“Thanks for the ride, something tells me I better avoid the Hard Root for a few weeks,” Sunny said, trying to turn the five minute ride into more. God, he wanted so much more and it killed him to think of the skinny little girl they’d picked on when he was young had turned into quite a woman. JT’s scolding him for choosing his women by their measurements and not their mind echoed in his skull. If he even thought of dating Mellie, he’d have to make sure it was for more than the curves captivating him.
“At least.” Melody licked her lips as her eyes stayed straight ahead. “Come out to the ranch and at least say hi while you’re home. With you around, JT doesn’t seem as far away.”
“Yeah, because we look so much a like.”
She finally turned to look at him, but her fingers stayed tightly curled at ten and two. “What can I say, when I look at you I see JT.”
Well, if that ain’t a big road block to anything with Mel. No one wants a kissing cousin, especially the Longs. They sent the kids away only long enough to find a suitable girl to bring home…then again, no one wants to send their daughter out into the cold cruel world. Sunny kicked himself for the hundredth time in the last fifteen minutes.
He watched as Melody’s red tail lights went down the aisle, then turned. He sighed and realized he’d left his clothes at the Hard Root. Fuck. Three steps covered in faux worn down grass were the only thing separating him and the white trailer with the barn red stripe around it. Knocking on the aluminum door caused a rattle as if it weren’t even really closed. It took three more attempts for his mother to come to the door.
“Sunny,” she cooed through a yawn. “I’m sorry, baby, I fell asleep watching the news.” She ushered him inside.
His mother was a sight he was always torn about. On the one hand he loved her more than anything else on the planet. On the other, he hated that he hadn’t made it big enough to get her out of the park and away from his father. Then again, she’d probably never leave the son of a bitch.
“Hey mama,” Sunny said as he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and tried not to crush her in his embrace.
Her tanned face had deep lines from the sun and cigarettes. Not hers, but his fathers.
“How long has the truck been up like that?”
“A few months.”
“How’s dad getting to work?”
His mother began scrubbing the kitchen counters absently. As she put away the dishes in the rack, he placed his hands on her shoulders.
“How long has he been out of work?”
“The Longs let him go when the boys came back from school.”
He knew his mother well enough that she was making excuses. Coming home from college had never been a reason for the Longs to fire a hand. “How have you been surviving?”
“They let me pick up a few shifts at the Hard Root in the afternoon.”
He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “What really happened to dad at the Long Ranch?”
“I know you don’t like me working at the Hard Root, but Sunny, I don’t work past seven.”
“Then you walk home, over a mile at seven at night after being on your feet for hours.”
“I’ve never been too proud to put in a day’s work.”
“Yeah, there’s only one Parker that’s too proud.” Sunny tossed his hat on the corner of the tattered brown couch and ran his hand through his hair. “You got a bed for me?”
“Of course.”
* * * *
“What’s wrong?” Mellie asked as she slowly approached Sunshine Parker as he sat at the top of the hayloft steps. Usually, he and JT were attached at the hip, but JT was helping brand some new calves. She hated the screams of the animals and tended to stay away from the pasture where the rest of the boys and farm hands were.
“Why you thinkin’ something’s wrong, Smelly Mellie?” he teased, but she could hear the hitch in his voice.
With one hand over the other, she climbed the ladder and he helped pull her onto the edge next to him, then turned away. His hand wiped at his blushed cheeks that hadn’t started growing facial hair like JT had. Even Clay had begun showing a little peach fuzz and he was only ten.
“You aren’t with the other guys and…” Mellie twisted her fingers together and until the knot hurt. “Well, I kinda saw you crying.”
“I wasn’t crying,” he snapped, then his eyes softened. “Sorry, there’s a dance at school.”
“I know. JT’s going with Erika.”
“Yeah, I know,” Sunny said as he kicked the top rung of the ladder.
“Did you wanna take her?”
“No, I wanted to go with my girlfriend.”
“You have a girlfriend?” Mellie asked with wide eyes.
“Yes, I do…or I did. Don’t act so surprised.”
“What happened?”
“Someone else asked her to the dance.”
Mellie scrunched her face up. “But she’s your girlfriend. Did you beat him up?”
“Yes, and that made her mad. She said I was trailer trash.”
“But trailers are fun. We took one to South Dakota.”
“Different kinda trailer, Smelly.” He gave her a gentle shove with his shoulder.
“She sounds…trifling,” the word tangled on her tongue as she tried to say it the way her mother did.
“Guess she is. Maybe I need someone classy like you.”
Heat shot through the nine year old’s body as Sunny ran his fingers through his blond-to-the-point-it-was-almost-white hair. Her heart raced when he reached behind her and for a moment, she thought she’d get her first real kiss.
Instead, he picked up his baseball cap and pulled it tight onto his head. “Well, maybe there’s a few calves left,” he said as he took her chin between his fingers and gave her a kiss on her cheek.
Not what she’d hoped for, but still it left her whole face tingling.
“Don’t tell the guys I was upset.”
“I’d never tell on you, Sunny.”
“That’s why you’ll always be my gal.”
