“Piece o’ cake.” I ditched the hat and pulled my always-handy secret weapon from my hair. Breaking into things was a special talent of mine, one that always gave me a little rush. I guess it started when I was around nine and Jack forbid me to ride Ranger unless he was home—which wasn’t a lot. Ranger was only green broke, but I was determined to finish him out my way before Jack ruined him. Even as a kid I didn’t buy into Jack’s harsh training methods; he had a way of breaking the spirit of everything he touched—and everyone.
To keep me from working with Ranger, Jack put a padlock on the tack room so I couldn’t get the saddle and bridle—I learned how to pick locks real fast. Mom looked the other way because she recognized my gift when it came to handling horses. At the early age of nine, I successfully broke my first horse and acquired the useful skill of breaking and entering.
After opening the door for my friends, I swept some of my hair back and stuck the bobby pin in again. Flipping on the lights, I realized it had probably been a year or so since I’d been in the one-room cabin. It looked exactly the same as I remembered it: three sets of bunk beds lining one wall, a small kitchen area on the opposite wall with a big round table and chairs, and one tiny bathroom—bare necessities.
We’d been cleaning the place up for about an hour when there was a tap at the door. I turned to see Justice with a large brown grocery sack in his hands. “Was the door unlocked?” he asked, puzzled.
I smirked. “Not exactly.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot who I’m dealin’ with.” He rolled his eyes. “Sorry it took me so long, but I stopped at Barney’s to pick up some dinner for you ladies.” He set the bag on the kitchen table and pulled out a carton of fried chicken, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans, and a whole chocolate pie.
“Justice, you are the man!” Billi Jo pointed at him with both fingers, handgun style.
Justice waved us over to get some food, and he only had to do it once. We fixed our plates and sat down at the kitchen table to eat together.
Billi Jo went to the kitchen counter to grab a roll of paper towels. Instead of coming back to the table, she leaned against the back of the sink, facing us, and began to stare at Justice while devouring a chicken leg. “Ya know,” she said as she chewed, “I never have understood why you and River never dated.” She studied us like she was trying to figure out the Egyptian pyramids.
Odds were against me stopping Billi Jo’s babbling once it got started, but I leaned back in my chair so Justice couldn’t see me and motioned my hand across my throat anyway.
“What?” she spoke through a mouth stuffed full of chicken.
Justice attempted to hide his face by taking a long drink out of his glass.
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed to Justice, and his eyes crinkled around the edges, letting me know he wasn’t bothered by Billi Jo’s antics.
Billi Jo walked to the table and squeezed Justice’s jaws between her greasy fingers. “Seriously, River, why have you never dated him? I mean, look at him.”
“Yeah, River, why not?” Kat tapped her fingers on the table as she waited for my answer.
After I finished my last drink of water, I stood to get a refill. “As you all know, Justice and I have been friends forever. Not to mention he has a girlfriend.”
“So? I bet she can’t hold a candle to our friend River, here.” Billi Jo draped an arm across my shoulders. “And they always say friends make the best lovers, and—”
I gave her an extra hard pat on the back. “Down, girl,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I’m just sayin’, you better step up before he falls in love with what’s-her-name.” She sat back down.
My face burned as I went to the sink. “I’m sure he already has, Billi Jo. They’ve been dating awhile.”
“Nah, I’m not buyin’ it,” she said as she eyed the two of us.
Justice cleared his throat, looked down for a second, then forced a small laugh. But he didn’t confirm or deny the allegations.
Billi Jo lost her train of thought when Kat lured her away with a thick slice of Barney’s homemade chocolate pie.
While Billi Jo focused on her second piece of pie, I motioned for Justice to follow me out to the porch.
“Sorry about that; Billi Jo gets a little carried away sometimes.” I sat down on the top step.
Justice joined me. “I’ve known Billi Jo too long to be surprised or offended by anything that comes out of her mouth.”
