914 Bittersweet Ln. (A Cherry Falls Romance)

"I got you first, Granger!" one of them yells.

"No, I got you, Roger. That's not fair. You're not playing fair. I'm going to tell Paisley. You're not playing fair, Roger!"

I can't help but laugh, remembering what it was like with my brother, Colt. I bite my bottom lip. Hell, this is getting pretty damn deep pretty damn fast, and I am not ready to go there.

"So you've met them," Paisley says, her voice drawing me back to the porch. I turn just as the boys spray me with the water guns. Paisley shouts at them, but I just laugh. "Granger, Roger, what are you doing?” Paisley asks them. “This is my guest, my friend. That's not very polite of you. My goodness. I'm sorry, Holt. Those boys are going to be the end of me. Apologize, please."

The boys lower their guns and walk closer. Granger nods. "Sorry, sir."

"I'm very sorry, sir," the other one says.

I hold back a smile. Paisley's eyes meet mine and she's keeping a straight face too. "Thank you for your apologies," she tells them. "Now, you promise you're going to be nice for Miss Abilene? She didn't have to do this, you know."

"Well, you don't have to go out," Granger says.

"Hey, don't be so snotty," Paisley says. "When's the last time I ever had any fun?"

That gets the boys quiet real fast. "Sorry sis," they say. "You're right, and you look real nice too."

Paisley's face brightens at that. "Yeah, you think?" She twirls around and her little brothers and sisters all look at her with a little bit of awe.

I notice that the boys have scarring all across their bare chests, burn marks up and down their skin. It's painful just to look at. My heart breaks for them, trying to imagine what they've been through. But they're not covering up their bodies, and for that I'm glad. They're here, breathing, alive, and that's a miracle.

Paisley must see me staring because she changes her tune real fast. "Hey, so we're going to get going."

"First, though," I say. "These are for you." I hand her the flowers. "I wasn't sure what you liked, but–"

Sarah Ann smiles. "Those are her favorite, Holt."

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Yeah," Paisley admits. “They are." She thanks me for them before handing them to her sister. "Will you put these in a vase for me?"

"Of course. I'll put them right by your bed."

Paisley rolls her eyes. "You don't have to do that."

"I know," she says, "but I want to. It’s romantic."

Paisley laughs. "Oh my goodness. She’s living in a fairy tale, I swear. And she’s 11 going on 18."

"Well," Abilene says, "I think it's time for you two to go. Doesn't the line dancing start soon?"

Paisley shrugs. "I have no idea. I've never been there before."

I grin. "Pretty soon, sure."

"Great," Abilene says. "So I have popcorn, I have a movie, and I have a game. We're basically set until bedtime."

"Bedtime?" Granger groans. "I'm not going to bed."

"I know you're not going to bed now," Abilene says, hands on her hips. "But eventually you are, and you'll go to bed sooner if you're not well-behaved. So why don't you skedaddle inside and get into some pajamas and we can get this show on the road?"

The kids listen. "Bye, Paisley," they call out to their big sister as they head into the house.

"Love you, Abilene," Paisley says, kissing her friend on the cheek, and then we're off, alone in my truck. Just the two of us with the doors closed and the engine on. I exhale, turning on the music. As we start driving down the dirt road toward the Tipsy Cow, I realize the truck got real quiet real fast.

"So that was my family," Paisley says. "The whole kit and caboodle."

I look over at her. The sun is just beginning to set and it's casting the most beautiful glow across her face. Before I thought she looked like sunshine, but now, I'm realizing she's even prettier than the sunset.

"What?" she asks.

I shake my head. "I'm just happy you came out with me," I tell her.

"That's your response to meeting my family?"

I shrug. "What do you want me to say? You got your hands full?"

She laughs. "That sounds about right. Can I change the station?"

"You can do whatever you want."

She laughs again. "God, are you always so easy going?"

I nod. "Pretty much. I don't have a reason to be uptight."

"Oh my goodness, I wish we could trade places just for one day. I have about a hundred off the top of my head."

"That's a lot of reasons to be stressed out for a girl who's only 21."

"Yeah. I said Sarah was 11 going on 18. I feel 21 going on 45."

I swallow. "I don't know what I should say to that. Part of me wants to tell you that's not possible, but–"