by Casey Peeler
“I don’t know,” he states honestly.
“But, she’s going to be okay,” I state.
He quickly turns to face me. “You didn’t see her. Cadence, I thought she was dead. She wouldn’t move, talk, smile, laugh, make a rude comment or anything. I’ve never been so scared in my life. What would have happened if I hadn’t been there?”
“I guess she would have woken up on her own?” I say, unsure as to why he’s not relieved.
“What if it would have been serious like a broken bone, stoke or even a heart attack? What if no one was there?”
“Barrick, you can’t think that way. I’m glad you were there, and I’m sorry you had to see that. Now, come on, let’s go check on that old woman,” I say, trying to make a joke.
Taking him by the hand I try to pull him toward the door, but when he doesn’t budge I turn and see him crying. I take him in my arms, “What’s really wrong?” I ask as I pull him closer.
“My papa died in his barn. He had a heart attack and no one was there. My memaw found him when she went looking for him because he was late for lunch. What if I wouldn’t have been there? It could have happened to Ms. Mae. What would happen to the farm? Memaw almost lost hers.”
It breaks my heart to see him this way, but now I know why he’s been so emotional. I can’t imagine losing Gran but losing Gran and the family farm would rip me apart. “I’m so sorry,” I say as I hold him. Once he has calmed down and is relieved it wasn’t something serious, we go check on Gran.
Gran’s lips are already flapping when we walk into her room. “I’m okay. I tripped over the hose. I could have sworn I put it up,” she states like it’s no big deal.
“It is a big deal. They think you might have broken something,” Mom says pointing toward her hip.
“Oh hogwash. I’m fine,” she says as she grits her teeth in pain.
“Mother, listen to me. You are going to let them take X-rays and you are going to stay put. Do you understand me?”
“Fine,” she says in defeat and I catch Barrick looking at me, trying not to laugh. Yes, I know there is more of her in me than I’d like to admit. Thank goodness he’s back to himself.
I walk over to Gran and give her a hug. Mom tells Barrick to take me home so I can get ready for school. I want to stay with Gran, but I know that I can’t. I give her a kiss on her forehead and she grabs my hand.
“Cadence, you take care of my Daisy,” she says with a smile.
“You got it,” I state while hugging Mom goodbye.
The entire ride to the farm, Barrick hardly speaks. I can’t stand it. It’s my gran, not his.
“Please talk to me,” I whisper.
He keeps his eyes on the road when he finally speaks, “Cadence, how could you be so calm?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe it’s because I’m accustomed to bad shit happening?” I say, trying to make light of the situation.
“You can’t be serious?” he says as he pulls up to the farm.
“Maybe?” I say with a shrug because I don’t know what else to say.
“That’s ridiculous. You should have been thankful. Instead, you acted like it was a walk in the park. Do you know what will happen if her hip is broken?”
Actually I have no idea. “What?”
“She could have to have surgery and be out of work. She’s not going to take that well. And there is a lot more to running the farm than you know.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” I state. “I’m sorry if I seemed insensitive. I didn’t mean to be. I was just so relieved when Mom came out with a smile on her face. I was so worried up until then that I couldn’t do anything but laugh when I knew she was okay.”
He gets quiet as he turns off the ignition. “Look, I’m sorry. I guess because I was here and found her it’s affecting me more than I had thought. I don’t have a right to tell you how you should be feeling.”
“You’re right, you don’t,” I say as I hop out of the truck. “Thank you for the ride.” And with that, I slam the door and walk into the house.
Chapter 9
Cadence
For the last two weeks, things have been different to say the least. Gran had a hairline fracture in her hip so the doctor told her to rest. The woman is going to be the death of us because she doesn’t understand the word rest. Mom and I have caught her multiple times trying to sneak into the barn. On top of that, Barrick has been standoffish and it’s really starting to piss me off. I’m sick of his attitude. I’ve got enough to deal with trying to keep Gran in bed, the extra chores, school and dance.
Gran has her two-week follow up appointment today and I hope she’s cleared so she can get off our nerves. As I get ready for school, I make sure Gran is comfortable on the couch and then head to the kitchen to make my green smoothie. When I see Barrick’s headlights through the window, I pause and sigh.
“Cade?”
“Yes, Gran?”
“I’ve seen the way you two have been avoiding each other. Now, I don’t know what’s going on but that boy’s a good one.”
“I thought so too,” I state as I start to walk away.
“Well, then get off that high horse of yours and go get your man.” I shake my head. “I’m serious. This is crazy. I’ve been watching both of you pout for two weeks. What the hell happened?”
Glancing at the clock, I realize I’ll probably be late for school but I don’t care. “Gran, he said I wasn’t upset enough when you got hurt. And no boy is going to tell me how to act!”
“Aw, shit! Y’all are acting like kindergarteners cause of me. Y’all better stop it,” she says as she starts to stand. I tell her to stop as she pushes me out of the way and opens the front door.
“Barrick!” she screams, “Get up here!”
“Yes, ma’am,” he yells back and I try my best to escape.
“Sit, missy!” she says and I do without question.
