Well, of course, the minute Crane admitted to 'maybe' having a girlfriend, we all started talking at once. Crane had dated in high school, especially in the last couple of years, but he'd never had a real girlfriend, and he'd never brought a girl home as a girlfriend either. He was bombarded with questions from all sides asking him her name, what she looked like, where she was from and the like. Crane had been about to try French braiding my hair, but I swivelled round and took part in the barrage of questioning. That's what we were all doing when Adam came out of his bedroom and down the stairs. He looked bemused at all the noise.

"What's goin' on here?" he asked loudly, so he could be heard above the din.

"Crane's got a girlfriend!" Guthrie shouted with glee.

A slow smile spread over Adam's face. He looked at Crane.

"Really, little brother? Well, do tell. Who is she?"

"We've already asked that- he won't say!" Evan said.

Crane sat back on the couch, looking amused.

"Maybe if you lot would be quiet for more than 5 seconds, I could get a word in edgeways,"

Brian held out his arms as though to cast a spell.

"Everybody, hush. Let little brother here talk."

Crane laughed though his face was still red. Crane's not shy, but he doesn't love being the centre of attention, the way that Daniel does, or Brian or Guthrie.

"Her name is Beth."

"Beth!" I exclaimed. "That's such a pretty name. Beth." I liked the feel of it on my tongue.

"What does she look like?" Evan said at the same time that Ford asked, "Where's she from?"

"She's from Rhode Island on the East coast," Crane said.

"The East coast, huh?" Brian said, looking impressed. "Fancy."

"No, she's pretty down to earth," Crane said.

"Crane, what does she look like?" Evan said again, more insistently this time.

"She's obviously gonna be a 9 or 10, right Crane?" Guthrie said.

"Guthrie, we don't talk about women that way," Adam scolded.

"But Brian talks that way all the time!" Guthrie protested.

Adam gave Brian a look that plainly said, 'Look at what you've done' and Brian at least had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Yea, Guth, but it's not nice," he said, even though I heard him talking about girls that way all the time.

Adam looked at his watch. "We've gotta get goin' if we don't want to be late," he said.

"But Crane hasn't done my hair yet!" I protested, gesturing to the hairbrush that was still in his hands.

"I can do it in the truck," Crane said.

Questions followed Crane out the door. Adam rescued him by insisting that he sit up in the truck cab with him and because Crane was going to try to do my hair, I got to sit up there too. I was glad of it because it was warm in there. Our family is so big that the only way to get somewhere all together is to use the truck. In the winter though, it can get chilly, and even though we put on coats and take blankets in the truck bed, it can still be a little uncomfortable sometimes.

I saw in between Adam and Crane, facing Adam with my back to Crane so he could attempt to braid my hair.

"I can't promise I'll do it right," he said as soon as we had started rumbling along our driveway.

"That's okay," I said, "If you don't manage then I'll wear it in a ponytail."

When Crane started, I took the opportunity to ask him my own questions about Beth.

"What colour hair does she have?" I asked.

"She's blonde."

"Evan blonde? Or Ford blonde?"

"More like Ford blonde."

"Is it long, or short?"

"Long."

"And what color eyes does she have?"

Crane laughed. "Why do you want to know all this?"

"I want to be able to picture her in my mind," I said.

"Okay. Well, her eyes are green. Sort of like the color of grass," Crane said.

"Where did you meet her?" Adam asked.

"Ouch," I said as Crane pulled a little too hard on my hair.

"Sorry, Heidi," and then to Adam he said, "We met at a party a couple of months ago."

Adam grinned. "The million-dollar question is when we're goin' to get to meet her," he said.

"I think I want to date her a bit longer before I bring her to meet this rabble," Crane said.

"I'm not surprised; it's goin' to take a special kind of woman to deal with our bunch," he said, dryly.

I thought he looked kind of sad when he said it.

"Would you like a girlfriend, Adam?" I asked.

"It would be nice," Adam said. "But I don't have time for a girlfriend, what with the ranch and you kids."

"Oh," I said, thinking hard. "But if you did have time, would you want one?"

"Yeah," Adam said, "But since I most definitely do not have time, there's no point in talkin' about it."

"There you go," Crane said, putting the hair tie on the bottom of my braid. "Done."

I reached up to feel the intricate row of braiding that Crane had weaved. Then I shifted over closer to him to pull down the visor on the passenger side of the truck that had a little mirror inside and inspected my hair.

