A new chapter and more about Annie. She is a loveable troublemaker. Zoe and Wade a little alone time and a bit of a wake up call.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Hart of Dixie or its characters.

Chapter 13: Trouble

The rest of the night was relatively drama-free. Annie had pulled Wade up one more time to sing with her and their second number had the crowd as pumped as the first. Though he again was begrudging about coming to the stage, he clearly enjoyed himself once up there. After he finished the duet with Annie, he let loose playing the Allman's Brothers' Little Martha on his guitar. The crowd loved it. Zoe smiled remembering him playing it for her the other night.

He and Zoe were able to share a few more dances and she laughed each time he sent her into a little twirl. He spent a good part of the night behind the bar, a spot he enjoyed. Zoe sat in her familiar seat on the other side of the bar chatting with Dash Dewitt or other folks she knew. George had stayed and sat at the bar drinking a beer. He was pretty subdued, but chatted with folks nonetheless – ever the model citizen. In typical Bluebell fashion no one asked him about Lemon, those conversations would be had later amongst themselves. Lavon walked in a little less than hour after leaving to take Lemon home. It was a little long considering the Breeland's lived only ten minutes away, but not scandalous. Zoe shared a look with her friend, who smiled weakly at her. She planned to get the full scoop tomorrow.

The band had really brought people in and the place was packed until the last set. The crowd thinned out when the band finished. Folks congratulated Wade on their way out, giving a sense the town was pleased to see the town bad boy make good. He was uncomfortable with the compliments as usual, but appreciated their words. It had been a great night.

By closing time only a small group remained. Zoe, Lavon, and George sat at the bar. Wade worked behind it restocking glasses and cleaning up. Shelly and some of the other staff finished getting the main room cleaned up and ready for the next day.

Zoe felt Lavon's discomfort as he sat nursing his bourbon with George two stools away. Not that George in any way seemed bothered by him giving Lemon a ride home. In fact, he had made a point of thanking the mayor – although that seemed to make Lavon feel worse. George spirits lifted considerably when Annie and the band joined them at the bar. But it was clear Bluebell's golden boy was wrestling between regret over what happened with Lemon and the sheer joy he felt being around Annie. Zoe took note of how surreal the scene was and did her best to keep things light. A task made significantly easier by the presence of Wade's sister at the bar.

Annie did not let on whether she was fully aware of what had transpired earlier. Instead she held court and regaled folks with stories and jokes. She told stories of Wade, George and she growing up in Bluebell to Zoe and her band. Then she launched into a series of tales about life on the road with the other band mates proving color commentary of her retellings. Annie wasn't just a fine storyteller but easily brought others in to add further detail and shading to the tales. Her ability to just glide past the elephant in the room and engage everyone in an easy conversation was remarkable.

She led a round of toasts first for her brother, then her band mates and on until she had toasted pretty much everyone present. George soon seemed to forget the unfortunate events earlier and was once again completely taken in by Annie, who did a masterful job of not showing if she noticed. She also did not tip her hand as to any preference she might have for him. She joked with him as she did with the others, no more or less. George was different around her – not quite so earnest and more one of the merry pranksters, laughing and joking with them.

Zoe couldn't tell what, if any, deeper feelings Annie might have for George and found the whole thing intriguing. Wade, likely the only other person in the know, acted like the whole thing was perfectly normal.

With the clean-up and set-up completed, the group festivities wound down. Shelly and the rest of the staff headed home. Lavon had offered up his place for Annie and the rest of the band to crash for the evening. They piled into the Navigator and Annie told Wade she would see him for breakfast as she gave him a hug good night. George waved them off and headed to his car. Wade's hand reached for Zoe's as they walked to his car.

He opened her door and she met him on this side of the car when he climbed in. She looked at him smiling, "Good night?" she asked.

"On the whole I'd say it was - full house for dinner and great crowd for the band. I could have done with the whole Annie/George/Lemon/Lavon drama… What's goin' on with them two?"

She leaned against him and let out a deep breath, "I think the better place to start is what is up with George and your sister?"

Wade nodded. "Alright, but then you gotta tell me."

