by Tricia Goyer
Sam was sort of excited about the idea of them shooting a music video on the farm, but he wondered what Jordan would think. He only wished it was another group, another singer.
“Amazing how quickly everything can change,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Yeah, it is looking pretty nice in here, isn’t it?” Hannah commented, obviously thinking Sam was talking to her.
“Uh, yes, ma’am.”
“It’s awfully nice of you to come and help, Sam,” Hannah added.
“No problem. My friend’s flight isn’t coming in until this afternoon, so I didn’t have much to do this morning.”
She leaned on her broom. “Perfect time for Jimmy to come in—fair’s always fun for young folks.”
“It’s Jordan,” Sam corrected.
“Oh yes. I knew it started with a J. Perfect time for him to come. It should be the most exciting week ever.”
Sam didn’t know if she was talking about the fair or the video shoot, so he just nodded. Actually, he didn’t know if Hannah even knew about the video shoot, but if she didn’t he was sure it was just a matter of time. Grandma seemed to talk to her about everything.
“I hope so,” Sam said, and then he hurried back to the truck to unload another bale.
“Hey, Sam.” He was surprised to see his sister walking down the roadway with Uncle Pete.
“What are you up to?” As soon as Sam saw Emily he knew he should tell her about the music video—about how Shae Lynne was going to be on their farm. But just the idea caused a knot in his stomach to tighten. If he told Emily she’d go crazy with excitement and would make a scene, and his nerves couldn’t handle that right now.
“Oh, I’m just going to try one more time to take some good photos.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “The last ones didn’t turn out so great.”
Sam caught Pete’s gaze and could tell from the look on Pete’s face that he hadn’t spilled the beans to Emily yet.
Instead of saying anything Pete unfolded a brochure he was carrying in his hands and began to study it.
“Yeah, well, there are some cute baby animals over in the animal barns.” Sam glanced around, his eye catching on the flower garden. “And those sunflowers are nice—almost as nice as the ones Grandma planted.”
“Yeah, we’re going to figure out these settings, and then we’re going to walk around and check things out.” Emily took two steps and paused, turning back to Sam. “Hey, today’s the day you’re going up to get Jordan. How cool is that?”
“Very cool,” Sam mumbled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. It was only 10:00 AM and the sun beating down was already unbearable. He eyed the people hurrying around him, gearing up for the big event. “I’m, uh, sure Jordan is going to think this place is, uh, something unlike anything he’s ever seen.”
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and checked the time. It was nearly time to head to Omaha. For the strangest reason, hanging around and unloading hay bales almost seemed more appealing.
“ONE-HOUR DEVELOPING, PLEASE.” Emily set two rolls of film on the counter and then drummed her fingers, feeling the tension in her shoulders. With Uncle Pete’s help, she’d figured out the right light setting, yet she worried that there was something else she’d done wrong.
“One hour? Sure. Do you need any special sizes or anything—eight-by-tens that you want to frame?” the woman asked.
Emily forced a smile. Didn’t this lady, Nora, remember that she was the same one who’d just been in here earlier today with a roll of dark photos that weren’t worth developing? Emily didn’t know if she was being sarcastic or not. “I might, after I see them. I need to make sure they turn out first.”
Nora nodded, and gave Emily the receipt from the photo envelope. Then she handed the film to the guy working in the back.
“Okay, thanks. See you in an hour.” Emily turned to go.
Pete placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “Sweet. That gives us time to head over to the tractor supply.”
“Gee, that’s just how I want to spend my day.”
“You know you love it,” Pete said, softly slugging Emily’s shoulder with his knuckle. “In fact—”
“Hey, Emily!” Emily turned to see her friend Hunter coming toward them.
“Hey, Hunter,” Emily replied.
“Is it true they’re filming a Shae Lynne video at your farm?” Hunter gushed.
“Music video?” Emily glanced up at her uncle. “A music video with Shae Lynne? Are you serious?”
