Gone Country

Chapter 10 (One Call)

*Brant*

Charlotte. 

Just her name made me reflect on old memories and smile. When we were younger, she wasn't alone when she showed me favoritism. I thought the world of Charlotte Anne Jackson. She looked up to me like I was the greatest thing that walked the planet. Whenever I saw her, I saw an angel. No one meant more to me than her, mostly because no one saw what I saw in her. 

No matter what I wanted, Charlotte gave in to my desires. At first it started off as a devilish plan to use her for my own gain. If I asked for her cupcake, she gave it to me. If I wanted to play the Lone Ranger, she would never decline. Even if she came over and I told her that I was too busy to play with her that day, she would just smile and tell me that all I had to do was call and she would be here. It didn't take long for me to stop being selfish after realizing that this girl would do anything for me and I was treating her like she was nothing, or some kind of slave. It was a pretty deep realization with me being so young.

Charlotte became my best friend, causing us to become attached at the hip. Then Charlotte became mine during it. She was my damsel in distress, my best friend, my Charlotte. Her father called her 'his girl' once and I burst out in tears because I wanted her all to my self. I was no longer selfish with her kindness, I was selfish with everything about her. 

The day she told me she was moving was the worst day of my six year old life. I had been friends with this girl for pretty much our whole six years of living, and now she was leaving me? It crushed me to the core. How could I possibly protect my damsel if she was so far away? Unlike the westerns, I hadn't been allowed to just ride my horse across state. I was six and I'm sure my mother would've been worried.

Now that she was back, I've found myself falling into that selfish role again. I have yet to figure out what makes her so special. I just know that she needed to have it removed before I went insane. From the time she met Clay, I was on edge. The way he looked at her, the way she seemed interested, it was bound to be nothing but trouble. Then they started dating which was even worse, and now Charlotte is confused on what to feel. I too was confused on what to feel.

Something hitting my shoulder made me jump in surprise. I glanced at its direction, smiling when I saw Avery had fallen asleep. We would be home soon, and for her, I'd even do her chores so she could rest.  She was up pretty late helping me set up the tent, it was the least I could do.

Last night, after I somehow saved Charlotte from Austin's clutches without waking her, Avery and I put her to bed in the tent and covered her up. I decided that my sister and I needed to talk about something that we have never talk about before. We went out to the dock and stood. It only took a moment to tell her what I needed to say.

"I'm sorry, Avery," is what I told her. She didn't understand at first, so I went on and explained I was talking about Jax. I didn't like the fact she was dating,  especially with knowing how guys' minds work. He was a good kid, Avery was a responsible girl, I was just worried that something was going to happen before they were ready for it. I mean, twelve year old Suzanne two dirt roads over was expecting a child any day now. Everyone was so educated about sex nowadays that it was ridiculous.

When I awkwardly explained to her that sex was a beautiful thing when handled appropriately and was at a wise age to express it, she listened intently to my words before giving me hug. "Brant, I'm not going to have sex at fourteen."

Relief, that's all I felt was sweet relief. I'd just have to have this same talk with her next year and make sure she wasn't going to at fifteen either. No matter how awkward the circumstance, it had to be done. 

I turned the old ford I was driving into the driveway of our house. Lightly, I shook Avery so she would wake up to see that we were home.  "You go inside and get some sleep kiddo," I told her when I stopped the truck. She gave a sleepy smile when I ruffled her hair and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Maybe Jax can come over tonight? I think dad said he saved up enough from the market in order to have steaks tonight."

She nodded in agreement, quietly climbing out of the truck in order to head on up to go to bed. I sat in the truck for a moment, my arms resting on the steering wheel. Looking across the farm made a pang of sadness hit me. Things have been pretty rough lately. I would never tell Charlotte, but by her being here, it's taken a toll on our finances. It was only a little money we were losing by buying extra food, having another person using up water and electricity. It wasn't her fault we were the only ones that would take her in this troubling part of life, her family members were just idiots.

