The McCree's Star Spangled 4th

by J. C. Isabella

  The McCree’s Star Spangled 4th

  © J.C. Isabella

  Copyright 2012 by J.C. Isabella

  Smashwords Edition

  This book is the personal property of J.C. Isabella. Its characters are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. This book is for your entertainment, not to be given freely or resold in any way.

  Thank you for respecting her work.

  Briar

  “I’m excited to see you tomorrow,” I pulled on my favorite pajamas, the purple ones with the blue clouds all over them. It’d been another beautiful day at the ranch, and I was a little tired after a late swim with Chase in the pond behind the house. Going to bed early was starting to become a habit. I didn’t mind, considering I got up with the chickens now. “But I’m nervous too.”

  Grandma’s voice wavered over my cell phone. The reception wasn’t very good, but I was honestly grateful my phone worked at all up here. We were in the middle of nowhere. Tens of thousands of acres on the McCree land. “What do you have to be nervous about baby? It’s just the fourth of July.”

  “Chase’s mom.” His mother and stepfather were flying in tomorrow with grandma for a massive Fourth of July barbecue that the McCree’s held every year on the ranch. They were leaving Chase’s younger half-sister with Todd’s parents. Grandma had left a week ago with my parents; she wasn’t going to pass on the opportunity to see me again so soon. I wouldn’t be going back to Florida until Christmas. “She’s made it clear she think’s I’ve made the wrong choice.”

  “Tell her to keep her nose out of your business.”

  “I can’t do that. She’s his mother.” I climbed into bed and hit the light, letting the darkness of the room envelope me. I felt so much calmer now. “I just…I know she’s going to try to change my mind all weekend.”

  “I think you’re talking to the wrong person about this.” Grandma slurped her margarita and I heard the salsa music she and grandpa liked to play come on in the background. “Look cookie, you need to sit your cowboy down and tell him what’s bothering you. That may be his mother, but you’re his girl. In my book you come first.”

  “But how do I tell him?”

  “Briar, just tell him like you told me. He loves you and he’ll understand.” She gasped, and the phone gave a sharp crackle. “Norman! I told you to put that sombrero away. I’m not in the mood to dress up while we dance tonight.”

  The image of grandpa wearing a sombrero with his sweater vest popped in my head and I laughed. “Have fun, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Can’t wait. I knew I’d love me some Montana cowboys and horses.” She made kissy sounds over the line. “If grandpa didn’t mind the cold, or wasn’t against leaving the house in general, I’d move up there with you.”

  I hung up and set the phone on my nightstand. The house was silent. I hunkered down under the covers and closed my eyes, trying to keep that calm feeling. It was hard. In total I’d been with the McCree’s for a month and a half, give or take a few days. I hadn’t exactly been keeping count.

  I really did love it here. Staying with Chase was the smartest thing I’d ever done in my life. Some things were hard to adjust to. I hadn’t been raised on a ranch, but I was learning. I took each day as an adventure, and with Chase’s help, I found myself slipping into place right beside him. It was as if I’d been here all along.

  That didn’t take care of Chase’s mom though.

  I glanced at my phone. The glowing blue screen said it was just after ten. I was not going to sleep knowing that in fourteen hours Chase’s mom would be landing at the airport. I’d been nervous before, but not this kind of nervous. It made me feel uneasy, almost sick to my stomach. Something she said could change things…maybe not to the point of me going back to Florida. That was a little farfetched.

  But still…worry ate at me.

  I sat up, suddenly thirsty. A cool drink would help. After a few sips I’d fall asleep. So I got out of bed and headed downstairs. One of the herding dogs was lounging on the kitchen floor. He perked up when I opened the fridge to pour a glass of Millie’s lemonade.

  “What are you looking at, Gunner?” he tilted his head to the side and his tail thumped against the floor. I went to the pantry and grabbed the treat jar. Four more dogs came running. I tossed each of them a biscuit. Stinker was nowhere to be found. He usually slept with Chase.

