Chapter Nine
~ Age 27~
Tanner
We just got home from the Bahamas where Knox and Jasmine had a small wedding. It was beautiful and very low key. Just our little family, Knox and Jasmine, Rex and Summer, Jeremy and little Ava, Cade and Rhea and I. No one else needed to be there.
Rhea thought for sure that Knox screwed everything up. Rex and Knox were at each other’s throats and everyone assumed it was because of Jasmine. Summer and Rex even broke up over whatever was going on with them.
So one night after a killer steak dinner that Rhea made, Rex calls me. “Hey, man.”
Rex is breathing heavy, “I can’t reason with her, Tan. Why is she doing this?” Maybe Jasmine wasn’t the only problem.
I step out onto the deck, “Doin’ what?”
Rex growls, “Never mind, I don’t need another war to battle.”
“You need to get the hell out of there for a few days.” Rhea steps out onto the deck and climbs into my lap. “You can come crash at our apartment for a few nights. I’m taking Rhea out of town this weekend.”
Rhea lifts her head from my chest and cocks her head. “Huh?”
I place a finger over her lips.
“Nah, I need to stay here and keep talking sense into her.”
“Alright, well, if you change your mind you know where the key is.”
Rex and I say goodbye and I hang up. Before I can even explain Rhea is questioning me. “Where are we goin’?”
“Away.”
“Babe.”
“Honey Bee,” I smirk.
“Stop that.” She squirms in my lap. “Tell me where we are going. I hate surprises.” She whines.
“I’m not telling you but make sure you have a bag packed and are ready to go. We leave tomorrow afternoon.”
Rhea rests her head back on my shoulder, “You’re not goin’ to tell me?”
“Nope.”
“Good talk.” She says sarcastically.
“We’re not talking.”
I can picture her rolling her eyes, “No shit.”
Friday right after dinner we are on our way back to North Carolina, to my mama’s house exactly. She has no idea what’s coming and that’s exactly how I want it.
“Are we there yet?” She says chomping on her gum like a cow.
“Are you done chewing like that?”
Her head snaps in my direction, “Nope.”
“Then there is your answer.”
Rhea rolls the window down and spits her gum out. “There, gum is gone. Now are we almost there?”
“About a half hour away.”
Not telling her anything is really working out for me and keeping her distracted from the real reason we’re going to my mom’s house.
She crosses her arms and sits back in her seat pouting. “This isn’t right.”
“It will be.”
Rhea rolls her eyes and looks out the window. She has to know where we are going but she probably doesn’t believe it. She hasn’t talked to or seen her daddy in years and wants nothing to do with her or her mom.
Her daddy isn’t going to be around this weekend according to mama. He’s going on some kind of fishing trip or something in Cape Hatteras. Mama isn’t going to be around either; she’s going with a few of her girlfriends on some kind of cruise.
We pull off the highway and Rhea’s face starts to pale, “He’s not home.” I say trying to comfort her.
Rhea only nods. I reach over and grab her hand offering her comfort. A few minutes later and we pull into Mama’s driveway. I cut the engine and look over at Rhea who’s staring straight ahead. Clearly she is uncomfortable and doubt starts to creep in.
My phone beeps notifying me of a text.
Jasmine 8:28 pm: Did you do it yet?
Me 8:29 pm: No. I think this was a bad idea.
Jasmine 8:29 pm: Do it!
I put my phone down in the cup holder. I take a couple of deep breaths. Checking my nerves I climb out of the car and walk around to Rhea’s side of the car.
“Come on, Bee, I’ve got something I need to do.” I hold my hand out for her.
We walk into the house and she goes into the bathroom. I quickly sneak outside and run out back. True to Jasmine’s word, she set up everything and it’s perfect.
A blanket is lying under the same dogwood tree that so many memories were made under. Candles are on each corner of the blanket and rose petals are placed all around. I reach into my pocket and pull out the black box that feels like it weighs a ton. I flip it open and look at the ring that I picked out for Rhea. It’s stunning just like she is. I place the box behind the candle out of sight and run back up to the house.
