Ten Seconds of Crazy

by Randileigh Kennedy

  “So Cassidy, what’s your story? What do you do in Nevada?” Darla asked politely.

  “Oh, I’m an escort of sorts… I perform adult services in exchange for money,” I replied with a straight face. Reid spit out his drink and doubled over with laughter.

  A moment later Darla caught on, realizing I overheard her prior conversation with Reid. “Oh darling, I didn’t mean to call you a prostitute earlier,” she said with a quiet laugh. Uncle Buck burst out with laughter too, and soon the whole dining room was filled with the sound of pure happiness. Darla was smiling and Reid watched her warmly, likely relieved to see her look so joyful despite her face when she arrived here just an hour or so earlier.

  “See, I told you that girl would make you smile,” he said to his mom softly with a wink, just loud enough for me to hear. Darla squeezed Reid’s hand and whatever tension existed between them before seemed to disappear completely.

  “I’m actually studying elementary education,” I explained, finally answering her question properly. “I waitress and dog sit to pay the bills until I graduate.”

  “I’m trying to convince her to go to Grand Harbor Community College,” Reid chimed in. “It’s only twenty minutes from the cottage and they have some amazing scholarships that apply even for out-of-state students.”

  “I’m still trying to figure out my fall plans,” I interjected, taking a sip of the iced tea resting in front of my plate. Reid looked at me and smiled. Oh how I wanted to know what was going through his mind in that moment.

  “I went to GHCC for a semester,” Uncle Buck said, joining in the conversation. “Right before I transferred to Michigan State and met your dad,” he said looking at Reid. “Great school. And if you’re at Bradford University, you guys won’t be far at all.”

  The conversation took an uncomfortable twist as Uncle Buck started laying out our future plans. The last few days had been such a whirlwind, and although we’d had some fun, I hadn’t exactly considered moving to Michigan. I was on board with being young and stupid for a few weeks, maybe even for a summer, sure. It felt like a rite of passage or something. Like a teenage rebellion or a brief coming-of-age tale. But to actually uproot my entire life for a boy just because of the way he looked at me? That would take a whole lot more than ten seconds of crazy. Most people needed a full year of self-doubt before jumping on board a life decision like that.

  “So what do your parents do Cassidy?” Darla asked, redirecting my train of thought.

  “My mom runs an alpaca farm in Oregon,” I replied vaguely, hoping they wouldn’t ask for too many more details. We’d had a falling out before she moved and it had been months since we spoke last. She could be on bachelor number sixty-eight by now living in the mountains of Washington, or pruning cacti in New Mexico. It didn’t really matter. “And my father’s not in the picture, so I’ve got nothing there.” I tried to sound perfectly pleasant and nonchalant about it, but Reid must’ve picked up on the fact that I really didn’t want to talk about my family.

  “Uncle Buck, this venison is amazing,” Reid interjected. “You shot this yourself? How often do you get out hunting these days?”

  “I was actually planning to go out pheasant hunting tomorrow. Do you want to come?” Uncle Buck asked. “We’ll only be out about half the day if we get an early start.”

  “You boys are more than welcome to go, but I can’t do it,” I answered honestly. “I’m all about eating God’s creatures, but I’m not great at single-handedly murdering them myself. I couldn’t do it.”

  “I don’t want to leave Cassidy just sitting around here,” Reid replied politely.

  “I actually have some phone calls to catch up on tomorrow morning. I could use a little time to myself. Maybe your mom and I could do a little shopping in town? If you’re not leaving too early tomorrow,” I said towards Darla.

  “That sounds wonderful,” she replied with a warm smile.

  Reid gave me an ‘are you sure’ face and I smiled and gave him a slight reassuring nod.

  After dinner we cleared the table and took our drinks outside to the giant white wrap-around porch.

  “The sun’s getting low, are you up for this Justin McBride?” Uncle Buck teased Reid.

  “McBride is a famous bull rider,” Reid explained to me, assuming I didn’t recognize the name.

