Tutus & Cowboy Boots (Part 2) (11 page)

I toss the package on the counter and stomp
to my room. I don’t even want to bother opening it today. Today’s
my day. He almost ruined New Year’s and I’ll be damned if he’s
going to ruin my birthday.

“Cadence, don’t you want to see what it is?”
Mom asks as she follows me to my room.

“Nope,” I say bluntly.

“Well, I’ll leave it here on your dresser
for later. You might want to see. Who knows? Maybe it’s a peace
offering,” she says as I whip myself around to her.

“Peace offering? Are you kidding me right
now? Mom, this is what he does. He disappears from my life and just
as I’m moving on he shows back up. Who does that?”

“He’s your father. I don’t know why he does
what he does. I gave up trying to figure him out, but you still
need to be respectful,” she states.

“Well, he needs to learn how to be
considerate and quit trying to buy my love,” I say as I turn around
and wipe the single tear from my eye. He will not ruin today. He
will not.

Barrick

I take a deep breath as I walk toward Ms.
Mae’s front door. I knock and Ms. Mae answers the door with a
flustered look on her face.

“Everything okay?” I question as I take a
step inside, and that’s when I hear Regina.

“Mother! What am I going to do with her?”
she says, rounding the corner and stopping in her tracks when she
sees me. “Oh, I’m sorry, Barrick. Cadence is in her room. Hold on,
I’ll go and get her.”

Seeing the pleading in Ms. Mae’s eyes, I do
something that’s not typical of me. “Can I go and check on her?” I
question.

“By all means,” Regina states, moving out of
my way.

I walk in front of her and down the hall
until I reach Cadence’s room. The door is open and I can see her
standing in the mirror with her arms crossed. Knocking, I wait for
her to answer. She glances up and sees my reflection in the mirror,
and that’s when she gives me a tiny smile.

As Cadence turns around, I enter her room.
She doesn’t say anything but the look on her face shows relief and
thankfulness.

“You okay?” I question as I place my hand on
her cheek.

“I will be now,” she says as she places her
head into my chest and I hold her tight.

I don’t ask her what happened, but if I were
a betting man, I’d say it was her dad. He’s always the culprit of
her emotional rollercoaster.

“Whatever it is, let’s not worry about it
until tomorrow. What do you say?” I ask her.

“That sounds like the perfect plan to me,”
she says as I drape one arm over her shoulder and walk toward the
front door. We stop and talk to Ms. Mae and Regina. They are
relieved that Cadence feels better. Cadence gives her mom an extra
long hug. Then Regina tells us to have a fabulous night and to call
if we are going to be later than planned. I’m ready to give my girl
the night of her life.

Chapter 18

Cadence

Walking out the door with Barrick by my side
makes me happy. A part of me wants to know what’s in the package
Dad sent but I will deal with it tomorrow. Today is about me being
happy.

Barrick opens the door for me, but when I
take a seat I notice a cutout star on the seat. I look to him, then
take it in my hand and read it quietly, “Cadence today is your day.
Take this star and make a birthday wish. Keep it with you and watch
your wish come true. Love, Barrick.”

I pull the star to my chest and look at him.
“Thank you,” I say as he smiles and I know everything is going to
be perfect.

Barrick turns the ignition and we make our
way to an unknown destination. Within thirty minutes, we’re on the
interstate heading toward Charlotte. When we pass the exit for the
airport, I take a deep breath. I don’t think I could handle a
surprise visitor. He continues toward downtown Charlotte, until he
parks in front of a restaurant that looks like a hole in the
wall.

“I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s
the best Italian food you will eat this side of the Mason-Dixon
line.”

“Well, let’s see about that,” I say with a
wink. Barrick opens my door and we enter the quaint restaurant. The
lights are dim and Italian music softly plays through the speakers.
A middle-aged woman seats us at a corner booth. Barrick waits for
me to take a seat and then does the same. The waiter appears and
takes our drink orders.

