“You probably think I’ve got a lot of nerve getting up to speak, but… I owe these guys,” Eric said, dashing a fist across his face. “Cord and Shallie and especially Carly have been friends. And I owe my uncle Eli. And my mom… Thank you!”

Russ came up to the stage then and took the mic from Eric. “I know this isn’t supposed to be a public speech-making thing. I just want to say that I consider myself part of Shallie’s original family. She’s my cousin, so now I feel I’m part of her new family, too. The best thing that’s happened to me in years was Shallie coming back to Painted Pony this past June. It changed my life. Thank you, Shallie.”

Not surprisingly, this brought applause, too.

As he finished, Julie hurried toward Cord and Shallie and asked in a low voice if they were okay with her speaking. “Definitely,” he responded.

“Thank you,” she said, swallowing visibly and stepping up to the makeshift podium; Cord passed her the microphone.

“I’m Julie Daniels. At one time I was Julie Hollister. I was married to Toby, Cord’s dad, and then…he died. Cord ended up living here with his grandparents.” There were more than a few gasps from the audience. “On behalf of my daughter, Kathleen, my husband, Chris, and myself, I want to say that we offer my son, Cord, his wife-to-be, Shallie, and his daughter, Carly, our love.”

Bringing Lindsey with her, Carly rushed over to Kathleen, hugging her tight. The three young women maneuvered their way through the crowded room, edged past Brynne and went into the kitchen to talk.

CORD ANNOUNCED A short break, and that was when The GateCrashers began tuning up, and Aaron said that any comments they had would come in the form of songs.

The first was “Girl from the North Country,” followed by the ever-popular “I Walk the Line” and “One of These Days.” Carly sang “Mother and Nature,” the song she’d written about Reba. Aaron then asked her to perform her newest number. The music started, and she turned to grin at the band. “Here we go.

“I love them all

My new mom and my dad,

My uncles, too, and all my friends

Who’ve kept me from feeling sad.

Friends like Kathleen and Lindsey

And even Eric.

I love Tina and Mitch and Susan

And…

Sorry, Eric, couldn’t find a rhyme for your name.

But, hey, I’m not to blame!”

That brought laughter and a few hoots.

“I love M.J., Len and Holly,

Meg and her cats—and oh, golly.

The GateCrashers!”

She gestured toward them, which once again generated applause and cheering.

“I love Painted Pony Creek.

Here you’ll find whatever you seek.

I love every dog and cat and horse

Love my new school—

“Well, I don’t know where to end. What rhymes with school other than fool?”