Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 2) (7 page)

“What?” she questions as we make our way to
the end of the drive, but I don’t say a word.

“Where are you going?” she questions when I
turn the opposite way of school.

“Look, I’ll take you to school, but we need
to talk.”

“For real? I have a civics test today.” I
can’t help but laugh. “You think that’s funny? You have a
diploma.”

“You’ll be fine,” I say as I turn down our
road.

As we approach our spot, I put the truck in
park and turn to face her while she sits there with her arms
crossed like a two-year-old.

“Cadence, I’m sorry. This is crazy. We
shouldn’t be acting like this.”

“Oh, so you brought me here to tell me how I
should act again?” she questions.

“Every time I walk into the barn, I see Ms.
Mae lying on the floor helpless. It’s like I relive that day over
and over. I know I didn’t have a right to tell you how to act but I
was just so worried about you.”

“Worried about me?”

“Yes, you’ve had so many changes going on in
your family and I couldn’t imagine what you would do if something
happened to Ms. Mae. I was afraid you’d run again and I’d lose
you.”

“Barrick, I’m so sorry. I’m sure I looked
like I wasn’t upset, but when I knew she was alive and then saw
Mom’s smile, I knew Gran would fight like hell to get better. I
appreciate you looking after my family and me. And I’m not going
anywhere, yet. ”

“The past two weeks have been terrible. I’ve
never hated coming to Ms. Mae’s, but knowing that you were mad at
me made it unbearable.”

“Unbearable, huh?” I see her hard exterior
crumble.

“Extremely. I didn’t have anyone to pull
pranks on,” I say as she gives me a slight grin. “So are we
good?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” she says with a
laugh.

I reach my hand out to hers. She looks down
and smiles as she laces her fingers in mine.

Chapter 10

Cadence

After Barrick drops me off at school, I
cannot concentrate on anything but him. Instead of being down and
out, I’m happy again. It’s funny how when one piece of your life is
missing, your world quickly crumbles. I didn’t realize until these
past two weeks how much he holds me up.

I make it to civics class on time, and take
a few extra minutes to study. It doesn’t work out as well as I had
hoped. All I can see is Barrick asking me the questions from my
review sheet, and that’s extremely distracting.

“Cadence, clear your desk,” my teacher
instructs and I put my review sheet away.

The test is easier than I had hoped, and I’m
thankful. As the bell rings, I head to the cafeteria for lunch and
run into Jade.

“Girl! Where were you this morning?” she
asks.

“Let’s just say that Gran made Barrick and I
call a truce. He brought me this morning.”

She stops in the middle of the hallway.
“Wait. You missed first. Where did y’all go? Spill it!”

“He made me talk to him about
everything.”

“Aw, did y’all kiss and make up?” she asks,
making duck lips and kissing noises.

“No, but we’re good.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” she says, nudging me as we
walk into the cafeteria.

Barrick sends me a text after lunch to let
me know that Gran’s appointment went well and she has been cleared
to resume normal activity. I’m so happy that everything will be
back to normal.

When Jade and I get to the
studio after school, Ms. Lyndsay asks how Gran is recovering. I let
her know that she is healed. She is relieved to hear the good news
and wastes no time getting us started. After three hours, we are
released and our limbs feel like Jell-O. We are both exhausted and
just want to crash, but I have to write a paper when I get
home.
Why did I wait until the last
minute?

Jade drops me off and I notice that Barrick
is still at the barn. I leave my bags on the porch and jog toward
it. The paper has been waiting a week to be written, what’s a
little longer?

Sliding the door open, I find him replacing
a wooden board in one of the stalls. He pauses as he hears
something and looks over his shoulder at me and does a double take.
“Hey there,” I say as I walk toward him.

“Hey. Aren’t you cold?” he questions.
Suddenly, I realize I’m standing over him, in the dead of winter,
in booty shorts and an oversized shirt.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it,maybe,” I
laugh.

