New Chapter! Sorry I didn't update sooner, things have been hectic. In an effort to make amends, this is a fairly long chapter. It's the big reopening and Annie causes quite a stir.

Thanks, again, for all the wonderful reviews. I hope they continue - they inspire me to keep going.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hart of Dixie, just trying to keep busy during the hiatus.


Chapter 12 - The Weight

After Lavon picked her up at four, they headed over to the Rammer Jammer. When they walked in they were both struck with how good the place looked. It was not an overhaul, but it looked less dingy – possibly a tad more hip. Shelly greeted them. She showed them to a table and gave them menus. Though she had already seen them, Zoe admired the job Shelly had done designing them and Shelly beamed from the compliment.

"I'll let Wade know you're here," Shelly said winking at Zoe. "Y'know I think all the buzz about you two is gonna be good for business."

"I'm happy to take one for the cause." Zoe replied dryly.

Lavon picked up his menu so he could hide his amused look albeit unsuccessfully. Zoe rolled her eyes at him.

"So this is what I have to look forward to all night?" Zoe asked him.

"Hey, it's Bluebell and you two are the gossip du jour."

Zoe did her best fake smile. "Great."

Wade came around the corner then with his arm around a pretty girl with strawberry blonde hair and blue almond shaped eyes. She reminded Zoe of an actress she recently seen in a movie, only a few years older. A small, sudden wave of jealousy hit her before Lavon turned around and called out, "Aw there she is! If it ain't Miss Annie!"

Zoe relaxed upon hearing it was Wade's sister, then she re-registered the information and a small bout of nausea hit her stomach. She thought she had a little more time before arriving at the point in the evening where she would meet his sister. That plan was clearly out the window since the woman had let go of Wade, hurrying over towards them and jumping into Lavon's outstretched arms.

"Hey Lavon! How you been?"

Lavon gave her a bear hug before putting her on her feet. "I'm better seein' you girl. How you been?'

"Great, touring the past few months, but we had be here for my big brother's big night."

Annie looked at Wade who had just made his way to the table. He came up behind Zoe's chair, and stooped behind her with his arms coming around her shoulders. Wade leaned in and whispered in Zoe's ear, "Well you succeeded on the 'look smokin' part of your assignment."

Zoe turned her face towards his and smiled, "Glad you think so."

Before he could respond, they were interrupted by his sister.

"You must be Dr. Zoe Hart." Annie said with an 'at last' tone to her voice.

Zoe felt the nerves in her stomach again, but they were interrupted by Annie pulling her away from Wade and into a hug.

"It's so good to finally meet you." Annie smiled as she released Zoe, "Wade has been goin' on and on about you for months –'Zoe this and Zoe that'." Annie paused and winked at Wade, satisfied with the embarrassment she was causing him. Her eyes moved back to Zoe and introduced herself. "I'm Annie, Wade's sister."

Wade looked like he wanted to disappear into the woodwork, but instead moved to insinuate himself between his sister and Zoe.

Zoe smiled and held out her hand. "It's great to meet you. I've heard a lot about you too."

Annie ignored the hand and gave her another quick hug. Zoe could see what Wade meant about his sister. It was hard not to love her. She was charming and a bit of a smart ass, all good qualities as far as Zoe was concerned.

Annie sat in the remaining chair at the table and looked at Zoe. "Have a seat, Zoe. I want to hear all about the girl that has my brother so, what the word I'm lookin' for…," Annie narrowed her right eye and rubbed her jaw in way Wade would, "…Ah, enamored. Yeah, that's it – enamored."

That was sufficient for Wade and he grabbed Zoe's hand. "Alright, that's about enough from you." Wade gave her look of loving annoyance. "We'll be right back. Annie, why don't you keep Lavon here company and yourself out of trouble?"

"Whatever you say, Wade." Annie replied in a sing-song voice, batting her eyelashes.

Wade rolled his eyes as he put his arm around Zoe and guided her away from the table.

"So you've been going on and on about me for months?" Zoe teased.

"Did I mention my sister has a flare for the dramatics and a tendency to exaggerate?" he said wryly

"I didn't pick up on that from her." She joked.

He pulled her out the back door and into a toe tingling kiss. As he eased her back onto her feet, he told her, "I've been thinking about that all afternoon."

"Have you now?" she barely managed, still trying to catch her breath.

"Aw yeah," he said gliding his tongue over his top lip, the cocky smirk in full effect. "So besides the fact that she's a royal pain in the butt, what do you think of my sister?

"She seems great. I want to get to know her better" Zoe answered.

The smirk slipped from his face, "Yeah, that'll be great. I can have coordinated, North meets South sass."

