“What are you doing?” Avery questioned, while Emily pulled an iPod and a long black cord out of her purse, slowly snaking the connection to the vacant auxiliary input. Emily could see the stress on his face while they cruised northbound on Interstate 95 toward the Florida-Georgia state line.
“Playing some music. I figured I could be the DJ for our drive.” She noticed a slight smile pull at the corner of his lips. With the small note of approval, she turned on Hunter Hayes.T words of I Want Crazy spilled through the speakers of the truck, coaxing another smile from his face.
“Thank you, Emily.” He turned to quickly look over at her as she gazed back at his hair, still slightly wet from his quick shower. He slid his hand over in her direction, lacing their fingers together while she scooted closer to the center console between them, housing their Starbucks.
A little over three hours later, the couple pulled into the small town in Georgia where Avery had been born and raised. When they called places like this a one-horse town, they weren’t kidding. There wasn’t even a damn traffic light. Emily had crossed the state line and spent time in Georgia before, but never in such a tiny town. She’d been to Savannah, Macon, all those big tourist cities, and of course Atlanta a number of times for the NASCAR races at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, but never the likes of Jonesville.
A handful of turns later, they pulled down a long dirt road. Emily quickly realized, instead of an actual town street, this was a driveway, a really long damn driveway. As they rounded the last turn, a small country home appeared. The house was a beautiful faded white with brick red shutters and a matching wrap around porch. It was clear from the landscape around them that the house had fallen into a bit of disrepair over the years. But Emily could picture it in the height of its perfection. It was the kind of country home most southern girls would dream of.
On the front porch, a little old lady sat in a rocking chair, sipping a glass of tea. As the truck came to a stop, she slowly stood up from the rocker. Emily thought she looked as though she was moving as quickly as her age would allow. A smile flooded her wrinkled features. Avery leaned over to Emily, placing a small kiss on her cheek.
“My gran will kill me if you get out of that door without me opening it for you. Stay put, woman.” They both let out a little laugh as Avery exited. Quickly jogging around the truck to the passenger’s side door, he pulled it open, offering Emily his hand. Taking it, she hopped out of the truck, landing on the red dirt driveway. He kissed her knuckles and they headed for the little old lady who was anxiously awaiting their arrival.
“I knew I raised me a gentlemen, Avery Daniel,” the little lady spoke while he wrapped his arms around her. “I missed ya, Suga’,” she said, taking his face in her hands and planting a grandmotherly kiss on each of his blushing cheeks. “Now who is this fine young lady ya brought, boy?”
Emily walked toward his gran slowly, waiting for her introduction from Avery. His smile grew as he pulled her hand in his, placing another affectionate kiss on her knuckles and began his introduction.
“Gran, this is my girlfriend, Emily. Emily, this is my gran. She raised me with my momma.” Emily stepped forward to give the little welcoming woman a hug. It was clear she wasn’t going to get away with a simple handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Gran,” Emily spoke while the harmless looking lady caught her in a bear hug.
“Nice to see my Avery with a pretty girl. It’s been years since he brought any ladies ‘round. We were beginning to wonder ‘bout him.” She looked amused with herself while she let out a little chuckle and finally freed Emily from her over-eager embrace.
“Gran, I wanted to drop our bags off here and head over to the hospital to check on Momma.” Avery headed toward the truck, lowering the tailgate and pulling their suitcases from the bed. She watched every movement he made with a motherly-love expression on her face. She’d clearly missed him; the longing look in her eyes told Emily all she needed to know. He was a grandma’s boy through-and-through.
***
Avery clenched tightly onto Emily’s hand as they walked through the doors of the intensive care unit of the local community hospital. It wasn’t a big hospital, but it was all they had in their little community. The facility was big enough that she didn’t need to be transferred to any of the larger medical centers.
Emily made her way to the waiting room, leaving Avery to speak with the doctor who had been making his rounds for the day. He learned his mother had advanced stage four lung cancer, and because of the lack of treatment, she’d collapsed, not being able to breathe. She had known about it for some time, refusing all treatment.
His heart broke, learning his Momma’s life was coming to an end. The doctors gave her a couple days at most. She was just too far gone.
“I just can’t figure out for the life of me why she wouldn’t tell me. Why wouldn’t she fight?” He huffed as he paced back and forth across the waiting room floor. Emily watched in silence, having no idea what she could do to help him. Her loss had been so different. BAM! Your parent’s are dead. Deal with it. But this…Avery would have to watch his mother lose her battle before his eyes, wondering why she hadn’t chosen to live.
Emily ran her hand down his back, rubbing over his tense shoulder blades. With her touch, he slowly began to calm down. Avery turned to her, looking into her ocean blue eyes and knelt in front of her. He started to sob, lowering his head into her lap. She cradled him as if he were a newborn baby, looking for comfort in the arms of his mother. He was searching for comfort from his mother, but she couldn’t comfort him now.
Emily continued rubbing his back, running her fingers through his hair occasionally. Just holding him and comforting him the best she could. Minutes passed at the pace of hours before he stood once again.
