Chapter Twenty-Seven
“So where’d you learn to dance like that?”
I was so full I thought I was going to burst. Truly, there was no way I could’ve eaten another bite, but I managed to finish the entire mouth-wateringly incredible steak, earning a high-five from Colton.
When we finished, and he paid the bill, he glanced back at the dance floor. The vibe in the restaurant had changed when the band announced it was time for some “country love.”
Colton hadn’t said a word. He got up and held his hand out, throwing his neck toward the dance floor. I slid my hand in his, happy to do anything to be that close to him again. He led me to the middle of the floor, surrounded by cowboy hats, fringe, and big Texas hair.
His hands hadn’t wasted time sliding down to my hips. I slung my arms around his neck, and we slowly began swaying to the old country songs the band was playing.
“Oh, I mean, I’m from Texas, so I think it would be a sin not to be able to line dance,” I teased.
“Ally, you can’t fool me,” he said with a teasing smile.
It’s okay, Allegra. You can tell him something honest, you’re not going to explode.
I chuckled and looked at our feet. “This place was my stomping ground in high school. I came here with some friends whenever I got the chance. We had a good time learning the line dances and drinking cherry sodas.”
His thumb was under my chin, pulling my jaw up to look at him. “Well, those practices paid off. You’re a sexy dancer.”
I resisted the urge to look back down at my shoes. “So are you, cowboy. I didn’t expect those kinds of moves from a bronc rider.”
He shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant. “You know, bronc riding requires some intense hip thrusts.”
I snorted. “Oh?”
He laughed with me and shook his head. “No, not at all. It was surprisingly more fun than I thought it was going to be, though!” He quieted and tilted his head.
“I’ve really enjoyed gettin’ to know you, Ally.
You’re a lot of fun, and I feel like I can just…
like I don’t have to pretend around you.
I’m not afraid to be myself around you.”
I swallowed, fighting back misty tears that were dotting my eyes. “You don’t seem like someone who ever has to pretend to be someone else.”
He took a deep breath. “I know I put on a good show for the audience, but sometimes that horse scares the life out of me. There are days when I think the pain is too much, I’m too scared of gettin’ thrown off, or the pressure is just crushing, and I think about being done.
But the other night, when you were in the stands, I got off the horse, I saw you, and I felt like I could do anything. I felt invincible!”
I had to think of how to respond.
His words were supposed to fill me from head to toe with that warm, gushy feeling, but instead, I felt like cold water had been dumped down my shirt. Of course, I wanted to support his dreams, watch him achieve his lifetime goal, but I don’t think I could ever get over the fear that crippled me.
The fear that drove me out of the country, out of this life.
I couldn’t respond without waves of sadness, so I pulled him down and stretched on my tiptoes. Our lips crashed together. I could feel him smiling beneath the kissing and found myself smiling in response.
I was melting under his touch. My constant anxiety floated away, becoming a distant memory. The lights had blurred, and the music was muffled, as if the world around us was fading.
He smelled like peppermint gum, and I wondered when he had slipped that in after dinner. He squeezed my hips between his hands, giving me one more tight kiss before pulling away.
His face was flushed, and he was smiling so hard I could see his molars. “I could do that all day for a year and still want more.”
I was probably as red as a tomato. “I really, really like you, Colton,” I blurted out.
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I really, really like you, Ally.”
~~~
The truck rumbled as he pulled into the campground. Colton was holding my hand, still; he hadn’t let go for a second since we climbed in the truck.
“Really? Runnin’ is your hobby?” He asked, bewildered. “Nobody likes runnin’.”
I laughed. “Nobody likes getting bucked off a horse.”
“That is a very fair point,” Colton admitted.
“It clears my head,” I continued, watching as he pulled into the campground.
“Well, maybe you could take me runnin’ sometime. I think I would like it with you.”
“That’d be fun! But that doesn’t mean I’ll ride bareback for you,” I warned.
“That’s an easy deal!” He parked the truck, and we climbed out.
The family was sitting in camp chairs around a fire pit, an eager look in their eyes as we approached.
The campground was stunning. Huge willow trees provided ample shade, there was a large grass recreational area, a big fire pit, and four pastures surrounding them.
“Hey y’all!” Jo called. She jumped to her feet and practically tackled me in a hug. “We’ve been missin’ you two! It feels like ages.”
Colton hugged his mom and accepted the kiss she planted on his forehead. “We saw you this mornin’, Mamma.”
“How was your date?” Dennis asked as he wrapped his arm around me.
I tried not to seem surprised by the physical affection from everyone, reminding myself that this is how normal families greeted each other. “It was a really good time. Your son is quite the dancer.”
Jo shot a surprised look at her son. “Is that right? I’ll have to see it to believe that.”
Colton shrugged with a cocky smile planted on his face. “There’s little I can’t do, Mamma.”
“You can’t tie a tie!” Jimmy shouted as he slapped a marshmallow on a cracker.
“You can’t read your own handwriting,” Alan added.
“You can’t wear normal colored socks,” Dean threw in.
“You can’t eat salad without gagging.”
“You can’t sing for crap.”
“You can’t do laundry.”
I laughed so hard I had to cover my mouth. I bent over, trying to catch my breath.
Colton was doing his best not to laugh with me, pretending to be annoyed with his brothers. They were trying to list more things that he couldn’t do, but he had picked up Alan’s water bottle and was threatening to spray anyone who dared go on.
“You can’t do laundry?” I asked Colton between my laughing fits.
“No!” Jimmy shouted. “Mamma tried to teach him once, and he got so frustrated with ‘all the dang buttons’ that he gave up and never tried again! He’s, like, forty years old and still can’t wash his own underwear!”