Zoe laughed lightly and grabbed both his hands. "So how's everything going here so far? It looks great."

Wade brushed his hand through his hair, his other nervous tick. "So far, so good. People are startin' to trickle in; the kitchen and the bar are runnin' pretty smooth. I'm feelin' pretty unnecessary at the moment."

He still looked nervous and she knew they should head back in. He wouldn't want to be gone long. Zoe put her arm around his waist and leaned into him. "Should we head back in now that you've officially welcomed me?"

Wade smiled down and nodded, "Probably should. Promise me you won't let my sister give you the third degree or embarrass me too bad in my absence"

She nodded and kept her arm around his waist as he walked her back to the table. The Bluebell residents seated at the tables they passed began whispering to each other, but Zoe and Wade did their best to ignore it. When they were back at the table, Wade reluctantly excused himself and left Zoe with Annie. Wade felt only mildly comforted with the idea that Lavon was there too.

When Zoe returned, Annie was telling Lavon about life in Nashville, though it did not sound like she had been there much recently with the significant amount of touring. Contrary to Wade's concern, she did not give Zoe the third degree or say anything too embarrassing about him. She found it of little entertainment if he was not there to hear her. Instead, Wade's sister demonstrated a remarkable ability to put Zoe at ease. They settled into casual get-to-know-you conversation.

Zoe learned that Wade's sister had left Bluebell not long after high school and moved to Nashville – only hinting at their upbringing as a reason for leaving. Zoe wondered if the reason for dropping Kinsella from her name had anything to do with Earl, Annie didn't say. She told Zoe how she had been in and out of a lot of groups, trying to make a music career. It sounded as though Annie kept her career going the first few years by playing bars and smaller venues with a rotating group of musicians. Her biggest success came from her current band which had landed a decent string of gigs as the opening act for bigger names.

"So, how's Bluebell treatin' you, Zoe?" Annie asked. "Lord knows it ain't an easy place to break into, not too big on rollin' out the welcome wagon."

Zoe smiled. Annie was direct, which she liked. "It was a little rocky at first," Zoe acknowledged before Lavon broke in patting Zoe's shoulder.

"But Zoe, here, has grown in regard. She's even won over the Belles." The mayor boasted on behalf of his friend.

Annie looked impressed. "And how the hell did you do that? I'm from here and never gained access to that wacky cliquey group of girls."

Zoe was intrigued by this tid-bit, but Lavon's chuckle broke off her question. "Well, now you never exactly went' out of your way to ingratiate yourself there."

Annie smirked and was about to respond when one of her band mates came over to get her. Before she excused herself she touched Zoe's shoulder. "I'll catch up with you later. I'm glad to meet you; 'haven't seen Wade this happy in a long time."

Before she could enjoy basking in the glow of her successful introduction to Wade's sister, she was interrupted by Lavon's obvious throat clearing as his head motioned behind her.

"Well, this'll be interestin'." He mumbled.

Zoe turned slightly to see George and Lemon had just arrived and George had almost collided with Annie. Zoe couldn't help but notice that George's face significantly brightened upon seeing Wade's sister and apparently neither could Lemon, who looked like her mouth was full of the bitter fruit for which she was named. Annie had given George a big hug, but only politely nodded in Lemon's direction before heading off with her band mate. Lavon and Zoe exchanged looks.

"That's a long story best told over bourbon." Lavon told her.

Zoe's arm shot up to get Shelly's attention. "Then let's get some bourbon." Zoe said. "I'm all about gossip that doesn't involve me."

Shelly brought over the bourbon and Zoe raised her glass to toast. "Here's to male break-up tradition and gossip about other people."

As soon as the word's left her mouth, Lavon's widened a bit. Zoe turned to see George and Lemon behind her. "Now what gossip are you two sharin' and who had a break up?" Lemon asked, clearly wanting to be in the know.

Lavon looked at Zoe who looked back at him. The mayor stammered a bit, "Uh, I was just tellin' Zoe here that Deedee and I broke up…"

Zoe felt badly for the mayor, who had just sacrificed himself by acknowledging the recent break-up to Lemon. She jumped in, "Yeah, and I was making a really bad joke about that becoming the new gossip rather than people talking about Wade and me." She placed her hand on Lavon's. "I'm sorry, Lavon."

Then seemingly oblivious, George managed to change the topic to an apparently even more uncomfortable one. "I didn't know Annie was coming. That was a surprise."

Lemon plastered a plastic smile on her face, "Yes, wasn't it?"

