by Casey Peeler
The inner happiness that I was beginning to feel soon deflates when he speaks his last words. I begin to shake my head no.
Dad looks at Cash, the officer, and me. “Excuse me, officer. I think we might need to give them a minute,” Dad says, and they leave us alone for a moment.
Brushing my hair behind my ear, Cash tells me, “Char-coal, you have to. There’s no other way. I’m prepared to pay the price. Every moment that I have to pay will be worth the day when I can walk out and hold you in my arms forever with no chance of Dylan Sloan ever hurting you or another girl again.”
Cash’s words, “another girl,” ring in my ears. That’s what this is really about—saving another girl from this asshole. Tears begin to stream down my face, and as much as I just want to take the easy way out, I can’t.
“Okay.” Is the only word I can manage, and Cash pulls me in to let me know that everything is going to be all right. He inhales a deep breath like he’s trying to ingrain this moment. Then, as if they are watching from a distance, Dad and the officer return.
“Miss Rice, have you decided what you would like to do?”
“Yes, sir. I want to file second-degree rape charges and a restraining order.”
Without thinking twice, the officer takes the previous paperwork, pushes it to the side, and then pulls up new documents on his desktop and begins to type. Once the items are complete, he gives me a little debriefing about how things will go from here.
“Miss Rice, now that this is in the system, a warrant for his arrest will be made. He will have to appear before the magistrate to see if bond can be made along with the terms and conditions of his release and a court date will be established.”
“What do you mean by ‘release’?”
“Basically, the magistrate can determine if he can be released with certain regulations. Regardless, he will not be able to come near you.”
I shake my head in understanding. The officer leaves to make copies and gives them to me, but not before having a final word with Cash. “Son, if I were you, I’d get myself a lawyer right now. You’re gonna need one, but I'll see what I can do. You better pray you get Judge Reeves on the stand. She’s as good as they come. She knows her stuff and a good guy when she sees one.”
“Yes, sir,” Cash says as we stand. We all shake the officer’s hand and make our way out of the office to front of the station.
As we open the wooden door, our eyes meet Mr. Sloan. Oh, shit! My heart begins to pound, my breathing increases, and I think I might pass out. I try to walk backward, but Cash stops me.
Mr. Sloan looks in our direction with rage engulfing his face. He approaches us swiftly, stopping within inches of Cash. He begins to yell at Cash, pointing his finger and attempting to grab his shirt when the officer approaches and reminds him that might not be the best decision.
Mr. Sloan turns to the officer and informs him that he might want to get to the Grassy Pond Medical Center because his son is fighting for his life thanks to Cash.
“Excuse me, Mr. Sloan. I believe you better not touch him, or you will have charges filed against you. There are some things you don’t know about your son, and I’ll be more than happy to escort you to GPMC.”
With that comment, Mr. Sloan takes a step back from Cash. He and the officer leave through the glass doors while we stand there. As if time has just stood still, we are brought back to reality by the receptionist.
“Yeah, we are fine. Thank you for your help,” Dad says as he guides us to the door.
Chapter 6
The ride back to the farm is anything but quiet. I’m actually at a loss for words and in shock from running into Dylan’s dad at the station. Dad and Cash, on the other hand, spend the ride talking about the best lawyers in town for and him and me.
As we approach the house, I can see that the lights are still on, and I can only assume that everyone is still awake. The one thing that is different is the extra vehicle in the driveway. Cash’s parents are here. Turning, I glance to Cash, and he shrugs his shoulders.
“Cash, I see your parents decided to come over. I think that we all need to sit down and talk about this because I can only imagine what the morning will be like once the Sloans talk to the police tonight.”
“Yes, sir,” Cash says.
Once the truck is parked, Dad turns off the ignition. “I’m going inside, but y’all take a minute before you come in.” We agree with a silent nod. Dad gets out of the truck and makes his way to the house. Mama greets him at the door with a look of sheer panic when we aren’t with him. After Dad motions to the truck, she looks relieved, and they go back inside.
