"Thank you!" Jo says, grinning as she hangs up.

"What was that about?" Lip asks, hanging up a fishing pole.

"I got a job at Big Loud in Nashville!"

"Hey! That's great!" He says, going to hug her but she pulls away. "What?"

"You stink." She responds, scrunching her nose up at him. "I ain't huggin' you when you smell like fish, dead worms and sweat."

"Oh, c'mon now. Don't be such a baby." Lip goes to hug her again but she pulls back. "Jo, give your brother a hug!"

"No!"

Lip grabs her with an arm around her waist, practically forcing her into a smelly hug. She shrieks, trying to wriggle her way out of his sunburnt arms but he's too strong.

"Mama! Make him stop!"

"Okay kids. C'mon now." Tommy says from the garage. He starts towards his kids and surprises them with an even bigger hug.

"Ugh! No, stop!" Jo squeaks from the middle of the embrace.

"Boys, c'mon now!" Lucy shouts from the porch. "Give her a break."

"Yuck."

Tommy and Lip laugh the same laugh which makes Lucy and Jo smile the same smile. "I got supper on, let's go!"

The three join the matriarch in the kitchen.

"So Jo, have you heard anything from Sean?"

"No, not since he moved to Nashville." She responds, picking at the fried catfish on her plate.

"What about Riley?" Lip asks, ignoring the looks from his folks.

It's still a sensitive subject.

Lucy and Tommy share a look. Their daughter was a completely different person when she was with Riley. She was happy- genuinely happy and since they broke up, she hasn't been the same.

Jo takes a deep breath in then exhales heavily as she stands. "I'm not very hungry."

"Jo, I didn't mean-"

"Nice goin' Phillip." Tommy scolds.

"Hey, it ain't his fault." Jo says. "It happens."

Lucy sighs as he watches her youngest head back into the house. "I know that Riley broke her heart but-"

"But? There ain't no but!" Tommy says. "That son of a bitch broke our little girl's heart!"

"But he made her so happy." Lucy finishes, giving her husband a look for interrupting her. "I don't blame her for breakin' up with him but I know that breakin' up hurt her more than the whole cheatin' thing."

"How's that?" Tommy raises a brow.

"If she just talked about it with him, they might still be together."

"Baby, that asshole broke her heart." Tommy repeats. "That asshole broke my baby girl's heart. They ain't gettin' back together."

"He still loves her." Lip comments.

"What?" The husband and wife say in unison.

"Y'all ain't on social media but he's been releasin' songs he wrote 'bout her."

"That's pretty damn ballsy." Tommy huffs. "I oughta go and beat the shit outta-"

"Tommy, stop." Lucy says, her hand on his shoulder. "Jo is an adult-"

"She's not an adult! She's my baby girl!"

"Dad, she's twenty one." Lip says.

"So!?" Tommy clears his throat. "She'll always be my little girl." He states as he stands. "I gotta unpack the cooler."

Lucy and Lip share a look.

"I hear ya, Mama." Lip sighs. "The only relationship experience she has was with Sean and we both know how that turned out."

"You're right, baby." Lucy sighs too.

+++

Jo sniffles as she looks at a framed picture she has of her and Riley. She couldn't bring herself to take it out of the frame.

She misses him, honestly.

Maybe they can just talk about it.

Maybe if they treat this like the adults they are, they'll get some kind of closure or something.

After living together for four years, it's so weird to be apart. She really needs to see him again.

+++

Riley cracks an eye open when he hears his phone ring. He gropes around his sheets for it but quickly gets frustrated when he can't find it.

"Where the hell- c'mon!" He shouts when it stops ringing as soon as he finds it. "Shit." He scrambles into a sitting position when he sees Jo called. He clumsily taps her name, hoping to catch her before they have to play phone tag. "Hel- hello? Jo?"

"Hey Riley."

He lets out a choked laugh, his heart assaulting his ribcage. "Jo. It's- it's so good to hear your voice."

She can't help the small smile that grows on her face. "We need to talk, in person."

"Absolutely." He agrees. "Are you still home or are you back in Nashville?"

"I'll be in Nashville next week." She says.

"I- I don't wanna wait that long to see you." He admits. "I can come up if you want."

Her smile grows. "Sure." She looks down at the picture in her lap. "You know where to find me." She says then hangs up.