“Come with me, I can’t go in alone,” was all he could say. She stood, taking his hand, this time reversing their roles and kissing his knuckles in a last effort of reassurance before they walked into her hospital room.
The room was silent and sterile. Fluorescent hospital lighting beat down on a small woman’s face. Hair, the same color as Avery’s, was loosely braided to the side. Her cheeks were hollow with weight loss, and she had an oxygen tube in her nose assisting her breathing. Her eyes remained closed. Avery was the spitting image of his mother in every way.
Tears pooled in Emily’s eyes, as she caught a tear slipping down Avery’s cheek. She stood by his side trying to keep her own emotions in check. Her heart broke for this man she cared so much about. His world was crashing the way hers had just two short years ago, except there would be a big difference for him. She wouldn’t be walking away when he clearly needed her so much. While their relationship was still in such an infant stage, it was about to grow by leaps and bounds.
He lowered himself into a chair, scooting it closer to the bed, which made a god-awful screeching sound, causing his mother to stir. He released Emily’s hand and took his mother’s frail fingers with both of his clammy hands. Slowly her green eyes flickered open. She eyed Emily with a confused look before noticing her lone son grasping her hand.
“Avery?” A low voice choked out. His mother proceeded to cough and gasp for air. He rubbed his fingers over her hand before answering her.
“I’m here, Momma. I’m here.” He let out with a sob. “And I’m not goin’ nowhere.” She closed her eyes again, as if she was exhausted from the one word she spoke.
***
Later on that evening, Emily and Avery sat at Gran’s kitchen table scarfing down the first bit of food either had eaten all day. Gran just watched without a word. Emily could see the wheels turning in Avery’s mind. He wore his emotions all over his face. Concern, worry, stress, sadness, and most of all he was in business mode. Ever since leaving the hospital, he seemed to be a man on a mission.
Gran crept down the hallway toward her bedroom before Emily could bring herself to break the silence. “A penny for your thoughts?”
“God, Emily, I don’t even
know where to start.” He broke down. The floodgates were open and the tears were starting to form in the corner of his eyes. “I don’t even know what to do. Momma is going to be gone soon. Gran can’t be alone. Aunt Bert is on the other side of the country. There’s no one to take care of her.”
Emily stared at him with confusion. His concern was more for his grandmother than his mother who was mere breaths away from death. Avery continued while she tried to take in what he was saying.
“There’s no way she would ever go into one of those old people communities. She just wasn’t raised like that. She ain’t gonna want to leave here.” He let out a deep breath. Before either could notice her, Gran laid her hand on his shoulder and startled the both of them.
“Boy, child. When you gonna stop worryin’ ‘bout your ol’ gran? You got bigger worries right now. We’ll make do with whatever you have to do. Now worry ‘bout your momma and your girl.” She looked at Emily with deep emerald eyes, full of love and hope before turning back to Avery. “This one’s a keeper. Not like that hussy Zoe.” And with those cryptic words, back down the hallway she turned, disappearing into her bedroom.
With a look of shock on his face, Avery turned to Emily to explain a little more. “Em, my gran raised me. My momma wasn’t really a mother, ever. She was out doing whatever she wanted until my brother died. After that, she finally got her head on straight, then started taking care of Gran.”
Emily’s heart broke at the thought of any mother not wanting to take care of her own children, but his words explained a lot about his reaction to her current condition. Her own mother had been so doting. Being a mother was her everything, which made Emily’s loss so much deeper.
“We’ll figure it out, Avery. I promise, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll help you with anything you need.” Her words were sincere. They had been thrust into this sudden loss together, and she would do anything to make this process easier for him. Emily continued offering her support while he picked at the last of his greens. “Do you think she would come to Daytona?”
That would remain to be seen.
***
Two long and extremely tiring days later, Avery sat at the bedside of his mother as she took her last breath. Emily had stayed back at the little country house with his gran, making arrangements with the county funeral home. Of course, the final service plans would be in the hands of Avery and Gran. She continued to tip toe around, while trying to help the best she could. The last thing she wanted to do was step on his toes during this difficult time. Although recalling her own experience, she’d wished someone would have stepped up to help her and Amelia.
Thinking of her sister, she realized they hadn’t spoken since she abruptly hung up on her earlier in the week. She felt guilty, but couldn’t help but still be bothered by her sister’s flat-out rude reaction. Would it be too much to ask for a supportive sister like most girls had?
She decided to text her sister, just to let her know she was away, in case she was trying to look for her.
In Georgia. Be back in a couple days. Avery’s mother passed. Dinner when I get back?
It took a half hour before Emily’s phone alerted her of an incoming text message. Amelia had finally replied.
Who is Avery? We’ll talk when you’re back home. Xoxo
Emily let out a small laugh. Things with Avery were still so fresh, she hadn’t even taken the time to talk to her frigid sister about her new hot fireman love.
New boyfriend. Hot fireman. Remember? You’ll meet when we get back.
Instead of letting Gran cook again, Emily took over the kitchen for the evening. Both Avery and his gran were far too exhausted by their loss to do anything. Emily picked up the slack on everything they couldn’t handle. Cooking just happened to be on the agenda for the night. She whipped together her mother’s famous macaroni and cheese. Saying Gran was impressed with her kitchen skills would have been an understatement. She had the couple virtually married off with Emily barefoot and pregnant in her beautiful country kitchen. As much as Emily found it all to be insane, it also made her heart skip a beat, or twelve.