I crawl over the front seat and into the back with Cash. His hardworking arms are waiting for me. We don’t talk; we just hold each other. Tears begin to fall from my eyes.
“Char-coal, it’s gonna be okay. I promise.”
“How can you promise? We don’t know what the future holds. I can’t live without you.”
Removing his arm from my shoulder, he turns to face me. “If there is one thing I’m sure about in the future, it’s us. Nothing else matters, Charley Anne Rice. We are going to be together forever. So what if I have to pay the price for taking up for you. I don’t care. It will be well worth the time I might have to spend in the big house because I know that you’ll be waiting for me when I get out.”
“Please don’t talk like that. I can’t even stand the thought of you in stripes,” I say with a half-grin.
At that moment, Cash does what he does. He makes me feel happy inside and out. He starts singing in his most girlie soprano voice. “I hate stripes and orange ain’t my color. And if I squeeze that trigger tonight, I’ll be wearing one or the other.”
Wiping my tears, I begin to grin from ear to ear. Shaking my head, I say, “I can’t believe you’re singing Brandy Clark’s “Stripes.” You do know that’s about why you don’t want to go to jail.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he responds, “I know, but I couldn’t resist seeing you smile. Come here,” he says as he brings his lips to mine.
Right then, I fall even more in love with this boy. He has had my heart for as long as I can remember. He’s the other half that makes me whole, and I’m glad that the entire world knows.
Cash gets serious. He takes my hands in his as I face him. I’m not sure that I’m going to like what he’s about to say, but I know it will be what I need to hear.
“Char-coal, I think we need to get in there. My parents are probably outta their head about now. Just know that I love you.”
“I love you too, Cash Money.” I kiss him slowly because I want to savor every moment I have with him.
Cash helps me out of the truck, and we walk hand in hand to my house. As we open the front door, we overhear our parents talking, but before we can even make our way to the kitchen, we are bombarded by the Kluft girls, Tessa, Piper, and Joe.
Tessa is the first one out of the gate with twenty questions. “What happened? Is he gonna get it? They aren’t going to do anything to Cash, are they?”
When she takes a breath, I jump in. “Tess, y’all, chill out. It’s a lot to explain, but you sending me that text is gonna help put Dylan behind bars for a long time. The only problem is that it’s evidence against Cash, too.”
They all look at each other and turn as pale as ghosts. “What do you mean?” Piper asks.
“Basically, that video shows Cash beating the shit outta him, and that means he’s gonna face charges if Dylan is the typical ass he is… we know he’s not gonna let Cash get away with it.”
“Well, that just sucks,” Hayden says. She’s always keeping it real.
“Yeah, it does,” I say.
Cash pipes in right after me, “It’s one of those things that you hate to have to do, but you know it needs to be done. If I have to do a little time or get a little dirt on my record, I’m okay with that. It’s not like I have to pass a background check to work on the farm. Now, if y’all will excuse us, we have to talk to our parents.�
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Cash and I make our way into the kitchen, and as soon as Cash’s mama sees him, she bursts into tears and pulls him into her arms. His dad is standing there with a questioning look aimed at me. Mr. Montgomery has always liked me, but I think he knows that I’m the one that has total control over his son. Needless to say, I don’t think he likes that part very much.
Cash gets his mama to calm down, and we all sit at the kitchen table. Dad starts by telling Cash’s parents that they need to listen to everything before they ask questions. He tells them that’s what they did, and it paid off.
Shaking their head in agreement, they turn their attention to Cash and me. Cash takes my hand and laces his fingers with mine, prompting me to speak.
“Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, I’m sorry that Cash has been involved in all of this. I want to start from the beginning, but I’m not going to tell you all the details. I’ve already told this twice, and I really don’t want to relive it again. Cash is free to tell you as much or as little as he wants once y’all go home. Also, please wait until I finish to ask any questions.”
“Charley, I believe we can do that, but you have to understand that Cash is our child, and we will stick with him no matter what. The fact that there seems to be so many secrets is what bothers me the most,” his dad says.
