Bumpy Roads Lead to Beautiful Destinations

Moving On

Brantley's POV

It had been 8 months since Johnny died. We could tell that Kylie was moving on. And momma loves her. It was funny to see how much they got along in both the mischievous way and friendship way. Right now, we were having Jason, Brittany, Luke, and Caroline over for dinner. They were gonna be here in about an hour. We all kind of adopted Auto. And that girl could fix a car like nobody's business. She has been living with me and Amber since that day and she has slowly been changing our lives. Amber came down the stairs with her finger over her lips telling me to hush for a second. She grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the stairs. I heard someone singing All-American Girl by Carrie Underwood.

"She can sing. And really really good," Amber whispered to me, "did you know that?" I held my mouth open and shook my head. She was only 16 years old and sounded amazing. Tonight we tell her the big news. I bet this would be really good for her. Especially since it was good with everyone else.

Auto's POV

I finished blow drying my hair after stepping out of the shower and put on my shorts and tank top. My body was looking better. Most of scares were fading — both mentally and physically. I had gotten a little bigger so I wasn't skin and bones like I was 8 months ago. I gained 20 pounds in muscle, so I was still thin but had some muscle on me now. Amber and Brantley were like my parents now. They took care of me like they were. Luke and Jason were like my uncles and Brittany and Caroline were like my aunts. My family was starting to come together.

Uncle Dave, last time I heard, still hadn't been caught for destroying part of my life. But if he ever showed up, the guys said they would give him a reason to never show his face to anyone again.

All-American girl started playing and so I started singing it as I walked my bedroom that Brantley had made for me and Amber had designed for me. Just as it ended, I finished doing my makeup, which was simple. Foundation and mascara. That's it. And that's how I liked it. Simple and natural looking.

I looked up from the mirror to see Brantley looking surprised at me. It scared me a little bit.

"Sorry, sweetie. But I didn't know you could sing like that." He said.

"Johnny used to say that I got three things from my momma. My looks, my temper, and my singing voice." I said as I chuckled.

"That's amazing, it sounds amazing. Umm, Amber sent me up here to get you to tell you that your uncles and aunts are here." He smiled when he saw me smile and I said thanks. We walked down the stairs. I walked in the kitchen and laughed when I got a big bear hug from all of them.

"So. I heard you can sing." Luke said. I laughed.

"I guess mom and dad heard me singing a few seconds ago when..." I cut myself off and I knew I had a look of both shock and I didn't just say that look on my face right now. I then felt a couple of people hugging me. I looked up to see Amber crying and Brantley with tears in his eyes.

"That's it. I can finally say it. She's not dating til she's 40." Brantley said with a laugh as Amber hit him in the arm. Luke and Jason yelled agreed at the same time and I just laughed.

"I'm just glad to think that you think of us as your parents, honey." Amber said to me. "We love you." I hugged her as my eyes started to well up with tears.

"Alright. I'm hungry. Let's start the grill." Luke said. I just laughed.

The night was so much fun. I started to yawn around 9:30 since I was around the fire with a blanket around me.

"So, Auto," Luke said.

"We talked about it earlier," Jason said.

"And since we heard you singing earlier, we were wondering if you would like to go on tour with us," Brantley finished. I jumped up screaming and said yes a bunch of times. Everyone started laughing and clapping. "Now, you may not be able to sing with us, but you will hang out with us. Is that okay?"

"Totally. Yes! Yes! Yes!" I said. I was so excited.