Chapter 38 #2
“This summer I started dating Bailey McAllister,” he said.
“And that was pretty hard for me, because I don’t really like being recognized in public.
” All eyes came to him, and Reeves swallowed down his nerves.
“But I like being with her so much that I’ve had to figure out how to take her to fancy restaurants and busy places, and deal with whoever looks my way and says, ‘Hey, are you the Teton Mountain Man?’”
“My daddy doesn’t like being recognized either,” Corrine said.
“You should see Uncle Trace glare everyone away,” OJ said. “My daddy just smiles and shakes hands.”
“That’s what I’ve tried to do too,” Reeves said. “But it was scary and really uncomfortable for me. But you know what? I’m really proud I did it. I really like being with Bailey, and though it was hard for me, it was something I needed to do.”
“Is that your thing you’re proud of, or the thing you’re afraid of?” Eric asked.
“That’s the thing I’m proud of,” Reeves said. “Let’s go around and do that first.” He reached for his water bottle and tapped OJ on the shoulder. “You’re up, bud.” He needed a few minutes to come up with something he was afraid of that wouldn’t reveal too much or scare the kids.
“I’ve been working hard at the K9 Academy this summer,” OJ said. “And I’m real proud that I’ve learned a few words in another language, and that I have one dog that will listen to me and do what I say.” He looked at Lars, who looked at Reeves with wide, scared eyes.
“I don’t know if I have anything I’m proud of,” he said.
“Sure you do, my friend,” Luke said, his deep voice joining the conversation and further grounding Reeves. “You’ve been taking driving classes this summer, right?”
The boy nodded, his eyes too a little too wide for Reeves’s liking.
“And I know your mom has been taking you to those lifeguarding lessons too, so you’ve been learning all kinds of things you should be proud of.”
Lars took a breath and seemed to swell with confidence from Luke’s words. “You’re right, Uncle Luke. I’ve learned how to drive this summer, and I only hit those logs out in front of my house one time, and I’m pretty proud of that.”
Reeves chuckled, beyond grateful for this little glimpse into these teenagers’ lives.
It told him a lot about their mothers and fathers as well.
His emotions surged when Eric passed the phone to Corrine, and he said, “I’ve been working around my uncle Denzel’s house and shop this summer, to help him get it cleaned out from when he used to be a mechanic.
He started teaching me a little bit about cars, and it’s been fun. ”
He looked at Reeves, and he seemed slightly nervous too.
“And I didn’t think that I was proud of it, but I am.
Uncle Denzel doesn’t talk very much, and sometimes I wondered if I was bothering him.
” He swallowed, and the sweetest tears filled his eyes.
“But then, the other day he bought me my favorite ice cream and hugged me and told me that he was real happy that I’d been coming to help him. ”
Luke sniffled, and that was Reeves’s near undoing. He’d texted Bailey off the Young family thread, and he thought of her response. Thankfully, OJ hadn’t read that out loud.
Oh no, this is terrible news. I’ll pray for you. You’re more than capable of handling the weather and the mountains—and those kids. You’re my favorite person in the world, though, so please let me know as soon as you’re safe.
He didn’t know how she had given him the exact response he needed, but she had.
“You’re a good boy, Eric,” Luke said. “And you should be proud of going to help your uncle, because sometimes that’s not very fun work.”
“Daddy, Momma wants to know if you can call her.” Corrine extended Reeves’s phone toward Luke, and he looked at Reeves as he took it from her.
“It’ll make calls,” he said.
“Is it my turn?” Corrine asked, and Reeves nodded at her. She took a deep breath while Luke read through the messages on the phone.
“Something I’m proud of this year is the cello solo I did last spring. It was really scary, and I practiced so stinking hard.” She smiled at her male cousins. “Because I did that, I know I can move to Jackson Hole for college, even though I’m pretty nervous about it.”
Luke reached out and pushed his daughter’s ponytail over her shoulder. “You’ll be amazing at college, baby.” He lifted the phone. “Uncle Gabe and Uncle Morris went to our house, guys, because the storm has started to roll into Coral Canyon now too.”
In that moment, Reeves realized that the rain noise around him had quieted. He brightened and said, “Listen, guys.” He tilted his head, noting that it took the teens a couple of seconds to get that he meant to listen to the world around them and not listen to something he was about to say.
“It stopped raining,” OJ said, his face lighting up.
Reeves grinned and then laughed. “It stopped raining.”
“It stopped raining!” Lars and Eric exclaimed together.
Luke tapped on the phone. “I’m gonna dial Aunt Sterling, and we’re all gonna yell, ‘It stopped raining!’ when she answers.” He grinned at his daughter and nephews. “Bunch up over here, closer to the phone.”
He extended the device out in front of him, a couple of inches from OJ’s face. Lars and Eric knelt up to get closer, and Corrine simply scooted in a little bit.
Luke had put the phone on speaker, and the ringing of the line came through. Then it stopped, and it clicked a couple of times, and then a woman’s voice said, “Lucas Young, you tell me that you’re all right.”
Luke grinned and held up three fingers, then two, then one, and made a go signal. All the kids yelled, “It stopped raining!”
“And we’re okay!” OJ added on at the end.
Luke laughed, and Reeves joined in with him. “Hey, sweetheart,” he said. “Did you hear that?”
“I heard it, yes.” Sterling’s voice came through the line nasally and broken, and a sniffle came through the line. Luke quickly pulled the phone back and tapped on the speaker before lifting it to his mouth.
“Hey, we’re really fine,” he said. “Reeves found us a great place to shelter, and we got out of the stream as the water rose. This storm is going to be over us in just a couple of minutes, and we’ll head back to camp.”
He listened for a moment. Reeves couldn’t wait to get his phone back so he could text Bailey and let her know that he was all right.
He’d then call her later, when he could have a private conversation with her.
He hoped she’d be as relieved as Sterling was, because she’d started falling in love with him too, but he let his fantasies stall there.
Whatever Bailey’s reaction would be, Reeves would take it.
Luke continued to talk on the phone, the wind died down, and the storm passed over. Reeves stood up and left the shelter to find that everything outside was the same as it had been before, only with a little bit of water on it.
No matter what, Reeves couldn’t wait to get back to the one person who had become home for him. And no matter what her reaction was, Reeves simply wanted to be reunited with Bailey as soon as possible.