It was so beautiful when she first saw it. The trees that surrounded it, and the many forms of life that took up its space. It was all she asked for and it was all hers. All hers. Something that she had worked for her whole life.

She had been awaiting the finishing touches on the log cabin that she was having built there and then she would call it home. She was looking forward to it. It would just be her and her husband, their new home, and the nature surrounding it. It was a dream come true for her that she never realized would take her to where she was today. For a young, vibrant woman who only stood five feet tall, Brittany had made a name for herself in the music industry, and it was finally paying off. It was paying off more than she had ever imagined.

Being the president of a major record label had its ups and downs, but it was something for which Brittany had been prepared. She had seen the good, the bad, and the many turnarounds that the music industry took. Now, she was finally able to slow down, have something she always wanted, and even think about starting a family with the music star her husband had come to be. He had been behind her since day one and he was all for the changes in his and her life.

Brittany looked out upon the land where her log cabin was almost complete and smiled. It still took her breath away to come there and just enjoy what she was able to have. She never had much in the short life that she had lived so far, but she never took for granted what she was given. Now, it was time for her to give back to herself and those around her. That is what she thought at that very moment and it really tugged hard upon her heart.

Brittany grew up an only child in a household that was not rich by all means, but was rich in meaning. Her parents may have been uneducated poor folks, but when it came to morals, they instilled into Brittany the morals any person should need to know in life. That was something where Brittany would always credit her parents, good morals and a good education that she was putting to good use. Yes, when she thought back on her life, she smiled because it was a good one. Brittany may not have had the best things in life, but what she did have and would always have, was the love of two parents that cared so much to give her that life. That is why she made the decision to do what she was going to do. She figured, she did not work her short life for nothing.
Brittany walked from the yard that had developed into a masterpiece, into the log cabin. When she stepped in, her carpenter was putting the finishing touches on the mantelpiece. He heard her step in and turned around. He saw Brittany smiling from the sheer joy of what she had to show for her accomplishments.

“Hey Ms. Chessford, what do you think?”

“Oh, Mr. Johnstra, this land and this whole house is more than I could have ever asked for. You have made me a very happy woman, Mr. Johnstra. You and your men have done a good job.”

“Well, Ms. Chessford, making clients happy is what we are all about.”

“This client definitely is. Mr. Johnstra, thanks for making my dream come true.”

“It was my pleasure,” Mr. Johnstra said, as Brittany handed him the last payment for his work.

He walked out and Brittany looked around the new log cabin in awe. It was just what she wanted and even more. She knew that it would be just right. All the personal touches she had the architect draw up in the plans had been executed nicely by the carpenter that she hired. She could not have been any happier with the house and the property.

As she walked out onto the front porch, she stood against the railing, smiled and gazed out onto the newly dug pond that had already been stocked, facing her from the distance. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds around her and in the distance, she heard the call of ducks flying. She opened her eyes and spotted them flying towards her. It was two of them and Brittany did not take her eyes off them and watched them plunge down into the pond. Brittany’s heart skipped a beat as they did because it was so beautiful. She could also see Buck wanting to chase them down and dive in the pond and scare them away. It was in a dogs nature to do that. She laughed just from the thought of it.

Brittany was off in her own little world, enjoying the moment until she heard the sound of a bus driving up. She had forgotten that she told her country star husband to meet her here when he came home from the road so he could see the finished project. Brittany was sure that Brandon was going to love it. So, she entered the house again and proceeded to the back door in order to welcome her husband.

She watched the cowboy boots followed by his tall muscular frame step from the bus and onto the soil. As she approached him, Brittany could see his smile was just as big as hers had been. Wrapping her up in a bear hug, Brandon was just as happy as she was. Brittany knew he would be. He knew it was what she wanted and he had supported her all the way like she had supported him while waiting for his singing career to take off. Everything had fallen into place very nicely.

“Wow, this is more than I expected,” Brandon announced as he let his wife go.