Zoe looked at Lavon who had become fascinated with his napkin. She was not sure why Lemon disliked Annie so much but was beginning to think it had something to do with George's excited reaction to seeing Wade's sister. The uncomfortable silence was broken up by Wade arriving with their dinners. He picked up on the awkward vibe and looked at Zoe who gave him a slightly insane looking smile.

"Wade!" she exclaimed, "Aren't we lucky Lavon? Getting our meals delivered by the owner, himself. How are things going?"

"Uh, yeah, now that's some service." Lavon jumped in then, "Thing going good so far? Looks good, nice sized crowd and all."

Wade looked at them like they were mildly deranged, but answered. "You're welcome. And yeah, things are goin' alright so far."

Figuring it was better not to ask what the hell was wrong with the two of them he turned towards George and Lemon.

"George, Lemon," Wade greeted them, "Y'all need a table?"

Lemon nodded and tried to keep up her fake façade that she was not anything but thrilled to be there. Wade did his best to ignore it; grabbing a few menus before showing them to a table.

"Well, we'll catch up with you later." Lemon said in an effort to leave things less awkward. She had slid her arm through George's, who still looked a little dazed, and followed Wade.

Lavon and Zoe looked at each other and before Zoe could open her mouth, Lavon put his hand up. "Have Wade explain it to you later."

Figuring Lavon had enough embarrassment for the evening, she didn't ask anything more. Instead she looked over at her friend, "Need some more bourbon?"

Lavon nodded slightly and Zoe waved to Shelly.

The re-opening was going well. The tables remained full for dinner until the kitchen closed. Rose and her parents had been in and Brick brought Magnolia for dinner with Lemon and George. Zoe had seen many of the familiar faces of Bluebell. She wondered if anyone bothered to stay home and make their own dinner. The only person she knew that was not there was AnnaBeth who had her cousin's wedding in Biloxi that day. As the family dinner crowd began to thin, more people started to arrive to hear the band. Zoe saw a number of un-familiar faces coming in and was pleased. Apparently the band had a bigger following than she knew. It was turning out to be a successful night for Wade.

Shelly took over for Wade at the bar and helped the new bartender so Wade could take a break and enjoy the band with Zoe. He found Zoe with Lavon towards the back of room. Annie and the band had just taken to the small Rammer Jammer stage. Wade came up behind Zoe and slipped his arms around her waist. She leaned against him.

"Good evenin' Bluebell!" Annie called out enthusiastically, "How y'all doin' tonight?"

The crowd answered with equal enthusiasm.

"It's good to be back here for this auspicious occasion – the grand re-opening of the Rammer Jammer. Did y'all know my big brother is the proud, new owner of this fine establishment?"

She was a natural on stage. She had the crowd whipped up, the locals looking back at Wade cheering. A wry smile slipped from Wade's lips before he called back to her, "You gonna sing or just run your mouth?"

The crowd laughed and so did Annie. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna sing. As a matter of fact, I wanna do this first song with my original singin' partner." Her face let loose a wicked grin.

"Aw hell," Wade mumbled and Zoe looked back at him confused.

Annie looked out at the crowd, "How 'bout we get my big brother up here? What do y'all say? Can you give a good ole holler for Wade Kinsella?"

The crowd let out a roar and a few began chanting Wade's name until he let go of Zoe and began heading to the stage. The regulars in the crowd began slapping Wade on the back and pushing him along until he was standing next to his sister. One of her band mates handed him a guitar. Wade slung the guitar strap over his head and looked over at his sister.

"Alright now that ya' got me up here, what are we doin'?" he said in the microphone.

Annie looked back at Wade then called out to the crowd. "Y'all ready for a little number called 'The Weight'?"

The room erupted and Zoe looked around at them. She noticed George standing next to her. He leaned in to explain.

"They used to do this song when we were kids. Their Mom used to sing it to her because her name was in the song. When Wade took up guitar, Annie made him learn how to play it and sing it with her. She always insisted they were sayin' 'Take a load off, ANNIE' in the chorus too." George emphasized the name.

Zoe nodded and appreciated the explanation. Lavon was clapping and cheering as were most of the folks she knew from Bluebell. They all seemed to know the significance. Zoe deduced it was not the first time they had done this in public.

Wade began playing the guitar intro and the drummer kicked in soon after. Annie winked at him and then leaned into his microphone, "This is for you Momma."

A small smile crept on his face, Wade started to sing. Annie stood to his side, clapping along to the drum beat. When he got to the chorus she leaned in to his microphone and harmonized with him. Wade's head moved to the music and he had an easy smile on his face. The crowd was hollering out. As they finished the chorus, Wade stood back, playing the guitar while she sang the next verse. He joined her again on the chorus. The crowd was clearly into it. Wade began the next verse, looking at his sister as he sang,

"Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothin' you can say
It's just ol' Luke, and Luke's waitin' on the Judgment Day.
Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee?
He said, Do me a favor, son, woncha stay an' keep Anna Lee company?"

