Chasing McCree

by J. C. Isabella

  She let out a huff. “Good.”

  “You should be proud of yourself.” I smiled.

  “It felt amazing, and I am.”

  I was forced to leave Briar so I wasn’t late to my next class, and she parted with a smile on her face, of all things.

  English was the largest class in my schedule, almost forty students, and held in the auditorium. I wouldn’t miss it either. For me school was the kitchen table with Aunt Millie. She was a retired teacher, and it had been easier for her to home school me with the other kids from neighboring ranches, than to get me to a bus stop before sunup.

  I took a seat as far back as the teacher would allow, pulling out a notebook and pen.

  “Chase?” I heard her voice before I saw her. It was soft, a little husky with surprise. I glanced up to see Briar standing in the aisle. She looked as pretty as ever, blonde curls piled on the top of her head, spilling out of a knot.

  “Hey, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you here.”

  “Surprise.” Her cheeks went pink.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Since we’re not doing much of anything the last week before break, our teachers decided to combine classes.” She pointed to the front of the room where two older men were hooking up a TV for a movie on proper preparation for exams.

  I’d pass and that’s all I cared to do.

  I paused, wondering why it was beginning to feel awkward. Then I looked up and realized half the class was staring. “This is different.”

  “Tell me about it.” she sighed, sliding down into the seat.

  A few minutes passed, and while we were in the middle of taking notes, Briar dropped her pen and shook her head. “I feel like a horrible person.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “I never noticed you.” She said. “When they were making fun of you, I didn’t bother to see who they were laughing at. What kind of person does that make me?”

  “Did you make fun of me?”

  “No.”

  “Then that makes you a good, distracted person.” I nudged my shoulder against hers. “Briar, it’s okay. I probably wouldn’t have noticed me either.”

  “If I hear anyone making fun of you I’ll rip them to pieces.” Hearing her so adamant about defending me brought a grin to my face. She looked ready to take on the world. “I have an idea! What are you doing for the summer? Lets get away from these jerks and have some fun.”

  “Actually, I’m driving to Montana.” I said. “I’m leaving Saturday morning.”

  “Wow, you’re driving? Why not just take a plane?”

  I lowered my voice when the teacher glanced our way. “I’m taking Ash back up to Montana. He needs to be home where he can be a real horse. Not a backyard pet.”

  “Aw, you’ll miss him.”

  “I’m not coming back.” Something deep in my gut hurt saying that to her. We’d just met, sure, but I felt like I’d known her my whole life. I didn’t want to leave Briar.

  She frowned. “You wish you never came?”

  “No, because then I never would have met you.”

  “Good answer.”

  “What were you thinking about doing?” maybe I would stay for half of the break and then head back…

  “Oh,” she waved her hand dismissively. “No biggie. You go home.”

  “Come on, tell me.”

  “I was going to ask you to come to Disney with me. I go every year with friends. Even on Christmas.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “What about being with your family?”

  “My mom and my dad host a ritzy dinner party at the country club. When I was younger I’d stay with Grandma because the club doesn’t allow children.”

  That was just plain wrong. “So you’ve never had Christmas dinner with family?”

  “Not really…Grandma does Christmas meatloaf. Sometimes we go to the ballet.” She grimaced, opening her backpack and pulled out a piece of gum. She offered me one and I popped it on my mouth. “But that’s a ways off, right now I just want to get through the summer. Grandma is going to Boston like she always does to visit her sister, and I’ll be stuck going to lunches with my mother at the country club. I could go to Boston…”

  “You could come with me.” I didn’t usually blurt out what I was thinking, but the thought of having Briar spend her summer with me was exciting. “I mean, to Montana. The week after school lets out there’s a big a dance at the Callahan barn. It signals the start of haying season too. Better than your prom.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You’d want me to go with you for the whole summer, really?”

  I snapped my gum and looked away, thinking I’d start blushing. Normally I wasn’t the bashful type. “I shouldn’t have asked you.”