“Isn’t it wonderful. It is just absolutely gorgeous.” Brittany said as she put another arm around her husband. “Here, let me show you around.”

Brittany took Brandon by the hand and together, they walked the property that Brittany had, by herself, already surveyed. Both of them fell in love with it over again and Brittany swore that it got more gorgeous the second time around. Brittany could not wait to have it furnished because she knew that it was going to be enjoyed no matter what.

Brittany and Brandon spent the night on his bus parked in the yard of the property that had come to be loved. Brittany awoke to a new day from the sun shining on the bed and noticed that the smile she wore yesterday was still showing. Not wanting to wake her husband, Brittany got up carefully because she knew that he had had a long trip back, and seeing that he had to travel an hour extra to get to the finished project they had been working on, was all the more reason to let him sleep. Brittany walked in the house and began thinking about the layout and where all the new furniture was going to go. Her and Brandon had talked about it before they fell asleep on his bus and it was fine with him if she went to pick out what she wanted without him. He knew that she could decorate it much better than he ever could in the first place. Brandon had no sense of decorating a house, but when it came to male fashion, it was his forte. That was just one of the many things that made him endearing to the crowd as he stood upon the stage singing his heart out.

So, Brittany did not waste any time jumping in her new Roush Mustang she had just been given by another country artist on her record label as a gift for her first number one song. Usually it was the other way around, but this artist credited Brittany for finding her and causing her dream to come true, so she returned the favor. It was a gift that Brittany did not want to accept, but took it anyway to keep her artist happy. That was another thing she had learned in the music industry; to keep her artists happy.

Brittany headed to town and visited several furniture stores and when it was all said and done, it was the second store she had visited that got her business. The furniture there matched the new log cabin well and would go great with the inside of its outdoorsy setting. It just seemed to speak to Brittany and therefore she bought it all, and many extras to fill the room. Best of all, it could all be delivered today, and that put a smile on her face.

Now since that was done, she had to go search for window coverings and the many other stuff that went along with it. She was still looking for a color that would add to the rustic appearance of the log cabin. Brittany knew that dark browns and kakies would not be hard to find and she knew that they would add just the right amount of rustic beauty to the cabin, but she would find some light greens to blend in with it as well. The greens would make the inside come alive with the browns. Brittany was beginning to love every minute of it.

Brittany piled everything she bought that she could in the tiny little trunk of her Mustang, and when that was full, she piled up the back seat with the rest. Smiling, she made the drive home and could not wait to get started. She would be able to put the curtains and the accessories up before all the furniture would arrive.

Brandon and Brittany put the finishing touches on the curtains and the drapes just as the furniture guys were pulling up to deliver the items that Brittany purchased. As the furniture guys brought each piece in one by one, Brittany directed them on where to put each item. She had already planned where each one was going in her head and she did not have to think. Brandon helped bring in some of the small items and he even had to ask her where to put them. Brittany was grinning from ear to ear as each one was placed exactly where she wanted it. It was all coming together as expected.

Brittany and her husband looked at each other after everything was placed and marveled in the elation that they had created. Arm in arm, Brandon and Brittany shared a hug and a kiss, and a warm feeling found its way through Brittany. It was not about having bought the property or having a log cabin built upon it surrounded by a pond. It was about what was going to come of it. About that time, Brandon looked at his wife, and asked, “I guess you are going to call your mom and dad now, huh?”

With a sigh, Brittany answered, “Yeah, because it is the right thing to do.”

Brittany grabbed her cell phone from her pocket book, and from the log cabin located in the tiny town of Taylorsville, she dialed the number that would connect her to her parents in South Carolina. Her mom answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Hi mom!” Brittany said, a little more energetically than she wanted too.

“Brittany Lynn, I know that voice. You only use that tone when you want something!” Brittany’s mother answered.

“Mom, that was when I was a teenager!”

“I don’t care how old you are, you are still my daughter and I can tell when you want something. So, now, out with it.” Brittany’s mother countered.