  “Two-time World Champion,” I touted back, surprising him. “I used to go to a lot of rodeos and bull riding competitions growing up.”

  “You picked yourself a country girl,” Uncle Buck razzed with a whistle, wrapping one of his burly arms around Reid’s neck. “Maybe you should be letting her ride the cows tonight. Otherwise you’re really going to have to impress her with your bull riding skills if you want to keep a girl like that.”

  “I can handle it, Buck,” Reid said with a laugh, sliding out of Uncle Buck’s grip. Darla laughed too and gently held my arm.

  “One of the funniest things,” she began with a smile, “it was the summer after Reid finished Kindergarten, so let’s see, Reid was six and Preston was nine. We stopped here on our way to Michigan and Phil here told the boys about his bulls - he said if there was ever a boy who could ride one of his bulls for eight seconds, he would end up a world famous bull rider. So of course Preston and Reid begged to ride. We knew all the cattle were female, but of course the kids had no clue. Kent told the boys the horns had fallen off during a prior tumultuous ride from some other young men who weren’t able to stay on. Phil threw those boys up on two of the cows and the boys thought they were heroes.” She laughed as she spoke, wiping a tear away from her face as she reminisced.

  “I was six, I didn’t know any better,” Reid said with an exaggerated shrug.

  “Those boys talked about it all summer,” she continued, lighting up as she spoke. “They made plans to join the circuit and they were convinced they were going to be famous bull riders. It took them two summers to figure it out. But they had the best time riding those stupid cows.”

  I laughed as she told the story, amused at how sweet and innocent it was.

  “This is ridiculous that I have to relive this in front of all of you,” Reid chimed in with a jovial smirk. “I was hoping I could do this alone.”

  “I’ll join you,” Uncle Buck stated, looking out into the pasture. “But this is for Preston, not for you,” he continued to razz Reid.

  “That cow is going to buckle underneath you,” Reid teased back. We all made our way over to the pasture where the cattle were standing around, eating their dinner. Reid had stopped at his car to grab a handful of ashes from the trunk. Together with Uncle Buck, they climbed over the white pasture fence. Darla and I watched with amused grins on our faces.

  “This is not like I imagined it when I was six,” Reid muttered as he tried to swing his leg over one of the cows near the fence. He missed the first two times and almost fell off the fence, but finally his leg landed and he managed to get up on one of the large brown animals. Uncle Buck took a few more tries, and he of course looked even less graceful than Reid did trying to climb on one of the giant farm creatures. Finally he made it on top of a cow as well. It’s not that Reid looked like a natural on top of the cow by any means, but the site of Uncle Buck up there with his awkward burly stature, I couldn’t help but giggle.

  The cows just stood there.

  “Professional bull riders, right?” Uncle Buck gleamed, raising his arms in the air. Darla and I laughed, amused by the entire scene in front of us. “Let’s get these cows moving!” Uncle Buck whistled loud and slapped his cow right in the rear. His plan completely backfired; instead of moving forward, the cow got startled and jumped, throwing Uncle Buck right off. He landed in the dirt near the fence with quite an audible thud. He laughed at first, but then it sounded like he was in pain.

  Reid’s cow was startled by all the commotion, and he lunged forward. I could see Reid’s legs flex tightly around the cow’s body, but the cow still darted, throwing Reid off balance. He quickly threw the ashes in th
e air, coughing as the light breeze shot some of them back in his face. I stifled a laugh, knowing this was not the right time. But the whole sequence of events couldn’t have been more comical - two grown men being jostled around by essentially hunks of beef. The entire scene in front of me was as ridiculous as any I’d ever seen. Reid quickly jumped off the cow, still coughing from the ashes, and Uncle Buck still laid on the ground, laughing and groaning at the same time.

  “Those professional cowboys ain’t got nothing on us boy,” Uncle Buck said laughing, clutching his left arm. He winced in pain as he moved. Reid attempted to help him up.

  “That was nothing like I remembered it to be,” Reid replied with a smile. “That didn’t work at all. Are you okay? Can you get up?”