  “Why?” she pushed at my arm, getting me to look at her. “I’ve never been to Montana. That would be amazing.”

  “We barely know each other. You’d have to put up with almost a three-day ride in my truck. Plus, staying two nights at an inn or overnight rest stops. I can’t drive for forty hours straight, and it’s not fair to Ash.” I shook my head and sank low in my seat, watching her out of the corner of my eye. I thought she’d be appalled. After all, the city princess wasn’t the kind of girl to get dirty. But she looked excited, as if I’d offered her the moon.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, yes. I would love to go home with you.”

  I blinked, replaying what she’d just said in my head twice before speaking. “Will your parents be okay with it?”

  “No, I’ll tell them I’m going to Boston with Grandma. She won’t care. In fact, she’d probably tell me to ditch school and leave early.”

  “I’d hate for you to get in trouble.” I was getting excited too. Having Briar along for the trip, to show her where I came from, was really starting to sound like a good plan. I mean, I wasn’t cocky, but I wanted to show her what a real cowboy was all about.

  “I’m already in trouble.” She told me yesterday she’d ventured home. Her mom was still pissed, but she’d given up on forcing her to talk to Alex or reconcile. Her father seemed clueless to the whole situation. “My parents idea of punishment is taking away my credit cards. They forget I also have a checking account and savings.”

  “You work?”

  She snorted. “Not allowed to work, but sometimes I answer the phone at my stylist’s salon. He pays me in cash so my parents don’t find out. And Dad somehow thinks money makes up for never being around.”

  “You make it sound like he’s given you a lot of money.”

  “He has. I know he loves me. He just doesn’t know how to show it.”

  I chuckled, “You’re a saver.”

  “Hey, I can spend, trust me. It just gets old after a while.” She squealed, “I get to go on a road trip. This is exciting!”

  “I’ll be glad for the company on the drive.” The bell rang. We waited until everyone filed out before heading for the hallway.

  “Wait, is it going to be cold in Montana?”

  I stopped midstride and glanced down at her. “Not really, it gets cool at night…come to think of it, this might not be such a good idea.”

  “Why?” her bottom lip pouted out.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m warning you. We’ll have fun, but I can’t guarantee it will be a picnic the whole way.”

  She took a step toward me, gently poking my chest. “Listen cowboy, I’ve been in a perfect pink bubble my whole life. I’m sick of it. I want to have an adventure. You aren’t backing out, are you?”

  “I’m not backing out. I’m giving you a heads up.” We stopped in front of her next class.

  “Thanks.” She smirked. “But I’m still going. And since most of my clothes are…well, lets call them preppy, I’ll need to do some shopping.”

  “Here I thought you’d say expensive and easily ruined.”

  “That too…want to come with me…say Wednesday evening?”

  I wondered if my shopping with her was a good idea. It wasn’t exactly
something I wanted to do, but I had to make sure she brought things that would be good for a ranch, and not for the country club. “Sure, why not. I don’t have anything else to do.”

  “Great, I promise I won’t make it too painful for you,” she patted my arm.

  “Shouldn’t you run it past your grandmother first?”

  Briar winked and headed into the classroom. “Maybe.”

  Chapter 9

  Briar

  “Briar, baby, this is big.” Grandma said as I poured lemonade into our glasses at the dining room table. They were the Florida themed ones she loved, shaped like palm trees. “Montana is a ways away.”

  I frowned, handing her a glass. “You don’t think I should go?”

  Grandma giggled and took a sip. “Hell no. You should go.”

  “Then what are you not saying?” my lips puckered from the strong lemon flavor. Grandma didn’t like her lemonade sweet.

  She lifted her frail shoulder in a shrug. “What kind of Grandma would I be if I didn’t tell you to be careful? I love you, baby. Your parents are shits and my hubby is loony toons. We’re all we’ve got.”

  I nodded. “True.”

