'Oh something smells good!' Maddie exclaimed as she bounded into the kitchen, tossing her muddy gloves onto the bench. 'I am starved, it's freezing out there-'

'Maddie, gloves.' Abeline reprimanded as she reached for an oven mitt.

'Oops, sorry.' Quickly she picked them up and put them into the pocket of her coat. 'What have we got for breakfast?'

'Toast, bacon and eggs and-' She pulled a tray out of the oven.

Maddie's face lit up. 'Sticky buns! Can I have one now?'

'Why don't you wash your hands first?' Cordell suggested as he stepped around her to get to the cutlery drawer, the teen hanging her coat over the back of a chair. 'Can't you leave your coat in the laundry?'

'I got so distracted by the nice smell in here I forgot to take it off on my way in.'

'Coats belong in the laundry-'

'Alright, alright Dad.' She threw her hands up in surrender. 'I'll go take it there now. Just don't let Augie eat all the buns please.'

'Hey, I heard that.' August protested.

'Who ate them all last time? Hmmm?'

'They were just begging to be eaten-'

'Mmmhmmm.' Maddie picked up her coat and headed to the laundry, washing her hands while she was in there. After wiping them dry on a clean towel she hurried back to the kitchen. 'Grampa said not to wait breakfast for him.' She exclaimed upon her return. 'Right, what can I do?'

'You can take those plates to the table,' Abeline motioned to the stack on the bench. 'thanks Maddie.'

'No worries.'

'Hey, y'all want to see a magic trick?' August questioned, picking up a pen someone had left on the table.

'Yes.' Stella replied as she started setting out the plates Maddie had brought over.

'I can make this pen disappear. Close your eyes for ten seconds.'

Maddie laughed as August tossed the pen over his shoulder.

'That was great.' Stella shook her head with amusement. 'That was really great.'

'Thank you, thank you so much.'

'So do your classmates think you're funny?' Abeline questioned as she placed the sticky buns into a bowl.

'No.' August replied with a chuckle.

'You do crack me up, I don't know if you crack any one else up, but you crack me up.'

'Hey, that's what matters.' He joined them in the kitchen, motioning to the bowl Abeline had finished filling. 'I'll help you with this.'

'No, no, no. Not with your shoulder. Liam?'

'And I'll just help myself to one...' Maddie remarked as she took a bun from the bowl Liam was carrying to the table. 'Mmm...' She was about to take a bite when there was a loud crash in the dining room and she jumped at the noise.

'Oh, come on!' Cordell exclaimed angrily.

Stella started back to the kitchen. 'I'll grab another plate.'

'No, no, no, he's a big boy. He can do it himself.'

'It's a bowl, Cordell.' Liam replied, Abeline and August coming over to clean up the mess.

'Yeah, it's a bowl. It was a bowl.'

Maddie's heart slowed to its normal pace after a couple moments when she realized what had happened, confusion written in her expression as she glanced between her Dad and Uncle. 'It was an accident Dad... No need to get so upset about it.'

'Y'all have been acting weird since the party at Sacred Heart.' August added. 'What's going on?'

'You don't have to.' Abeline said to Liam as she stood to take the broken bowl to the bin. 'The kids don't need to know.'

'No, you know what? It's fine. No secrets Mama.'

Maddie looked at Liam then back at Cordell, moving a back a little from them.

'Great. Please.' He motioned for him to continue. 'Augie, get back here.'

'Okay...' Stella spoke up nervously. 'now you're scaring me.'

'What's going on?' Maddie questioned.

Liam took a deep breath. 'When your father and I went up north last Friday, Dan Miller was there. While we were investigating a hijacking of a bunch of evidence, I thought that Dan might have been connected to that crime.' He glared at Cordell. 'But we cleared him.'

'That's a good thing, right?' August asked as he turned to his father.

'I wasn't convinced.' Liam continued. 'I just... I had a feeling.'

'You had a feeling.' Cordell scoffed.

'Well, because I had those doubts, I filed a false police report and Dan was pulled over and arrested.'

Silence fell until Maddie spoke up softly. 'That's not good...'

'Oh, that's not just 'not good' Maddie.' Cordell started. 'Uh, that's a misdemeanor. Your uncle here could be disbarred.'

'Thank you, Cordell. I know that. I just...'