Zoe agreed. They pulled up to the gate house and plopped themselves on the couch once inside. Zoe curled up on one end of the couch, while Wade launched into the ancient history of George Tucker and Anna Lee Kinsella.

"Y'know George was my best friend when we was kids?" he began. Zoe nodded in reply. "Well, Annie's only a year younger than us and a lot of times she'd hang around with us. We were kinda like the Three Musketeers. George wasn't like other folks in Bluebell. We knew people talked about us, like we were these poor, sad kids - losin' Momma and bein' Earl's kid. The two of us decided the best way to deal with it was to not give a damn. So me and Annie developed the don't-give-a-rat's-ass attitude pretty early. By the time we were in middle school, Annie was already like she is now.

"George, I think, started to fall for her by the time we were in middle school and they sorta dated the way you might in seventh grade. They might have been each other's first kiss." Wade clearly was not enjoying recounting that bit of information. He curled his nose a bit but then continued.

""What happened?" Zoe broke in.

"Well, by high school things started to change. George was the golden boy – captain of the football team, homecoming king. That wasn't really Annie's scene – football games, homecomin' and all that. She'd rather take the bus to Mobile and see a band. She'd find any open mic night she could within 30 miles. She figured out pretty early that she'd be outta Bluebell the minute she graduated and wasn't gonna be some Belle plannin' bake sales.

But George is the guy who wants to settle down, raise a family and go to bake sales. He's been that guy his whole life. He started datin' Lemon, who'd always had a crush on him. And, you know, it never really bothered Annie. Only thing that bugged her was she and George couldn't even be friends, Lemon couldn't handle that."

When Wade finished, Zoe shook her head, "Wow. How does Annie feel about George now, he doesn't seem to be quite over her?" Zoe asked.

Wade shrugged his shoulder. "Dunno, but I know she doesn't think it'd ever work with the two of 'em. And she's not the type to get misty over things… George on the other hand, when he sees her …."

Wade trailed off, not knowing quite how to say it, but Zoe nodded. He didn't need to say anything else. George saw the first girl he ever loved and who still had part of his heart. It didn't mean he didn't love Lemon and want to marry her. Those two things just existed side by side and when they collided it seemed things got a little messy.

"So what is going on with Lavon and Lemon?" He gave her a knowing look. "Is it what I think?"

Zoe let out a deep breath. "Well, if what you think is that Lemon and Lavon were involved while George was in New York, then yeah."

He shook his head as it sank in. "Damn, I remember jokin' with Lavon about his secret girlfriend."

"Lavon is still pretty hung up on her. It's part of the reason he and DeeDee broke up."

"Aww, really? That sucks… And George has no clue."

"Nope." Zoe answered glumly.

They both sat quietly for a moment, thinking about it all.

"Lavon swore me to secrecy…" Zoe started to say but Wade waved her off.

"It's not our story to tell. Don't worry I'm not gonna say anythin'."

Zoe curled up next to him. "I'm sorry all this drama impacted your night."

He hugged her into him, "Darlin', welcome to life with Annie. I love her but she don't really do quiet. It's all out loud and right between the eyes. And it has a way of snowballin'. 'Keeps things interestin'."

She laughed lightly into his chest. He kissed her head. "'Sides, what I wanted tonight was for the place to be full and you to be there. I got both so I'm feelin' pretty good."

He lifted place his fingers under her chin and lifted her face till her eyes met. "I don't wanna talk about Annie, George, Lemon and Lavon anymore."

He kissed her deeply as he scooped his arm underneath her. She slid her arms around his shoulders as he picked her up and carried her to his room. There was no more talk about other people's drama.

After some quality time that resulted in them naked in his bed, Wade balanced over Zoe. She smiled up at him.

"How is it possible that was even better than last night… or this morning?" she asked.

"I dunno but I ain't complainin'." He told her as he kissed her again before rolling on to his side.

The smile on her face grew, she turned and snuggled her back against his chest, his arms closed around her instinctively.

