FINALLY! I've been working on this forever. I'd hoped to get it posted this weekend, but between Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, and working on a big year-end project, I just didn't get to finish it. I'm still about a chapter behind in getting to all of your reviews, but THANK YOU a million times over! Love to all of you. :)

Consider this chapter a filler that isn't a filler. Which makes no sense to pretty much anyone but me, but is true, I promise. This chapter was inspired by Lady Antebellum's "Home Is Where The Heart Is." Take a listen and you'll get a good idea of where Zoe's head is in this chapter.

THINGS I OWN: The tendency to match my Christmas paper wrapping to my Christmas decor, all of which is pink, green and sparkly. It seems this is strange. THINGS I DON'T OWN: Hart of Dixie.

It was a lot different that he expected it to be, spending Christmas with his sister and her family. He'd arrived just before dinner the night before, not particularly thrilled that he'd be spending both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Meredith. He didn't hanging out with his niece and nephew and he didn't even mind Eric all that much, but asking him to play nice with his sister for 24 straight hours was a tall order, even during the holidays.

Instead, it had passed by pleasantly enough. The kids had kept Christmas Eve dinner lively, too excited about Santa's imminent arrival to sit and eat, let alone behave. Wade being there hadn't helped as they associated their uncle with fun and games. But to his surprise, Meredith had taken it all in stride and humored them, understanding they were excited. He could tell by her smile that she was pretty excited herself.

After dinner, Wade had spent time playing with the two kids while Meredith and Eric cleaned up dinner and did last minute preparations for Santa. Then, just before bed, they'd gathered in the living room in front of the fire and Eric had read the Christmas story from the Bible and Twas The Night Before Christmas by the light of the Christmas tree. It was so stereotypical it was almost laughable except Wade had found himself enjoying it, Jacob curled up in his lap in his Christmas pajamas, the lovie he'd had since he was in infant clutched tightly in his small hand. Wade had wondered briefly how much his sister would miss the kid if he happened to take him home with him when he left the next day.

Christmas morning had been utter chaos. There had been squeals and shouts of excitement, wrapping paper thrown every direction, and more toys than either kid would ever be able to play with. They'd spent the rest of the day putting together new toys and visiting with Eric's family who had come for dinner. As the two kids finally settled down enough to watch one of their new movies after dinner, Wade decided to keep in the spirit of things and help his sister clean up the kitchen.

"You really don't need to do that," Meredith said from the sink as Wade loaded the dishwasher.

"You cooked dinner and did everything else. I reckon this is the least I can do," he answered. They worked in relative silence, the sound of the kids' movie floating back to them.

"Want some coffee or hot chocolate before you go?" Meredith asked as Wade put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. She almost asked him to stay another night, but knew he wouldn't do it. Things had already gone too well and she didn't want to jeopardize it and knew he wouldn't either.

"Coffee would be good," Wade answered. He took a seat at the kitchen table while Meredith used her Keurig to make a couple mugs of coffee. He pulled out his phone to reply to the text Zoe had sent him while he'd been helping with dishes. He smiled when she replied almost instantly, using just emoticons to describe her 'moderately successful' Christmas dinner.

"You've been glued to that phone all evening," Meredith commented, setting a mug down in front of Wade and then taking a seat at the table.

"Just replyin' to texts," he said. "It'd be right rude of me not to reply 'Merry Christmas' to the Mayor of Bluebell." Meredith shook her head.

"You might be texting Lavon Hayes, but I have a feeling its Zoe Hart that's got your fingers flying across that keyboard every few minutes," she said.

"I… It's not…," Wade stuttered. He didn't want to talk about Zoe with his sister. That was one area of his left he wanted to keep to himself for now.

"Save it," Meredith said, holding up her hand. "Annabeth and Lemon both called me the other day to tell me you were walking through the town square holding hands with the lady doctor. Of course, Lemon was scandalized by it, but I get the impression she doesn't much care for Dr. Hart."

"Lemon don't much care for nobody," Wade replied.

"So you don't deny it."