  I kept out one of the biscuits and went back upstairs, thinking I’d get out my laptop and play a game or something. But first I stopped outside Chase’s door and cracked it open. Stinker was at the foot of his bed. His head popped up when I waved the treat. He gave a soft bark and I tossed it to him.

  “Briar?” Chase asked, half asleep.

  I knew he’d wake up, but I also knew Stinker would feel left out if I didn’t bring him one. “Go back to sleep.”

  “Something wrong?”

  “No, I just gave Stinker a treat.” I started to shut the door. While I was up, I’d paint my finger nails and toenails for the 4th. I’d found a polish with red, white and blue glitter last time I was in town with Millie.

  “Hold it,” he sat up, but didn’t turn on the light. “Why are you giving the dogs treats so late?”

  “It was Gunner’s fault. He made those sad, oh poor me, eyes and I couldn’t resist.” I sighed, leaning against the door and sipped my drink. “I was also thirsty.”

  “You got a sugary drink to help you sleep?” He held out his hand and gestured for the glass. “Shut the door.”

  “We can talk in the morning.” I pushed it closed and walked toward the bed. Chase took the glass from me and set it on the nightstand.

  “Maybe I don’t want to talk,” he chuckled and pulled me onto the bed with him, kissing me. “You taste like lemons.”

  I smiled, kissing him back and winding my arms around his neck. “What do you want to do?”

  “I want to listen to you talk, Briar baby.” He laid back, taking me with him and pulling the covers over us.

  “It can wait,” I said, resting my head on his chest and listening to his steady heartbeat. “Why don’t you kiss me some more?”

  “If it could have waited you wouldn’t have brought Stinker a treat. You knew he’d wake me up.”

  Damn, he was right. “I’m just nervous.”

  “Is this about my mom coming?” he knew I was anxious. I’d told him earlier in the day, but hadn’t elaborated as to why I was so worried about her visit.

  “She’s very…opinionated.” I was trying for some tact. It was his mother after all.

  “She’s not going to give you a hard time if I have anything to say about it.” He hugged me, his hands rubbing up and down my back. Darn him, my eyelids were starting to droop. He was going to put me to sleep. “Don’t worry.”

  “She thinks I’m making the same mistake she did.”

  “Do you think she is right?” his voice was quieter, deeper in my ear.

  “No,” I didn’t. “I’m worried she’ll make me second guess my choice.”

  He grunted, and then surprised me by attacking me with kisses everywhere. My cheeks, forehead, chin, and eyelids. He even tickled me until I started giggling. I shoved at him, but he was trying to make me laugh, and it was working. I was gasping by the time he was finished.

  “We gotta sleep now,” he kissed me on the lips this time. “Stay here with me?”

  I rested my head on his pillow and curled into his side, “Only if you promise not to tickle me again.”

  “I won’t tickle you for the rest of the night,” he laughed. “At least, not intentionally.”

  “What, are you a sleep tickler?”

  “Maybe…”


  After talking to him, and getting out what was bothering me, I didn’t have anything to keep me up worrying. It was also hard not to sleep with him right next to me. He was warm and comforting. Stinker managed to wedge between our legs at some point, but he only made me feel cozier.

  I woke out of a dead sleep when I felt Chase leave the bed, followed by Stinker. They were moving around the room. He had his boots on, and I heard stinker padding next to him as he headed for the door.

  I rubbed my eyes and sat up. His clock said five. In the morning. God, it was early. Normally I wasn’t up till seven to help Millie in the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

  “Time to feed the animals,” he said, and in the dim light I saw him grab his hat off the dresser and settle it on his head. “Go back to sleep.”

  “Nope,” I was up now. I’d only done this with him a couple times before, and I wanted to do it again. “I’m coming with you.”

