Covering the Carolinas (50 page)

“
Em, your sweet gesture gave me hope, just
like you being here with me now does. I’m so glad you
know.”

I feel a little bit better, knowing she is okay with
me finding out about her grandaddy. I knew I couldn’t lie to her
anymore, and I didn’t care if she pushed me away, because I wasn’t
walking out of her life, ever.

As Raegan begins to get quiet, I hold her until she
falls asleep in my arms, and then place her in the truck to take
her home. Making my way up the steps, I’m met by Mr. Lowery. He
shakes his head and tells me once I take her to her room to come
and sit a few minutes with him. Something about this conversation
tells me that things are about to change for sure.

Making my way back downstairs, I hear Mr. Lowery in
the kitchen. I enter and see him pouring two classes of sweet tea.
As he approaches me, he hands me a glass of tea and a bag of frozen
peas.

“
Have a seat, Emmett. I’m not sure what
happened tonight, but you’re gonna need to get something on that
eye of yours before it swells anymore.” I don’t answer, instead I
place the frozen contents on my eye.

“
Emmett, things have been
rough around here for a while. I feel awful for making Sunshine
feel like she has to keep it from everyone, but I was hoping that
this would be a quick fix. Undoubtedly, it’s not going to be. I’m
not exactly sure how long these treatments are actually going to
work. I’m tired of her always worrying about me, and I want this to
be between us and Cole. I want to watch her
live
. Can you help me do
that?

In this moment, I know his secret
is more than Raegan ever imagined. “Yes, sir. I’ll do whatever you
need me to do, and I promise to
always
be there for her.”

Chapter 31

Raegan

With the sound of the alarm, my head begins to
throb in rhythm
.
I think I’m dying. Why do I feel like I’ve been run over
twice? Oh, no! Hurry! Hurry!
I make it to
the bathroom in the nick of time. As the contents spew from my
stomach, I recall the events in the wee hours of the
morning.
I think I’m gonna die!
There is a knock at the door, interrupting
me.

“
Sunshine, are you okay?” Grandaddy asks as he
stays on the other side of the door.

“
I will be. Might be slow moving, though,” I
mumble.

“
Okay, meet me at the kitchen
table.”

“
Yes, sir,” I say as I meet the porcelain
throne, yet again. When I have nothing left to expel, I splash
water onto my face, change clothes, pop a few pain relievers, and
make my way to the kitchen.

“
Rough mornin’?” he
questions
.

“
More like the stupidity won last night. Why
did I think that was a good idea?”

“
Come here. Have a seat.” I
do as he asks while he pours me a cup of coffee and makes me a
breakfast plate.
Oh gosh! I don’t
know if I can eat this.
“Raegan, I don’t
agree with how you chose to handle this situation, but I’m thankful
Emmett respects me enough to call me.”

“
Did he…” I start to say, but I am interrupted
by Grandaddy.

“
Sunshine, you have yourself a man of his
word. He brought you home, knocked on my door, made sure you were
okay, and then he sat at this table with me and explained what
happened last night. Like I said, I don’t agree with it one bit,
but we all have to escape reality from time to time. For that, I’ll
give you a pass this go round, but not again. Never drown your
feelings with the liquid courage within a glass jar. It might feel
good at the time, but it always comes back to bite you in the
morning
. I love you, and I will not let
you make that your escape. It will only hurt you in the
end.”

Taking a few bites, I begin to feel somewhat alive,
and I assure Grandaddy that I will not do that again.

“
You better hurry up,
Sunshine. We gotta be at church in an hour.”
Crap! I didn’t even think about that.

The entire time I’m listening to the preacher,
I can hear my stomach churning as if it’s trying to tell the world
what I chose to do last night.
Enough
already!
At exactly noon, we walk out the wooden
doors, and Emmett greets me.

“
Rae, ’bout last night.”

I take his hand in mine, replying, “Thank
you.” Those are the only words that need to be spoken. He kisses my
cheek, and Grandaddy informs me that he is going out to eat with
Joe
. He then proceeds to ask Emmett if he
minds taking me out for lunch and back home this afternoon. Of
course, he doesn’t, and I can’t help but wonder what Grandaddy is
really up to.

After Emmett and I eat lunch, we hang out at my
house. Since I no longer feel hungover, we take a ride over the
farm and return to the spot where I spilled my entire bottled-up
feelings from the past twelve years last night. He stops, and I
glance over my shoulder at him.

“
Whatcha thinkin’, Rae?” he
questions
.

“
I’m thinking how did I get so lucky,” I say
as I turn to face him.

“
Rae, it’s not luck. It’s how our story was
bound to play out. I’m almost certain three individuals are looking
down on us and cheering us on.” The thought of my mawmaw and
parents smiling down on me makes me feel alive.

“
I guess you’re right. Sometimes I hope they
turn their heads and don’t watch, though.” Emmett has a stunned
look on his face. “Ya know, there are some things that parents
don’t need to watch their children do.” As he catches on, I burst
out laughing. He slides his arms around my waist and pulls me
toward him.

“
Yeah, I hope you’re right.”

“
Wanna make them turn their head?” I ask with
a wink.

Emmett

Dang, that girl is going to be the
death of me, but if I die loving her, I’d be happy with that. Then,
the reality of my words set in.
Death
. I never want to leave her,
and tomorrow, her world is going to change, either for the better
or for the worse.
Which one, we don’t know, but I know
regardless of Mr. Lowery’s outcome, I’m not going
anywhere.

After we make our way back to the house, I tell her
I’ll go with them to the hospital in the morning. Of course, she
refuses and says one of us needs to go to school. All of that has
to do with appearances. If we are both absent, people will talk,
and that’s what her grandaddy doesn’t want. She also informs me
that she is going tomorrow to really get a feel for things. She
doesn’t know if Cole and her grandaddy are trying to hide things
from her.

