Just A Step Away (Closer) (4 page)

Chapter 6

~Lanie~

There hadn’t been enough valium or Dramamine in the entire world that could have effectively sedated my ass. I hated flying.

My stomach turned as the little commuter reached the tarmac. A jolt was sent through my body when the wheels made contact, and I quickly grabbed for Lucas’ hand. When he didn’t even flinch from my touch, I turned my head and saw that he was asleep. Actually, he was snoring with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Very attractive
.

Still, I smiled, seeing him next to me. I was so grateful that Lucas had agreed to come with me on such short notice. Looking back over the week, I blow out a breath. I had been on the phone with Jasmine non-stop. She’d always had a knack for calling at the most inconvenient times. Whether I was naked in the shower or on the toilet, the woman called. Every. Single. Time.

We discussed everything from napkins to seating charts. By the time we were done, I wanted to shove the seating chart straight up her ass. If the fact of being home wasn’t going to kill me, Jasmine’s irritating ass surely would.

Lucas, on the other hand, had been on autopilot, practically packing every inch of his room. I had never known any man to pack four suitcases for a week-long trip. When he asked me my opinion on a few of the things he was bringing with him, I nearly fell over laughing. After our beach incident, he had gone to an outdoor surplus store and bought a camouflage hunting jacket, a pair of combat boots, and a Stetson. The only thing I didn’t find utterly ridiculous was the Stetson.

“We’re here,” I said, lightly shaking his arm. When he started to curl up into the fetal position, pulling his legs up to his chest, I gave his upper body a good push. “We’re here. Wake up.”

“What? I didn’t do it!” Lucas finally woke up, eyes wide as he looked around him. “Damn, Lanie, I’m sorry. How long was I asleep?”

“Oh, about half the damn trip.”

“Shit,” he mumbled and scrubbed a hand down his face. Lucas then brought his hands up to his head and ran his fingers through his hair. An unexpected shiver prickled at my skin as he stretched his long arms over his head and a large yawn swept across his mouth. “So, we’re in Hicksville, huh?”

Several pairs of eyes shot in our direction and I instantly wanted to kill him. It was mostly men who gave him the death glare, all dressed in cowboy gear and reeking of tobacco. But before I could give him a huge piece of my mind, a voice rang out over the intercom. “Thank you for flying Silver Springs Air,” the pilot said as the engines purred to a stop. “Please exit accordingly and enjoy your stay.”

I immediately grabbed my carry-on and followed behind the big beefy Clint Eastwood types we had been seated next to. One of them smelled like manure and old milk, and as I looked up I noticed sweat rings on full display under his armpits. The sour stench was enough to make me want to vomit right on the guy’s Justin’s.

“What the fuck did homeboy have to eat? A pound of rotten onions and sauerkraut? Holy shit he smells like road kill. I swear to God, Lanie, if he fucking farts I will gag. Do you have any clue what sauerkraut farts smell like?” Lucas sneered. He pinched his nostrils and shoved past me, knocking me right into Mr. Smelly McSmellypants.

The scruffy looking cowboy looked at me and smiled a big toothy grin, causing his handlebar mustache to curve up wickedly. “Hey, darlin’, how ya doin’?”

I instantly choked back a gag when his gnarly tobacco breath fanned across my face. His gums were disgusting and showed deep wear from chewing that nasty shit.

I backed up as far as I could and tried to put enough space between me and the cowboy, when my back hit the wall of the plane. My eyes sprung open to their limit and a small squeak barreled from my lips. The cowboy moved in even closer and for a moment I thought he was going to sniff me or something equally as weird.

“Ya new in town, Peach?”

Peach?
I had nothing. Absolutely nothing, except for the fact that I was not this guy’s
peach
. Who knew what he’d actually do to a peach if he had a chance. Possibly put a hole in it and—

“Thanks, Gomer, but this fine ass little thing is
my
peach.” My mouth flew wide open when I heard Lucas’ voice chime close to my ear, then felt a smack against my ass. Another round of pesky goose bumps littered my skin and before I could get my bearings back, I felt Lucas’ hot, wet tongue slide up the shell of my ear as he murmured only loud enough for me to hear, “And what a sweet, juicy peach she is.”

