This Love of Mine (Raine Series #1) (8 page)

"Uh,
I just turned seventeen not too long ago." Her voice was just above a
whisper.

"Look
at you, gettin' all old." I was relieved when she laughed out loud.

"Shut
up, you're one to talk, Mr. Eighteen Year Old." She tilted her head to the
side, exposing one of the most beautiful smiles I think I had ever seen. It
made her whole face light up, and I liked seeing a flicker of her burnt out light,
exposed.

"I
know, god I'm close to retirement age." We both shared a laugh before she
started back in on the inquisition.

"Do
you have a girlfriend?" Even in the dark of night, I could see the
anticipation written all over her face about what I was gonna answer.

"No."
I could have elaborated, but if she really wanted to know more, I'm sure she
would ask.

"Oh."

When she
didn't say more than that, I started in on my question. "How long are you
stayin' with your grandparents?"

She
looked back at me and the light from the moon lit up her face, making my lips
yearn to feel what hers would feel like. I leaned in towards her ear knowing I now
had her full attention. I wanted to go in for the kill, I really did, but the
better part of me convinced myself otherwise. "Are you gonna answer?"
I whispered.

Her
expression turned solemn and I almost regretted asking her, but then she
started to speak. "I'm gonna be here for quite some time. You know it's
getting pretty late, I think maybe I should start heading back."

My heart
dropped. I didn't want our time together to end. It was nice hanging out with
somebody. Especially someone who didn't expect anything from you, or who just
wanted to sleep with you. It was refreshing. She was refreshing.

"I'm
sorry, KJ. I didn't mean to pry."

"No,
it's okay. I'm just starting to get real tired. I had to take some pain
medicine earlier and it's starting to kick my ass. I had fun though. It was
real nice gettin' to know ya, Madison."

"Well
at least you left out the disdain this time when you said my name." I
smiled down at her and then stood. I brushed my hands on my pants just before
reaching out to take her hand and help her up. She stared at me questioningly,
but reached for my hands. When I pulled her up, she stumbled forward, catching
herself as she placed her hands against my chest. I watched, as her eyes grew
large once she saw the closeness of our bodies to one another.

I
wrapped my calloused hands around hers and gently pushed her back a little bit.
I could feel her body humming, just as mine was, but I couldn't do anything
about it. I wanted this girl, in more ways than one, but I didn't want to be
another person in her life to disappoint her when I left. I'm pretty sure this
girl has had enough disappointment to last her for quite awhile.

"Where
did your name come from?" Her voice was heavenly and when she spoke in a
low tone like that, it was all I could hear.

"It
was my mother's maiden name. They thought they were having a girl, but kept it
even when they found out I was a boy."

We
smiled at one another out there in the middle of an open grass field, the
tension building between us. I couldn't tear my eyes away from hers and when I
knew I needed to let her go, I needed a promise of tomorrow. I knew it was
selfish of me, but if I only had two days left being this close to her, I
wanted to take full advantage of it.

"Do
you need me to walk you down the hill?" I asked.

"No,
I think I'll be okay. Will I get to see you again?"

I wasn't
expecting her to ask, let alone actually spend time with her, but it was
definitely a good surprise. "Sure. What are you doin' tomorrow around
noon?" I let a sly smile touch my lips, wondering if she would remember my
favorite time of day.

"Noon
should work. Whatcha wanna do at your favorite time of day?"

"Let's
meet up here again and we can pick up where we are leavin' it for
tonight?"

"That's
sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow Madison Raine." She stood on her tiptoes
and gently pressed her moist lips to my cheek. I let my eyes flutter shut as
the need to touch her grew to epic proportions. When she pulled away, my eyes
were glossed over in a daze. I smiled and turned to walk away. If I didn't walk
away now, I knew I wasn't ever going to be able to.

"Tomorrow."
I shouted.

