Covering the Carolinas (51 page)

“
I love you, Sunshine,” he says.

“
I love you more, Grandaddy.”

Once we arrive back at the farm, I help
Grandaddy get comfortable before going to school. Cole is going to
keep an eye on him until I get home today.
Thank goodness,
cheerleading is over
for now.

“
Are you sure you’re okay?” I question before
leaving.

“
Yes, Raegan, I’m fine. Now, get on to school
before I drag you there myself.”

“
I gotcha. I’ll be home after school. Call me
if I need to pick up anything on the way.” He nods, and I kiss the
top of his bald head before telling Cole to call me if anything
happens. I leave and put the truck in the wind.

I arrive halfway through third
block, and have totally missed lunch.
Dang, I’m gonna be starving by three o’clock.
Pushing it to the side, I pull my notebook and
pencil from my bag and take notes like a mad woman.

As the bell rings to end the day, I exit class to
head to my locker, but come face-to-face with Jace instead.

“
Hey, Jace, how are ya?” I
decide to be a Southern Belle and play
nice.

“
I’m good. Have you seen Emmett today?” he
prods.

“
No, I came in late today. What’s it matter to
you anyway?” I ask.

“
Ask your boyfriend,” he says and walks away.
That was totally weird, and for some reason I feel as if things
have gone from bad to worse.

Rounding the corner, I see Emmett waiting on me at
my locker, and a smile develops across my face.

“
Hey, Em,” I say as I wrap my arms around him
in a tight squeeze. “Gosh, I missed you.”

“
I missed you, too,” he says, but I can tell
his mind is elsewhere.

“
He’s doin’ okay,” I say into his
ear.

“
Good. Rae, I need to talk
to
you.”
Oh gosh. I
feel my stomach begin on a rollercoaster ride.

“
Sure. Is everything okay? I mean, I ran into
Jace a few minutes ago and he said to ask you what was wrong with
him. Why would he do that?”

He doesn’t reply.
Something’s not right. What is he not telling me?
Is he gonna break up with me. What have I done?
Then, my mind stops spinning out of control as my eyes land
on Jace across the hallway.
That POS! He’s
up to something.
I get my nerves under
control as we make our way to my truck.

“
Hey, why don’t you meet me at the creek? I
don’t want an audience,” I say. Emmett looks at me like he’s caught
off guard by my reaction. “Plus, I gotta get home to
Grandaddy.”

He nods, and once he closes my
truck door, he makes his way to his truck and follows me to the
creek. As I wait for him, I send Cole a
quick text
before getting out.

“
So, what’s up?” I question with my arms
crossed.

“
Rae,
I’m to blame
for what happened Saturday night.”

Confusion engulfs my body. “But, you said you didn’t
tell anyone?” I question as fear rises in my throat.

“
I didn’t, but Jace did that on purpose. He
wanted to know. He baited me, and I fell for it. Hook, line, and
sinker.”

“
I’m no blonde, but I think I might need you
to explain,” I say as calmly as possible.

Jace didn’t know anything about us, but I guess he
assumed. Anyway, when he made that comment about you, he knew by my
reaction it was true. So, he didn’t tell the world. I did without
even knowing,” he says as he waits for my response.

I close my eyes and replay what he
has just told me. Everyone knows our business because Jace baited
Emmett. He was just trying to protect me, but if I hadn’t let him
in, there would be nothing to tell.
Oh
gosh, I’m gonna be sick.
I lose everything
I had for breakfast.

“
Rae, are you okay?” Emmett asks as he hurries
to my side.

“
I’m fine,” I say as I take
a step away from him. As
my reality smacks me
in the face, I become angry. Not really at Emmett, but just at the
world in general. “I’m sorry, Em, but I just can’t
do this today.” I walk toward my truck and leave
him dumbfounded.

“
Rae, wait!” he yells as he runs to catch me.
“Please, don’t leave me.”

I turn abruptly to him. “I never
said I was leaving. I said I ‘
can’t
do this.’” I point to us. “Not today. I’ve been
on a rollercoaster ride of emotions since Saturday night, and if
this shit between you and Jace continues, we are done. Grandaddy
needs me right now and I won’t watch you two fight over
me.”

“
You can’t, Rae. I love you.”

“
I love you, too, Em. That’s
why I have to go.
I can’t put you through this
mess. I love you too much.”

Emmett tries to keep me from getting into my truck.
He eventually realizes my mind is made up. It’s not that I don’t
want to be with him, because I do. I just can’t right now. I need
to focus on Grandaddy.

Emmett

As Raegan tells me she can’t be with me anymore, I
feel the air leave my lungs, and I don’t know if I am going to
survive. That girl is everything to me. I knew telling her was a
risk, but I had to tell her. She couldn’t hear it from Jace, and I
knew sooner or later that was going to happen.

As she pulls away in her truck, I
watch because I can’t move. The only thing that gives me hope is
her telling me she can’t do this
right
now
, and right now
isn’t
forever. From this point
forward, I’ll give her space with her grandaddy, but when the time
comes, I’ll be there like I never left.

Chapter 33

Raegan

I haul ass back to the farm. Not only has Jace
managed to ruin my relationship with Emmett, but he also helped me
realize what I need to truly focus on right now.

As I park the truck, Cole meets me. “Care to explain
what the heck just happened between you and Emmett?”

“
Nothing,” I say as I try to walk past him,
but he puts a stop to it quickly.

“‘
Nothing,’ my
ass.
That boy loves you, and he only reacted
that way because he didn’t want someone talking ’bout you like
that. I know life sucks right now, but don’t go through it alone.
He wants to be here for you,
me,
and
Uncle
Dover.”

“
I just told him I couldn’t do this right now.
I didn’t mean forever. Just. Right. Now. Cole,
Grandaddy needs me more.”

