Loving Charley (20 page)

Guiding me to the
passenger side, he opens the door and helps me in before closing it
and hustling to the driver’s side. I’m not close enough to him, so
I slide to the middle seat. He gives me a wry grin before cranking
the truck and driving away from the farm. I
wonder where we are going?

As if reading my mind, he
answers, “Char, we’re going to the club in a little bit, but I just
wanted to take a ride with you.”

“It’s your night. Whatever
you want,” I say as I lay my head on his shoulder.

We ride around Grassy
Pond, out to the edge of town, and back around. Just when I think
that he’s going to return to the farm, he surprises me by going to
Dixon High.
Now, I’m confused.
Pulling into the student parking lot, he parks in
his old spot and turns off the engine.

“Char-coal, do you remember the last
time we were in this spot?”

Taking a minute, I recall
an abundance of memories of this spot, but the last time we sat
here like this was the last day of Cash’s senior year. Our
birthdays are a little over a year apart, and he was always one
step ahead of me. It worked out to my advantage for tests, figuring
out teachers, and having someone that had been there already. But…
the last time we sat in this spot… that was the moment I knew Cash
loved me.

“Yeah, I remember,” I
answer softly.

“Whatcha remember?” he asks
as he turns to look at me.

“I remember the final bell
ringing for summer and hurrying to catch my ride home. I wonder who
that was?” I say sarcastically. “But, when I got out here, you were
talking to Dylan.”

“And…” he says, probing for
more.

“Y’all both looked like you
were up to no good. I had been seeing Dylan for a few months, and
you knew Dad didn’t allow him to bring me home. He only let you.
You gave Dylan and me a moment before I came to get into the truck,
and then you said words that pissed me off back then.”

“What did I tell you,
Char-coal?” he questions as he holds my hand.

Taking a moment to think
of the exact words, I feel my stomach begin to churn.
Ohmygawsh! Cash knew!
“You said that you didn’t trust him as far as you could throw
him and to watch out for him. You said something about him being a
guy with a hidden agenda, and I thought you were being an ass.” I
feel the heat begin to rise, as I look Cash dead in the eyes. “Did
you know he was like that?” Cash doesn’t answer. “I
said
did you know he was
like that?”

“No, Char-coal, I didn’t
really know. You know guys talk, and I had heard he was a take what
he wanted kinda guy, but I didn’t know anything for sure. I just
had a really bad feeling about him. Every time he talked to me
about you, it was almost as if he was digging for information or
that he was trying to replace me. That day he pretty much told me
you were going to put out for him, and I let him know real quick
you weren’t like that. That’s what you walked up on. I should have
done more to protect you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I
ask as I place my hand on his strong forearm.

Turning to look me in the
eyes, he answers, “Do you really think you woulda listened? You
were stuck so far up his ass it was ridiculous. I loved you with my
whole heart, and there was no way I was going to lose our
friendship over a battle I couldn’t win back then.”

Taking a moment to myself,
I don’t answer him. The thought that Cash knew in his heart that
Dylan was going to hurt me kills me a little inside. I’m not going
to say I blame him for any of it. All those choices were mine, but
I just wish I wouldn’t have been so crazy in love with the devil
himself. Finally, I tell Cash what I think.

“Now that I look back on
it, I realize how much you loved me, but I don’t like the fact that
you knew he was gonna hurt me. I mean, I understand. I wish I
wouldn’t have been so stupid, but bless, you dealt with all my
wanna be with Dylan Sloan moments, stayed by my side, didn’t kill
him about the incident, and I left you! What guy lets a girl do
that to him?”

Looking into my eyes, Cash
answers, “A guy that’s madly in love with a girl. I’ve known you
were my forever since the day you bet me a PB&J dinner if you
caught the bigger fish. I lost, and we’ve made PB&J’s our
traditional meal ever since.”

Sharply, I reply, “Cash, we
were twelve. You knew then?”