Rhea is in the living room looking at a picture of her and I when we were about five and eight. She had her arms wrapped around my neck and she was kissing my cheek and I looked like I was in pain. It’s laughable now.
“I love that picture.” I say placing my hands on her hips and kissing her neck.
She rests her head on my shoulder and leans into me, “Me too.”
“Come with me.”
“Okay.”
I lead Rhea outside and down the lawn that splits our childhood homes. I hear her gasp and stop walking.
“Tanner?”
I shrug and pull her along. When we reach the blanket I kick off my boots as does Rhea. She goes to sit but I grab her hips stopping her. She looks confused, “What’s goin’ on?”
“You were my first kiss, my first love, my first everything, Rhea.” I reach for her hand and kiss the back of it. “I want you to be my last kiss, my only love and I want you to be the last thing I see every night before I close my eyes.”
Rhea is bawling and I haven’t even asked her yet. She has to know that this is how I feel about her. We’ve been through some shitty times but we got through them together and that made it so much more bearable.
I reach over to where I put the box. I let go of her hand so that I can open the lid. “Rhea Elizabeth Hudson, will you marry me?”
She covers her mouth with her hand and drops down to her knees and throws her arms around me. “Yes, yes, yes.” She says through the tears.
Rhea leans back and I take the ring out of the box and slide it on her finger. She stares at it for so long I start to get a complex thinking she doesn’t like it. “We can return it and get what you want if you don’t like that one.”
She shakes her head, looking up with eyes that are glistening and shining like the diamond on her finger, “It’s perfect, Tanner.”
I place a kiss on her lips and pour my life into it and she takes everything I’m giving, showing me she’s ready to do this with me.
Hours spent making love under our tree where it all began, we rest and start reminiscing about the past.
“Remember when we used to run around the yards and caught all those lightning bugs in the mason jars?” Rhea asks running her finger tips up and down my bare stomach.
“Yup and running through all the puddles barefoot because you used to hate wearing shoes and you used to hide mine so I would get in trouble with you?”
She chuckles. “And all those field parties after the football games.”
I roll Rhea on her back, “Remember that one time we went with Jeremy to his aunt’s house in Knoxville? All the trucks lined up in a huge circle blasting the country music and getting drunk from all the Southern Comfort we drank that night.”
“Oh yeah and waking up with our bodies outlined in red Solo cups?”
I kiss the tip of her nose, “I forgot about that.” I lean back so I can stare into her beautiful blue eyes, “I want that for our kids one day. I want them to have that carefree childhood and to have lifelong friends who stick with them through the amazing times as well as the hard times. I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Knox, Jeremy, and Cade…and especially you.” Rhea smiles a smile so bright at all the memories made together over the past fifteen years.
She reaches up and cups
the side of my face, “They will, we’ll make sure of it.”
Chapter Ten
~ Age 25 ~
Rhea
Tanner and I had a small beach wedding, shot gun wedding if you may. Seems the night of our engagement we conceived our little boy who is due any day now. It was a beautiful wedding right on the beach behind our house that we purchased just down the road from the Mitchell’s beach house. Jasmine, Summer and Ava were dressed in coral colored dresses. Cade, Rex, Knox and Jeremy were dressed in khaki colored shorts, white button down shirts and coral ties to match the girls’ dresses.
Tanner was dressed the same as the boys only he had a white tie on. My dress was simple but elegant. It was a strapless sweetheart neckline with a ruched, beaded bust. The A-line of the dress flowed softly to the ground. I opted for white rhinestone encrusted flip-flops since we were going to be on the beach.
After we exchanged our vows we danced the night away on our patio which was converted into a dance floor. Jasmine and Summer took care of all the details for Tanner and I so we could just worry about ourselves and enjoy our wedding day.