Melody woke on her stomach with her pillow held tight like she feared it would run away in the night. Sneaking back in her window had been a bit arduous. Sadly, her jeans had to be sacrificed. Luckily, it was just the knee and she could turn them into cute cutoffs. Ugh. She was almost twenty-six. She should be able to come and go as she pleased. Unfortunately, her mother didn’t agree.
Something had woke her before her alarm went off. A dip in her bed followed by a thumping noise that reverberated through her skull.
“Mellie.” Her brother Monty was violently poking her head.
The thumping noise must be her brain sloshing against the bone. Seemed fair.
“Mellie.”
“You do know neutering is the best way to deal with unruly animals,” she groaned and cracked her eye, only to see the white of her pillowcase. Another hard thump to her skull aggravated the situation. “Also, I’m trained in said neutering procedure.”
She rolled over to see her brother sitting in a t-shirt with a brown plaid western shirt unsnapped. If it weren’t for his hours outdoors he’d be lighter than her. Instead, his normally milk chocolate skin was now so dark you’d assume he was from the motherland…until he took off his shirt.
“Could I still have sex?” Monty asked when she’d locked eyes with him. “Walt’s taking care of keeping the Long name going so the rest of us are off the hook.”
“Have you told mom that?”
“Please, she’d probably kidnap Ms. Black Texas and send me to Doc’s to procure a sample.”
“Or she could just scrape it off your sheets.” Mel smirked. She swiped at her drapes and noticed a lack of light. “Not that I don’t love you almost as much as peanut butter and jelly, but why they hell are you in my room before the butt crack of dawn? More importantly, why did you insist on waking me?”
“You need to go see MeMaw.”
“Right now?” A shiver of fear shot up her spine.
&n
bsp; “No, but you haven’t been there for a few days and Lester needs to be looked at.”
“Ain’t his stitches healed?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why did you wake me?”
“Mom said to.” Monty laughed. Despite being two years her senior, he could be so childish sometimes.
“She did?”
“Yep, what did you do last night?” Monty asked with a raised eyebrow.
A wave of guilt washed over Mel as she smashed her pillow over her face.
“I’m twenty five,” she mumbled through the cotton poly fill. “Why am I afraid to use the front door after midnight.”
“After?” Monty smirked. “You can’t tell me you didn’t sneak out too.”
She tossed her pillow aside.
“Speaking of last night.” Melody sat straight up. “Where the heck were you and the guys?”
“Bible study.”
Mel rolled her eyes. “I thought Clayton was fixing up the cabin?”
“I hope not, then where would we worship?”
Sunlight peeked from the bottom of her teal curtain, giving her an unforgiving alarm that wouldn’t allow her to hit the snooze. Not that her brother would let her anyway. Longs could party as hard as they wanted, but when mama called they were to rise. Whether they be child, spouse, or grandchild.
Shoving Monty playfully off her bed, he slid to the floor with a thump. She sat up and cricked her neck to knock out the last of the hard night of dreams. Jesus, it’d been at least six months since she last thought of Sunny. Now he was back front and center. Who was she kidding? He was always front and center in her mind. Maybe it was time he could see her as something other than the little cousin of his best friend.
After a quick shower and dressing, Mel found a piece of fruit so she could head out before her mother’s lecture.
“You’ll never get a man if eat like that.”
Lecture avoidance tactic one, failed. “What’s wrong with an apple,” she mumbled around it. When she bit down the crunch echoed down the hallway.
“You need hips for a man to hold onto and never want to let go.”
“Is this about me being a lesbian again?” she asked after swallowing her bite.
“Where were you last night?”
“In bed.”
“Before that,” she snipped and crossed her arms.
“Pickin’ up chicks.”
“You better be talking about taking some farm animals out of an incubator.” Her mother crossed to her and fiddled with Mel’s hair. “Mel, there aren’t any eligible men in this area. You can’t expect to find a good man hanging out at some country western bar.”
“You did,” she challenged.
“I did not. I met your father in class.”
“And you thought he was a hick not worth your time,” Mel teased back having heard the story a hundred times.
“Fine, just go check on your MeMaw.” She sighed. “She’ll feed your skinny ass.”
Mel drove past the main house and went to the other side of the ranch where the small retirement home had been built when Mel was little. She had no memory of when MeMaw and Papa lived in the main house. MeMaw never wanted to leave the ranch once she’d married Thomas Long. So, when Papa had to start using the walker, they’d built a three bedroom ranch style home.
“Knock, knock,” Mel called as she entered through the screen door and into the kitchen where MeMaw was drinking her morning coffee.
“Is that my grandbaby here to fix that damn shit eatin’ sooner?” The older MeMaw got, the saltier her language got around the grandkids.
“What’s wrong with Lester?” she asked as she kneeled down and scratched the mutt’s ears. He was a traditional summertime dog. Medium sized, shaggy, some of this and some of that. She’d found him as a puppy three years ago and begged MeMaw to take it in. It had been an argument no grandparent could win against their only granddaughter. The rule for seventy years may have been no animals in the house, but Lester had become a constant companion that spent his days with his head resting either on MeMaw’s feet or lap, depending on where she was sitting.