“Okay, mom. Let me ask you, if I arrange it, would you and daddy be able to come for a visit? I would like to see you and daddy.” Brittany said.

“Well, honey, your dad will have to see if he can get off work, but I don’t think that will be a problem. We could use a little time away anyway and it would be great to see you and Brandon again.”

“Then this is what I am going to do. I am going to request the company jet for this weekend, just so I can keep it on hold. When daddy comes home after work, you are going to ask him about getting off, and I will call you back tonight and we will work out the rest of the details from there. Does that sound good to you?” Brittany asked, kind of fearing what her mother may say.

“Yes, honey, that does sound good, but I can’t promise you anything darling. So, don’t get your hopes up thinking that your daddy can get off when he may not be able too. The good thing is that he has not taken off work in a while, so it may work out for the best, but don’t hold me to that.” Brittany’s mother trailed off, but Brittany could hear the adulation in her voice. She could tell that her mother needed some time away.

“Okay mom, on that note, I will call you tonight.”

“Yes, dear. I hope I will have some good news for you when you do.”

Brittany touched the button on her cell phone that disconnected the call between her and her mother. She knew, just from that little conversation, that her mother and father will be coming out this weekend.

“It sounds as if that went well, baby.” Brandon said to Brittany.

Brittany turned to him, smiled, and said, “Yeah, it did. There is no doubt in my mind that mom and daddy will be here with us this weekend, and maybe even longer.”

“You know, this could not have fallen at a better time.”

“I know,” Brittany said as she hugged her husband, “My whole family will be together and I could not ask for more.”

“Hey mom, hey daddy!” Brittany exclaimed as she opened the door to her record labels private jet to let her parents on. “It sure is good to see you two again. I wish we could get together more often,” Brittany said and then thought to herself that it just might. “Yeah, me too honey. Now tell me, will this thing make me sick? You know I have never been on one of these things.” Brittany’s mom asked while her dad smiled.

“Mom, you don’t have anything to worry about. You will never know that we are flying once we get up in the air.”

“I hope you aren’t just telling me that.”

“No mom, I’m not. Now, just sit back and enjoy the trip.”

“I’ll try,” her mom said in a very scared tone.

Brittany watched her mother as the jet took off back to Tennessee. She watched her mother’s stomach drop on take off, but could tell that she was alright as soon as they were in the air. She did not have to worry about her dad. He fell asleep immediately once they were in the air and he probably would not wake up until they had landed.

The jet trip to Nashville was not long at all, or so it didn’t seem like it. This was not the first time Brittany’s parents had been there, however; it just took their breath away to be in the country music capital of the world, at least her mother anyway. It always gave her a thrill to know that so many music stars were right at her fingertips and most of them her daughter had touched, even married one. She was very proud of her daughter.

Brittany had brought her Navigator instead of her Mustang because she knew she would need the extra room, plus her mom and dad would be more comfortable. Everything was placed into it and the trip to Brittany’s home was on. While heading there, Brittany filled her mother and father in on a trip that they would be taking tomorrow.

“Mom, daddy, I have something I want you to see, so tomorrow, we are going to take a trip.”

“Brittany, darling, I don’t know if I can take another jet trip right now.”

“Mom, it won’t be in the jet. It will be by car.”

“Well, good. Not that I was not comfortable with the jet once we got in the air.”

“I know what you mean mom. Sometimes I get tired of being on that jet myself.” Brittany answered, although she is not on it all the time.

“What is it that you want to show me and your daddy?” Brittany’s mother asked quite curiously.

“Mom, all I am going to say is that you and daddy will see when we get there.”

“Well, what kind of answer is that? I could have answered my own question with that statement.” Brittany’s mother, irritated, answered while her father just smiled.

“Sorry mom, but it is a surprise. If I tell you now, it will spoil it.”

“So, you just asked us to come here so you can show us a surprise huh?”

“That, and I wanted to see you and daddy. Can’t a daughter want to see her parents and show them a surprise?”