******

When my alarm goes off, I make sure I hurry to get
ready, so I can talk to Cole before I leave for school. After I
knock on his door, he tells me to come inside.

“
What’s up, Em?” he asks.

“
I was just wondering if you would keep an eye
on my girl today.”

“
Of course, I will. How ’bout you not lay Jace
out at school today?”

“
I take it you heard about it.”

“
Word travels fast in a small town,” he
replies, and I laugh. He promises to be there for Mr. Lowery and
Raegan. I can’t express how thankful I am for him. “Now, get out of
here before you’re tardy.”

“
I’m goin’,” I say as I make my way
downstairs, grab a Pop Tart, and walk to my truck.

As I pull into the parking lot at
school, I’m greeted by none other than Jace.
Happy Freakin’ Monday!

“
Jace,” I say as I shut my door. He doesn’t
say anything; he just stands there. “Are you gonna move or
what?”

“
Are you gonna make me?” he smarts
back.

“
No, I don’t want any trouble.”

“
Who said anything ’bout trouble? I just want
to finish what we started.”

“
Jace, there’s nothing to finish, but I am
curious, though. What made you say that to Raegan? You know she’s
not like that.”

Jace smirks as he takes a step
forward. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. I just made up that shit,
but the way you jumped my ass proved me right. Just wanted to clear
this up for ya.
You
let the world know your business. I just left the
bait.”
Damn. What do I say to that?
Nothing. I say nothing.
I take a step to
the left of Jace then stop. As I’m trying to talk myself out of
doing something stupid yet again, Jace starts to laugh, and that
pisses me off. Catching him off guard, I turn back to my right,
grab him by his shirt, and push him backwards until he is pressed
against my truck.

“
You listen to me, Jace. You
didn’t prove shit except how much of an ass you really are. If you
think this will make Raegan push me away, you are wrong. Raegan
is
mine
,
not
yours
. Next
time you decide to pull some shit like this, I’m going to make sure
you never see the light of day. You got me?” I say as I push him
hard against the truck one more time before turning to
leave.

Chapter 32

Raegan

After feeding all the farm animals, I go inside to
get ready for a day I never wanted to happen, but it’s reality.
Grandaddy is sick, and this is the only way for him to survive.
Once I’m showered and dressed for the day, I eat breakfast, and
Grandaddy and I carry on our normal morning conversation as we wait
for Cole.

As I finish washing the dishes, Cole walks inside
the house. He looks so well put together, but when I look at him, I
can sense he’s as scared as the rest of us.

“
Mornin’. Y’all save me
anything?” he asks
.

“
Yeah, your plate is on the stove,” I
reply.

“
Awesome,” he says, grabbing his plate and
coffee and taking a seat at the table. “How are you feelin’, Uncle
Dover?” he asks mid-bite.

“
Healthy as a horse for now. Hurry up, or
we’re gonna be late,” Grandaddy states.

Once Cole finishes his breakfast,
we head out the door. Cole
drives his truck, and
before we know it, we are at Cleveland Hematology and
Oncology.

I try to push my fears out of my head as we make our
way inside the building. This isn’t going to be the hard part. I
have a feeling the next few days are what is going to be tough.

As Grandaddy is taken back, Cole and I sit in the
waiting room until he gets settled, and then we are allowed inside
the room with him.

“
Rae, are you hangin’ in there?” Cole
asks.

“
Yeah, I guess. How was Em this
morning?”
Because I would rather talk
about Em than this.

“
Worried about you. I told him not to clobber
Jace today, and everything would be great.” He laughs.

“
Ohmygosh! Cole, it was
crazy! One minute everything was okay, and the next, all crap broke
loose. I don’t know what I would have done if it got bad.” Before
we can finish
our conversation, the nurse calls
us back. I look toward Cole, and he takes my hand in his and
squeezes it.

As we walk through the door to the large room full
of recliners, all I see is white. Everything is bright, sterile,
and white. Then, I notice all the people in the chairs. Each of
them is covered with a blanket, and the majority of them look
feeble. I spot Grandaddy on the right side, and my heart shatters
as I see him surrounded by cords and monitors. He smiles at us as
we approach.

“
Wipe that look off your face, Sunshine. If
you are gonna mope, I’m sendin’ ya to school. You got it?” he says
with a little attitude.

“
Yes, sir.” I smile because at least he
doesn’t have one of those blankets. “How are ya?”

“
Okay, now that they’ve quit stickin’ me. I
guess I shoulda got that port-a-cath thingy. Oh well, I’ll just
have new battle wounds.”

“
Anything
we can do, Uncle Dover?” Cole asks.

“
Yep, get me that fishing magazine outta your
truck. I’m gonna be here about two hours they said. Y’all might
want to find something to pass the time.”

That’s easy for me. I pull out my kindle and begin
to read Jillian Dodd’s newest release.

“
Whatcha readin’?” Cole asks.

“
Adore
Me
.”

“
Is that the one about Moon Boy or somethin’?”
Cole questions.

“
Yup. Still don’t know, but I’m hoping it’s
Aiden or Brooklyn. Who knows?!” I say.

“
I don’t get you girls and your books,” he
says as he shakes his head.

“
Me either,” Grandaddy chimes in.

We spend the next two hours reading, talking,
helping Grandaddy stay comfortable, and making the nurse laugh. I
believe she’s gonna remember us, for sure. Once Grandaddy is
finished, they check his vitals, and we make our way to the truck.
Grandaddy begins to walk slower than normal. I don’t say a word; I
just put my arm in his for support.