  Darla and I moved closer, though I doubted either of us would be much help in trying to lift the large man up off the ground.

  Reid carefully helped him up, and we all gasped as we noticed the deformity in his left elbow.

  “Oh Phil, this is bad,” Darla said frantically as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She quickly dialed 911 and gave them the home address.

  “It hurts like hell, I’m not gonna lie. But how am I ever going to explain to my buddies that I fell off a cow?” Uncle Buck said with a painful smirk.

  Within two minutes, an ambulance pulled up onto the property and EMTs surrounded Uncle Buck.

  “Mom, you go in the ambulance with him. We’ll follow in the car,” Reid said, reaching into his pockets for his keys.

  “Nonsense,” Uncle Buck shot back. “I think the bone just popped out of the socket. It’s happened before. I’ll be okay.” He bit his lip as the EMTs examined him. It definitely looked worse than that to me. “You kids stay here and come up with a story I can tell as to how this really happened. Make me sound stoic. Like a real hero.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to come?” Reid asked, looking for further confirmation.

  “You know Preston would be laughing his ass off at me right now,” Uncle Buck said nostalgically. “This isn’t that big of a deal, it’s just an elbow.”

  “An elbow sticking out the wrong way,” I chimed in, trying not to show the actual panic in my face.

  “Eh, God gave me two elbows. I’m fine. Go be kids. Go light the bonfire or empty all of the whisky out of my liquor cabinet. I’ll be back in a few hours. I still want to go hunting tomorrow,” he said towards Reid through somewhat gritted teeth. The expression on his face revealed he was in far more pain than his words suggested.

  “It’s fine dear, it’s not life threatening,” Darla said sweetly, patting Reid’s arm. “Phil dislocated that arm at least twice back in college doing things far stupider than slapping a cow.”

  “That’s no way to talk about my college sweetheart, Darla,” Uncle Buck teased back. I loved the way he remained in such good spirits despite whatever pain he was in.

  Darla smirked and gave Reid a hug and a small peck on the cheek. “Enjoy your night, you two. I’ve got this.”

  A few minutes later the ambulance pulled out of the driveway, just as the sun slid down beneath the horizon. There was a chill to the air, and I felt a slight shiver.

  “We’d better follow Uncle Buck’s orders while he’s gone,” Reid said grabbing my hand. He led me back into the house and grabbed some matches, two small glasses, and a bottle of whiskey.

  We headed out the back of the house to a small seating area with a circular brick fire pit. It was already full of newspapers, sticks, and the remnants of what looked like an old broken down piece of furniture.

  I took a seat on a small wrought iron bench and poured us each a glass of whisky as Reid started the fire. He added some nearby lighter fluid and within a minute I could feel the warmth of the flames on my skin.

  Reid sat down next to me with his leg flush against mine.

  “So nothing really went as planned tonight,” he said softly in the glow of the fire. “But down the road that’s the good stuff. The stuff you remember. That’s exactly how Preston would’ve wanted that to play out, strangely enough. Those are the kinds of things we would laugh about for years after.”

  “I will definitely remember you sitting on a motionless cow for the rest of my life,” I replied with a snicker. “I can’t believe for a brief moment I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I would see all night. And then Uncle Buck’s elbow was sticking out the wrong way. Gah. So many images that will never leave my brain.”

  He smiled back at me and grabbed my hand, holding it gently in his lap.

  “I hope Uncle Buck is okay,” I said softly.

  “Well that crazy man said we’re still going hunting in the morning. He won’t give up on that, just you watch. He’ll be dragging me out of bed before the sun comes up.”

  I smiled and slugged down a gulp of the whisky. I definitely scrunched up my face after it went down, surprised by how much it burned my throat. Reid’s face looked similar after taking a sip.

  “Oh, Uncle Buck, bad taste in booze,” Reid remarked, setting the bottle and our two empty glasses down on the ground. “This night is a total loss,” he said dramatically.

  “Not a total loss,” I said flirtatiously, narrowing my eyes at him. He leaned in and kissed me gently. I returned his kiss, but with more intensity.

