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CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

JEFF

I walked into the Oasis with Luke in my arms and Ari at my side. My baby boy, the love of my life, was two months old.

Ari looked beautiful, and just by looking at her, I would have never known she had a baby two months ago. She’d been riding Star and Sweet Pea bareback for weeks, and she seemed to be in heaven now that she could ride again.

I looked around for Gunner and Ellie.

“There they are!” Ari said, pointing to where they were standing in the waiting area.

We walked up to Gunner and Ellie and saw Jack, Grace, Emma, and Garrett with them.

“So, the gangs all here now,” Garrett said with a wink.

“Let me hold that baby,” Emma said as I handed Luke over to her.

Grace and Emma walked over to a bench and sat down.

When I put my hand on Ellie’s growing belly, I instantly felt the baby kick. Ellie and I both started to laugh.

“Still not going to find out?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“Ells, have you talked to Heather? How is she doing?” Ari asked.

Ellie’s smiled faded, and she looked at Gunner.

“I don’t know. Lynda now seems to be having some kind of mental breakdown, so Josh still hasn’t called it off with her. Heather is trying to act like she’s okay, but I know she’s dying inside. She went on a date the other day.”

“What? Why would she do that?” Ari asked in a panicked voice.

I pulled Ari closer to me and held on to her.

“I think she’s lonely, Ari. She’s so confused on what she should do. She loves Josh, but clearly, Lynda is not going to give up that easily.”

Ari said, “I think it’s time we kick some ass. Stupid bitch. Why does she want a guy who she knows wants to be with someone else? Douche-twat. Oh, sorry, Gunner. I know she’s your cousin.”

Gunner laughed and held up his hands.

“Hey y’all!” Heather said as she walked up and hugged everyone. “We’re a back room on the second floor.”

We all followed Heather into one of the larger rooms. I knew a few of the people, but most were friends of Heather’s aunt, uncles, and cousins or friends of Heather’s parents.

***

We talked, we laughed, and celebrated Heather’s graduation from UT. With the absence of her parents, I could tell that this happy occasion was very emotional for her family. Despite any sad thoughts, her grandfather seemed to be very proud of Heather.

I leaned over to Gunner. “Josh isn’t coming, I take it.”

“I talked to him earlier. Lynda had some kind of breakdown, and he couldn’t leave her.”

“Dude, does he know she’s playing him for a fucking fool?”

“Jeff!” Ari said as she punched me in the arm. “Don’t swear in front of the baby.”

“He’s two months old, Ari. I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to know what fuck means.”

Just then, Matthew who was sitting on the other side of Ari, called out, “I wanna be a mudder.”

Ari quickly turned and started to tickle Matt before she whispered something into his ear.

She turned back and glared at me. Gunner let out a laugh, and I had to bite my cheek to keep myself from laughing, too.

Heather’s uncle stood up to make a toast. As he was talking, Heather let out a gasp. She was staring straight ahead, and we all turned to see Josh standing in the doorway smiling at Heather. She got up and walked over to him. He whispered something in to her ear, and the next thing I knew Heather flew into his arms.

I turned around to see everyone watching them.

Then, louder than she meant to, Ari said,

“Shit, it’s about fucking time.”

Right on cue, Matt started singing,

“I wanna be a mudder fuckin’ cowboy!”

Ari, Sue, and Grace all said at once, “Matthew!”

CHAPTER SIXTY

ARI

December

“Can you believe he’s six months old?”

Jeff let out a laugh as he crawled after Luke on the floor.

“Nope. The little monster is fast as shit.”

I tried to keep up with them as I videotaped Jeff and Luke.

“So, should we go shopping for more toys for Santa to bring?”

Jeff looked up at me with the biggest smile on his face. I swore I’d never seen a man who loved to go shopping for toys like Jeff did. I think he liked the stuff more than Luke.

“Do you even need to ask that, Ari? Hells yeah, my little buddy needs more stuff. Don’t forget. I want to find something really cool for Matt.”

“As long as it doesn’t make too much noise. The drum set you got him drove my mother and father insane.”

I saw the smile spread across Jeff’s face, and I knew he bought that thing just to piss off my father.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Jeff jumped up to get it.

“Heather! What brings you here?”

“Hey! Just wanted to come for a visit.”

Heather walked into the living room and immediately went down to the floor as Luke crawled up to her and got in her lap.