It was simply perfect.
Tanner and Knox talked morning, noon and night on the phone about the babies. Jasmine had her princess Nevaeh just a few days ago and Knox was the new doting daddy. He was texting all of us pictures of her. She was gorgeous; I saw both of her parents in her angelic features.
I was upstairs lying in bed when Tanner brought my phone up to me, “Jas is on the phone with the baby.”
Squealing, I took the phone and I saw Nevaeh’s precious little face on the screen. This is what I had to deal with because I wasn’t allowed to travel per the doctor’s orders so it would be a little while before Tanner and I made the trip to New York to see them.
“Oh my god,” Tears sprung to my eyes every time I saw her. “She gets cuter every day.”
“Say thank you, baby girl.” Jasmine says softly the love pouring off of her.
“So how are you feeling?” I ask Jasmine.
She yawns, “Just a little tired. Someone decided they wanted to stay awake last night and sleep all day today.”
“Aww, how can you be mad at that little face?”
Jasmine and I talked for a while before the baby started getting fussy. Miss Diva wanted a bottle and she wanted it now.
Tanner crawls into bed beside me and places his hand on my stomach waiting for the baby to kick him. He did this every night at the same time, it became our thing.
His phone started ringing interrupting our time together. Groaning, Tanner lies on his back and answers the phone.
“Hello?”
Tanner pinches the bridge of his nose, “Alright, see you in a few.”
He hangs up and rolls over on his side again and kisses my cheek. “Something happened and Jeremy needs us to watch Ava for a little bit.”
Worry creeps in, “It’s late, babe, shouldn’t she be in bed? Is everything alright?”
He sighs, “Yeah, but he said he wouldn’t ask us to keep an eye on her if it wasn’t important.”
“Alright.”
Something isn’t right. Jeremy loves that little girl more than life itself. He’s two different people. He’s Jeremy the man whore on all the days that he doesn’t have Ava and he’s Daddy when he does. He doesn’t introduce just anyone to Ava and while I’m thinking about it I don’t think he’s introduced her to anyone other than us. The sun sets and rises with that little girl who looks exactly like her daddy.
About a half hour passes when Tanner goes downstairs in our fairly new home and opens the door for Jeremy. I hear a lot of swearing and that is all that I need to hear before I’m jumping up from bed to find out what the hell is going on.
When I walk into the kitchen my heart shatters into a million pieces. Ava is sitting up on the counter with a little old dirty bunny rabbit that has seen better days. Her hair, the color of midnight, is greasy and pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her princess nightgown in disgustingly dirty and has holes all over it. The bottoms of her feet are black, her finger nails are caked with dirt and she has a ring of dirt around her mouth. What the hell has happened to Ava?
“What’s goin’ on?” I ask slowly stepping into the kitchen.
As I get closer to Ava and she turns towards me I see a hand print clear as day on her tiny little face. I cover my mouth with my hand, “Oh my god.”
Tanner wraps his arms around me as Ava begins to sob. She buries her little face into her bunny rabbit and her shoulders are shaking.
Jeremy starts throwing out every curse under the sun.
“Let’s go out back, Jeremy.” Tanner says trying to calm the situation down.
Tanner kisses the top of my head before turning to Jeremy and more or less pushes him outside. I walk slowly over to Ava who still has her head buried.
“Ava,” I place my hand on her dirt covered knee. “What happened, sweetie?”
She looks up with red rimmed eyes and a tear streaked face. “Momma’s friend hit me because I wouldn’t go to sleep.”
I shake my head not wanting to believe her but the proof is there on her face. “Is that the only place he hit you?”
She nods and when she does her ponytail loosens a little more. I’ve never seen her in this condition; I wonder if this is what Jeremy deals with every time he gets her on the weekends. This is no way for a child to live. I step over to the freezer and grab a bag of frozen peas. I wrap them in a paper towel before placing it on Ava’s face.