Barrick enters the house and doesn’t move when he sees me.
“Take a seat, young man,” she says as she hobbles back to her seat.
“But—”
“No buts, what’s goin’ on here?” she questions, looking between the two of us.
I look toward Barrick and he looks at me then Gran. We both don’t say a word. “I said what’s going on here?” she asks again in a firm tone. I raise my eyebrows as I look toward him for an answer. Silence.
“I’m going to tell y’all like it is. Everyone reacts different ways, and neither of you have the right to judge each other. Barrick, I know it was scary and you’re working around here like you own the place, but I ain’t gone yet and you don’t have to worry about the farm like your dad had to worry about his pa’s farm. Cadence behaved the way she needed to cope. I’m sorry that you found me, and I know that scared you. I wish I could erase that image from your mind. You don’t need to take out your emotions on her. Cadence, quit acting like you don’t care and get over yourself. I thought we were making progress.” Barrick and I look at each other. “Cadence, you need to get to school. Barrick, why don’t you drive her?”
“I have a car,” I say as I try to escape.
“So, let him drive you,” she says and Barrick stands, knowing that there is no need to argue. I walk from the room with attitude and grab my bag.
Barrick
I know Cadence and I have been acting stupid but I just can’t let it go for some reason. I know she didn’t see what I saw, but as Ms. Mae was lying there all I could think of was how I was going to take care of Cadence and the farm if something happened to her. When papa died, things were really difficult and I knew how hard things already were for her. When she just started laughing, I couldn’t understand how she didn’t see how serious it could have been. I know I have no right to tell her how to feel and I need to get over myself. When I see her standing by my truck waiting on me, I decide now is the time.
“So you going to get me to school or what?” she asks with her snarky attitude.
“Of co
urse, but you could always skip and help me at the barn instead,” I say with a smile. For some reason, Cadence skipping school sounds like a fabulous plan even if she doesn’t talk to me all day. I miss just being near her.
“Do you know what Gran would do to us?” she states as she flings open the door and slams it after she takes a seat. Great! That was supposed to be a joke to break the ice. Walking to the driver’s side, I take a deep breath and realize this is stupid. I’ve never acted this way or been judgmental in all of my life. So, why now? Glancing at Cadence, I know why. She gets under my skin, drives me freakin’ crazy, but yet, I can’t get enough of her.
“What?” she questions as we make our way to the end of the drive, but I don’t say a word.
“Where are you going?” she questions when I turn the opposite way of school.
“Look, I’ll take you to school, but we need to talk.”
“For real? I have a civics test today.” I can’t help but laugh. “You think that’s funny? You have a diploma.”
“You’ll be fine,” I say as I turn down our road.
As we approach our spot, I put the truck in park and turn to face her while she sits there with her arms crossed like a two-year-old.
“Cadence, I’m sorry. This is crazy. We shouldn’t be acting like this.”
“Oh, so you brought me here to tell me how I should act again?” she questions.
“Every time I walk into the barn, I see Ms. Mae lying on the floor helpless. It’s like I relive that day over and over. I know I didn’t have a right to tell you how to act but I was just so worried about you.”
“Worried about me?”
“Yes, you’ve had so many changes going on in your family and I couldn’t imagine what you would do if something happened to Ms. Mae. I was afraid you’d run again and I’d lose you.”
“Barrick, I’m so sorry. I’m sure I looked like I wasn’t upset, but when I knew she was alive and then saw Mom’s smile, I knew Gran would fight like hell to get better. I appreciate you looking after my family and me. And I’m not going anywhere, yet. ”
“The past two weeks have been terrible. I’ve never hated coming to Ms. Mae’s, but knowing that you were mad at me made it unbearable.”
“Unbearable, huh?” I see her hard exterior crumble.
“Extremely. I didn’t have anyone to pull pranks on,” I say as she gives me a slight grin. “So are we good?”
“Yeah, we’re good,” she says with a laugh.
I reach my hand out to hers. She looks down and smiles as she laces her fingers in mine.
Chapter 10
Cadence
After Barrick drops me off at school, I cannot concentrate on anything but him. Instead of being down and out, I’m happy again. It’s funny how when one piece of your life is missing, your world quickly crumbles. I didn’t realize until these past two weeks how much he holds me up.
I make it to civics class on time, and take a few extra minutes to study. It doesn’t work out as well as I had hoped. All I can see is Barrick asking me the questions from my review sheet, and that’s extremely distracting.
“Cadence, clear your desk,” my teacher instructs and I put my review sheet away.
The test is easier than I had hoped, and I’m thankful. As the bell rings, I head to the cafeteria for lunch and run into Jade.
“Girl! Where were you this morning?” she asks.
“Let’s just say that Gran made Barrick and I call a truce. He brought me this morning.”
She stops in the middle of the hallway. “Wait. You missed first. Where did y’all go? Spill it!”
“He made me talk to him about everything.”
“Aw, did y’all kiss and make up?” she asks, making duck lips and kissing noises.
“No, but we’re good.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” she says, nudging me as we walk into the cafeteria.