“Oh my gosh, you’re getting so big, my little man!” She looked up at me and smiled.

I knew something was wrong. Her beautiful blue eyes were…dead. I hadn’t seen her sad in months. Josh had left Lynda at the end of August after he’d had enough of her crazy bullshit. Heather got a job teaching first grade at the elementary school in Fredericksburg while Josh’s furniture business was growing in Austin. I knew they tried to see each other as much as possible and Josh was ready to move the business to Fredericksburg just to be with Heather.

“Is everything okay?”

Just then, the phone rang.

Jeff ran into the kitchen and picked it up.

“What? Right now? You have to take her to Fredericksburg, Gunner! No, not Austin…don’t drive…meet me at the main house. Dude, calm down. We’ll be right there.”

He hung up the phone, looked at me, and then to Heather on the floor.

“Ellie’s water just broke.”

Heather and I both let out a scream, and then Luke screamed and clapped his hands. I reached down and grabbed Luke. It’s about time! Ellie was overdue and ready to pop any day.

“Let me change his diaper really quick,” I said.

I grabbed a few things for Luke while Jeff and Heather were getting baby food ready in the kitchen. We had a plan. When Ellie went into labor, Jenny and Aaron were going to watch Luke for us. I grabbed my cell and did a fist pump when I saw I had a signal. I called Jen, told her about Ellie, and said we would drop off Luke in a few minutes.

By the time we got to Emma and Garrett’s place, Emma was sitting on the porch with Ellie.

Heather and I ran up, and I fell to my knees next to my very best friend, who had a huge pregnant belly. I could look at Ellie from behind and never known that she was pregnant, but when she turned around, she was all baby in the front.

“Hey, baby, how are you feeling?” I asked.

“Fine, Emma here is distracting me with a story, so I’m okay.”

Emma who rolled her eyes, and I let out a giggle.

“Ellie needs to take some deep breaths, girls. Can you stay with her while I go in with Garrett? He’s about to beat the hell out of my grandson.”

“Ah…okay.” Heather said.

I looked at Ellie as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Ells, are you okay?” I asked.

“No, I want to have the baby in Austin, but I don’t think I’m going to make it, so we have to go to Fredericksburg.”

“Alright, babe. Why are we just sitting on the porch? And why is Garrett about to beat the hell out of Gunner? I think we should probably be on the way to the hospital, honey, don’t you?”

Ellie let out a laugh. “Yeah, I think we should...oh shit, here comes another one.”

I looked at Heather. “Can you go into the house and see what the fuck is going on?”

Heather nodded and went inside.

“Ellie, baby, just take deep breaths. Come on, let’s walk over to Gunner’s truck. Can you get into the truck?” I pulled her up and held on to her as we made our way to Gunner’s truck.

“Yep,” Ellie said between breaths.

“Is your bag in the truck, Ells?”

“Yeah, I put it in there the other day because I was worried I’d forget it.”

Sounds like Ellie.

I helped her into the truck. “Do you need a pillow or anything?”

“Nope, I just need Gunner. Please, Ari, can you go get him? I can’t breathe.”

I smiled at the thought of how only Gunner could calm Ellie down.

“Okay, baby, I’m going to go get his ass right now. He’ll sit back here with you while Jeff drives. Heather will follow us.”

“Sounds good, but I really think we need to hurry.”

I jumped out of the truck and started to make my way back to the house. Jeff came walking out with Gunner, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

“What the hell happened?” I asked, confused.

Gunner was holding a bag of ice to his head. When he pulled it away, he already had a huge black eye.

“Stupid bastard passed out and hit his eye on the table,” Garrett said as he threw his head back and laughed his ass off.

Gunner turned and looked at him.

“Thanks, Gramps, thanks a lot.”

“Okay, boys that’s enough. Gunner get in that truck with Ellie.” Emma said. She turned to Heather. “I called Grace and Jack, and they’re leaving from Austin and will meet us at the hospital.”

After we got Gunner in the truck, Jeff and I jumped in.

Ellie turned to Gunner. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jeff looked over at me and smiled. I’d never known Gunner to be nervous or scared of anything. I thought back to when I’d gone into labor and how Jeff reacted. Jeff reached across and grabbed my hand.

I turned around to see that Ellie had her head on Gunner’s chest. He was softly singing to her. My heart started pounding. Ellie was about to have the baby she so desperately wanted.

As Jeff drove to the hospital, I looked out the window at the beautiful country side. Then, I thought about Heather.