“Gran, we’re going to have to talk about arrangements for when Emily and I have to leave at the beginning of next week.” The mood in the room switched from somewhat cheerful to troubled. Before Gran could begin with her suggestions, Emily took a deep breath and just spit it out.
“Gran, I think you should come back to Florida with us. We can take care of you there. It’s beautiful, and we have plenty of room. I have two spare bedrooms in my apartment alone.” A collective gasp of shock came from around the table. Avery and Gran just stared at her in shock. Florida? Her apartment? Was Emily really moving his grandmother into her apartment? For Emily, it seemed like the only logical thing to do.
“You don’t have to, Emily. I could set up the guest bedroom at my house for Gran,” Avery argued while washing down a mouthful of macaroni and cheese with his sweet tea. “We’ll get her all set up when we go back.”
“Does this ol’ lady get any say?” Gran interrupted. “I don’t want to leave Georgia. Do I have to?” she asked them both. Avery didn’t want to argue with Gran, but there was nothing he could do. His life, and job were in Florida and he wasn’t about to move back to Georgia and leave Emily behind.
“Gran, listen. I don’t want to do this. I know you love this house, this is the only home you’ve ever known.” He paused and ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a deep breath and continuing. “But unless you want to go in one of those damn old folk homes, you gotta come back home with me.” Gran wore a scowl on her face. She wasn’t happy with the ultimatum before her, but she also didn’t want to cause Avery any more stress or pain than he was already being forced to deal with.
“Can I at least pick where to live when we get there?” she joked as she took a sip of her tea. “I may want to stay with her just for the mac n’ cheese, boy.” They all started laughing as the dismal mood of the day lifted.
Chapter Seven
Under the Stars
“What do we need all these blankets for?” Emily questioned while Avery piled them into the back seat of his truck. It was dusk and the sun was slowly starting to set behind the rows of trees which wrapped around the house. The night air was perfect, much cooler than the blazing day had been. It was comfortable, a southern, summer night.
“Trust me,” was all he said while he led her to the side of his pickup. Emily wore a light blue spaghetti strap sun dress which fell just below her knee, complimenting her eyes flawlessly. Her feet were bare; she held a pair of white jeweled flip-flops in her left hand. She slid up into the truck with Avery assisting her, his hand snug around her waist. His heart skipped a beat, taking in her beauty. It seemed like days since he’d been able to truly take a look at her and appreciate everything she had been taking on for him. The thought that she so willingly took this mess on for no other reason but her feelings for him, really made him understand the deeper connection they shared.
“Where are we going?” she questioned again, snapping him out of his daydream. Since dinner, Avery had been unusually quiet. The stress of the situation was starting to get to him and no matter what Emily tried to do to help, she felt as though she was failing. She let it slide, though. Had Jared actually stuck around two years ago when she dealt with her own loss, she would have been more distant than Avery was being.
“My favorite place in Georgia,” he said with a modest smile before rounding the truck to get in himself. The engine roared to life, and they traveled slowly around the back of the house on the grass. Soon enough a small dirt road appeared in between a break in the lush greenery. They drove slowly along the road, which began to slope down toward a small creek. Avery pulled the truck over to the side of the road and reversed it before coming to a stop at the edge of the water, leaving only a few feet from the tailgate to the water.
“When I was a boy, I loved this spot. No matter what bad would come my way, I could always come here and clear my mi
nd.” He paused before turning toward Emily. When their eyes met, fireworks began to fly once again. The days of hurt and pain were slowly drifting away while their attraction drifted back, front and center. “I’ve never brought anyone here; it was just too special to share—until now...” he added before jumping out of the truck.
Emily followed suit, meeting him at the front of the truck as he walked around. He swept her off her feet, carrying her around to the bed of the truck. She hadn’t noticed before they left the house, but he’d thrown in an air mattress, and turned the bed of his truck into a comfy bed. “Join me, my lady?” He lowered her down into the bed of the truck. She lay comfortably on the mattress, resting her sandy hair on a pillow he’d grabbed off his gran’s couch. He turned to pull all the extra blankets around them he’d taken before leaving the house.
“Now the blankets make sense, you sneak,” she said with a chuckle. When he jumped over the side of the truck bed, she lost no time before snuggling next to him, resting her head in the crook of his arm. They lay together, speechless, just listening to the soundtrack of nature. The creek ran with the occasional splash, the crickets chirped their own symphony of nature, dogs barked in the distance, and while Emily’s head rested on Avery’s chest, she marveled at the sound of his heartbeat.
The sun continued to set in one of the most beautiful scenes Emily had ever seen. Everything had been nothing short of storybook perfect. Avery’s grip tightened, pulling her closer to his warm body. While he only wore a thin white undershirt and a pair of jeans, his body radiated enough heat to keep her warm. He finally broke the silence.
“Emily, please don’t tell me I’m the only one who thinks there is something really special between us?”
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