  He met me downstairs at the kitchen door once I was dressed and we went out into the early Montana morning. There was a little mist. The air was cool and sweet. The smell of hay hung in the air, and I caught sight of Frances, the owl, sitting on top of the stables. He looked settled for a nap. His head was tucked down, eyes closed. Chase’s cousin Grant was already up, loading one of the work trucks with feed. I put on the gloves Chase gave me and grabbed a shovel, climbing up into the truck bed. Chase came up beside me with his gloves and a shovel too. Grant climbed behind the wheel and drove us out to the west pasture where a few hundred cattle were kept. The rest of them were either on the east pasture or up near a ridge and lake behind the house. They had to rotate the heard so they didn’t overgraze and deplete the land. It was a cattle ranch, and the McCree’s dealt in beef. If anything, it was amazing

  Chase jumped out of the truck and opened the gate to let Grant in the pasture, then shut it behind us after we rolled in. He was back in the truck beside me, and the cows swarmed behind the tailgate as Grant drove slowly across the pasture. I shoveled the feed off the bed with Chase. We left it in a long line for the cows. It was tiring, and my hands hurt even though I was wearing gloves.

  I had a blast.

  No one ever thought the cheerleader would be out with the cowboy. I was all for proving people wrong. Mainly our parents. Everyone I’d met in Montana had been so welcoming and kind. I had to pinch myself. I just couldn’t believe it at first. I felt so lucky that I could call this place home now.

  And I never wanted so see another pair of pompoms for the rest of my life.

  After the truck bed was empty, Grant drove back to get more feed for round two in another pasture. We did this four times. Thankfully there were other workers on the ranch in trucks helping.

  Once we’d finished, I was lounging in the back with Chase, and didn’t want to move. Cheer practice and some gymnastics did not prepare me for how hard it would be. I felt out of shape. I was tired. It was a good tired though, and it wasn’t even nine in the morning yet.

  We hopped out and cleaned up in the mud room outside the kitchen. Millie greeted us inside with a steaming hot plate of eggs and toast and juice. I ate almost as much as Chase. Then it was back out with him to feed more animals.

  It was a good start to the day. I didn’t have a second to worry about the visitors who’d be arriving in a few hours. This was exactly what I needed.

  Chase

  “Briar?” I knocked on her bedroom door and finished buttoning up my shirt. We’d gotten our chores done early since we had guests coming. I hoped my mother behaved herself, but no telling what she was going to say about Briar living with me at the ranch now. She hadn’t brought up her opinion since that morning when Grant called to tell me about the cattle shot dead over my father’s grave. That was also the morning I told her I loved Briar.

  Her silence hadn’t been a good thing.

  I was just as nervous as Briar. It was either going to go very good, or very bad.

  I had to prepare myself. It was possible I’d have to tell my mom off. That she wouldn’t be welcome on my ranch unless she learned to accept my relationship with Briar.

  I hoped it didn’t come to that.

  I knew my mom though, and if she wanted to say something, she’d say it.

  “It’s open,” Briar called back.

  She was still in the bathroom. I crossed the room to her dresser, wondering if I should change into something more relaxed. I had on a blue button up shirt and my best black jeans. I’d shined up my boots. Put on my best black hat. “They’ll be pulling up any minute.”

  “I know.” Her sigh drifted from behind me. I watched her brush her teeth in the mirror over the dresser as I tucked in my shirt. “I can’t wait to see grandma.”

  “Yeah, I already miss the old bird.”

  She laughed, coming out in a jeans skirt and red frilly shirt. Her wild blonde curls were tamed back by a few clips. She didn’t straighten her hair anymore. I loved it. But the important thing was that she loved it too. I never wanted or asked her to change for me. She just evolved, naturally. Every day I noticed little things were different, and she was so much more confident now. She didn’t hide behind fancy clothes and makeup. She was just being herself. I loved her more than I’d thought possible. “Chase, if you keep staring at me like that, we’re going to be late to meet everyone.”

  “Fine by me.” I grinned, giving her glossy lips a kiss. Some things about her hadn’t changed, and I loved that too. “What’s that smell?”

  “It’s perfume my mom brought me from France.”

  Hell, it was a good thing she didn’t wear that every day, or I’d never be able to think about anything else. It was like, cinnamon, and vanilla, and heaven. “I like it.”

  “Oh, no cowboy. I spent an hour getting ready.” She slipped out of my grip and scampered around to the other side of the room, putting the bed between us. “Chase, stop grinning at me like that.”