Pete placed a finger to his lips, shushing her. “Not too loud. We’re not supposed to tell too many people because we don’t want the farm swarming with—”
“Uncle Pete, is this what you’ve been holding back from telling me?” Every bit of anger was replaced by a surge of excitement. Emily tugged on her uncle’s arm and led him outside. Hunter followed. “There’s gonna be a music video shot on our farm with, like, the best country music singer ever?”
“Well, since it’s obviously not a secret anymore, yes. But Grandma and Grandpa will have to give you the details, because as far as I’m concerned this thing is going to blow up, just like it’s doing now.”
“A music video at our house.” Emily turned to Hunter and tucked the photo receipt in her pocket, almost not caring about her pictures anymore.
“So how did you know about this before I did?” Emily asked Hunter.
“Well, my dad and I heard some guys talking at the feed store. I’m glad I ran into you. It’s cool about the video and all, but I wanted to make sure you were coming to watch me in the barrel races Wednesday night.”
“Uh, sure. Ashley and I are definitely planning on being there,” Emily assured her friend.
“Okay, great. I gotta go help my dad, but I’ll see you then,” Hunter said and hurried down the street.
Emily turned to Uncle Pete, who by this time was heading toward his truck.
“Do we have to go to the tractor supply? Can’t we just go home? I want to hear all about the video.”
“Nope. I have stuff I need to get. Then we’re going to come back here and look at your photos.” Pete crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re not going to let some Nashville bigwig interrupt our life. The priority this week will be the fair and our usual chores. I’m sticking to that.”
AN HOUR LATER, Emily’s fingers hurriedly opened the envelope and slid out the photos, placing them on the counter. She chuckled at the one of Ashley sticking out her tongue. There was another one of a bird outside Ashley’s bedroom window that was blurry, but the ones she’d taken at the fairgrounds …
Emily’s eyes widened when she saw them. “Look, Uncle Pete.”
Her uncle peered over her shoulder, but he didn’t say anything.
“Uncle Pete?” She turned to see his jaw had dropped in amazement.
“Wow,” he finally mumbled. “Wow.”
Emily lifted one of the photographs of a baby goat for him to see better, and her chest warmed with pride. There was another shot she’d taken of one of the show horses that had been warming up in a corral. In the photo, the beautiful mare was trotting, with her long mane and tail flowing as she moved. Above her, the sky was bright blue, and the fair barns in the distance looked charming and rustic.
In the next photo a large steer stood poised, peering down at a dog that had been wandering through the barns. The dog was looking up, head cocked, and from the look on the dog’s face it appeared as if the steer were in the middle of telling the dog an enchanting story.
“Man, it looks like these could be photos from a calendar or something. They turned out really good.” Pete studied a close-up photograph of a sunflower in the fairgrounds garden.
“Yeah. They’re even better than I expected,” Emily said. “I think we got the settings right.”
“Oh, I think the settings are only part of it.” Pete patted her shoulder. “You have a great eye, Em.”
Emily’s fingers trailed over the edges of another of the sunflower p
hotos; she couldn’t believe she’d actually taken it.
Pete motioned to the young woman behind the counter. She had short, spiky hair and an attitude that seemed equally as sharp. “Ma’am, how much would it cost to get these enlarged?”
She was busy flipping through a large pile of photo envelopes and didn’t bother to look up. “It’s $5.99 a photo, and they’ll be ready Wednesday.”
“Okay, how much would they cost if I want them tomorrow?”
“Sorry.” The young woman chomped on her gum. “We have a pile of orders, and we can’t get them done before then.”
“Are you serious?” A wave of disappointment washed over Emily. Tears sprang to her eyes.
“Wednesday?” Pete mumbled something that Emily couldn’t make out. “That’s not going to work. We need them tomorrow.”
The lady shrugged and then turned back to the photo-developing machine. “Sorry.”
“Oh well, I guess we can try again next year.” Emily shrugged, trying to act like it didn’t bother her. Still, her throat felt tight and thick. She returned the photographs to the envelope.
