Page 14 of Sunrise Arrows

Ellie looks at Hunter and I—hardly containing herself—and asks, “Can I?”

“It would be rude not to introduce yourself,” I answer, unable to look away from Tinsley.

My niece launches herself at her idol, bypassing a handshake and going in for a hug. I grab her hand to pull her back, but Tinsley’s already wrapping her slender arms around my niece to return the hug, laughing as she tips to the side and falls over.

Ellie pulls back for a moment, looks Tinsley over, and then squeals, going in for another before finally introducing herself.

“I’m Eleanor, but everyone calls me Ellie because Eleanor is my Gigi. Though I don't know why, because Daddy and my uncles just call her Mom so it shouldn’t be confusing.”

“Daddy?”

“Yeah,” Ellie confirms. “Everyone says I look just like him. We have the same green eyes and dark hair but I don’t know if that’s nice because doesn't that mean they think I look like a boy?”

Tinsley goes to reply but Ellie keeps on talking.

“It’s okay though, he’s a really good daddy. He took me to your concert in Nashville and sang all your songs with me and even carried me for most of the show so I could see around all the tall people because he’s basically a giant.”

“He sounds like he’s an incredible dad,” Tinsley agrees. “You’re very lucky to have him.”

“Yeah, I am. He loves me a lot. He bought me a horse for my birthday last year and I named him Reckless after my favorite song.”

“Your favorite song?” Tinsley marvels. “You know, I have a song called ‘Reckless.’”

“I KNOW!” Ellie shrieks. “That’s where I got his name! It’s my favoritest favoriteever!I almost forgot! I always said if I ever met you, I would ask what your favorite song is. So what’s your favorite song? By you, I mean. What’s your favorite song you’ve written?”

Tinsley scrunches up her lips and cants her head to the side, exaggerating her pondering.

“There’s so many…”

“And they all sound the exact same,” Hunter mutters, grunting when I slam my elbow into his side.

She briefly looks up at me then back at Ellie. “‘Unravel Me.’”

“Hesays I’m not allowed to listen to that song,” Ellie accuses, glaring at me.

“I think that’s a good idea. It’s a little more grown up.”

And by a little, she means a lot. In “Unravel Me,” Tinsley sings about clothes on the floor, fingers in her hair, kisses rolling like rain drops down her body, and being wrapped in the gifted promise of forever. It’s the one song onSummer HazeI never saw her write. The final track on the album and the end of our summer together. Every other song culminates into that night.

The song is soft and sensual. Almost a whisper in how she sings it, the music stripped down to the barest essentials. The beat is almost like a heart, steady at first but slowly increasing until it's racing to crescendo. Then finally it slows down and fades out, her voice haunted and broken on the final words.

“Unravel Me,” is about the night we lost our virginity. The night I lost her.

Of all Tinsley’s songs, it’s also my favorite. It also hurts the most to listen to. Yet I’ve done it everyday since it was released.

The blonde with her, the same one I now realize was in the video Boone showed me, places her hand on Tinsley’s shoulder, drawing her gaze up to her. Something passes between the two of them, and just as quickly as I think I catch it, it’s gone and Tinsley’s attention is right back on Ellie, making my niece’s entire life as she continues to talk with her as if every word out of her mouth is the most important thing she’s ever heard.

Finally after peppering Tinsley with probably a hundred questions, all of which she patiently answered, Ellie asks again, “Can we take a picture?”

She straightens the white, ruffled dress that flirts with the middle of her thighs—the hem stained from where her drink splashed—and further indulges my niece. “I would absolutely love that,” she says, lowering a knee down so she remains balanced and on Ellie’s level.

Hunter and I both take our phones out, and after we take several pictures each, Ellie asks about Tinsley signing her project too.

Tinsley holds her hand out and excitedly answers, “Of course; lead the way!”

I go to follow them and Hunter, but the blonde stops me.

“Archer, right?”

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