Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 2) (6 page)

By the end of practice, I’m ticked off that
she didn’t let us work on our duet and I’m sure it’s obvious. She
calls me over and informs me to drop the attitude and we will get
to it later this week. I shake it off, grab my bag, and wait for
Jade at the door.

“What’s the deal?” Jade says as we get in
the car.

“What kind of practice was that? I could
have done that at home,” I state.

“True, but would you?” she laughs. She has a
point. I would not have.

The next few days all I do is visit Daisy,
see Barrick in passing, go to school, and dance my ass off. I swear
I should move to the studio. It would save so much time.

By the end of the week, we are finally
working on cleaning up our routines and I show her what I
choreographed. Ms. Lyndsay is impressed, but asks me to make a few
changes. The biggest change is the music, and it throws me off.

“Alright girls, let’s try
this song. Just follow the counts.” It’s nothing I’d dance to and
I’m about to tell her but I keep my mouth shut when I look over at
Jade, who is counting the beats. She gives me a look that tells
me
we got this
and
I’m amazed by how well it works. This is it. Ms. Lyndsay’s ideas
are unique and that’s just what Jade and I need to stand out. I may
have a newfound respect for her.

“Y’all like it?” she questions.

“I love it!” I say and Jade is beaming from
ear to ear.

Barrick

Ms. Mae and I have been replacing the old
milking lines all afternoon. I swear this woman never stops. As we
finish up, she tells me to go and check on Daisy and the other
cows.

When I finish and walk back
into the barn, there’s an eerie silence. I survey the barn for Ms.
Mae and my heart stops when I see her lying on the ground. Hurrying
to her side, I take her in my arms and shake her. “Ms. Mae, are you
okay? Ms. Mae?” She doesn’t respond.
Please Lord, no! This can’t be happening.
I grab my phone and call 911.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“My boss is unconscious. I don’t know what
happened. I just found her lying on the ground. She’s not
responding.” After giving the operator the address, I lay Ms. Mae
down and slide open the door and stay with her until I see
headlights coming up the drive.

“Regina!” I yell from the barn, praying that
she can hear me. When I don’t see her, I run to the door and yell
as she’s about to enter the house. “Regina, come quick, it’s Ms.
Mae!” She turns and sprints toward the barn.

“Mama! Don’t you do this to me!” she cries
as she holds her mother in her arms. I take a step back and stand
by the door to watch for the ambulance. When the paramedics arrive,
I tell them all that I know as they load Ms. Mae into the back. As
Regina gets in the ambulance, she tells me to get Cadence and bring
her to the hospital. Once they leave, I rush to the studio.

Cadence

Just as I’m about to say something, I see
Barrick standing in the doorway. Ms. Lyndsay looks up and walks to
the door.

“Barrick? Class isn’t over yet, is something
wrong?”

Seeing the fear in his eyes, I know
something is wrong and rush over to stand behind Ms. Lyndsay.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him when I notice his eyes are glassy.

“It’s Ms. Mae.”
Gran.
My heart begins to
break. “Ms. Lyndsay, I need to get Cadence to the hospital. Jade,
take her stuff and I’ll call you once we get there,” he says with
authority.

“Yes, of course,” Jade says.

“Cadence, I’ll say a prayer for your gran.
Be careful,” Ms. Lyndsay says, but I barely register it as I rush
out the door.

I run to the truck and hop in. Barrick is
right behind me and peels out of the parking lot.

“Barrick, I need to know,
is she dead?” I ask as tears form in my eyes. He shakes his head
no.
Thank the Lord!
I take a deep breath. He starts to ramble. “Barrick, slow down
so I can understand you.”

He takes a deep breath. “I went to check on
the cows and when I came back, I found her on the ground. Cadence,
she wasn’t moving. I don’t know what happened to her. When the
paramedics came to get her, they didn’t say anything. They just
loaded her in the ambulance and took off. Cadence, I’m so worried.”
Barrick’s concern fills me with fear.

We park by the emergency room entrance and
hurry inside. We don’t see Mom anywhere so Barrick quickly asks the
lady at the desk where she might be. After making a phone call, she
lets us know Mom will be right out. Within a minute, Mom comes
through the door with a smile on her face.