As he walks away, Barrick smiles at me.
“Well, what do you think so far?” he asks.

“I feel like I’m in
Lady and the Tramp,
” I
state.

“So it feels like a fairytale?”

“Absolutely. How did you know about this
place?” I question.

“It’s been around for years. My parents
visit here when they want to get away. They would bring Jade and I
here every once in a while.”

The waiter reappears, takes
our order, and then we enjoy a sweet conversation while we wait for
our food. After our main course, the wait staff brings me a small
dessert and sings what I assume is “Happy
Birthday
”
in
Italian.

As the candle is extinguished, I wish for a
perfect night with Barrick and whatever else he has planned.

Barrick

Watching Cadence enjoy her meal made me
extremely happy. She smiled, laughed, and even made a few jokes. I
feel as if we are the only two people in the world right now and I
wouldn’t trade this time with her for anything.

After her birthday dessert, we leave and I
take her to Center City. It’s still early and the plans for the
remainder of the evening are still in the works. Cadence and I
explore the shops, people watch, and even stop to listen to a guy
playing his guitar on the side of the road. As we approach the
Center for the Performing Arts, I see her face light up when she
sees there’s a performance tonight.

“Barrick, is this my surprise?” she
questions.

“Maybe,” I state as I wrap my arm around her
waist and lead her toward the door. “You can also thank Ms. Mae,
your mom, and Jade.”

“You mean you’re not taking all of the
credit?” she asks with a nudge.

“They helped me decide on a show and find
the tickets. Jade is super resourceful when I need her to be,” I
say with a laugh.

“Thank you,” she says as she pauses and
looks me in the eyes. I kiss her forehead as we make our way to the
ticket booth and enter the auditorium.

Cadence’s emotions are all over her face as
she watches the ballet. I am so captivated by her that I end up
watching her instead of the stage. When it ends, she stands and
applauds as a tear falls from her face. As the house lights rise,
she smiles at me. I think she liked her surprise.

As we drive back to
Delight, she keeps her hand locked in mine. When we are almost to
town, Jade’s name lights up on my phone.
Please tell me you have everything ready.
Cadence gives me a questioning look, but I don’t give anything
away. I just keep driving to our spot. When I pull onto the gravel
road, Cadence knows exactly where we are going and she smiles from
ear to ear.

As we pull up to our spot, there is a soft
glow in the darkness.

“When did you do this?” she questions.

“Jade and Aaron took care of it for me.”

“Where are they?”

“Hopefully not still here,” I tease.

Cadence lets out a soft gasp as she takes in
the lights and I know she likes what she sees.

Cadence

Mason jars, with lights
inside each of them, are hung from a line between the trees. They
twinkle in the night sky as the air moves them gracefully, but what
I notice most is the enormous gold star hanging in the center with
the word
“Prom?”
written on it. When I look down there is a blanket spread out
on the ground with a basket sitting next to it. When I look back up
at Barrick, he’s holding a small box. He opens it and displays a
gold ring with a single cutout star in the middle.

“Barrick. It’s beautiful,” I say.

“Cadence, as I look into the night sky,
there’s not a star that shines as bright as you. Can I be your date
to prom?” he questions and I suddenly realize the amazement of this
moment. A boy, who has no desire to go back to high school, is
willing to go to prom with me.

“I wouldn’t want to go with anyone else, Mr.
Carpenter,” I say as he takes my hand and slides the small star
ring on my right index finger.

“Cadence, each time you look at this ring,
know that your wishes can come true as long as you lead the way,”
he says.

“Right now, I only want to be in this moment
with you,” I say as he pulls me in and our lips crash together. I
can’t get close enough to him and I can’t express my thoughts, so
we let our lips tell each other how we’re feeling. Suddenly, I hear
a squeal and jump away from Barrick. I turn and see Jade jumping up
and down next to Aaron.

“Oh my gosh y’all, that was the sweetest
moment ever!”

“Yeah, that you totally ruined,” Barrick
mumbles under his breath and I start to giggle.

