Briar
“You can’t kill a man with your finger,” Dustin took a swig from his beer and flipped the burgers on the grill.
Tuck shook his head, slapping slices of cheese on the burgers. “You can.”
“You can’t.”
“I agree with Dustin. You can’t.” I laughed, sitting at the picnic table to watch them argue over the most ridiculous things.
“Here, I’ll show you,” Tuck turned as Chase walked up with a plate of hotdogs and stuck out his hand. “Pull my finger.”
“That’s disgusting.” He put the hotdogs on the grill, and sat beside me, giving me a quick kiss before the guys took notice. “How you doing?”
“Good,” I linked my arm through his and rested my head on his shoulder. Further down the yard, I could see people starting to arrive with covered dishes. One man had backed his truck up to reveal watermelons stacked high. “My shoulder has mostly stopped hurting.”
“So I can ask you to dance?”
I smiled, thinking about how he’d woken me up from my nap with the sweetest kiss on my cheek. “Did I tell you how much I love you today?”
“Oh, God.” Dustin gagged. “Get a room.”
“Hey, we got company,” Tuck stowed his beer with Dustin’s in a cooler by the grill.
“Do I look that dumb?” Grant shook his head and opened the lid to the cooler, grabbing a bottle for himself.
“I told them they’d get caught,” Chase smirked.
Grant glanced around, then shrugged. “Long as you’re not driving anywhere…I don’t see how a beer or two will hurt you. But I’ll hurt you if you overdo it or get behind the wheel of a car.”
“Do tractors count?” Tuck asked.
“Friggin’ genius,” Grant headed off into the yard to set up skeet. “If it’s got wheels and an engine, it counts.”
“What about horses?”
Dustin smacked the back of Tuck’s head, “Will you shut up?”
Tuck grinned, “What? It’s a legit question.”
Chase stood, leading me to the dance floor. The friends Grant had called were playing a mix of country and bluegrass. The songs were fast and loud. I ignored little twinges of pain in my shoulder and danced until I was dizzy. It was a two-step, then we line danced, and even Todd was trying to join in. But he had two left feet and kept bumping into Chase’s mom. She was smiling and laughing and dancing. It was good. We were all having fun, and just the sight of her loosening up put me at ease.
I danced with Tuck and Dustin, then Jerry. Todd got my second to last dance. Chase and I ended the night with a slow one before settling onto a bale of hay to watch Grant try to make a man out of Todd. They were shooting skeet. Todd clipped one clay pigeon. After that, forget it. He might as well have been shooting with a blindfold on.
My shoulder was bothering me, so I sat out of shooting. I had time to learn, after all, I wasn’t going home tomorrow with them.
I glanced over at the dance floor to see grandma had reeled in Dustin. She was trying to dip and spin him.
I laughed, “Should we save him?”
“Nah,” Chase said. “I think he’s enjoying it.”
Everyone else was winding down, and I was thinking the night was over, when Chase pointed over the house. “Look there.”
I waited, watching, and a streak of red light shot into the air. It exploded. Gold and red fanned over us. “Fireworks!”
He held me close and we watched them light up the sky like magic. “We haven’t set them off since my dad died.”
I felt something inside me turn over, and hurt for him. “Why start again?”
He shrugged. His brown eyes misted over, and he rested his forehead against mine. “You.”
Okay, I was going to cry. “Chase…”
He kissed me. “I love you, Briar baby.”
“I love you too, cowboy.”
We turned back to watch the fireworks. I knew that I was right where I was supposed to be. This was my home, and nothing was going to change that. Ever.
Briar
After such an exciting day and night I slept like the dead. Chase wasn’t up as early as usual, it was around seven when he slipped out of the room, but this time I fell back asleep. It was hard not to spend the night with him again, especially after what he’d given me. I’d always remember the fireworks show and how I felt about him.
Chase left Stinker with me, and around nine we went down to the kitchen and grabbed some breakfast. It was time to start cleaning up after the party.
Millie had stepped out for a few minutes to help Jerry with something in the yard, when I heard someone come in the kitchen.
“Need help?”
“No thanks, Mrs. Carter. I’ve got it.” I turned on the water and opened the dishwasher. “Enjoy the rest of your morning before you leave for the airport.”
“Thanks, but I don’t mind.” She scraped dishes over the trash that had crusted over from being left out. “I had fun last night.”
