Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

Tanner cleared his throat and leaned forward, his expression
as serious as he could manage. "Hit it."
Matt began strumming the tune to the Eagles' "Desperado,"
and Hannah bit her lip to keep from laughing as she rolled her
eyes at jade. The music filled the deck, and Jade giggled in
Hannah's direction.
Four times the guys forgot the words, and three times Tanner
was noticeably off-key. Jade listened, covering her mouth whenever
she was tempted to laugh.
When it was over there was silence. Jade looked around and
saw Hannah run her tongue along the inside of her lip.
"So..." Hannah used her hands to show she was doing her best to understand. "Your act will be sort of an
offbeat, off-tune, missing-word impression of the Eagles? For all the hip concertgoers craving that type of
music, is that it?"
Matt grinned and pretended to hit her with the backside of his
guitar. "I told you, Tanner..."
"You did." Tanner lifted one shoulder.
"True artists get no respect."
Jenny laughed out loud, and the sound snapped what
remained of Jade and Hannah's restraint. Soon even Matt and
Tanner joined in, and when the laughter died down, Tanner
leaned closer to jade once more. "Fine. We'll keep our day jobs."
"I was going to say..." Hannah bit her lip. "Good thing."
336
H A L F W A Y
Matt shook his head in mock disdain. "If we're not ready for the road, at least we can take requests." He
tapped Grace's knee. "Okay, sweetheart, what do you want me to sing?"
Grace lowered her chin, and batted her eyelashes at Matt. Old McDommer's Farm,' Daddy. Pleeeease!"
Jade's heart swelled as she watched the scene. Grace had come so far since her return to the Bronzans'
home. Patsy Landers had been out for a visit already, and there was even talk of her moving to California
to be closer to Grace. But never, no matter what, would she ever tell her troubled daughter about Grace's
whereabouts. It was part of the deal they'd made six months earlier.
Matt made a sweeping bow at Grace. "Your wish is my command." Hannah chuckled and leaned into the
circle, pretending to share private information with the rest of them. "That's for sure... "`Old McDonald' it
is." The melody sprang from Matt's guitar as he worked his fingers over the strings.
When they were done, they did "Jesus Loves Me" for Grace's second request, and a silly camp song for
Ty. When the children were finished making requests, Matt angled his head toward jade, his eyes more
serious than before.
"Okay, jade, you're the reason we're all celebrating." He gave her a gentle, knowing smile. "How about
you?"
Tanner took her hand, and she leaned her head back, staring at the starry sky and trying to imagine what
song summed up the wealth of love and hope and joy in her heart.
Then she knew exactly what she wanted to sing "I've got it." She grinned at Matt. "`Great is Thy
Faithfulness."'
"Ahhh." Hannah nestled closer to Matt and gazed at him for a long moment. "Our favorite song."
The air between them filled with a sense of quiet holiness as
339 Matt began to play. The music mixed with the sound of the distant surf and jade closed her eyes as