Covering the Carolinas (36 page)

Grandaddy does come first, and right now, he needs
me more than I need a boy.

“
I need to leave Emmett alone. Grandaddy does
come first.”

“
Aw, hell to the no! He might come first, but
there’s no way I’m letting you toss Emmett to the side, especially
after what I just witnessed in that field.”

Thinking of him perched on the tailgate makes the
corners of my mouth lift, and I know she’s right, but I’m going to
have to keep Grandaddy first until we know what’s going on.

“
J, I know you’re right, but Grandaddy needs
me more than ever. I can’t just bring someone new into my life like
that.”

“
For cryin’ out loud! He’s
Cole’s stepbrother, and
you know how much he
loves Cole.”

“
True, but…”

“
No buts! Just listen to the beat of your
heart for once. That’s all I’m askin’.”

“
Gah! A’ight! Now, I want to
know about you and Ridge. I thought you weren’t gonna be around him
all night
.”

“
Like you can talk. Once you sat on that
tailgate, I knew I didn’t have to guess where you were the
remainder of the night.”

Emmett

As I watch Raegan disappear into the night, I can’t
help but wish I were with her. As I turn, I think about walking
back to the crowd, but realize that could be a mistake while Jace’s
eyes are on me. Instead, I give him a slight nod and make my way to
my truck.

By the time the tires hit the highway, images of
Raegan sitting on the bed of my truck are all I can think about.
There’s no way I can go to bed now. I text Cole, and he tells me
where he’s partying, and I go to meet him.

Once I arrive, I can’t stand it any longer. I know
the rule of waiting at least three days to call a girl, but I
couldn’t care less. I take out my phone and text her.

“
What’s up, man?” Cole asks
as I walk to
the fire pit.

“
Ah, ya know. Same old field party, just a
different town.”

“
I bet. So, why didn’t you head home? You know
your mama’s gonna wonder.”

“
I don’t know.
She
knows where I am. So how ’bout another cold
one?” I ask him.

Shaking his head, he tosses me one. Then, he
introduces me to the crew around the
flames. I recognize a few guys, and there are three girls
perched up on their laps. I take a seat beside Cole and pop a top.
I listen to their conversation and put in my two cents when I can,
but in reality, I’m only thinking about one thing right now—the
look in Raegan Lowery’s eyes when she realized I’m not like the
others.

Around two in the morning, we make
our way home. As we are walking toward the
house, Cole
finally says what he’s been thinking, “I take it Rae has your mind
all tore up?”

“
I guess you could say that.”

“
Just remember what I told ya. Grandaddy comes
first, but I’m tellin’ ya now, if you hurt her, I’ll personally
whoop your ass and not give a damn.”

I don’t say anything as we go our separate ways once
we are inside the house. After making my way to my room, I decide a
shower is definitely in order, because I can’t focus for anything.
I need to clear my mind of Raegan, but she’s consuming me more and
more by the minute.

Chapter 7

Raegan

After tossing and turning half the
night, I finally drift off to sleep. I wake up to the smell of
coffee and pancakes coming from the kitchen.
Yum!
I love Jordyn’s mom! Throwing
off the covers, I hear Jordyn grumble and roll over.

“
Come on, Sleepy Head! I
smell
pancakes!”

“
Rae! Five more minutes. That’s all I want,”
she protests.

“
Yeah, and then that turns into ten, then
twenty. Come on. I gotta get goin’ soon.”

“
Fine! But only because I love ya,” she says
as she throws off the covers, and we make our way down for
breakfast.

“
I know,” I say confidently, and we eat until
our bellies can’t handle any more.

After breakfast, I
change, get my stuff together, and tell Jordyn I’ll call her
later.

“
Girl, you better call me! I gotta know how
this date goes tonight.”

“
Yeah, if I go.”

“
Hold up! Whatcha mean?”

“
Forget it.”

“
Like hell I will!” she exclaims, and we hear
her mama yell for her to watch her mouth.

“
Look, I’ve got some things to take care of
today. I need to make sure Grandaddy doesn’t need me tonight before
I decide to go.”

“
Stop coming up with lame excuses. You like
him; he likes you. Have fun.”

“
We’ll see,” I say, knowing good and well I’m
going out with him tonight.

While driving to the farm, I roll down the windows
and let my thoughts drift to last night. Then, thoughts of
Grandaddy and my conversation with him enter my mind, and tears
form in the corners of my eyes. I brush them away and turn up the
radio to try to focus my thoughts on something else.

Putting the truck into park, I look in my rearview
mirror to see there is no evidence of my meltdown, so I grab my bag
and go inside.

“
Grandaddy, I’m home!” I holler as I close the
door behind me. I don’t hear him, but the closer I get to the rear
of the house, the clearer I hear the radio playing. Opening the
door to the back porch, I see him humming along and shelling pecans
from his rocking chair.

“
There ya are,” I say as I take a seat beside
him, place an old newspaper onto my lap, and begin to shell them,
too.

“
Boy, they are good, ain’t
they?” he asks as he eats a freshly
cracked
pecan. I smile for assurance. “So, how was it last
night?”

“
Good, real good.”

“
Uh huh. I know you, Sunshine. Remember that.
I know you don’t exactly like those parties, but you go ’cause
people expect it. So, spill it.”

After cracking several pecans, I finally find the
words to tell Grandaddy. “I kinda told Jace McCoy to go to hell
after the game.”

“
You’re shittin’ me.” He stops mid-crack. I
shake my head no. “’Bout damn time. You know, you’re more like your
mawmaw than ya know. She’d tell ya exactly what she thought and
wouldn’t care who was around to hear it.”

“
Do you miss her?” I ask.