  I shoved my hands in my pockets and rocked back on my heels. “Can’t help it.”

  She blushed, “Yes you can.”

  “Come back over here and let me kiss you again.” I edged closer, and she backed up, trying not to smile.

  “I think I hear a truck…”

  I stole a glance out the window. The drive was empty. “Come on, I dare you.”

  “Chase,” I moved around to her side and dove for her. She hoped onto the bed and crawled across, but I was a little faster and snagged her bare foot. “No!”

  I tickled her foot and she squealed, giggling. “Come on, one kiss?”

  She rolled over and blew her hair out of her eyes. “One.”

  I climbed onto the bed, hovering over her. She had her arms crossed and her mouth was pursed in a pout. But I took that one kiss and ran with it. We were playing with fire. She loved it as much as I did.

  A horn sounded in the yard and we leapt apart, laughing. She pulled on her white boots and fixed her hair. “Are you going to put on a belt?”

  “Damn,” I ran back to my room and grabbed one with a buckle that had the McCree emblem on it. I put it on as we headed downstairs, and had it buckled just as a truck parked in the yard. Jerry was probably giving my mom a rundown of everything that had changed since she left.

  Briar slipped her hand into mine, holding on tight. “It’s going to be fun. Right?”

  “Nothing to worry about,” I winked at her as we headed down the steps to meet the truck in the yard. The dogs barreled past us, barking excitedly to meet our visitors.

  Todd was in the front seat next to Jerry. He didn’t bother holding in his apprehension. He eyed the dogs as he opened the passenger’s side door as if they were rabid wolves.

  I brought my fingers to my lips and whistled, shouting for them to go inside the house.

  Six pairs of eyes met mine. The dogs quieted, and then slipped up the porch, heading into the kitchen via the open door.

  “They don’t bite,” I told Todd as he put his feet on the ground.

  He nodded, holding his overnight
bag to his chest. “Great, tell them not to eat my shoes.”

  Grant came up beside me and snorted, eyeing my lawyer stepfather. “Where did your mamma find that clown?”

  “He’s a nice guy,” I said under my breath. “Just a little different.”

  “Uh, sure.” Grant scratched his red beard and tipped his hat back. “Twenty bucks says I’ll make a man outta him before he leaves.”

  “I’ll take that bet.” Briar said next to me and shook his hand. “You’ve got two days.”

  “Briar baby!” grandma hopped out into the dirt, her socks jingling. She hobbled as fast as she could to grasp Briar in a hug. She was wearing denim overalls and a red checkered shirt. Must have been trying to dress like a farmer, all theme like. Damn, I was glad Briar didn’t get her style from the old girl. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too!” Briar cried.

  I scooped the little woman up in a hug. “Hi, Grandma.”

  “Now that’s my kind of hello,” Her boney hand patted my back. “Hefting all those hay bales does you good, honey.”

  I tried not to blush and set her back down next to Briar. “Uh, thanks.”

  My mom got out of the truck last. She looked, well, stunned. I hugged her, giving Todd’s hand a shake. “How was your flight?”

  “Fine,” she smiled, eyeing the yard around us. “It looks exactly the same.”

  “Yeah, we’re not much for changing around here.” I took her bag and started for the house. She was quiet, and a little wary, probably wondering how welcome she’d be. It was one thing to talk on the phone. Being on the ranch in person was bound to dredge up old memories. Some painful. It wasn’t all sunshine and happiness. My mom’s last days on the ranch had been strained and full of uncomfortable silence. My dad hadn’t wanted her to leave, and she didn’t care enough to stay.

  “Oh my God…Briar?” my mom stopped dead.

  “Hi, Mrs. Carter.”

  I glanced between my mom and my girlfriend. Briar looked nervous, biting her lips. My mom was floored. Her eyes were wide and face full of surprise. Briar didn’t look like the city princess anymore. That’s how my mom remembered her. Perfect straight hair, tons of makeup, ridiculously expensive clothes…a different person.