“I did too,” I smiled, and for the first time, I felt like we were going to have a nice conversation. “I’m glad you came.”
“Me too. At first I wasn’t sure about being here, but it’s a nice break from reality,” she said, stacking more dishes in the sink. “A big ranch in the middle of nowhere… I can’t blame you.”
I stared at the soap swirling the drain, blindsided. “I’m not taking a break from anything.”
“Oh, it’s just us girls.” She laughed, eyeing the apron I was wearing with an odd expression. Why dirty my clothes? “You can be honest with me. We’ve all had trouble with parents and friends and school at some point.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
She blinked, her smile disappearing. “Briar, this is serious. You just left your home and life. You’re a child.”
“No,” I pulled off the apron and tossed it on the counter. “I came home. I’ve found my life. I raised myself, much like Chase, and we stopped being kids a long time ago.”
“Chase did not raise himself.” She snapped. I’d hit a big nerve.
“I’m sorry, but when his father died it changed him. My parents never paid attention to me. I’ve been on my own, except for grandma. We know we’re not the norm, and that’s okay with us.” I said, trying to show her I wasn’t what she thought I was. I wasn’t a neglected, spoiled rich girl. “We want you to be okay with us living here, together.”
“I’m sure you’ll feel differently when you’re married to this place. It runs your life. I got out while I could. I wasn’t ready to be someone’s wife, and I was too naive and young to be someone’s mother.” She said. “You should leave. Go home. Grow up and find out what you want before you end up like I did. A rancher’s wife, with a baby that you weren’t prepared to have.”
“Mrs. Carter,” I lowered my voice. “I would feel so lucky, and blessed to be Chase’s wife, baby included. I’d never leave them.”
I didn’t wait to see or hear her reaction and ran out into the yard for the barn. I didn’t want to talk to her or anyone else. Up the ladder, in the loft, I settled into a corner with one of Ash’s felt blankets and had a good cry. Crying always made me feel better. It took nothing. Happy tears, sad tears, excited tears. I was capable of them all.
But these tears were ones of frustration and hurt.
“What’s going on?” I heard someone shout from below.
I peeked over the side and spotted Mac, one of the hands that worked for the ranch. He was a big guy. Really stocky and ruddy faced. His mustache curled at the edges, and he seemed to be perpetually sunburned. “Oh, sorry. I thought I was alone.”
“No, it’s fine.” He climbed up the ladder to the loft and sat on the edge, dangling his legs over the side. “Something’s troubling you.”
I nodded, bringing my knees up to rest my chin on them. “I can’t seem to change someone’s opinion of me or why I’m here.”
“I see,” he nodded, sticking a piece of hay in his mouth. “So, do you
know why you’re here?”
“Yeah,” it was obvious.
“Then that’s all that matters.” He glanced back at me with a reassuring smile. “Anything worth having never is easy, and if it was, it wouldn’t be worth much now would it?”
I smiled, “Since when are you full of all the good advice?”
“Oh, since my boss died and his kid was in need of a little guidance.”
“Briar?” I heard Chase calling for me in the yard.
“I’ll send him in,” Mac climbed back down the ladder.
“Thanks, for everything.”
“Anytime, honey.”
Soon after he was gone, Chase’s head appeared over the side, “My mom said you ran out on her.”
I shrugged, wiping my eyes on the edge of the blanket.
He didn’t move from the ladder and rested his arms on the edge of the loft. “Care to talk about it?”
It was his mom. I didn’t want to ruin what we had by forcing him to pick sides, even unintentionally. I just wanted to live here with him and continue to be happy. “I’m fine now.”
He drummed his fingers on the top rung of the ladder. “See, normally you don’t hide when you’re upset. You come right out and tell me.”
“This is a different kind of upset.”
“Yeah, I can see that, and it’s got me worried.” He climbed the rest of the way into the loft and sat across from me. “My mom thinks she may have said something to upset you.”
I snorted, “Thinks?”
He didn’t say anything and waited.
So I told him what she said.
And he was still silent.
He stood and went back to the ladder, climbing down, not a word.
I had a feeling, and it wasn’t good.
Chase
“Thanks for coming.” I glanced up from the safe in my father’s room. My mom was standing in the doorway, looking around with a half broken expression. “Mind if we talk?”
“No, I don’t mind,” She came into the room, very hesitant, but still, she came. “Same furniture.”
