Covering the Carolinas (53 page)

“
Just thinkin’ about when J and I came here
when we were younger. We used to have the best time
here.”

“
I bet.” As Cole puts the truck into park, I
throw open the door and take off running. I know the game, and
Jordyn does as well, because she’s neck and neck with me as we make
our way to the door. As she tries to slide me out of the way to get
to the lock, I tell her that’s not fair. When the knob is turned, I
push her out of the way and laugh as I hurry to the
lookout.

“
Rae! I’m callin’ it!” she yells as I hear her
trying to catch up.

“
No, first one there gets it,” I say as I find
the ladder and hustle to the top. As I look out onto the woods
around us, I’m taken back in time to when Jordyn and I fought to
see who got the view first when we arrived. Needless to say, I won
most of the time. She always was in a pair of heels, even as a
kid.

Lying on my back, I look around to
see this beautiful world in which we live. Even without the leaves
on the trees, it’s breathtaking
. I’m quickly brought
out of my euphoria.

“
Girl, you are always beating me!” Jordyn says
out of breath.

“
Leave the heels at
home,
Diva
, and you might stand a chance.” I laugh as the rest of the
gang greets us.

“
Y’all care to explain
that
craziness?” Cole asks.
Of course, he’s acting like the adult because he is
one.

“
Come on up and find out,” I
say. They all crawl up into the space while we sit with our legs
crossed. Jordyn and I watch as they feel what we have
felt
over and over through the
years.

“
This is amazing,” Tammy says. “It’s like you
are in your own perfect bubble looking out onto this beautiful
world.”

“
Yes, it is,” I chime in.

“
So, why did y’all take
off
running like crazy people?” Cole
asks.

Jordyn smiles at me, and I let her take it from
here. “See, when we were kids, this was our favorite spot. Who am I
kidding? It still is, but we always raced to see who would get to
see it first.”

Emmett raises his hand like he’s in class. “Yes,
Em,” I say with a cackle. “You know you don’t have to raise your
hand, right?”

“
Look, after that, I’m not sure what y’all are
gonna do next. But, I have one question. Please, tell me you didn’t
tackle the adults to get here first?”

“
No! We’d let my daddy get
the door open, and then we’d jump from the car. He knew the game,
and he got out of our way real
quick
.”

“
Yeah, except that time your mama had him come
back out to help her get the groceries. He got caught in the J and
Rae storm.”

Jordyn and I laugh like little kids, but stop
abruptly when we realize everyone else doesn’t find it as funny. “I
guess you had to have been there,” I say with a shrug. They all nod
in agreement before making their way back down the ladder.

When Emmett starts to move, I grab his arm and tell
him to hold on. Then, I hear Jordyn yell at us, “No fooling around
up there!”

“
Aw, hush!” I yell back at her. I pat the spot
next to me, and he slides beside me. I lie back with my arm behind
my head, and he does the same. We don’t say a word. I want him to
experience this with me—peace inside and outside of my
soul.

Emmett

As I lie here with Raegan, my
heart feels like it is beating out of my chest. My mom always told
me when you find the one to never let her go, and in this moment,
with God’s beautiful Earth surrounding me, I
know
she’s the one. I don’t
interrupt the perfect stillness between us; instead,
I
wait for her to tell me what to do next. When she doesn’t say
anything, I find her hand and guide my fingers between
hers.

“
Em, can we stay here forever?”

“
I’d love that, but staying hidden from others
isn’t what this world is about. It’s about letting your light shine
for the world to see. You are a light worth shining, and I’m
not
letting you hide in this perfect
bubble.”

She rolls to her side. “Do you always know the
perfect things to say to me?”

“
No, it’s just what I feel
in my heart.” And, that’s the truth
in a
nutshell.

Chapter 36

Raegan

“
Hey, Lovebirds! Y’all comin’ down? We gotta
case of beer and s’mores to make!” I
shake
my head as we sit up.

“
We’re comin’!” I yell back, and then we make
our way downstairs.

Our night is filled with fun by
the
campfire with country music blaring, ooey gooey
goodness on our hands from the s’mores, and reminiscing over the
year. When Cole, Emmett, or I talk, we never mention Grandaddy’s
cancer. It’s in the past and will stay there.

As everyone begins to turn in for the
night,
Emmett and I remain by the fire. He
holds me tightly. We don’t talk, but we enjoy just being together.
When the flames begin to diminish, we make our way toward the house
and to bed.

As the sun rises, I wake to the
sound of light snoring, and I realize I’m not at home but in
Emmett’s arms.
Gosh, I could wake up like
this every day.
When I try to move from
him, he squeezes me to his body.

“
I’m not lettin’ you go,” he says.

“
Well, you better or I’m gonna pee on ya!” I
state bluntly.

“
Oh, well,” he says as he begins to tickle
me.

“
Stop, Em! Pleaseeeee. Oh gosh! Please!” I
say, and when he realizes I’m not joking, he lets me go, and I
sprint to the restroom. As I walk back toward him, I shake my head.
“That wasn’t funny.”

“
I thought it was hilarious. Oh, and your
phone rang.” He tosses it to me, and I see I have a missed call
from Grandaddy. I hurry to call him back.

“
Morning, Grandaddy,” I say when he picks up.
He lets me know he’s doing great, and the farm is perfect. He then
proceeds to tell me to behave myself but to have fun. We end the
call after he tells me he loves me, and he expects me to be home by
mid-afternoon Sunday.

“
Is everything okay?” Emmett questions when I
hang up.

“
Yeah, he sounded great, actually, better than
great,” I say as I crawl back into his arms, and we doze off for
another hour.

