A Song for the Season

A Christmas Surprise

The next morning, Tenney wakes to a world gone bright. She hurries to the window and finds thick snow blanketing the parking lot below, but the sky has turned a dazzling, clear blue. The storm has passed, which means they might make it home for Christmas after all.

Tenney wishes Dad a “Merry Christmas!” and he tells her how proud he is that she turned a rough situation around and helped so many stranded travelers find their holiday spirit. Tenney privately thinks the diner show helped Logan and her even more, though she isn’t ready to admit how unsure she still feels about whether it saved Tenney & Logan for good. Dad sighs, adding that they still need to see if the roads are cleared and if the swamped mechanic even got to their van yet.

Dad’s phone buzzes with a text from Zane. Everyone downstairs in half an hour to head to the garage. They hurry down to the lobby, where Zane and Logan are already waiting, Zane tipping his porkpie hat in greeting. Diana rushes in with hot chocolate, coffee, and a bag of muffins and egg sandwiches. Since their music brought the snowed-in guests such joy last night, she wants to give it to them as a thank you. She pulls Tenney into a hug, calling her and Logan something special.

The shuttle carries them to the garage, where a few people stand outside in the cold, their breath billowing in frozen clouds. Tenney doesn’t spot their van anywhere. Then Vernon steps out from behind a red SUV, wiping his hands on his jumpsuit, teasing that working so hard on Christmas morning made him forget all about their van. Tenney is horrified for a moment before his grin reveals their real present is parked across the lot, shining in the sun. Word of their concert reached him through the hotel grapevine and inspired him to finish the repair early. Tenney squeals so loudly that Logan covers his ears. After Zane pays and shakes his hand, Vernon sends them off with word that the highway is finally clear.

As they pull away, sipping hot chocolate, Zane tells them how impressed he’s been with the whole tour despite its bumps. They laugh over the low points, like the show with the tiny choir singers and the missed gig in Thompson’s Station, before he grows serious. It’s about time they put together a real record.

Tenney can’t bring herself to look at Logan, terrified that even a great final show might not be enough to convince him to keep going. Logan stares out the window, then floats the idea that the record’s first track should be Tenney’s new song. Tenney blurts “Yes!” before he even finishes, and Logan bumps his fist against her stomach, both of them grinning.

Zane switches on the radio, and Belle Starr’s voice fills the van, singing about knowing who you are and loving what you see. Tenney smiles, thinking about how far they’ve traveled since opening for Belle two months earlier. Touring turned out to be one of the hardest things she’s ever done, but she’s proud they’re ending it on such a high note. She finally understands Belle’s old superstition: their disastrous opening night did shape a tour full of rough patches, but last night’s hotel show is the one she will carry in her heart forever.