"No point, is there? Your friends keep you in the loop."

"So?" Meredith asked, looking expectant. "Are you together? Is she going to be my new sister-in-law?" Wade looked at her like she'd lost her mind.

"I ain't even taken her on a date yet. I damn sure ain't thinkin' 'bout gettin' married," he told her.

"Just asking," Meredith said. She took a long swig of her coffee and decided on her next plan of attack to pry information out of her brother about his love life. She settled on using her kids. "Mac really loved her," she commented. "She talked and talked about 'Miss Dr. Hart' after she cleaned up her knee on Halloween. Seems like all it takes to impress her is three bandages and two lollipops."

"Mac didn't act like she loved her," Wade said, remembering the fit it his niece had thrown in Zoe's office while Zoe tried to clean up her scraped knee.

"Well that's Mac for you. Head strong as can be. Eric says it's the Kinsella in her. I have to say, I think he's probably right." Wade chuckled.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We're a bullheaded bunch." Meredith played with her mug, spinning it between her hands. It was the biggest understatement she'd heard, Wade calling their family bullheaded. Each of them was more stubborn than the last.

"I wish daddy would have come," she admitted, thinking Earl Kinsella was probably the most stubborn of them all even though Wade gave him a run for his money. "Eric offered to go get him and everything, but he refused. He wouldn't come up for Thanksgiving either."

"You know the holidays are hard on him," Wade said. "'Sides, he's not exactly the kind of guy I'd want around my kids."

"I know," Meredith agreed. "But still. He's daddy." Wade didn't say anything. As far as he was concerned, his father was best left to his liquor bottle come the holiday season. It was, by far, the worst time of the year for him, his alcohol consumption even higher than usual. "So, things going well at the Rammer Jammer?" Meredith asked, changing the subject.

"Busy as always," Wade said. "But it's the only bar in town so I reckon that helps out."

"Daddy ever come in?" she asked, a hint of apprehension in her voice. Wade shook his head.

"Not once. Just as well. The last thing he needs is to be around even more alcohol." They lapsed into silence again, drinking their coffee, Meredith lost in thought, Wade texting both Zoe and Lavon.

"I miss Momma," Meredith suddenly said. Wade, not expecting that from his sister, stopped mid-text and looked at her. She was near tears. "Sorry," she said. "I just… Being a mom and it's the holidays… I've been thinking about her, how much she'd have loved being a grandma and how different things would be for Daddy."

"She'd have loved being a grandma," Wade agreed. He tapped the table, debating on whether he wanted to tell his sister about Zoe's gift. Looking at her look so sad, he decided it couldn't hurt, even if it meant letting Meredith in on how his potential relationship was going. "You know, Zoe gave me an LP of Willie Nelson's version of "Moon River." Meredith looked at him.

"You told her about Momma?" she asked, clearly surprised. Wade nodded.

"Kinda had to. Dad came by my place on his way into town on the first of last month. I won't home, but Zoe heard him. She asked me who 'Mary Ellen' was and I told her." Meredith shook her head.

"You could have just told her that Mary Ellen was our mom and that she died," she said. "Sounds like you told her a lot more than that. You must really like her."

"I do," Wade admitted. "She's – well, she's something else." He grinned, his cheeks coloring a little, both at his confession and that he'd just admitted that to his sister of all people.

"She makes you happy. I can tell. You've changed. You'd have never sat here and talked to me like an actual adult six months ago." Wade couldn't argue. Until Halloween, they hadn't spoken to each other in three months after a fight over everything from why Wade never visited to what to do about their father.

"Been considerin' growin' up," Wade told her. He finished off his coffee. "I reckon I should get goin.' Long drive back to Bluebell and I'm openin' tomorrow." He went into the living room to tell the kids and Eric goodbye and retrieve his gifts to take back to Bluebell. Meredith met him at the front door with a plate of leftovers.

"Thank you for coming," she told him, reaching for a hug. "It was nice, having you here. The kids especially loved it."

