Page 56 of Back in the Country
The doorbell rings, and I hop off my stool and dance my way over to welcome Cheyenne in for our girls’ night.
“Hi there!” I say brightly as I wave her inside.
“I made some sangria; I hope that’s okay.”
“More than okay,” Rhea hollers from the kitchen, and Cheyenne beams. Her long blonde hair is held up in a sleek ponytail, and mascara—her only makeup—coats her lashes, making her light-hazel eyes pop. She is naturally pretty and the complete opposite of her mother’s loud style.
Cheyenne wears a pair of cutoffs and a simple white fitted T-shirt. She looks adorable while still being casual. I take the jug of sangria from her and rummage through Rhea’s cabinets until I find three Mason jars. I hold them up.
“How very Southern of you,” I tease Rhea about her glassware selection.
“Very funny. I like those jars.”
I do too if I am being honest, but I just pour the light fruity liquid and pass out the glasses without comment.
We settle in around the kitchen table that Rhea had gotten at the flea market and refurbished. She’d painted the legs white but had created a beautiful mosaic sunrise out of pieces of tile on the top.
It is beautiful and completely out of my creative realm.
“Rhea, I love this table. Did you make it?” Cheyenne asks around a chocolate-covered strawberry.
“I did and it tookforever,but I’m happy with it.” Her fingertips graze the tiles with adoration.
“Give me a needle and thread any day.” Cheyenne shakes her head with a smile.
“Oh! Rhea, did you know Cheyenne was makin’ her own weddin’ dress?”
Cheyenne blushes and sends me her version of a glare. I wink and nudge her with my elbow.
“Lemme see your ring again.”
She obliges, and Rhea and I make a point tooohandahhappropriately. Cheyenne tells us about how she’d run into Jake Booker at the farmers’ market last year while he was scouting vendors for the Brew, Q, ’n Boogie.
“He asked me out, and I was so shy and so caught off guard that I saidnoand ran as fast as I could back to my car.” She smiles wistfully as she swirls the liquid in her glass. “He came to the shop three times before I finally said yes.”
“He asked you out four times? Girl…” Rhea singsongs, “I’ve seen your man and he is gorgeous and so sweet. I can’t believe you made him wait so long.”
Cheyenne blushes.
“He’s older than I am, and I just couldn’t believe a guy like him would be interested in someone like me.”
“When you say ‘someone like you’ you mean someone who is beautiful and sweet and insanely talented, right?” I deadpan.
“Good for the ego, this one.” Rhea hitches her thumb in my direction and Cheyenne laughs.
“Yes, she is. I just wanted to be sure, I guess. I didn’t date a whole lot. Guys our age never really interested me.”
I nod because I knewallabout that.
“What about you, Rhea? Are you seein’ anyone?” Cheyenne asks.
“Not right now. Things are a little hectic, and I’m just trying to help get everyone settled.”
She is talking about my brother, but I purposely ignore the comment and focus on my plate of fruit and crackers.
“What about you, Mar?” Rhea asks. “How are things with my brother?”
“I’m sorry—is that weird?” Cheyenne asks Rhea and we all burst into a fit of giggles.