Something was very wrong, and I needed to talk to her as soon as possible. Right now Ellie and the baby were my main concern.

“Gunner, will you please stop singing?” Ellie asked.

“Sure, baby, but I thought you loved it when I sang to you.”

Jeff and I looked at each other.

“You’re driving me fucking nuts with that song. Just please stop.”

I let out a giggle. Jeff smiled as glanced at Ellie and Gunner in the rearview mirror.

He reached over and turned his iPod on. Keith Urban’s “A Better Life” came on.

“Yes! I love this song.” Ellie called out.

Jeff looked straight ahead and let out a small laugh.

“Let the fun begin,” he said as he squeezed my hand.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

GUNNER

Ellie seemed to be so much more relaxed after they gave her the epidural. My mom and dad made it, and they were in the waiting room with Gramps and Grams.

Of course, Gramps and dad laughed their asses off when Gramps retold the story of me passing out and hitting my eye on the table.

I tried to explain many times that I’d tripped and got knocked out when I hit the table, but it didn’t matter. Gramps changed the story every time he told it, and he’d already told three nurses, a doctor, and one intern.

A young guy walked into the room with one of the nurses. I smiled at both of them while they walked up to Ellie and looked at me.

“Mr. Mathews, Mrs. Mathews.”

“Please call me Ellie.”

“Ellie, it is,” The young guy said.

He couldn’t have been but a few years older than me.

“Gunner,” I said as I reached out and shook his hand.

“I’m Dr. Johnson.”

Ellie let out a laugh. “Hey, that’s my maiden name!”

I took a step back. “You’re the doctor? Like as in the doctor who’s going to deliver little bear?”

“Little bear? Is that what we call the baby?” Dr. Johnson asked.

“How old are you, dude? Have you ever even delivered a baby before? Are you even out of medical school?”

“Gunner!” Ellie said as she gave me a dirty look.

Dr. Johnson let out a laugh. “Well, Gunner, I’m thirty-three years old with three kids of my own. Yes, I’ve delivered my fair share of babies. And I’ve been out of medical school for five years now.”

Ellie shot me another look.

I sat down in the chair and just stared at the doctor.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You just look really young. Please forgive me.”

He let out a laugh and looked at the monitor.

“Ellie, can you feel the contractions at all?”

“I can feel pressure.”

“Okay. Well I’m going to take a look to see how you’re coming along, okay?”

Ellie nodded her head.

After a few minutes he stood back up and smiled.

“Ellie, are you ready to get this show on the road?”

Ellie smiled. “Yes.”

“Then, let’s get little bear out and into the big world, so he can meet his mommy and daddy.”

I jumped up. “What? Now? We’re going now?”

Dr. Johnson looked at me as he took a few steps toward me. “Dude, it’s going to be alright. Take deep breaths and just be there for your wife. I’ve got the baby part down. I wouldn’t want you to pass out again.” He winked at me before he turned to the nurse and started talking to her.

Damn it, Gramps. What? Is he just walking around telling everyone?

***

For the next three hours, I stood next to Ellie while she exhausted herself from pushing. Finally, at two minutes after four, I heard the first cries from our baby.

“Well, your little bear is a girl. Congratulations, y’all.” Dr. Johnson said as he held up our baby for us to see.

When I looked at Ellie, she was crying. I felt the tears rolling down my face as I looked over at little bear. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life.

Dr. Johnson asked, “Mr. Mathews, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?”

Speechless, I just nodded my head with a smile.

***

A nurse took the baby over to a table to clean her up. While the doctor was fixing up Ellie, she kept looking around him to watch the nurse was doing.

After the doctor was done with Ellie, he helped her to sit up.

The nurse came over, holding my sweet baby girl.

“Dad, your daughter would like to meet you face to face.”

I held out my arms as the nurse placed my little bear gently in them. She looked up at me and yawned. My heart was pounding hard in my chest. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Her beautiful blue eyes embraced me heart and soul. She was just staring up at me. In that moment, I knew that she would always trust me to take care of her and to love her unconditionally. I’d die before I’d ever let anyone or anything hurt her.

Ellie was now sitting up all the way, and I looked over at her. She had tears running down her face. I turned and slowly put our baby girl in her arms.

They just stared at each other, like they knew what the other was thinking. I was in awe of the exchange. The baby didn’t even cry. She just stared up Ellie.