“Tell me about it.” I nodded. “Hey, thanks for the food. It was awesome.”
“It’s about time I could do a little somethin’ for you. I’ve felt so helpless.” He stared down at his boots, then looked at me. “Now are you gonna tell me what you’re doin’ home and what exactly you’re looking for?”
“Another time. Tonight, I just wanna catch up.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond before I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. “So does, um…does your girlfriend know anything? Does she know I’m here?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Of course not.”
I already knew his answer would be no. It would be far too risky for anyone else to know I was here.
“So, I guess you’ve been dating her for a couple months or so since…I left.”
“Yeah…off and on.”
“Must be pretty serious if you can’t stay away from each other,” I prodded while acting only half-interested in his answer.
“She’s a nice girl,” he said, avoiding my very direct indirect questions.
“That’s good, you deserve a nice girl.” He deserved so much more than plain ole’ nice.
He rubbed at his neck again.
“I’m glad she makes you happy.” I wanted him to be happy, but not with her.
“I’m happy.” He smiled, but it was the fourth grade portrait smile—the one where your mouth moves into the shape of a smile, but the eyes reveal that you’re smiling because you have to, not because you want to.
I nodded at his unrevealing answers, even though I desperately wanted to know the answers to more intrusive questions: Does she love to go on trail rides with you and camp out under the stars? Does she like to look for shapes in the clouds or watch a good thunderstorm roll in? Can she go fishing and sit with you for hours without saying a word? Does she share your love of old southern rock and country music, and does she know how to line dance—Justice Braden style? Does she know the best way to sneak into your bedroom window…oh, and have you slept with her? I tried to mentally rewind and erase that last thought, but I couldn’t.
He gave me a sheepish grin as he patted my knee and stood. “You have a big day tomorrow. I guess I’d better get out of here and let you rest up.”
Confused, I stood up with him. “Rest up for what?”
He pulled me in for a hug and whispered in my ear, his warm breath sending tingles throughout me. “You have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow.”
My shoulders slumped. “Lookin’ forward to it,” I grumbled into his soft plaid shirt, inhaling his glorious scent.
Resting his chin on top of my head, he said, “Hey, I have to work tomorrow, but I’ll check on you before I leave, okay?”
“Thanks, Justice…for everything.”
Smiling, he reached out, briefly cupping my face in his hands as he looked at me like he couldn’t believe I was standing in front of him. His thumbs grazed my cheeks and paused at the corner of my lips just long enough to make my heart stop. He gathered me tight in his arms, and when his grip loosened, I resisted the urge to cling tighter and beg him not to leave.
My head said it was wrong. My heart said it was right.
Stupid heart.
20
RAIN DANCE
At the crack of dawn, I slipped out of bed and peeked out the window. Perfect—just enough daylight to see the clouds. Wrapping a small throw around my shoulders, I stole out into the cool morning air and headed to one of my favorite places in the world. Lost in memories of fishing off the dock with Justice, th
e creak of wooden boards startled me.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya.” Justice sat down beside me.
Dropping my hand from my heart, I turned my attention back to the sunrise casting a glow on the water. “Guess I was daydreaming. Lots of good memories in this place.”
“Yeah.” He followed my gaze to the calm water, and we sat quietly until he broke the silence a few minutes later. “I brought a gallon of milk and some cereal. Hungry?”
“Not yet, but thanks.” I looked toward the cabin. “Everyone else is still sleeping.”
“You wanna go for a walk? I finally finished that trail. It circles along the lake and goes all the way back to the barn.”
“Yeah, I’m dyin’ to see Daisy and the new filly.”
Justice grimaced. “She’s not exactly new anymore.”
“Mm, I guess not.” I’d forgotten how long I’d been gone, and how long it had been since I’d been to Justice’s house before that. But I refused to let past regrets ruin my day. “Let me put this stuff in the fridge and get my tennis shoes and some…clothes.” I was suddenly embarrassed at my thigh-length jersey t-shirt.