"You know, I'm glad I came," he confessed, hugging her back. "You won't the pain in the ass I thought you was gonna be." Meredith smacked his arm as she let him go.

"Text me when you get home." Wade rolled his eyes. Meredith eyed him. "Don't. I'm your big sister. I'll always worry."

"Bye, sis," Wade said. He gave her one more hug before he left. He waited until he'd navigated his way out of his sister's subdivision and merged onto the interstate before he picked up his cellphone. He speed-dialed Zoe, wondering when she'd made her way into his top numbers.

"You've been quiet," Sybil commented. She joined Zoe on the sofa having just seen their last guest, an old college friend, to the door.

"Lots of people," Zoe said. "Lots and lots of people."

It had been a long day. It hadn't been a terrible day, but it had been a long one. She had attended Midnight Mass and then laid awake for a while, unable to sleep, before finally drifting off, only to be woken up early by her mother for a quiet Christmas morning, just the two of them. Her elderly grandparents had arrived a little after nine for breakfast and the day had been whiled away with them.

Just before dinner, the rest of her family had started arriving. Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends of the family who for one reason or another weren't home for the holidays. There had been a few 'how is your father?' like questions that she had deflected with a well-placed 'fine' before exclusing herself from the conversation quickly. So far, she had managed to avoid her father's family. It helped that they celebrated Hanukkah instead of Christmas and that she was in New York where it was easy to disappear. She still had to deal with whatever would come of that, but she had decided she would take things as they came.

"You couldn't stop talking about Bluebell," Sybil commented.

"What else was I supposed to talk about? It's been my life for the last several months. I made it as exciting as I could."

"Wade came up often."

"Mom…," Zoe warned. She didn't know what Wade and her were, but she wouldn't want to discuss it with her mother even if she did. Their relationship, while better than it had been in a long time, still wasn't repaired enough for Zoe to start dishing on her love life to her mother.

"Well he did," Sybil countered. "I've told you, Zoe. I like him. I think he's good for you. And he's certainly head over heels for you." Zoe didn't say anything. Things with Wade were still so new and so unknown. Sure, she'd mentioned him, but it had been more of 'my neighbor Wade' and not 'Wade, the guy I like and wish would hurry up and ask me on a date.'

"Have you thought about what you're going to do when your year is up in Bluebell?"

Zoe looked up. She wasn't expecting that.

"I still have months," she answered.

"Have you put in your application for the fellowship?" Sybil pushed.

"Yeah," Zoe admitted. She had filled it out the day it had been made available, the same day she'd butted heads with Brick even more so than usual.

"Is that still what you want?"

Zoe didn't have an answer for her mother. When she'd filled out the application, it was what she wanted more than anything. Now, as she started to find her footing in Bluebell, she couldn't exactly say what she wanted. She still had months to figure it out though and so she wasn't going to worry about it right now, especially as it was still technically Christmas.

"I'm going to turn in," she said, standing. "I'm meeting Gigi early tomorrow morning to do some shopping. I haven't seen her since I've been back and I haven't been sleeping all that well lately so any extra shut eye I can get would be amazing."

"Good night," Sybil told her. "And Zoe?" Zoe turned in the doorway and looked at her mom. "You've always followed your head, done what you thought you should do. Maybe you should follow your heart for a change, she what happens."

Zoe pursed her lips and nodded. "Night, mom," she said, wandering up the stairs to her room. She checked her phone to see if Wade had texted her anymore since their exchange of emoticons earlier. He hadn't. Lavon had, however, and she sent a reply. She lay across her bed and tapped the mattress, thinking while trying not to think at all, and trying to drown out the roaring sound of the city rushing by below her window. She couldn't remember it ever being so loud. She was brought out of her revere by her phone ringing. It was Wade.

"Hey," she greeted, picking up halfway through the second ring.

"Hey," he replied. His accent seemed more pronounced than usual, though perhaps that was because she'd spent the last few days surrounded by people with heavy northern accents. "You busy?"

"Nope," Zoe told him. "I just told my mom goodnight. Now I'm hiding in my old room until morning. Too much family time." Wade chuckled.

