Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 2) (21 page)

“I agree,” I say as we sit there for a few
more minutes. “I was wondering if it would be okay if I took her to
celebrate tonight. I mean, it’s not often you get accepted to
college, but two in the same day.”

“I don’t think Regina will mind as long as
her homework is finished and she’s home by ten,” Ms. Mae
states.

“Thanks. I’m going to finish up,” I say as I
start to stand, but Ms. Mae takes my hand.

“What about you, Barrick? What are you going
to do?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything but I
applied to ECU as well and I’m waiting to hear if I got in.”

“Barrick, are you sure that’s what you
want?”

“Yes ma’am. I never wanted to leave Delight.
But now that Cadence is in my life, I want to be a better man for
her. My dad and I talked about the importance of my education and I
am making the decision for me.”

“Barrick, I’m proud of you. You’ve got a
good head on those shoulders. I won’t say anything to Cadence. I’ll
let you tell her when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” She pats my hand,
stands, and walks inside.

I sit there for a few minutes trying to come
up with a plan for the celebration Cadence deserves. Then it hits
me. I’ll have her party here. I knock on the door and ask Ms. Mae,
and she loves the idea. She calls Regina at work to let her know
and then tells me she will bake a cake.

“How are you going to decorate?” Ms. Mae
questions.

“I have no idea,” I say, honestly.

“Poor boy. Let me help you. Why don’t we
walk to the barn, make a plan, and then we can get started. Go
ahead and text your friends. The more the merrier,” she says.

“I was hoping to keep it kinda small. I’m
afraid if we tell too many, there will be a field party before we
know it.”

“That’s it! A big bonfire! I’ve got that
pile down by the compost that needs to be burned.”

“Are you serious? Maybe we should do this
tomorrow night?”

“Nah. With it being a school night, I know
all y’all will leave before it’s too late,” she says with a
wink.

Ms. Mae takes old feedbags and decorates
some of the old wooden tables with them, then adds a mason jar with
a candle in it. I’m truly amazed at how nice it looks. We also
arrange a table for food and drinks. Ms. Mae leaves to make the
cake while I get the bonfire set up.

Once everything’s taken care of, I send Jade
and Aaron a text. I ask them to tell a few others but not Cadence.
Of course, Jade thinks she’s going to kill me, but if that’s the
case I’ll die a happy man.

Ms. Mae walks back to the barn and we step
back to take it all in. Something is missing. Seeing an old pallet,
I know exactly what we need. She needs a sign of some kind. I go to
the closet and grab a paintbrush and bucket of paint as Ms. Mae
follows behind me to see what I’m doing.

“Oh! How could we have forgotten that?” she
asks as she helps me decorate it. Once we finish, we stand and
look. It’s not an artist’s work, but it’s as artistic as I can be.
We move it to the entrance of the barn. Realizing it might be dark
when she arrives, I move it directly inside the barn under the
light. I can’t wait for Cadence to get home.

Looking at the time, I hurry home to let my
parents know what is going on and invite them to celebrate as well.
I quickly shower and get changed and we all drive back to Ms. Mae’s
together.

Chapter 34

Cadence

“What’s up?” I ask Jade as she glances at
her phone and pauses.

“Nothing,” she says and I know she’s full of
it as she continues to text someone. “Okay. Now I’m good.” She
smiles and I roll my eyes as we continue out the door to the
parking lot.

I follow her back toward Delight and am
completely confused when she turns down my driveway. When I pull
in, I see a light in the distance and at least twenty vehicles
parked near the barn.

As I step out and close my door, I look to
Jade and she has a crazy smile on her face.

“What did you do? Gran’s gonna have a fit
over this!” I say in a hushed tone as I hear music coming from the
barn.

“For the record, I had nothing to do with
this,” she says as we slide the barn door open.

I’m surprised when I see Barrick propped up
against a hand-painted sign with a killer smile.

“Congrats, Cade!” he says as he walks toward
me. He kisses me sweetly then I take in the barn full of people.
Mom, Gran, Barrick’s parents, Aaron, and a bunch of kids from
school are here.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I state but am
so glad that he did.

“I know. I wanted to. It’s not often you get
accepted into two colleges on the same day,” he says with a
smile.

