“You sure made things worse by having those babies just before I left,” she said with a weak grin. “Thanks for that.”

He grimaced. “I’m sorry. Hey! Did anyone remember to say happy birthday?”

She laughed. “No!”

“Happy birthday to you—” he sang.

She held up a hand to stop him. “Leave the singing to me, please.” They settled into companionable silence for a while. “Thanks for doing this, Dad. I know it’s a bad time for you to be away from home.”

“I’m eagerly anticipating six full nights of sleep, but don’t tell Andi I said that.”

Kate laughed. “Your secret’s safe with me. So how long will it take to get there?”

“About seventeen hours in a regular car. In this tank, who knows? Probably more like twenty. We’ll see how it goes. If we’re getting tired, we can stop for the night. I talked to my friend Reid yesterday, and he insisted we use the guesthouse at his place in Brentwood until we move you into your apartment. He said we can get there any time, and it’s ready for us.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“He’s a good guy. Uncle Jamie and I had a lot of fun with him at Berkeley, but I haven’t seen him since then. Jamie was better at keeping in touch with him than I was. In fact, it was Jamie’s idea for me to call him.”

“Is he an architect, too?”

“I think he keeps up his license, but he’s ventured more into real estate development. From what I hear, he’s been hugely successful at it.”

“Does he have a family?”

“He’s got a son, who has to be twenty-five by now. Reid got married the same week we graduated from Berkeley, and his son was born that year. The son is an attorney, and he lives in the same apartment complex where your place will be.”

“Is Reid still married?”

Jack shook his head. “His wife died young in a car accident. I remember when it happened. It was really sad because his son was just a little guy at the time.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing him.”

As Kate talked with her dad, she felt her sadness shift back to excitement. She was finally on her way to Nashville.

Part II: Forward March

The command that tells the group to begin marching forward.

Chapter 10

“Kate.” Jack nudged her. “Wake up.”

She stretched. “Where are we?”

“A couple of miles outside the city. You can see it, though.”

As Kate took her first-ever look at Nashville, she wondered if she would find what she was looking for somewhere amid the lights and buildings that made up Music City USA’s nighttime skyline.

“What time is it?”

Jack choked back a yawn. “Almost two.”