Covering the Carolinas (39 page)

On the final beat of the music, Emmett takes my
cheek in his hand, my mind races as he pulls my lips to his, and he
kisses me like his life depends on it. This has to be the best kiss
of my life. If I thought I saw stars at the field party, I just got
caught in an entire constellation. When I’m brought back to
reality, I know that in this moment, this boy is going to change my
life.

Emmett leads me to the truck and gets back in the
driver’s side. He looks my way, and I melt right there on the spot.
He puts the truck into drive, and we both can’t erase the grins on
our faces. Tonight is a night for the history books. Not only have
I had an awesome date, but it’s with someone that totally gets me.
I can’t wait to see where the two of us are headed.

As we pull into the driveway, I
can’t keep my lips off of his. He laughs and kisses me again before
walking me to the door. Placing my hand on the doorknob, I look
back at him and smile. I wave to him before opening the front door
and closing it behind me. I press my back against
it
as it closes.
What has this boy done to
me?
I must be grinning like an opossum because
Grandaddy rounds the corner and cackles.

“
What?” I ask as my cheeks
flush pink
.

“
Nothin,’ Sunshine. Nothin’,” he says as he
makes his way back into the kitchen. Shaking my head, I follow him.
I go to the freezer and grab a tub of homemade snow cream from this
winter and two spoons before sitting across from him. Opening the
container, I wait for him to ask the first question. “So, whatcha
do tonight?” he asks lightly.

Taking the spoon, I skim the top of the snow cream
and place it into my mouth before answering, “He took me to eat at
Smoke, and then we went to The Shed.”

“
And…” he says slowly as he takes his turn in
the snow cream.

“
And… we saw Cole there.”

He looks up from the snow cream and stares at me
like I caught him off guard. “What’d he have to say?”

“
That we’ve got supper tomorrow.”

“
Allll righhht!” He finishes dipping his spoon
into the snow cream. “So, Sunshine, tell me a little more about
this date. He didn’t try anything, did he?”

“
Grandaddy!” I gasp. “I can’t believe
you!”

“
What? I’m just makin’ sure.
I’d hate for this old man to have
to show him
who’s boss.” We both laugh.

“
Actually, Grandaddy, he was
a perfect gentleman…most of the time,” I say
with a giggle as I text Jordyn quickly about the kiss that
just changed my life.

Jordyn: I want deets! Not just a text!

Me: K I’ll call ya in morning, talkin to Gdaddy
now

“
It’s times like these I wish your mawmaw or
mama was here. I don’t know if I can handle all of this, but I’ll
sure try,” he says honestly.

“
I know this much. Never in my seventeen years
has a guy treated me like he does, except you. He acts like I’m the
only girl in the room, but best of all, Grandaddy, he sees me for
me, not the girl everyone expects me to be.”

Grandaddy doesn’t say anything else. He takes
another couple of bites, and then finally replies, “Raegan, you
deserve someone to love you completely, not because of your last
name, what happened to our family, or what people think about you,
but because of the bright and compassionate star you are. If anyone
wants to think otherwise, then they don’t deserve you.” He takes
another bite.

Water begins to creep into my eyes. “I love you,
Grandaddy, and life tossed us a big curveball, but I wouldn’t want
it any other way.”

Grandaddy tries to divert his eyes from mine, but I
catch a glimpse of them shimmering. “Sunshine, dang right. I’m glad
God saved me for you that night. We’ve been on this road a long
time, and I know we don’t know the future. I do, however, know I
feel better knowing you have Emmett in yours.”

I’m unable to control the waterworks as I shake my
head in agreement. No matter what those doctors told him, or he
says they told him, I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that
tells me something different.

Grandaddy stands. “Come here, Sunshine.” I stand and
walk toward him, and he holds me as we both cry. When there aren’t
any more tears to shed, he pulls back and looks at me. “No more
tears, Sunshine. For both of us.”

“
Okay,” I say as he gives me one more squeeze
before we call it a night.

