Three Years Later

Frankie and Johnny were married six months later. They were operating under Dan's wise words.

"Why wait?" he said. "When you know you."

He said this while looking lovingly at his own wife of forty years, whom he had married after only know her three months.

And Frankie and Johnny knew.

To celebrate, they invited a few friends and family members to a small ceremony on the lawn in front of the Stephens' house on a warm afternoon in June and the whole town to the reception afterwards.

The driveway was cleared and lights strung from the house to the farm, with a dance floor put down over the gravel.

Everyone Frankie knew and loved was there. Even her sister made it. She was the only person in attendance who needed to be told 'No cell phones.'

During toasts, it was Dan's turn to hand Johnny an envelope. A wedding gift, he called it, for the happy couple. Inside was the deed to the Romero farm across the street. It was theirs. All theirs.

Lacey cried happy tears from her matron-of-honor seat as Frankie and Johnny both embraced Dan and Hannah.

They lived in the apartment above the garage for the first year as renovations began on the Romero farm. The house had been abandoned for too long and after a thorough inspection, they decided to upgrade the place in the process.

By the time they brought their daughter, River, home from the hospital, they brought her home to their new farm. Once work on the house was finished, work on the barn began.

Frankie had no trouble still running Hummel Farms while pregnant and even after she had River. She simply took River along for the ride. While she was counting inventory or discussing plans for the stables with Dan and Aaron, River sat happily in a front pack. And when Frankie drove around Hummel collecting merchandise for the store, River went with her, meeting every vendor who worked with Hummel Farms, charming each of them with her tan skin, dark hair and Johnny's bright green eyes.

By the time River's first birthday rolled around, things seemed settled. The house was complete. They had successfully moved in and made it their own. The barn was finished. Johnny's vision for the space done to a T. Even the work on the staples across the street that Johnny had over seen for Dan as part of his gift were complete. Hummel Farm now ran a service for people in the area who needed a place to stable their horses.

Dan had given Johnny the decision on the color of stables, insisting since it was his money that had paid for it. Johnny went with a deep red and white trim that matched the rest of Hummel Farms.

And so, with everything seemingly in it's place, Frankie and Johnny sat down and started to discuss music. Frankie didn't bring up the band. She had asked enough questions, heard enough stories to know it was going to take time for the three of them to even be in a room together, let alone reunite. No, it was time to discuss Johnny's music, his next chapter, the reason they had renovated the barn.

Their answer for what next came by way of a hand-written letter, postmarked in Boston, MA. It was a cordial greeting and introduction from someone Johnny knew very well but had never had the chance to meet before. They were both invited down to Boston to talk a possible record deal with a new start up company and so Frankie and Johnny went, leaving River in Hannah and Dan's capable hands.

They were shown up to a wide open room above a cafe in a part of the city several blocks from downtown. Two people were waiting for them and Frankie was greeted with a warm handshake from a woman with light brown hair and warm eyes and a shorter man with round glasses and jet black curly hair.

They introduced themselves as Olivia Reeve and Anton Kaufman. They ran Freedom Records and they wanted to work with Johnny.

The four of them spent the next several days in that studio, talking over every single possibility, every single minute detail in the contract with Olivia Reeve's business manager, Kelly O'Rourke. And by the end of the week, they had a deal. But one on condition that Frankie had not seen coming.

"I think you should reunite with your band," Olivia Reeve said, just as Johnny was going to shake her hand. His hand floated in the air for a long moment as her words had stunned him.

"I've met with Leo, even queried Nate. Through that process I've gotten to know them both and I know for a fact that they miss each other and they miss you. They miss being a band."

Johnny's smile a minute before turned into a frown and his eyebrows were pulled together tight as he digested her words.

"This won't affect your deal with us. We can still move forward as planned," Olivia said. "However, I think it would be good for all of you and it would be a great way to promote your new acoustic album without having to do interviews. Everyone would want to buy the new Johnny Stephens' album if it meant hearing Late Nights reunite."

Frankie and Johnny exchanged a glance. Olivia Reeve and Anton shared a glance. Anton broke the tense silence for them all.

"Think about it. That's all we're asking. If you say no, then go on and make your farmhouse record. We're here to support you. But if you are interested in a reunion, we think it could take your new project to a whole new level."

There was more coaxing and reassuring needed until Johnny finally shook their hand. Frankie had to guess that it was no coincidence that Leo called that night after their meeting to get together for dinner before they headed back up north. Leo invited Nate as well and Frankie got the chance to stand back and watch as the three childhood friends rekindled their friendship.

Frankie saw Leo and Nate once more a few months later when Johnny was invited back to Boston for a company party to celebrate Freedom Records third anniversary.

They were both friendly and welcoming. The tension that had filled the room when the three band mates had seen each other for the first time since splitting was a distant memory.

And yet, while waiting for the two of them to pull into her driveway a few months later, Frankie couldn't help but pace. Johnny had been the first to start moving restlessly while constantly checking the road at every possible sound. Still no car. His moves got so frantic that Frankie handed him River and told him to go show her the ducks swimming through the chilly water.

All around them, their little forest was turning color for the season, the ducks moving through their little slice of heaven while on their way south.

Frankie watched as Johnny crouched at the edge of the water, River right by his side, inspecting every new thing she could find. It was while distracted that Frankie heard the car pull up.

She put on her best smile and approached as Leo and Nate got out of the car.

"Hi!" She said, in a voice that she hoped was friendly, not nervous. "Welcome! It's so good to see you."

Leo and Nate met her eyes but were immediately drawn to the house and then the barn behind her, Leo even letting out a low whistle.

"Wow," Nate said.

