Chasing McCree (15 page)

When she left I’d miss her. I’d miss
Briar something awful.

In my gut though, I knew that I would
see her again.

I’d make sure of it.

Chapter 14

Briar

Dinner was an event I’d never forget.
There were eight people in the massive dining room, dogs winding
between chairs at the table, and two little boys in highchairs at
either end. Millie presided over everyone, keeping peace with her
wooden spoon. Jerry threw biscuits to whoever asked for one. I
almost got hit in the face, but Chase caught it, glaring at his
uncle. Jerry merely laughed and told me to work on my hand eye
coordination. Afterwards everyone pitched in cleaning up, and then
it was into the massive living room to lounge in front of a roaring
fire. Holly, who was a nice, shy woman, went home early with Grant
to put the kids to bed, leaving me and Chase with his aunt and
uncle.

The living room was so rustic. Richly
decorated with earthy tones and deep reds and blues and greens.
There were handmade quilts on the backs of chairs and couches. Big
skylights dotted the exposed wood ceiling. The antler chandelier
was a little strange, but still beautiful. Even the gun rack on the
wall was impressive. Ornately carved out of a cherry wood, the guns
didn’t look new. They looked like antiques.

I could tell the McCree’s were wealthy,
but they didn’t flaunt it. There wasn’t one expensive painting, or
fancy art sculpture for viewing. Everything in the house seemed to
have a purpose. And it smelled so wonderful. A little like pine,
and a hint of cinnamon. There was a basket full of dog toys in the
corner next to the fireplace, and a few bones littered the floor.
Some had dogs attached to them, others had been abandoned in favor
of pats and scratches from the humans in the room.

“
My dear, you look a little
dazed.” Millie smiled at me, kicking up her feet on an ottoman in
front of her chair. “I hope this isn’t too much to take
in.”

I shook my head, settling back into the
deep plaid sofa. “I’m fine, just tired from the trip. And, well,
I’ve never been to a family dinner like this one.”

Chase was sitting on the floor with a
few of the dogs in front of the fireplace. He smiled at me. “Briar
comes from a different kind of family. She’s not used to our
antics.”

Mille nodded, seeming to understand. “I
figured as much when we started throwing rolls. Never heard a
“head’s up” at the dinner table.”

“
No, my parents are,” I
paused, trying to find a way to put it nicely. I couldn’t. “My
grandmother calls them stuffed shirts.”

“
And they really won’t miss
you?” Jerry asked, taking a puff of his pipe. It was wooden, hand
carved he’d said, by his great grandfather.

“
No,” I wondered what I
must look like to them. How many parents didn’t care where their
kids were? I didn’t even say goodbye to them. I tried, but all I
got was my mom’s voicemail and a pat on the head from my father. He
told me to have a good time at camp…cheer camp. I went once two
years ago. I didn’t even bother trying to remind him that’d I’d be
with Grandma. “We aren’t close. My father is a surgeon. He’s always
at the hospital. My mother spends most of her free time getting
work done and going to the country club with her
friends.”

Mille didn’t seem to understand me.
“What does she do?”

“
My mother works on
herself. Facelifts, injections, going to the gym…its turned into a
real job.” One more fancy dinner at the club with waiters in
tuxedoes and women trying to one up each other, playing nice face
to face, and I would have run screaming.

“
But what is it you want to
do with yourself?” Millie was fishing. I knew. She wanted to know
what kind of girl her nephew had brought home. I couldn’t blame the
lady, not after telling her what my family was like. I knew if she
met Grandma they would hit it off. Between Millie’s wooden spoon
and Grandma’s aim with cookies, no one would escape at close or
long range.

“
I want to be a
veterinarian.” I loved animals. Even though I didn’t have any, I’d
always wanted a houseful. Chase was lucky to have grown up on a
ranch. I’d have given anything to wake up one morning and find a
puppy, or a basket of kittens. “In middle school I snuck a rabbit
in the house and raised him in my bathroom. My parents eventually
found out and took him away.”

“
You never told me that,”
Chase’s chocolate eyes filled with surprise.

“
You never asked,” I
said.

Jerry stood with a loud yawn, “I’m old,
and my bones ache. I am going to bed.”

Millie followed him, but at the base of
the stairs in the living room she paused and smiled at me. “I’m
glad you’re here Briar, really. You are such a welcome ray of
sunshine.” She looked between Chase and me. “I’ll say it once now,
I’m not ready to be a great aunt. So I’m gonna hurt the both of you
if nine months later the stork comes calling. Clear?”

Chase rubbed the back of his neck,
“Clear.”

I couldn’t meet her eyes. “Yes,
Ma’am.”

She seemed satisfied and headed up the
stairs. “Night, ya’ll.”

“
That was embarrassing, I’m
sorry.” I couldn’t tell because of the light, but I was sure Chase
had gone just as pink as me. “Millie doesn’t beat around the
bush.”

“
I like her.”

“
I knew you would. So…you
want to be a vet.”

“
Yeah, when my father and
mother find out they’ll be pissed. If they had it there way I’d
marry Alex after high school.”

He cursed. “When did marriage come into
this?”

“
It isn’t a marriage. It’s
a merger. Business.” I grimaced, thinking, not only was I too young
to get married after I graduated, I was too smart to actually do
what they wanted. I’d be married to a future alcoholic with a
roving eye. What a catch. “When Alex danced with me in the gym, he
told me it was expected, that I didn’t have a choice. If my parents
even hint at me marrying him after high school, then they’ve lost a
daughter.”

“
He’s the last guy you’ll
be dancing with, remember that partner.” He winked.

“
Only if you hold up your
end of the bargain.” I said. “What about you?”

