You're Still the One Read Free Page A

time. The last thing I need is Stone catching me with another woman.” Grace side-eyed him. “Well, you know. One that doesn’t share my DNA.”
    Charlie’s luck with the fairer sex was nonexistent. Sure, the hookups were fine, but it was the aftermath that sucked. The latest hoopla took the prize, though, and it explained his presence here tonight.
    Usually, he stayed away from industry shindigs. They were for the birds, all glad-handing and sucking up, fake laughs and canned compliments. Not to mention the stupid clothes. But, as it turned out, there wasn’t much Charlie wouldn’t do when it came to securing his future. This side of legal, that is.
    Ignoring the hope-filled eyes trained in his direction, he turned to his sister. “Distract me,” he said. “Tell me something good. Anything that doesn’t involve photographers, mayors’ daughters, or scandalous headlines.” He glanced down at Grace, and his frown lines softened. “How’s my niece doing?”
    “Better,” she replied, her face transforming with a relieved smile. “Ever since your talk with her, Abby’s been real good. She carries that notebook you gave her everywhere she goes, jotting down her thoughts and who knows what, putting it all into lyrics.” Grace’s voice caught on the final word, and she paused to collect herself. A lump rose in Charlie’s throat. “I can’t thank you enough for whatever you said to her. Music has given her a way to get her emotions out of her head and onto paper. And that…God, Charlie. It means the world to us.”
    For the first time in months, the tightness in his chest lessened and Charlie was able to draw a deep breath. He’d been throwing a Hail Mary when he suggested it, hoping what worked for him would work for Abby, too. Music silenced the white noise, helped him make sense of the world. Hearing that it did the same for his niece, knowing that he gave her that outlet, was like a missing piece finally put back into place. It was a good first step in fixing the hurt that he’d caused.
    Grace put her hand on his arm. “She’s busting at the seams to come visit you this summer. She keeps telling her friends that her big famous uncle is gonna record her songs.”
    “It’ll be an honor,” he whispered, feeling a renewed sense of purpose.
    Helpless didn’t cover what it had felt like watching his strong, incredibly bright niece turn inward. First, it’d been the loss of her smile in their video chats. The same smile that had stolen his heart sixteen years ago when she was born. Then it was learning she’d withdrawn from dance and social clubs, knowing how much she loved being a social butterfly. But it took Abby being admitted to the hospital for anxiety-related vomiting and fatigue, and subsequently placed on antidepressants, for Charlie to get his ass on a plane and back out to Franklin. Back where he should’ve been all along.
    Kids today dealt with too much shit. Unrealistic expectations, bullying, social media. They didn’t have that crap when he was younger. When he’d needed to zone out, he headed to the lake and went fishing. Nowadays, kids hid behind computers and their phones…and then, they didn’t even talk on their phones. They texted. They posted pictures of kittens on Facebook, or tweeted snarky comments about society, but they didn’t share what bothered them. They held it close to their chest. Some of this he’d known from interacting with fans and watching TV, the rest he’d learned from Abby.
    It was because of her that Life & Lyrics was born.
    And that led to the monkey suit.
    The stupid pictures floating around wouldn’t stop his new foundation from getting off the ground. Grace just confirmed it; Life & Lyrics had the potential to help a lot of kids—teens like Abby—and though Charlie screwed up pretty much every aspect of his life other than the stage, he’d prove tonight that he could get his act together. Soon, with no new scandals added to the list, and the damn