CH 27 - #seeyousoon
#seeyousoon
Madison
I was on my morning run when I heard a vehicle coming down the ranch’s long driveway behind me and looked over my shoulder. It was Luke in his big black Chevy dually. He flashed his lights at me, making me chuckle. I stepped into the grass and waited for him to reach me. Then he did.
“Good morning, pretty momma,” he said out of his open passenger side window.
I stepped up to it, resting my arms on the doorframe, still catching my breath. “Hi, handsome.”
“I’m glad I caught you before I left town.”
“Me too. How did you sleep last night?”
“Good, because I dreamed about you.”
“Funny, I dreamed about you too.”
“Was your dream G-Rated or R-Rated?”
“Try X-Rated.”
Luke laughed. “I’m going to miss you and our little angel while I’m gone.”
“We’re going to miss you. Text me when you get back. I don’t care how late it is.”
“Alright.”
“I hope you have a good time with your mom.”
“I’m going to take her out to eat for supper, just the two of us, since Hayden is still throwing his guts up back in the bunkhouse.”
“Did he ever figure out if it was something he ate that made him sick?”
“He couldn’t think of anything. It may just be a stomach bug that he caught.”
“Do you want me to go check on him later?”
“If you feel like it. I know he’d appreciate seeing you.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Your little brother is so funny.”
“He wishes you had a twin sister.”
“But I don’t.”
“Are you excited to see Meredith today?”
“Very.”
“What do you girls have planned?”
“Nothing other than hanging out at the ranch house. My dad is going to grill steaks later. Of course, my mom will have all the yummy side dishes to go with it, plus some dessert. I’ve gone so far away from how I normally eat since I’ve been here. If I weren’t exercising, my ass would be so wide.”
“I’d still bite it.”
I giggled. “I bet you would.”
“Give me a kiss before I go, please, ma’am.”
I opened his passenger side door and crawled up into the cab of his truck, immediately going to Luke and kissing him like I wasn’t going to see him for months. When I pulled my lips away from his, he blew out a hard breath and shook his head.
“That’s it, I’m staying here,” he said.
I smiled. “No, you’re not. You’re going to see your mom and spend some quality time with her.”
“You make me want to ditch my plans.”
“But I won’t let you. Your mom needs to see you, but I think you need to see her more.”
Luke searched my eyes and nodded. “It’s just going to be tough. I know she’s going to talk endlessly about my dad.”
“Maybe you need to also. Get all of your thoughts about him out of you, whatever it takes. I believe it’ll be cathartic for you. It’ll heal the hurt that you still feel in your heart from losing your dad.”
“I believe you’re right. I wish he could’ve met you and Bella.”
“I feel as if she and I met him through you. I imagine you and he were a lot alike.”
“We were.” Luke cradled my face in his hands. “I love you, Madison.
“I love you. Can you believe we’re saying that?”
“Yep.”
“Get on the road and be safe.”
“I will. Don’t run off while I’m gone.”
I playfully scoffed. “How dare you say such a thing to me!”
“I’ll be home before you know it.”
“And I’ll be waiting, ready to wear out your fine-as-hell body.”
I watched Luke as he drove off. He wasn’t far from me when he tapped his brake lights three times.
I instinctively knew he was telling me that he loved me again.
I was love drunk on him, blissfully high as a kite.
It wasn’t infatuation, though. This was real.
My heart felt as if it had expanded three times its size since Luke came along.
EIGHT HOURS LATER
“There you are!” I squealed, running down the front porch steps toward Meredith as she got out of her Lexus.
“Oh my gosh, look at you!” We hugged, then my sister scanned me from head to toe again. “You’ve gone completely country on me. You’re dressed like it in that T-shirt, blue jeans, and boots, plus your hair is wild, and you have on minimal makeup…”
I wiggled my body, grinning. “What can I say?”
“This new you suits you very much.”
“It also suits Luke.”
“Wow, Madison. Just wow. I must say that I’m a big fan of him and the effect he’s had on you.”
