Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 2)
Read Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 2) Online
Authors: Casey Peeler
Tags: #social issues, #north carolina, #performing arts, #family relationships, #americas, #new adult, #country boy city girl, #dancer romance, #country and small town life, #country farm life
Tutus & Cowboy
Boots
Part 2
By Casey Peeler
Edited by Beth Suit at BB
Books
Cover by
Paperclutch
Published by Casey Peeler at
Smashwords
Copyright 2016 Casey
Peeler
Paperback ISBN-978-1522878919
Digital ISBN-
9781311522313
This ebook is licensed for your personal
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This book is a written act
of fiction. Any places, characters, or similarities are purely
coincidence. If certain places or characters are referenced it is
for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
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and trademarks that are mentioned within this work of
fiction.
Table of Contents
For my Carlee Bug, may you always dance to
your own beat!
~Mommy
Previously in Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part
1)
Barrick
Getting in my truck, I turn the ignition and
make my way home. As I kill the engine my phone begins to ring, and
I see Cadence’s name.
“Hey!” I say with excitement, but that
quickly fades when I hear her voice.
“I need you to come and get me,” she says
and I can tell she’s trying to hold back tears.
“Where are you?” I question.
“I’m at the airport.”
“In Charlotte?”
“No. My flight is boarding now. It will land
in less than two hours.”
“Are you okay?”
“I will be. Please just promise you’ll be
there.”
“Of course.”
We hang up and I have no idea what to do. Do
I call her mom and Ms. Mae? Do I take Jade with me? I look at my
clock and realize I’ve got about twenty minutes to decide before I
need to get on the road. Jade isn’t home, but my parents are. I
walk in and briefly tell them what is going on and they suggest I
call Ms. Mae and Regina.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Mae, it’s Barrick.”
“Is everything okay?” she questions.
“I’m not sure. Cadence just called and said
she’s boarding a plane to come home tonight. She wants me to pick
her up, but there’s something wrong with her.”
“Regina!” she yells away from the phone.
“Barrick is on the phone. Did you know Cadence is coming home?”
I hear the shuffle of the phone as Regina
takes it. “Barrick, what do you mean she’s on her way home?”
“She called a few minutes ago and was upset.
She said she would be okay, and asked if I’d pick her up. I’m on my
way now.”
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’ll find
out. Please text me and let me know when she’s landed and that she
is physically okay.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say as I hang up and quickly
call Jade. She’s a mess and begging me to turn around and wait for
her. There’s no way. I won’t risk not being there when she
lands.
I put my truck in the wind
and I make it to the airport with time to kill. I hurry to the
baggage claim and scan the crowd. I don’t see her. I glance at my
phone for the time. I check the arrival board and scan for any
flight coming from New Jersey or New York within the next fifteen
minutes.
Bingo!
I
hurry to baggage claim four and wait for what feels like an
eternity. When I can’t stand still any longer, I walk toward the
escalator and look for her.
Nothing.
Finally, I see her descend
but I don’t see my little spitfire, I see a hollow shell. Even with
a designer outfit, makeup, and all the superficial stuff, I can see
that something is terribly wrong.
Stepping off the escalator
she looks at me and I can see tears start to form.
Why does she have to cry on me?
She quickly pushes them back as we walk in silence
to get her luggage. I don’t say anything because frankly I’m not
sure if she will cuss me out or cry. When her suitcase arrives, I
grab it and walk her to my truck.
“Where to?” I ask.
“Anywhere but Gran’s,” she says as I quickly
text Jade to let her know she’s okay and for her to call
Regina.
“You need to call your mom,” I say
quietly.
“Fine,” she says, taking her phone from her
purse.
I glance at her and see that she’s trying so
hard to be strong, but I think she’s about to crumble.
“Here,” she says bluntly, handing me the
phone.
“Yes, ma’am,” I say to Regina.
“It’s her father. Give her some time and
bring her home. For you to be the one she called, says a lot. Get
my baby home safe.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say as I hang up and hand
Cadence her phone. She doesn’t say anything, but as she leans her
head against the glass I want to have her in my arms. I flip up the
console, and tell her to slide over. Without a word, she slides
next to me and quietly wipes away the silent tears.
Arriving back in Delight, I only have a few
places I can take her. Deciding that she’s probably better off in
the middle of nowhere, I turn onto a dirt road and pull into a
field near a set of pine trees. She lifts her head from my shoulder
to look around.
“You said you didn’t want to go to Ms.
Mae’s.”
“Thanks.”
We sit in silence and I run my fingers
through her hair to let her know it’s okay.