"So this is the place, then?" Leo asked, throwing a duffle bag over his shoulder as he approached.

The two of them weren't coming to just work. They were coming to stay for Thanksgiving.

"This is it," Frankie said. "Come on, I've got someone I'd like you to meet."

Frankie didn't need to call ahead. Johnny could hear her coming and picked River up so she sat on his hip. Frankie could hear Nate and Leo hesitate behind her as she reached Johnny and River and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. She wasn't surprised by the look on their faces. Her parents had had the same look when they had finally returned to town to check in with the girls, a year after Frankie had sent them a letter informing them that she was fine and had gotten married.

"Dude, is that yours?" Nate asked.

Leo hit him on the arm. "Of course, she is. Look at her eyes. She's the spitting image of him."

Frankie and Johnny had gone back and forth between deciding whether or not tell Nate and Leo about River. She was the reason there were twice as many 'NO CELL PHONES' signs up in Hummel and the cause for the ski lodge's strict 'No photos of local children' mandate that Hannah had orchestrated through her connections with the management.

They had decided to keep River a local secret and let Leo and Nate come and meet her at home.

"River, this is your Uncle Nate and Uncle Leo. Can you say hi?"

The four of them stared at the little girl to see if she would respond to her father's request. She let out a small 'Hi' before hiding in her dad's shoulder and the four of them could breathe again.

"Come on," Johnny said, "Let me show you the studio."

Nate and Leo followed as Johnny and Frankie headed for the barn. Under the sign that read 'Lost River Studios', Frankie pulled the rolling barn door open and let the boys in. They both let out a low whistle and it reverberated through out the space.

The dirt floor had been replaced by hardwood and antique area rugs. The walls were decorated with instruments Johnny had accrued from all over the world. And the stall at the end of the long room had been turned into a recording booth. Desks lined the free walls and a grand piano stood in the center of the room.

The atmospheric vibe of the room, and the reason the antique wood glowed in the afternoon light was due to the wall of windows that looked out onto the pond. Sky lights let on either side of the loft that hovered just below the ceiling offered a view of the slowly darkening sky overhead.

It took both Nate and Leo two full turns to finally look down. And when they did, they found another surprise waiting for them.

"Hey, boys. You are alright?"

"George!" Leo cried.

"Felix!" Nate cried.

They ran to their old friends and Frankie couldn't help laughing at their enthusiastic embrace.

Johnny had known he needed the best if he was going to do the album right and when Frankie asked who that was, he had one answer for her.

George Briggs.

Frankie found out later that George had traveled with the boys during their last tour and was the only reason their final album got done. She arrived at the farm with her partner, Felix, three days before the boys did and had been prepping equipment in the studio ever since.

When the reunion excitement subsided, Leo looked from George to Felix to Nate to Frankie and finally to Johnny.

"Alright, then. Are we ready to work?"

Frankie looked to Johnny who looked back. They both looked to the boys and nodded.

"Let's get to work," Frankie said.

She put River down in her play pen and grabbed her guitar from where it hung on the wall next to old light wood one that Frankie had used all those years ago.

Johnny grabbed a guitar for himself and took a seat next to Frankie on one of the two couches set in the middle of the room. It Leo and Nate took a second to recognize the husband and wife writing duo that had formed over the years, now sitting before them. Once they managed to close their mouths, Leo and Nate grabbed their own instruments and took the sofa across from them.

"Alright, then," George said, nodding to Felix, "Let's get to work!"

The End

Acknowledgements:

Cute cute cute. Double cute. ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!! CCCUUUTTTEEE!!!

Quick note: did any one else recognize George Briggs???

Well if you didn't, she a reoccurring character in my little cinematic universe. I'm currently working on her origin story.

But until then, you can catch her in 'Across 2 Oceans' from my book 'Love Like The Movies' AND she may or may not have made a special cameo at the end of last year's Christmas book, 'Holidays In The Hamptons.' Both are available on my profile.

Oh! And Olivia Reeve! We can't forget about her! If you're curious, she's the lead protagonist in my book, 'Five Years of Fame'. So if you're curious about her story, her journey, how and why she started a record label, you can go check that book out on my profile!

Now back to our regular scheduled programming.

Wow. We made it you guys!! How are we doing? Everyone okay?

Okay. I've got some people to thank so just let me step up onto my soap box real quick.

First of all, I want to thank YOU! Yes, YOU!

Thank you for reading my book. Thank you for going along with me on this journey. Thank you to those of you who come back each year and make my Christmas time such a special time of the year because I get to share what I love with people who like it!

Posting this book has been such a fun experience. And to think I almost didn't have a book this year! But here we are, year four and going strong. Comment Christmas/holiday story ideas and maybe I'll write it next year!!

I have to say thank you to my wonderful family. I had a challenging year this past year, health-wise, and a particularly tough fall. I did not think I would even have the energy to write another Christmas story but here we are.

Grace, Joel, Kelly, you guys work so hard so that I can do what I love and I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you. You guys are the best support system a girl could ask for and I wouldn't be here without you guys.

@joymoment , you have been my number one cheerleader since DAY ONE! Remember Annie?! Look how far we've come!!

Chezzy, baby, mommy loves you and appreciates that you stay up late with her when she can't sleep. You are the best dog a girl could ask for and the bestest friend I've ever had.

To my momma. This fall was tough but you loved me through it. You never stopped loving me and you never stopped showering me with grace and forgiveness. Thank you for being the bestest mom I've ever had. I love you so much.

And finally, to the only reason I am who I am today, to the one person who has been with me through every trial, every sleepless night, every single heart ache. To the person who gave me this talent, who gave me this story, who gave me His life...

This one is for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

John 3:16-17 (KJV)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.