I nodded, “Yeah, I’m not sure what to do with it. Pack it up and put it in storage, or sell it.”
“This should be your room.” She went to the closet and gently pushed open the door. “Chase…”
My dad’s boots were where they’d always sat on a low shelf towards the back. We’d cleaned out most of his things over the years, but I could never get rid of his boots.
“I miss him,” my mom turned around and hugged her waist. “Sometimes it’s like I can feel he’s around.”
I felt the same, especially in this part of the house. “He’s still here, I think.”
She smiled. “This is the grandest room in the house. He would have wanted you to have it.”
“Not yet.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
I kept my steady gaze locked with hers. “Millie and Jerry will move back into their house, and Briar and I will move in here together when the time is right.”
She sank down on the edge of the bed, “This is a little too soon to be talking about you and Briar.”
“Briar is the most important person in my life.” I braced my hands on my hips and stared her down. This was going to be an adult conversation, whether she was ready for it or not. “I can’t believe you said those things to her. She didn’t deserve that.”
“That wasn’t nice of me, I’ll agree.” She smoothed her fingers over the blanket on the foot of the bed. “But someone has to give you two a reality check.
I shook my head. “Trust me.”
“Chase, you’re so young.” She sighed. “Send her home, spend some time apart. You’ll see then that you aren’t ready for such an adult relationship.”
“Mom, I stopped being a boy a long time ago. Briar’s parents are too self-absorbed to give her a second thought. She’d been here a month before they came looking for her.” I’d been living the life of a man for a long time, since the day my father died. I’d stepped up to take on a responsibility that was so much bigger than me, that I hadn’t even understood yet. “Yeah, we’re young, and we’ve still got learning and growing to do. We made a decision to do it together.”
“Sweetie, be sure. Briar isn’t like you.”
“I know, and I don’t expect her to be like me.” I said going back to the safe and eyeing the little jewelry box that had belonged to my grandmother. “I want you to know, she’s not going anywhere, ever. When we’re ready, we’ll take over the house. We’ll move in here. It could be weeks, or it could be years. But it’s going to happen.”
“Has she been in here?”
I shook my head, closing the safe. “Not yet.”
“You’re a good man Chase.” My mom stood and headed for the door. “And I do trust you. I just want to make sure you can trust her.”
“No offense, she’s not like you.” I smiled. “She embraced everything I am. The life I live excites her, and she loves this place more and more every day.”
“But what if it’s just a novelty?”
“I know it’s not.”
“Maybe I do need to get to know her…but this still doesn’t mean you she should live here with you.” She crossed her arms. “You’re stubborn like your father. You know what you want and nothing I say will register.”
“I remember what it was like when you lived here. How much you hated it.” I said. “So I would appreciate it, if you let go of the past, and remembering how you felt. Just let us be, mom. We’ll figure out our own way, together.”
“If that’s your decision, I won’t argue any further.” She left the room without looking at me, and I stood for a few minutes, just taking everything in when I heard a soft knock on the door.
“Hey, cowboy.” Briar glanced around the room and smiled. “Can I come in?”
I nodded, holding out my hand for her to take. “This was my dad’s room.”
“It’s nice. I like it.” She gave the back of my hand a kiss, lacing our fingers together. “You look a little lost.”
“Maybe a little,” I agreed.
“Can I help?”
I smiled, “Yeah, we’re going to give this place a makeover. Tear it up and start fresh.”
She grinned, “Really?”
“I think it’s time.” I said, wanting her to feel comfortable here. “I want this to be your home too.”
“Okay,” she let go of my hand and walked across the room to a big picture window that overlooked the field and pond behind the house. “Help me with these.”
I joined her, and with a tug we pulled down the old navy curtains and light filled the room.
She smiled up at me, “Sunlight makes everything better.”
I glanced at the ceiling, “Should we put in skylights?”
“You read my mind!” we pulled down the rest of the heavy curtains and the room warmed from the light.
I went back to the closet and smiled at my dad’s boots as I shut the door. Soon my boots would be in their place, and Briar’s would be right next to mine. I was sure of it.
She was my forever.
Thank you for reading The McCree’s Star Spangled 4th by J.C. Isabella. You can find her other books, Chasing McCree, The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club, and The Council: A Witch’s Memory, on Kindle and Nook. For more information about J.C. and her books, you can visit her website at, www.jcisabella.com
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