Barrick looks at me and I look at Mom. “Mom,
what’s going on?”

“She’s going to be okay. She tripped over
something and knocked herself unconscious. She woke up halfway to
the hospital and gave me hell about wasting money on an
ambulance.”

As I start to giggle, I see Barrick turn and
walk out the front door. I look at Mom and she motions for me to
follow him. When I find him, he’s standing at the edge of the
sidewalk completely still. I walk up to him and slide my arm around
him. “Are you okay?” I question.

“I don’t know,” he states honestly.

“But, she’s going to be okay,” I state.

He quickly turns to face me. “You didn’t see
her. Cadence, I thought she was dead. She wouldn’t move, talk,
smile, laugh, make a rude comment or anything. I’ve never been so
scared in my life. What would have happened if I hadn’t been
there?”

“I guess she would have woken up on her
own?” I say, unsure as to why he’s not relieved.

“What if it would have been serious like a
broken bone, stoke or even a heart attack? What if no one was
there?”

“Barrick, you can’t think that way. I’m glad
you were there, and I’m sorry you had to see that. Now, come on,
let’s go check on that old woman,” I say, trying to make a
joke.

Taking him by the hand I try to pull him
toward the door, but when he doesn’t budge I turn and see him
crying. I take him in my arms, “What’s really wrong?” I ask as I
pull him closer.

“My papa died in his barn. He had a heart
attack and no one was there. My memaw found him when she went
looking for him because he was late for lunch. What if I wouldn’t
have been there? It could have happened to Ms. Mae. What would
happen to the farm? Memaw almost lost hers.”

It breaks my heart to see him this way, but
now I know why he’s been so emotional. I can’t imagine losing Gran
but losing Gran and the family farm would rip me apart. “I’m so
sorry,” I say as I hold him. Once he has calmed down and is
relieved it wasn’t something serious, we go check on Gran.

Gran’s lips are already flapping when we
walk into her room. “I’m okay. I tripped over the hose. I could
have sworn I put it up,” she states like it’s no big deal.

“It is a big deal. They think you might have
broken something,” Mom says pointing toward her hip.

“Oh hogwash. I’m fine,” she says as she
grits her teeth in pain.

“Mother, listen to me. You are going to let
them take X-rays and you are going to stay put. Do you understand
me?”

“Fine,” she says in defeat and I catch
Barrick looking at me, trying not to laugh. Yes, I know there is
more of her in me than I’d like to admit. Thank goodness he’s back
to himself.

I walk over to Gran and give her a hug. Mom
tells Barrick to take me home so I can get ready for school. I want
to stay with Gran, but I know that I can’t. I give her a kiss on
her forehead and she grabs my hand.

“Cadence, you take care of my Daisy,” she
says with a smile.

“You got it,” I state while hugging Mom
goodbye.

The entire ride to the farm, Barrick hardly
speaks. I can’t stand it. It’s my gran, not his.

“Please talk to me,” I whisper.

He keeps his eyes on the road when he
finally speaks, “Cadence, how could you be so calm?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe it’s
because I’m accustomed to bad shit happening?” I say, trying to
make light of the situation.

“You can’t be serious?” he says as he pulls
up to the farm.

“Maybe?” I say with a shrug because I don’t
know what else to say.

“That’s ridiculous. You should have been
thankful. Instead, you acted like it was a walk in the park. Do you
know what will happen if her hip is broken?”

Actually I have no idea. “What?”

“She could have to have surgery and be out
of work. She’s not going to take that well. And there is a lot more
to running the farm than you know.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” I state. “I’m
sorry if I seemed insensitive. I didn’t mean to be. I was just so
relieved when Mom came out with a smile on her face. I was so
worried up until then that I couldn’t do anything but laugh when I
knew she was okay.”

He gets quiet as he turns off the ignition.
“Look, I’m sorry. I guess because I was here and found her it’s
affecting me more than I had thought. I don’t have a right to tell
you how you should be feeling.”

“You’re right, you don’t,” I say as I hop
out of the truck. “Thank you for the ride.” And with that, I slam
the door and walk into the house.