“I suppose,” her mother replied, plain and simple as Brittany pulled into the driveway of her home in Nashville.

Brittany got her parents’ things out of the Navigator and put them in the guest bedroom. She was looking forward to the morning because that was when the surprise was going to come out. Just a few more hours to go until that time.

Brittany woke up to the smell of fresh coffee brewing which she thought her husband had started until she rolled over onto her back and found him still laying beside her. Brittany decided to get up and grabbing her robe, she walked downstairs to the kitchen where she found her mother sitting at the table already drinking a cup. Brittany smiled at her mother as she grabbed a cup and poured her a round. Sitting down at the table beside her, Brittany sat her cup down, looked at her mother, and said, “Well, mom, I see some things never change.”

“Did you expect me too? You know how I am, Brittany. Once I see that morning light, I have to get out of the bed.”

“Yeah, I guess old habits really are hard to break.” Brittany answered.

“Yes, dear, and when you get my age, you will understand that,” her mother replied, for which Brittany had no response.

“It’s just as well anyway. We have about an hour trip today and we should be getting an early start anyway. I am going to wake Brandon. I suggest you do the same to daddy.”

Knowing she would only be a minute, Brittany left her coffee cup on the table and went back upstairs to wake her husband. She didn’t have too, though. He was already up and in the shower when she got to the room. On her way back to the kitchen, she met her mother who had just roused Brittany’s father. Brittany could already feel that it was going to be a good day.

“Darling, since we are going somewhere, would you like me to cook us some breakfast?”

“That would be nice because you know I can’t cook!”

“Yes, I know that. It’s a wonder how you even keep yourself alive.”

“Oh, you know I manage.”

“Yeah, and sometimes that scares me,” her mother answered like the concerned parent she was. Brittany just blew it off. She had something better to think about than that.

Brittany’s mother opened the refrigerator and found what she could in it in order to cook a filling breakfast. Brittany sat at the table finishing her cup of coffee as she watched her mother pull out eggs and bacon from the crisper in the fridge. She sat them on the counter then eyed some Bisquick in the cupboard and pulled that out too. Then, the fun began. Like old times, Brittany got to watch her mother cook while wondering why she never learned to do it.

Before they all knew it, Brittany’s mom had the eggs, bacon, and pancakes on the table and they were all sitting down and eating. The closer Brittany got to cleaning her plate, the more nervous she was about the trip she was taking her parents on and the surprise that awaited.

After Brandon was finished, he went outside and got his bus in order so that they could take it. Brandon had driven the bus home himself this time since he had some time off and he was glad that he had. He knew it would make Brittany’s mother and father feel more comfortable if they took it.

By the time he was finished, Brittany, her mother, and her father, were dressed and ready he saw as he walked in the house. Brandon said, “Ready huh?”

“Yeah, we are ready.” Brittany answered, nervously.

“Then head for the bus. I have it in order now, and it does not look like a musicians pig sty.”

“Oh, Brandon, you did not need to do that. We could have gone in the Navigator.”

“Brittany, if your husband was kind enough to clean his bus for us, then we should by all means oblige him.”

“Thanks mom.” Brandon said as they all filed by him and out the door. He got a smile and a pat on the arm from Brittany’s father.

Once on the bus, Brandon put it in drive for the hour or so drive to Taylorsville where the log cabin sat. During the drive, Brittany’s mom grilled both her daughter and son-in-law about the happenings in the music business. Of course, there was not much that Brittany could discuss, but Brandon could elaborate more on his position in it. Brandon had just come off of having his first number one song, and he was glad to tell anybody what it felt like. Most of all, it felt even better to him since it was a song that he wrote.

The time went by quickly, and before they knew it, Brandon was pulling into the long driveway of the newly built log cabin. Brittany’s eyes got big and bright again from the sight of it. She watched her mother looking out the window of the bus and saw that, for one time in her life, she was speechless. Brittany also watched her father looking out the window of the bus, opposite her mother. She could look at him and tell what he was thinking. She always had too because he was always quiet. Brittany was reeling in the feeling from watching her parents’ actions as Brandon drove down to the log cabin. Brandon began slowing the bus and that caught the attention of Brittany’s mother. She looked ahead and out the front windows of the bus. She was quiet for a second, but it didn’t stay that way for long.