My father told me that Phillip had called every member of his family that was capable of taking care of her and they all just pretended that she was nothing. Charlotte didn't deserve that because her mother had been unhappy with the rich and famous life, then again it seems that Charlotte rather be here anyway. 

"Brant!" I heard a muffled voice yell.

I looked to the house, my lips pulling up into a smile when I saw her running from inside the house over to the truck. The smile I had immediately dropped when I saw the look on her face. With a unreasonable amount of force, I shoved my door open. I met her half way around the truck, not refusing her arms when she engulfed me in a hug. "What's wrong?" I quietly asked. Inwardly I had my suspicions as to why she might be upset, she just proved it when she silently cried his name.

My arms tightened around her like a constricting snake. He just kept on hurting her, she kept on crying over him. I couldn't stop my fingers from bawling into fist. "What happened?" I managed to question. 

She didn't mind me lifting her into my arms and wrapping her legs around my waist, in fact her body relaxed at how close we were. "Nothing," she replied in a half cry, half giggle. "Clay just came by, told me he loved me.." I stiffened. "And I told him that I couldn't see him anymore, that my friendship with you was extremely important and I couldn't lose that."

She wouldn't have lost it even if she would've married him. You couldn't just hate Charlotte, at least I couldn't anyway. I found myself smiling at the fact that I meant more to her than Clay. I guess all those years of saving her from invisible outlaws paid off. "Are you positive about this Charlotte, you can be with him if you want to. It's your life, not mine, and I don't want to get in your way."

She pulled back, her puffy red eyes still looking as gorgeous as ever, even after crying all of those tears. "Brant, it's what I want," she insisted. So much relief over took me that I couldn't help but twirl around with her in my arms. She cutely squealed, holding on tight while complaining about being dizzy. I didn't care! Finally, I didn't have to wake up in the morning and wonder if he was going to rip her to shreds or not. 

"Charlotte! Brant! Don't you have chores to do?" I heard my father yell from across the farmyard. I put Charlotte down, laughing with her as we wobbled dizzily toward the barn. Charlotte had to feed the horses and I had to feed the cows and check for eggs in the chicken coop. "Toss me a bucket, Char," I ordered when she stepped into the tack room where they were located. I flipped off the lid to the black feeding barrel that was for the cows, next to it was a red barrel that held horse feed. 

"Heads up cowboy!"

I looked up, smiling in amusement at what she called me. I easily caught the bucket she tossed me, thanking her once she walked by and behind me. She surprised me by resting a caring hand on my back when she passed by. When I looked to her, I saw something I never took notice to before. Her blond hair fell into her face when she went to scoop out some horse feed with her favorite hot pink scooper. I didn't have time to register what I was doing, I just reached over, gently brushing back those strands of hair that was blocking my view of her quite beautiful face. I've always known she was beautiful, I just never allowed myself to become enticed by her beauty. 

She looked over to me, a taunting smile pulling onto her lips that made me lean closer to her in curiosity. "Knock it off, Brant," she giggled. "We have to get back to work. You can stare at me like a goofball later."

Flustered, I looked away from her, adding a scoff to insinuate that I wasn't doing anything. "Your delusional, New York, I wasn't staring at you."

She bumped me with her elbow, causing me to spill some feed onto the ground. The first thing that popped into my head at that moment was how much feed cost nowadays. "Dang it, Charlotte!" I hissed, about to go rampant. I looked up to her, my worries subsiding when I saw her apologetic eyes that were waiting for me to continue, to tell her off for being so careless. I let out a breath, realizing that I couldn't just blow up on her all the time because of some issues that didn't even concern her.  

"I'm sorry, Brant. Here, I'll feed the cows and horses, you go rest a while," she offered as payment.

There was no way I was going to let her do that. "It's alright, Charlotte, I'm fine." She hesitantly let me go, obviously worried about my sudden change in mood. It was just that she wouldn't understand what was going through my mind. She didn't have to worry about whether or not her father was going to be able to pay for their next meal or which cow was going to have to be slaughtered in order to cut the price down on meats for when we have no money to buy any. She didn't have to worry whether or not if the lights were going to be cut off because we're a little behind on the bill. Heck, we were behind on every bill. I've already been giving my parents money I had worked for in order to help out a little, and Avery, she was only fourteen and has gone out of her way to start making homemade jam to sell for some extra money for us as well. She shouldn't have to worry about that right now.

