one of Sadie's backup singers. She is in need of a roommate and the two of them are the same age.

I ask about her trust fund. Maddie actually has several of them. Daddy made both she and Daphne millionaires about twenty times over. Teddy and I created college funds for both girls and Deacon started a third one before Maddie after the wreck.

She talks about getting a job and I keep myself from sighing out loud. Even waiting tables in Nashville can be competitive. There are so many starving artists and dreamers and only about twenty restaurants with live music. I remind her that we have a studio right at the house and I happen to know someone who owns their own label. I tell her that, "You could stay in school and then work on the weekends or on breaks."

I know she is going to turn down my offer. She, like me, wants to make it on her own. She'll have enough people who don't take her seriously because of her parents. Signing to my label right now would make it even worse. I know all this but still I wish she'd sign with Highway 65. I wouldn't threaten to sue her if she was three days late on her songs. I wouldn't market her as some sexy bimbo, I wouldn't let the album contain songs that she didn't truly believe in. Maddie tells me that she has to make it on her own. I hold onto her hand tighter, somehow trying to convey that I understand but hate it at the same time.

Even though Maddie is taller than me now, she leans over and rest her head in the crook of my neck. It's the same way she has always done, even she was a newborn. I whisper that I love her as we walk slower. We hear Daphne yell "hurry up!" from up ahead. Deacon calls us both "slow pokes". I give Maddie a knowing look before she and I both run as fast as we can to catch up to them.

Dinner is a combination of leftovers and hilarious re-enactments of the girls finding those vermin in their rooms. Eventually we end up outside on the porch with blankets on our legs and coffee mugs in our hands. Tyler tells us about the wreck that took his father's life. Losing a parent hits close to home for me, the wreck hits Deacon's soft spot too. Daphne mentions trying out for the tennis team in the fall. I pray she's more athletic than Maddie or I am. Lord knows, she couldn't be any less athletic than us.

A little after midnight, Deacon and I start yawning. It amuses Maddie to no end that now it is the parents going to bed first. I give my girls a kiss goodnight, Deacon does the same. He warns everyone to lock up before they go to bed.

While Deacon and I tidy up the kitchen I give Deacon a knowing glance. He pretends not to notice. We head to bed sharing a long kiss before I go to close the bedroom door. Just then I hear the kids come inside. Maddie announces that she is staying on the pull out couch. Daphne says there is no way she is sleeping in her room either. The girls are already pulling blankets and comforters out of the linen closet. I hear Tyler say he's sleeping upstairs where there is an actual bed.

I let out a big grin and close our bedroom door. Deacon looks like the cat who swallowed the canary. I get into bed beside my hubby. I turn off the light and lean into kiss Deacon.

"You know, the shoebox already had holes on it."

Deacon jerks his head to the side and looks at me, asking what I mean.

"The box that you put that rat in, how lucky that you just happened to find a shoebox in our bedroom, one with holes in it too."

Deacon lets out a long smile as his eyes sparkle a little bit. He just shrugs and says that "you told me to do the dirty work, so I did." We talk for a while about Maddie's decision to quit school. I admit to being disappointed but considering I thought she was getting married or having a baby, this seems manageable. Deacon says he wishes Maddie would stay in college too but says he won't be like Lamar. I lean against Deacon and tell him what an amazing father he is.

Teddy has been wonderful with the girls too but overtime he seems to have grown less stable. His stint as Nashville's mayor ended three years ago when he won the Representatives' race. Since then, Teddy is in Washington more than Tennessee. Even when he's home Teddy is always at some fundraiser or caucus or meeting. I suppose it is only fair. When the girls were young, it was me that was gone all the time. I was chasing my dreams then; he's chasing them now.

Deacon and I talk for a few minutes about new prospects for signing to the label. I worry that signing another artist may compromise the whole company. We have seven current artists on Highway 65, plus myself. In our Nashville office, we have 21 employees alone and eight more in our New York satellite office. On any given weekday there are PR emergencies and writers block problems. There is always something new: a new album, a new single, a new glitch on some tour. But Deacon thinks we should do it. We share a kiss before turning out the lights; we will talk more about this tomorrow while the kids sleep in. But I already know what is going to happen, Deacon is going to convince me to his way of thinking.

He tells me that he loves me and I whisper the same back. I admit to being a little excited about this. Maddie and Tyler aren't leaving until Thursday morning. Deacon, Daphne, and I are staying until Saturday. I get my family all to myself for the next few days. I can't wait to see the many ways Deacon will attempt to circumvent Tyler messing with his baby girl or hear what random adventure Daphne has dreamed up.