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he pretended to double over.  
    “I think it’s wonderful Amelia Ann and Clayton are acting like they just returned from their honeymoon,” his wife told him.
    “How can people keep acting like they’re still on their honeymoon, Uncle Rye?” Rory asked, running off the deck and hugging his idol. “Are my mama and daddy acting like that too?”
    Tory coughed and gave him a stern look. Sadie couldn’t blame her. Rory might be wise beyond his years, but he was still a little boy.
    Rye picked Rory up and tossed him into the air. “Remember how I’m always telling you about the idiosyncrasies of adults?”
    Annabelle ran off the deck as well and hugged Jake’s leg. She’d taken him under her wing as soon as Susannah had started bringing him around to family events. Dressed in a pink dress with a blue ribbon running along the hem, she looked like a tiny version of her mama. “Are you talking about those idiot things adults do again, Uncle Rye?” she asked, clearly eavesdropping like she was wont to do.
    Tory gave Rye a look. “Idiot, indeed. I know your uncle is hoping to expand your vocabulary because he thinks Southerners and idiosyncrasies go hand in hand, but it’s still a pretty big word for kids your age.”
    Rory shook his head. “It sure is. I’ve been practicing and practicing it, but Annabelle’s right. It’s easier to remember idiot than idiosync—” His face scrunched up as he tried to pronounce it.
    “And we can say that word,” Annabelle told them with a conspiratorial smile. “Mama just won’t let us say stupid. Because it’s not nice. Right, Uncle Jake?”
    He picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. “That’s exactly right, sweet pea.”
    “Sweet pea,” Annabelle all but purred. “I like that. We pick them right out of Mama’s vegetable garden.”
    “Heavenly for sure,” Sadie told her, tapping her on the nose and making her laugh. “I’m going inside to see if Tammy wants any last-minute help preparing dinner. Tory, you stay out here and sit a spell.”
    “Like that will work,” Rye said, waggling his brows at his wife. “I keep telling her to sit down when she’s cooking, but she won’t listen, even though she’s in her third trimester. I imagine she’ll be cooking bread or something the day our baby makes its grand entrance.”
    “You met me when I was cooking in a diner, Rye Crenshaw, so you shouldn’t act all surprised. Cooking relaxes me, and I need to keep myself occupied since you decided to push back your usual summer tour because you were afraid of traveling from city to city with me while I’m pregnant.”
    “I’m at a place in my career when I can hold off touring for a while,” Rye said, cupping her cheek. “You and the baby are the most important things in my life.”
    Tory smiled and smoothed the hair from his forehead. “That’s why I married you. But I’m still going inside with Sadie. I love being in the kitchen.”
    “I’ll come along with you,” Susannah offered.
    “I’m staying with the men,” Annabelle informed them all in a serious tone. “They need a woman’s influence.”
    “Where in the world do you hear things like that, sugar?” Rye asked her, shaking his head.
    “From you, Uncle Rye,” Rory informed him. “It’s in your latest song, ‘Sons and Daughters.’”
    “It sure is,” Rye said, slapping his knee. “Y’all keep me on my toes. Come on, let’s take a walk to your tree house before we’re called in to eat.”
    The kids ran off, hooting and hollering like kids do, and Rye and Jake followed suit.
    “They’re going to make great fathers,” Sadie said, turning toward her sister and Tory. “I’m so happy for y’all.”
    “Me too,” Tory said, and Susannah simply gave her a stunning smile. “Anything interesting happen this week? I had a man at the grocery store try and touch my belly. What is it with people trying to touch pregnant women’s bellies, anyway? I mean, would I go up to you and pat