I was floored by his comment. Hell, I was floored by his actions.

My heart began to crash against my chest and it felt as though we were the only two people around, as if everyone else had disappeared. I could feel Lucas’ heated, heavy breath against my ear as his nose skimmed my earlobe. It was all I could do not to lose myself in what I knew was only pretend for the sake of the situation.

As I allowed myself to get caught in the façade, I came back to reality when Lucas said, “Anyway, she farts in her sleep, she’s missing one nipple and her vagina looks like it’s been chewed up by a cheese grater.” He kissed the top of my head, looked over at the cowboy, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Love is blind and
we
have a motherfucking hoedown to get to. See ya on the flipside, Tex!”

I wasn’t able to see the cowboy’s response because Lucas had yanked me by the hand and led me off the plane.

“Girl, we need to get some of Mama’s double pecan pie in you!”

I knew that voice anywhere. It was deep and scruffy. Willard, my brother, but everyone in Silver Springs called him Willie. I hated that name. It had always made me think of a penis, and the first time I ever saw a penis I instantly thought of my brother. But I guess it was okay considering when he was being mean to me I wasn’t too far off by calling him a dickhead.

He hadn’t changed much. His hair was still the same; short brown and cropped. His smile seemed bigger than ever, and those dimples I had been envious of as a child sat deep in his cheeks. He looked like he had gained a few pounds, apparently diving deep into our mother’s fried cooking. And from what I saw, his love affair with crusty overalls hadn’t changed.

“Lanie!” I shook my head and smiled when he started waving his arms wildly in the air. “Lanie!”

Truth be tol
d
,
I loved my brother. Willard always had my back, and when I needed advice about the opposite sex, he was there. He also threatened to shoot the nuts off of the first guy that had ever screwed me over.

“Um…you know that fruitcake in the overalls?”

“Get your butt over here, girl, and give me hug.” Willard’s arms flared out wide and his chest puffed out.

“Why does Farmer Ted want to hug you?”

I closed my eyes and came to the quick realization that every single introduction between Lucas and my family would end in the same result; his reacting that way and me being embarrassed.

“Want me to drop kick his fruity looking ass?”

I shook my head and drew in a deep breath. “He’s my brother.”

Lucas swung his head so that his eyes were trained on the side of my face before he leaned in and whispered, “You’re related to
that
? Wasn’t he like one of those kids that got beat up in school for looking like an idiot?”

“No. He was the one kicking ass and taking names.” I let go of Lucas’ hand and kept my eyes on my brother, trying unsuccessfully to get my rapid heart in check. “Hey, Willie.”

My brother’s smile grew wide. “C’mere, girl.” Willard wrapped his big, suffocating arms around me and I breathed him in. Motor oil and Doritos. My brother.
Home
. “You’re skinny as hell, Lanie. Mama ain’t gonna like this one bit. She’s already making your favorite; collard greens and corn bread.”

Collard greens and corn bread. I hadn’t had that in so long and thinking about it made my stomach growl. My mother was undoubtedly the best cook in all of Silver Springs. Each year at the county fair, her double pecan pies always won a first place blue ribbon. It was one of those things I should have paid more attention to while I was growing up because I cannot cook worth a crap. Lucas is a prime example of that fact seeing as though the chicken I once cooked gave him the major shits for about three days. Needless to say, he does all the cooking now.

“You like collard greens?” Lucas leaned in and asked with his nose turned up like some snobby, too-cool-for-school kinda guy.

“And who the hell are you?”

When I realized that my brother was referring to Lucas, I quickly stepped in between the two men before Willard blew a gasket for no reason.

“He’s my...um...boyfriend, Willie,” I replied.

“You’re boyfriend, huh? I thought Mama was lying when she told us that you finally landed one,” Willard said, and completely ignored my “fuck off and die” expression. Instead, he looked Lucas up and down and gave him his signature brow lift. “So what? Ya one of those guys who likes to watch women undress when they don’t know it? Peek in on them when they’re in the shower or on the shitter?”