'Hey, hey, where are you going?' Abeline asked as Liam headed to the front door. Liam just waved her off without replying and she turned back to Cordell. 'Well, okay. That's enough.'

'He's gonna come back, though, right?' Maddie asked with concern.

'No.' She shook her head. 'I know that look. He's not coming back. At least not tonight. Wouldn't you say, Cordell?'

'No, uh, not tonight.' He agreed. 'I um... I think I'm gonna take a walk...'

'Well, this is a nice way to start the New Year.' Maddie remarked with a sigh after Cordell had headed out the back door. She looked over at her grandmother. 'What happens now? With what Uncle Liam did?'

Abeline shrugged. 'I don't know.'

Liam didn't return the next night, or the night after that, or even the night after that. It was almost like he had vanished into thin air, not replying to anyone's texts except a short message back to Abeline to let her know he was alright. The atmosphere was tense in the Walker household, even more so when Cordell was home. Maddie made herself scarce during those moments, not wishing to be involved and make the situation worse. It felt like she was walking on eggshells, a feeling she hadn't had to deal with since she'd come to live with the Walkers after her fathers death.

It was a great start to the New Year, considering what had taken place on the morning of New Year's Day.

Maddie was worried about Liam and sent him numerous texts to which he hadn't replied. With that weighing on her mind, she withdrew back into herself and preferred to be alone, keeping herself busy with training Bel and practicing for the Eisteddfod. Her change of behavior hadn't escaped Abeline's notice but Maddie assured her it wasn't anything to worry over. It was just her fight or flight response to the situation and in her case, she chose freeze. Her past years had drilled into her that it was best to stay as inconspicuous as possible and keep out of the firing line.

Cordell didn't seem to have noticed the change in her, but if he had, he didn't say anything to her. He seemed worried and angry, emotions that when present, Maddie had learnt to stay away from. Maddie didn't even notice the change in herself since the years of living on thin ice with her father this self preservation behavior had become her second nature.

With the family drama going on, she hardly had a moment to think about the Mustang Makeover. True to his word Bonham had arranged the letters she needed in order to enter and she was waiting to hear back from them if she had been accepted into the competition or not. If she had been accepted, she knew she'd find out soon since the pickup and start date of the competition was just a little over three weeks away.

Another thing that added to her worries was the fact that her report card from her school had just arrived.

Her grades were anything but good.

It was snowing slightly as Maddie stood at the fence of Bel's yard, watching the mare eat her nighttime meal. Even though it was cold outside, it was nothing compared to how chilly the atmosphere was inside the house. Dinner had been a quiet affair like it had been every night since Liam had left and as soon as she could leave, she had.

Turning away from Bel she looked down at the report card she held in her gloved hands. It had arrived in the post two days ago but she hadn't been able to gather the courage to show it to Cordell. Her grades were dreadful though she had been studying as hard as she could in order to catch up.

He's going to be so disappointed in me... She thought with a sigh. Her best grade was for History; a C, with everything else either a C- or D and she had gotten a big F for Math.

Part of her wished she could just tear the report up and throw it away but she knew there was no point in that. Cordell would find out about her grades from her teachers and then she'd be in trouble for getting rid of the report. Another soft sigh escaped her as she turned back to her mare, Bel contentedly chewing away at her pellet and grain feed.

Maddie jumped as a hand was placed on her shoulder, catching her breath as she looked up at Cordell. 'Good lord Dad! You know better than to sneak up on me like that!'

'Sorry...' He held his hands up in surrender.

She sighed. 'It's fine. Don't worry about it.'

'Isn't it a bit cold to be out here?'

'It's better than sitting inside right now.' She bluntly pointed out then tried to get away from the conversation. 'I've got chores to finish-'

Cordell caught her gently by the arm, stopping her from running away. 'Maddie-'

'Dad, I don't want to talk about it, okay?'

He frowned. 'Talk-talk about what?'

'Whatever it is that you came out here for.'

'I-I'm just worried about you Maddie, you haven't been yourself lately-'

'Yeah, well if you haven't noticed, I ain't the only one.' Maddie replied. 'You haven't exactly been Mr. Happy either. You know I feed off other people's emotions and the ones that have been going around here lately aren't exactly nice.'

Cordell sighed. 'I'm sorry... I just...' His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

'Dad, you need to try to make things right with Uncle Liam.' She started softly after a moment. 'Don't you think you should try?'

