Chapter 4
Tate woke up on the morning of the Fourth of July with a knowing.
Briar loved him like he loved her. He’d seen it as he was waking up, right before he opened his eyes.
It was the biggest relief of his young life, but to move forward, one of them had to admit it.
And when it came to Briar, Tate would have moved mountains for her, so admitting to his feelings should have been easy.
And yet it wasn’t that simple.
Saying this aloud was an unknown. It was going to shift everything they’d accepted of each other for all these years.
Like stepping into adult shoes without knowing if they would fit.
What he did know was that she would be wearing purple shorts and a lavender-colored T-shirt today, and they’d already made plans to meet at the circle bench beneath the spreading oak at the far end of the park.
They’d long since outgrown participating in the turtle race and the sack races, but the ambiance of the celebration was part of the community’s tradition, and nobody outgrew hot dogs and cherry slushies.
He showered and shaved, then hurried through breakfast.
Lilith winked at Abel as they watched him shoveling food in his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in a week.
“Son,” Abel said.
Tate paused and glanced up. “What?”
“Are you chewing all that, or is it going down whole?”
Tate grinned. “Probably a little of both. Message received.”
“What’s on your agenda today?” Lilith asked.
“Briar and the Fourth of July,” he said. “Are you and Dad going to the park?”
Lilith rolled her eyes. “You already know the answer to that. We can watch fireworks from the front porch if we get to feeling patriotic. Otherwise, I’m just looking forward to spending the day with my guy.”
Tate saw the look they gave each other. “I have a question. Was it love at first sight for you two, or did you date a lot before you got to that point?”
“I can’t speak for your mama, but once I saw her, there wasn’t another woman ever for me,” Abel said.
“Oh…I knew your daddy was the one, even before he ever noticed me, so I made it my business to make sure he noticed.”
Tate grinned. “I figured. Just checking,” he said as he got up and carried his dishes to the sink and went to finish dressing.
Abel watched his son walking away. From a distance, the teen would have been taken for a full-grown man. He was already well over six feet and built like a lumberjack. It was the way of the Bandy men…broad shoulders, strong arms, and long legs.
He sighed, remembering the man talk he’d had with Tate when he turned thirteen, and how he had impressed upon Tate the responsibilities he had to observe. Over and above the sex talk, he told him something that gave Tate huge pause.
“Son, because of the gift of knowing that you were given, there is a promise that you have to make to yourself. When you’re not married to the woman you sleep with, then you have no legal rights to the baby you make together.
If it’s a boy and he is born with your gift, without the guidance and understanding he will need to know as he grows up, it could destroy him.
If the girl chooses to abort the child and it’s the boy with the gift who would have been next in line, then that will break the generational thread of the gift.
There would never be another Bandy with the knowing.
Ever again. The first time you think you need to experiment, you need to be mindful of that.
If you only use a girl for the thrill of sex, you have shamed her and yourself. Do you understand?”
He remembered the look in Tate’s eyes when he’d told him, and then what he’d said. “It’s okay, Dad, I’m just a kid now, but I will only ever want Briar. And she will only ever want me.”
Abel had been shocked then by the quiet assurance in Tate’s voice, but that was then, and this was now, so he shook off the memory and helped Lilith clear the table of their breakfast dishes. Later, as he was getting ready to make a run to Sparks Grocery, he heard the front door slam and frowned.
“The boy is on the move.”
Lilith looked up from the pie crust she was rolling out. “He has more knowing and sense than we do. He’ll be fine.”
* * *
The day was clear, sunny, and already getting hot. It would be all about hot dogs, cold drinks, and the game booths in the park, then fireworks tonight, but for now, Tate was taking a shortcut to Main Street as he lengthened his stride.
The little carnival that always came to town on this day was set up and waiting for customers. He remembered riding the merry-go-round when they were still kids. When Briar’s horse went up, his horse went down, and vice versa, and they thought it was hysterical.
The Ferris wheel was off-limits for Briar. She was afraid of the height, and the ever-circling wheel made her sick, so if she didn’t like it, then neither did he. But as he moved through the park, carnival rides were no longer on the agenda.
