Suddenly, Annie's Father

“I’m sure it does.”

“I heard she wrote a song for Annie.”

Slade was taken aback by that. “Are you sure about that?”

“First day they met, the way I hear it. Annie gave her the inspiration.”

“Imagine that,” Slade murmured. Annie must have been over the moon, but she hadn’t said a word.

Or maybe—as happened all too often—he just hadn’t been listening.

As Harlan Adams headed back up to the main house, Slade stared after him, then sighed. He had a feeling this was one time when the old man had been just as clever about passing along advice as he usually was about digging out secrets or meddling in affairs of the heart. He’d probably be keeping a close eye out to see just how well Slade followed it.

* * *

Val was in her element pulling the party together. Nothing gave her a sense of accomplishment like making lists and checking off every little chore. She’d helped Laurie with enough entertaining that it was second nature to her. This party would be smaller and less formal than something Laurie would have thrown in Nashville, but the details were essentially the same.

She enlisted Annie’s help, thoroughly enjoying the child’s wry sense of humor, which came out at the most unexpected moments, shattering that tough, sullen facade she wore the rest of the time. Then there were the rare moments of vulnerability that tore at Val’s heart.

“What if the kids don’t like me?” Annie asked for the millionth time a few days before the barbecue.

“They’ll like you,” Val reassured her. “Dani’s twins are about your age, but most of the others are younger. You’ll be like a big sister to them. They’ll look up to you. Look how well you get along with Amy Lynn. She toddles around after you like a puppy.”

“What does she know?” Annie scoffed. “She’s just a baby.”

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