Cade Rains
I had never been the type of man to give up and was determined that this would be no different. I tightened my jaw as I stood from where I was perched on the lip of the fence, bracing myself before I jumped from the four and a half foot wooden gate on to the ground. My knees and the balls of my feet tingled from the contact, but I ignored the sensation. With slow, methodical steps, cautious in nature, I scooted closer to the large cowering animal, looking at the set of the pups golden eyes as they narrowed in an uncertain manner. The way the matter fur rose on his neck. My whole body was tense, ready to jump away if need be, but I prayed I wouldn't have to try to duck out if the mood suddenly changed and the pup decided to play defense instead of tucking his tail. After a few minutes of light, slow steps, I finally got close enough and flopped my hand over, palm outward. I knew the animal needed to get a whiff of me, needed to get used to my scent. I was uncertain about taming this animal, unused to working with animals that had been mistreated in the past, but I was determined to try.
The scars marring the shrunken pup's backside had set an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach upon sight. What kind of monster could harm a defenseless animal in that manner? Ghostly fingers of fear had wrapped around my throat as I approached the nameless dog for the first time, tightening as I inspected the raised skin. It was easy to tell that the dog hadn't been properly fed, more than likely since birth, and the look in his large brown eyes had me swallowing the rise of emotions in my throat. The fur was dull, dirty and dry, but I could see where he could have a beautiful golden colored coat and strong build if he was taken care of properly.
"C'mere, bud," I kept my tone light and soothing, a tone that I would've spoken to my niece in, which worked out because those big brown eyes reminded me just a little of Maddy when she was afraid she was in trouble. I wanted to jump in satisfaction when the frail dog began to make his way toward me, crawling on his belly inch by inch when he realized I wasn't a threat to him. It was going take a while, but I could spare the time. Slowly, showing that I wasn't going to harm him, I proceeded to unfold my large frame on the hard ground and simply waited.
* * *
The smell of fried chicken and griddle cooked burgers permeated the air as I stepped into Sunshine's two and a half hours later. My stomach rumbled loudly in response to the mouthwatering scents and I grinned before tossing two fingers up at Lissy, the curvaceous blonde waitress that had worked here for nearly twenty years. Growing up in a small town like Red Mire meant that I knew nearly everyone in the town. Small, with a population of around four hundred, we didn't see many new comers and the long time residents tended to like it that way. The way it was looked at, if there were no new people there was little chance of new troubles. That, however, was only true most of the time. I sighed and stretched my long limbs out under the table, knees hitting the bottom of the rickety piece. I spent nearly every Tuesday night at Sunshine's, waiting patiently for Mary Judith's chicken fried steak, with a heaping side of homemade mashed potatoes, my favorite garlic green beans and the best yeast rolls money could buy. If I was lucky and Lissy was feeling pretty generous, I would even manage to get a side of peach cobbler and a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.
"Evenin' Cade," The throaty voice croaked as a cool glass of ice tea was placed right in front of me , beads of water running down the sides. My throat contracted in anticipation, taste buds already sighing in satisfaction for what was to come. If there was one thing that Lissy could make, it was a damned good glass of sweet tea, a fine wine as far as I was concerned. Instead of reaching over and chugging the refreshing liquid like I desperately wanted to, I looked up into a pair of pale yellow eyes, flashing my trademark dimpled grin at the only woman in Red Mire that didn't blush under my flirty gaze. Lissy's eyes narrowed as I smiled up at her and she used her notepad to swat the back of my head playfully, shaking her head in exasperation. Her resistance of my self proclaimed charms was a long standing war, one that had gone on since the moment I had been l born. Lissy, for all intents and purposes, was my God- Mother. She'd seen me naked and running through the Rains household wearing nothing but mud at the tender age of two and she never failed to remind me that while my flirty smile was "adorable" my efforts to win her over were wasted. She'd wiped my ass for far too long to be wooed by that charisma.
"Miss me yesterday, my one and only?" I taunted as I pulled my hat off before leaning back against the cracked material of the booth, causing it to squeak with the new weight. With a roll of her eyes and a sashay of her large hips, Lissy clucked her tongue at me and turned to leave, shooting a glare when I managed to yank at one of the loose ends of her apron.
I grinned in satisfaction as I watched her walk away to serve another patron in the café but didn't bother to shout out at her like I usually would. I knew that if I behaved too badly she would refuse to refill my glass and there was no larger crime than depriving a hard working man of sweet tea. As I waited, knowing the order had been put in the moment my truck had rolled in the gravel lot, I pulled out my cell phone, grimacing when I noted two missed calls from my mother of all people. As much as I loved Mama, I would be the first to admit that Beverly Rains was a pain in the backside. Staring at the device, I seriously debated; If I called her back now I could use my meal being delivered as an excuse to cut the chat short, if I didn't call now I would likely forget and get a large ass chewin' tomorrow when we all went to the Double R Ranch for the annual End of Summer barbeque. With a groan, I flipped around the screens before placing it against my ear.