As I walk to my room, I remove my accessories and
feel completely drained emotionally. I toss on my pajamas, wash my
face, and brush my teeth before sliding into the bed. Grabbing my
stuffed bunny, I hold it in my arms like I did when I was five
years old and cry myself to sleep.

Emmett

As soon as I make it out to the
main road, I crank up the radio and smile, because I know Raegan
feels a connection between us too. Once I’m home, I grab a drink
and a bag of chips before watching
SportsCenter
on ESPN and calling it
a night. At some point, I wake up to the TV still on and chip
crumbs on the couch.
Dang! Mom’s gonna
kill me.
I quickly clean up my mess and make my way to
my room. Just as I’m about to meet Raegan in my dreams, the house
phone rings, and everybody knows that a phone call this late at
night can never be good.

I hurry to the hallway to see what’s going on
when Mom meets
me halfway.

“
Em, Cole’s been in an accident. I don’t know
much. All I know is it’s not real good right now. Throw on a shirt
and let’s go,” she says with distress in her voice.

“
Yes, ma’am.” I hustle to my
room, slide on the first shirt and pair of shoes I can find and
meet George and her in the car.
Rae. I’ve gotta call Rae!

“
George, can I call Rae? I think she and Mr.
Lowery would wanna be there,” I say with a little hesitation in my
voice.

“
Please,” he says.

Chapter 11

Raegan

Waking up to the sound of my phone vibrating on the
nightstand, I see Emmett’s name, and I can’t help but smile, even
though I feel like I’ve been run over by a Mack truck.

“
Hey,” I mumble half-asleep,
but attempting to s
ound like I’m
awake.

“
Rae! It’s Cole! He’s been in an accident,” he
races to say with terror in his voice. I realize it’s not morning,
and I pray I’m not reliving a nightmare that occurred twelve years
ago.

“
Em, we’re on our way. Do we need to get
you?”

“
No, I’m with George and Mom,” he
says.

“
I’m getting Grandaddy now.”
I press
End
on my phone, toss it onto my bed, and run to Grandaddy’s
room.

“
Grandaddy! We’ve got to go to the hospital.
It’s Cole. He’s been in an accident.” Grandaddy sits up in a hurry
when he hears the word “accident,” and I know he’s reliving more
vividly what I barely remember.

“
Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen in
five.”

Shutting the door, I run to my room, toss on my
shorts from tonight, a bra, tank top, and pull on my boots. I don’t
bother with my hair, teeth, or anything. Instead, I grab a ball cap
and hurry to meet Grandaddy. He walks in right after me. I toss him
the keys, and we haul ass to get to Cole in time.

Emmett

Once we arrive at the hospital, George goes back to
see Cole. Mom decides to give them a little privacy, and we take a
seat in the waiting area.

“
Mom, you can go with him if
you want. I can wait on Mr. Lowery and
Rae out
here.”

She shakes her head no. “George and Cole are a pair.
They have been each other’s rocks since his mom left all those
years ago. They need time to themselves. George will assess the
situation and come get us if he thinks it’s that bad.”

I start to comment, but then I see the doors open.
Rae looks pale as a ghost and almost on the verge of breaking. When
her eyes meet mine, I see into her soul. She’s afraid of what might
happen if she loses someone else. Running into my arms like I’m her
saving grace, she begins to cry, and between sobs, she asks if he’s
gonna be okay.

Raegan

I swear, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think my
grandaddy was a NASCAR driver. He puts the truck in the wind, and
we are at the local hospital in a matter of minutes. We find a
parking spot and hustle to the front doors. As they slide open, I
see Emmett and his mom standing there. I run to his arms.

“
He’s gonna be okay, right?” I ask as I sob in
his arms.

“
We don’t know. It’s a
waiting
game. His dad’s back there right now,”
he answers as I pull back and wipe the tears.

Grandaddy turns to Emma, Emmett’s mom. “Can I go
back there?”

“
I’m sure, Dover. You’re
family,” she says
quietly.