  “I just want to make sure you think this through.”

  I sipped my lemonade. Grandma had a point. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea.

  “I don’t like that look on your face.” She said.

  “Well,” I sighed. “I’m just thinking about how well I really know Chase. I’m probably crazy for even considering going with him.”

  Grandma shook her head. “Nope. Remember how long I knew Grandpa before I married him?”

  “Uh, you never told me.”

  She opened the cookie jar I’d brought to the table. “Really?”

  “Was it a short time?”

  “Honey, we set a record.” She sighed with a far away look in her eyes. “I saw him fight one night. Three days later we ran down the aisle.”

  “You married Grandpa after three days?” holy crap!

  “Yup. I was nineteen, he was twenty-five. Next June, we’ll be married for sixty-two years. And each one of them has been a blessing.”

  “That’s insane!”

  “Best thing we ever did.” She smiled over at Grandpa, snoozing in front of the TV in the living room. “Before I married him, I asked myself three questions.”

  “What were they?”

  “Do I trust him with my life? Yes. Will I ever get sick of the man? Probably, he drove me crazy sometimes, but I loved him in spite of that.” She eyed me over her glasses. “And if I walked away, would I regret never seeing him again? The thought of never seeing Norman again made me sick to my stomach.”

  “Wow.” I was at a loss for words.

  “But you’re not marrying this boy, so let us alter a few of those questions.”

  “Okay, I’m ready.” I snagged a ginger cookie.

  “Do you trust Chase?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded. “Does being with him for a month or two sound unappealing in any way?”

  “No.”

  “Now, baby, can you pick up the phone, tell him you’re not going to Montana, without an ounce of regret, and that you never want to see him again?”

  “No,” I frowned. “I can’t. I really want to go.”

  “Why? You could go to Montana anytime…”

  “I’m going because I like Chase. I want to go to Montana to be with him.”

  “Then you have your answer.” She smacked her palm on the table. “Now, lets talk clothes. You’ll be in the wilderness, but you’re going to look good no matter what.”

  I laughed. “I love you.”

  “Yeah, you’re not so bad. I guess I’ll keep you.”

  “Aw, thanks.” I kissed her cheek after standing from the table to refill our glasses. “Chase and I are going to the mall.”

  “Have fun, and charge the shit out of your daddy’s cards.”

  “You’re so bad.”

  “You know it, baby. You know it.” She turned in her chair. “Hey, Norm!”

  Grandpa jolted wake. “Damn, what’s happening?”

  She threw a cookie at him to get his attention. “Our baby is going to Montana with a cowboy.”

  “Huh?” he sat forward in his chair. “Who is Elroy? That’s not a German name, is it?”

  I tired not to laugh. “No, she said cowboy.”

  He blinked, and I realized he was still half asleep. “I keep telling you. It’s all lies. He’s probably a German dressed as a cowboy…named Elroy. I better call the guys. Marvin will want to hear this.”

  “I give up.” Grandma turned back in her seat, biting into a cookie.

  “Maybe we should stop telling him things.” I grabbed my backpack and headed for the front door. Grandma hugged me goodbye.

  “Yeah, but then we wouldn’t be so entertained.”

  I hopped in the car my mom let me drive to and from school. It was a Mercedes. Sleek, fast, and it cost more than I thought they should have spent. I fired it up, wishing it was a truck with squeaky seats, and headed for Chase’s house. When I parked in the driveway next to his truck, I was met by a tall brunette woman who was getting the mail.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, shading her eyes against the sun.

  She was in nurse’s scrubs and looked as if she’d just gotten home. “I’m Briar, and I’m looking for Chase”

  Her face filled with surprise. “Really?”

  “Yeah, we’re going shopping.” Now she was more shocked than anything.

  “You’re going shopping with Chase?” She motioned for me to follow her into the house. “Good luck with that.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “He hates the mall.”

  I smiled, hitching my purse higher on my shoulder. “Oh, well, that’s too bad for him. I’m lethal with a credit card.”