"Cade Matthew Rains I should wring your neck for takin' so long to call me back." Answered my mother's southern drawl almost immediately, causing me to blush like a green school boy who'd just been caught looking at dirty magazines.
"I'm sorry Mama, I never realized you called until I sat down at Sunshine's for dinner." My tone was light and respectful and as I waited for her response, I took a swig of my drink and toyed with the salt and pepper shakers on the table. Fidgeting, she would call it. Thank goodness she wasn't here to swat at my hands like she would've when I was a child.
"You eat at Sunshine's far too much, son." She scolded lightly, "But, it's far better than you eatin' those microwavable meals you practically live on." I grimaced at this, but didn't say a word. I wasn't a huge fan of those Hungry Man meals either, but it was that or sandwich it up every night, and that just wasn't happening. A man could only eat so much bologna. "Anyway, I'm only callin' to tell you that I bumped into someone interesting today."
"Oh yeah? Who?" I asked, not sure I even cared. Half of the time, Mama used 'bumping' in to someone as an excuse to set me up with the unmarried women I had gone to high school with. I sure as hell wasn't in the mood to entertain a woman I had no interest in back then, now. She was ready for me to settle down, but I knew her attempts were only half hearted at best. If my mother put her full effort into something, no one was getting away unless she said so.
"December Dixon."
My hand tightened on the shaker I had previously been fiddling with and I swallowed lightly to clear my throat. That was a name I hadn't heard anyone speak in a while, at least, no one in my circle. They all knew that I was still sore over her leaving Red Mire for college nearly six years ago.
"Oh," Was the only word that escaped my mouth. My head was filling with memories, flashes of things I had purposely repressed were now playing on a continuous loop. My throat tightened. Was she coming back to announce something? Was it permenant?
"I barely got two words out before she was scurrying off toward her father's truck. I contacted her mother to see if December was okay since she ran off in such a hurry, but Rose said that Deci hadn't been the same since she'd come home."
I could scarcely breathe as I listened to my mother talk about Rose and the changes in December, my mind rewinding back to the cool Autumn day when we'd first spoken to one another . I remembered the look in her silver grey eyes, the mischevious gleam in them when she spotted me making my way toward her. I remembered the swirling feeling in the pit of my stomach as she tossed a half smirk in my direction. She'd always been around, as far as I could remember, but something about her had drawn me in that day, as half of the Freshman class had prepared for the Fall Formal. I would never forget the smile she'd shot me as I had stumbled over a few other students, causing mass chaos as I had tried to talk to her. Her laugh had warmed the entire room and I knew in that particular moment that I had to have December Dixon.
I had finally nutted up and asked December out not long after and we had been together until she left two days after high school graduation, leaving me heartbroken. Of course, December hadn't known that I had every intention of proposing to her the same night she had packed up her beat up old Chevy and kissed me one last time before heading to the city. That memory was a particularly sore one, but hope blossomed in my chest, a dangerous flicker.
"Anyway, I made sure that Rose extended the invitation to December to come to the cookout tomorrow. I know you guys had a bad ending, but wouldn't it be sweet to have y'all meet and fall in love again? I mean, I've always loved that girl, and me and your daddy knew from the minute you brought her home that you two were gonna end up married and givin' us a passel of grandbabies. We could do the wedding in the same colors that your senior prom was in! Oh, that would be the best. I could even have Missy recreate the dress Deci wore as bridesmaids dresses." My heart nearly lurched out of my chest at the mention of that dress. Holy hell, Mama was already planning out a wedding to December and we hadn't even lain eyes on each other in six years. With a shake of my head I knocked away the grimace rising on my face.
"Mama, slow your roll--" I bit my cheek lightly as I heard her draw in a quick breath, "As much as you want to, you can't just marry me off to December because she's one of the only ladies in Red Mire you genuinely like. And, don't you think you need a willing bride and groom before you start planning a wedding?" The sigh Mama gave was an exasperated one and I had to fight a laugh. My Mama couldn't help herself.
"Don't you give me that, Cade Matthew. I see the look in your eyes when someone even mentions her name when you're around, and I know without a doubt that if she wanted you again, you'd drop everything in heartbeat to be with her. Not because you're pathetic, or sad, or lonely, but because you know deep down-- like I do-- that December is the woman God created just for you."
My mother's words struck me hard and I fought to keep emotions at bay. She'd hit me right at the core. I still pined for December years later, and in the six years that she'd been gone, I hadn't dated a single time. Something deep down had kept me from trying to date. A knowledge deep within me that held out because it knew that no one would fit me the way she did. It wasn't just a physical thing either, in my soul I knew that I was missing something without her -- there was a spot inside of it that only December could fill.
"Mama," I said, about to spill the truth, that is until Lissy walked out of the kitchen carrying my plate of food. Silently, I thanked God for the intervention and used it as an excuse to go and avoid this particular conversation. As we said our goodbyes and I began to dig into the delicious meal I had looked forward to all day, I realized that tomorrow I wouldn't be able to escape the truth so easily. Especially since I knew without a doubt that December would be within arms reach all day tomorrow.