Safe with You (23 page)

“I think so.”

He points out toward the field. “You see those cans sitting on the post? Your challenge is to hit them.”

J steps forward, raises the gun up to his shoulder and fires a shot, blasting the can to who knows where. “Like so,” he gloats.

Once he reloads the gun he looks to me expectantly. He grabs my hand, drawing me closer. J hands the gun over to me then steps behind me. I raise the gun to my shoulder, aware of how close he is standing to me.

“Don’t be nervous, Cass,” he murmurs low in my ear. How am I not supposed to be nervous with him so close to me?

Resting my cheek on the stock, I gaze down the barrel of the gun, focusing on my target.

I firmly pull the trigger, sending the gun into my shoulder. Though the kick of the gun surprised me, I still luckily hit my target. Not sure how I did it, but I’ll take it. This is actually pretty fun.

“Wow, Cass! You’re a natural! Are you sure you’ve not shot a gun before?”

I open the gun like he showed me and shake my head. “I swear I haven’t. This is the first time I’ve touched one.”

“Wow,” he says, still sounding shocked. “Beginner’s luck.”

Honestly, I have to agree.

Over the next hour, J sets up different targets for me to shoot. He even throws me a curveball by tossing the cans in the air. No such luck this time.

By the time we were finished, my shoulder is throbbing and my cheek is sore.

“You did amazing today, Cass. You really surprised me,” J beams proudly, throwing his arm over my shoulder.

“Thank you for teaching me. As much as I hate to admit it, I had lots of fun.”

“You always do when you’re with me.”

I laugh at his sudden ego boost. “I sure do. You always know how to come up with some fun things to do.”

“Next time I will teach you how to shoot a pistol,” he promises, and I’m ready for the challenge.

“Okay, sounds good. Is it normal for your cheek and shoulder to be so sore?”

“Unfortunately, Cass. You’re probably going to bruise, too, just so you know.”

“Great,” I mutter.

He kisses my left cheek. “Are you hungry?”

“Kind of.”

“Well, let’s grab some snacks and head to our spot for a while. Sound good?”

I smile brightly at him. “Let’s go!”

Once we have our picnic basket full of snacks and several blankets and pillows to keep us comfortable, J and I set off to our spot. The nights have been getting cooler lately with the fall season on its way. The leaves have already started changing, getting ready for the change of weather.

J parks the truck in the same position as we did the first night we came here. He turns the key on so the radio will still be playing. While he fiddles with that, I get to work on making our pallet in the bed of the truck.

Once J has the music he wants playing, he joins me under the blanket. I propped a couple pillows along the bed under the back windows so we can rest against them. J starts pulling out our snacks, passing me one of the sandwiches his mom made for us, a bag of chips, and a bottle of sweet tea, which taste so much better than the tea back home.

J shifts his body, angling himself more towards me. “So my parents and I were talking colleges the other day. They were asking me if I had any plans to go and so on. It made me wonder what your plans were.”

I take a bit of my sandwich, giving myself a moment to think about what I really wanted to do. College is something I have pondered on, more so recently, and I really want to go, I’m just not sure where or what I’m going to major in.

“I would like to go, J. As far as where or what my major will be, I don’t have the slightest idea,” I reply with a short laugh.

“What can you see yourself doing, babe?”

I shrug and pop a chip in my mouth. “I’ve thought about teaching elementary kids, but I don’t know if I really want to. Really, I just wanted to get through my general education courses before making a final decision.”

“Are there any colleges you are opposed to?”

I’ll go anywhere as long as it takes me away from my parents.

Shaking my head, I reply, “No, as long as it doesn’t me an arm and a leg.”

“Cassie, you make freakin’ straight A’s! I have no doubt that if you apply for scholarships you will get plenty of them.”

Yeah, I’m working my butt off in school for that reason alone. Being able to go to college and fleeing my crack headed parents is what I’m aiming for.

“I have no way of applying, J. I don’t have a computer or internet to do it.”

“You can do it at school or next time you’re here we can do it.” He stops and clears his throat. He shifts so he is fully facing me now, looking serious, leaving me to wonder if what he is fixing to say is bad.

J grabs my free hand, grasping it in between his calloused hands. Have I mentioned that I love the way his hands feel?

“So, I plan on applying to the University of Alabama…and I want you to apply with me.”

I blink rapidly a few times.
He can’t be serious?
“Y-You really want me to go to college with you?”

He kisses my knuckles. “Well duh, I’m not going to go where you’re not.”

A depressing thought enters my mind. “What if I can’t afford to go to the same college as you?”

“Cassie, other than scholarships, you have loans and grants that can help you pay for school. We will figure all of it out when the time comes, right now, I just want to hear you say yes to go away to Alabama with me.”

I gaze into his eyes, and at this moment, I know I will go anywhere with him. “Yes, J, I will go off to college with you.”

He visibly relaxes and smiles brightly.

“How far away is this university?”

“Eh, not far, probably just over an hour.”

Not far away enough from dear ole mom and dad, but I’m sure by then they will be in another town anyway.

“When are we applying?”

“Well, when do you want to start?”

“In the fall, I guess.”

“Okay, then we will apply within the next few weeks.”

Is it awful that right now I am wishing time would jump forward to graduation?

Should I even be making these promises to him? Probably not, but I can’t help myself. J and I are looking toward the future, and as much as it scares me, I just hope a miracle comes my way in the form of my parents staying here way longer than planned.

