Chapter 34
“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.