Friday! I had a week off, and got to spend it with Morgan, Carter, Kennedy, and all my Jett Records friends. I told Morgan about inviting the girls, and he was okay with it.
He woke me up at 6:30 with breakfast in bed. His famous blueberry pancakes of course. He really was the sweetest guy in the world, and I couldn't be more in love.
"You ready to go home, baby?" He asks. I nod.
"You know what I think we should do?" I ask.
"What?".
"Play at Whiskey House" I say. He lit up.
"Are you gonna sing?" He asks. I smile.
"Only if I get to do it with you" I say.
"Well, you just ket me pick the song" He says.
"You got it" I say. He smiles.
"I'm gonna stay with Mama and Daddy while I'm there. Are you girls going to be okay in your house?" He asks. I nod.
"Yeah. Carter and I can share her room. Then we have my room, mama's room, and Kennedy's room to spare. They can pick what they want to do" I say.
"How about driving up there?" He asks.
"Well, I figured you and I would drive my car because it's bigger. Maddie and Tae are driving with us. Then, Jennifer is driving her and the girls up" I say. We figured it all out on the phone last night.
"And they're getting here at 8:30?" He asks with a smirk. I smile.
"Yes, they are" I say.
"Good. That gives us some time" He says kissing my neck. I liked where this was going.
**
Maddie and Tae arrived a little after 8:00. We were all sitting around drinking coffee. Morgan had packed their bags in the trunk of my car.
"So, how would you guys like to sing at my cafe?" I ask. They both light up.
"Can we pick what we sing?" Maddie asks.
"Duh" I say.
"Well, count us in" Tae says.
"Good. You'll love Whiskey House" I say.
"I can't wait to see where you grew up" Maddie says.
"Me either" Tae adds. Morgan and I just smiled at each other knowing that Sneedville wasn't much, but it was home to us.
***
We were two hours out of Sneedville. I was starting to get so excited about going home.
"Cal, tell us about your life growing up" Maddie says.
"Well, I grew up in Whiskey House my whole life. Carter runs it now" I say.
"I can't believe you never mentioned Carter was a Mom and you're an Aunt" Tae says. Tae was an aunt to a little girl too.
"Yeah. Kennedy is two. She's the sweetest little thing" I say.
"You know, Tae and Naomi are obsessed with babies" Maddie says. Tae smacked her.
"You'll love Kenny" I say.
"I'm excited to meet her too. She'll call me 'Uncle Morgan'. I just know it" Morgan says.
"Oh, will she now?" I ask. He smiles at me.
"I'm positive" He says. I just smile at him. He put his hand on my thigh. I love that smile, those flannels, his hands wrapped up on me, and just him in general.
***
We pulled into my old driveway and I practically ran to Carter. I saw her a lot, but still missed her. Maddie, Tae, and Morgan all hugged her too. The other girls were still finding their way.
"Carter, I'm so mad at you for not telling us you had a baby" Tae says jokingly while giving her a hug.
"Well, come on in and meet my girl" She says. We walk in. There were suddenly little footsteps running towards us.
"Cal!" A tiny voice says. I turned round and saw little brown curls running towards me.
"Hey, babygirl!" I say lifting her up. She hugged my neck. "Kenny, you wanna meet some new friends?". She nods. "This is Maddie, Tae, and Morgan".
"Hi!" She chirps.
"Oh, you look just like your mama" Morgan says. Kennedy smiled.
"Actually, she looks just like her Auntie Cal did when she was two" Carter says. Morgan stuck his hands out and Kennedy went right to him.
"Well, you are absolutely beautiful miss Kennedy" Morgan says, she smiles. The Runaway June girls had just pulled in. We all went out to meet them.
"My, oh my. Morgan Wallen, where'd you get that baby?" Naomi asks.
"This is Kennedy. My niece" I say.
"You never told us you had a niece" Hannah says.
"I know. I guess I never thought too" I say.
"You're a gorgeous girl" Jennifer says. Kennedy smiled at her and buried her face in Morgan's neck. After seeing him with her, I was ready to give him a baby.
"Kenny, this is Jennifer, Naomi, and Hannah" I say.
"Hi!" She says to them.
"Oh, baby girl. We're gonna be bestfriends" Naomi says. Kennedy stuck her hands out towards Naomi. Naomi took her. "See, I told ya". We all laugh and go inside.
***
Hours had passed. Morgan went home to see his parents. The girls and I were all sitting around the living room. Kennedy made her way to all the girls and played with them all. She was currently attempting to brush through Jennifer's hair with a tiny comb meant for dolls. She already loved them all. And Morgan too.
"Cal, what do you have planned for us tomrrow?" Maddie asks.
"Well, I don't really know. It's saturday, so Whiskey House will be booming. Karaoke night is on Saturdays" I say.
"Last time we all went out to do Karaoke, Jennifer and I were hammered as hell" Carter says. We all laughed.
"True, but it was so much fun" Jennifer adds.
"Tae and I are always down for some karaoke" Maddie says.
"We'll sing all night long" Tae says.
"Hell, me too. I just don't have a duet partner" Naomi says.
"Oh, Kenny can fix that. Kenny, tell Naomi what your favorite song is" Carter says. Kennedy looks over at Naomi.
"Lipstick!" She says happily.
"Oh, yeah! If you're gonna love somebody, ya better love somebody who ruins your..." Naomi starts.
"Lipstick!" Kennedy shouts.
"Not your..."
"Mascara!" She shouts again.
"Oh, we've got a fan on our hands" Jennifer says and tickles Kenny's belly.
"Okay, but speaking of songs. Hannah, I wanna hear you sing that song you wrote and gave to Carly" I say.
"Oh, my gosh! Yes! That song was amazing!" Tae adds.
"It was nothing" She says.
"No, really. It was amazing" I say. She smiles.
"Thanks, Cal" She says.
"No matter what anyone else sings...Kenny and I are doing 'Lipstick' and it's going to sound better with her than you two ding bats" Naomi says to Jennifer and Hannah. Hannah hits her gently with a pillow. We all laughed. I couldn't have imagined a better life, or better friends, a better family. And to top it all off...a better boyfriend. I was living a dream come true.
YOU ARE READING
chasing the dream, catching you
Fanfiction"a buzz off you is better than what any whiskey could give me"
