Free A Girl by Any Other Name by Mk Schiller

guest.”
    She sat next to him and started playing. His shocked expression was gradually replaced with
    awe as Sylvie expertly hit the right keys, but I’m not sure if I ever recovered. When she started
    singing, I thought my daddy was going to fall right off the bench. Sylvie was a damn good singer. Who
    knew? The sounds of Walk Away, Renee began filling up the room.
    “That’s right,” my father said, slapping his knee. When she got to the chorus, he joined her. My
    mother walked over too and added her voice. This was weird. My father sometimes sang and played,
    but we didn’t sing together as a family unless it was Christmas carols. Mandy ran over and jumped on
    my daddy’s lap. The four of them looked so happy. I guess music had a way of bringing people
    together like that. I walked over and stood next to my mom. I sure as hell wasn’t singing, but I didn’t
    mind standing with them.
    When Sylvie finished, she turned to my father nervously. “It’s by The Left Banke and it is a one-
    hit wonder, although the Four Tops and Linda Ronstadt have covered it.”
    “Where did you learn that song, Sylvie? And where did you learn to play like that? You’re really
    good.”
    She looked down at the piano. “Thank you. My mother taught me on both counts. My father used
    to sing it to her. Her name was Renee.”
    My momma leaned down, patting Sylvie’s shoulders. “It’s a beautiful song, and all the lyrics
    came right back to me. You have an angelic voice, young lady.”
    “Thank you, ma’am. It’s better than my piano playing. I haven’t played for a while.”
    “You could use some practice, but you definitely have a strong basic framework. You should
    take lessons,” my father suggested.
    Sylvie beamed at the compliments so much that I wondered if anyone had ever said a nice word
    to her. “Is there anyone in Prairie Marsh that gives lessons?”
    My father and mother both grimaced at the same time, chiming out in unison, “Mona Simms.” We
    all laughed. “Look, why don’t I give you lessons? I usually give Mandy lessons after dinner. You’re
    much more advanced, but I’m sure you girls could learn from each other.”
    Sylvie widened her eyes, regarding my father with some kind of crazy gratitude so that even he
    blushed—and this man never blushed. I didn’t see what the big deal was. “I would really like that,
    sir.”
    “Great. We’ll start tomorrow night.”
    I think that’s how Sylvie won her way into my daddy’s heart. She knew as much about obscure
    rock songs as he did and they both loved the piano. She won my mother’s by being so well-mannered
    and sweet.
    The girl didn’t have to win my heart. She owned it outright.
    Chapter Six
    Present day
    I arrived to class early on the pretense of grading the last few papers, but I was really hoping to
    get a better look. I swallowed hard as I watched her come into the classroom. She still wore the
    baseball hat, but I could see the deep cinnamon-colored hair sticking out in a silky ponytail. It curled
    at the ends. She wasn’t wearing her sunglasses and for that brief moment our eyes met before she
    tilted her face downward. They were large brown eyes—solid as fresh earth, sexy as melted
    chocolate and soulful as the majestic oak trees in the forest. They took my breath away.
    She wore simple jeans and a loose V-neck T-shirt the color of mud, but even this outfit didn’t
    hide her voluptuous assets. My gaze followed her perfectly round ass and shapely legs all the way up
    the steps of the lecture hall to that very back seat. This girl had so many similarities to Sylvie, but she
    was different too. Sophie Becker was jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but then again, I’d always known
    Sylvie had a natural beauty and even she couldn’t hide that forever. Sylvie Cranston
    was… perfection .
    I was determined to get more information this time. I wasn’t letting Sophie get away so easily,
    but first I wanted to talk to her openly. Talk to her without