Surprise painted my face and my jaw damn nearly hit the pavement at Willard’s assumption of Lucas. But nothing shocked me more when I saw Willard’s body shudder as if someone had tickled him across the back of his neck, clearly aroused.

“Dude.” Lucas held his palms up. “I don’t know what you’re into or what you like to do in your spare time, but that’s some nasty shit right there. Well not the watching women undress or shower part. That’s really fucking hot.”

I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. I was convinced that these two together would probably drive me crazy by the end of our stay.

The twenty minute ride to my parent’s house seemed like it took forever. Not only did I have to listen to a song about a man checking his woman for ticks, I had to deal with Lucas acting like a complete tourist.

“Holy crap, Lanie! You guys have kangaroos here?”

Willard chuckled from the driver’s seat and whispered under his breath. “Oh, I’m gonna have fun with you, Hoss.”

I gave my brother the wicked side-eye and turned to Lucas. I pointed to the supposed
kangaroos
. “They aren’t kangaroos. They’re lamas. And that’s Mrs. Johnson’s property. She’s been raising them since I was a little girl. Willard and I used to go feed them and work on her farm during the summer. Remember that Willie?”

“Yep, I remember,” he said, spitting his tobacco juice out of the window. “But it ain’t Old Lady Johnson’s anymore. Her son runs the place. Been talking about selling it.”

“Why? Mrs. Johnson loves those things.”

Willard shook his head. “Maybe you should answer your phone the next time Mama calls you. Maybe then you’d know that Mrs. Johnson passed a few months ago.”

I slumped back against the seat and my stomach twisted in knots. “I…I didn’t know.”

“I’m sure you didn’t, but maybe next time you’ll pick up the line.”

I bit my bottom lip as I felt tears start to well up. My breath hitched when I felt Lucas grip my hand. It was all I could do not to break down and cry.

I held onto Lucas’ hand. Silver Springs had never been just a place to me. It was home. No matter how much I had tried to forget about it in the past five years, I’d never forgotten. Spending summers at Miller’s Pond with Willard and his friends, launching ourselves off the rope swing, and all springtime afternoons getting lost in my books was a far cry from the life I’d been leading in California.

I scooted closer to Lucas and mentally prepared myself for my little family reunion, knowing deep down that it was going to hurt to see them all again.

Chapter 7

~Lanie~

“We’re here!”

I blinked several times and looked around. The place hadn’t changed much. At all, really. The old tire swing still hung lopsided from the old Oak in the front yard and Roscoe, the family Lab, still lay under it much as he had the day I left. The powder blue paint on the house had turned to nothing more than chippings.  

As soon as Willard laid on the horn, I watched the porch screen door fly open, hitting the railing with a hard slam.

“My baby!”

Mom
. I couldn’t help but smile while watching my mother’s short, ample figure bounce down the steps as she made her way toward Willard’s beat up Ford. I choked back tears when she got closer. Time had aged her a few years and it showed. Wrinkles invaded the area around her beautiful blue eyes, and indentions of laugh lines trailed around the corners of her mouth. Her black hair had turned a cloudy shade of gray, and I wondered for a moment if she actually felt her age, considering she had always been such a vibrant soul.

“Get your derriere out of that truck, Lanie Pie!” My mother didn’t wait for Lucas to clear the doorway as she pushed past him and nearly knocked me to the ground. “Oh, my baby! Mama’s so glad you’re home!”

Yep. Still as vibrant as ever.

“Let that poor girl go, Charlotte, before you squeeze her to death.” My father’s familiar voice carried as he stepped out of the old farmhouse.

Looking up at my father, a lump lodged in my throat. He’d aged exponentially. Lines emphasized around his eyes, and the gray in his dark hair was thick. I had always been daddy’s little girl, and seeing him this way, knowing that I had abandoned that bond, made me so disappointed in myself.

“Oh, hush up you,” my mother sniffled into my hair, only loud enough for me to hear. “I missed ya somethin’ awful, sweet girl.”