“Is there someone else I can talk to? A manager or something?” Pete leaned forward on the counter.
Hearing this, an older gentleman with a white moustache and bright blue eyes stepped out from behind the machine in the back. “Can I help you?”
“We were hoping to get some enlargements by tomorrow.”
The man turned his attention from Pete to Emily. “Are you the young lady who took these photos?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Those were great. Very nice composition.”
“Thanks. I like them too.”
“My niece was going to try to enter them in the fair, but they have to be entered tomorrow,” Pete explained. “This is her first time entering stuff because she just moved here last year from California, and, well, it’s a long story, but she was really hoping to get them enlarged.”
The older man looked around, checking to see if anyone else was in hearing distance. Then he pushed his glasses up on his nose, leaned forward, and lowered his voice. “Well, I’m not supposed to do this, but I can stay a little longer tonight and work on them. I’ve seen a lot of entries come through here, and I think it would be a shame if you missed entering photos this nice.”
“Really?” Emily clapped her hands in front of her. “Are you serious?”
“Sure. I especially like the one with the steer and dog. I’m thinking you should do a larger size than eight-by-ten though …” The man continued on, turning and talking to Uncle Pete about sizes and finishes on the photographs.
Emily tried to follow all his technical terms, but her mind was fixed on the fair. She smiled as she imagined thousands of people walking by and seeing her photos on display. More than that, she wondered if Shae Lynne would see them and ask Emily for copies.
Uncle Pete tapped Emily’s hand. “After church would work, right?”
“Uh, what? Sorry. I was daydreaming.”
“I was just saying that we can pick the photos up tomorrow after church.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. That would be great. Thank you.” Emily glanced into the man’s kind eyes, wondering if someone in San Diego would have bent the rules to help her like this. She doubted it. “Thank you so much, sir.”
Emily wasn’t sure if her feet touched the ground as they walked toward the front of the pharmacy for the second time that day. Also for the second time, they heard a voice calling to them.
“Pete! Emily!”
Emily glanced up to see Dana Simons approaching.
“Dana!” Pete hurried forward. A grin filled his face.
“Hi, Miss Simons.” Emily waved.
Dana tried to act casual, but Emily could see her face glowed from seeing Pete.
“Hey, Pete, I’m glad I ran into you.” Dana leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.
Pete held her close in a hug, seemingly reluctant to release her. “So you’re back?”
Heat rose to Dana’s cheeks as she stepped back from his embrace. She tried to be nonchalant as she tucked her dark hair behind her ear. “Yep, the teacher training ended yesterday, and I drove back last night.” She turned to Emily. “See? Even teachers have to go to school.”
“Do you need a hall pass to go to the bathroom too?” Emily laughed at her own joke.
Dana smirked. “Thankfully not. The rules are a lot more lax.”
“Well, I’m glad you made it back.” Pete took her hand in his. “That’s a long drive.”
“Not too bad, except for the fact that the radio in my car was broken, which meant I just had more time to think.” She winked at Pete and lowered her voice. “Mostly about us.”
Pete’s grin widened, if that were at all possible. Emily turned and pretended she was interested in the rack of magazines, letting Pete and Dana have a minute of semiprivacy. She glanced at the headlines but didn’t really read them. After all, they were the same old stuff—movie stars having babies, getting married, breaking up.
“Well, I’d love to hear about your trip and classes. How about we have dinner soon? Maybe I’ll even cook.”
“You’d cook for me?” The excitement in Dana’s voice made Emily smile.
“Of course. Can’t guarantee it will be edible, but for you I’d try.”
They continued talking about the teacher training, the farm, and the fair. Emily noticed Pete didn’t say anything about the video. It was as if he hoped that by not talking about it, it would go away.
Not wanting to interrupt, Emily picked up one of the gossip magazines and flipped through the pages. Her heartbeat quickened as she saw an interview with Shae Lynne. Emily still found it hard to believe she’d actually meet this famous person soon. She looked at the photos of Shae Lynne at the CMT awards, at her Nashville mansion, on her bus.
