Covering the Carolinas (17 page)

******

Pulling into the driveway, I’m met by Gunner running
from the barn with my daddy close behind him.

“
Mommy!” he squeals as I hurry to meet him.
Picking him up, I can barely find him in the oversized coat to
protect him from the chilly temperatures.

“
Hey, sweet boy!” I say as I press my lips to
his cheek. “I’ve missed you!” I say as I place him on my hip and
hug Daddy before making my way inside

“
Mama! I’m home!” I yell as the smell of
chicken and dumplings tickles my nose.
Yum!
As I remove Gunner’s coat, Daddy comes in
with my bag. “Thanks, Daddy. I was going to get that.” He tells me
not to worry about it as he takes it to my room and we make our way
to the kitchen. I text my sisters and Gunnison to let them know I’m
here safely before Mama meets me with open arms. She takes an extra
moment to whisper in my ear that this weekend is going to be just
fine. After a wonderful home cooked meal, spending time with Gunner
and putting him to bed, I take a moment to relax in my
room.

Pulling my phone from the dresser, I begin to call
Gunnison when there is a knock on my door. “Come in.” Both of my
parents come and take a seat on my bed. Unsure of what they want to
discuss, I place my phone in my pocket. “What’s up?” I ask. “Mar,
we’ve been thinking. As much as we want to see how everything goes
between GC and Gunner, we think you need time without us. We’ve
decided we’re going to stay home instead of going to the game,”
Daddy says.

“
Y’all, I’m scared to do this without
you.”

“
Mar, this is part of being an adult.
Sometimes you have to do things that scare you to
death.”

“
Daddy, nothing scares you.”

He shakes his head, “Mar, the day we found out about
the three of you, I was terrified. The day I went face to face with
a coyote, I was terrified. The day you walked out of this house
looking for me because you were in labor, I was even more
terrified. Just because I don’t show it, doesn’t mean I’m not. Now
is the time for you to be brave for Gunner. He needs to see how
sure you are about this situation. He will be able to feel your
emotions.”

“
You’re right. I’ve talked about growing up
and I say all the time I’m more responsible, which I am compared to
how I was before Gunner, but I need to step up my game…” Taking a
breath, Mama interrupts me.

“
What exactly have you and GC planned for your
future? I know y’all have been seeing
a
lot
of each other. I want you to think about your
actions and how they affect Gunner. You’re lucky he already admires
GC or that conversation the other morning might not have gone as
smoothly. Also, you now have gotten a true piece of the college
experience: classes, parties, guys, and doing things your parents
dislike. I want you to remember why you waited to attend and what
you leave behind each week. Not to mention the fact that while
you’re having a good ole time at GC’s, I’m babysitting.”
What. The. Hell. She thinks all I’ve been doing
is drinking, partying, and having sex after bringing Gunnison back
in my life? That’s not the case. Well, maybe a little.

“
Mama! Do you think that little of me?” She
doesn’t say a word and that pisses me off even more. Turning to
Daddy, my eyes beg him to say something, but he remains quiet.
“Yes, I stayed with him but do you know what we talked about? We
talked about how we were going to tell Gunner he was his dad. I
know you don’t like knowing I stayed there but I can’t stand to be
away from him. I pushed him out of my life because I thought it was
right but I’ve never loved anyone else like I love Gunnison. He and
Gunner make me whole.”

“
Mar, I didn’t mean it like that.” Mama
smiles.
Oh gosh! This is one of those
teachable moments.
“I just don’t want you to fall too
hard too fast. Look what happened the last time. I love Gunner and
wouldn’t trade him for the world but you have to think for both of
you now.”

“
Mama, that’s what I’m doing. I want Gunnison,
Gunner, and I to be a family. I want to marry Gunnison, and live
happily ever after with our son together. I don’t know when that
will happen, but I was wrong to have kept it from him.” Daddy
smirks. Standing, I point my index finger at him. “Don’t say I told
you so, please!” He laughs and Mama does, too. I know she’s just
trying to make me think, and my brain will process this
conversation later. Right now, I just want to call Gunnison and
live in my perfect bubble.

