Chapter 22 #2
A sound reminiscent of a gunshot went off in the kitchen as the backdoor swung open and smacked against the wall with a crack. A familiar crow followed. “Big Daddy’s in the house!”
Cheyenne stepped through the threshold next, looking like a ray of sunshine in her yellow crop top and cut off jean shorts. Charlie, Cason, and Ryder followed right behind. Cheyenne’s familiar smokey voice filled the room. “Jesus Christ, Cash. Do you have to be so damn loud?”
“Lord’s fuckin’ name!” Bad said, cracking open his can as he leaned against the counter top.
Cheyenne stopped in her tracks, clapping a hand over her mouth, her cheeks turning pink. Cash, Ryder, and Charlie laughed though.
“Hey! That’s what Uncle Mav says!” Cason chimed in, running up to Bad and Aunt Violet to give them each a hug.
“Where’d you think he got that from?” Bad asked, tousling Cason’s hair. Charlie had agreed—begrudgingly—to let him grow it into a mullet for the summer.
Charlie, Ryder, and Cash all made their way around the kitchen, saying their hellos while Cheyenne stayed a step behind, hovering between me and the door. While she didn’t look spooked, there was a flightiness to her gaze. I moved to her side and nodded toward Aunt Violet.
Cash noticed and chimed in, “Here Trouble, this here’s my mama. Mama, this is Cheyenne… Mav’s girl.”
Mav’s girl. Something sparked in me at that, but I pushed it down. It was too early. Too preemptive.
Cheyenne tucked a curl behind her ear, one of her sunshine smiles lighting her up from within.
“It’s nice to officially meet you, Mrs. Mooney.
I do apologize for what I said a minute ago.
” Cheyenne rifled in her cowhide purse a moment before pulling out a glass jar.
“Here. I uh… I made this candle for you. It’s magnolia scented.
” She glanced down at the simple candle and shrugged.
“I was just messin’ around, so it’s nothin’ fancy. ”
Aunt Violet was always hard to read. Her eyes never gave anything away, and she was the type who could smile and wave and hold up an entire conversation while silently judging you and you’d never know.
She eyed Cheyenne as she grabbed the candle and raised it to her nose.
Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, her face softening almost imperceptibly.
Opening her eyes once more, a smile blossomed on her lips. A genuine one.
Something in my chest loosened. A breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I didn’t even realize how much Aunt Violet’s approval meant to me. Not that Cheyenne and I were anything yet really, but…still.
“My lord, child, you made this?” She took another deep inhale.
Cheyenne beamed and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“This smells absolutely lovely. Thank you. Please, make yourself at home. Would you like some sweet tea? Water? Soda? Cash I’m sure brought some beer.”
“I’m good for now, Mrs. Mooney. Thank you, though.”
Aunt Violet smelled the candle once more. “I can’t wait to show the ladies this at Bible Study tomorrow night. Can you make more of these? I have a friend in town who owns a little shop on Main Street, and these would be a hit!”
Cheyenne’s grin was more radiant than the sun peeking out from behind the clouds after a storm. “Absolutely, ma’am. That would be amazin’!”
“Hey!” Cash all but yelled. “Less talkin’, more cookin’, Mama. You’re gonna burn it.”
Aunt Violet whirled on Cash, snatching up her tongs and brandishing them at her son. “You don’t tell me how to cook in my own kitchen, boy. I don’t care if you’re a grown ass man, I’ll still beat your ass raw with the wooden spoon.”
Cash at least had the decency to look afraid as he all but ran out of the house and into the backyard, earning laughs from the rest of us.
Aunt Violet shooed as all out shortly after.
Bringing up the rear, I glanced back to find her sneaking another sniff of the candle before setting it down.
There was no possible way Cheyenne could have known that magnolias were my aunt's favorite, but call it sheer luck, a good guess, whatever…she’d won points with Aunt Violet, which made me inexplicably happy.
Cash and Ryder were already setting up for a game of horseshoes as I shut the door. “Mav! You and Trouble over here are a team against Ryder and I!” Cash shouted, a beer already cracked open in his hand.
The old Cash was back, thank God. I couldn’t deal with the sad, depressed version.
Call it crazy, but I preferred his usual, wild, pain-in-the-ass antics over him being all morose and shit.