Colton unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and dumped it on Jimmy’s head. Jimmy jumped up in surprise and, without a second thought, began chasing Colton.
Colton ran as fast as he could.
I wiped a stray tear. “Oh my, I haven’t laughed like that in…years.”
Jo and Dennis were chuckling at their boys teasing each other, probably a very familiar sight in their house.
“I’m incredibly desperate for him to learn to do laundry,” Jo said honestly. “He’s picky about how his Wranglers get washed, and it’s aggravatin’.”
I laughed again.
“We’re gonna go get the beds ready,” Jo said, leading her husband toward the campers.
I watched them leave and stood awkwardly, not sure what to do while Jimmy was still chasing Colton.
“Allegra, come have a s’more,” Dean said, popping open another camp chair.
For the past five or so years of my life, Martha was the only person I could count on to be there for me.
Sure, I had Harrison, but he was always gone on an assignment. And when he was home, we’d go out to a fancy meal or go out with each other’s companies, but that was it, no staying over, no “hey, I was just thinking of you so I decided to pop over,” nothing.
Martha did what she could to fill my void, between her job and her doting husband.
But tonight, having my meal paid for, having someone listen to every word I said, almost being tackled by Jo’s hugs, laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe, and having someone I’ve barely talked to get me a chair, I was overwhelmed.
Alan reached over his brother and handed me a pole with a marshmallow already stabbed on the end as I sat down. “The key is to burn it, blow it out, and bam, you’re done.”
Dean squinted at his brother. “Um, no, you psychopath. You’re only supposed to warm it up. You’re not supposed to cook it.”
I didn’t grow up with brothers or any siblings, but the more I was around Colton and his brothers, the more I learned that the general love language was teasing, so I took a risk. “You’re both super wrong.”
The twins gave me the same surprised expression.
“You put it right in the tip of the orange flame, continuously turning, until it’s golden brown all around, and then you’re done. It’s got that nice crunch, but a soft marshmallow flavor in the middle.”
“Oh, she sounds like she knows what she’s talkin’ about,” Alan muttered.
I demonstrated as I talked and held up the pole when I was done. “Like so.”
Dean grabbed a few crackers and held them open. I slid the marshmallow into the crackers, and Dean added a piece of a chocolate bar. He offered it to me, but I held up my hand.
“No, you guys need to see what I mean.”
Dean didn’t hesitate and took a huge bite.
“Hey!” Alan shouted and grabbed the tiny bit that was left over. He shoved it in his mouth.
The twins closed their eyes and chewed silently together. When they had swallowed, they gave me the same look.
“Holy crap, you’re right,” Alan muttered.
“Allegra, I can see why Dad hired you,” Dean said, holding up his hand to give me a high-five.
I chuckled and high-fived him.
“What’d I miss?”
I spun around to see Colton and Jimmy standing side-by-side, both soaking wet, their faces flushed. “What’d I miss?”
Colton leaned close to me and shook like a dog. I squealed and jumped out of my chair, but he was quick. He launched his hands out, grabbed me close, and spun me around. I was still squealing and screaming like a toddler. “This is the best towel ever!” He yelled above the screams.
“Colton Nash put that poor girl down right now!” Jo shouted as she stepped out of the camper. “You’re going to ruin her pretty dress.”
“Yeah, who’s gonna wash it?” Alan added. “Not you!”
Colton gave me one more big squeeze before setting me down. “Ah, thanks for your help, Ally!”
I was barely damp, my dress far from ruined, but my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “Anytime, Colton.”
“Good heavens, poor thing’s gonna want to hop on a plane before we even make it to the rodeo,” Jo muttered. “Allegra, let me show you around the trailer.”
I obediently walked to the camper and climbed in. Once again, my mind was blown. I expected a tin can with a sleeping bag. Instead, I found crown molding, recessed lighting, and a shower nicer than the one in my first apartment. And this was only one of the two trailers they had brought.
Jo pulled open a curtain to reveal the master bed. The elevated nose of the trailer housed a full queen-sized mattress, with enough clearance on either side to maneuver without feeling like the walls were closing in.
It was even decorated. The small nightstands on either side of the bed were painted a very light blue, a blue that matched the patchwork quilt on the bed.
I put my hand on the quilt, feeling the thousands of tiny stitches in between the blue and white flowers.
The walls were plastered with the same blue flower wallpaper.
“This is way more decorated than my apartment,” I said absentmindedly as I took it all in. “Is this your room?”
Jo was beside me, her arm around my shoulders. “Oh, heavens no. Dennis and I are with the twins in the other trailer. This is your room.”
I turned my head so fast to look at her that my hair whipped around my neck. “Jo, I can’t take it.”
“Nonsense! Jimmy and Colton are gonna take the sofa couch, they used to share a room, so they’ll like it,” she said, popping me with her hip.
“If you need blankets,” she released me to open a cupboard in front of the bed, “they’re in here.
The bathroom should be fully stocked, but I tend to overpack, so if you need anythin’ just let me know, I probably have it. ”
I tucked my hair behind my ear, chills covering my arms.
The image of my mother arguing about food stamps in the grocery store checkout flashed into my mind. I clenched my jaw, forcing her face out of my head. “Thank you, Jo,” I whispered, afraid that if I spoke too loudly, my voice would give away my emotion.
Maybe if my dad had lived, I would know how to accept the kindness this family was overwhelming me with. Maybe if my mother had handled his death better, I could’ve turned out with a little less crippling fear.
Maybe in another life, I was just like Colton.