The McCree's Star Spangled 4th (2 page)

I had to prepare myself. It was
possible I’d have to tell my mom off. That she wouldn’t be welcome
on my ranch unless she learned to accept my relationship with
Briar.

I hoped it didn’t come to
that.

I knew my mom though, and if she wanted
to say something, she’d say it.

“
It’s open,” Briar called
back.

She was still in the bathroom. I
crossed the room to her dresser, wondering if I should change into
something more relaxed. I had on a blue button up shirt and my best
black jeans. I’d shined up my boots. Put on my best black hat.
“They’ll be pulling up any minute.”

“
I know.” Her sigh drifted
from behind me. I watched her brush her teeth in the mirror over
the dresser as I tucked in my shirt. “I can’t wait to see
grandma.”

“
Yeah, I already miss the
old bird.”

She laughed, coming out in a jeans
skirt and red frilly shirt. Her wild blonde curls were tamed back
by a few clips. She didn’t straighten her hair anymore. I loved it.
But the important thing was that she loved it too. I never wanted
or asked her to change for me. She just evolved, naturally. Every
day I noticed little things were different, and she was so much
more confident now. She didn’t hide behind fancy clothes and
makeup. She was just being herself. I loved her more than I’d
thought possible. “Chase, if you keep staring at me like that,
we’re going to be late to meet everyone.”

“
Fine by me.” I grinned,
giving her glossy lips a kiss. Some things about her hadn’t
changed, and I loved that too. “What’s that smell?”

“
It’s perfume my mom brought
me from France.”

Hell, it was a good thing she didn’t
wear that every day, or I’d never be able to think about anything
else. It was like, cinnamon, and vanilla, and heaven. “I like
it.”

“
Oh, no cowboy. I spent an
hour getting ready.” She slipped out of my grip and scampered
around to the other side of the room, putting the bed between us.
“Chase, stop grinning at me like that.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets and
rocked back on my heels. “Can’t help it.”

She blushed, “Yes you can.”

“
Come back over here and let
me kiss you again.” I edged closer, and she backed up, trying not
to smile.

“
I think I hear a
truck…”

I stole a glance out the window. The
drive was empty. “Come on, I dare you.”

“
Chase,” I moved around to
her side and dove for her. She hoped onto the bed and crawled
across, but I was a little faster and snagged her bare foot.
“No!”

I tickled her foot and she squealed,
giggling. “Come on, one kiss?”

She rolled over and blew her hair out
of her eyes. “One.”

I climbed onto the bed, hovering over
her. She had her arms crossed and her mouth was pursed in a pout.
But I took that one kiss and ran with it. We were playing with
fire. She loved it as much as I did.

A horn sounded in the yard and we leapt
apart, laughing. She pulled on her white boots and fixed her hair.
“Are you going to put on a belt?”

“
Damn,” I ran back to my
room and grabbed one with a buckle that had the McCree emblem on
it. I put it on as we headed downstairs, and had it buckled just as
a truck parked in the yard. Jerry was probably giving my mom a
rundown of everything that had changed since she left.

Briar slipped her hand into mine,
holding on tight. “It’s going to be fun. Right?”

“
Nothing to worry about,” I
winked at her as we headed down the steps to meet the truck in the
yard. The dogs barreled past us, barking excitedly to meet our
visitors.

Todd was in the front seat next to
Jerry. He didn’t bother holding in his apprehension. He eyed the
dogs as he opened the passenger’s side door as if they were rabid
wolves.

I brought my fingers to my lips and
whistled, shouting for them to go inside the house.

Six pairs of eyes met mine. The dogs
quieted, and then slipped up the porch, heading into the kitchen
via the open door.

“
They don’t bite,” I told
Todd as he put his feet on the ground.

He nodded, holding his overnight bag to
his chest. “Great, tell them not to eat my shoes.”

Grant came up beside me and snorted,
eyeing my lawyer stepfather. “Where did your mamma find that
clown?”