She jumps at first but then settles and leans into it. “Does that feel better?”
She nods. So I stand there for a few minutes and hum Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. When the song is over I remove the peas and throw them back in the freezer.
“How about we go take a quick bath, sweetie, and then we’ll find a t-shirt of mine for you to wear. How does that sound.”
She gives me a sad smile but nods.
Carefully I help her from the counter and lead her upstairs to the master bathroom. I start the shower and help Ava out of her clothes. I give her a quick bath and take her back to my room to find something to wear.
I get her settled in my bed and I walk over to my dresser and pick up the Frozen DVD I made Tanner pick up for me the other night.
“So I heard all these little girls love Frozen.” Ava’s eyes light up. “How about you say we pop it in and watch it?”
Ava nods and her freshly washed curls come back to life.
I set the movie up and slide in beside her in my bed. Ava scoots over a little closer to me and lays her head on my shoulder and then like she’s afraid she inches her little hand over to mine and grabs a hold of two of my fingers. My heart is breaking right now for this little girl’s untold story. I’m beginning to understand Jeremy’s anger. Who can do this to a child and how can we prevent it from happening again?
About halfway into the movie Tanner appears in the doorway of our bedroom. “Hey.”
He smiles and walks over to me. He sits on the end of the bed, elbows resting on his knees. “Jeremy is losing his mind and nothing I was saying to him could calm him down.”
I run my hand up his back.
“He left. He said he’d be back in one hour. He had to take care of something but wouldn’t tell me what that something is.”
I take a deep breath and let it out. “It’s okay. Ava is fast asleep and she’s safe. He loves this little girl too much to do anything stupid.”
Tanner lays back and puts an arm around my shoulder careful not to hit Ava’s head. “I hope you’re right.”
And hour turns into two, then three, then four. Tanner’s phone starts to ring, he digs it out. “Hello?”
Tanner rests his arm over his face. “Alright, see you in a few hours.”
He tosses his phone on the floor, “Jeremy got locked up.”
I don’t know what to say so I don’t say anything at all. Jeremy hasn’t had it easy since he got together with Ava’s mom. He’s such a great guy and
deserves to find his happiness.
An Up North Novella
Scarlett Metal
Chapter One ~ Kara
“You Sound So Good to Me”
“Just give me ten minutes. Then I’ll be ready to go.” I called out to my friend Brittany from the back of the diner.
“Hurry up,” she whined.
I grinned and rolled my eyes. I had known Brittany for almost fifteen years now, ever since her family had been coming up to the little town of Mountain, Wisconsin. We spent most of our summers together until we were too busy on the weekends but thanks to email and cell phones, we’ve always stayed in touch.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” I called out to her as I finished putting a few things away.
She walked to the doorway and leaned against the door frame. “Well, I heard that the new guy, JT was going to be there. He’s got this awesome Silverado truck and from what I’ve seen, he’s really cute. I wanted to talk to him before some other dumb bitch does.”
I nodded but tried not to laugh. I forgot what life was like in here Northern Wisconsin; things sure were a lot simpler.
When I was younger, I was here every weekend with my parents. My maternal grandparents had a cabin on the lake and we would pack up the car every Friday night and make the drive from Madison to spend the weekend swimming and grilling out. Some of my best memories from childhood took place here.
Then I started high school and it was hard to get away on the weekends between the volleyball games and cheerleading practices. I was almost ashamed to admit I didn’t even want to visit anymore; I wanted to spend my free time with my friends and not my grandparents.
College was more of the same. I stayed in Madison and went to UW-Madison but I was too busy studying and partying to make the trek up north. I graduated with my degree in English Lit and had trouble finding a job, so my parents sent me here to help take care of my grandparents’ small diner. Grandpa Joe had to have a knee replacement and Grandma Christine couldn’t run the place alone. I wasn’t doing anything else, so the thought of spending a summer on the lake didn’t sound so bad.
American Honey Page 20