“
Everyday, but she’s smilin’ down on us. They
all are; don’t ever forget that, Sunshine.”

“
When you met Mawmaw the first time, what was
it like?”

Grandaddy turns to me. “Rae, I’d known your mawmaw
my entire life, but it wasn’t until I was about fifteen years old
that I realized there was more to her than just a girl. She was
always offering to help me do my homework and bringing me fried
pies. Man, they were good. One day, she finally just laid it out
onto the table. She never beat ’round the bush. She pretty much
asked ‘are you gonna ask me on a date or what?’ I knew right then
she was the girl for me. She never made me guess what she was
thinkin’, she told it like it was, and she always let me know if
she didn’t like what was goin’ on.”

“
Oh, okay,” I say as I continue to crack
pecans.

“
What’s this really ’bout?” he
questions.

“
I kinda think I like Emmett
Bridges.”

A wide grin covers my grandaddy’s face. “I kinda
knew that already, and you know what? I think he kinda likes you,
too.”

“
He asked me out tonight,” I say
nonchalantly.

“
Well, Sunshine, what’d you
tell ’em
?”

“
That I’d have to check with you.”

“
What am I gonna do with you? You better go.
This old man can survive a meal on his own for a night.”

We both laugh, and I feel happy.
Grandaddy approves, and I have a real date tonight with
the Emmett Bridges
. That
is, if he calls
.

Emmett

I woke up with the chickens this morning. I tried my
best to doze back off, but it was pointless. I fell asleep with the
image of Raegan Lowery’s eyes and woke up to them.

Needing to clear my thoughts, I go for a long run. I
bypass a shirt, tossing on only shorts and running shoes. After
stretching, I take off down the country back roads.

Even after almost three miles,
thoughts of her still consume my brain, and that’s when I notice
her truck stopped at the stoplight. I run a little faster to try to
get a glimpse of my southern perfection, but the closer I get, the
sadder she looks. She takes her hands and wipes away what I think
are tears.
What would make a beautiful
girl cry? Does she regret last night? Has Jace done
something?
Anger fills my veins. I don’t
want her to see me, so I turn and run home. I now have a decision
to make. Call her or
not?

Once I’m back at the house, I hurry to Cole’s room.
“Hey, man, you gotta minute?”

“
Yeah,” he says as he finishes tying his
boots.

“
I just saw Raegan while I was runnin’. She
was cryin’. Do you know why she might be upset?”

“
Dude, you got it bad. Rae’s
a strong girl. She doesn’t bare her soul to many. I’m thinkin’ she
was alone and was missin’ her folks. Sometimes when I’m at work, I
catch her wiping away tears when she thinks she’s
alone. I wouldn’t sweat it.”

“
Thanks, Cole,” I say as I back out of his
doorframe.

“
Hey, Emmett, she likes you. Question is, does
Uncle Dover?” he says with a laugh.

“
Shut up,” I reply and head to take another
shower.

The rest of the morning, I try to bide my time until
I can call Raegan. I don’t want to sound too eager, but Mom’s
starting to question who this boy is in her house. I’ve cleaned my
room, pulled weeds, mowed the grass, and did my laundry.

“
Emmett, are you okay?” Mom asks.

“
Yeah, I’m fine. Just tryin’ to stay
busy.”

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Okay, well, George and I are going to a
fundraiser tonight. I can get you an extra ticket if you wanna join
us.”

“
Um, I might have a date.”

“
Emmett James Bridges, is that why you’ve been
workin’ yourself to death this mornin’? What cute little girl has
your nerves tore up?”

“
Mom, it’s no big deal.”

“
I beg to differ. You might not have been
under this roof in a while, but I know you don’t keep your room
clean, and your daddy had to beg you to mow the grass,” she says
with her hands on her hips.

“
Fine. Raegan Lowery,” I tell her as I turn to
grab my clothes from the dryer.

She follows me into the laundry room, crosses her
arms, and leans against the wall. “Is there anything you want to
add to that?”

“
No, ma’am.” After waiting about thirty
seconds, she takes the hint and turns to complete a few other
Saturday morning chores.

I carry my clothes to my room to
fold them. When I glance at the clock, it’s only
twelve-fifteen.
I’ll wait ten more
minutes.

Chapter 8

Raegan

While enjoying the warm breeze from the back porch
with Grandaddy, I continue to stare at my watch.

“
Sunshine, don’t you know a
watched
pot never boils?” Grandaddy
jokes.

“
I know. He said he’d call after lunch, and
well, it’s after lunch.”

Grandaddy shakes his head. “What
am I gonna do with you? You gotta learn patience.” We continue to
shell pecans. After I get a good rhythm going, I feel my phone buzz
in my pocket. I almost jump from my seat, but I try to refrain from
acting too excited.
Hurry, Raegan, or it’s
gonna go to voicemail!
I grab it and
hit
Accept
.

“
Hey, Raegan, it’s Emmett. Um, I was just
wondering if you had time to talk to your grandaddy about
tonight.”

“Yeah, I can go tonight. He said
it was fine,”
While trying to keep down my voice, I
feel the excitement build within me. I have a
real
date tonight, and it’s not with
Jace!
Hallelujah!

“
A’ight, then I’ll pick ya up ’bout
six.”

“
I’m lookin’ forward to it.”

“
Me, too. See ya tonight.” I
touch the
End
key and break out into a happy dance and a squeal in the
laundry room. Once I compose myself, I walk back out toward
Grandaddy, pick up my things, and continue to help him.

“
That went well,” he says.

As my cheeks turn about fifty shades of red, I shake
my head yes. We sit on the back porch, relax, laugh, and enjoy each
other’s company. Grandaddy hums his favorite hymns, and I fall in
sync with the words.