“So, your uncle says you have a new roommate?”
I nodded.
“You like her?”
Another nod.
“And she’s nice to you?” I knew what she meant but wasn’t saying.Was she like Ashleigh?
Did everyone hate her that much? Had I just been completely oblivious? I knew everyone had their issues with her. Cash hadn’t liked her from the moment he’d met her. I’d always just thought it was because Cash could be territorial and he didn’t like that when Ashleigh was around, my focus wasn’t solely on him. Bad and Aunt Violet were better about hiding their dislike, it wasn’t until the second time she’d broken up with me that they started expressing their thoughts.
Cheyenne was nothing like Ashleigh, that was for sure.
But would she and I even last though? And what even were we? Saturday night I’d have thought just a hookup and been okay with that. I’d still be okay with that if that’s all she’d wanted. But then the fire happened, and now she was livin’ with me, and I wasn’t talking, and didn’t know what she wanted or what we were.
Maybe she didn’t even want a relationship. Maybe she planned on leaving the minute she got enough money to buy herself a newtrailer. I didn’t know. I had so many questions that needed answers, and the only reason I didn’t have them was my own damn fault.
Frustration welled inside me. I wanted to talk. I really fucking did. But it was like the connection between my brain and my mouth had been severed. A trauma response from my PTSD.
I don’t even know exactly how I’d started talking back when this happened before. All I remembered was watching Cash get his ass kicked for sticking up for me, and us running like hell to hide from Bodi Johnson and his little minions. I’d been thinking about how Aunt Violet was going to kill us for starting trouble, and Cash had given me that famous grin, said something about what I’d done being so awesome, and I’d just called him a fuckin’ idiot.
Some of the frustration had dulled, I realized. But I still didn’t knowwhy?Was it because I’d been so mystified that Cash would do something like that for me? Was it because for as dumb of a thing for him to do, I was eternally grateful for his undying support?
I didn’t know, and it drove me mad. I wanted to talk. To ask Cheyenne what she wanted. If this was just a situation of convenience or if she wanted to explore something more. She seemed like it last night, and this morning before getting sick…but, well, I just didn’t know.
I turned off the running water and dried off my hands before facing Aunt Violet fully. I gave her a firm nod, hoping she understood I didn’t think Ashleigh and Cheyenne were anything alike. She offered me a smile and returned my nod, saying, “Good. I’m lookin’ forward to meetin’her.”
Bad strolled into the kitchen then, moseying around looking at everything Aunt Violet was working on.
“Nope. You just go find yourself somethin’ to do. You ain’t gettin anythin’ until dinner, so don’t even,” Aunt Violet admonished, snapping her tongs at Bad for good measure as the chicken sizzled in the frying pan.
He chuckled as he made his way to the fridge, opening it to grab himself a Coke. “Want one?” he called over his shoulder to me.
I waved him off.
“You ready for this weeken—”
A sound reminiscent of a gunshot went off in the kitchen as the backdoor swung open and smacked against the wall with a crack. A familiar crow followed. “Big Daddy’s in the house!”
Cheyenne stepped through the threshold next, looking like a ray of sunshine in her yellow crop top and cut off jean shorts. Charlie, Cason, and Ryder followed right behind. Cheyenne’s familiar smokey voice filled the room. “Jesus Christ, Cash. Do you have to be so damn loud?”
“Lord’s fuckin’ name!” Bad said, cracking open his can as he leaned against the counter top.
Cheyenne stopped in her tracks, clapping a hand over her mouth, her cheeks turning pink. Cash, Ryder, and Charlie laughed though.
“Hey! That’s what Uncle Mav says!” Cason chimed in, running up to Bad and Aunt Violet to give them each a hug.
“Where’d you think he got that from?” Bad asked, tousling Cason’s hair. Charlie had agreed—begrudgingly—to let him grow it into a mullet for the summer.
Charlie, Ryder, and Cash all made their way around the kitchen, saying their hellos while Cheyenne stayed a step behind, hovering between me and the door. While she didn’t look spooked, there was a flightiness to her gaze. I moved to her side and nodded toward Aunt Violet.
Cash noticed and chimed in, “Here Trouble, this here’s my mama. Mama, this is Cheyenne… Mav’s girl.”
Mav’s girl.Something sparked in me at that, but I pushed it down. It was too early. Too preemptive.
Cheyenne tucked a curl behind her ear, one of her sunshine smiles lighting her up from within. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Mrs. Mooney. I do apologize for what I said a minute ago.” Cheyenne rifled in her cowhide purse a moment before pulling out a glass jar. “Here. I uh… I made this candle for you. It’s magnolia scented.” She glanced down at the simple candle and shrugged. “I was just messin’ around, so it’s nothin’ fancy.”
Aunt Violet was always hard to read. Her eyes never gave anything away, and she was the type who could smile and wave and hold up an entire conversation while silently judging you and you’d never know. She eyed Cheyenne as she grabbed the candle and raised it to her nose. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, her face softening almost imperceptibly. Opening her eyes once more, a smile blossomed on her lips. A genuine one.