“I told you not to take his nature.”
“MeMaw, his nature probably spawned twenty puppies that are now roaming wild around the farm.”
“Snip the girls, not the boys. He’s always been a lazy shit eatin’ sooner, but now…” she shook her head in defeat. “I swear he stopped lifting his leg when he pees.”
“He’s perfectly healthy.”
“Yep and he’ll let the devil himself through that front door without so much as a sniff to his ass.”
Mel shook her head and nuzzled it against Lester’s soft fur.
“This dog would kill anyone he thought was a danger to you.”
Her grandmother pishawed her as she waved her on and Mel stood up.
“Your dog is perfectly fine,” she assured as she patted MeMaw on her shoulders. Sitting slightly humped over with a bed jacket and slippers, she brought her coffee cup to her dry lips then coughed spit back into the cup.
“Tell your daddy he needs to check the pipes. I think they’re rusted or something.” Pushing the cup away from her she grumbled, “I ain’t of a mind to pay for water when God provides it.” For being in her seventies Theresa Long didn’t look it. A few wrinkles surrounded her soft brown eyes, but other wise the only sign of age was her stark white hair she kept in a cute bob as if she were still twenty. Her coloring was similar to Mel’s and she had been mistaken for her mother over the years. “I see you cut your hair since I last saw you.”
“Yes.” Mel sighed in anticipation of the chastisement.
“Looks good, you’re too skinny to have long hair.”
The comments made by her family never ceased to amaze her. Not one made sense. “So was Lester the only reason you needed me to come by?”
“I didn’t need you to come by, child. I’d been talkin’ to your mama on the phone the other day sayin’ that damn mutt had taken to humping my davenport. Now what kind of animal does his business with a piece of living room furniture?” She threw up her hands in surrender. “At least I didn’t have to see his lipstick since you stole his nature.”
Mel covered her face with her hands at the crude euphemisms used to describe the act. If she ever slipped and called an animal’s erect penis lipstick in front of Doc Carlisle, he’d probably send her back for another semester of basic anatomy. “Well, I’m glad I got to see you anyway, MeMaw. Lester’s fine and, well, with the plastic on the davenport, I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
“You’re not going to go rushing off, are you?”
“I have to get to the clinic.”
“You’re all done with your studies, but I assume your mother feels you’ve failed in getting the correct degree.”
“I’m a doctor. I’m not sure how much higher I can go.”
“Not that one child. Your mama sent you to get an MRS degree.”
“I’ll get that one in my own time.”
Her grandma’s soft hands covered hers as she smiled. “Just don’t be stupid like those confounded cousins of yours. Or like your Papa’s older brother. Never getting married.” She sighed and looked out the window to the open range. “Then again, the way no one leaves it’s probably best to have a few bachelors around.”
“JT left, got a house and everything.” She left out the info on Betsy. No reason to embarrass him if things didn’t work out.
“JT never liked the ranch, too big. You’ve wanted to live here for the rest of your life.”
There was very little MeMaw didn’t know about everyone she came in contact with. Which made Melody wonder why she was bringing up marriage. It had never been a topic before. “I ‘spose, but the boys think I just want my cut and to go on my merry way.”
“The boys never had to depend on their women on the range.” MeMaw stood and rinsed her coffee mug in the sink while looking out to the mountains at the edge of their land. “Your papa and I would ride
the fence line in either direction making sure everything was secure. We’d meet up over by where we set up the cabin by dinner and then… woman worked this ranch as hard as the men at one time. Even the high and proper Loretta put in a decade before the boys got old enough to help out.”
“Loretta? Loretta Long? As in my mother.”
“Don’t let her fool you. She can ride western better than English any day of the week. And rode until her sixth month with each of you. Then your father put his foot down.”
A crackling sound made them both turn.
Then MeMaw filled her cup with water. “Lester, I swear to all that is mighty I’m gonna have Mellie put you down,” she warned as she tossed the water on Lester’s intimate love making with the couch. “I told you that dog ain’t right in the head. You can’t steal an animal’s nature.”
“MeMaw, the faucet,” Mel said since she hadn’t turned off the water.
“I know I’m just flushing the lines. Told you that water’s tastin’ funny.”
Mel got up and filled a cup. Ranch water wasn’t the purest there was, but it did flow down from the mountains. She sniffed the cool glass of water before taking a sip. There was something a bit off, but it wasn’t rusty like when she was younger and her father redid the plumbing. “I’ll tell dad,” she said, tossing the water into the sink and turning off the tap. “Until he checks it out maybe you should—”
“I ain’t drinkin’ that fancy stuff,” MeMaw said and flipped the faucet back on. “Just need to flush it out a bit. Now you get going, maybe ask Doc about that damn dog.”
“He’d just say get an uglier couch.”
Chapter Three
The smell of scrambled eggs woke Sunny as he almost rolled off his twin mattress from high school. Not much had changed in Tender Root… except for Melody Long. Who knew she’d grow into a woman? He supposed it was what happens in the world, but still. It came out of nowhere.
One Last Sunset (The Long Ranch Series Book 1) Page 3
