Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Now
Raine
A n early two-thousands pop song is blasting from the yellow cylinder speaker that sits on top of Olivia’s kitchen counter. Beside me, Olivia is singing along to the music— off pitch, but I will never tell her that —and dancing while stirring a bowl of dough. I watch her for a moment, amazed that this is how she chooses to work, and can’t contain my smile as she looks over at me and begs me to join her.
“How do you work in these conditions?” I yell as I try to pull my hand away from her, but her grip is strong. She spins me around and forces me to jump up and down with her. Her bright-red hair smacks me in the face, making me laugh. I give in and sing along with the lyrics.
After a few minutes, the music changes into a soft R however, peace wraps around me, letting me know that I’m making the right decision .
“I told Mamaw I would take care of you, and that’s what I’m going to do,” I say with determination.
He looks out toward the front yard, his eyes scanning the farm before huffing and shaking his head. “It’s a lot for me to ask from you.”
“I’ll just tell you that it’s happening, then.” It feels like a small victory when we both face each other and share a smile that seems to help release a bit of the tension building inside me. “You trained me for this growing up. I’m telling you I got this.”
“I know you do, Little Duck.”