              I took a moment to breathe in my mother’s scent. Her hair still smelled like strawberries, and her clothes, well, they always smelled like pecans. It had been that way since I was a young child and I reveled in the sweet scent that is my mom.

             
“I missed you too, Mom.”

“
Mom
? Since when do ya call me,
mom
?” She pulled back and looked into my eyes. “It’s that damn movie star planet where you live, ain’t it? I told you it would change ya. I just knew it!”

I rolled my eyes, something I did quite often as a child. “It’s not a planet, Mom, it’s a place. And I think you’d like it there.”

My mother grabbed hold of both my shoulders, looked at me seriously, and then swung her head around. “I think that place did something to our baby, Buck! She’s skinny as a twig and she’s talking nonsense!”

“Get away from that girl, Lottie,” my father said as he squeezed in between me and my mother, his arms extended to me, “before you drive her crazy.”

Coffee and Coors.
My dad
. I had forgotten, up until this moment, how much I missed that man. My dad had always been a bit off his rocker, too. For some reason, he believed that crickets were the irritating minions from the fiery pits of Hell, sent to his house to keep his butt up at all hours of the night.

“It’s good to have you home, baby girl.”

“It’s good to see you too, Dad.”

“Ya see, Buckie! Ya see what I’m talking about? She’s talking nonsense again with that Mom and Dad business.”

My dad shook his head and I swear I saw a tear line his lashes, and his expression pulled at my heart.  “Ya really should come home more often. Things ain’t been the same since you been gone.”

I had nothing in response. He was right. They all were. But I had my reasons.

“Dwight, is that you, baby?”

Nana
. My eyes flew open when I heard her voice. It was older and even more garbled than I remembered. I almost peed my pants when I realized that my seventy-one year old grandma was talking to Lucas.

“Look at them arms!”

I watched her wrinkly hand reach up and squeeze Lucas’ bicep and slowly draw her fingers along its length.

“You’ve been workin’ out, sugar!”

The expression on Lucas’ face changed from mortification to slight delight as he purposely flexed for my grandmother.
Shameless.

“Nana!” I yelled out and pushed out of my father’s embrace. My feet moved before I could think, but by the time I had reached my grandmother and her willing victim, her hand had reached Lucas’ pecs. “This isn’t Papa! He’s my room—my boyfriend, Lucas.”

“Your boyfriend! Ya hear that, Buckie? Our baby’s landed herself a man!”

“And here I thought he was a little
too
sweet around the gills.”

Between my mother’s seal-like clapping and my father’s blatant assumption that Lucas was batting for the same team, I wanted to shove my head up my ass.

With her hand still firmly attached to Lucas’ chest, my grandmother’s attention flickered in my direction. Her crystal blue eyes grew wide and in an instant she removed her hands from Lucas, her nostrils flaring.

“I oughta whoop your ass, girl!”

I was sure that people could see how surprised I was on my face. I had heard my grandmother cuss like a sailor before, directly toward others.

“How on this green earth could you have broke your mama and daddy’s hearts like you did?” she yelled and stepped closer to me, her finger waving in the air. “You better have a damn good reason for makin’ your mama cry like you did! In my day, if I did like you did, my mama would’ve pulled the biggest switch off the tree and blistered—”

“Enough, Mama. I think Lanie Pie gets it,” my mother said, resting her palm on her mother’s shoulder. “She and her friend had a long trip and need their rest.”

“Rest my butt! What she needs is a—”

“Wanna feel that bicep again?” Lucas smiled widely and thrust his arm up toward my grandmother’s face. Two more inches higher and I think he would have succeeded in knocking her out cold.

And I would have laughed at his I’m-Too-Sexy-For-My-Own-Good eyebrow cocking demeanor if it hadn’t been for the fact that I felt like shit about my grandmother’s assessment of my actions.

My grandmother’s hand flew up in Lucas’ face. “I only have eyes for my Dwight, young man.” She flipped her head to the side. Brown, slimy spit flew from her narrow, pink lips. My grandmother then looked back at him, gave him a once over, and said, “Ah, what the hell? Like they say, the older the berry, the sweeter the juice!”