“Thanks, Jade but now if you don’t mind, we
were in the middle of something,” I say as I turn to Barrick and
attack his lips yet again.

As music begins to play in the background,
Barrick places his hands around my waist and we sway to the music,
ignoring what’s going on around us. When the music changes to a
different beat, I pull away from Barrick and realize that Jade and
Aaron are still with us. I look at Jade and smile. I’m with the
people that have been here for me since I moved to Delight. I never
would have imagined I’d be dancing in a field with a cowboy.

I tilt my head toward the sky and see
another shooting star. I close my eyes and make a wish. This time
it’s for all the pieces to come together with my friends and family
who love and support me.

Barrick

I know I’m no Romeo, but something about the
way Cadence looked at me tonight made me feel that way. I wanted
tonight to be special, and I wanted to ask her to prom. I wasn’t
sure how she’d take it since I’m not a student there, but what
better way to celebrate her birthday than a night under the stars
and asking her to her senior prom.

Jade, Aaron, Cadence, and I continue to
dance under the light from the mason jars until the candles burn
out. Then Aaron and Jade excuse themselves and Cadence and I take a
seat on the blanket and watch the night sky. I say a small prayer,
thanking God for sending her to me.

“What was that, just now?” she questions as
I open my eyes and look down at her.

“I was just thanking the big man upstairs
for sending you to me.”

“Why is that?” she questions, resting her
head on my shoulder.

“Because you made my life in Delight worth
livin’,” I state and she yanks her head from my shoulder.

“What do you mean?” she says with concern
and I suddenly realize how that came out.

“Before you showed up, I was here working,
going to school, and honestly, not caring what I did with my life.
I always wanted to graduate and get a job, end of story. You walked
into my life and made me want to do more.”

“More?” she questions, looking me in the
eyes.

“I want to be the best man I can be for you.
I want to put you first. I want to be someone, Cadence. Not just a
boy from Delight that doesn’t have a life plan.”

“You want to do that because of me?”

“I want to do everything better in this life
because of you,” I say as I place a strand of hair behind her ear
and look into her eyes. “I think I’m in love with you, Cadence
Lewis.”

She beams, “I
know
I’m in love with
you, Barrick Carpenter.” Those words steal my heart and I know I
will never get it back. This is, by far, the best night of my life
and I hope this feeling never fades.

Chapter 19

Cadence

After that magical night, I decide that
nothing is going to get me down. Not that package, my dad, the
bimbo, a sibling, or the fact that I have no clue about my dance
future.

I slide my feet into my galoshes and hurry
to tell Daisy about my magical night with Barrick. She takes in
every word and appreciates me feeding her thirty minutes earlier
than normal. Knowing she is okay, I go ahead and bring the other
cows in to begin milking when Barrick walks in the door.

“Well, what do we have here? Did the city
girl finally go country?” he smirks.

“Nah, see, I’m still wearing the galoshes. I
guess I was just ready to start the day. It may have something to
do with the magical night I had last night,” I say with a wink. I
close the gate and walk toward him. When he wraps his arms around
me, everything feels perfect. We finally break apart and quickly
finish our chores so we can eat breakfast before church. I want to
spend every moment I have with him before dance starts back
tomorrow.

Ms. Lyndsay is waiting for us when we walk
into the studio Monday after school. “Cadence, can you come to my
office once you put your things away in the break room?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say as I glance at Jade and
quickly put my things away.

I give a slight knock as I walk in her
office. “Cadence, Ms. James called me today hoping to speak with
you about Boston. She left her number for you to return her call. I
think this is an amazing opportunity for you. You’re here a few
minutes early. Why don’t you try and give her a call before we get
started,” she says while handing me the number.

My nerves begin to get the best of me.
Taking a deep breath, I nod and take the piece of paper. Ms.
Lyndsay excuses herself and I take another long breath before
picking up the studio phone. I glance at the paper and quickly dial
the numbers.

“Natalie James speaking,” she answers after
the second ring.