“
Mar, we love you, but we know you. We know
when you’re passionate about something you forget about everything
else. You don’t mean to, it just happens,” Mama says as she stands
and gives me a hug, then she waits on Daddy to walk out of my room
and closes my door.

When they leave, I walk to Gunner’s room and sneak a
peak at that precious angel. As I turn to head to my room, I meet
my daddy propped against the wall. “Mar, I’m proud of you and so is
your mama. I think what she was trying to tell you didn’t come out
like she wanted.”

“
Yeah it did, Daddy. It was one of those
‘teachable moments,’” I say, making quote marks.

“
Yeah, about that… that might have been what
she’s doing, but she’s speaking from experience. If it wasn’t for
your mama, I wouldn’t be grounded. I see the same thing when I look
at you and GC.”

“
Daddy, just say it… I’m your mini me.
Carleigh is like Mama, and Tin is a mix of both of you.”

“
That’s right, kiddo. You’re as stubborn as me
and don’t care about consequences until it’s too late.”

“
Love you,” I say as I make my way to my
room.

GUNNISON

I’ve looked at my phone a million times, checked to
make sure that it was on ring, and tried to distract myself as much
as possible. Where is she? I know Gunner’s asleep by now. Making my
way to the kitchen, I open the fridge and stare. When nothing looks
appealing, I begin to close it when my phone rings. I sprint to my
phone and answer it.

“
Mar? Is everything okay?”

“
Yeah, it’s okay. Sorry, things took longer
than I planned.”
She’s not telling me
something.

“
Talk to me. What’s really going
on?”

I hear her take a big breath on the other end of the
phone and my heart stops. No! Not again! I wait for her to speak
and pray I’m just overreacting.

“
I had a talk with my parents again
tonight.”
Breathe, GC. You’re good.
“They aren’t coming to the game. They want Gunner and me to
do this alone.” Her voice begins to crack. “I’m scared, Gunnison!”
I lied, my heart isn’t okay; it’s breaking because I can’t get
through this damn phone and prove to her everything is going to be
okay.

“
Mar, it’s going to be okay. As soon as the
game is over, I’m all yours. This is going to work out. I promise.
Please don’t cry; it breaks my heart knowing I can’t hold you in my
arms and make everything better.”

“
I wish I knew how we were going to tell him,
but it’s not like there’s an owner’s manual or
anything.”

“
You’re right, there’s not. I honestly don’t
know how you’ve done it the past three years, but I can promise you
that you’ll never be alone again. I love you, Marleigh Anderson,
and I love Gunner just as much.”

“
Gunnison Cyrus, you always know exactly what
to say, and I wish I was in your arms too. Can Saturday hurry
up?”

“
I have a feeling tomorrow is going to feel
like an eternity, but it will be worth it. Oh, is there anything in
particular I need to pack? I mean clothes wise? I wasn’t sure where
we planned to go on Sunday. Do I need something really nice or just
everyday kinda stuff?”

“
I can promise you there is nothing in Gaffney
that will have you in a suit and tie except prom or a wedding. I
was thinking that we’d just go to dinner after the game Saturday
and then Sunday, if it’s not too cold, I thought we could go
fishing at the Broad River. Gunner loves doing that.”

“
That sounds great, and I’ll just pack for
several scenarios.”

After talking a little while longer, we disconnect
and I stare at the ceiling for hours as thoughts of Gunner and
Marleigh run through my mind.

Chapter 34

MARLEIGH

Friday morning, I’m rattled awake by a little three
year old monkey crawling into my bed. “Mommy I snuggle?”

“
You bet!” I say as he scoots into my arms. We
drift back to sleep, and wake up as the sun shines through my
bedroom window. As we both begin to stir, I can smell breakfast
cooking and I can’t wait to see what Mama’s cooked. That’s one perk
of having to come home.

