Inside, Hux is helping a nineteen-year-old Caleb strap on his guitar. Colt is trying to rally our two daughters—thirteen-year-old Annie, named after Annie Lennox, and twelve-year-old Ella, after Ella Hooper, of course—for yet another family portrait.
“Annie, Ella, c’mere,” Colt says.
“Daaad,” Annie groans, already knowing what’s coming.
“Just one more before practice,” Colt insists, wrapping his arm around my waist as I join him.
“Okay, fine,” Ella says, sighing dramatically. “But no more after this. You’re killing our rock and roll vibe, Dad.”
“I am rock and roll, girl. Just remember where you learned it,” he says with a wink, positioning them in front of us as he pulls out his phone.
“Whatever! You’re so lame,” Ella mutters, but she leans in anyway.
“Ready?” Colt asks.
“Yes, just take it,” Annie huffs, throwing up a peace sign with her tongue out while Ella gives a wide-eyed pose. Colt and I smile, and he clicks the cell.
“Okay, just one more,” he says again, making us all groan and laugh.
“Oh my God,” the girls groan in unison, leaning back in as Colt lines up the next shot.
Just as he’s about to take it, I kiss him. The cell phone flashes. The girls groan once more for added emphasis.
“Great!They’re making out again,” Ella gripes as Anna and Johnny laugh from the doorway.
“Okay, okay, off you go,” Colt chuckles, pocketing his phone and pulling me closer. The girls race off to strap on their guitars while Johnny sets Aston up on bass.
“Remember the crash cymbal this time, Chad,” Dingo tells his son, named, of course, after Nirvana’s Chad Channing.
“Shut up, Dad. I got this,” Chad fires back.
Dingo ruffles his hair. “Yeah, you do.”
“Chad! Don’t talk to your father like that. And Dingo, don’t let him talk to you like that,” Sia scolds, settling into a chair with their four-year-old twins on her lap.
“Okay, you guys ready?” Caleb calls as he steps up to the front mic.
“What song?” Ella asks, flipping her sheet music. She’s the only one who still uses it, the others just wing it.
“Let’s do the new one,” Caleb chimes.
The kids all nod.
Caleb turns to us dramatically. “Okay, parents and other un-cool people, we’reStaked, and we’re gonna rock your socks off. This one’s called “Don’t Mess with the Best!””
Macy chuckles when Hux throws up devil horns, and the band kicks off.
They’re actually really good for their ages, for the time they’ve had. Annie and Ella might not be ours by blood, but the love of music runs deep.
And they’ve learned from the best.
Colt wraps his arms around my waist from behind, and we sway together, listening to the kids’ first official ‘concert,’ and I couldn’t be prouder.
Hux and Macy are trying for another baby, much to Caleb’s horror. He was young when everything happened, and he doesn’t remember much. He just knows his Uncle Colt loves him endlessly. Grace’s transplant went perfectly. Hux was a mess in the beginning, but when fatherhood clicked, it clicked. He and Macy got together not long after, and surprisingly, they’re perfect for each other.
Colt and Macy don’t talk much, but he and Hux?Stronger than ever.
Anna and Johnny are still the solid gold couple we all aspire to be. Our kids all get along great—Annie and Aston a littletoowell. I’ve got my eye on them. But if my daughter’s gonna fall for anyone, I’d want it to be someone raised by Anna and Johnny.