“
He’s a nice guy,” I said
under my breath. “Just a little different.”

“
Uh, sure.” Grant scratched
his red beard and tipped his hat back. “Twenty bucks says I’ll make
a man outta him before he leaves.”

“
I’ll take that bet.” Briar
said next to me and shook his hand. “You’ve got two
days.”

“
Briar baby!” grandma hopped
out into the dirt, her socks jingling. She hobbled as fast as she
could to grasp Briar in a hug. She was wearing denim overalls and a
red checkered shirt. Must have been trying to dress like a farmer,
all theme like. Damn, I was glad Briar didn’t get her style from
the old girl. “I missed you.”

“
I missed you too!” Briar
cried.

I scooped the little woman up in a hug.
“Hi, Grandma.”

“
Now that’s my kind of
hello,” Her boney hand patted my back. “Hefting all those hay bales
does you good, honey.”

I tried not to blush and set her back
down next to Briar. “Uh, thanks.”

My mom got out of the truck last. She
looked, well, stunned. I hugged her, giving Todd’s hand a shake.
“How was your flight?”

“
Fine,” she smiled, eyeing
the yard around us. “It looks exactly the same.”

“
Yeah, we’re not much for
changing around here.” I took her bag and started for the house.
She was quiet, and a little wary, probably wondering how welcome
she’d be. It was one thing to talk on the phone. Being on the ranch
in person was bound to dredge up old memories. Some painful. It
wasn’t all sunshine and happiness. My mom’s last days on the ranch
had been strained and full of uncomfortable silence. My dad hadn’t
wanted her to leave, and she didn’t care enough to stay.

“
Oh my God…Briar?” my mom
stopped dead.

“
Hi, Mrs.
Carter.”

I glanced between my mom and my
girlfriend. Briar looked nervous, biting her lips. My mom was
floored. Her eyes were wide and face full of surprise. Briar didn’t
look like the city princess anymore. That’s how my mom remembered
her. Perfect straight hair, tons of makeup, ridiculously expensive
clothes…a different person.

She was free as a wildflower now. Pink
cheeks. Bright, clear eyes that were the greenest I’d ever seen
them. Her hair had a mind of its own. I loved her and she loved me.
The city princess had a little country girl inside her. Something
in her clicked with something in me. She made me crazy in the best
way. Even ran around barefoot in the yard and swam in the
lake.

Yep, Briar was exactly the girl she was
supposed to be.

And my mom hadn’t expected
that.

“
Briar?” my mom said again,
looking her up and down. “I almost didn’t recognize
you.”

“
Yeah, I’ve changed a
little.” She smiled and said hello to Todd. My stepfather loved
Briar. He seemed to think we’d made a good decision.

If my mom shared his point of view,
this holiday would go a lot smoother.

But I knew once we headed into the
house, this was going to be the longest two days of my
life.

Briar

“
I hope you’re hungry,”
Millie said, laying out things for sandwiches, and a plate of
cookies Chase and I baked. He was pretty good in the kitchen as
long as there were clear directions to follow.

“
I can eat, no problem.”
Todd loaded up this plate with the rest of us. “My modeling days
are long over.”

“
Modeling…what the fu—”
Grant glanced at me and his eyebrows went high.

“
Seriously?” Chase glared,
looking like he wanted to bing Grant over the head with a roll,
rather than make a sandwich. “Just drop it.”

“
Two days…” I smiled at
Grant.

He nodded. “I got this, trust
me.”

“
So what’s on the
itinerary?” Mrs. Carter asked, keeping her smile in place as she
looked at me like I was some sort of stranger. “I heard something
about a party on the way over.”

“
It’s the Fourth of July,”
Chase sat next to me at the table and finished half his food before
I could even think about eating mine. “While our party isn’t as big
as the Callahan dance, it’s still crazy enough to last most of the
night.”

