~ Mine ~

You Keep Me Hangin' On

"You think you can drive the speed limit all the way to Springtown?" Brandon partially teased his little brother as he lifted the light blue Reba suitcase into the back of Reba's dark SUV.

"Why are you such an old man?"

"You know the unspoken rule is always five over right?" Shelby joked as he shut the trunk behind him, jostling it a bit to make sure it was secure against the bags they had just loaded in the back.

"Shelby, the speed limit, the entire way there." Brandon hounded, turning around to face Shelby.

"I got it 'Dad', she's my mom too ya know." He emphasized, patting his older brother's shoulder. Brandon took a big breath before shaking his head and pulling him in for a goodbye hug, slapping his back with both hands, and then quickly pulling away.

"I know you'll be safe, I just worry, being an 'old man' and all." He finished, mocking Shelby's previous comment.

"That and I suppose I love you and stuff." He added, causing Shelby to laugh again.

"I mean you're no Cal Naughton but I guess I love you too brother." He pestered, smiling when he caught glimpse of his brother's own half smile.

"There's my two ornery boys." Reba hollered as she and Kelly walked side by side and out to the SUV where Brandon and Shelby were.

"You mean 'boy', I'm an angel," Brandon smiled, causing Kelly to roll her eyes in disagreement.

"You think you got everything ready for the trip?" Brandon questioned once the four of them were all huddled around the running SUV. Shelby had left the vehicle on so that it could cool down before he and his mother got in.

"You sure you want to go?" He added a second later when Reba nodded in response to his first question.

"I'm sure honey, Mama's gonna make a time out of it and I think this will be good for me," she reassured, grabbing Brandon's arm, smiling sincerely.

"Since we can't change your mind, I set three dates for Kelly's book tour up around Oklahoma and Texas in July before and after the baby is due, so we'll be near when Mitten decides she's ready for her curtain call." He explained, taking a second to look over at Kelly, who nodded in agreement with her husband.

"Y'all really didn't have to do that," Reba said with a touched smile, pulling Kelly in for a small side hug.

"We wanted to." Kelly giggled back, insisting that it really wasn't a burden at all.

"You can't get rid of us no matter how hard you try," Brandon added, moving over so that he could hug his step-mother goodbye. He and Kelly had both discussed how nervous Reba going down to Oklahoma to have the baby made them but also agreed that they would be supportive in any decision she made. Brandon's solution had been to schedule book signings for Kelly around the area in the weeks before and after Baby McEntire's due date, in order to hopefully be as close as possible during her arrival.

"Even if we know you're only doing what you need to do to take care of your baby girl," Kelly added once Reba and Brandon had pulled away from one another.

"I'll keep you updated, promise!"

"Seth and I Facebook Time every couple of weeks anyway, you'll be the first to know when this one is ready to meet us." She reassured, patting her belly lovingly. Brandon, Shelby, and Kelly snickered softly in response to Reba's reply. They all knew she'd meant FaceTime, but that was just semantics right?

"All right, let's get this show on the road and burn some rubber... at appropriate speeds," Shelby said as he slapped his hands together, indicating that it was time for him and his mother to hit the road.