“Yeah, I’ve always known
that you were more than just my best friend, but in that moment,
you stole my heart and the biggest fish in the pond. I knew I had
the perfect girl for me, and I’d be damned if I let you
go.”

“But, you did… you let me
go,” I say in a whisper.

Before taking my hand, he
grazes my cheek. “Char-coal, I never let you go. Instead, I let you
grow your wings and fly. I’ve been beside you every step of the
way. Sometimes I wanted to shake the hell outta ya, tell you
exactly how I felt, and grow a pair, I guess you’d say. Hell, some
people probably think I’m a softy for letting you do it, but I know
you. The more you push, the farther you run, and I never wanted to
be far when you chose to run back to your forever.”

“Don’t ever let me run
again,” I say as I eliminate the distance between us, and happy
tears begin to trickle down my cheeks as our lips meet. We now have
a new memory that’s about us, and no one else. Between kisses, I
whisper to him, “Can we get outta here?”

Without a word, he turns on
the ignition, and almost as if someone’s looking out for us, our
song comes through the radio. “Hey, Cash Money?” He looks at me.
“You know you can crash my party anytime, right?”

“Oh, I plan on it.” He puts
the truck in drive, and we make our way to the club.

As we reach the club, I
notice a car behind us. “Cash, do you see that?” I say with fear in
my voice.

“That car? Yeah, it’s made
every turn with us. I just thought they might be going on down the
road,” he says, trying to shake away my worry.

Looking at him like he
can’t be serious, I ask, “What are we going to do?”

“I guess I’ll stop at your parents and
see if they follow us.”

“Or we could call the
police? I don’t want any trouble tonight,” I state.

“Me either. Let’s just see
who it is.” Cash pulls to the edge of my gravel driveway before
waiting for the car to pass, but we realize all too quickly that
it’s not going to pass. We can see Trent in the driver’s
seat.
Shit. Double Shit.
Cash looks at me, and I call my dad.

Within seconds, I see Dad’s
headlights coming our way. Cash goes to open the door, but I stop
him. “Please don’t.” He shakes me off and steps out of the truck. I
hear another door slam and see Trent standing in front of Cash,
trying to act like he’s someone with power. Cash keeps his ground,
though. The closer that Dad’s headlights approach, the louder Trent
gets, and the harder my chest beats out of my chest.

“Hey, Trent. What’s goin’
on?” Cash asks in a friendly manner.

“I think you know damn well what’s
going on.” Trent seethes through his teeth.

“Nah, I really don’t know why you’re
tore up out the frame and following us.”

“I know what you did. I know that you
tried to make me look like a fool. There ain’t no way in hell I’m
going to jail over some stupid girls.”

“Dude, seriously, you’re
not going to jail. Yeah, you have been doing some stupid shit, and
Dustin and I have played you like the fool you are, but nothing’s
gonna happen if you get your shit together. You’re a good guy and
all this stuff y’all been doing is crazy. Don’t you wanna make
something of yourself? Get outta this town?”

Trent just laughs wickedly
at Cash. “I’m never getting outta this town. None of us are. You
know that as much as I do. Look at you just working on the farm
with Daddy. Yeah, that’s real grown up.”

“I don’t even know why I’m
talkin’ to you right now.
This
makes no sense,” Cash says as he remains
calm.

As they continue to banter
back and forth, I see Trent pull something from his coat.
Ohmygosh, no!
Quickly, I
dial 9-1-1, asking for the police because nothing good is going to
come of this.

Unable to hold myself back,
I jump from the truck. “Cash, watch out!” I scream as Trent points
the gun at me.

“You little bitch! You
couldn’t leave well enough alone. You had to tell Blanton what was
going on, too! How the hell am I supposed to make a living? Dylan
should have left you alone before y’all even started.” I stand
frozen and hear my dad’s truck turn off.

