Mayfly Melodies

Epilogue

Bailey

Country music, in particular, is a powerful and unifying force that inspires individuals to action and initiates the process of healing in times of personal tragedy—Ed Hardy

In the early dawn light on an oddly chilly morning in October, the little blue Volkswagen bug was in the process of being loaded. It was stuffed to the brim, two guitars and a few suitcases, a duffle bag and a cooler filled with provisions that would last the two travelers the ten-hour drive to Nashville.

As Bailey shoved her purse into the backseat, into the last little pocket of space available, Noah approached from behind her. Without hesitation, he slipped his arms around her waist and drew her towards him.

"Everything packed up?" he asked. His voice was low in her ear and sent tingles racing up her spine.

"Yeah," Bailey said. She twisted so that she was facing him and tried to ignore the slight grimace that shot across his face as she hit one of his bruises.

It had been a long six weeks since the fire had devastated the Hartley ranch and it was a time that had been spent with much healing — physically and emotionally. Noah had been dealing with his injuries—the gunshot wound had taken a lot out of him but he was rebounding nicely—and both he and Caroline had been forced to endure a second home being burnt to the ground. This time; however, there had been no casualties, aside from Walter Reid, and it had made the ordeal much easier to bear.

The house had been mostly rebuilt. After the attack, Noah had been confined to his hospital bed in Tulsa for a week before he'd been discharged. Once they'd arrived home, after a long three-hour drive, they'd found the Hartley ranch in various stages of construction. The community had rallied around Noah and Caroline with people donating money and belongings to build and furnish the house. They had even gone so far as to tear down the old rickety barn that was riddled with bad memories and construct a new one that was sturdy and welcoming. While construction on the house was still on-going, it would be move-in ready in just a few weeks.

Noah and Caroline had taken to the Grant household while they waited for construction to be finished. Jake had temporarily gone to live with Piper—though Bailey suspected that their shared housing situation could quickly become more permanent—leaving Caroline in Jake's bedroom. Noah was sharing Bailey's room, though for the first few weeks she had mostly resorted to crashing on the floor in a sleeping bag in order to be mindful of Noah's injuries. It had only been recently that she'd moved into the bed with him.

Bailey didn't think that she'd ever been prouder to come from Tishomingo. Whatever hold city life had on her, it was nothing compared to the feeling of belonging she had whenever she crossed the county line on her way home.

And while she was proud of her hometown, it was now time to leave it. Her debut album, The Dirt Road Home, had been released four weeks earlier and the label had been pushing for her to begin making television and radio talk-show appearances. Julio and David had been more than understanding when Noah had been in the hospital, making sure that Bailey didn't have anything to worry about but him, but now that he was mostly back on his feet, it was time to get down to business.

For the next few weeks, she would be making public appearances by way of performances, interviews, and autograph signings in order to boost up her blossoming solo career. The album, so far, had been accepted warmly with over a hundred-thousand copies purchased in the first month alone. The critics were few and far between and many people had been commenting on the organic and traditional country feel that the album had. It was exactly what Bailey had been going for and she couldn't be more delighted of how it had all turned out.