"Good," he said. "You can keep me company while I drive back to Bluebell." Zoe got comfortable, leaning against her pillows.

"I can do that," she confirmed. "How was Christmas in Mobile?" She was content to listen as he described his holiday, taking in how he dropped the 'g' off of word endings and marveling at the fact that she now understood the phrase 'fixin' to.'

"Zoe!"

"Gigi!"

The two friends embraced each other in front of the diner they'd agreed to meet at, hugging tightly. They'd been best friends since grade school and of all the people Zoe had left behind in New York, Gigi was the one she missed the most. Gigi released Zoe and held her at arm's length, like a mother taking a good look at a child she hadn't seen in some time.

"You are so tan!" Gigi exclaimed. "You've got to be practically sleeping in the tanning bed!" Zoe shook her head.

"You know I hate those things," she said. "This is all natural. It's still 70 degrees in Alabama and I'm still wearing shorts. It's definitely more natural than your hair color. You're blond again! You were a brunette the last time I saw you!" Gigi let go of her friend and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"People take me more seriously when I'm a blond," she stated. Zoe raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. 'Gigi' and 'seriously' didn't generally go in the same sentence, regardless of hair color.

"Shall we?" Zoe asked, nodding towards the diner. "I'm starving."

"Lead the way," Gigi answered. The girls settled at a table and the waitress brought the coffee's they requested then waited to take their order. "I'll just have wheat toast and a side of fruit," Gigi said, handing the waitress her menu.

"Pancakes with a side of bacon," Zoe ordered. "Thanks." She turned back to Gigi to see her looking at her incredulously. "What?"

"That's, like, 5,000 calories," Gigi pointed out. Zoe shrugged.

"So?"

"So? The Zoe I sent to Bellville, Alabama would give up her scalpel before she ate that many carbs in a week!"

"Bluebell," Zoe corrected. "I live in Bluebell. And I've decided that in the grand scheme of things, carbs aren't so bad. But enough about them. Tell me what's new with you. I haven't talked to you in like, three weeks."

Gigi launched into a detailed recap of what she'd been up to and how her party planning business was going. There was a lot of glitz and glamour scattered throughout her tale, Zoe noticed. She once would have been impressed that Jake Gyllenhaal had been at Gigi's last event and had asked for her card. Now, as she nibbled bacon not quite cooked to her liking, she wondered in the back of her mind if old Mrs. Thompson was taking the antibiotic she'd prescribed for her respiratory infection like she was supposed to.

"Is your food okay?" Gigi asked, noticing Zoe had hardly touched it. "You keep making this face each time you bite into the bacon."

"It's just cooked different than I'm used to," Zoe answered.. "At the Rammer Jammer, they cook it until it's not quite burnt, but crispy. And I think this syrup is sugar free. It tastes funny." Gigi raised an eyebrow.

"The Rammer what?" she asked.

The Rammer Jammer," Zoe repeated. "It's the bar in town."

"The bar? As in, the only one?" Zoe nodded.

"They have a good drink selection. The music can be decent and the food is pretty good. It's the place to be when Alabama football is on. Wade makes sure they have non-boxed wine for me behind the bar, so I really can't complain."

"Wade?"

"My neighbor. He bartends there."

"Wait. Wade. The power stealing buffoon. Rock bottom. Dixie. I remember him." Zoe cringed but not because of the events that had occurred while she was straddling Wade, half crazed and full drunk, on her first night in Bluebell. Lately, she'd wondered how different things would have been had she not sat back on his steering wheel.

"I was wrong about him," she told Gigi. "He still likes to use more than his fair share of the power, but he's – sweet."

"Zoe Hart just used the word 'sweet' to describe a guy," Gigi stated, looking at her in disbelief. "You're eating carbs and saying buys are 'sweet.' What in the hell has Bluebell done to you?" Zoe smiled.

"Wade is sweet," she said. "He's not the kind of guy I thought he was. Or maybe he was the kind of guy I thought he was, but he's changed."