  “I will forever be grateful for the day you got into my car,” he said breathily between kisses.

  “That’s not the only day I want you to remember.” I turned my whole body to face him, swinging my leg over his until I was straddling him on the bench. I kissed him again, slowly, longingly. He put his hands on my waist, gently grazing the skin underneath the edge of my shirt.

  He kissed my neck and I laid my head back, staring up into the night sky. The stars were brilliant out here in the middle of the country. The soft glow from the fire was the only light around us. I slowly put my open palm up towards the sky for the millionth time, hoping to see a perfectly formed constellation around the shape of my hand. It never worked, but I always remained hopeful.

  “What is it?” he asked quietly, still kissing my neck.

  “Do you think wishes actually come true?” I said softly.

  He looked straight into my eyes, gently touching my face. He smiled.

  “Only the one you want the most,” he whispered, scooping me up off the bench, carrying me towards the guesthouse.

  CHAPTER 11

  I awoke to the sound of movement in the room, though I couldn’t place it. My surroundings were completely dark except for a small glow of light from the moon coming in through a window. I could feel Reid’s warm, shirtless body next to mine, and I smiled, despite feeling confused about my awakening.

  “Reid,” a voice whispered in the darkness.

  Reid shot up out of bed, looking just as disoriented as I was.

  “Uncle Buck?” he said a little too loudly. I closed my eyes as a flashlight turned on next to the bed. “It’s five-thirty in the morning,” Reid read off a small tableside alarm clock.

  “The birds don’t wait til brunch, kid,” the burly shadow replied sarcastically. “Let’s go.”

  “Are you okay? How’s your arm?” Reid asked sympathetically. “We don’t have to do this.”

  “Ah, I broke it in two places. So you’ll have to drive the truck. They have me on all sorts of pain meds,” he explained holding up his cast for Reid to see.

  I peered through the awkwardly lit room to see Uncle Buck’s arm in a full cast with a sling.

  “You’re crazy,” Reid muttered. “Fine, let’s do this. I’ll meet you out front in five.”

  Uncle Buck left the room with his flashlight and I heard the front door of the guesthouse open and close, signaling he had made his way out.

  Reid slipped back into bed next to me, kissing me gently on my shoulder.

  “Tell me to stay. If you say the words I’ll do it,” he said softly, trailing kisses up my neck.

  “He said you’ll only be gone half the day,” I replied. “I t
hink it would mean a lot to him. He fell off a cow for you.” I let out a slight giggle as I said it.

  “You’re right,” he said with a sigh. “Are you sure you’re fine without me? My mom will probably talk your ear off. She’s not big on solitude,” he said teasingly, grabbing a pair of jeans off a chair next to the bed.

  “I’ve got plans, don’t worry about it,” I said reassuringly. “Go out and murder God’s creatures.”

  “It sounds so terrible when you say it like that,” he snickered, leaning down to give me a quick kiss. “When we get back this afternoon you and I can head back out on the road for our next adventure. Sound good?”

  “Bird murdering followed by Iowa. It sounds like a dream,” I replied with a smirk. “Go, before Uncle Buck comes back in here with his flashlight against these sheets.”

  He kissed me one more time and made his way outside. Moments later I heard a truck fire up and I saw headlights back out of the driveway. I smiled, closing my eyes, eager to relive thoughts of us together last night.

  The clock on the bedside table read seven-thirty. I actually felt quite refreshed after dozing back off. I took a quick shower, tying my hair up in a loose chignon. I slipped into some shorts and a tank top and headed over to the main house. I was surprised to find Darla up so early, reading on the porch swing.

  “Nothing beats a summer morning,” she said with a smile as I approached the steps. “I made a quiche if you’re hungry. It’s on top of the stove.” Her smile looked so genuine and I wanted to hug her. “Do you have any plans for today?” The tone in her voice suggested she was hoping to tag along, but I knew she was too polite to say it. “Did you say you had plans to go shopping?”

  “Well, I had an idea,” I said reluctantly. “How do you feel about gardening?”