He lifted a shoulder, “I want to be a
good cowboy.”

“
There has to be something
more than just being a good cowboy.”

He smiled, pushing to his feet and
taking the spot next to me on the couch. “Well, I want to run this
place as good as the men before me. This is my life.”

“
You’ve never wanted to be
anything else? Not even when you were a little kid?”

“
A sheriff.”

“
Are we talking the cowboy
kind that says, this town ain’t big enough for the two of
us?”

“
Nah,” laugher rumbled in
his chest. “Politics… I’d like to run for sheriff.”

“
You’re a hero in the
making Chase McCree.”

“
No I’m not.” He sighed. “I
just want to take care of my family and my ranch. I know to some
people it may seem strange.”

“
This really all belongs to
you?”

“
Yes, since the day my
father died at the age of six. Mille and Jerry run things, but I’m
taking over more and more now that I’m old enough.” He hugged me
closer. “My dad told me the McCree’s lived by a saying when I was
little. Passed on for generations.”

“
What is it?”

“
The land doesn’t belong to
you. You belong to the land. You work to provide for the animals,
and the animals will provide for you.” I followed his gaze across
the room and laid eyes on a small wooden plaque hanging on the
wall. The words he recited to me were beautifully carved into the
surface. “To rule and control the land is selfish, but to protect
and nurture is selfless. It is what you are born to do, like every
McCree before you.”

Part of me felt like crying, hearing
him speak those words as if he’d done it a million times before.
And I knew it was because he missed his father. Sadness filled his
eyes. It was so deep. When he smiled at me it faded, and I liked to
think I made him feel better, just being with him. “What does that
feel like, to have a job that you didn’t choose?”

“
It feel’s scary, I’m not
gonna lie.” He said. “But then it feels amazing to know that I’m
part of something big. I know where I come from. I know where I’m
going. I know that one day my kids are going to have the best life
anyone could have.”

I shook my head. “Kids,
Chase?”

“
Comes with the territory.
This place will only go to a McCree.”

“
You don’t feel like it was
forced on you?”

“
No, I could sign it all
over to Millie and Jerry tomorrow if I wanted. Then it would go to
Grant and his kids.”

“
But you love it
here.”

“
You’re right. I
do.”

“
I’m happy I came with
you.”

“
Me too.”

I closed my eyes and began to drift,
thinking maybe I could love it that much too. I’d never been on a
ranch, or around so many antlers, or even a bearskin rug. This
place though, felt more like home than my parent’s house. It was
warm and inviting. I could feel the love. Literally. In my house
there was a chill in the air, nothing welcoming about it. This
place was a real home.

I was almost asleep when Chase nudged
me. “Come on, let’s turn in.”

“
No, I’m too tired.” I
laughed, trying to fight my lethargy. I wasn’t ready to go to bed
yet, I wanted to stay up and talk about the ranch. I wanted to know
more.

Chase pulled me to my feet. “What about
beauty rest?”

“
A myth. I look the same
either way.”

We started laughing, and Chase gave me
a kiss on my cheek outside of my room. “Night.”

“
Good night,” I said,
closing the bedroom door behind me.

When I woke up the next morning the
entire ranch was revved for haying, which would start over the next
couple days. I spent most of the day with Millie, helping her bake
a few things to bring to the dance. Chase was busy helping Jerry so
they could get their work done early. I only got a passing glance
and a wink from him, but it was enough to make me soar the rest of
the day.

Early afternoon Millie had to run into
town to pick up a few supplies. I went with her, and was finding
myself growing attached to her quickly. She was a lot like Grandma,
but stronger and more physical.

While we were in town we passed a
leather shop and a pair of crisp white cowgirl boots sat in the
window. I wasn’t in the mood to be frivolous, but I couldn’t pass
them up. So I gave dear old dads credit card one last big
charge.

While I was checking out, she eyed my
new boots. “You got a dress to match?”

“
For what? The
dance?”

She nodded, her round face pulling a
motherly smile. “You can’t go in jeans, we’re all dressing
up.”

I sighed, taking the bag holding my new
boots from the cashier. “Chase never told me it was
fancy.”

“
It’s not that fancy, but
Chase is a member of the male species. He doesn’t think about that
sort of thing.” She spun around and headed for the back of the
shop. “Come on, girly, times a wastin’.”

So I got a dress on my dad’s card
too.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford
it.

I was leaving the last store with
Millie when I saw something sitting in a glass case next to the
register.

“
Can I see that?” I
asked.

The man behind the register opened the
case and pulled out the one I wanted. “What is it?”

“
A watch and a
compass.”

I soothed my fingers over the leather
band and smiled, pulling out my money, not my father’s. “It’s
perfect.”

After helping Millie unload the car, I
hurried to my room. It was big and comfortable, had an attached
bath, and there was a mini antler chandelier over the
bed.

The colors of my room were deep greens
and earthy blues. The bed was massive, piled with pillows and
covered in a quilt with the shape of a black wolf in the center.
Its frame was carved out of oak logs, and the same pine fresh and
cinnamon smell hung in the room.

Best of all, Chase’s room was right
across the hall.

I took some time to get ready. The
dress I bought was a deep red. It had short sleeves and the skirt
flared out at the waist so that when I spun it whipped around
me.

The final touch was a white cowgirl hat
Millie let me borrow. It matched my boots.

I glossed up my lips, checked myself in
the mirror and headed downstairs.

“
Briar, you look
beautiful.” Millie exclaimed.

I stopped on the bottom stair wringing
my hands. Nerves were getting the best of me. I wanted to bolt.
Would people think I was playing dress up? Trying to look like a
cowgirl when I was just a cheerleader? Well, an
ex-cheerleader?