The crowd let out some wild whooping and hollering once Wade sang her name. Zoe found she couldn't help but join in, it was infectious. They looked and sounded amazing up there together. When Wade finished the verse, his sister put her arm around his neck and shared his mic to do the chorus,

"Take a load of Annie

Take a load for free…"

The crowd had begun to join in then, making the proper adjustment to the verse. The two of them harmonized the rest of the way through with the crowd singing along when they hit each chorus. By the time they finished, they had literally brought the house down. Annie had wrapped her brother into a bear hug and he was laughing.

Annie pulled away and took the microphone, "Hey y'all, let's hear it one more time for Wade Kinsella!" She shouted and began to clap.

And all of Bluebell heard it, whether they were at the Rammer Jammer or not.

Wade handed the guitar to Annie and began to make his way back to Zoe. It took some time for him to get through the crowd as people slapped him on the back again and shook his hand congratulating him. Zoe took it all in and enjoyed seeing him so happy. Watching him with his sister she saw yet another side of him. There were still more layers to him, she realized, and each one was more interesting.

Annie and the band launched into another song. The sound was a rocking country, not quite honky-tonk, and her voice was bluesy. All Zoe could think was how Annie belonged right where she was, on a stage. Her energy was infectious and it was clear the crowd loved her – not just because she was one their own either. As Zoe mused over Annie, she happened to look over at George, who was still standing beside her. His eyes were locked on Annie singing on stage. While everyone else's in the crowd were also, George's expression was a little different, he was completely captivated. Taking this in, Zoe thought she would not need Wade to fill in too many blanks except what the history was. No one needed to tell her that George had something for Annie. It made Zoe wonder where Lemon was, figuring wherever it was she was not happy.

Zoe's thoughts were soon interrupted by Wade finally reaching her. He scooped her up into his arms for a dance. He was completely relaxed and oozing with his famous charm.

"That was pretty incredible." Zoe said into his ear over the music.

Wade threw his head back and laughed. "Yeah, it was sure somethin'. Gotta love that crazy sister of mine."

"You sure you don't want to join the band and hit the road with them?" Zoe joked.

He laughed and gave her a twirl that ended with a dip and a kiss.

After dancing with Zoe to a few more songs, Wade made his way back towards the bar to check on things. Zoe came along. As they got closer, she saw Lemon sitting on a stool with a drink in front of her. Zoe looked up at Wade who seemed to be thinking the same as she – Lemon was probably not having a good evening and was likely the only person not happy to have Annie back in Bluebell.

Wade let go of Zoe's hand and headed behind the bar to check in with Shelly. Zoe made her way over to Lemon and took the stool next to her.

"Hey Lemon," Zoe greeted her.

She turned towards Zoe and the belle's cloudy eyes told her that Lemon had definitely been drowning her sorrows.

"Hey Zoe," Lemon answered with a slightly slurred voice and the tone of a still somewhat happy drunk. "Looks like it's a real good night for Wade."

Zoe wasn't quite sure how to deal with a drunk Lemon, thankfully Wade came down towards them.

"Hey Lemon, how you doin'?

"Wade!" She gushed as she leaned over and patted his arm. "I'm good, I am REAL good. Your new bartender makes a mean lemon shot. I told him my name and he said 'Girl, I know just the drink for you.'"

Lemon held up her shot glass and slung it back. Zoe and Wade exchanged glances. Lemon took hold of Wade's arm and leaned across the bar towards him.

"Oh Wade, I'm so happy for you." Lemon told him and then she looked at Zoe, patting her hand. "And Zoe, I never thought in a million years I'd ever like you, but you're not so bad for a Yankee."

Zoe and Wade continued to look at each other and then to Lemon and then back to each other. Lemon was oblivious and continued to wax poetic.

"And you two are so cute! You're like two lost pound pups that found each other and now you're both so happy..."

Lemon stopped short with her backhanded compliments when she saw Lavon walking by, "Lavon!"

The mayor looked shocked to hear her call out to him; by his first name no less – in public. Zoe eyes went wide while Wade looked confused. Zoe shot Lavon a look with urgent, wide eyes, motioning her head to the side – as if to say, get the hell away from here. But it was too late; Lemon was up off her stool and hurrying over to the mayor. She threw her arms around him for a sloppy drunk hug. Lavon's arms hung by his side and he looked at Zoe, while everyone else around the bar looked at the mayor with Lemon hanging off of him.