Gunner and I make our way to the kitchen and
say good morning to my mama. As we fix our plates and take a seat,
Daddy comes in and kisses Mama on the cheek.
They are so cute.
When we finish breakfast, we
go with Mama to run errands, and when Gunner takes a nap, I have a
little one on one time with Mama. She tries to reassure me for
tomorrow, and then does something I never imagined.

“
Mar, I want this weekend to be about the
three of you, but I also want this to be about GC and you as well.
I know you and GC have Gunner’s best interest at heart, the best
way to be good parents is also have time for yourselves without
stress. Outshyne is playing in Greenville tomorrow night, and I
might have gotten you two tickets.”

I’m completely shocked! “Mama! You’re the best, but
what if Gunner won’t let us leave?”

“
No worries, your daddy and I can handle
him.”

GUNNISON

After class and practice Friday, I spend the
evening getting ready for a weekend that will change my life. Once
I have everything packed, I call my parents. I talk to them at
least once a week. Today’s one of those days where I really
need
to talk to them.

“
Hey, Dad. How’s it going?” I
question.

“
Good. How’s it going for
you
?” I know what he’s hinting at.

“
Things are going really well. In fact, I’m
going to Marleigh’s after the game tomorrow. We are going to talk
to him this weekend.”

“
You sure that’s the best idea?”

“
No, but we need him to know sooner rather
than later. Dad, I’m sorry you found out like that.”

“
GC, your mom explained the situation to me.
There is no easy way to find out you’re a grandpa when your son is
still in college. It’s definitely not the best timing but I’m proud
of you for owning up to your mistakes and being a responsible young
man. Now on a lighter note, I can’t wait for him to come to the
farm and ride.”

“
I hadn’t thought that far ahead except for
meeting you. I’d love to see him at our farm.”

“
So anything else going on?” he
questions.

“
Not really. Coach is letting me come back
with Marleigh late on Monday. I talked with the team and they were
okay with it, but I don’t want to let them down in any
way.”

“
GC, in life we have to make choices that
impact others. I’m sure the team understands and knows this isn’t a
normal thing for you, but you have to make yourself available for
Marleigh and Gunner. Make sure you keep God first and your family
second. I know you don’t want to hear this but basketball and
school are now third in your life.”

Wow! I wasn’t expecting that from him today. Dad
always pushes basketball and school. He wants me to do well in
everything. He’s dying for me to graduate and come back to
Pennsylvania to work unless I get to live my dream.

“
Dad, I plan on that. Life might have gone a
different route, but at least I now have two special people in my
life.”

“
You’re right, and I’ve brought you up to be a
gentleman. I’m proud of how you’re handling this because I don’t
think I could have been that big of a man.”

“
Thanks, Dad. So you guys are coming to
Radford, right?”

“
I believe so, there’s one issue we have to
work through on the farm. If for some reason things change, we will
be at the championship regardless of what’s going on at the
farm.”

Something about that comment scares me, and I feel
like he’s leaving out some important information. “Is everything
okay. Where’s Mom?” He informs me that everything is just fine and
mom’s gone to play Bunco.

Tossing my phone on the couch, I sit back and
try to imagine tomorrow when there’s a knock at my door.
Who in the world?

Opening the door, I’m met seeing double—Carleigh and
Tinleigh. They look like they are on a mission. “Everything
okay?”

“
We hope so,” Tinleigh says smartly. “Can we
come in?”

Moving from the doorway, I usher them in. “Is
everything okay with Marleigh and Gunner?”

“
Yeah, everything is okay. We just need to
talk to you. Sisters to the guy who knocked up our sister.”
What the hell is their deal?
They
take a seat on the couch and I’m a little terrified to sit down.
“Sit down, GC. We won’t hurt you.” Slowly I sit down and brace
myself for what is about to come my way.

Tinleigh looks toward Carleigh, asking permission to
speak. “Look, we know that Marleigh and you are meant to be
together, but sometimes our sister doesn’t always think.”