"I love it, Crane, thank you!" I said.

"Looks real pretty, honey," Adam said, glancing at me.

"Not too shabby for my first time," Crane said.

"Does Beth do her hair like this every day?" I asked Crane.

"Most days."

"She sounds like a princess," I said dreamily. Even though I knew it was silly and unrealistic, I'd already kitted her out in my mind into one of the Disney princesses- to be specific- Sleeping Beauty.

/

I loved going to the high school. I'd been before a few times for things to do with Crane and I loved the wide hallways and all the different notices and auditorium which was palatial compared to the auditorium in elementary school. Everything was so much bigger and grander it seemed. Adam and Brian had been big deals at school- Adam had been top of his class and a big basketball star and Brian had played basketball and football. They were always greeted warmly by teachers and coaches and office staff who worked there who always wanted to know how they were and how we were. This time was no different and we were stopped by various people before we even made it to the auditorium where the concert was being held. This time, they also wanted to talk to Crane too and ask him questions about how he was liking college. People kept commenting on how much Guthrie and I had grown since the last time they'd seen us, which was silly in my opinion as it had only been 6 months since Crane's graduation from high school, but I smiled politely anyway. Evan, Ford and Guthrie got bored and went ahead to get us seats, but I was happy to linger around and read the notices on the walls and look at the pictures behind glass cabinets.

By the time we made it into the auditorium, it was almost time for the concert to start. The boys had saved us seats relatively near the front and I sat in between Crane and Guthrie. There was a programme on the chairs, just a paper flier, but it showed that the Juggernauts- Daniel's band- were going to be on last. I heard Brian grumbling to Adam that they'd have to sit through all the other acts before we saw Daniel. I didn't mind though. I was completely enthralled by the posse of teenage girls who came on stage and did a sort of sexy Christmas dance. I could tell from Evan's expression that he enjoyed that act too. I took in every detail of their appearance from their different hair styles down to the nail polish they were wearing on their fingers. One of them had a different color on every nail! I'm not sure I even registered their dance- it was just their very 'girliness' that was fascinating to me. There were solo singers and a couple of more dancing acts and then a heavy metal band, an act that I definitely did not enjoy. And then, it was time for Daniel's band: the Juggernauts.

I'll admit to being a bit nervous about seeing them perform. I'd only ever heard them rehearsing in our barn or in the house and that was pretty hit and miss. But you know what? They were amazing- and it wasn't my opinion because Daniel's my brother. Everybody thought so.

I'd seen Daniel perform before, but never as part of his own band, and he was, for want of a better word- mesmerising. They sang a song that I'd heard them practice in the barn, but this time it was so much better. The band sounded pitch perfect- every note and when Daniel sang, you couldn't take your eyes off him. I heard Crane turn to Brian, who was next to him and say, "Wow, they're really good, aren't they!" and Brian say, "They sure are."

When they reached the end of their number, the crowd not only clapped and cheered like they had for the other acts, but they whooped and whistled, and of course me and my brothers joined in and made sure we were the loudest. And then, someone, definitely not from our family though, started a chant, "One more song" and the chant grew louder and reached a crescendo as more people joined in. Daniel and the guys looked shell shocked for all of about 5 seconds, but then Daniel grinned easily and turned to say something to the band, and they nodded, and started to play another song. And after that they played another one! When they finally took a bow, I saw a look in Daniel's eyes that I hadn't seen for a long time, for sure not since Crane had left for college. It was pure joy.

/

Once again it took forever to leave the high school. We waited outside the auditorium where everyone was gathered and talking and socialising- teachers, other kids from school and parents. Some of the kids who had performed were coming out from back stage now to be greeted by their families. We met Frankie, JD and Ben's families too who were also there. Frankie's parents were nothing like him- he has green hair, and Daniel had mentioned before that he wanted to get a tattoo- but his parents looked to be the very picture of convention. They were very supportive though, and Adam and Brian stood with the other guys' parents while they all talked about how good the band had been.

I needed the toilet so slipped off while we waited for Daniel. I was finished and washing my hands when the group of girls that had performed the sexy Christmas jingle/dance burst into the bathroom, all laughing and talking at once. They had changed into different clothes, but I recognised them immediately.

"That band at the end- the Juggernauts were awesome," one of them said.