“
I understand, but you broke him.” Hearing
Cole say those words makes my heart crack, but my mind is made up.
It isn’t about Emmett, Cole, or my feelings. It is about helping
Grandaddy survive.

“
Whatever, Rae. I just hope
he’s still around when you come to your senses. This is the
stupidest thing you’ve ever
done.”

“
Ughhhhhh!” I huff as I push into him and make
my way toward the house.

As I clomp up the steps, I
swing open the screen door with all my might. Grandaddy turns
to look at me from his recliner.

“
What’s wrong with you?” he asks.

“
Nothing, except I’m done with Emmett for
now.”

“
What’d you do that for?” he banters
back.

“
Don’t worry about it. I just want it to be
you and me for now.”

“
Sunshine—”

I cut him off. “No. This is it, end of discussion,”
I say, and he doesn’t respond because he knows I’m just like him,
and when my mind is made up, there’s no changing it.

Over the next week, Emmett
continues to blow up my phone, but I ignore him. He tries to talk
to me at lunch, but I sit at the opposite end of the table beside
Jordyn. She doesn’t understand what’s going on, but she doesn’t
question. Other than the whispers from people about Emmett and me
breaking up, everything continues like usual. No one has a clue
about Grandaddy. He’s doing okay, and he only has one more
treatment because his numbers are doing so well. I begin to feel
some hope in my life, and I want to talk to Emmett about it, but I
won’t do that yet. I need to make sure everything is back to
normal.
I think I need to talk to
Cole.
I pull out my phone
and
text him to hang around until I get home today.

Emmett

The moment I lay my eyes on her after school, I know
her life is about to change. I’m thankful to have Cole in my life.
When Raegan pushed me away, Cole pulled me in closer. He knew how I
felt as well as her. He kept me informed through all the
treatments, visits, and her smiles and tears. I’ll never be able to
repay him for that. When he called me saying Mr. Lowery was
cancer-free, I had to see the truth in her eyes before she let the
calm waters predict our future.

As she approaches, I can see her
hesitation. I’m not going to talk to her, but when her eyes meet
mine, I stare into her soul like I did months ago. She still loves
me, and after today, I pray she’ll let me back into her life, but
there would be one difference. If life gets
tough ever again, I am not leaving, no matter how hard she
pushes me away. I love her too damn much.

Raegan

As I walk to my truck after
school, I notice Emmett is parked beside me.
Oh gosh. Oh
gosh. I’m not ready for
this.
I smile as I pass him and make my
way to the driver’s side. He
smiles back, but doesn’t
approach me. In that moment, my heart cries because I
think he might be moving on, and if I’ve lost
him, it’s no one’s fault but my own. As I go to put the truck in
drive, I notice an envelope on the console. Putting the truck back
in park, I open it and smile as I read the words from
Em.

When I think of Raegan Lowery, I
see sunshine. I see a girl who’s unstoppable, but hides her
feelings from the world. Raegan Lowery isn’t perfect, but it’s her
imperfections that make her perfect for me. She’s what my perfect
girl is designed to be. She’s the girl that makes me feel alive,
and she’s the reason I want to live. I love her, and I know that
she loves me too.

R-eal as they come

E-ndures and pushes forward

A-ttached to the ones she loves

G-uards her heart

A-chieves anything she puts her mind to

N-ow has my heart

As I stare at the words Emmett has written, my heart
warms, and I know that it’s time to let him back into my life. I
put the truck into drive and hurry to meet Cole.

“
Hey, Cole,” I say as I get out of the truck,
but he’s sprinting toward me. He meets me with a huge hug. “Are you
okay?” I ask.

“
You bet! You need to get in there.” I don’t
know whether to be happy or scared.

“
Okay, but I need to talk to you.” He follows
me inside, and I see Grandaddy shelling pecans as he watches a
basketball game on TV.

“
Hey, Grandaddy,” I say as I walk to him. A
big grin covers his face. “What’s that grin for?”

“
Oh, ya know, Dr. Charles
called with my blood work, and we’re good
. No
need to do that last one.”
Did I just hear
that right?
“You heard me right, Sunshine. I’m
cancer-free.”

Tears begin to pour down my face from pure
joy. I turn to
look at Cole, and
he’s crying, too.
We did it! We got
through this. No one knew. He’s gonna be okay.

“
Now, quit the crying. I hope to be back to
full-time work in the next week. I plan on driving into town
tomorrow and going out to dinner with my buddies. They were
startin’ to get suspicious.”

“
Sounds good. Hey, Cole, I think I need to
take a ride. Do you wanna go with me?” I ask.

“
Sure. I bet I can beat ya to the fence
post.”

“
Yeah, right,” I say mid-run
toward
the door. Cole and I race to
the fence line, and when we reach it, I’m
completely shocked when I see Emmett standing against it. I turn to
look at Cole, and he shrugs his shoulders.

“
I figured it was time to get back to living,
Rae. Don’t be mad
at me,” Cole says
and
then turns back toward the house.

I turn off the ignition and slowly make my way to
him. “How’d you know I’d be here?”

“
There are some things between
Cole and me that you will never understand. He’s not my blood
brother, but he is my brother. He’s kept me informed, told me about
everything. I knew today when you walked
to your truck
that your life was about to change for the better. I couldn’t miss
it, and it’s good to know we know you well enough to know when
things are
at either extreme—good or
bad—you take them out on this field. I’m just glad Cole clued me
in,” he says as he walks toward me.

When we are a foot apart, he stops. “Rae, I
know why you pushed me away. It’s made my life a living hell for
the past couple of months, but knowing Cole was there for
you
helped. I love you with my entire
heart, and I can’t wait to have you back in my life.”