Chapter 9

Cadence

For the last two weeks,
things have been different to say the least. Gran had a hairline
fracture in her hip so the doctor told her to rest. The woman is
going to be the death of us because she doesn’t understand the
word
rest
. Mom and
I have caught her multiple times trying to sneak into the barn. On
top of that, Barrick has been standoffish and it’s really starting
to piss me off. I’m sick of his attitude. I’ve got enough to deal
with trying to keep Gran in bed, the extra chores, school and
dance.

Gran has her two-week follow up appointment
today and I hope she’s cleared so she can get off our nerves. As I
get ready for school, I make sure Gran is comfortable on the couch
and then head to the kitchen to make my green smoothie. When I see
Barrick’s headlights through the window, I pause and sigh.

“Cade?”

“Yes, Gran?”

“I’ve seen the way you two have been
avoiding each other. Now, I don’t know what’s going on but that
boy’s a good one.”

“I thought so too,” I state as I start to
walk away.

“Well, then get off that high horse of yours
and go get your man.” I shake my head. “I’m serious. This is crazy.
I’ve been watching both of you pout for two weeks. What the hell
happened?”

Glancing at the clock, I realize I’ll
probably be late for school but I don’t care. “Gran, he said I
wasn’t upset enough when you got hurt. And no boy is going to tell
me how to act!”

“Aw, shit! Y’all are acting like
kindergarteners cause of me. Y’all better stop it,” she says as she
starts to stand. I tell her to stop as she pushes me out of the way
and opens the front door.

“Barrick!” she screams, “Get up here!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he yells back and I try my
best to escape.

“Sit, missy!” she says and I do without
question.

Barrick enters the house and doesn’t move
when he sees me.

“Take a seat, young man,” she says as she
hobbles back to her seat.

“But—”

“No buts, what’s goin’ on here?” she
questions, looking between the two of us.

I look toward Barrick and he looks at me
then Gran. We both don’t say a word. “I said what’s going on here?”
she asks again in a firm tone. I raise my eyebrows as I look toward
him for an answer. Silence.

“I’m going to tell y’all like it is.
Everyone reacts different ways, and neither of you have the right
to judge each other. Barrick, I know it was scary and you’re
working around here like you own the place, but I ain’t gone yet
and you don’t have to worry about the farm like your dad had to
worry about his pa’s farm. Cadence behaved the way she needed to
cope. I’m sorry that you found me, and I know that scared you. I
wish I could erase that image from your mind. You don’t need to
take out your emotions on her. Cadence, quit acting like you don’t
care and get over yourself. I thought we were making progress.”
Barrick and I look at each other. “Cadence, you need to get to
school. Barrick, why don’t you drive her?”

“I have a car,” I say as I try to
escape.

“So, let him drive you,” she says and
Barrick stands, knowing that there is no need to argue. I walk from
the room with attitude and grab my bag.

Barrick

I know Cadence and I have been acting stupid
but I just can’t let it go for some reason. I know she didn’t see
what I saw, but as Ms. Mae was lying there all I could think of was
how I was going to take care of Cadence and the farm if something
happened to her. When papa died, things were really difficult and I
knew how hard things already were for her. When she just started
laughing, I couldn’t understand how she didn’t see how serious it
could have been. I know I have no right to tell her how to feel and
I need to get over myself. When I see her standing by my truck
waiting on me, I decide now is the time.

“So you going to get me to school or what?”
she asks with her snarky attitude.

“Of course, but you could always skip and
help me at the barn instead,” I say with a smile. For some reason,
Cadence skipping school sounds like a fabulous plan even if she
doesn’t talk to me all day. I miss just being near her.

“Do you know what Gran
would do to us?” she states as she flings open the door and slams
it after she takes a seat.
Great! That was
supposed to be a joke to break the ice.
Walking to the driver’s side, I take a deep breath and realize
this is stupid. I’ve never acted this way or been judgmental in all
of my life.
So, why now?
Glancing at Cadence, I know why. She gets under my
skin, drives me freakin’ crazy, but yet, I can’t get enough of
her.