'I-I have. He uh... he hasn't replied to any of my texts or messages.'

'I imagine he's feeling pretty bad about it all, wherever he is.' Maddie continued after a moment. 'Just keep trying.'

Cordell didn't reply, his attention diverting to what Maddie was holding. 'Is-is that your report card?'

She quickly hid it from his view then sighed softly and nodded. 'It arrived a couple days ago...' Fully expecting he would be angry with her, she gingerly handed it to him and withdrew away from him. 'I'm sorry, I know I should have given it to you when it arrived...'

As he looked over the report, he glanced back at Maddie. The teen had her head bowed, looking at the ground and he wasn't surprised that she had been hesitant to give it to him.

'I'm sorry...' She said softly, still unable to look at him. 'I tried my best. It just wasn't good enough.'

Cordell placed the report card in his pocket and turned back to her. 'Maddie, I only ask for you to do your best. You know that.'

'But those grades-'

'Maddie, they are just grades.' He assured her, the girl looking up at him cautiously after a moment. Seeing the fear in her eyes broke his heart. She was scared of him. Had his behavior the past week been that bad?

'You... you aren't mad with me?' She questioned, her voice quivering.

'No, no Maddie girl...' Cordell initiated a hug and Maddie flinched at the touch but embraced him back. 'It's just a grade, sweetheart. I know how hard you've been trying with your schoolwork. You just need some extra help.'

'I don't like asking for help, I feel like I'm bothering you all when I ask for it.'

'You aren't bothering us.' He assured her, stroking her cheek gently as she looked up at him. 'If you need help with something, ask us honey.' She nodded after a moment, breaking eye contact with him. 'Maddie, is there something else going on?'

'No... no, I'm just tired.' She lied. She'd had a splitting headache all day that just wouldn't go away... 'I think I'm going to head to bed early.'

'You-you sure there's nothing else going on?'

'Dad, I'm fine.' She forced a smile onto her face. 'Just been doing too much practice at the piano.'

'Ah yes. Your class in the Eisteddfod is on Monday, correct?'

Maddie nodded. 'They had to change the location cause something happened with the hall they had rented so it'll be held at Sacred Heart instead. You're going to come watch, aren't you?'

'I'll try to be there. I won't make any promises but I'll try to get there. Who's your partner going to be though? August can't play...'

She chuckled mischievously. 'If you turn up, you'll find out.'

Hope you do well today. Good luck.

Maddie smiled sadly as she looked at the message Liam had sent her. It was Monday morning already and was the day she had her class to compete in at the Eisteddfod.

Thank you. She typed back. Hope you're doing well.

She waited for a little while but he didn't reply and she returned to getting herself organized for the day. With having finished her chores, she started changing into the outfit Abeline had laid out for her the day before. Her attire would match Abeline's; a buttoned up, long sleeved white ruffled shirt and an ankle length black skirt that she wore over thick black stockings. There were black shoes and a black coat that went with the rest of her outfit but she left them behind to put on later.

Giving her cat a pat she headed out to the kitchen to grab breakfast. Stella had already left for school but Cordell was still finishing off his breakfast as she walked in. 'Morning Dad.'

'Morning Maddie-' He glanced up at her and smiled. 'You look beautiful honey.'

Maddie blushed. 'I just hope I don't make a fool of myself on stage... you're going to come watch, right?'

'I um... I'm gonna try.' Quickly wiping his mouth on a napkin he got up from his seat and took the empty bowl to the sink. 'I can't promise anything, but I will try honey.'

'That's good enough for me. Have you heard from Uncle Liam?'

Cordell shook his head as he placed the rinsed bowl in the dishwasher. 'Uh, no... I haven't.'

'It's been over two weeks since he left...'

'I know.'

'When do you think he'll come home?'

Wiping his hands on a towel, he shrugged. 'I don't... I don't know. But I don't want you thinking about that today-' He started as he came over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. 'this is your day to have some fun. Go out there and show them what you've got.'

'I just hope I don't mess up.' Maddie chuckled nervously. 'What if I freeze up when I get on stage in front of all those people?'

'I don't know- imagine them all in their underwear?'

'Dad!' She laughed. 'That is a visual I didn't need!'

'But hey, it got you laughing, right?'

She just shook her head, an amused smile on her lips.