“I understand that.” Taking a deep breath, I tell them the nightmare that began a year and a half ago. I do leave out as much detail as possible, but when I talk about Christmas break and the plan that I put in place, I see Mrs. Montgomery start to get fidgety. I pause and tell her to hear me out.
Once I get to tonight with the party, police station, box of evidence, and how we all fit in this awful puzzle, Mrs. Montgomery begins to cry just like my mama. It must be a “mama thing” because I believe she understands what has happened, why certain events didn’t add up over the time, and now what Cash is going to have to deal with thanks to me.
When I finish, Dad chimes in, “Y’all, I know it’s hard to understand, and if I hadn’t heard Charley tell this story twice, I’d be in the same boat as you. One thing I want you to know is what Cash did what was right, even though he might have to pay the price. He did what any of us would do for the woman we love. I can’t thank him enough. He saved my sweet girl when I couldn’t. My best advice is to call a lawyer tonight or in the morning. The Sloans aren’t gonna let this one go. That is one thing I’m sure of.”
Silence fills the air as we wait for Cash’s parents to speak. Instead of waiting, Cash takes matters into his own hands. “Mama and Daddy, I know this is a lot to think about, but I had to. I love Charley, and if you had seen her that night, you wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt that I didn’t save her from it happening at all. I will say the last month has been the longest of my life. I’ve known what was going on and had to watch Dylan touch her. Charley is a helluva woman because I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have gone through with this plan. But… tonight… I had to take over. He was going to kill her. I know he was, and I couldn’t watch that no matter if I never get outta jail.”
Mr. Montgomery begins to speak. “Son, one thing I want to say is that I’m proud of you. You know what you want and never give up, but dammit, I don’t want to watch my son go to jail. You know the Sloans have a lot of power in this town, and I just don’t know how we are going to afford a great lawyer.”
Cash’s mama turns to him quickly. “Really? You’re worried about the cost? This is our Cash! I don’t care what it costs, if the farm goes under or anything else, because that is my baby!”
Whoa! I have never heard Cash’s mama talk like that to his dad. She is usually pretty quiet, but I guess that’s what happens when you start talking about someone’s baby, even if he is nineteen.
“Aight, we’ll get the best. Cash, just know you are going to have to help even more around the farm.”
“Yes, sir,” Cash says.
My mama, being the fine woman she is, decides to give her two cents. “Y’all, I think we need to try not to worry about that right now. Maybe we can both worry about lawyers in the morning ‘cause Charley is going to need one as well.” That thought makes my stomach turn. A lawyer.
After spending a few minutes discussing what we will do tomorrow, Cash and I excuse ourselves while our parents talk alone. We make our way to the living room to find everyone else waiting impatiently. We tell them that tomorrow’s gonna be a rough one, and tonight we just want to try to take our minds off of it.
“So, what do y’all say we go to Turtle’s?” Tessa asks.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, I don’t want attention to be put on us any more than there has to be,” I say.
“I guess you’re right. What do you say we grab a movie and hang out here then?” Tessa suggests.
I look at Cash, and he smiles. “Sounds good to us, as long as I get to pick,” I say.
Everyone looks at me, and then they say in unison, “Sweet Home Alabama, we know.”
“How’d ya guess?” I smirk.
Chapter 7
We all sit in the living room and watch my favorite movie of all time. As I watch it this time, I can’t help but think how glad I am to have Cash beside me as I nestle more into his arms. He wraps his arms tighter around me, and I look up into those wanting eyes. I know that he wants me as much as I want him, and one day I’ll be his forever.
As the movie ends, Joe and Piper stand to go back to her house while the Kluft girls and Tessa head upstairs. Cash and I stay in each other’s arms.
“I probably need to go home, Charley. I’m sure my parents want to talk to me.” I know that he needs to go home, but I can’t help but be selfish. I want him to stay with me. If this is the last night I have with him, I’m not sharing. Funny how he said the same thing to me about a month ago.