“Hello, Alexandra Eryn Mathews. I’ve waited a long to time meet you, baby girl,” Ellie said.

Ellie looked up at me and smiled.

Then, she turned to the nurse. “When can we all go home?”

“We want you to stay at least overnight. If all is going well and she’s eating enough, y’all can go home tomorrow.”

***

Later that night after everyone had finally left, Ellie and I sat on the sofa with Alex sound asleep in my arms.

“I didn’t think they would ever leave!” Ellie said with a laugh. “I’m exhausted.”

“Are you hungry, sweetheart?” I asked.

I continued stroking Alex between her eyes and down her nose. She must have liked it because it put her to sleep fast.

“I’m starved, but you’re not going to find anything open in Fredericksburg this late at night. Oh wait! McDonald’s! I could really go for a Big Mac…and large fries…oh, and a giant-ass sweet tea.”

I laughed and leaned over to kiss her. I stood up and gently put Alex down in the bassinet. Then, I turned and helped Ellie up and back into bed.

“You got it, baby. One Big Mac and large french fries coming up.”

I turned toward the door to leave, Ellie called out,

“Sweet tea! Don’t forget the sweet tea, Gunner!”

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

HEATHER

By the time we left the hospital, it was well after midnight.

Ari called Jenny to let her know we were on our way back. Jenny begged Ari to let her and Aaron keep Luke all night.

“I don’t know. I’ve never had him gone overnight before. You promise to bring him home first thing tomorrow morning? Okay, I guess it’ll be kind of nice to sleep in a little in the morning for once.”

When Ari hung up, Jeff expressed his happiness. “Hells yeah baby, we’re having sex all night long. Don’t worry, Heather, I’ll find some ear-plugs for you.”

Ari and I both laughed.

I pulled up, and Jeff jumped out of my car.

“Jeff, can you give me and Heather a few minutes, please?” Ari asked.

“Sure, baby, y’all take your time.”

Ari and I got out of the car and headed toward the house. We walked up to the porch and sat down.

“What happened?” Ari asked.

Heather sat back and let out a sigh. “Josh and I had a fight.”

“About?”

“Lynda. What else? Ugh, Ari, she is something else. She won’t leave him alone, and he feels like he owes her something. It drives me crazy.”

“Have you talked to him at all since you got here?”

“No. When everything happened with Ellie, I forgot about it. He was supposed to go to some Christmas party at his mother’s law firm. I was supposed to go with him, but then we started fighting, so I came here instead. I tried to call him from the hospital, but it went straight to voicemail. I sent him a text telling him about Ellie and the baby, but I guess he’s pissed. He must have turned off his cell phone. Every time I try to call, it goes straight to voicemail.”

“It has to be hard for him. Baby, you know he loves you. He told Jeff that he’s moving to Fredericksburg next month.”

I looked over at Ari and smiled. “Yeah, I still can’t believe he’s going to move his whole business just to be with me. He’s doing so well. I hope this doesn’t cause him to lose any business.”

“It won’t, Heather. Don’t worry. He loves you and wants to be with you. Don’t worry about Lynda either. After Josh is out of Austin, she’ll see that he’s truly yours, and she’ll move on.”

“God, I hope so.”

Just then, Jeff walked out onto the porch and looked at Ari and me with concern etched on his face.

Ari jumped up.

“What’s wrong? Luke! Is Luke okay?”

I slowly stood up. Jeff was looking at me. Something was wrong.

“Ari, Luke is fine, baby. He’s fine.”

“Jesus, Jeff. What’s wrong then?”

“I just got a phone call from Josh’s mother Elizabeth…”

My heart started pounding.

Just then, my cell phone went off, I must have gotten a signal right then. I pulled it out of my pocket to see I had three missed calls…from Elizabeth. She must have called when I had no signal, and they just now all came through.

I looked up at Jeff.

“Heather, Josh has been in a car accident.”

I took a step back and fell into the chair. All the memories of my parents’ accident came flooding back to me.

“Baby girl, I’m going to drive you into Austin, okay?” Jeff said.

I nodded my head and looked at Ari, who was kneeling down next to me.

She looked up to Jeff.

“How is he, Jeff?”

Jeff cleared his throat.

“He’s in critical condition, and, um…he’s in surgery right now.”

I jumped and ran to my car. I had to get to Josh right now.

Jeff came up behind me and grabbed me.

“Let me go, Jeff!” I screamed, kicking and pushing for him to let me go.