Chapter Twenty- Nine

Cassie

Calming silence surrounds us as I cuddle closer to J’s warm chest. We both have been quiet for a bit, just enjoying each other’s company while listening to the sounds of nature. J will occasionally kiss my cheek or some part of my face then go back to resting his head against mine. Nothing about this silence is uncomfortable. I can actually see myself living in this beautiful small town until I die. I sigh, wondering if I will even get the chance to.

J kisses my temple this time, his lips grazing my skin. “What are you thinking about, babe?” he asks softly.

I stare out in the distance at the surrounding trees. I feel as I need to leave a mark on this town, something that I can hopefully come back revisit.
If I ever get the chance to.

“I was just thinking about much this town is growing on me.”

His body vibrates with laughter, a sound I love hearing escape him. “That doesn’t surprise me, Cass. I swear you were made for a small town such as this.”

Yet, J doesn’t know the girl I used to be, he doesn’t know how I used to look. I bet he’d think differently if he ever found out. Another secret I am keeping from him. If I knew who I really was, I’d feel like I am hiding myself from him. Maybe I still am, even though I have no earthly idea if I am the Indiana Cassie-pre-drug headed parents-or this Cassie-the one who has to hide everything from everyone.

And I know these secrets will tear J and me apart. Eventually, it will come to light, it always does, but maybe I will be long gone by then so I won’t be able to see the hate in his eyes. Seeing him pull away from me, instantly becoming an enemy to me, will gut me to my core.

“Do you have a knife?”

“That is really random, babe. And yes, I have a knife. You live in the south, Cassie, everyone has a knife and gun around here.”

Like that makes me feel safe.
“Can you get it for me, please? I want to do something.”

“Sure, babe.” Without questioning my insanity, he gets up and digs around in his truck for his knife.

I move down to the tailgate, hanging my legs off the end and wait for him to return.

“Found it,” he calls.

He closes the truck door and walks over to me. J starts to hand it over but jerks it back out of my reach when I go to grab it.

“You aren’t going to run off in search of my brother are you?” he asks with a fake serious expression on his face.

“Not today no, maybe tomorrow,” I smirk and take the knife from him when he hands it over to me.

“Funny, Bo will probably shit his pants when I tell him.”

I suppress my giggle, trying to act serious. “Don’t tell him, it will ruin the element of surprise,” I pointedly state.

J chuckles. “Well, now I wouldn’t want to ruin your fun. What kind of boyfriend would I be then?” 

“Exactly, now come here and help me.”

Hopping off the tailgate, I walk over the tree I had been staring at earlier. It’s a big oak tree with a wide trunk, which will be perfect.

I look over my shoulder at J when I notice he isn’t following. “What are you doing way back there?”

“Just making sure I don’t get inflicted with the blade,” he smirks. “Are you sure you know how to use a knife?”

“Er, not really.” The only kind of knives I’ve ever used are kitchen knives.

Apprehensively, he steps forward, keeping his eyes glued to the knife like he thinks someone is going to get hurt.

He takes the knife from me and gives me a pointed look. “So, what exactly are you planning here?”

“I want to carve our initials into the tree.”

A look of adoration forms in a magnificent smile. “I think I just fell in love with you more,” he murmurs, his thumb caressing my cheek.

J sets to work on my idea, scrapping the knife against the trunk of the tree. I stand back as he carefully constructs a heart, then his initials- J.A.M-followed by and ‘&’ sign under it. Then finally he carves the letters of my initials-C.A.M.

When he is done, he steps back to examine his masterpiece. J drops the knife on the tailgate before circling his arm around my waist.

“It’s better than I imagined, J. Thank you,” I murmur, laying my head on his shoulder.

We stand like this, admiring our artwork a little longer before it’s time to head back.

I’m glad we left when we did because thunder starts rolling in the distance.

We barely make it inside with all the comfort we took with us before the bottom falls out. Phew!

“You want to have some more fun?” J asks, his eyes dancing.

“Sure, why not!” I oblige.

J drops the blankets at his feet and waits for me to do the same. He wastes no time grabbing my hand, dragging me out in the middle of the pouring down rain.

“J!” I squeal when he grabs me by my waist and spins me around.

The rain continues to pour, we are soaked, and we definitely need baths, but this is so much fun.

I twist in his arms, wrapping my arms around his middle. I lay my head on his shoulder as his arms lock around me. We sway gently to the sound of rain, not even needing a melody. I can hear the faint sound of his heart beating wildly against his chest. The sound is soothing to me, comforting.

The moment is ruined by Bo when he walks out on the porch. “Hey, why am I not involved in this fun?!”

“It was spur of the moment,” J replies, clearly agitated Bo ruined our moment.

Bo empties his pockets on the porch before joining us in acting like fools. Bo grabs a football from his truck and throws it to J.

“Go long, bro!” J yells and Bo compiles, sprinting through the yard as J chunks it to him.

Bo catches it easily then throws it back to J who in turn, looks at me.

Without warning, J tosses me the ball, and of course, I drop it.

“Butterfingers,” J teases, laughing at me for not catching the stupid thing.

“I wasn’t expecting you to throw it to me!” I say defensively.

Bo has now made it back to us and is also starting to make fun of me. “You’re supposed to catch it, darlin’, not let it fall to the ground.”

“Bite me,” I grumble.

“Oh, I would, but I don’t think little brother would like it,” he jokes causing my face to flame red with embarrassment. J punches his shoulder, which only makes Bo laugh harder.