“Cash, can’t you stay? Just call and tell them you’ll be home before sunrise.”
“You know I can’t resist you, don’t ya? Let me call ‘em real quick.” Cash takes out his phone and calls his parents. They aren’t happy, but they understand. He sets his alarm for before dawn and then pulls me closer, and I fall asleep in the arms of my knight in a pair of Carhartts and an F250.
We are awakened to the awful sound of his alarm. He tries not to wake me by slowly sliding his arm out from around me. It’s so sweet, but I know he doesn’t think that I’m going to let him leave without a proper goodbye.
“Mornin,’ Cash Money. Not tryin’ to sneak out, are ya?”
“Of course not, but I really didn’t want to wake you. You know you’re beautiful when you sleep. I was really planning on hitting the snooze for five more minutes.”
“Sounds good to me.” Cash holds me tight for another five minutes before the snooze erupts from his phone. As much as we both don’t want to leave each other, we know we have to. Cash has to go home and prepare for what is bound to happen with Dylan. I, on the other hand, have to prepare to talk to a lawyer as well, but I know that the ball is in my court on this one.
I walk Cash to his truck, and we take as much time as we can to prolong the inevitable. “Char-coal, I love you, and it’s gonna be fine. Now, go inside and enjoy your friends, and I’ll talk to you as soon we get a plan together.”
“Okay.”
He takes my chin in his hand, and my eyes meet his. “I promise we will have our forever,” he says as he takes control and crashes his lips onto mine.
When we separate, my lips tingle from his touch, and I make my way back to the house. Mom, the Kluft girls, Tessa, and Dad are in the kitchen. We sit and eat Mama’s fabulous breakfast as usual, but things are a little quieter than normal.
As we finish, Georgia speaks, “Char, we’re going to head back to campus today. We want to stay with you, but we have practice, registration, and we feel like you need to do this with your family. If something changes, we’ll be glad to come back. We love you, but we feel like we’re in the way.”
“Y’all aren’t in the way, but I understand what you mean.
I’d want to get back to normal, too. I should probably call Coach.”
“No need,” Tori states. “I already did. She said take your time, and your spot is there when you get back. Oh, she also said that she’d get your registration taken care of, too.”
“Thanks, y’all have taken care of it all. I don’t even know what to say.”
Hayden starts to giggle. “How about you take that mofo down?” We all start to laugh. I just love these girls.
After breakfast, the Kluft girls get ready and pack up to go back to Southern. Tessa and I meet them outside to say our goodbyes. I’m sad, but I understand. There are a few tears shed when they leave, but Tessa is there to help me pull myself together. Never in a million years did I expect to find a group of girls that are this special to me.
Tessa and I go inside to talk to Mama and Dad. While we are discussing which lawyer we need to see, Tessa says that Dustin has talked to the police about Dylan, and he will be arrested as soon as he is out of the hospital. Dad begins to make a call to a former classmate and now lawyer in town, Becky Horn. She’s as good as they come, and she can see us right after lunch today.
Glancing out of the window, I notice a patrol car passing my house. I look back at Dad and begin to freak out. I know this is the moment. The moment that will cause my Cash Money to have to pay the price for me. I start to stand, but Dad stops me. There is one problem; I can’t.
Jumping up from the table, I run out the side door and head toward the Montgomery’s farm. I have to get to him. I can’t let this happen. In the middle of all this chaos, I see my world crashing and rebuilding at the same time.
Knowing that I can’t make my way to him by foot, I grab my four-wheeler and haul ass to his house. As I approach, I see the officers making their way toward the front porch. They wait, and then Cash answers the door. I pull the throttle more as I urge to get to him. I know I can’t save him, but I need to be there for him like he was for me.
As the officers stand and begin to explain the charges and read Cash his Miranda Rights, I close in on the house. Hopping off the four-wheeler, I sprint to Cash as tears begin to fall as I watch them place him in handcuffs. An overwhelming wail comes from within me, “Noooooooo! Please don’t take him. I’m begging you!”