“
Sunshine, I’ll be right back.” He looks
directly at Emmett. “Don’t let her outta your sight.”

“
Yes, sir.”

Grandaddy makes his way to the nurses’ desk and into
the back. Emmett pulls me close, and I take a seat with him and his
mom. Never in my life did I expect to sit in the hospital waiting
room, waiting to find out a family member’s fate from another car
accident.

We wait for what feels like an eternity before
George and Grandaddy walk out. Cole’s dad looks like hell, and
Grandaddy is putting on a show, but I can read his emotions like a
book.

“
How is he?” I ask. They
don’t’ say anything; they just walk toward us.
Please, God, no!
“Grandaddy?!” I scream. He walks up to me, squeezes my hand,
and looks me in the eye.
Oh my god! Please
tell me he’s not gone.
I feel my breathing
increase, and I’m on the verge of hyperventilating.

“
Sunshine, slow down. Take a deep breath,” he
says calmly. I try to do as he says, but fear consumes my body. I
can’t do this again. “He’s gonna be a’ight. It’s gonna take a
while, but he will pull through.” I crumble in Grandaddy’s arms as
tears of joy pour from my eyes. “Do you wanna go see
him?”

“
Yeah, but shouldn’t Em and
his mom go first?” I ask as I look around to his family. His dad
informs us that Emmett and I should see Cole now, because they are
going to be here all night and will see him when we come
out
.

I look at Grandaddy as Emmett waits for me. “It will
be okay, Sunshine. I promise.” Then, Emmett takes me by the hand,
and we walk to face Cole in a hospital bed.

Once Emmett and I are alone in the
hallway, he turns to look at me. “Are you okay?” I shake my head
yes. “I don’t believe you
.”

“
I
just never
pictured coming back to this place for another accident. It’s like
someone’s playing a sick joke on us,” I say. He wraps his arm
around my shoulder, pulls me close, kisses my forehead, and we make
our way to Cole.

Chapter 12

Raegan

As we walk into Cole’s room, I brace myself for what
I might see. Trying to make it the worst-case scenario will at
least lighten the actual results, even if they are bad.

When Emmett opens the door, I
take
a deep breath and see Cole lying in a hospital
bed looking lifeless. There are cords attached everywhere, the room
is dimly lit, and I stare at his chest to see if it is
moving.

Walking toward the bed, I see his eyes are opening,
and he’s trying to look at us. I let go of Emmett and hurry to his
side.

“
Cole, it’s me,” I say as I grab his hand in
mine. He starts to speak. “Shhh…Don’t talk.” He ignores
me.

Softly, Cole says, “Rae, I’m so
sorry
. You shouldn’t have to be here like this
again.”

“
Stop, Cole. I’m just glad
you’re all right,” I counter as I begin to cry again. Emmett walks
closer and pulls me tighter while I continue to hold onto Cole’s
hand. We don’t say anything else; we just silently pray he’s going
to be okay. After about twenty minutes of silence, Emmett says we
probably should let
the others come in. I shake
my head and lean
over Cole, giving him a
kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Cole.” He tells me he loves me,
too, and Emmett informs him he will return later.

Grandaddy, George, and Emma are waiting for us when
we walk back into the waiting area. We don’t say a lot, but his
parents go back into the room after they insist that Emmett goes
home.

As the three of us make our way out to the parking
lot, we all slide into Grandaddy’s truck. We drive toward Emmett’s
house, and after we drop him off, I’m taken back in time to when I
made this journey with my grandaddy after the funerals, but instead
of Johnny Cash, I hear Luke Bryan’s “Drink A Beer,” and I’m blessed
that Cole is still with us. Grandaddy doesn’t say a word; he pats
my thigh, letting me know he understands and assuring me it’s gonna
be all right.

Once we get to the farm, we make
our way inside and back to bed. It won’t be long before the sun
comes up. I set my alarm, because I know even though it’s Sunday,
there is still work to be done before
church.