When the sun begins to burn through the window, we
decide to quit wasting the day and hit the slopes. We all load up
and make our way to Sugar Mountain. I’m not much of a skier, but
I’m worth a good laugh, that’s for sure.

By the time lunch rolls around, I’m no longer on the
slope. I’m sitting in a rocking chair with hot chocolate, watching
as everyone flies down the mountain. As the sun begins to hide
behind the mountain, everyone decides to come in and join me.

“
You’ve been
here
all
afternoon?” Emmett asks.

“
Yup, there’s nothing like a
roaring
fire and hot chocolate to make it
through the afternoon.” He smiles and bends down to the rocking
chair to meet my lips. “Y’all ready to go
?”

“
Yeah, Cole’s gone to get the truck.” We make
our way to meet Cole and the rest of the gang. We stop and pick up
something to grill for supper and then head back to the
house.

We sit outside by the fire, waiting for Ridge to
grill the steaks as the music bleeds through the speakers on the
patio. This is absolutely perfect. As if Emmett is reading my mind,
he walks up behind me and pulls me close. He whispers into my ear,
“I love you.”

I turn to face him, “I love you, too.”

After supper, we gather around the fire for more
s’mores and a small round of Truth or Dare. Needless to say, by the
end of the night, I’ve learned more about these five than I’ve ever
wanted to know. I’m definitely not going to look at Cole ever the
same again.

When the sun rises, I snuggle closer to Emmett,
because who knows when we will ever be able to do this again.
Around eleven o’clock, we finally make our way out of the sheets
and downstairs. Everyone is lounging on the front porch, laughing,
and having a great time before heading home.

After we eat a bite of breakfast, we get ready and
then pack to head home. As I fold my clothes into my bag, I glance
up to see Emmett staring at me.

“
See somethin’ you like?” I tease.

“
Of course, but you know tomorrow is gonna be
rough.”

“
Whatcha mean?”

“
Not waking up to you in my arms. I don’t know
how I’ll ever sleep again.” I shake my head and smile.

“
I’m sure you’ll figure
out
something.” I smirk.

“
Yeah, it’s called sneaking into your bedroom
window after Mr. Lowery has gone to bed.”

“
Uh, I don’t think so. He’d kill us
both.”

As he approaches me, he takes the shirt from my hand
and throws it onto the top of the bag. He takes one arm and pulls
me in to him before placing his forehead on mine. “Raegan, I know
that would never work with him, but it was worth a try. I hope you
know how much you mean to me.” I smile in agreement. “Also, know
you’re never walkin’ outta my life again.”

“
I don’t want to,” I say as I meet his
eyes.

“
Good.” He kisses me like
his life depends on it. “Come on. Let me help you finish. You know
they’re waitin’ on us,” he says.
How is it that
guys can pack in one
bag?
We finish packing my things and then head to
Cole’s truck. As we drive down the driveway toward
the main road, I glance over my shoulder and see
the top of the house. Oh, how I wish I could stay in that
bubble.

Emmett

As we drive down the road, it is
very evident that Raegan has something on her mind. What, I’m not
sure, but I don’t say anything to her. Instead, I wrap my arm
around her shoulder and kiss the top of her head. Cole and Tammy
begin to have a war over radio stations, and as soon as I
hear
her
song, I
put a stop to it.

“
Cole, leave it right there,” I say as Raegan
looks up to me and smiles. “Are you gonna sing it for us or what?”
I ask her.

“
Maybe with a little help
from you.” She winks.
Gosh, I
freakin’ love this girl.
As she begins to
sing, I jump in there with her. Cole and Tammy look at us like
we
have totally lost it, but it’s not until the chorus
that I realize how this song is exactly how I feel about Raegan
Lowery. Two nights of her in my
favorite
t-shirt reaching over me has done me in, and I wouldn’t trade it
for a million bucks. As the song ends, she
leans up
and kisses my lips. We are brought back to reality when Cole tells
us he can get us a room.

Chapter 37

Raegan

When we arrive back at the farm,
Emmett helps me with my bags as we go into the house. “Grandaddy,
I’m home!” I holler as I shut the door. Emmett takes my bag to my
room as I walk through the house looking for Grandaddy.
He’s nowhere. That’s strange.
“Grandaddy!” I yell a little louder. After I search the
entire house, I look to make sure his truck is parked
outside.
It is.
My heart begins to
race. I check the back
porch.
Nope.
Hurrying back inside, I run smack into Emmett’s chest. “I
don’t know where he is,” I state with fear teetering in my
voice.

He wraps his arms around me. “Rae, it’s okay. He’s
’round here somewhere.” We walk outside to meet Cole, and he must
notice the fear in my eyes because he jumps out of the truck and
runs toward me.

“
Cole, I don’t know where he is! He’s not in
the house or on the back porch.” Cole’s eyes begin to scan the
perimeter, and he notices the door to the barn is ajar. He points,
and I take off running with Cole and Emmett hot on my tracks.
“Grandaddy!” I yell once again as I open the door, but I’m not
prepared for what is before me. Grandaddy is stooped over and
barely catching his breath. I rush to his side. “What’s wrong?” I
question. He just shakes his head that he’s fine, but deep down I
know he’s not.

“
Cole, let’s give them a minute,” Emmett says,
and they exit the barn.

“
Grandaddy, what’s wrong?” I ask as tears
threaten my eyes.

“
I’m fine, Sunshine,” he says.

I want to know what is going on,
but when I look at his legs, I see the obvious. They are
swelling.
Oh my gosh. It’s back. His
cancer is back.
I shake my head no, and he
pulls me into his chest. “Please, tell me I’m wrong,” I beg. He
doesn’t say a word. He just lets me cry in his arms, and if I
thought the first round was unbearable
, there are no
words to describe the
storm that is
brewing inside.