“Can you tell me what’s goin’ on?” I finally
ask. She pulls away from my chest and I brace myself for a good
tongue-lashing from her.
“Let’s just say that my visit didn’t go as I
had hoped.”
“Okay, but why did you decide to leave
without telling anyone?”
“I got in an argument with my dad.”
“Why didn’t you go to Lauren’s?”
I see her breathing increase. “That wouldn’t
have worked out,” she says as her eyes fill with tears as she
continues. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you. I’m so
stupid.”
“No, I’m glad you called, and I’m sorry if
I’m asking too many questions. I can see that you are hurting so
just talk to me. Please,” I practically beg.
She doesn’t say anything for a few minutes,
but pulls her legs into her chest. “I thought going home would be
easy. Barrick, they are all selfish bitches and assholes,” she
says, looking me in the eyes. “You know what’s worse?” I don’t say
anything, I just wait for her response. “My dad is the biggest one
yet. I hate him.” Tears begin to stream down her face. “I don’t
want to cry. I want to forget I even went.” I have no idea what
happened with her father or Lauren for that matter, but whatever it
was has completely broken her. I take her in my arms, pull her onto
my lap, and hold her while she cries on my shoulder.
When she seems to have stopped, I turn her
chin toward me. “Cadence, whatever happened up there you can get
beyond it. I promise I’ll help you. You can depend on me.” I want
her to know I’ll do anything to make her happy and feel loved.
“Thank you, Barrick. Can you take me home
now?”
She just called her Gran’s house home. I
really like the sound of that.
Chapter 1
Cadence
Barrick doesn’t say a word
as he pulls me into his shoulder and briefly kisses my forehead
before starting the truck and driving me home.
Home.
Never in a million years did I
plan on calling Delight home. In fact, I’ve always seen it as the
place that ruined my life, but after today, I know this place just
saved me.
As the truck pulls in front of the house,
Mom opens the door and sobs escape my lips. I run to meet her and
fall into her arms as tears stream down my cheeks. She holds me in
her arms while she walks me inside.
Gran is standing in the entryway, wearing
her floral nightgown. “Come here,” she says. She wraps her aged
arms around me as I walk into them and I let her love soak in.
Mom and Gran sit me down on the couch as
Barrick walks into the room. “I put your luggage in your room.”
“Thanks, Barrick,” Mom says as I look
up.
“I guess I should go. Cadence, call me if
you need me,” he says and I give him a brief nod. As much as I want
him to stay, I need to talk to my mom and Gran.
“See you in the morning, Barrick,” Gran says
as he excuses himself.
When the door closes behind him, Mom holds
me tighter, and lets me cry.
She takes my hair and brushes it out of my
face. “Cade, he told me.” I pull back.
“What?” I question, wiping away my tears.
“When?”
“After you called Barrick, he called me. I
immediately called your dad and he told me the news. I’m so sorry,”
she says with tears in her eyes.
“Mom, it was completely different there,” I
say as I shake my head remembering it all — Dad, the bimbo, Lauren,
and how I didn’t belong anymore. “I don’t ever want to go back,” I
say as I start crying again.
“Aw, honey, you can’t be serious?”
“Mom, it was like I was an outsider.
Everyone was so materialistic and superficial. Am I really like
that?”
“I believe we all are like that to an
extent. We all want the best things in life, but those things don’t
make us happy.”
“You’re right. If you have a mansion and no
one to share it, what’s the point? It’s all stuff. How did we fit
into that life?”
“Cadence, it’s part of who we are. Your dad
has a very important job and it goes with the territory. Not to
mention my position at the magazine. You’ve always been surrounded
by the newest trends, wealth, and the best of everything.”
“Do you think Lauren will realize there’s
more to life than a new pair of Jimmy Choos?”
“I hope so. She’s a smart young lady, but
she’s always been a little more materialistic than you.”
“What do you mean?”
Gran butts in. “Cade, that girl has dollar
signs in her eyes. She doesn’t think about what will happen when
the money is gone because it’s never been an option for her.”
“She hasn’t realized that money isn’t the
answer. She hasn’t been as lucky as you to see life in a new
light,” Mom chimes in.
“You’re right. Moving to Delight has made me
see everything differently.” I shake my head.
“Well, it’s about damn time you realized why
we call this place Delight,” Gran says with a joyful laugh.
Gran’s timing is spot on. I look at Mom and
we both giggle through the tears. How in the world did my life come
to this?
I finish telling Mom and Gran about my trip
and when I can’t stay awake any longer, I head to bed. Before I
fall asleep I text Barrick a quick thank you for picking me up,
knowing he’ll probably see it in the morning.