“Brittany, sweetie, you didn’t tell me we were coming to visit someone. I am not dressed for company.”

“Mom, we’re not visiting anyone, and you look fine even if we were.”

“It looks like we are visiting someone to me,” her mother said again.

“Geez mom, we are not visiting anyone. Now, come on. Let’s get off the bus.”

Brandon proceeded to open the door to his bus first and press the button that made the steps fold out so it was easier for her parents to get off the bus. He had forgotten to put them down earlier. He was so used to getting on the bus without them.

Brittany was the first off the bus besides her husband. Once off the bottom step, Brittany’s mother looked around inquisitively, taking in the surroundings. Brittany watched her carefully before she said something. She was waiting for the right moment to do so. Finally, that moment came.

“So, mom, what do you think?” Brittany asked.

“Honey, this is very nice, but I still don’t know why you brought me and your father out here.”

“Mom, Brandon and I had this built,” Brittany answered.

Her mother looked around for another minute, then said, “Well, darling, you and Brandon have done good. I can look at it and tell that you and him are very proud of it.”

“Mom, you can’t be more right,” Brittany replied, feeling a tug at her heartstrings. “Come on, let’s go in.”

One by one, they followed Brittany into the log cabin. Brittany showed the whole cabin to her mother and father room by room, inch by inch, and once they were in the kitchen where the front door led to the pond, Brittany opened it and motioned for them to follow.

Through the newly laid stones in the newly laid sod, they all treaded to the edge of the pond. It was still as pretty as the first time Brittany saw it, and the ducks were again swimming in the pond. All had been quiet up until that moment, when Brittany’s mother spoke.

“Brittany, sweetheart, this is wonderful. I know you have always wanted a log cabin, as well as your dad and I. I am finally glad that you are able to have things in life that me and your daddy could not give you.”

“Mom, you and daddy gave me what you could. Most of all, you gave me the best thing in the world and that is a charitable and caring heart, which I am about to use.”

Brittany felt a tear form in her eye, so she turned her head and wiped it away so no one would see it fall. Carefully, she gathered herself and the words she was looking for and took her mother by the hand. Then Brittany said the words she had chosen.

“Mom, you and daddy have given me the most in life, and that is why I am giving the same back to you. Mom, this is not for me and Brandon. All of this, all of what you have seen, is not for me and Brandon to enjoy. I knew after it was finished, what I was going to do with it. I knew it was for two other people to enjoy. Mom, all of this, the log cabin, the flowers, the pond, everything you see here, is for the two people that taught me everything.”

Brittany felt the hold that her mother had on her hand tighten even more and it made her feel even more warm inside and right about her decision. It also made it easier for her to continue the conversation.

“Yes, mom, it is all for you and daddy. I would not have it any other way.”

Brittany’s mother could not speak yet again. She hugged her daughter and then her father joined in the same hug. Brandon let them have a family moment without him because it was only right. He knew that Brittany would let her mom and dad have a moment alone and then he could say what he wanted to his wife.

Brandon was still standing, waiting and watching, and then he saw the family moment between Brittany, her mother, and her father end, and Brittany saw him standing alone by the steps to the front door and headed to him. He met her halfway as he watched her mom and dad step closer to the pond arm in arm. When he reached Brittany, he enveloped her in his arms and held her while she cried happy tears on his chest.

He let her cry happily until she was through. While still holding her to him, Brandon said, “Brittany, dear, that was the sweetest thing I have ever seen you do, and I can’t agree with you more. You made your mom and dad very happy.”

Turning her head against his chest, but not looking up to him, Brittany simply answered the only thing that fit the moment, “Honey, it just felt right. It just felt so right.”