“Sure,” he said, looking away, and offered me the grocery sack.
Using the sack as a cover-up, I backed away, then turned and scurried back to the cabin. After I put the milk in the fridge, I pulled on a tank top, my old ragged jeans, and tennis shoes, then returned to the dock. Looking up at the cloudy sky, I stretched out my goosebump-covered arms and smiled. “Thunderstorm today?”
“They’re not callin’ for anything until later,” Justice said.
I rubbed my hands together like a mad scientist. “I love a good Texas thunderstorm.”
“I know you do.” He grinned.
Walking along the trail, Justice filled me in about what had been going on in Dahlia since I’d left: who was dating, breaking up, who was going to college—all the things that helped me forget how much my life had changed.
“What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be starting college soon?”
“Yeah, slight change of plans. Since Dad got sent to Alabama and Mom had to go to Kentucky to be with Gram, I need to stay here and take care of the farm.” He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s okay, though; it’s given me a chance to save up some more money. I’ve been working for one of Dad’s friend’s construction companies since he left.”
“I thought your grandma was doing better after that last round of chemo.”
“She was for a while, but the cancer came back.”
I reached for my locket. “Mm, sorry to hear that.” I understood more about cancer than I ever wanted.
He gave me a sideways glance. “Enough about me. What have you been up to?”
He wasn’t going to let me off the hook, so I filled him in on our ‘trip.’ I purposely skipped everything that led up to our departure, sticking only to what happened after our arrival in Vegas.
He bit his bottom lip. “So…Sin City was boring?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” I added a few highlights and told him all about Charlie and how hard it was to leave him. Then, in an attempt to stay away from the subject I most wanted to avoid, I started telling him about my possible biological father. Before I had a chance to finish, we reached the top of a hill and something distracted me. “Hey, Mr. Weatherman, I believe you were mistaken about that forecast.”
“Nah.”
I inhaled deeply. “Smell that?” The scent of rain was unmistakable—it smelled like heaven.
He gazed at the sky. “I think you might be right.”
“You think?” I pointed toward the west, where a hazy mist could be seen for miles in the distance. A vivid wall of gray divided where it was raining and where it wasn’t. Captivated by the natural wonder and how it crept toward us in a straight, even line, I planted my feet firmly.
“It’s getting closer.” Justice tried to bring me out of my hypnotic state. “We’d better get movin’.”
“Why?”
“Did you hear that rumble? Thunder.”
Maybe, but I chose to ignore it and focus only on the beautiful rushing sound of rain colliding with the earth. “But I love to watch the rain coming.”
“Well, we can love it from indoors.” Justice tugged at my arm.
“Do you really think we can beat it?” I asked.
He stood up straighter. “I probably could, but I don’t know about you.”
“Are you kidding me? You might have longer legs, but you’re clumsy.”
“No, I’m not. That’s you.”
“Yes, you are, see?” I pushed him off balance so I could get a head start.
He caught up with me in two strides and glanced over. “It’s on, Daniels.”
We raced through a row of trees and down a small hill, peeking over our shoulders every few seconds at the tempest gaining on us. Laughing so hard we could barely run, I stopped when we reached a clearing on higher ground and grabbed Justice’s arm. Knowing it was impossible to get to the barn before the rain came, he gave in and turned to wait with me.
Stretching my arms out, palms up, I threw my head back and smiled at the sky as I let the rain catch me. Whirling around, the cool water rushed over me, each drop like liquid gold caressing my skin. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so vibrant, so alive, and so free.
I held my arms out to Justice and pleaded with my eyes. He glanced one last time at the rolling storm clouds behind us, and a smile grew across his lips as he took my hands, lacing his fingers in mine. We were two kids again, dancing in the rain.
A faraway flash of lightening followed by a boom of thunder got my attention, but it didn’t change my behavior.