I trudged out of the barn with my fingers grasped around the handle of the bucket full of cow feed. I tried thinking of ways to make more money, to keep our farm alive, but everything was failing. Even with the bills piling up right along with the debt, my father continued everyday life as happy as the one before. Nothing could phase him. I'd over hear my mother expressing her sorrows over how Avery and I deserved more than what we were receiving. My dad would just tell her it was going to be alright, that one day Avery and I would get everything we deserved. 

Truth is, I didn't fairly want more. Charlotte could probably have everything she ever wanted, but it seemed she would give it all up just to live here. Money was killing her family, ruining her life, and jeopardizing her relationship with her father. Yeah, I rather be dirt poor.

I checked the laying hens who had no eggs in the ten nests that they rested on. Just great. I left there and reached the fence for the cows next door to the coop, spluttering out a whistle to alert them that it was breakfast time. I dumped the feed over the fence into the five different troughs, the sound alerting everyone, even Celeste's mother who had the calf quickly following in behind her.    

The memory of Charlotte passing out during Celeste's birth popped into my mind, extracting a chuckle out of me. It was funny now, but then I nearly had a heart attack when she crumpled to the ground. I was the first one by her side, pleading for her to wake up. She was unresponsive to my frantic demands no matter how hard I tried to wake her. It was just like she was in a deep sleep. I held her close, stroking her face to soothe away her anxiety. Eventually I sent my parents and Avery to the cook out at the Holt's and stayed behind to look after her and to make sure Celeste's mother was feeding the new born calf. I'll never forget how angelic Charlotte looked while she laid there with her head in my lap.

"Brant!!!"

I was jolted out of my mind by her ecstatic shriek of my name. The crazy girl jumped onto my back, forcing me to incline on giving her a piggyback ride. "Charlotte!" I laughed. I cupped my hands behind her thighs, holding her securely in place so she wouldn't fall.

Her arms carefully wrapped around my neck, making sure as to not choke me. "Brant," she whispered in my ear. Those lips of hers that form the most amazing smiles brushed up against my skin, causing the hair on the back of my neck to raise in attention. Whatever she wanted she could have, even if I had to rob a bank in order to get it for her. "Tonight, will you stay with me at my old house?" she asked on the way back to the barn. 

I nearly stumbled over my feet at her request. The night before last popped into my head, reminding me of how I waited until she had fallen asleep before I pulled her so close that I could feel her heartbeat drumming against my arm. It was probably wrong to want to hold your friend all night long, it was just that I forget the bad parts of my past so easily in her arms.

"You want me to stay with you again?" I asked, specifically remembering that last time I accidentally called her Caroline when I woke. The thought made my jaw clench in anger. I had been with Caroline for so long, I was use to falling asleep next to her by accident. I thought for sure that Charlotte would think that I slept intimately with Caroline, when in reality, I have never been with a girl in such a physical manner. It wasn't that I didn't crave the want like every hormonal teenager, I just didn't want to have the experience with just anyone. 

"Please stay with me, Brant. I want to stay up and talk about old times, laugh, and just be us again," she finally told me when I sat my bucket back into the tack room. 

My parents were going to kill me. Ever since Charlotte and I were young, both of our parents swore up and down that Charlotte and I would be together. By staying the night with Charlotte, it's just going to raise suspicion and embarrass us both. I'm not going to marry Charlotte Jackson. I know how to push her buttons, she knows how to push mine. It's just not going to happen. We'd end up divorcing before the honeymoon ever began. Some people say to never say never, but I'm one hundred percent sure it's never going to happen.

"Please, Branty," she cutely mumbled, luring me in to the idea by running her fingers through my hair. "I need a strong, muscly, handsome guy to accompany me and keep me safe. I'll even sleep on the couch," her silky smooth voice negotiated.