  She laughed, leading me through the house and out the backdoor. The backyard was huge, and a small corral and pen with a horse stall filled half of it. The other half was a pool and jungle gym. “Chase, you’ve got company.”

  I followed her further into the yard and towards the sound of country music. Chase was around the back of a shed…shirtless, with a crossbow, shooting at a target painted on a tree.

  Cripes, he really was one of those woodsy hunting types.

  And damn if he didn’t look good.

  He grinned, turning down the music and dropped the crossbow on the ground. “Hey, I was just about to call you, see where you were.”

  “With Grandma, she was very chatty.” I grinned back, trying not to stare since his mother was right next to me. “You really are the kind of guy that could go into the forest with a pocketknife and build a city.”

  His mother burst out laughing and had to excuse herself.

  “Maybe not a city,” Chase grabbed a flannel shirt that he’d tossed over a tree branch and pulled it on. He closed the distance between us and stopped close enough that our shoes were touching. “Couple tree houses and a lean-to.”

  I rolled my eyes and turned for the house, trying to ignore how fast my heart was beating. “You’re so sure of yourself.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” he asked, opening the door for me.

  “No, just different.” Alex had never opened doors for me. I sighed.

  He looked a little puzzled. “I know what I can and can’t do. I’m sure I could go into the woods with knife and survive.”

  “How, though?” I wondered what kind of life he was used to leading. Was he like, a backwoods country boy, or just really good at pulling my leg? “If I sent Alex or Nathan into the woods with a knife, they’d end up cutting themselves on accident and crying for help.”

  He smirked. “Survival training one-oh-one, darlin’.”

  Time for another sigh, and this time he realized why I was doing it, but he didn’t say anything. He merely shook his head, lips quirking in a grin, and slung his arm around me.

  We said goodbye to his mother, who was now on the phon
e, and she waved. It almost seemed like she was relaying everything we said to the person on the other end of the line…

  “Can I be your natural disaster partner?” I was half joking as Chase helped me into his truck. I’d come back for my car later. Right now I wanted to prop my feet on the dash and listen to the radio.

  Chase pulled out of the drive and headed for the mall. “Are you serious?”

  I nodded, “Why not? It’s good to be prepared. If we have to rebuild civilization for some crazy reason, be it an alien invasion or new ice age, I would like dibs on you.”

  He snorted with laughter. “What the hell, yes you can be my partner.”

  “Great,” I said, laughing too.

  “Yeah,” He glanced at me sideways. “But only if you’ll be my dancing partner.”

  “Huh?”

  “You’ve got to promise me I won’t have to dance with anyone but you, should the situation call for it.”

  “Oh, you’re talking about that dance at the Callahan barn.” It had to be better than the school dance. It was in a barn for one, and I’d always wanted to go line dancing.

  His eyebrows went up. “You remember me telling you that?”

  “Yes I do,” I said. “What’s haying season? You’d said something about it.”

  “It’s when we cut the hay for winter so we have enough feed for the cattle. It falls around early to mid June, depending on what the weather does and how the spring went. And it almost always starts a day or two after the dance. The Callahan’s are experts at timing it. They’ve been doing it for fifty years.”

  Haying season sounded like fun, even though I really had no idea what kind of work it entailed. “So, why will my dancing services be needed? I could have two left feet, you know. I might step on your toes.”

  “You’re a cheerleader. Don’t tell me you haven’t got rhythm.” He parked at one of the larger department stores and we went inside to browse the racks.

  After leaving him hanging for a minute or two, I smiled. “Fine, but you still have to tell me why.”

  “I’m selfish Briar.” He rested his arm on the clothes rack and leaned down so we were nose to nose. “You’re the only girl I want to dance with.”

  I took a good long look into his eyes and felt my heart flutter like it would fly out of my chest. “Well, if you’re trying to keep me all to yourself, why not just come out and say it?”