Covering the Carolinas (48 page)

I’m in complete shock, which I
shouldn’t be, because this is Grandaddy up one side and down the
other, I reply, “Yes, sir.”
Mental note:
See the doctor on Monday.

After my reply, Grandaddy goes back to talk about
the Braves, and that’s when I decide to plan our trip this
summer.

“
Grandaddy, who do you want to see
the Braves play? I mean, when we go this summer?”

“
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Red Sox or
Rangers. So, we’re really gonna do this?” he states.

“
Yup, we are.” I pull out my phone and check
the calendar. “Looks like it’s gonna be the Braves versus Red
Sox.”

“
Allll righhht!” he says, and my cup runneth
over with pure happiness.

On our way back to the farm, Grandaddy and I roll
down the windows and crank up the radio. When Miranda Lambert’s
“Over You” comes through the speakers, I let my voice do the
talking.

“
Man, oh, man, I’ll never get tired of hearing
you sing,” he says.

“
Well, I did learn from the best.”

“
Who me?” he asks as I shake my head yes.
“Shoot.”

“
Grandaddy, you know it’s the truth. Come on.
Sing it for me.”

He grins, and with that, he turns down the
radio and sings my favorite hymn, “Amazing Grace.” As his deep
voice hits every note right on key, I smile at him, and when the
chorus begins, I harmonize with him. We spend the remainder of the
ride home singing and acting like there isn’t a care in the
world.

As Grandaddy puts the truck into
park
and turns off the ignition, he turns to look at
me. “Sunshine, when something happens to me, whether it’s today,
tomorrow, or fifty years from now, promise me that you will
sing
for
me.”

Tears threaten my eyes. “I
promise
.” After we walk
into
the house, I go
straight to my room to get
ready for the party with Emmett.

A few minutes before seven, I see
Emmett’s truck pulling up the driveway. I hurry to finish up my
makeup, but not before Grandaddy lets him inside. I can hear them
talking from my room, but can’t make out a word.
Lord, please, don’t let Granddaddy tell him that
he knows!

Emmett

As I start to knock on the front door, it opens
mid-knock.

“
Evenin’, Mr. Lowery,” I say.

“
Evenin’, Emmett. Why don’t
you come inside?”
Oh, shit! What is
going on?
I make my way inside and he
leads me to the kitchen, where I see a shotgun lying on the
table.
Oh God, he knows, and I’m about to
die right here in her kitchen.
“Boy, lose
that
chicken shit look off your face. I need to have a
word with you.”

“
Yes, sir.” I remove my deer in
the headlights look and then take a seat at the kitchen table with
only the gun separating us.

“
Do you love her?” he asks bluntly.

“
Yes, sir, I do.”

“
That’s good to know. I want to tell you
something, but you can’t let Sunshine know that you know. Do you
understand me?”

“
Yes, sir.” Fear begins to envelop
my body, knowing I’m going to have to keep something from her,
but
this is it. I’m going to have the missing piece to
the puzzle.

“
I’m sick, Emmett. I have
leukemia. We’ve been trying oral medication, but it’s not working.
I had originally asked Raegan and Cole not to say anything, but you
need to know. Because I made her promise me, she will not tell you.
I start some hard-core chemotherapy on Monday. I’m not sure how
this is going to turn out, but I need to know my Sunshine will be
taken care of if I’m no longer on this Earth. Do you understand
what I’m tellin’ you?”
Oh, no.
Raegan’s worst fear might come true, and she’s been keeping
it
bottled up inside? This is crazy. How
am I gonna act like I don’t know the actual truth?

“
Yes, sir, I understand. I’ve known for some
time now that she’s been lying about something. I knew it was to
protect you, but I didn’t know why. Please, let me know if you ever
need me or if there is anything I can do.”

“
Thank you, Emmett. I just need your word.
She’s loved you since you gave her that stuffed bunny. You have no
idea what she’s been through, and how one little gesture changed
her life. I just need to know she’s taken care of when I’m gone,
because we know death is inevitable.”

“
You have my word,” I say, realizing our
relationship began to build long before we knew the meaning of
love.

“
Oh, and Emmett, I know.” I
have a puzzled look on my face, and then it clicks.
Oh, shit!
“Just know if
you make me a great-grandaddy before my time, this shotgun has your
name
all
over
it.”

And, just like
clockwork
, Raegan walks into the kitchen.

Chapter 29

Raegan

By the look on Emmett’s face, I’m not sure what
Grandaddy said to him, but I think he just informed him of the
knowledge he gained today over a burger. “Hey, y’all,” I say. “Are
you ready, Em?”

“
Yeah, nice talkin’ to you, Mr. Lowery,” he
says, and Grandaddy smirks and gives him a head nod.

I walk over to Grandaddy, give him a hug and tell
him I love him, and then we are out the door. As soon as we are on
the front porch, I look at him. “Are you okay?”

“
Um, not exactly,” he
answers as I stop and face him. “You really
do
tell him everything, don’t ya?”

“
Actually, he figured it out, but I didn’t
deny it when he wanted confirmation.”

Emmett doesn’t say anything; he just takes me by the
hand and leads me to his truck. As we make our way down the road,
he glances my direction.

“
What, Em?” I ask.

“
Just curious…what did he tell
you?”

“
Just to be careful and not
to make him a great-granddaddy before his time. Then, he told me to
get on the pill or something.”
How
can I just spit this out like it’s no big deal? It’s a major big
deal, and I can’t believe I’m in the middle of this conversation.
But, I guess if you are gonna do it, you better be
responsible.

“
He said it just like that?” Emmett
asks.

“
Pretty close. You know he keeps it real,” I
say with a giggle.

“
I do, all too well.”

“
So, are you ready
for
tonight?” I ask.