Barrick sends me a text after lunch to let me know that Gran’s appointment went well and she has been cleared to resume normal activity. I’m so happy that everything will be back to normal.
When Jade and I get to the studio after school, Ms. Lyndsay asks how Gran is recovering. I let her know that she is healed. She is relieved to hear the good news and wastes no time getting us started. After three hours, we are released and our limbs feel like Jell-O. We are both exhausted and just want to crash, but I have to write a paper when I get home. Why did I wait until the last minute?
Jade drops me off and I notice that Barrick is still at the barn. I leave my bags on the porch and jog toward it. The paper has been waiting a week to be written, what’s a little longer?
Sliding the door open, I find him replacing a wooden board in one of the stalls. He pauses as he hears something and looks over his shoulder at me and does a double take. “Hey there,” I say as I walk toward him.
“Hey. Aren’t you cold?” he questions. Suddenly, I realize I’m standing over him, in the dead of winter, in booty shorts and an oversized shirt.
“Now that you’ve mentioned it,maybe,” I laugh.
“Hold on, I’m almost finished,” he says as he finishes nailing in the final two nails. I take a step back and enjoy the view. Barrick Carpenter squatted down in a fitted pair of jeans is easy on the eyes.
When he finishes, he takes the box of nails in his hand and the hammer and places them on the shelf beside us. I watch his every move and can’t stand it any longer. I follow behind him and when he turns, I wrap my arms around him.
“I think I passed my civics test today,” I say as I look up at him.
“That’s great,” he says but I can see that his mind is elsewhere.
Leaning back, I look at him, “What’s going on? I thought we were good,” I say, giving him a questioning look.
A huge smirk escapes his lips as he looks to me. “Cadence, we’re perfect, but you can’t come bouncing in here half-naked. I can’t handle it.”
“What? Do I look bad? I know my hair is a mess, but that’s what happens when you dance for three hours.”
He looks me in the eyes. “That’s not the problem. You’re absolutely breathtaking just like you are right now.” What? I’m sweaty, my hair is a hot mess, and my shorts and top don’t even match.
I look into his amazing eyes and kiss him. When our lips meet, I realize how much I’ve missed them.
Barrick
Oh my good Lord. Those lips. Her body. Minimal clothes. She has no clue what she did to me when I saw her over my shoulder. I felt something spark within my soul. I know I like her… a lot, but after two weeks of not speaking to her, I know what it’s like to not have her in my life. I can’t do it. I’ll take her any way I can, but seeing her half-naked with messy hair did me in. There’s something about a girl in her natural state.
As we pull away, I hold on to her. “You’re absolutely beautiful just like this.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“As a heart attack.” I notice a single strand of hair has fallen from her messy bun and I gently place it behind her ear then I kiss her forehead. “Cadence, I think this is my favorite outfit yet,” I say as I take a step back with a shit-eating grin. I don’t know what came over me just now, but seeing her smile makes me know she feels it too.
Chapter 11
Cadence
I’ve spent over four hours a day at the studio the past three weeks. My body continues to mold into shape and it feels amazing. With all of the practice, our duet is flawless. Ms. Lyndsay feels we can increase the difficulty level and really wow the judges.
When I’m not at dance or school, I soak up every minute I can with Barrick or Daisy. I know it sounds crazy, but that cow stole a piece of my heart. Luckily for me, Barrick understands how important dance is to me and how crazy the schedule is this time of the year. He’s even gone out of his way to pick me up from the studio a few days a week so we can have a conversation without cows mooing in the background. I never thought my life would be like this.
As Jade and I are
riding to the studio today, I can tell something is on her mind. “Jade, is everything okay? You look like you have something on your mind,” I say.
She presses her lips together then blurts out, “I got accepted to East Carolina University today.” I feel my stomach drop but quickly recover.
“That’s great! Are you going to go?”
She pauses, then looks my direction. “I don’t know. The dance program at ECU is great, but so is the one at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. What are you going to do next year?” I pause because if she would have asked me this before break, I would have said a company in the city, but now, I have no clue. The only time this has crossed my mind was New Year’s Day, but with Gran’s accident and all the practicing, I haven’t researched any colleges and haven’t talked to any companies in months. Now that I’m here, I’m not sure what I want to do.
“No. I haven’t even thought about it with everything going on. College was never on my agenda, but now that I’m no longer in the city, my chances of getting discovered are slim.”
“Slim? I think not! We’re talking to Ms. Lyndsay. There are plenty of options. Plus, the season is just starting. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of recruiters at Showstopper Regionals and Nationals.”
“Nationals are during the summer. That’s too late, Jade.”
“Good point. Why don’t you apply to ECU and UNCG too? I can see it now, you and me as roomies, kicking everyone’s booty on the dance floor. That would be awesome for us to go there together. We could have matching comforters and everything. I swear I won’t monogram a thing!”
Oh dear Lord, she’s killing me. “Slow down. I’ve probably missed every deadline, and honestly, I don’t know what I want to do.”
“Just promise me you’ll think about it.”
“Maybe,” I say as we arrive at the studio. Ms. Lyndsay is sitting at the front desk when we enter.