Things were changing so quickly between them and moving so fast, it was hard to figure out what it all meant. Both of them were in unchartered territory. It was too hard to put up any fight against the feelings for him that were growing stronger all the time. If she thought about it too much it made her a little uneasy, nothing was that simple. In that moment though, she found it difficult to let any of that seep through, the free-fall was exquisite. Before she could even think she spoke.

"I'm really happy right now."

It hit him a little out of left field; she was not big on verbal emotional outbursts. Not sure how to respond he just pulled her closer, "Me too".

His mind had been traveling the same space as hers in that moment, though neither of them spoke about it. He had a hard time holding back around her and it was undeniable the impact she had on him. But, tonight was not a night for big conversations. He just wanted to be with her and have her around.

"You gonna come by the Jammer tomorrow?" his hand lazily running up and down her arm.

She laced a hand in his. "Maybe… I'm thinking about it," she teased.

He smirked and then moved quickly to have her underneath him, trapped as he tickled her. She squealed in laughter and tried to stop his hands. He laughed along with her though it was not long before the movement of his hands became more purposeful as the feeling of her underneath him started to cloud his thinking. She reached up for his face and kissed him deeply. Soon they were completely tangled up in each other and finding it did, in fact, get better every time.

Wade woke with Zoe still in his arms. He needed to head up to the house for breakfast with his sister but found it difficult to extricate himself from her. He nuzzled into her ear and whispered her name. She stirred slightly and murmured something unintelligible.

"I gotta go meet Annie for breakfast." He continued whispering.

"You want me to come?" she asked sleepily.

"Naw, get some sleep."

She nodded slightly - too tired to think about getting up yet. He kissed her neck before slowly pulling himself away from her and out of bed. She had already fallen back to sleep by the time he gotten out of the shower. Coming out in his towel he grabbed clean clothes out of the laundry basket but stopped to watch her for a moment. Her long brown hair fanned out on the pillow, her back bare with the sheet bunched around her hips. She was sound asleep and he liked seeing her there, in his bed. He started to shake his head and laugh at himself. He was goner, he thought, a sad sack reduced to sappy romantic comedy moments like watching his girl asleep in his bed. He pulled a t-shirt over his head and continued getting dressed. He kissed her forehead before heading out to meet Annie from breakfast.

Annie was sitting on the stoop of the kitchen door with her coffee as he approached the house. She looked like Pebbles Flintstone with her hair in a ponytail on the top her head. It reminded him of when they were kids. Annie saw him and picked up the other mug beside her to hand him.

"Mornin'" she greeted him and he sat next to her on the stoop.

"Hey," he replied, taking the coffee.

She dropped her head on to his shoulder and he used his free hand to mess her hair. She grimaced and pulled her head back then elbowed him in the ribs. His coffee sloshed over the brim of his cup.

"Hey, watch it now. Don't be messin' with a man's coffee." He said laughing.

"Then don't be messin' with the woman that made it." She smirked at him.

It was the same as ten years ago. They did this when they were in high school, except back then they used the stoop so they wouldn't wake Earl who would be sleeping off the night before. They sat quietly for a little while drinking their coffee, listening to the birds and enjoying the peace of the morning.

"I was gonna stop over and see Granddaddy." She said breaking the easy silence.

"That'd be good, he'll be happy to see ya'." Wade stood up and opened the door to head into the kitchen. "Y'want some eggs?"

Annie narrowed her eyes as she thought, "Can you make Grandma's French toast with the vanilla and cinnamon?"

He nodded, reaching for her hand to pull her up. They headed into the empty kitchen. Wade pulled the eggs and milk from the fridge and started mixing the liquids together. Annie took his mug and refilled it for him before she sat on the stool at the island.

"I like Zoe." She told him.

Wade was over the griddle and he smiled, but did not say anything.

"…Gotta like any woman that'd get you off your ass and finally buyin' the Rammer Jammer." Annie added.

He grabbed the towel sitting on the counter and threw it at her. She ducked her head in time so it landed on the floor behind her. She ignored it and took another sip of her coffee.

"So where you off to next?" Wade asked, moving on from his sister's commentary.

"I gotta be up in New York next week. We're gonna be openin' for Lady Antebellum till the end of June." Annie sounded pleased.