I spend time mingling with everyone while we
eat before Barrick leads me out the back of the barn.

Walking out into the spring night air, I’m
met with a fire that is just about the size of the barn. “I figured
it was time we celebrate like country folk,” Barrick says as we
walk toward it.

“That’s a big ass fire,” I say with a
laugh.

“Yeah, welcome to the country. Want to roast
a marshmallow?” He lets go of my hand and takes a wire then places
a marshmallow on it. “Please tell me you’ve had a s’more before,”
he says when he sees the confused look on my face.

“Afraid not,” I say as he takes the
marshmallow and places it at the edge of the fire. I notice he is
cautious of how long he leaves it on one side before rotating
it.

“Burnt or gooey?” he asks.

“Gooey,” I say as he smiles. Gran walks over
with chocolate and graham crackers, and before I know it, I’m
eating a s’more.

Biting into the sticky sandwich, I’m
impressed at how it all comes together and it’s like a party in my
mouth.

“Whatcha think?” Barrick asks.

I wipe the chocolate from my face with my
hand. “It’s fabulous.”

“You left a little right here,” he says as
he takes his thumb and wipes some chocolate off my cheek. “I’m so
proud of you, Cadence. I’m good with whichever you choose. I just
want you to do what your heart desires.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me,”
I say as wrap I one arm around his waist and offer him a bite of my
s’more.

“Well, aren’t you two just
the cutest!” We hear as I turn to see Maddie standing there.
Why is she here?

“Yes, we are. Thanks for noticing,” I say to
her in a syrupy voice. Gran better be proud.

“I’m sorry we’re late to
the party, but we got a late invite,” she says as another girl, who
looks just like her, walks up behind her.
Who is that?

“Hey, Barrick. It’s been a while,” the girl
says with a devilish grin.

Barrick

Shoot me now. Why in the world is Misty
here? I haven’t seen her in over a year. That girl is the biggest
bitch, and Maddie isn’t much different.

“Hey, Misty,” I say nicely as I hold Cadence
tighter.

“I see you like the younger ones now and
apparently ones without curves,” Misty says as she runs her hands
down her body.

“What do you want?” I ask.

“Where are your manners?” she asks as she
tries to take a step closer and I take a step back. I feel
Cadence’s hand tighten on my arm and see the questions in her
eyes.

“Cadence, this is Misty, Maddie’s sister.
Misty, this is my girlfriend, Cadence. We’re having a party for her
and I don’t believe either of you were invited,” I say as politely
as possible.

Misty looks at Cadence and eyes her from
head to toe. She starts to laugh. “Girlfriend? Where’d you get
her?” Glancing at Cadence, I notice she’s still in her dance
attire.

“Talk about manners, can you stop being rude
for ten minutes or is that too much to ask? Cadence is Ms. Mae’s
granddaughter. She came from New York City, and I didn’t get her
anywhere. You, however, have shown up without a formal invite and
have insulted the guest of honor. You two may leave,” I say, but
quickly realize that Cadence has pulled away from my side and is in
hot pursuit of Misty.

“Get me?” Cadence stops directly in front of
Misty. “Who the fuck do you think you are walking onto my Gran’s
farm with your backwoods attitude? Are you seriously trying to put
me down? Me? I’m from New York and you wouldn’t last two seconds
there with your second-hand dollar store dress and that ridiculous
accent. Now why don’t you go fuck off and pick some turnips or
something!” she says as Misty stands there speechless.

Misty begins to speak but jumps back at the
sound of a gunshot. Everyone looks around and sees Ms. Mae walking
toward us.

“You two get the hell off my property and if
I ever hear you causin’ problems ‘round these parts, I’ll shoot you
myself. Got it?” she says as she loads another bullet in the
chamber.

“Oh my gosh, she is freakin’ crazy, Maddie,”
Misty says. Cadence drops her arms and takes three strides to meet
Misty again. Before I can process what is going on, Cadence pulls
back her arm as if she’s about to punch Misty in the face. I snap
out of it and wrap my arms around her and pull her back.

“Don’t you ever talk about my Gran like
that! Do you hear me? I will beat the shit out of you!” Cadence
screams as she tries to escape my arms.

