Page 5 of First Moon

“Whenever you two are ready,” Hutch said. A red light came on over the door. Rolling. “Just sing it to each other. Forget we’re out here.”

The click counted us in. Four taps. Recorded before we arrived, the band rose up under it. Grant’s brushed drums, soft as rain on a tin roof; Beck’s piano, achingly beautiful; Knox’s guitar a perfect complement. And under everything, steady as a faucet drip, the wooden tick of the click track—the metronome that’d hold us to the grid.

Jack opened his mouth, his voice cracking in just the right way, making my heart beat faster.

My mama said I was born with a restless soul.

Always on the move, looking for more than rain on a tin roof.

When it was my turn, I gave myself to the music and the moment, feeling like it was only Jack and me in this world of our own making. No one and nothing could come between us.

My daddy said Tennessee’s your heart.

Little girl, no matter how far you go, the whispering pines still call your name.

Emotion flickered in those tea-stained eyes of his. He knew about the whispers that brought a person home, no matter how far you’d let yourself roam.

But go chase those dreams—knowing you can always come back home.

We traded the verses like that, back and forth like we’d done it a thousand times. The bridge came up and we sang together, his low and grained and mine high and smooth. Gooseflesh spread up the whole length of my arms. I felt certain we were going to do this in one-take. I’d never experienced anything like it in my life.

Almost made our peace with a beautiful but lonely life.

I’d written that line about myself. But it was for him too. I just hadn’t known it at the time.

And then the chorus.

But the moment I saw you

I saw everything

All the torn pieces of my heart

Stitched into a patchwork quilt like my mama made

The only warmth I'd ever need

Jack was looking at me and I looked right back, and I knew like a lonesome girl does when she meets the right cowboy—I’m never going to be the same again. He’s gonna become my whole world and there’s not a darn thing I could do to stop it. Not that I wanted to.

No more restless soul

No more searching for more

Just you and the rain on the tin roof

And those whispering songs of the pines

We held the last note of the outro till it died on its own.

To tell me I’m finally home.

The click of the metronome went silent. Neither of us moved.

Nothing from Hutch for a good three seconds, before he said in a hushed voice through the headphones, “That’s the one, kids. We can all go home now.”

I turned away from Jack to look out at the control room.

The boys in the band were all staring at us like they’d just witnessed something holy. Beck had his glasses off, wiping the corners of his eyes. Knox was shaking his head like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard. Grant had gone perfectly still.