“Ready, Em?” Pete asked.
Emily thought about telling Pete she wanted to buy the magazine, but she changed her mind when she saw the caption under one of the photos. It was a picture of Shae Lynne sitting on a porch swing. The caption read, “I’m just looking for a simple man—a farmer or cowboy to sweep me off my feet. That’s the type of person I’ve always imagined myself marrying.”
“Yeah, I’m ready to go.” Emily turned and eyed her uncle, as if seeing him from an outsider’s point of view: tall, thin, and, she supposed, handsome. And rugged. Someone could tell just by looking at him that Uncle Pete worked hard for a living.
What if Uncle Pete and Shae Lynne started dating? After all, if Pete and Dana were serious you’d think they’d have done something about it by now. What if … Emily pushed that thought out of her mind. She liked Miss Simons; she really did.
Emily closed the magazine and put it back on the rack. Then she followed Pete and Dana as they walked to his truck. Still, she couldn’t completely forget the idea of her uncle falling in love with a famous country singer. Or rather her falling in love with him.
What if someone like Uncle Pete was who Shae Lynne was looking for? It wouldn’t be too bad to have someone famous in our family.
But as Dana and Uncle Pete gave each other a good-bye hug, Emily felt a little guilt for even thinking those thoughts. Still, another part of her had the smallest hope that it could happen.
After all, it was Shae Lynne …
Chapter Eight
Sam pulled over in the fast-food restaurant’s parking lot and looked at the map one more time. He’d been driving for over three hours without any problems so far. Just a few more miles, and he’d be at the airport. Right on time to pick up Jordan.
“What was the name of the street I turn off on again?” Sam mumbled to himself. Even though he’d officially driven almost this far when he’d tried to run away to Colorado in February, it seemed strange to him that his grandparents had let him go this far without them. After all, he was only seventeen. What would happen if his old car broke down? Or if he’d gotten lost and missed picking Jordan up?
Last ti
me he’d driven to Omaha he’d been with his Grandpa. It was Christmastime, and he’d been planning to fly to California to visit Jordan. The vacation to San Diego hadn’t worked out due to the weather; his trip was canceled. Now he was excited to see his friend again, but he wished it had been on his home turf. Too many things about Jordan coming to Nebraska freaked him out.
“You’ll do fine driving up there by yourself,” his grandpa had said, patting him on the back at the breakfast table. “It’s good for you to get out and spread your wings. You never know; next year you might be going off to college somewhere.”
Sam didn’t know if their insistence that he pick up Jordan alone had more to do with them wanting him to become responsible, or with their just being too busy to join him. He guessed it was a little of both. Though he tried at times to act like he was invincible, he had to admit that most of the time growing up and doing new things scared him. Maybe it was the responsibility part. But he couldn’t let anyone know that. Not his grandparents. And definitely not Jordan.
Sam soon found the street he needed, and a few minutes later he was in the airport parking lot. He got out of his car and followed the signs to baggage claim.
He’d only been waiting around five minutes when he heard someone shouting his name. Sam recognized the voice before he recognized his friend. Jordan had grown at least six inches and now towered over Sam.
“Hey, short stuff,” Jordan called. “Give me five.”
Sam lifted his hand and Jordan slapped it. Then, to Sam’s surprise, Jordan gave him a big hug.
“Dude, look at you,” Sam said.
“I know. I know. My dad has been complaining like crazy. My parents can’t seem to keep food in the house.” Jordan laughed. “I hope your grandma is prepared.”
“Oh yeah, no problem. She’s the best cook ever, and she cooks enough to feed an army.”
“Sounds like my type of place. I might not ever want to go home.”
As they waited for Jordan’s suitcase, they talked about the flight and their friends back in Southern California. Then, once they had Jordan’s luggage, they strode out to Sam’s car.