'But seriously Maddie-' He continued. 'You've been practicing and you're more than ready. You can do it. It doesn't matter what place you get.'

'Do you...' She paused for a moment and looked up at him. 'Do you think my mom would be proud of me?'

'I know she would be.'

'How can you be so sure?'

'Because I'm proud of you.' Cordell replied. 'Win or come last, that will never change.'

Maddie wrapped her arms around him tightly and he hugged her back. 'Thanks Dad.'

'I mean it sweetheart.' He assured her after pressing a kiss to her head. 'I am proud of you, Maddie girl. You are beautiful and talented sweetheart, don't believe otherwise.'

She nodded as she smiled up at him. 'I'm trying to remember that.'

'Good girl. Now I need to get to work or I'm gonna be late-'

'Have a good day.' Maddie gave him a second quick hug then he headed to the door. 'I'll get Mawline to message you when my class comes up.'

'I'll try to be there.' He assured her as he grabbed his hat. 'But I know you've got this honey. Have fun.'

Have fun... She scoffed softly at the idea as Cordell headed out and she went to grab herself a glass of water.

Yeah... right...

With how her stomach was doing cartwheels, having fun was the last thing on her mind.

'Have you had something to eat?' Abeline questioned as she came into the kitchen. 'We'll have to go soon.'

'Uh... not yet.'

'Butterflies?'

She nodded. 'I think I'm gonna be sick.'

Abeline slipped an arm around her. 'You'll do just fine.'

'That's what Dad says. I sure hope so.'

'We can still pull out if you want-'

Maddie shook her head. 'No, I'm going to do it. I just... I'm a little anxious and frightened is all. Playing in front of all those people...' She sighed heavily. 'I just keep hearing my father's words in my mind, the voices telling me I can't do anything and that I'm worthless. I just wish they would go away.'

'Do you believe those voices?'

'Well no...'

Abeline raised an eyebrow.

She dropped her gaze to the floor. 'Sometimes.' She finally admitted.

'Those voices can be pretty convincing sometimes, can't they?'

Maddie nodded.

'Who are you going to believe though Maddie? Those voices or us?'

'I wish I had the faith in myself that you all have in me.' She admitted sadly. 'But I don't know how to not believe what my father told me. When you hear it all your life, it's pretty hard to believe otherwise.' She fell silent then looked back up at her after a moment. 'I'm trying though. I really am.'

'I know you are.' Abeline smiled. 'The fact you still want to go through with this says that. We're going to be late though if we don't get a move on. Why don't you grab yourself a piece of toast to eat while I do your hair?'

'Alright. Have we still got some of that jam I like left?'

'Ah, I think so.' She replied over her shoulder as she headed back down the hallway. 'Just take a look.'

After searching through the cupboard for a moment she found the blueberry jam she liked and set about preparing some toast. By the time she had finished, Abeline had returned with the hair curler and everything else she needed to do her hair. Taking a seat at the table her grandmother started styling her hair while she nibbled away at her breakfast.

When Abeline had finished, Maddie's straight hair had been transformed into beautiful soft waves. Her fringe had been pulled back and fastened with a white clip that went along with her outfit. After spraying some hairspray to hold it in place she was ready to go.

'I'll just go grab my coat and shoes.' Maddie said as she stood. 'What about you though?'

'I'll change before we're up.' She replied, pulling the plug for the hair iron out of the power outlet. 'I haven't told Bon that I'm playing with you.'

She giggled softly. 'Grampa is going to be surprised when he sees you walk on stage.' As the back door opened she glanced around to see August walking in. 'Morning little brother.'

August rolled his eyes. She always teased him about the fact that she was older then him by a few months 'Morning little sister.' He replied as he stood at his full height, a couple inches taller then she was.

She pulled a face at him. 'I'll still be older.'

'But not taller-'

'You ready to go?' Abeline questioned, interrupting their little sibling rivalry session.

'Yes Mawline.' He replied.

'I'll just grab my coat and shoes.' Maddie said as she started to her room.

'Don't take long.' She called out after her. 'We'll be waiting for you in the truck.'

'I'll just be a moment.' She promised.

Closing the door of her bedroom behind her, Maddie took a deep breath. To say that she was nervous was an understatement, she was terrified. At the same time she was angry with herself that her failed attempt at that talent show bothered her more than she cared to admit. She could still hear her father laughing...