“
You better believe it. Oh, and Cole said they
were out of strawberry, so he got ya lemonade.”

“
Yummm. Let’s get
our
shine on
,” I sing. Emmett looks my direction, and I can see in his
eyes he loves me, and I love him.

As we approach the Phillips’ farm, Emmett puts the
truck into four-wheel drive and then parks beside the other
vehicles. He comes around to let me out, and we make our way to the
tailgate to chill with the moonshine in hand.

Emmett places his hands around my waist and picks me
up to sit. Before he can back away, I place my arms around his
neck.

“
Em, thank you.”

He looks at me, confused. “For
what?
”

“
For loving me,” I say, looking him in the
eyes.

He takes a second to grasp what
has just left my lips. “Raegan, I don’t just love you. I’m
in
love with
you.”

“
I’m
in
love with you, too,”
I say, as we are now so close I can feel his breath on my face. He
leans in and brings his lips to mine. “I love you, Emmett
Bridges.”

“
I love you, too, Raegan Lowery.”

I never would have planned for that to be the moment
I told him I loved him, but it just felt right. The only thing I
wish is that we would have been alone.

“
Are you sure you wanna stay here?” he
questions.

“
Not
really
, but I wouldn’t mind dancin’ by the fire
with ya later. Plus, Jordyn will kill me if I don’t
show.”

“
True,” he says as he backs away and hops on
the back of the truck beside me.

As other trucks continue to pile
in, it doesn’t take long for Jordyn and Ridge to arrive. She
squeals as she runs to me.
That girl ain’t
right. Wonder how much she’s drunk already?

“
Are you happy to see me, or is that the booze
talkin’?” I ask her.

“
Now, Rae! You
know
me better than that! I’m always glad to
see my BFF. I’m just glad Emmett decided to share you
tonight.”

“
Girl, like you’d even notice. You’ve been
with Ridge every free moment you’ve had.”

She thinks it over a minute and
admits I’m
right. “So, what’s in the jar
tonight?”

“
Ya know…a little lemonade,” I say with a
mischievous wink.

“
Ohhhhhh, my fav! Let me see it.” I pass the
jar to Jordyn, as Ridge finally catches up with her.

“
Dang, slow down, baby,”
Ridge says as Jordyn holds up a finger, telling him to stop as she
takes a few
more gulps of the sweet
liquid.

I try my best not to laugh, but when Emmett
takes it straight from her mouth, I can’t
control myself.

“
Hey, that’s not funny!” she whines as Emmett
takes the jar and partakes.

“
Damn. That’s some good shit
right there,” he says.
Spoken like
a true guy.

“
My turn,” I say, and
Ridge
follows after me. We’ve been here less
than thirty minutes, and the jar is well over half-gone.

The lower the sun sets, the louder
the people become. As I scan the crowd, I see that Jace and his
meathead friends have arrived. When he catches me looking their
way, he smiles and raises a glass toward me.
Seriously? I know he’s not happy for me. Oh, wait. I get it.
I see his new mission approaching.
Jace
has moved on to Missy Tate. She’s everything I’m not, and I’m so
glad. I give him a smile and return my focus to
Jordyn, Ridge, and Emmett.

We spend the majority of the time
catching up on what’s going on, or rather, Jordyn tells us the
gossip in our little town. When “Somethin’ Bad” begins to echo from
the speakers, I look at Jordyn, and we walk toward the fire. Ridge
and Emmett look at each other and just shake their heads. I sing
the Miranda Lambert
portion while Jordyn takes Carrie
Underwood
. Before we know it, all the
girls are approaching and singing right along with
us. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought
the CMT Awards just rolled into Pleasant Hill at a dang
fiel
d party.

When the song ends, we stay put and continue
dancing and having a good time. Before long, guys
are making their way to their ladies, and when
Emmett’s arms wrap around my waist from behind, I let my head fall
back on his chest as we move to the beat of the music.

Once the music slows, Emmett spins me around to face
him and doesn’t let me go. I can’t help but smile when I listen to
the lyrics. “Raegan Lowery, I love you,” he says, as he looks me
dead in the eyes.

“
Em, I love you, too.” I crash my lips onto
his while we sway to the music. We continue to dance for several
more songs until I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder. I glance over
to see Jace standing beside me.

“
Hey, Jace, is everything okay?” I question,
and Emmett stares him down.

“
Yeah, I was just curious to know if I might
get a dance tonight.” I look at Emmett for the answer, and he looks
as if he is ready to pounce.

“
What happened to Missy?” I
inquire.

“
Ya know, she’s not half as
fun to catch.” I can feel Emmett’s breathing increasing, and I know
I can’t have him in a brawl with Jace.
I know Em would win hands down.

“
Whatever, Jace. Can’t you find some bimbo
willing to give you a piece to dance with?”

Jace smirks, and I know whatever
is about to escape from his mouth is going to be a cheap
rema
rk.

As a smirk unfolds on Jace’s face, he begins to
speak, “From what I understand, I heard you put out now, Miss
Lowery.”

“
You son of a bitch!” Emmett hollers as he
starts to swing at Jace.

“
Come on, Big Boy. Let’s see what you got.”
Jace laughs, ready to duke it out with him.

“
Em, he’s not worth it,” I say calmly. When he
ignores me, I yell for Ridge to help. Before I can process it, a
crowd is beginning to huddle around. I never let go of Emmett, as
he’s ready to give Jace what’s been coming to him for years. Emmett
begins to hit Jace blow after blow and I’m thankful when Ridge
jumps in to pull Emmett off Jace. One of the meatheads grabs Jace
and helps him up. Ridge begins to push Emmett toward the truck, but
when Emmett sees a chance to escape, he does, and I run after
him.