“Son, I suggest you put
that away. There’s no need in all of that. Put it away, get into
the car, and never look back. We will forget this happened, but if
you pull that trigger, I’m beating you to it,” he says with his
shotgun cocked and aimed directly at Trent. “What’s it gonna be,
Son?” Dad asks as he steps closer. We can hear sirens in the
distance. Trent slowly drops his gun before stepping toward the
car.

As three police cars
approach the farm, Trent speeds off, and Dad puts away his gun. All
but one pursues him. The last officer stops and questions us. Once
he has enough information, he leaves.

“Charley Anne, are you
okay?” Dad asks me before looking at Cash for confirmation that
he’s okay as well.

“Yeah, I’m okay. We’re just
getting ready to go to the club,” I inform him.

“Like hell you are. Not
after that. Y’all can go to our house or the Montgomery’s, but
you’re not going out there alone tonight.” Disappointment spreads
across Cash’s face. “Cash, I didn’t say you had to leave. You’re
just not taking her there tonight.”
Did my
dad just tell Cash he could sleep over?
“I’m no idiot, but I trust you both. Tomorrow’s a different
day for all of us, and if it was your mama and me, I wouldn’t leave
her for a minute.” Hearing my dad compare us to mom and him warms
my heart.

Rushing to my dad, I hug
him tightly. “Thank you, Dad! I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now,
Cash, call your parents, and y’all get to the house.”

“Yes, sir,” Cash
replies.

Once the truck is in Dad’s
view, he goes inside, and Cash calls his parents. Then, we make our
way into the house. I have to say that this is the weirdest feeling
I’ve ever experienced. Never in a million years would I have
thought my dad would have allowed Cash to spend the night. We take
a few minutes to talk to Mama and Tessa, grab a snack, and then go
to my room.

Tessa is hot on our trail.
“What the hell happened out there?” she asks. I give her a brief
play-by-play, and she tells us about her night with Dustin as she
makes herself comfortable on the floor in my room.

“What are you doin’?” I ask
her.

“You didn’t really think
Dad was going to leave you two alone all night, did
you?”

“Well, yeah, I did,” I
state confidently.

“You’re right. I just
wanted to see your reaction.” Throwing a pillow at her, she ducks,
sticks her tongue out, and then makes a break for her
room.

Cash and I laugh as I fall
comfortably into his arms. We watch my favorite movie and drift off
to sleep as soon as the credits begin to play.

When the sun starts to
rise, Cash begins to stir. He has his own internal alarm clock.
“Char-coal, I gotta get home,” he says as he moves my hair from my
face.

“Really?” I
pout.

He looks at me like I can’t
be serious. Then, it hits me, and I jump up. Today’s the day. My
breathing begins to increase, and panic sets in.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he says
as he pulls me to his chest, and I take slow, deep breaths, and
savor the last few moments I have with him. As he kisses the top of
my head, I pull away and look at him. “Don’t do that. It’s going to
be okay.”

“I know, but I’m scared for all of
us.”

“There’s no reason to be scared. I’ll
be there for you, and you’ll be there for me. Remember we’re in
this together… forever.”

Cash and I spend a few
minutes together in silence before he makes the first move to go
home. While trying to hide my emotions, I don’t cry, but leave him
with a kiss that says it all.

“I love you, Charley Anne
Rice, and when today is over, I plan on never leaving your
side.”

“I love you more than life
itself, Cash Porter Montgomery.” I walk him downstairs and to his
truck. After backing away, I try not to watch him drive away. This
isn’t the last time that he leaves my driveway, but it is the last
time he will leave with a possibility of not returning.

I see him turn toward his
farm and continue to watch until I can’t see him anymore. I stand
there motionless, watching the dust settle on the road until arms
embrace me from behind. Turning, I know that it’s Tessa, and I fall
apart in her arms once again.

Chapter 26

Tessa pulls me to the porch swing, and we sit as
I cry. She doesn’t say a word; she’s my rock. When I feel that I
can’t cry anymore, I wipe the tears on my sleeves. “Thanks,
Tess.”