Riley's face drops when he realizes she's gone again. He gets up and starts to shove some clothes into his old backpack then he's out the door to his truck.

He doesn't care if he seems desperate.

He wants her back.

He needs her back.

+++

"The hell do you want!?" Tommy snaps through the screen door when he sees Riley standing on the porch.

Riley is hit with a wave of déjà-vu. He can see where Lip gets his demeanor from. "I'm, uh, here to see Jo."

"No."

"But she-"

"It's okay, daddy." Jo says from behind him. "I invited him up."

"But-"

"I can handle this." She whispers, slipping past Tommy to the porch. "Thanks for comin' up."

Tommy stands behind the screen door, his eyes narrowing in on the tall guy talking to his little girl.

"Your dad is glarin' at me." Riley mumbles without moving his lips.

"You're lucky that's all he's doin'." Jo responds, sitting on a rocker around the corner.

Riley sits next to her, his hands noticeably shaking. "So whatcha wanna talk 'bout?" He asks, hoping his stupid question kicks the conversation into gear.

"I wanna know why." She states.

"Why..?"

She suppresses an eye roll. "Why you let her blow you and why you missed graduation."

Riley swallows hard. "I just happened." He mumbles. "But once I came to my senses, I got the hell outta there. I'm- I know it's a shitty reason but it's what happened. I had so much guilt- I had so much on my mind and I just lost track of the time and what day it was and-"

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"Is this- are you serious?"

"Yes. Me and that girl was just talkin' and she started flirtin' with me and one thing lead to another but I swear it- she just- it was like two seconds into it before I pushed her away." He runs a hand over his mouth and beard. "And I was so worried about how to tell you it just- the day slipped my mind."

She hardens her eyes on him, waiting for him to rub the back of his neck but it doesn't happen. "You swear that's what happened?"

"I swear that's what happened." His heart is still racing. "And she got let go the next day for tryna sleep with the building manager."

Jo keeps her exhausted eyes on him.

She's known him for four years. She can read him like a book. She knows when he's lying and she knows when he's telling the truth.

He's telling the truth.

"Come here." She says, standing.

Riley nervously gets to his feet.

Tears form in his eyes when she wraps her arms around him.

"Is- are we okay now?"

"Yeah." She nods. "But we ain't gettin' back together."

"What?"

"You broke my trust, Riley. I can't be with someone I don't trust no more."

He forces tears back as he nods. "I understand."

"Maybe in the future we could try this again but..."

"I understand." He repeats, his voice cracking.

He drove all the way to Newburgh from Nashville to be broken up with. This could've happened over the phone.

"I- I should go."

Jo rolls her lips into her mouth as a tear slips down her flushed cheek. "Bye, Riley." She manages out, tears of her own wavering behind a weak dam.

Lucy pokes her head out of the house and watches Riley drive away. "You okay?"

Jo nods weakly, tears now falling freely from her eyes. Lucy wraps her daughter in a comforting hug that only mothers can give. She gently strokes the back of her head while she cries against her shoulder.

"I still love him, Mama." She cries.

"I know, baby." Lucy whispers back. "But you did the right thing. It's best if y'all just take a break for now, clear your head."

Jo takes in a shaky breath and nods, wiping her eyes. "You're right, Mama. I start a new chapter of my life soon- a fresh start."

"That's right." Lucy says. "You can focus on your job and yourself now." She tucks a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear. "Everythin' is gon' be alright, Josephine."

+++

Mama was right.

Everything is going to be alright.

Jo is kicking ass at her job in Nashville.

Currently, she's sitting behind a soundboard with a pen in one and and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Hey," Michael Hardy, a sweetheart who is starting to move his way further into her inner circle, says as he closes the door behind her. "Is it cool if Sean Stemaly lays a few down?"

Jo's heart stutters. "Yeah, that'll work." She nods. "I'm here 'til six today."

"Cool." He nods. "Yeah, I helped write a song and he wants to record it. Figured I'd ask the best in the biz."

She laughs. "Whatever." She turns in her chair. "You wanna get lunch?"

"Sure. Lemme tell Morgan-"

"Ah, invite him. I need some time out with my friends."

Michael snorts. "Friends? It's more like we're your baby sitter or somethin' since you're so much younger than us."