“Me too. I’m also a big fan of all of this out here,” I said, glancing around. “It feels like home to me. I love this rustic lifestyle.”
“I’m just amazed at your transformation. Yes, you’re still my little sister, but you seem more yourself than ever before. You’re so chill, too.”
“My nervous system certainly appreciates the change. I haven’t had to take any of those GABA, L-theanine, and lemon balm gummies for stress in a while.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Let’s get your suitcases and go to the ranch house. Your niece is super excited about you coming here.”
“I can hardly wait to give her a tight squeeze.”
We were walking up the porch steps when the front door opened. Bella came running out of it, going straight to my sister, hugging her waist, and looking up at her.
“Aunt Meredith!” she said, her smile a mile wide.
My sister set the suitcase she was carrying beside her on the porch and squatted down, holding Bella’s face. “How’s my precious niece been doing?”
“Good!”
“I’m so happy to see you. Are you having fun out here at your GiGi and PaPa’s ranch?”
“Uh huh. Luke lets me ride Casper and pet cows.”
“I heard he took you fishing, too.”
“He did. I caught a catfish, and so did mommy.”
“Whose fish was bigger?”
Bella grinned mischievously. “Mine.”
“Good for you.”
Meredith hugged Bella, then the three of us went inside, my parents rounding the corner and approaching us in the entry hall.
“Come here, eldest daughter!” our dad said, reaching for her and pulling her into his arms. Our mom hugged her next.
“How was your drive?” she asked Meredith.
“Easy once I got out of the DFW area.”
“I’m happy you finally came to the ranch.”
“It is very big and also beautiful in a different way.”
“Your dad and I love it here.”
Meredith looked at Bella and me, pointing. “So do they.”
Our parents nodded, my dad then saying, “We’re hoping they’ll just stay from now on.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Maybe the ranch’s charm will get to you, too, and make you want to move here. It would be great to have you, Tanner, Madison, and Bella all under this roof with your mom and me. There’s more than enough room for everyone and then some.”
“Tanner and I will visit here. It is lovely, but our lives are in Dallas, where we’re very happy.”
Our dad cut his eyes at our mom. “She won’t want to leave on Sunday. You watch.”
They chuckled along with Meredith and me, then I showed her the bedroom she would be staying in. It was next to mine.
“What do you think?” I asked her.
“I like it. The look of this ranch house and the feeling inside it remind me of Dad’s parents’ old house in East Texas. It’s so country and comfortable. Makes me feel like kicking off my shoes and going barefoot.”
“Then do it!”
“I believe I will. You do it with me.”
We were both barefoot within seconds, wiggling our toes and smiling like two little girls, while my little girl was getting even more spoiled in the kitchen by her adoring grandparents.
“Please tell me you brought some boots with you,” I said, glancing at Meredith’s suitcases lying on her bed.
“I didn’t. Why?”
“I was thinking it would be a blast if you and I went out tomorrow night for some one-on-one sister time.”
“Why would my having boots make a difference?”
“Because I want to take you to Midnight Rodeo. That’s the dance hall I went to by myself a few days after I’d been here, ran into Luke, drank too much whiskey with him, and you know the rest of that story.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea for you to go there without Luke?”
“Yep. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because you’re essentially a couple now. How would you feel if he went to Midnight Rodeo without you?”
“I wouldn’t mind. He and I are alike in enjoying just going there, listening to the music, having a strong drink, and thinking. I’m not dancing with anybody but you, of course.”
“I highly doubt that place plays the type of music that you and I have danced to before. No Justin Timberlake or Dua Lipa.”
“You’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”
Meredith grinned. “Okay, we’ll go.”
“We’re getting you a real pair of cowgirl boots first. I’m taking you tomorrow to the store that Luke took me to for my boots and hat.”
“I’m not getting a hat.”
“Oh yes, you are. You’re going to embrace this lifestyle out here while you’re here fully.”
“Fine.”
“You know we’re going to have a long overdue hell of a time.”
“I do know that. Looking forward to it, little sister.”