No. She chastised herself firmly in her mind. No more thinking about that. Grow up Madeline, you can do it.

Bubbles was asleep on the bed and she gave the cat a quick pat before sitting down to put her shoes on. Part of her was a little sad that Liam wouldn't be coming to watch but at least he had thought to message her. She really hoped though that Cordell would make it...

With her shoes on she stood and quickly put her coat on then grabbed the rest of her things. Her phone went into her handbag and she put on the necklace Cordell had given her before she stepped out of the room. Her music book was still open on the piano where she'd left it the night before after cramming in some extra practice and she picked it up on her way out. Her heart skipped a beat as she headed out the front door and she took a few deep breaths on her way over to the truck where the rest of her family were waiting. I just hope I can do it... She thought to herself. I really hope I can do this...

Maddie looked around the auditorium nervously as she walked in with Bonham and Abeline, August going off to speak with a few friends before the performances started. There were definitely a lot of people there...

'You'll do just fine sweetheart.' Abeline assured her with a smile, squeezing her hand gently as Bonham bought their tickets for the morning session. 'Just imagine you're at home.'

'I don't think we'd fit a hundred people into our living room.' She replied with an anxious chuckle. 'I have to submit the sheet music for the judges, right?'

She nodded. 'You brought the extra copy?'

Maddie patted the plastic bound folder she was carrying. 'Yep, right here.'

'Looks like that's the table over there where you hand it in.'

'Come with me?' She pleaded softly.

'Alright honey.' Abeline turned to Bonham and suggested he go find them some seats then the two of them headed to hand in their sheet music. She reminded the organizers too that she was substituting for August since he was still listed as being Maddie's partner on the schedule. Once that was finished, they started back to their seats.

'Hey Maddie-' Colton jogged over to catch up to her and Abeline. 'Mrs. Walker.'

'Colton.' Abeline smiled then looked down at Maddie. 'I'll be over with Bon.'

Maddie nodded then turned back to Colton as she left them. 'I didn't expect to see you here.'

'I just thought I'd come wish you good luck.' He replied. 'But who are you going to play with? They still have August down on the schedule.'

'Mawline is going to be my partner but don't mention that to anyone, it's kinda a surprise.'

'Your Grandma plays piano too?' He questioned with slight surprise.

'Yep, she's pretty good at it too. She taught Uncle Liam and August how to play. I didn't know she could play myself until only a couple weeks ago.' She said with a chuckle. 'Aren't you supposed to be in class though?'

'Not this morning. I requested a pass to come watch the morning session. Word around here is that the open piano solo isn't a section to miss.' He explained. 'Well, that, and a certain duet...'

Maddie felt her cheeks redden slightly. 'I hope you didn't skip class just for me.'

'It was one of the reasons though. What are you going to play?'

'Run Free from Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron.' She opened her music folder to show him the sheet music. In her hands was the original composition her mother had arranged for the two of them, handwritten. 'My mom wrote this before she passed, we were going to play it together in an Eisteddfod but we didn't get the chance.'

Colton glanced over it for a moment then looked back up at her. 'I don't know how to read sheet music but that looks complicated.'

She chuckled softly as she closed the folder up and tucked it under her arm again. 'Yeah, it is.'

'And your mom composed it?'

Maddie nodded. 'Mom used to write a lot of music for piano and guitar. Original songs too. She used to be a country singer before I was born but she dabbled with other genres too.'

'Your mom was a singer?'

'You might have heard of her. Macey Stanton.'

He shook his head. 'I don't think I have. Is her music online?'

'I guess her published stuff would be. I haven't looked to be honest. The um...' She paused, trying to think of how to put into words what she wanted to say. 'the media... they weren't exactly honest in their publishing of articles about her. I prefer to keep the memory I have of her as it is rather than have it tarnished with untruths they spread about her.'

'That's fair enough.' He agreed.

'So... how's Rocky?' She questioned after a moment of awkward silence. 'How's his wound healing?'

'Good, we had the vet back out a couple days ago to look it over again. He's happy with how it is going.'

'That's good to hear. When you have a chance, could you send me some updated photos of him and his two friends? Edna messaged me the other day to see how they've been going. I'd have come over to see them myself but I wasn't sure with everything... Uncle Liam and your Dad...'