"I'm not that much younger!"

Michael laughs as he shuts the door behind her, walking down the hallway to the lounge he's claimed as his own.

"Hey Morgan." Michael says when he swings the door open. "C'mon, let's get lunch."

+++

Morgan, Michael, and Jo are sitting at a table in the back corner of a small restaurant. There's a lot of laughing coming from the trio and it's nice.

It's been six months since Jo moved to Nashville and has been on her own and it's nice to be surrounded by positivity again.

And the boys both have girlfriends so she doesn't have to worry about them seeing her as anymore than just a coworker and friend.

"Oh, have y'all heard this song?" Morgan asks as he fishes his cell from his front pocket. "Check this out."

He gets a YouTube video queued up and hits play. It's a lyric video.

"Your two bare feet running through my yard to the driver side of your two door car, there was an oil stain on the concrete as you backed out into the street. I thought real hard about chasing you down as I watched your taillights fade on out and I never knew these boots could feel so damn heavy..."

Jo rolls her eyes as she looks down at her sandwich. Michael catches that.

"Who is that?" He asks, tapping on his screen. "Riley Green."

He glances up at Jo who's cheeks are red and her jaw is clenched.

"It's such a good song, man." Morgan says around a mouthful of burger. "He's got- it's such an original sound and it such a heart pullin' song and-"

"Can't believe you're buyin' that." Jo mutters, shaking her head.

"Huh?"

"It's such a bullshit song."

"Jo-"

"I gotta get back to work."

Jo stands after wiping her mouth and hands off with her napkin. She drops a twenty on the table then she's on her way back to the studio, frustrated tears forming in her throat.

She runs a hand through her hair as she sits down in her chair, dropping her head back against the headrest. She exhales heavily and closes her eyes.

There's a soft knock on the door.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, you okay?" Michael asks, quickly closing the door behind him.

"Yeah." She sighs back, running her hand over her face. "What's up?"

"You looked pissed at lunch."

"It's nothin'." She sighs again. "When is Sean comin'?"

"Couple minutes." He responds. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm okay." She smiles an obviously fake smile back.

The door opens and Sean appears.

"Hey." He says in that voice that always makes goosebumps rise on Jo's tan skin.

Sure, Sean's been an asshole to her but they dated for almost five years, lost their virginities together, each other's first kiss.

She was the first person to tell him I love you.

Their relationship is too complicated.

"Michael tells me you got a new song."

"Uh, yeah." Sean nods, setting down his guitar. "Yeah." He repeats. With shaky hands, he pulls a flash drive from his denim jacket pocket and hands it to his ex. "It's, uh, Come Back To Bed."

Jo turns to her laptop and plugs the flash drive in. "Go ahead and set up in there." She tells him, pointing vaguely at the booth.

When Sean starts singing, Jo glances back at Michael who's standing with his arms crossed comfortable across his chest.

As he continues to the chorus, she turns to her friend. "Did you write the words?"

"Nah, I helped write the music. Sean got the words."

Jo nods and licks her lips, turning back around to her board. She messes with the sound, bringing up the bass, turning down the tenor and overall pitch.

"Can you give us a second?" Jo asks Michael when Sean finishes the song.

"Sure, yeah." He says then slips out of the room.

Jo stands and heads into the booth, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Sean looks up from his phone, the bright screens highlighting his features handsomely. "What's up?" He asks, pulling one side of the headphones away from his ear.

Jo says nothing as she steps toward him, one hand on his side, the other grazing across his chest.

She leans up and kisses him, her hands moving to the back of his neck and the side of his face.

He kisses her back, pushing her back against the glass partition that's separating the booth from the rest of the studio. He brings one of her legs to hook over his hip, grazing from knee to hip then up her sweater. His fingers tug on the waistband of her work skirt.

The soft, squeaky noise she lets out has him smirking against her skin.

Michael pokes his head back into the studio. His jaw drops at the sight of the two getting frisky in the booth and quickly shuts the door.

Sean pulls away slightly, resting his forehead against hers as he pants. "I missed you." His breath fans across her lips making her eyes flutter closed.

"Come over tonight." She whispers back, breathing hard. "I need you."

He nods, his pink tongue poking out to wet his lips.

Those three words work on him every time.