That just wasn’t who he was, and seeing the light leave him…
especially because of me…I hated it. I don’t know what happened after I’d left with Bad and Goodie, but I was grateful.
Had to be Bad.
Now that I thought about it, I was certain. He was one of the only ones ever able to get through Cash’s thick, stubborn skull.
“Why the hell is my nickname Trouble?” Cheyenne chimed in, drawing my attention.
Cash grinned. “You’re trouble if I ever seen it, darlin’.”
She rolled her eyes, even as a smile lit up her face. “Whatever… Hey, we can’t just leave out Charlie. That’s not fair.”
Charlie already sat in one of the deep-set lawn chairs a few away from the group. “It’s honestly fine. This heat is God awful, I feel nauseous as hell, and the thought of having to move around more than I have to right now makes me want to die.”
Cheyenne flashed her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. That doesn’t sound fun. Oh! How was your doctor’s appointment today?”
Cason bolted past with Brandy and Dutch hot on his heels as I made my way over to the group. I didn’t know who enjoyed this new arrangement more—Cason or the dogs.
Ryder stepped up to Charlie’s side, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.
Charlie tilted her face up to look at him, a loving smile on her lips.
He dipped his mouth to hers for a quick kiss.
I was happy for him. For them both, actually.
The love they shared…I wanted that someday.
The type of love that could be seen, be felt, without the need for a single word.
All you had to do was take a moment and watch them together and know they were meant for each other It’s like they were soulmates or something—if you believed in that sort of thing.
I came to a stop beside Cheyenne and opposite Cash.
She didn’t look up at me as I approached, but settled into the crook of my arm.
Funny how comfortable it felt. I thought of Bad’s question earlier.
Was this the beginning of a relationship or just a situation of convenience?
I truly didn’t know, and with each passing moment, with every touch, every look, every seductive smile on her lips, I wanted to know the answer more and more.
“Everything looks good,” Charlie replied, dragging me from my thoughts. “Heartbeat’s strong, its measurements are tracking at the right age. We have another appointment in four weeks.” Charlie looked up at Ryder once more. “And then a week or two after that, we can find out the gender.”
Cheyenne smiled. “That’s so excitin’. I’m so happy for y’all.”
Charlie glowed as she grinned back. “Thank you. I just can’t wait until we figure out if it's a boy or a girl. I’ve already been driving Ryder crazy with names.”
Ryder nodded, but an equally as radiant grin sliced across his face.
Talk of potential baby names guided the line of conversation as Cheyenne and Ryder remained on the side closest to Charlie, while Cash and I made our way to the opposing horseshoe pit. We’d barely even started playing when Cason barreled over to Ryder, ruining one of my shots.
Thank God I’d not let the shoe fly or it would’ve hit him straight in the face as he ran across the middle of the game.
“Can I play, Uncle Ryder? Please? Please?”
Ryder cast a guilty look our way, but Cheyenne surprised me, crouching down to Cason’s level. “You can throw for me, little man. I’m not that good anyway.”
That a was a total lie. She’d held her own against Ryder—a feat in and of itself. Only one who could beat him was me.
Cason lit up, a bright smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. “Really?”
She glanced over at me. “You okay with him throwin’ a few rounds?”
Well, if I wasn’t attracted to her before, I sure as hell was now. Kids and animals were my weakness. I wouldn’t even try to lie and say otherwise. Something about them being so small and essentially helpless made the protective side of me come out. Someone who did well with both…well, damn.
I nodded to her, giving her a thumbs up.
“Aw, come on,” Cash grumbled quietly beside me. Cash had the patience of Job when it came to kids—mainly because he was one at heart—but if there was one thing he didn’t do well with accommodating, it was a game of horseshoes.
I elbowed him in the ribs, pegging him with a vicious stare as I shook my head once. He could deal for one game. He glanced between me and Cheyenne, who was teaching Cason how to hold the horseshoe.
That shit-eating grin lit up his hazel eyes, making them more green than gold. “You likin’ the view?” One of his eyebrows quirked up.
I rolled my eyes, but failed to bite back the smile that came to my lips.
“Mmm, that’s what I thought. Girl’s somethin’ else. You better snatch her up before someone else does.”
I gave him a hard look that I hoped said, I’m working on it.