“Heather, calm down. Let me drive you to Austin.”

“Let me go! Oh my god!” I fell to the ground and started crying.

Jeff held on to me as I cried hysterically.

Ari dropped to the ground next to me and put her hands on my face. “Heather, look at me, sweets. Let us take you to Austin. It’s going to be okay.”

“I can’t lose him. Oh god Ari… I can’t lose him, too.”

Jeff picked me up and put me in the backseat of his truck.

Ari jumped in next to me and held on to me. She just kept repeating herself. “Baby girl, everything’s going to be okay. It’ll be okay.”

It was my parents’ car accident all over again. Images of me in the backseat of my uncle’s car while Ari held me flashed through my mind. Even then, she did the same thing, telling me everything was going to be okay.

But it hadn’t been okay. My parents had left me.

If I lose Josh…I’ll lose my whole world.

EPILOGUE

HEATHER

It was just supposed to be another day at the lake. I knew he was bringing her. Ari told me. I watched as they laughed and kissed each other.

Each moment that passed, I died a little more inside. Every now and then, he would look at me. I tried to smile when he did, but it took every ounce of energy I had to smile at him and act like I was happy that he was with her. When I did manage a forced smile, he would give me a weak smile in return.

***

As the day went on, I hated her more and more. She did this. She knew that he was mine, but she went after him with everything she had.

She won.

When I walked up to the bon-fire, Ari reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Maybe you and I should take a walk, Heather.”

“Why? It’s getting cold, and I just want to sit by the fire.”

Ari looked back over at the fire. I followed her eyes and saw Josh and Victoria hugging. My stomach turned, and I wanted to throw up.

Then, it happened. He dropped to one knee and held out a ring box. Victoria’s hand flew up to her mouth as she let out a small scream.

My eyes moved from looking at her to looking at Josh. When he glanced over at me, I wanted to scream no.

I couldn’t move.

The next thing I knew, I felt my legs going out from underneath me, and all I heard was Ari calling out my name.

Faithful

Coming Summer 2013

Stories from those touched by Fragile X

"Your son has Fragile X syndrome"….

When I first read those words my heart broke, honestly I was devastated. Of coarse I took to the computer to learn all I could and was soon presented with a rough road ahead of us. A genetic disorder that causes mental impairment, cognitive delays, developmental delays, ADD, hyperactivity, sensory processing disorder…all words and phrases I was bombarded with that brought me to tears that weekend…Logan was just 18 months old at the time he was diagnosed.

When you have a child every parent thinks about how their child's life is going to play out….their first steps, first day of school, getting their drivers license, their first date, graduating high school, getting married, and even having children of their own. It's strange how one little sentence can destroy every hope and dream that you had for someone that means everything to you. But I soon realized that all those hopes and dreams I had for him were still there, they weren't what I thought they were but they were still there. So I now have new hopes and dreams for him…better ones! Because he works so much harder that most everyone else to achieve little things he has taught me to appreciate EVERYTHING. First steps didn't come until he was 19 months old… but that made them all the more special when they did happen. I vividly remember the first time when he was 6 years old and walked up to me and said "Hi Mom!" all on his own with no prompts. All moments that people take for granted every day. So here we are now at 7 years old, his speech is slowly emerging, his motor skill are improving, he's starting to write his letters and his hyperactivity is calming down a bit. He still can't tolerate a kiss on his beautiful face or going to crowded places but the one thing that he has never had to put any effort into is smiling! He breathes life into every room he steps into and will have you grinning in an instant. He understands everything you tell him and he loves everyone with his whole heart! He's all things NFL and for some reason he runs around the house yelling "Go Steelers!". A master at the iPad and obsessed at looking for his grandpa's house on Google Earth, Logan surprises me every day of my life. I have my moments for sure, just as any parent would wether your child has special needs or not. Some days I'd love to hide but then I look at Logan and think about how he puts 100% of his trust and love in me to help him along his path and how he never ever gives up…that's enough for me. Everyone can take a lesson from Logan, he sings his heart out, his love knows no limits and he lives in the moment and he will literally stop and smell the roses. His big brother Gavin and I laugh and smile very single day because of Logan. So yes that diagnoses changed my life but I wouldn't have it any other way…

By Ari Niknejadi

For more information on Fragile X please visit www.fragilex.org or contact the National Fragile X