Wade pulled Zoe towards him. "What the hell is that about?" he said into ear her over the bar noise.

She looked at him with pleading eyes and stammered, "I... I… I need to avert a crisis."

Zoe knew something, but as she looked him with pleading eyes he backed off asking her more. Zoe jumped off her stool and tried to casually pull Lemon away from Lavon, though it was not easy. "Come on, Lemon. Let's go dance."

Lemon perked up at Zoe's idea and she moved happily through the crowd pulling Zoe behind her. Zoe looked back to Lavon who still stood frozen and Wade who was clearly baffled.

Lemon barged past George and Zoe was convinced the slight shove was intentional. Soon they were in the middle of the crowd and Lemon was dancing along to the music with drunk gusto. After a few songs, George approached them. He had emerged from his Annie gazing fog and was taking Lemon's arm, "C'mon Sweetheart."

When Lemon saw it was he, she pulled her arm back.

"Don't you dare, George Tucker! You just go back to makin' eyes at your old girlfriend and leave me alone."

Zoe looked at George who was clearly embarrassed and backing away in an effort to not further upset Lemon. She then looked up at the stage and saw Annie doing her best to avoid looking anywhere in their general direction. When she finally looked at Lemon, it was clear that happy drunk Lemon was quickly turning into sad, sloppy drunk Lemon. Zoe saw her eyes were starting to well up and knew it was time to act fast before an even bigger scene was made. She put her arm around Lemon casually and started to head towards the door.

Once outside, Lemon burst into tears.

"Why did she need to be here? I know… she's Wade's sister. Of course, she'd come, but why?" Lemon's voice trailed off and her head fell onto Zoe's shoulder.

Zoe gave Lemon a hug and tried to soothe her, to little avail. Wade came out the door then to see what was going on. Thankfully Lemon did not see him. Zoe was afraid the sight of Wade would further upset Lemon since it was his sister was the offending party in Lemon's eyes. She lightly shook her head and he backed up quietly. Zoe did not have the same luck when Lavon came out already talking, "Everythin' alright out here?"

Lemon immediately pulled herself away from Zoe and threw herself into Lavon's arms. "Lavon…" she cried as she wiped her tears on the mayor's shirt. "Oh Lavon, please take me home."

Lavon looked down at Zoe not knowing what to do. She knew, even if only subconsciously, he had come out hoping to find Lemon still there. But it was too late to do anything now. The best thing for Lemon was for her to head home; Zoe knew the proper belle would mortified by her behavior when she woke the next morning. She shrugged her shoulders at her friend and grimaced a bit before putting his arm around Lemon and guided her to his SUV.

Wade came out of the shadow of the doorway then and over to Zoe. "So what was that all about?" His face suggested he had a good idea and that Zoe did too.

Zoe paused. Lavon had sworn her to secrecy, but at least with Wade it seemed the cat was out of the bag. She knew she could not lie to him. She also knew that Wade would never betray Lavon, even to George. Still, it would be better not to discuss it here; she would tell him when they were alone.

Zoe opened her mouth to say just that when George came out the door, but he was too late. Lavon had just pulled out of the parking lot with Lemon in the passenger's seat and George caught the whole scene.

"She left?" he said and then added, "With Lavon?"

Poor George looked confused and unhappy.

Zoe tried to smooth over a pretty dicey situation. "She was drunk, George, and pretty upset. I don't have a car and Wade can't leave, so Lavon offered her a ride home."

George hung his head down and nodded. Wade went over to him and patted his shoulder, "Come on back inside and let me buy you a beer. It might be best to just Lemon sleep this off and make things right tomorrow."

George nodded again and slowly walked back in. Wade looked over at Zoe who mouthed, "Later."

He nodded and held out his hand to her. Taking it in hers, she guided his arm around her neck.

He looked down at her as they prepared to go in, "How did we become the normal couple so quick?"

She shook her head, "Beats me. I've never been the normal anything."

Wade let out a slight laugh, "I hear that, girl."

Smiling as she looked up at him she increased her efforts to lighten the mood. "You and your sister really did sound great."

Wade threw his head back and let out another laugh. He appreciated the effort and kissed the top of her head. Zoe leaned into him and they walked back inside.


So what do you think of Annie? What do you think the history is with George? Please let me know what you think.

Also, don't know if you saw but there is a lot of talk the show may be cancelled. I really would like the show to come back for another season. There is an online petition that hopefully you will sign. I tried to add the link here, but am having technical difficulties getting it to paste properly. You can find it at Twitition