Wade could not help feeling proud. "Y'all are getting' some good shows. That's great."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. The guys are headin' up there tomorrow, but I was thinkin' I'd stick around here a few days - meet 'em up there over the weekend. George said Garth, Ronnie and the whole crew are playin' the ole honky-tonk in Daphne on Thursday. We talked about goin' out to see 'em. That'd be a hoot after all these years." Annie leaned on her elbows with the coffee cup balanced in her hands. Her face had an easy smile that disappeared once Wade spoke.

"Annie, don't go messin' with George. After last night, I think it'd be better if you just let 'em fix things with Lemon and lay low."

That got her back up. "I ain't messin' with George. He's the one that mentioned it… And I didn't do nothin' last night. Christ, I was on stage singin'! Ain't my fault that girl's got issues."

Wade flipped the bread on the griddle. He rolled his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Let's skip your righteous indignation, alright? You know what I'm sayin'."

"No, I most certainly do not know what you're sayin'. I ain't makin a play for George. Christ, you know me better than that."

Wade brought a plate over for her with the syrup and butter. He put it in front of her and then leaned down to look her in the eye.

"Yeah, I do. But does George know that? Cuz the way he was actin' last night it sure didn't seem like it."

Annie's eyes dropped to her plate. She took the syrup and started drowning the French toast in it. "What am I supposed to do? George was my best friend, Wade. I'm not plannin' on movin' next door to 'em, I just wanna hang out while I'm visitin'."

Wade went back to the stove and started the next batch. "I know. But things aren't that easy, like when we was kids. If that's what you want, maybe you need to clear the air."

He looked over at her and she was pouting like she was five again. Wade shook his head. "I'm serious Anna Lee. You gotta deal with it cuz I'm real tired of bein' put in the middle of it. After you leave, I'm gonna have George mopin' and Lemon spittin' nails at me for a month. I don't need that shit."

She shoved a fork full of French toast into her mouth and nodded, resigned. "Alright," she mumbled before changing the subject. "This is real good. Grandma would be proud."

Wade laughed. He had said his piece and besides, she had a way that even talking with mouth full was kind of charming.

"So Zoe?" Annie eyes were big, full of questions. "All that wooin' you planned worked, huh?"

Wade allowed a wry smile. Even with Annie, he was not the kind of guy that spilled about his girlfriend. He gave a quick nod and a short answer, "So far."

She smiled and her eyes twinkled. He might try and keep it buttoned down, but she was not having it.

"So she's stayin' in Bluebell?" Annie assumed by the way the two of them acted that it was a done deal.

Wade shrugged, uncomfortable with this question. "Dunno, haven't talked about it."

Annie tilted her face down so she could raise her eyes to look squarely at him the way their grandmother used to when she was displeased. "Seriously?"

"It's only been a little over a week." Wade was the indignant one now.

"Let's skip the righteous indignation, alright?" She said imitating his voice from moments ago.

Wade narrowed his eyes and kept to the work of flipping French toast on the griddle. He did not appreciate the way their conversation had turned. And he appreciated her imitating him even less. That, however, did not seem to faze his sister in the least.

"Everyone else can see plain as day that you two are crazy about each other." She told him. "So don't give me this whole 'It's only been a week' business. Won't she be hearin' about that job in New York soon?"

Lavon wandered into the kitchen then. Annie jumped off her stool and poured the mayor a cup of coffee; placing it in front of him.

"What y'all talkin' about?" Lavon asked before taking a big swig from his mug.

"I was just callin' Wade out on some b.s." Annie said matter-of-factly.

Wade put a pile of French toast on a plate and handed it to Lavon who was sitting next to Annie at the island. Wade shot his sister a look before turning back to the stove. Lavon was smirking. It was fun to watch Wade like this. Annie was the only one that could disrupt his normally unflappable attitude, well besides Zoe.

"And what would that be?" Lavon asked before he dove into his breakfast.

"I asked Wade if Zoe was stayin' in Bluebell and he got all huffy. Actin' like it was some crazy question cuz it's only been a week," she imitated Wade again.

Annie put her fork down and turned towards Lavon. "And all I'm sayin' is they don't act like they only been on a couple of dates."