I hate her, I hate her so much that I couldn't help but say, "Fine, I'll stay with you. Your butt stays on the couch though."

She jumped off my back, squealing a high pitch tune that made me scowl. How could one person be happy over something so simple as this? It made me think once again that the rich and famous life wasn't everything it seemed to be if something like this made her so excited. "Thank you, Brant! I really didn't want to be alone! It was either you or Austin...." I nearly went crazy at just the thought. "And I didn't want to ask Austin because I still feel weird about last night."

Last night when Austin told me they kissed, I was seconds from drowning him in the lake. Austin better be glad I owed him for protecting Charlotte when I wasn't able to, or he would've looked just like Clay. "Brant, you're zoning out." Charlotte grabbed my hands in hers, lifting them so they would rest on either side of her face.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" 

She rolled her light blue eyes and shook her head. Her honey blonde hair gently flowed over my fingertips while my hands rested on her cheeks. Why did she have to be such a beautiful little devil who knew how to con anyone into giving her what she wanted? "It wasn't important," she said before quickly hugging my neck. "Just thank you."

I hadn't done a thing that I knew of, except agree to stay with her tonight, and I hadn't really done that willingly. She rushed ahead of me to the house, giving me the opportunity to watch her from behind. I wasn't checking her out, I was simply making sure that her cutoff jean shorts weren't on backwards. Trust me, they weren't.

I grinned to myself, going with my first instinct which was to chase her down. I ran after her, springing out and jumping onto her back like she had done to me earlier. Much to my surprise she caught me, then her legs gave out due to all my muscle mass, and we tumbled to the ground. 

She laughed like she had never laughed before with me letting my chuckles roll right along with her. Deciding since we were already on the ground, she attacked me, forcing me to wrestle with her when she dared to tickle me. It wasn't unusual for a girl to be tickled by a guy because it was cute and they liked it no matter how much they begged you to stop. Swap the genders around and it was just a tragic way for someone to get hurt. 

Charlotte and I ended up wrestling quite roughly across the ground, but it was then that I saw how tough she had truly gotten. When we were little she was extremely sensitive to every little thing, now she was hitting like a guy and somehow pinning me down to the ground. 

We were covered in dirt and sweat, but on her it looked like she belong in one of those magazines that boys hide from their parents and only break out when they needed to handle some business. Oddly while wrestling with her, I liked having my hands all over this new fit body she had, even if it was to force her into the ground so she would stop trying to tickle me. 

"No, Charlotte!" I growled when she attempted to poke my side. She laughed, trying to flip me over so she could break free. I held her down, smiling as I straddled her waist so she wouldn't move. I kept her hands above her head, smiling even more when I saw the dirt smudges covering her cute face. 

"Please, Brant," she giggled from underneath me. "You don't nearly laugh as much as you should."

I let my hands go down to her face where I carefully wiped away the dirt smudges smeared across her cheeks. "I know I don't, Char, but sometimes reality won't let you. Back in New York, how much did you laugh while working and putting up with that Chanel girl's antics?" 

She stared up at me with her light blue naive eyes gazing into mine. There was one thing she had to understand. Yes, we can act like we're six again and play around like a bunch of fools, but life hits you and you realize that there's more to life than being with friends and eating cookies. The responsibility was suffocating, yet we weren't nearly responsible as our parents. Here, in Motown, Charlotte was able to bring out her inner child that she lost when she forced herself to grow up. I found my inner child when she returned to me. Still, we weren't real children anymore. 

"I use to smile," she told me, my heart clenching at the sight of tears brimming her eyes. "My mom made sure of it. Chanel doesn't do that for me, Brant, and my father doesn't even care about my happiness at all. All I wanted was a good role model in my life again and he brings something that's been on a street corner her whole life...."

I pulled her up, letting her feel safe in my arms as they tightly slipped around her tiny body. Charlotte didn't deserve such treatment. The cruelty that her own father was forcing onto her was unnecessary. There was no way he could look at Charlotte and think that his Chanel woman was a good fit to marry into their family. If he does marry her, I'm quite sure she'll never come around him again.