Looking around, I notice all eyes are on us
as Ms. Mae and Regina approach.

“Girls, I think you should leave,” Regina
says, sternly. They roll their eyes and turn to walk away.

Cadence watches them walk away. “Thank God I
wasn’t raised here,” she says with a huff.

“Aw, hell naw!” Jade says as she turns and
takes off toward the barn.

“Jade, wait! What’s wrong?” Cadence yells,
hurrying to catch up with her before she disappears into the
barn.

“What’s wrong?” Jade says, turning and
placing her hands on her hips. “Did you not hear yourself back
there?” I hear her ask as I catch up to them.

“Look, I thought you had changed, but it’s
obvious you’re still the girl that thinks she’s better than all of
us ‘round here. If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go change into my
dollar store dress and take a ride on my turnip truck,” Jade snaps
as she stares Cadence down.

Cadence gasps as she realizes what her words
have done to her best friend. “I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean
it, Jade! I just got caught up in the moment. I never meant to hurt
you. I just wanted to hurt them.”

Cadence looks at me. “I swear Bare, I’m glad
I’m here, but when she tried to put me down, I just said the first
thing that came to my mind. You believe me don’t you?” she asks as
her eyes fill with tears. I look directly into her eyes and as I
see a tear roll down her face, I believe her with my entire
heart.

“I believe you,” I say as I look at her and
then Jade.

Jade lets out a deep sigh. “Thank goodness!
I thought I was gonna have to whoop your ass!” Jade says with a
laugh.

“I’m so glad that you and Jade didn’t go to
blows. You’ve got a mean left hook.”

Cadence gives a small smile. “No one’s going
to talk about my gran like that.” I take her in my arms and hold
her tight as Ms. Mae and Regina walk up beside us.

“Are you okay?” Regina asks her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replies.

“That’s my girl! You’re
more like me than you realize, Cade. That’s not a bad thing, but be
careful that your mouth doesn’t get you in trouble. Those girls
didn’t belong here, but you’ve got to kill ‘em with kindness. Now,
enough of this drama, let’s get down on the farm,” Ms. Mae says as
she starts to dance as “Young & Crazy”
by Frankie Ballard echoes in the country air. We all dance
together until people begin to leave the party around ten thirty.
Regina and Ms. Mae start to clean up as Cadence and I sit by the
fire.

“We’re going to the house. See you in a
little while. Oh, and here’s a few marshmallows that were left
over,” Regina says, handing them to Cadence before disappearing
into the darkness of the night.

I take in the crackling fire and the
stillness of the night air. Cadence tucks herself into my shoulder
and gently snuggles into me. Tonight could have gone so
differently, but knowing she just reacted to protect all of us
makes me love her more.

“Whatcha thinking about?” she asks and I
start to laugh as my mind replays Jade’s comment.

“You do realize those were fightin’ words
comin’ out of Jade’s mouth, right?”

She turns her head to look at me. “Huh?”

“Cadence, in the South if a girl says ‘Aw,
hell naw,’ you better get the heck outta Dodge.” She starts to
giggle uncontrollably.

Lord, help me with that giggle. I take her
onto my lap, move her hair from her face, and kiss the hell out of
her right there beside the flames that continue to burn like the
feelings I have for her deep in my soul.

Chapter
35

Cadence

Today, I will become a high school graduate
and tomorrow I will perform at the studio’s dance recital. I’m
excited and nervous as I wake up. Dad was supposed to arrive last
night with the pregnant bimbo but their flight was delayed due to
weather. I’ve done my best to try and not worry about it. I have no
idea how I’ll feel when I see her with a big belly, but I hope he
keeps his promise to be at graduation and my performance.

Barrick is waiting for me in the barn with a
smile and a bucket of feed for Paisley. We walk out and feed her
together and then he tells me he’s got the chores today.

I talk to her while she eats and even though
she’s no longer a baby, I still treat her like a calf. I don’t
believe that will ever change. Trying my best to leave Barrick
alone to do the chores, I can’t. It’s my responsibility to help out
and I have the perk of looking at a hot country boy while I do it.
Who could turn that down?

Walking back in to help Barrick, he shakes
his head.