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There was total chaos coming from the kids. They were laughing and shouting over each other.
“Loraine made waffles, and Lucy’s going to eat yours if you don’t come home right now, Daddy,” Hank demanded, his voice blasting through the bedlam.
“We’ll be right there,” we all said, talking over each other.
I’d never seen the three of us move so fast as we did in those moments. We were showered and walking towards the kitchen in less time than it took to make the next waffle.
We didn’t like to disappoint our kids, and when they wanted something as simple as us joining them for a meal, we were on it. Besides, it was so late in the day, we’d lost our morning practice session. We’d been working on a new song,Love Drunk Again,and wanted to finish it in the next couple of days. Somehow, I’d gotten that this song was about Liberty coming into our lives, but up until this morning, I didn’t think any of us wanted to admit it. Still, when Austin added a fiddle solo to the music a couple of days ago, I knew we were all on the same page.
As soon as we walked into the kitchen, the kids assaulted us with kisses and hugs, while Lucy nuzzled our legs and barked her happiness. So, yeah, the love in the room was overwhelming, and for someone who already cried once in the last twenty-four hours, I refused to do it again. Thing was, ever since I embraced my little guy, Hank, my entire life changed for the better. Now that it looked as though Liberty was part of our lives, I couldn’t be happier. She did complete us as a family. Maybe not the regular family most folks had, but we’d never fit into that mold. Yes, Austin had it for about a minute with Jenna, but when she died, we all came together to fill that hole. Over time, we’d formed a family with all our focus on the kids and their well-being.
Now, all we had to do was convince Liberty to stay, and after last night, I thought we had a good chance.
Damn, I had turned into a ball of mush.
“Okay, everybody,” Kasey said. “Let’s get back to those waffles, because I, for one, need a whole mess of ‘em with some eggs.”
“And coffee,” Liberty cooed, as she handed me possibly the biggest cup I’d seen in this house. “Picked this little treasure up a few days ago when I was in town but hadn’t gotten the chance to give it to you. Hope it helps.”
“Babe, it’s exactly what I need this morning,” he told her, then he took several sips. “It’s perfect, thanks.”
Then he leaned in and kissed her, without any hesitation. Like it was about as natural as the large coffee she’d made for him.
The funny thing was, not one of the kids said a word about it. Instead, I caught a great-big grin on Annie’s face. And Hank picked up his harmonica and hit a combination of notes that sounded almost like a whistle.
It surprised everyone, and we all chuckled.
“Lots of cream and sugar,” Liberty said, pulling out of the short kiss. “You can thank Loraine for that.” Then she turned back to Austin and me while the kids settled back into their chairs to finish breakfast. “If everyone will take a seat, Buck and I have a surprise for you.”
In all the commotion, I never noticed that Buck was in the room.
“Buck?” Austin asked. “Is something wrong?”
Buck shook his head. “No, sir. Everything’s good.” With that, he placed a fiddle under his chin and held up his bow.
“Wait. You play the fiddle?” I asked.
“Yes, sir,” he said. “Learned from my grandfather who played bluegrass with some of the best bands in the country.”
“Why didn’t we know this?” Kasey asked.
“Not something I usually talk about,” he answered.
“You’re going to love this, Daddy,” Emily said, before she took a big, drippy bite of her waffle.
“I want to play like that when I get bigger,” Annie said.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Give it a minute,” Hank said, sitting back and waiting for them to start.
“If you wanted to audition for us, Buck, why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Austin asked.
“That’s not what this is about,” Liberty said, getting her own instrument into position.
In the next moment, somebody, most likely Loraine, started a soundtrack fromThe Devil Went Down To Georgia,and in the next ten minutes, Liberty and Buck played their hearts out. Buck played all the devil’s parts, and Liberty played the best parts.
To say it was better than the original didn’t do what they accomplished in our kitchen justice.