"Oh my God. You like him." Gigi looked shocked.

"Yeah," Zoe admitted. "A lot, actually."

"Oh my God," Gigi said again. "My best friend, my New York City born and bred best friend, is in love with a bartender from Alabama. Oh my God." A thought struck her and she hit the table with both hands. "Oh my God! Does your mother know?" She couldn't see Sybil being happy about this.

"Mom has met him," Zoe confirmed. "Under extreme circumstances, but she likes him. A lot. And love is a really strong word. It's still early in the game."

"Sybil Hart? Are you sure we're talking about the same woman? Because the Sybil Hart I know would have laid down and died before she let her brilliant surgeon daughter fall for a bartender in Alabama."

"Mom is – different," Zoe said. She swigged her coffee. "Ever since the truth came out about my dad, she's been more… Well, more of a mother, I guess, if that makes sense. We like – actually like each other. Sort of." She had confessed to Gigi about her mother's affair, knowing her secret was safe with her oldest friend. True to her word, Gigi hadn't uttered a word.

"Okay, so your mom likes him. Whatever. Details. What's he like? What does he look like? Have you been out on a date yet?" Gigi was off, eager to know everything she could about Zoe's suddenly interesting love life. Zoe pulled out her phone, almost giddy now that Gigi was so interested. It was like being a sophomore in high school all over again when she'd confessed to Gigi she'd made out with Eric Sanchez, a senior bound for Duke on a basketball scholarship.

"This is him," Zoe told her, passing her the phone.

"Are you laying on the ground?" Gigi asked incredulously as she looked at the small screen.

"Yep," Zoe confirmed. "He threw me in a pile of leaves, I snapped a picture."

"Wow," Gig said, taking a closer look at the picture. "He's freaking hot."

"Yeah," Zoe admitted, taking her phone back. She looked at the photo, a smile playing across her face. She quickly flipped through the photos, most of them of something so strictly Bluebell she had to have a picture to post on Facebook, to the only picture she had of Wade. She'd snapped it while he was driving her to the airport. He'd looked over at her, one hand on the wheel, his aviators resting on the bridge of his nose, laughing easily at some she'd said. It was so very Wade. She smiled at it, feeling a pang from somewhere deep down.

"Hello? Zoe? Details. Now," Gigi demanded.

"Okay, okay," Zoe said. "He's… Well, he's got a reputation as the town Casanova, but he's calmed down in the last few months. When I first moved to Bluebell he had a different girl over every night, could be seen all over town picking up women. Rumor has it he's been known to drive to the next town over for variety. He has spent so much time trying to get in my pants. You wouldn't believe the lines he's used. He even offered to 'lend me a cup of sugar' if I ever needed one.

"He can be so unbelievably immature, so incredibly obnoxious, but then he turns around and says something or does something that makes you forget you're mad at him. I tried to win this gumbo cook off thing and my gumbo was so bad. So, so bad, Gigi. But I somehow ended up winning second place. I thought Lavon had made my gumbo but I found out just before Thanksgiving that Wade made it. He didn't want me to know though, long story.

"He has a heart of god, but he doesn't let many people see it. I think that's a defense mechanism, maybe, I don't know. I haven't quite cracked that one yet. As for a date, he hasn't taken me on one yet. He told me he was going to, but that was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and he has yet to ask me. I'm given him… Well, I was going to give him until New Year's, but seeing as I'm here and he's there, I'm going to extend his deadline by a week. Then, I'm going to take matters into my own hands."

Gigi gaped at Zoe as she finished rambling. "This? This isn't just some cute little crush on a hot bartender who also happens to be your neighbor. You're freaking head over heels for this guy."

"I'm… stumbling over my heels," Zoe amended. "But enough chatting. I have been in New York for three days and haven't so much as stepped foot into a store. Grab your purse and let's get going." Zoe dropped enough cash on the table to cover their bill and, linking arms with Gigi, headed out the door to do some major damage to next month's credit card statements.