"Don't cry, Charlotte," I tried while stroking her hair in a comforting way, but this was her reality setting in. She had a dense father who was dating a woman who was out for his hard earned fortune. I'm not sure whose real life was worse, mine or hers. 

"I miss my mom, Brant," she whimpered. "I know I sound like a baby, but there was so much we were suppose to do. She was suppose to give me boy advice, help me choose my wedding dress and cry on my wedding day. I never got to take her out for once and buy her lunch, and as everyone knows she never got around to teaching me how to cook..."

I was clueless as to what to do. No one could replace her mother, but something told me to look up from her hair, and when I did I saw my mother in the kitchen window, probably preparing us some breakfast. "Charlotte," I whispered. "Maybe you should just stay by my mother's side today. I understand she isn't Lilian, your mother, but you can still do those things in remembrance of your mom."

Charlotte pulled away from me, allowing me to wipe her face while she bravely sniffled back her tears. "You think she wouldn't mind?"

I looked to the kitchen window, seeing my mother peering out at us with a worried look, only to turn away when she saw me look up. "I think she would like the company." I urged her up to her feet, wasting no time in getting her inside.

My mother shot me a questioning look when we entered covered in dirt. Instead of asking about it, she complained about the dirt and hurried us along our way. "You go shower first, Charlotte," I insisted. Charlotte didn't complain or refuse. At first she hadn't mind getting dirty, now it seemed to irritate her skin. Off she went upstairs, leaving my mother and I in the kitchen alone. She was scrambling some eggs on the stove top, doing her normal motherly duties that she does every day. Charlotte was missing out on this.

Smoothly I walked over to my mother, placing a innocent kiss on the humming woman's cheek. She stopped her concert, turning her head to give me a suspicious look. "I love you, Mom," I told her, making sure to wrap my dirt covered arms around her for a moment.

"There better be a reason as to why you're getting me dirty or I will slap you with this spatula." Yeah, she has always been such a kind, sensitive soul. The serious tone may fool you, but her heart was pure gold.

"Charlotte just broke down about her mother and I realized that I don't appreciate the one I have enough."

My mother smiled, making me laugh when she grabbed my face and covered my cheek in her sometimes embarrassing mommy kisses. "I love you too. Now what do you really want?"

She knows me all too well. I scoffed, pretending that what I told her was exactly what I wanted. It lasted two seconds under her 'I'm losing patience' glare. "Charlotte wants to hang out with you," I explained. "She doesn't have a mother so she's missing out on some things. Just at least teach the girl to cook. Her future husband is going to be miserable if the girl is that clueless."

My mother hit me for being rude about it, but we all knew it was true, unless she married a chef or something. The phone ringing gave me a chance to slip away to leave her to think about it. I grabbed the phone, bringing the handset to my ear so I could answer. "Hello?" I spoke.

"Hello, this is Jives Wilkerson. I need to speak to Charlotte, it's quite urgent."

Jives. I've heard the name from Charlotte before, I just couldn't place where it fit in her life. "She's in the shower right now, do you want to leave a message?" I asked.

He sighed. "This is Brant, correct?"

She lied! Charlotte said she never talked about me after we stopped communicating. How else would he know about me if that was true? "Yes, I'm Brant," I confirmed.

"Good. Can you tell her that her father is planning a surprise visit to Motown? It's only going to be for a day, but Chanel is tagging along."

This couldn't be happening now, she had only been here for a week. They were going to ruin everything she had worked so hard to overcome. "They can't," I refused. "Can't you stop them?"

Charlotte really didn't need this right now. I'm sure she misses her father, especially since he hasn't bothered calling in over a week, it just wasn't a good idea for Chanel to tag along. "Trust me," Jives grumbled. "I've done everything but tie up Chanel and stuff her in a closet."

I smirked. "Why haven't you done it yet?"