It was hard to eat and be worried at
the same time, but I started on a cookie. “Chase and I were
thinking we’d take you horseback riding this afternoon.”

Mrs. Carter sipped her lemonade and her
eyes flickered with something I didn’t understand. “You
ride?”

“
Yes,” I smiled. “Quite
well.”

“
She’s got herself a half
wild mustang.” Jerry grinned, taking a seat at the head of the
table. “Firefly wouldn’t let anyone near her at first, except
Briar. That horse loves the stuffin’ outta her.”

“
Sounds like you’re fitting
right in,” Mrs. Carter was focused on her plate now, and not
me.

I wanted to melt under the table and
join the dogs. No one was paying them any attention. “I love it
here. Chase is going to teach me to shoot next.”

Todd’s head snapped up and he grinned.
“Now that sounds like fun. I’ve never shot a gun
before.”

“
I could set up a few
targets behind the house.” Grant offered, giving me a wink. “You
and Briar can start learning together.”

I could feel Mrs. Carter’s eyes boring
a hole into me. I didn’t look at her. “And you’re parents
approve?”

Why couldn’t she just be happy for me
and Chase? “My parents don’t care.”

“
This is the most
entertaining lunch I’ve ever been to,” Grandma chimed from my left.
“Say, do you have anything to spice up this lemonade?”

Oh, good God. I gave Jerry’s leg a
nudge under the table and shook my head before he could tell her
where the liquor cabinet was. He took the hint and told her
no.

We finished lunch, and I helped Millie
clean up while Chase got his mom and Todd settled in a guest room.
Grant got four horses ready to ride, and had them lined up in the
yard.

I was already seated on Ash, ready to
ride when Chase came out of the house. Firefly was still a little
timid for me to take out of the yard. It took Todd a couple tries,
but he was on Gunther, an older Appalachian that would be easy for
him to ride. Chase helped his mom onto Ruby. She didn’t look at all
happy to be on a horse.

Chase swung up behind me. His mother
stared at us, but I merely smiled at her and took the reins. Grant
rode alongside Todd, showing him how to ride. I watched Chase’s mom
out of the corner of my eye. Chase gave her a few tips, but it was
clear she’d done this before.

We picked up the pace a bit, taking to
the west, around a pasture to see some cows. It was clear, blue
skies and a warm breeze the whole way. Then we looped back, passing
the lake on the way to the house.

“
Can we go a little faster?”
Todd asked, clearly having fun. He looked like a big kid and not an
ex model lawyer for once.

“
Mom, you okay with picking
up the pace?” Chase asked.

She nodded, looking right ahead at the
flat expanse of field. “Just make sure he doesn’t break anything
important.”

I laughed, but she wasn’t
joking.

So I shut my mouth and handed Chase the
reins. I was fine speeding up, but the most I did was a nice
trot.

I leaned back against Chase’s chest and
settled my hands on his knees, curling my fingers into the fabric
of his jeans. He anchored one arm around me and gave Ash the
order.

We flew.

I loved it.

Ash’s hooves hit the ground, jostling
us, thundering like a massive storm. The ground disappeared, a blur
of green under us as Chase jumped over a bush. Ash trotted, shaking
his head and pounding his hooves, clearly pleased with himself. I
patted him, smoothing his mane of gray hair. My chest was heaving.
I was panting from the excitement, and holding my breath half the
time.

Chase turned us and we saw Todd riding
right next to Grant, a big grin on his face. He stopped a ways from
us, and let out a whoop of excitement. “Honey, we may have to get a
horse.”

Chase’s mom hadn’t urged Ruby into a
full run, but she was heading towards us at a pretty good
clip.

My mouth dropped open when she sped up
and took Ruby in an elegant jump over the bush.

She didn’t smile, merely shrugged.
“Looks like I’ve still got it.”

Grant grinned, bringing his horse next
to Ash. “What do you say we start shooting lessons after
dinner?”