Zoe's arms were aching as she lugged bag after bag down the street, Gigi suffering in similar fashion beside her. The sun was quickly sinking and the cold had Zoe shivering and eager to get inside the restaurant they'd decided on for an early dinner. A man was going in as Zoe and Gigi reached the door. She walked right up to it, expecting him to hold it for her. Instead, it slammed in her face.

"Hey!" she called through the door. "You jerk!" He turned and gave her a dirty look and continued into the restaurant. A few flakes of snow floated down from the sky, making her shiver even more.

"What are you yelling at him for?" Gigi asked. She juggled her bags to open the door.

"He could have held it for us," Zoe said, her voice thick with irritation as she passed Gigi. "And thank God it's warm in here. I'm sure I've lost a few fingers by now. Maybe a couple of toes too." She told the hostess there were two of them and they followed her to a table. "Can you go ahead and bring two coffees to start with?" she asked the waitress as they deposited their bags on the floor and sat down.

"I'm good on coffee, thanks," Gigi told the waitress. "Just a water with lemon to start for me." She turned to Zoe.

"Coffee?" she asked. "This is usually when you turn to wine."

"I'm cold," Zoe answered. "Freezing, actually. This is the first time I've worn an actual coat since March. Shorts in December in Alabama, remember?"

"That's just not natural," Gigi stated, looking around. "Love their Christmas décor. I wonder who did it? Don't let me leave without finding out. I want to see more of their work. Maybe I can use them." She took her phone out and started snapping covert pictures.

"You should see Bluebell's town square," Zoe told her. "It's full of plastic Santas, animated, light up reindeer wearing Alabama Santa hats and seven foot tall nutcrackers. Oh, and they have this wooden mural thing of Santa and his reindeer flying through the sky – with a gun rack mounted to the back of the sleigh. Can't make this up. The lights hanging everywhere are kind of pretty though." Gigi looked at her, her phone still held up taking photos.

"You realize that's like the fiftieth time you've brought up Bluebell today, right?" she asked Zoe.

"So? I live there. It's all I've got to talk about."

"Or. You actually like it there."

"Well, it's not terrible," Zoe admitted. "The mosquitos are God awful and the humidity does a number on my hair, but it's growing on me. The people are nice and they look out for you. And, the guys? They hold doors open for women – even when they don't have their hands full of bags."

"It's Alabama," Gigi reminded her seriously.

"Yeah," Zoe agreed. "It is." She thanked the waitress for her coffee.

"So what? Does that mean you're considering staying?"

"It means I have months before they even decide who gets the fellowship and when that happens, I'll make decisions," Zoe said in a tone that made Gigi understand that particular part of their conversation was over.

"So what are you ordering?" Gigi asked, opening her menu. Zoe smiled. She could always count on Gigi to catch on quickly.

"Did you leave anything in the store?" Sybil asked, watching as Zoe and Gigi struggled through the penthouse doors carrying bags upon bags.

"Just the ugly and unfortunate stuff," Gigi answered. She dropped her bags unceremoniously in the foyer, Zoe doing the same. Gigi put her hands on her hips and turned on Sybil.

"Sybil Hart. I just want to make sure I'm not being lied to. Did you know your daughter is falling head over heels for a bartender in Alabama?" Sybil looked at Gigi with an amused sort of expression. She understood Gigi's surprise. She hadn't exactly been welcoming of some of Zoe's former flings, based solely on their undergrad majors.

"Wade? Yes, I'm aware of Zoe and Wade. But to be fair, he's not a bartender." Zoe frowned.

"Yes he is," she said.

"Well he does bartend," Sybil agreed. "But he's actually the bar owner." Zoe shook her head.

"No he's not," she said, even as she realized she had absolutely no idea who actually did own the Rammer Jammer and seeing as everyone knew everything about everyone else in Bluebell, that was an oddity.

"He is so," Sybil said, looking at Zoe as though it were the most obvious knowledge in the world. "I asked Lavon who owned the place so I could give them my compliments on that po'boy contraption you had me try. To quote him, he said 'Well, if you happen to see Wade again before you leave, give him you compliments. It's his fine establishment.'"