"And the lead singer is super cute- what's his name?" said the girl who had a different colour on every nail.

"I don't know- I've not seen him around here before. But what a voice!" a third, blonde one said.

Ordinarily I would have been intimidated to talk to a group of older girls, especially pretty, popular ones like that, but now I felt like I could burst with pride.

"His name is Daniel! Daniel McFadden. He's my big brother," I said.

The girls turned to pay attention to me.

"And he goes here?" the different color nail girl said.

I nodded. "He's a freshman. The whole band are."

"Ohh- that's why we haven't seen them before," the blonde girl said. "We're sophomores."

"Is he single?" different color nail asked, which made the other girls dissolve into giggles.

"As far as I know."

Different colour nail girl reached into her back pocket and pulled out a thin piece of paper. It looked like a receipt of some kind.

"This'll do," she said, looking at it. Then she turned to the other girls. "Anyone got a pen?"

"I've got lipstick," the blonde girl offered.

Different color nail girl took it from her and then used the sink mirror to lean against while she wrote something on the piece of paper. She was right in front of me when she did it, so she was blocking my view, but when she'd finished, she held it out and said, "Can you give this to your brother for me?"

I took the paper from her. There was a phone number on it, written in a shimmery pink. Above it was the name 'Clara'.

"Sure."

"Tell him to call me," she said.

"Okay," I said, and then more shyly I said to her, "I like the different colors on your nails. And I liked your act tonight too."

Clara smiled. "You're so sweet." She looked around at the other girls. "Isn't she the sweetest?"

"I like your braid," she said to me.

I'd forgotten about it, but now touched it self-conciously, and then flushed with pleasure.

"Thanks," I said.

I was on cloud 9 when I came out of the bathroom and headed back to where my family were. Daniel had come out while I was in the bathroom and he was now surrounded by my brothers, who were pulling him every which way and back slapping him, telling him what a great job the band had done. He was surrounded by people so I put the paper in my pocket to keep it safe, and then being small, I weaselled into the foray so I could hug Daniel too.

/

On the way home, I wanted to ride in the bed of the truck. Crane, Adam and Ford rode in the front. It was colder than when we'd set out and so everyone in the truck bed bundled up under the blankets we had brought, all together. I made sure I was snuggled up close to Brian because he's a human radiator at the best of times. As we rumbled home, conversation in the truck remained on the band's performance.

"Who would have thought that the screechin' comin' out of the barn all this time could result in a performance like that!" Brian said, teasingly.

"Was it really that good?" Daniel said.

"You know it was- you just want to us to keep heapin' praise on you," Evan said playfully.

"I'll tell you what, partner, I don't think you'll have trouble gettin' a date for a while," Brian said.

"I never had trouble," Daniel said cockily.

"Oh, that reminds me," I said, remembering the note in my pocket. I fished it out and handed it to Daniel. "I went to the toilet and a girl gave me this to give to you."

Brian grinned. "Alright! Way to go, little brother."

Daniel peered at it closely. "It's kinda smudged but I think I can make out the numbers."

"Whose it from?" Guthrie asked.

Daniel looked at the note again. "A girl called Clara."

"Do you know her?" Evan asked.

"She's one of the girls who was in that jingle act, near the beginning. The one with a different color nail polish for every nail," I said. "She said she liked my braid!"

Brian ran a hand over my hair.

"Does that mean I'm outta a job?" he asked me playfully.

"Only when Crane's in town. You're my backup," I told him.

"I still don't know which one Clara is," Daniel said.

"Doesn't matter, they were all real pretty," Evan said.

"That's true," Daniel conceded. He looked really pleased with himself. He looked around suddenly at the passing scenery. "Hey, this isn't the way home."

"We're goin' for ice cream! Adam said we would." Guthrie said.

"Alright!" Daniel said, pumping his fist in front of him. "This night just keeps gettin' better."

I want to say thank you so much to the people who review, both those who review faithfully every chapter and who review periodically. And I want to say thanks to the people who read and don't review too. Please know your support means so much to me and I don't take it for granted at all. Thank you also to Ponygirlrunner25 who left a bunch of reviews in the past couple of days for both my current stories- so kind of you. I find it difficult to write sometimes- once I've started, I'm fine but I really have to push myself to start, especially just now when the temptation is to become a complete slug. The reviews and the engagement are so motivating for me. I hope everyone is staying safe and well. xxx