Lucas’ eyes grew the size of saucers when the greasy mess hit the dirt and my grandmother’s hands flew up, resuming their assault on his chest.

“Nana!” I yelped, and shook my head. Didn’t any of them have a clue as to why I split the first moment I could? If they didn’t, perhaps they should have assessed their own actions, maybe then they would have figured it out.

I was startled out of my familial chaos when a horn blared in the driveway. A long, mustard yellow station wagon idled near Willard’s old beater. The Mustard Machine looked like an overpopulated tuna can with several gray haired ladies smooshed together.

A cloud of thick smoke billowed out of the passenger side window as an older woman, sporting the biggest gray bouffant in creation, popped her head out and called out to my grandmother. “You ready, Ethel? Them boys from the Legion are gonna be there tonight! And Old Man Russell got his new pacemaker put in! He’s good to go!”

“And that right there, young man, is why I chew this stuff,” my grandmother said pointing to the smoke bomb as she hurled out another big slime ball from between her lips. She shoved her spittoon underneath her arm, adjusted her huge straw hat, and headed off to the big mustard machine.

              “Get your crap together, Lanie, or I’m gettin’ a switch when I get back from Bingo!”

“Dude.” I about jumped out of my skin when Lucas’ voice rang out close to my ear. “Your family is fucking awesome!”

Awesome?

“C’mon, ya two,” my father called to us. “Let’s get ya settled in.”

I let Lucas’ words sink in as I looked at the people around me. Awesome would not be the first word I would have chosen to describe them all. Quirky, simple, but awesome? Yeah, awesomely wacky.

We all began making our way to the house. About halfway there, I glanced over at Lucas and noticed a strangled expression on his face. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with him. He looked somewhere between pained and tortured, when just a few minutes earlier he was all smiles and laughter. “You okay?”

Sweat had begun to pellet his forehead and his skin looked gray. I moved closer to him and tugged on his hand, waiting for him to respond. I mentally went over what we had to eat today. Nothing fabulous. Each of us had the same bland airplane food that everyone else had and none of them seem to have gotten sick from it. I tugged on his hand again. When he didn’t answer, I leaned in closer.

“What the hell’s wrong? Are you sick?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed thickly, his breaths coming out in short spurts. He leaned down closer to my ear. “I have to take a crap the size of this wonderful state of Texas, and if I don’t get to the bathroom soon, I may just bust out a buffalo right here in front of your parents. But…I can’t…move. Have you ever seen a turtle when it pokes its head out of its shell?” He looked behind him, his eyes trailing to his butt. “That’s me right about now, and I think it was the tuna sandwich I snuck on the plane.”

What the hell? He did not just say that he snuck a tuna sandwich of all things onto the damn plane. That thing was probably rancid after two hours of us waiting in the terminal. And where in the hell did he have it? My mouth opened and closed several times.

Before I could get a word in, Willard came to the rescue. “I’ll take him to the shitter!” With that, I watched my make-believe boyfriend waddle his tight cheeked ass behind my brother.
 

As my father put his arm around my shoulder, I realized that my mouth still resembled that of a fish, opening and closing. “Baby girl, are ya sure that boy ain’t missing a few screws?”

I chuckled and leaned my head against my father as he led us toward the house. “I don’t know, Dad. I just don’t know.”

He pulled me further into his side. “Thought ya were gonna be here yesterday, baby girl?”

“Me too but work called. But I’m here now.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he said, placing a kiss on the top of my head. “Oh, a bunch of boxes showed up for ya earlier today. Weddin’ stuff?”

“Yeah. I had my assistant ship everything.”

My dad chuckled, shaking his head. “I don’t know about you, Lanie girl, but I have a feelin’ this wedding is gonna be sumthin’ else. And in my backyard? I must be a crazy old man.”

I hid my solemn expression from him. My parents were getting older. Five years away had proved it.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“Oh, I love ya too, baby girl.”