"But…," Zoe was lost for words. Surely she would know if Wade was the owner of the Rammer Jammer. That was the sort of thing you knew about a person you were kind of dating.

"As it turns out, I did happen to see Wade before I left – which, seeing as how much he's around you, wasn't very surprising – and I did pay my compliments. He thanked me and recommended I try the barbecue the next time I'm in town."

Zoe was tempted to take out her phone and call Wade right then and there to confirm the news. Instead, she decided she'd wait until she was back in Bluebell. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed that he did, in fact, own the place. He was always reminding people when their shifts were and she rarely paid for a drink, surely he couldn't just give alcohol away like that if he were a mere employee. Plus, she'd noticed he tended to make his own schedule at the place, coming and going as he pleased. Again, that was surely something he wouldn't get away with if he were just an employee.

"An entrepreneur. I like it," Gigi said, nodding her head in approval. "Sounds much better than bartender." Zoe rolled her eyes, tabling her pondering of who owned the Rammer Jammer and whether or not she was going to be upset with Wade for not telling her for her return flight to Alabama.

"Gigi and I are going to watch a couple of movies," she told her mom. "You can join us if you want." Sybil shook her head.

"I've got a few projects I want to work on for clients," she said. "You girls have fun. I'll have Andrew bring in some snacks in a little while." They left their bags in the foyer and got comfortable in the family room, popping in the first of what they planned to be several chick flicks. They were 30 minutes into the first movie when Zoe's cell phone chimed.

Hope you ain't too fond of Lavon. Might kill him.

Zoe smiled at Wade's text. Why? She desperately wanted to ask him about the Rammer Jammer, but thought that was a conversation to have in person.

He volunteered me 2 help hang decorations for the New Year's Eve Dance. Those women are crazier than u.

Hey! Zoe texted back

You're hotter though. These women are all old and wrinkled. Or Lemon.

Zoe laughed out loud.

"What?" Gigi asked, peeling her eyes away from a mostly naked Matthew McConaughey.

"Wade's texting me. Apparently Lavon volunteered him to help the ladies in charge of decorating for the New Year's Eve party. He says they're crazier than me. But, I'm hotter," Zoe told her. She turned her attention back to her phone, missing the wheels in Gigi's mind start turning.

"I have an idea," Gigi said casually.

"Dare I ask?" Zoe replied. She'd been involved in a number of Gigi's ideas. They were generally bad and involved consequences like hangovers and apologies for drunken text messages and phone calls and once, there was a police escort to her mother's front door.

"New Year's Eve in Time's Square is kind of 'been there, done that.' I mean, we've gone nearly every single year since we were what? Thirteen? There was the time we went skiing in Lake Tahoe with those guys we liked and then we went to L.A. that year, but otherwise, we've been partying with the masses, just better dressed and generally at a swanky party, last year coordinated by yours truly. So here's my plan. I say we skip out on Time's Square this year and… wait for it… We got to – Bluebell, Alabama!"

Zoe looked at Gigi like she'd lost her mind.

"You – you – want to go to Bluebell for New Year's Eve?" she asked. "You realize their New Year's Eve party consists of a dance at the community center and judging by Wade's texts, balloons falling from the ceiling at midnight, right? There won't be large crystal balls or millions of people or even cold temperatures."

"It'll be an experience," Gigi said, still looking enthusiastic about her idea. "I figure it's kind of like going back in time, doing what people did before Times Square. Except they had to take a horse and wagon to get there and we can take a plane!"

Zoe was still skeptical. Her phone chimed again.

He's dead. But blame Rose. He's trying to get her to dress like baby New Year.

Zoe smiled.

"Okay," she agreed. "Let's go to Bluebell."

So there we have it. In my story, Wade owns the Rammer Jammer. But the question is, is that the secret he's been keeping? Hmm... Like I said though, this is a filler that's - not a filler at all. :)

Thanks for reading and reviewing!