Foundation at 800-688-8765

By Alexandra Louk –

My younger (I would say little but the kid is huge) brother has Fragile X. He was diagnosed when he was 5 and I was 9. The first thing people tend to ask it “What’s it like to have a brother with special needs?” and my response is always, “What’s it like to have a brother/sister without special needs?”. My brother Jakob is my best friend; he is always there for me no matter what and can always brighten my day. Being away at college has been hard but I try to call him when I can and I always bring him little presents when I come home. Our sibling relationship is pretty normal. We fight and wrestle and then we fight over our parents’ attention. He is protective over me and doesn’t like when I bring guys home, even though he might not fully understand everything he knows I am his sister and boys can hurt me and make me sad. When he is upset sometimes he will come and try to curl up in my lap like he used to. Even though he is 6’4’’ and 250 lbs. I don’t care he is my baby brother and I love him. Having a brother with Fragile X is hard sometimes but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about him. He keeps my secrets and never tells my parents on me, and when we hang out I spoil him rotten and have a hard time telling him no. My brother is a Special Olympics Bowler and Ice Skater, he plays hockey and baseball, and he watches sports with me. So for me having a brother with Fragile X may not be easy but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Playlist for Saved

A Thousand Years – Christina Perri – Jeff asks Ari to marry him.

Dirty Dancer – Enrigue Eglesias – Jeff and Ari at The Driskill Hotel first time they make love

Me and You – Kenny Chesney – First time Ari and Jeff make love

The Only Way I Know – Jason Aldean – Josh and Heather dancing in Marble Falls

Over – Blake Shelton – Josh and Heather dancing in Marble Falls

Red – Taylor Swift – Heather’s feelings for Josh

Circles – Christina Aguilera – When Ari gives Rebecca the finger at Hula Hut

Red Hot Kinda of Love – Christina Aguilera – Heather dancing while drunk, flirting with Josh

Wipe Your Eyes – Maroon 5 – After Ari finds out she is pregnant and Jeff takes her home to their house

Everything – Lifehouse – Ari feeling lost after she finds out she is pregnant

Woohoo – Christina Aguilera – Ari signing in the barn

Our Little World – Susan Ashton – Gunner and Ellie dancing on their porch after returning from their honeymoon

Like I Am – Rascal Flatts – Gunner and Ellie making love after talking about having kids

Hurt – Christina Aguilera – Gunner and his father talking on the porch

Scream and Shout – Wil I Am – Ari dancing at kitchen sink

Blank Page – Christina Aguilera – Jeff with Ari before they make love in the barn

Let There Be Cowgirls – Chris Cagle – Ellie, Ari, and Heather dancing

Lift Me Up – Christina Aguilera – When Heather finds the text Josh sent Lynda

Better Dig Two – The Band Perry – Lynda fighting for Josh

Cookie Jar – Gym Class Hero’s – Josh Dancing with Lynda at the honkytonk

Toxi – Britney Spears – Ellie at the gym

Shut Up – Christina Aguilera – When Ari sees Rebecca at the gym

Cowboy – Kid Rock – Jeff in the barn

All I Need – Christina Aguilera – Gunner dancing with Ellie on Ari’s birthday

Club Can’t Handle Me – FloRida – Girls dancing at Ari’s birthday

My Girls – Christina Aguilera – All the girls dancing at Ari’s birthday party

There You Go – Pink – Josh and Lynda dancing at Ari’s party when Heather gets upset

It Will Be Me – Faith Hill – Gunner dancing with Ellie in their room at the Driskill Hotel

When She Says Baby – Jason Aldean – Jeff and Ari dancing at the barn dance

You Save Me – Kenny Chesney – Jeff and Ari’s wedding song

Desnudate – Christina Aguilera – Ari dancing at the wedding reception, driving Jeff insane

These Days – Rascal Flatts – Josh thinking about losing Heather

She Thinks My Tractos Sexy – Kenny Chesney– Pregnant Ari dancing in the kitchen

Breathe – Faith Hill – Josh and Heather make love for the first time at the ranch

Daylight – Maroon 5 – The day after Josh and Heather spend the night together when Lynda comes back

Run – Matt Nathanson – Ari and Jeff after Luke was born

A Better Life – Keith Urban – Jeff plays in his truck while taking Ellie and Gunner to have their baby

Say Once More – Amy Grant – When little bear is born

You Could Be Happy – Snow Patrol – Heather on her way to Josh after his accident