He waved to people he knew, some of whom were classmates, but he just kept walking past the food booths and the game booths until he reached the circle bench beneath the spreading oak.
He was grateful for the shade, but his heart was pounding.
A breeze ruffled through the dark strands of his hair, cooling the beads of sweat on the back of his neck as he waited.
He knew she was on the way. He could see her in his mind, walking through the crowd and people moving aside to let her pass through.
She’d left her hair down today, and she was wearing purple shorts and the lilac-colored T-shirt from his dream.
Those long, beautiful legs of hers were bare, and the breeze had plastered the shirt to her body, outlining all the curves of the woman she was becoming.
* * *
Briar had fussed with her hair, leaving it down, putting it up, then leaving it down again until she glanced at the time.
She was going to be late if she didn’t hurry.
She loved her new purple outfit and had been saving it for today, and because the day would be spent at the park, she opted for sneakers rather than fancy sandals, and went downstairs on the run.
Roger heard her coming down the stairs and went to meet her.
“Do you have spending money?”
“I have five dollars,” she said.
He pulled out his wallet. “Oh, that’s not nearly enough. The food and drinks are always overpriced at these events.” He handed her a trio of twenty-dollar bills.
“Thank you, Dad. I appreciate it,” she said. “I’ll be with Tate until fireworks are over. I know it will be dark, but he’ll walk me home. Don’t worry.”
Mariah came out of the kitchen with a frown on her face, eyeing what Briar was wearing, but couldn’t find fault enough to comment.
However, hearing Tate Bandy’s name mentioned was enough to set her off. He was never going to amount to anything, and she wanted better than that for her daughter. Someone she could brag about to her friends.
Not wanting the usual fight to start, Briar eyed her mother without speaking and headed for the door. But before she could make her escape, Mariah called out.
“Briar! Did you take your birth control pill this morning?”
Briar froze, then turned and looked at her in disgust. “Really, Mother? Why didn’t you go stand outside and shout that a little louder?”
Roger was in shock. “Briar! Why are you taking birth control pills?”
Briar was still glaring at her mother when she answered him.
“Well…that would be because your wife forced me to start taking them when I was barely thirteen years old. She thinks because Tate and I are friends that I am now living in sin. I’m not and we aren’t, but that’s what she thinks, which has always made me wonder what the hell she must have been like as a teenager.
But don’t worry. She doesn’t really care about my welfare.
This is just part of her lifelong quest to make sure no child of Tate’s will ever call her grandma. ”
Roger’s face turned a deep shade of red. Part of him was ashamed to admit he felt the same, but as always, his wife was still failing her motherhood role. He looked at her with a whole new level of disgust.
“Mariah! For the love of God!”
Mariah was shocked that Briar had called her out in front of Roger. And alluding to Mariah’s teenage escapades had surely just been a cheap shot. No one from here had known her at that age. Not even Roger.
Briar walked out, leaving them to their usual daily brawl, and headed for the park. As expected, people were already gathering, kids were lining up for rides, and she could already smell the popcorn.
As she began passing through the park, she saw other girls from school walking in groups, flirting with boys they saw every day at school as if they’d suddenly become a hot commodity when they hadn’t given the time of day before.
Puberty did amazing things for some, while all it gave others was a serious case of acne.
Boys had long since quit trying to make time with Briar Lowe.
Everybody knew she and Tate were a given.
Girls were insanely jealous that Briar had Tate’s full attention.
Briar was aware of all their drama, but ignored it and kept an eye out for Tate.
When she finally emerged into the open, she saw him at the end of the park, waiting on their bench.
He was leaning over with his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground, obviously in deep thought.
Her heart thumped, as she lengthened her stride.
He was so beautiful in her eyes, but he had a man’s face now.
I should say handsome, not beautiful. But the word was never quite enough.
It was the sharp cut to his jaw and the high cheekbones. A near-perfect nose. Black eyebrows arched just enough to frame his chocolate-brown eyes, with lashes long and thick, like tiny feathers. But what she loved most was that the tiny gold sparkles in his eyes were most prevalent when he laughed.