'Yeah... I'll get you some photos this afternoon when I get home.' He promised. 'How are you going with Bel? I saw your update on her page the other day.'

'She's doing really good.' Maddie said with a smile. 'Now that we've worked out the problems we had in the beginning she's doing great. She's a fast learner, I've already been able to teach her a couple more tricks.'

'When will you start riding her though?'

'Hopefully this coming weekend, depending on how we go this week. I didn't want to ride her before the Eisteddfod for obvious reasons, aka me biting the dust and ending up like August.' She motioned over to where her brother was talking to a couple friends, his arm still in a sling. 'But yeah, we'll just see how things go.'

After they spoke for a little longer, it was announced that the morning session was about to begin and they parted ways. Maddie quickly found where Bonham and Abeline had found seats and joined them, August coming over too. Neither Stella or Cordell were there yet but she wasn't scheduled to be up for a good while anyway.

With the completion of the open piano solo section it was time for Maddie to head backstage in preparation for the open piano duets which was next. As the judging took place for the previous class she gathered her things and headed to join the line up to go backstage. As she waited, she looked around the auditorium again. She spotted Stella coming in but Cordell was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank a little as the assistant opened the door leading backstage and she followed the group up the stairs. She really wished he would have been able to come watch her.

Her anxiety and nerves worsened as she sat backstage, waiting for her turn with the other competitors. She had a little while to wait since she and Abeline were scheduled as the tenth duet to perform out of the class of thirteen.

When the seventh duet had just gone up to play, Abeline slipped into the seat next to her. 'You ready?' She whispered softly.

'No.' Maddie replied nervously. 'What if I make a mistake or loose my place or-'

'Maddie, relax.' She interrupted. 'Take a couple deep breaths. Just think of this as practicing at home.'

'I'll try...'

'That's my girl.' Abeline placed her arm around her shoulders, Maddie chuckling softly as she rested her head against her.

'Thank you for doing this with me.' She whispered as the next pair of competitors stepped onto the stage. 'It means a lot.' Abeline smiled back at her and silence fell between them as they continued waiting for their turn. As the next couple of competitors went up and performed, Maddie opened the music book for them to go over the music one last time before they played.

When the ninth duo went up, Maddie and Abeline stood in preparation to go on stage. Maddie held her music book tightly and took a couple deep breaths, smiling nervously when Abeline squeezed her hand.

'You're going to do just fine.' She whispered softly. 'Just focus on playing and nothing else.'

'Right.' She agreed, looking up at her. 'How can you be so calm?'

Abeline chuckled softly. 'It ain't my first rodeo, Maddie girl.'

'I'm not too late, am I?' Cordell questioned as he took an empty seat beside Stella in the back of the auditorium.

'No, you're just in time.' She assured him. 'Maddie is up next.'

'Do you know who's playing with her?'

Stella shrugged. 'No idea. They still have August down on the schedule so I couldn't tell you.'

Cordell nodded then looked around the auditorium. Bonham and August were seated a few rows up but he didn't see Abeline anywhere. 'Have you seen Mawline?'

'She was around a moment ago...' She replied as the competitors currently on stage finished their performance and stood to bow. 'Maybe she had to go backstage to give Maddie her music or something.'

The current competitors finished their song and bowed before returning backstage, Maddie taking a deep breath as they waited for the announcer to request them to enter the stage.

'Ready?' Abeline whispered.

'Yeah. I'm ready.' She replied, giving her a nervous smile.

After a few more moments, the announcer finally introduced them, their cue to go on stage. 'Next we will have Madeline and Abeline Walker playing Run Free, composed by Macey Stanton.'

This was it...

Maddie took another deep breath then the two of them stepped onto the stage and to the piano, Maddie taking the lead in adjusting the seat and making sure it was the right distance from the piano. They both sat, Maddie on the side towards the audience since she had the lead part and after placing the music book onto the stand, opened it to the first place.

Deep breaths... in... out...

The bell rang, signalling that the adjudicator was ready for them to begin and Maddie took another deep breath as she waited for Abeline to start with the intro. Their eyes met and she gave her grandmother a slight nod to let her know she was ready.

Abeline started, Maddie joining in right on cue. Her fingers flew over the keys, her face set with concentration as she focused her whole being into performing her part to the best of her ability.

They continued on, both of them alternating who turned the page depending upon where they were in the song. As they came into the middle of the song, Maddie started to enjoy herself, a slight smile coming to her lips as they reached the climax of the song. So far, so good.

