Emelie
Palmer and I rode in the backseat during the eleven-plus hour drive to Morehead. This was against Clayton’s wishes; of course, he wanted me up front with him. But there was no way I was going to leave Palmer in the backseat with Corbin and Ethan both. Poor girl could handle her own for sure, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to at least serve as a buffer?
It didn’t help that the first thing Corbin said to my best friend when we walked out of our apartment was she had a nice rack. The daggers she shot him scared even me. When she mumbled something about suffocating him before the trip was over, I figured it was best to keep them at a distance.
Much like his brother, though, Corbin does not let things go and he continued to antagonize Palmer for the first three hours of our drive until Clayton threatened to buy him a bus ticket at the nearest station and force him to take that means of transportation for the remainder of the trip. Now he’d just resorted to peeking over his shoulder every so often.
She got better at ignoring him though, and had become completely absorbed with Ethan. They were coloring on the iPad Clayton offered with a few newly installed kids’ games for the road. The man was a genius for sure.
It truly warmed my heart how he managed to put Ethan first so often.
“You two better be ready for some barbecue.” Corbin looked back over his shoulder, smiling wide at the both of us.
“We’ve lived in Florida our entire lives, dumbass. That doesn’t mean we’ve lived in a cave. We know what barbecue is.” Palmer rolled her eyes at Corbin and looked out the side window at the open land that passed us by.
“You may’ve had barbecue, but you’ve never had my ma’s. There ain’t another person out there that makes it like her.”
I could tell Palmer wanted to shoot back with another smartass comment, but she wouldn’t out of respect for their mother. And probably Clayton too, but definitely not for Corbin himself.
“So, Clay, tell me about growing up in Morehead.” Palmer looked right past Corbin’s eager look. I kind of felt bad for the guy, until he opened his mouth.
“You’re feisty. That usually means that a woman is a Dynamo in bed too.” He wagged his brows, but before Palmer had the chance to reach out and slug him, Clayton smacked the back of his head.
“Knock it off.”
“What the heck?” Corbin rubbed the spot his brother just whacked. “You said the same thing about Emelie before the two of you got together.”
“Oh really?” It was my turn to shoot daggers.
“I don’t remember that.” Clayton glared at his brother, making him chuckle as he turned back around to face the front. Instead of Clay answering the question Palmer asked, Corbin responded.
“Growing up in Morehead was a blast. Dirt bikes, racing on the back roads, or hanging out down by ol’ man Richard’s drinking moonshine ’til we couldn’t see straight. In fact, it was behind Rich’s barn that Clayton and I both got our first blo—”
“No,” Clayton said, looking up in the rearview mirror, making eye contact with me. “Some stories don’t need retold.”
Corbin chuckled. “Ol’ Molly Hoover, damn that girl could—”
“I said enough.” Clayton looked over at his brother and they shared some hidden twin language.
“Such a pig,” Palmer told me, and I had to disagree. I saw a lot of Clay in Corbin and I thought it would only take the right girl to bring out his less than arrogant side. He was funny, and I’d noticed long ago the way he’d look at Palmer when she wasn’t looking. It made me wonder what was actually rolling around in his mind.
“He’s harmless.” I leaned in toward her so only she could hear me. “I think he might like you.”
“No thanks.” Palmer curled her lip in disgust. “I don’t feed stray cats because of the smell, and their manners are nonexistent. In the end all you get is scratched, or worse, you get fleas.”
I laughed, and when I looked up, Clayton was once again watching me in the rearview mirror. I think he thought maybe I was upset about the blowjob behind the barn story; but frankly, what did I have to be mad about? That was a long time ago. Granted, I didn’t want a recap, but in no way did I ever think he was innocent. He was too cocky, and way too adorable, to be innocent.
***
“This is Morehead,” Corbin said as we passed a sign that said “Welcome.” Both Palmer and I looked out our windows as the town began to come into view. It was nothing like I imagined, but better. It seemed so peaceful.
Small storefront properties, little boutiques, it all seemed so homey.
“I thought we’d head to the house first,” Clayton said as he made a right turn. “My parents will be at The Pit,” he added, making another turn up a long, narrow drive. “We can head over there after we unload.”
“The Pit?”
Corbin turned around in his seat and winked at Palmer. “The best barbecue in Kentucky.”
Instead of giving him the normal annoyed look, she nodded her head and looked out her window once more.
Just up ahead I could see the peak of a roof come into view through the mass array of trees. Everything was so green and rugged. I loved it. As we rounded a corner, I felt like my eyes bugged out of my head when I saw the house.
“Home,” Corbin said, almost in awe. “Didn’t realize how much I missed this place until now.”
“Yeah,” Clayton added as he slowed to a stop.
A large A-framed peak sat high, almost as tall as the trees that surrounded the home. Lined with tall windows, it reminded me of a cabin, only it was the most beautiful and largest cabin I had ever seen in my life, or in pictures. A large deck surrounded the entire thing, a porch swing perched high and overlooked the large hill that dropped down the left side of the property.
“Wow,” I mumbled, still completely lost in the view. “It’s beautiful.”
“So majestic,” Palmer added, and I couldn’t have agreed more.
“Come on.” Corbin hopped out. “We’ll show you around.”
Palmer didn’t hesitate for a second as she climbed out and followed the guy she could hardly stand for the last eleven hours or more. I found it funny how she’d dropped her disgust so quickly and raced after him.
Clayton climbed out and opened the back door, looking past me toward Ethan, who was still sleeping soundly at my side. “He handled that ride better than I thought he would.”
“Yeah.” I looked toward my son. “I’m surprised too.”
“So, you wanna go see where I grew up?” I turned back to face Clayton and found him smiling. He looked so anxious, so kid-like, and I couldn’t hold back my own smile. He was so damn cute.
“Yeah,” I told him as I crawled out. “We just need to get the monster.”
“Let me.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and I stepped aside, allowing him to move toward Ethan. He unbuckled him carefully, then scooped him from his carseat like he weighed absolutely nothing. Ethan didn’t wake, only curled into Clayton and continued to snore lightly.
I knew I’d never get tired of seeing the two of them together; they fit so perfectly. Clayton may not be Ethan’s dad, but he was his best friend and I would always be thankful for the love he gave my son. Clayton was a man in every sense of the word. He’d been raised right. Though college may have brought out his crazy side, he never turned from his upbringing. He was so gentle and caring that it overwhelmed me at times.
“I love you, do you know that?”
Clayton paused just before we started to climb the stairs to his childhood home and looked at me with awe on his face.
“I don’t think I’ve told you that enough. But I needed to say it now.” I moved around in front of him and placed one hand on each side, my son securely between us. “You make everything better.”
“I love you too, pretty girl.” He leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth. “But it’s the two of you that make everything better.”