I slowly
started walking backwards as I watched her perfect figure disappear into the
night. When I could no longer see her, I turned and ran all the way back to the
house. And I thought the next two days were going to be some of the most boring
days of my life. Boy, was I wrong.

When I
reached the unlit porch, I remained quiet as to not wake my grandparents. All
the lights were off inside the house and out, so I assumed I was good as gold.

When the
front porch light flipped on, I almost had a heart attack as I caught sight of
my grandfather's half asleep pajama covered body sitting in the chair at the
end of the porch.

"Sir,
I-"

"I
thought I made myself clear when I said to stay out of that family's business.
Did I not?"

"No
Sir, you did."

"So
ya mind explainin' to me what the heck you were thinkin', or is that just it,
you weren't?"

I could
see the anger in his eyes and I wasn't going to let him ruin one of the best
nights I have had with a girl. "Its not what you think, Sir."

"No?
Because how I see it, you didn't think you had to listen to me, and you went
searchin' for that poor girl. She doesn't need people like you comin' and goin'
in and out of her life."

"It's
not like that Grandpa, I mean Sir. I was just up there smokin' when she came up
to where I was. We just talked. Honest to god, I was goin' to walk away, but
she heard me and asked me to stay." The last part was kind of a lie, but I
was eighteen and didn't need to answer to anyone. "And what do you mean,
people like me?" Now I was starting to get pissed.

"Ah
boy, I just meant people who have no plans of ever makin' a life here. She is
here for good now. She has school to finish and I reckon she won't be movin'
anytime soon. You on the other hand, are leavin' in two days for Arizona and
who knows when you'll be back."

My head
shot up in shock, how did he know that I was leavin'? What the hell. The only
people I had told were Glenn. "How did you find out?" I muttered.

"Sit,
Madison. NOW!" I did as I was told, not wanting to add fuel to the fire by
disobeying him. "Son, I know I'm old, but I ain't dumb or blind. I have
been goin' to every one of your games since you were old enough to start
playin'. When I saw those scouts at your last game, I knew you were goin' to
find somethin' that suited you better than this ranch. I've known since you
graduated, boy. I heard your buddy Glenn talking about it to that one little
lady you was dating not too long ago. Y'all may not be together anymore, but
she has a bit of a trap on her. So Arizona State huh?"

I could
see the sadness creeping into his expression. I didn't want to hurt him, but
this was something I needed to do, for me. "Yes, Sir. Arizona State is
where I'm gonna be playin' ball. I'm due to report to training camp in about
two weeks. I needed the extra time to pack up the house and get everything
ready to go."

"Hmm."
Was all he managed to choke out.

I didn't
expect a longer response. Hell, I didn't even expect him to be happy for me,
but I didn't so much as even get a congratulations. I stood up from my chair
and headed for the door. "Goodnight, Sir."

"Goodnight
Madison."

Kayla

The
mid-morning sun was shining excruciatingly bright through the small open
window. My corneas felt like they were on fire as I tried to see through my
squinted eyes. There was a small breeze moving the old tattered curtain back
and forth and I swear I contemplated getting up, but I had a major Vicodin
hangover. I rolled over on the small bed, pulling the comforter with me and
over my head, when I saw someone sitting in the chair across from me. I shot
straight up and almost started screaming, before I recognized my grandmother's
aging face.

"Holy
hell, Grandma. You just about gave me a heart attack." I clutched my chest
with one hand as I ran my long fingers through my hair.

"Don't
need any of that, now do we." She giggled. "Now get up and get
dressed darlin', we have things to do today."

I nodded
and then quickly remembered that I had made plans to meet Madison at noon.
"Hey Grandma, what time is it?"

"It's
almost eight thirty, now get movin'." She patted my head like a puppy and
I couldn't help but smile.