They came to the end of the song, both of them ending at exactly the same time and Maddie breathed a huge sigh of relief accompanied by a little chuckle as they stood. They had done it! Quickly she took the music book from the stand and they bowed, the crowd applauding as they headed off the stage.

'See-' Abeline said with a smile as the next competitors went onto the stage. 'Didn't I tell you you'd do just fine?'

'Yes, yes you did.' She replied with a little giggle, giving her a hug. 'Oh I'm so glad I didn't mess up!'

'You played perfectly honey, you did really good.'

'I couldn't have done it without you, thank you for doing this with me.' Maddie said as they made their way back into the auditorium, taking their seats in the front row with the other competitors to watch the rest of the class and wait for judging. 'I just wish Dad and Uncle Liam could have been here.' She added softly. 'I really hoped Dad would have made it.'

'I'm sure he'd have been here if he could.'

'I know.' She replied. 'At least he was going to try... which is more than what my father would have done.'

Now that her performance was over it was just a matter of the class being judged. When the last competitors finished the adjudicators took a moment to discuss amongst themselves before they started reading out the results. Maddie kept her fingers crossed as the announcer started with the Encouragement and Highly Commended awards, two and three duos being given them respectively.

Fourth place went to the two boys that had been in front of them, Maddie still keeping her fingers crossed in hope.

'Third place; Madeline and Abeline Walker.'

It took a moment to register that they had won third place, Maddie unable to keep the grin off her face as she and Abeline stood up beside the fourth place winners to listen to the adjudicators comments. Third place-

There, in the back row with Stella, was Cordell.

Dad made it!

She hardly heard what the adjudicator said about their performance or even who got first place, she was just so happy that Cordell had been able to come watch her play. Third place was even better then she had hoped for, at least having hoped her performance had been good enough to get an Encouragement or Highly Commended. Third place though...

A break for morning tea was announced at the conclusion of the judging, Maddie hurrying to the back of the auditorium to Cordell. Not caring what anyone else thought she ran towards him, Cordell picking her up and swinging her around. 'Dad! You made it!' She exclaimed happily, a couple bystanders chuckling softly at their cute moment. 'I didn't think you came!'

'Told you I'd try, didn't I?' He questioned as he placed her back on the ground. 'Well done Maddie. You did brilliantly.'

'I'm just glad you're here.' She replied, looking up at him. 'Did you get to see all of Mawline's and my performance?'

Cordell nodded. 'I got here just in time.'

'I'm glad.'

'Did you have to imagine the crowd just wearing their undergarments-'

'Dad!' She laughed. 'No, I didn't. Geez Dad, you trying to give me nightmares?' She asked as Bonham, Abeline and August came over to join them. 'That's terrible advice.'

'Yeah, it probably is.' He agreed. 'But it got you laughing.'

Maddie rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, yeah. From embarrassment Dad. Now I know where August gets his sense of humor from.'

After having a short conversation with the rest of the family, Cordell returned to work. Stella too had classes to get to and left at the same time as him. As they waited to grab the adjudicators report and their medals, Colton came over to see her for a brief moment before he left for classes too.

As they headed home, Maddie snapped a selfie with her holding up the medal she had won to send to Liam. Mawline and I won third!

Though she was exhausted, she was so happy. For once in her life she had proved to herself she could do something. That she was worth something. All those hours of practice had been well worth it for the medal she held in her hand.

Take that Dad! She said in her thoughts to her birth father. Guess I'm not as useless as you told me I was after all.

So, couple little notes. First off: Mustang Makeover

I've based this makeover off the Brumby version we have here in Australia where a trainer gets 150 days for training instead of 100 as they do in the US mustang makeover. At the end of the competition they compete at a huge horse event called Equitana. Ill be basing Maddie's experience off this. Hope ya'll don't mind

Next: Eisteddfods

Dunno if they do them in Texas but here in AU every June in my town for a month all kinds of dance and musical performances are held and judged. I myself used to compete in the piano and violin classes and let me say, it was the most nerve wracking experience on earth. I would literally be in the bathroom backstage throwing up cause of nerves so yeah, Maddie's apprehension is very realistic I did enjoy it though, after I was finished being on stage.

Anyway, that's just a couple side notes. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all again soon.