“Hold on, I’m almost finished,” he says as
he finishes nailing in the final two nails. I take a step back and
enjoy the view. Barrick Carpenter squatted down in a fitted pair of
jeans is easy on the eyes.

When he finishes, he takes the box of nails
in his hand and the hammer and places them on the shelf beside us.
I watch his every move and can’t stand it any longer. I follow
behind him and when he turns, I wrap my arms around him.

“I think I passed my civics test today,” I
say as I look up at him.

“That’s great,” he says but I can see that
his mind is elsewhere.

Leaning back, I look at him, “What’s going
on? I thought we were good,” I say, giving him a questioning
look.

A huge smirk escapes his lips as he looks to
me. “Cadence, we’re perfect, but you can’t come bouncing in here
half-naked. I can’t handle it.”

“What? Do I look bad? I know my hair is a
mess, but that’s what happens when you dance for three hours.”

He looks me in the eyes.
“That’s not the problem. You’re absolutely breathtaking just like
you are right now.”
What? I’m sweaty, my
hair is a hot mess, and my shorts and top don’t even
match.

I look into his amazing eyes and kiss him.
When our lips meet, I realize how much I’ve missed them.

Barrick

Oh my good Lord. Those
lips. Her body. Minimal clothes.
She has no
clue what she did to me when I saw her over my shoulder. I felt
something spark within my soul. I know I like her… a lot, but after
two weeks of not speaking to her, I know what it’s like to not have
her in my life. I can’t do it. I’ll take her any way I can, but
seeing her half-naked with messy hair did me in. There’s something
about a girl in her natural state.

As we pull away, I hold on to her. “You’re
absolutely beautiful just like this.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“As a heart attack.” I notice a single
strand of hair has fallen from her messy bun and I gently place it
behind her ear then I kiss her forehead. “Cadence, I think this is
my favorite outfit yet,” I say as I take a step back with a
shit-eating grin. I don’t know what came over me just now, but
seeing her smile makes me know she feels it too.

Chapter 11

Cadence

I’ve spent over four hours a day at the
studio the past three weeks. My body continues to mold into shape
and it feels amazing. With all of the practice, our duet is
flawless. Ms. Lyndsay feels we can increase the difficulty level
and really wow the judges.

When I’m not at dance or school, I soak up
every minute I can with Barrick or Daisy. I know it sounds crazy,
but that cow stole a piece of my heart. Luckily for me, Barrick
understands how important dance is to me and how crazy the schedule
is this time of the year. He’s even gone out of his way to pick me
up from the studio a few days a week so we can have a conversation
without cows mooing in the background. I never thought my life
would be like this.

As Jade and I are riding to the studio
today, I can tell something is on her mind. “Jade, is everything
okay? You look like you have something on your mind,” I say.

She presses her lips together then blurts
out, “I got accepted to East Carolina University today.” I feel my
stomach drop but quickly recover.

“That’s great! Are you going to go?”

She pauses, then looks my direction. “I
don’t know. The dance program at ECU is great, but so is the one at
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. What are you going
to do next year?” I pause because if she would have asked me this
before break, I would have said a company in the city, but now, I
have no clue. The only time this has crossed my mind was New Year’s
Day, but with Gran’s accident and all the practicing, I haven’t
researched any colleges and haven’t talked to any companies in
months. Now that I’m here, I’m not sure what I want to do.

“No. I haven’t even thought about it with
everything going on. College was never on my agenda, but now that
I’m no longer in the city, my chances of getting discovered are
slim.”

“Slim? I think not! We’re talking to Ms.
Lyndsay. There are plenty of options. Plus, the season is just
starting. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of recruiters at Showstopper
Regionals and Nationals.”

“Nationals are during the summer. That’s too
late, Jade.”

“Good point. Why don’t you apply to ECU and
UNCG too? I can see it now, you and me as roomies, kicking
everyone’s booty on the dance floor. That would be awesome for us
to go there together. We could have matching comforters and
everything. I swear I won’t monogram a thing!”

Oh dear Lord, she’s
killing me.
“Slow down. I’ve probably
missed every deadline, and honestly, I don’t know what I want to
do.”

“Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

“Maybe,” I say as we arrive at the studio.
Ms. Lyndsay is sitting at the front desk when we enter.

“Hey girls!” She looks at us and her smile
fades. “What’s going on?” she questions.

Jade looks at me, then back at her. “Cadence
hasn’t applied anywhere for next year.”

Ms. Lyndsay takes a look at
me, then motions for Jade to get ready for class.
Great! I’m about to get a life lesson or an ass
chewing.

“Why haven’t you applied to colleges?” she
asks, standing and leading me toward her office.

“I didn’t want to go to college. I wanted to
dance in the city.”

“What do you mean
wanted
, Cadence?” she
questions as she motions for me to take a seat.

“Since Christmas my life has changed a
little. You know that. Now I have no clue what I want to do,” I
state.

“I understand that life has changed, but
that doesn’t mean that your dreams have. Where’s that girl with
attitude? The one that came in here determined to get out? The one
that reminds me of myself at your age?”

“Oh, she’s here. I’m definitely getting out.
I just don’t know where to go at this point.”

“Cadence, you need to have options. I know
there’ll be recruiters at our competitions but apply to the
colleges as a backup plan. I’ll do what I can to help, but you have
to decide what you want. You can’t sit back and wait. You have to
take the initiative. The clock is ticking,” she says as she points
to her watch.

“Dancing is all I know. I want whatever I do
in the future to revolve around dancing.” At the end of the day,
that is all that matters. She stands and tells me to take a seat at
her desk. She turns on the desktop, and when the screen appears she
tells me to take the next twenty minutes to find the entrance
requirements for ECU and UNCG dance programs as well as
undergraduate admission. As she leaves me alone, I don’t waste
time. This is cutting into my favorite hours of the day. Within ten
minutes, I have everything I need. It’s time to dance my ass
off.

***

Last week was stressful between checking on
Daisy, school and dance practice. All I want right now is for
Barrick to calm me down. We only see each other at the barn, and
let’s face it, that’s not quality time. He’s offered to pick me up
so we can talk, but something has come up at the barn every day. I
think Daisy wants him to herself. I’ll have to have a talk with her
about stealing my man.

We had an extra practice today to prepare
for regionals and by the time it was over, I just wanted to sleep.
Barrick came over and we watched TV until I fell asleep.

When I wake up, he’s gone, but I’m covered
with a blanket and there is a text on my phone from Barrick letting
me know he wished he could have stayed all night. I try to spend
time with Mom and Gran on Sundays and attend church with them. It’s
not something I’m accustomed to but, apparently, it’s a requirement
for the people of Delight. I’ve been going with them since New
Year’s and the best part is that I get to sit with Barrick for an
hour. Who can resist that? He’s not here this morning and I start
to text him, but Gran gives me an evil eye as the choir begins to
sing. I quickly set my phone on the pew.

Sitting in morning worship, I try my best to
follow along with the preacher. It’s amazing what I’ve learned over
the past few months. I’m starting to understand what Gran means by
faith and giving everything to Him. As the children leave for
Children’s Church, I feel my phone vibrate. Glancing down, it’s a
text from Barrick.

Barrick: Want to grab lunch?

Me: Where are you?

Barrick: Back row.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see him sitting
in the back row with the ushers.

Me: Hell yes!

I quickly cover my mouth and stifle a
giggle, realizing where I am. If looks could kill, I’d be at my
funeral. Gran is ready to kill me. Taking a quiet but deep breath,
I pull myself together.

As the service comes to a close, I quickly
exit to meet Barrick. As I close the distance between us, a smile
spreads across his face.

Barrick

As Cadence walks toward me, I’m amazed by
her beauty. I saw her every day last week, but only at the barn.
She’s always beautiful, but this is the first time I’ve seen her
dressed up in a while.

“Hey there,” she says with a smile as her
arms embrace me in a hug.

“Hey to you too.”

“So where are we going?” she questions as
she steps back and weaves her left hand in mine.