Justice made an attempt to shout over the beating rain. “Let’s get outta here!” He pointed in the distance as more flashes of lightning rocked the darkening sky, then motioned for me to follow him.
I didn’t budge. The feeling of freedom coursed through my veins like mentholated ice, and I was already addicted. My worst fear was if I stopped, if I let this feeling end, I’d never get it back. The lightning seemed like the smaller risk.
Realizing I wasn’t following him, Justice came back for me. Even though the rain fell in thick sheets over his face, I could still see his eyes as he held his hand out to me. “Come on. Lightning—danger!”
Unable or unwilling to move, I stood there with my feet firmly planted, smiling at him. Shaking his head, he scooped me up, threw me over his shoulder, and took off for the barn. When we got inside the barn, he set me down and we both tried to catch our breath. He ruffled his wet hair. “Do I need to lock you in one of the stalls so you won’t escape?”
My heart was still racing from my thunderstorm high. “That was the most alive I’ve felt in a long time.”
He looked at me as if scolding a small child. “No thanks to you offering yourself up as a human lightning rod.”
Water droplets hung like tiny crystals on the ends of Justice’s dark waves, and I secretly noticed how his t-shirt clung to every dent in his chest and stomach. “You always did love a good thunderstorm,” he said, wiping his forehead with his arm. He grabbed an old barn jacket off a hook and offered it to me.
I shook my head—I had no intentions of wiping away the magic feeling of rain. Like a trickling waterfall, it continued to trail from my hair, down my face, neck, and down the exposed skin on my chest. Justice let the jacket drop onto a nearby hay bale, then stepped into me, reaching out to push a wet strand of hair out of my face. My heart beat as fast as a hummingbird’s wings when his hand lingered near my jaw. Blood pulsed beneath my skin, raising my body temperature despite the cool raindrops. Staring up into his intense green eyes, I swallowed, and my lips parted slightly.
As if realizing what he was doing, his hand dropped to my shoulder and brought me in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
I returned his embrace, trying to disguise the trembling in my arms, and enjoying the way my body fit perfectly to his. “Me, too.”
&n
bsp; He kissed the top of my hair, and I smiled. It was a familiar show of affection from him, and it was more than I could ever have hoped for.
After a couple of minutes basking in Justice’s warm glow, he pulled away from me. “Oh, wow,” he said, checking his watch. “I didn’t realize it was getting so late. I’ve gotta get to work.”
“What about the storm?”
He started toward his house and motioned for me to follow. “Storm’s passin’ through. But we’ve got some inside work in one of the houses, anyway.”
I hoped my disappointment didn’t show.
“Come on, I’m gonna change into dry clothes real quick, then I’ll drive you back to the cabin.”
“That’s okay, I’ll walk.” I waved my hand at him. “Walking in the rain is the best.”
He smiled and then pointed at me. “Hey, you got lucky the storm interrupted our talk today. I work ten hours every day this week and have plans I can’t change tonight, so we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow night.”
Oh, goody—a scheduled confession. My answer was a fake smile.
Leaning against the wide doorway of the barn, watching Justice and Hank race out into the rain, I ached for the way things used to be. I wanted to tell Justice good-bye and feel sure that I’d see him tomorrow. I wanted to be the only other person he’d allow to ride his horse. I wanted it to be just the two of us again…
When Justice rushed out of his house, I waved goodbye and watched him drive away. Since the lightning had stopped, I started back to the cabin. As I followed the tree-lined driveway, I made sure I took time to walk through every mud puddle and appreciate every drop of the dwindling rain on my skin. I wanted the memory of this day to last forever.
By the time I reached the end of the quarter-mile drive, the sun had come out. I stopped to admire a rainbow that stretched over the lake like a giant canopy. It amazed me that two vastly different things like a bold storm and the bright sun could come together and produce such beauty. It also made me realize what I wanted more than anything else. I wanted a second chance.
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