She was gaining steam and turned back to Wade, "I mean seriously, you two have been on a collision course since she got here. Every phone call, I have gotten a blow by blow of every interaction you two have had. Seems to me, this thing with you two had been goin' on longer than a week. It's just you finally stopped pretendin'."

Lavon pursed his lips and nodded. "Baby sister's got a point, Wade."

Wade continued to make French toast to avoid dealing with the double team. At the rate he was going, there'd be enough to feed a chunk of Bluebell. But it didn't matter; Annie was like a dog with a bone.

"See!" she pointed at Wade, "It's not just me. Lavon sees it too. What you two got, it's real, Wade. You gotta talk to Zoe about this New York fellowship thing. Cuz pretendin' it ain't there isn't gonna make it disappear."

Before the words left Annie's mouth, Zoe had opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. Zoe's mouth was frozen half open like she was about to speak before she caught the end of Annie's remark. Zoe's eye looked to Wade who bit his lower lip and brushed his hand through his hair. Annie smiled ruefully at Zoe and then Wade.

"Uh-oh, looks like I just stepped in it."

Lavon had his eyebrows raised and his mouth zipped shut. He decided the safest thing to do was focus on the French toast in front of him. He had only gotten a bite into his mouth before Annie grabbed his arm.

"Lavon, I need a ride over to the Senior Center. C'mon."

She was off her stool and pulling on the mayor who was happy to be removed from the train wreck in his kitchen.

"Uh, sure. Let me get my keys," he grabbed them off the counter and the two of them had moved passed Zoe and out the door in record time.

Wade grabbed a mug and poured coffee for Zoe, who was still standing by the door. He handed the mug to her and brushed the hair from her forehead before he kissed it. He took her free hand and guided her to Annie's now vacant stool. He grabbed Annie's clean plate and Lavon's half eaten breakfast to put them in the sink. He fixed a plate for Zoe. It was hard for him to ever get angry at Annie, but he was not particularly happy with his sister at the moment. Zoe was sitting there, looking a little shell-shocked and he struggled with how to address the situation.

"Sorry 'bout that." He started. Wade was leaning against the sink looking at the floor.

"What were you talking about?" Zoe asked, struggling not to let any anger show. She didn't like the idea of the three of them talking about… what they had been talking about. She and Wade had not even discussed it as Annie so clearly pointed out.

"We weren't talkin' about anything. Annie was just runnin' her mouth about things that don't concern her." Wade explained.

Zoe calmed a bit when he said that, but still didn't know how to address the elephant Annie had plopped in the middle of the kitchen.

"I haven't heard anything about the fellowship. I would tell you if I did." She felt the need to defend herself.

Wade moved over to Lavon's stool and took her hand. "I know."

"I haven't even really thought about it since you climbed in the window of the exam room." She managed a smile, trying to make the mood a little lighter.

He nodded and leaned in to kiss her. Then he rested his forehead against hers. "As pissed as I am at her at the moment, Annie has a point."

Zoe closed her eyes and nodded. "I know."

"But we don't have to do it today." He said as he ran his hand through her hair.

"I'll probably hear something in the next week or two." Her eyes looked at him then.

He nodded slightly and pursed his lips, pulling back from her. She could see the worry on his face and needed to reassure him.

"I really want to figure this out," she searched his eyes for some sign.

He let out a breath and nodded. Then he took her face in his hands and kissed her intensely. He pulled back and his eyes stared directly at hers, "Me too."

He looked over at the clock and got up from the stool. "I gotta go." He said.

She stood up and wrapped her arms around his chest. "I'll come by later."

He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. "Sounds good," he said before releasing her.

He grabbed his keys from the counter and headed out the door. He looked back at her with a smile before he shut the door behind him. Zoe stared at the plate of French toast he had made for her. She pushed it back, she was not hungry.

Ugh, it was bound to come up sooner or later and leave it to Annie to drag it out.

Next chapter introduces Wade and Annie's grandfather. It also deals with more of the fall out of the night of the re-opener and Annie's mouthful. Stay tuned...

Can't wait to hear what you think!