The man laughed on his end. Whoever this Jives was, he seemed to care about Charlotte which made me antsy. Was there some older man back in New York waiting for her to turn eighteen so he could have her? It was a possibility. "I like you kid," he sighed. "Take care of Charlotte until I get there tomorrow."

I promised I would take care of her and we said our goodbyes. When I hung the phone on the receiver, my legs moved my feet, making them run upstairs to the bathroom I share with my sister and Charlotte. I was going to find out who he was.

I banged on the door, grabbing her by her naked shoulders that were showing from the sleeveless shirt she was wearing when she opened the door. "Who is Jives Wilkerson?" I demanded to know.

She buttoned up her jean shorts that was recently flashing me a pair of white lacy panties that I pushed away from my mind faster than it entered. "He was my butler growing up," she easily explained. "Why?"

Her arms hooked themselves around my neck, causing my arms to drop down to her waist. "I need to tell you something Charlotte, and you're not going to like it." She waited for me to continue, her eyes looking deeply into mine. How am I suppose to explain this. "You're father is coming to visit with Jives..." Her eyes brightened at the news. "And Chanel," I finished. 

Her faced dropped. 

It was definitely something she hadn't want to hear. She leaned into my chest, burying her face into my t-shirt despite it being covered in dirt from earlier. My arms embraced her in comfort while my nose betrayed me by nuzzling against her neck to inhale the slight scent of her sweet smelling perfume. This wasn't a time to enjoy having her back in my life, it just naturally happened whenever she allowed me to hold her. 

"It's going to be alright. Charlotte," I whispered. 

"Because I'm going to pretend to be your boyfriend." His voice interrupted my moment with her, but the idea was a terrible one that couldn't be ignored. I looked down the hall to my bedroom door way. Austin was standing there with his genius smirk on. He was putting together a plan, a pretty good one by the mischievous grin he had. I wasn't sure if this was going to be good or bad, I just knew that Austin was going to be Austin. 

They weren't coming until tomorrow, so I told Austin he should stay here with us until then. I made Charlotte go downstairs with my mother to start her mother daughter day, and I walked into my bedroom with Austin to discuss some things.

"What are we trying to accomplish here?" I asked while fetching some fresh clothes. "Giving her father a heart attack maybe? He still doesn't know about Clay."

Austin made himself comfortable on my bed, still smirking at his ideal plan that he had thought up. "We're just going to make sure he doesn't forget to call anymore."

I didn't care how it went down, as long as he didn't go overboard with it and freak Charlotte out. I took my clothes to the shower and washed away the dirt she caused earlier. If her father was coming over tomorrow, it was going to be harder for Charlotte and I to sneak away to her old house and stay the night if she wanted to again. I've slept beside her for two days in a row now, three after tonight. There's no way I'll be able to sleep tomorrow night without being next to her.

I needed to make my own plan of sneaking her out the house with these extra parents in the house. She wouldn't mind, she likes sleeping next to me even if she wouldn't admit it. While I dried off and dressed, I devised a way to sneak her from Avery's room to downstairs without waking my parents or her dad. Austin might help me in sneaking her down, he and I were suppose to be staying at her old house anyway. I wasn't sharing her though, he could forget that one.

I left the bathroom, peeking my head into Avery's room to see that she was asleep in the middled of her made up bed. I entered the room, quietly going over and helping her out by pulling off her boots and covering her up with the blankets. "Brant," she mumbled, half sleep, half awake. "Stay with me?"

I couldn't possibly say no. Yeah we fight a heck of a lot, she can be annoying, I bug her to piss her off, but my sister was one girl I couldn't say no to when it came to situations like these. I sat down on the edge of the bed, propping my legs on the mattress when she rested her head on my arm. "Nightmares?" I quietly asked her.

She sleepily nodded her head, slowly drifting off to sleep now that her big brother was here to protect her from the monsters. I stayed with her until I was positive by her snoring that she was asleep. Getting up without disturbing her was harder than it seemed, I managed though. Once up, I slipped out of the room and headed to mine where Austin was still smirking at nothing. His plan was too good.

"What is your plan exactly?" I asked him. 

He shrugged. "You'll see."