I knew I
didn't have time for a shower, so I threw on my reserve outfit from my small duffle
bag that I had managed to escape with. It wasn't much, but I was in the country
and I highly doubted anyone cared what I wore. I pulled on the white denim
shorts and canary yellow tank top, before running a brush through my hair and
brushing my teeth. Because I was seeing Madison later, I swiped a bit of
mascara on my lashes and headed out. I had left my house with my converse
shoes, but I remembered that last summer my grandma had bought me a new pair of
cowboy boots that she kept tucked away in the hall closet for when I came to
visit. I searched my room for a pair of clean socks, but came up empty handed.
I guess I'll have to ask good ol' grandma for a pair.

"Hey
Grandma, I don't have a clean pair of socks, can I bo-" I was half way
down the stairs when I caught sight of another older lady sitting at the dining
room table with my grandmamma. "I'm sorry, I didn't know we had
company." My grandmamma came rushing over to me as I hobbled the rest of
the way down the remaining steps.

"Let
me help you, dear. This is Lydia Raine. She and Jasper own the adjoining farm
just up over the hill. Lydia this is my granddaughter, Kayla Anne."

I walked
the remaining two feet over to shake Lydia's hand. "Pleasure to meet you,
Mrs. Raine."

"Likewise
Kayla, and please call me Lydia."

I smiled
and nodded as I took the seat across from Lydia and next to my grandmamma. I
couldn't help but notice how much Madison looked like his grandmother. The
resemblance between the two of them was uncanny. I found myself staring at
Lydia, in a way that surprised me.

I felt
drawn to her, almost as much as I felt it with my own grandmamma. Something
about her made me feel comfortable and at ease. She was a lovely woman and
looked to be at least ten years younger than Madison's grandfather. Her hair
was a soft shade of white and she had it loosely pulled back into a low bun.
Her face looked weathered, but not overly so. Her big green eyes stood out
among all of her features, and her lips were almost as full as Angelina
Jolie's. She was beautiful and I could only imagine what she had looked like
when she was younger.

My
attention was quickly brought back to the present conversation when I heard my grandmamma
ask her about Madison. Up until this point, neither had said his name. My
grandmamma was askin' about his plans now that he had graduated and I was
extremely interested in her answer.

"I'm
not sure about that boy, I tell ya. He says him and his band have a few shows
to do and that's why he can't stay the full summer like usual. I'm okay with
it, but Harold, not so much. He thinks that poor boy needs more discipline, but
I say you're only young once, so ya might as well do something exciting and
fun. I know Harold had a long conversation with him last night, after he had
come back to the house. Maybe he got some more information from him."

Her and
my grandmamma both took a sip of their sweet tea, as I reached over for a piece
of pie that had been previously cut. Just as my fingers grazed the glass plate,
I felt a cool hand slap down on it.

"You
can have some pie, after you have some breakfast."

I smiled
a weak smile, as visions of my mother broke through my head. I knew my grandmamma
meant no harm, but it was the action in itself that had me feeling jittery. I
excused myself and stood to grab myself a bowl of cereal, when my grandmamma
caught me by the wrist. I cringed as pain shot up through my arm.

"I'm
sorry dear, come back and have some pie. No reason to let it go to waste."
She winked up at me and I knew she realized what her small action had done.

I sat
back down and started forking bites full of blueberry pie into my oversaturated
mouth. I was famished and I swear I could've eaten the whole thing given the
chance. I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten anything. I
concentrated on my pie as Lydia and my grandmamma continued on with their
conversation as though I wasn't even there.

"When
will Madison be leavin' us?" My grandmamma's voice was curt, but sweet all
rolled in one.

"Tomorrow
will be his last day with us." Lydia responded.

I looked
up at her through my lashes, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. I
wasn't sure if I was supposed to be hangin' out with Madison, so I kept my
opinion to myself. I was surprised he hadn't mentioned that he was leaving last
night, not that I would have remembered anyway. Still, I knew he was going to
be trouble, just like my momma had warned me so long ago, but I refused to
believe that he was that cruel to start something with me and then just up and
leave.