The Country Duet(37)

I shake my head. “Baby, it is.”

“It’s gorgeous just like the ones in the magazines.”

On cue, Tux, my best friend and loyal soldier comes sprinting up to my truck. No matter how long I’m gone, he always recognizes it. I swing open the door, and he jumps right intomy lap. The horn blares sporadically until he finds a comfortable position.

“Hey, boy.” I scratch behind his ears. “Looking good.”

Tux licks at my face, dancing around on my lap until he notices Teale sitting next to me. He lets out a light growl then stops when I scold him.

“He’s a one-man dog,” I tell Teale, then grab her hand, bringing it to Tux’s back.

She begins petting him then I move my hand.

“Hunter,” Abby’s voice squeals.

We both look up in time to see the wild, curly-haired girl come flying down the cement driveway on roller blades. Her arms are swinging wildly in the air with her legs barely being able to keep up with the momentum. How she’s managing to stay upright is beyond me.

She slams into the front bumper of my truck, halting her movement.

“Son of a bitch,” she howls covering her kneecap.

“Abigail Yates, if I have to tell you one more time to watch that dirty mouth of yours, I’m going to whip you.” My mom saunters out of the house, studying the phone in her hands.

“Mom, look,” Abby tries.

But Mom has nothing to do with it, finishing her business on the phone and yelling at Abby. The sound of another engine joining us fills the air. I look over to see my sister, who was just a little girl not too long ago, pull up in her new red car. I can't believe the girl is already in her early years of high school.

“Hunter,” Mom hollers out in joy.

Quinn jumps from her car. “See, Mom, you guys let Hunter buy a big, fancy truck and I get this piece of shit new car.”

Teale and I remain in the cab of the truck with Tux on my lap, watching the shit show.

“Not now, Quinn,” Mom replies.

“Bullshit, he gets to buy the truck of his dreams, but no, Quinn can’t get the Jeep she wants.” Quinn doesn’t stop mumbling on and on, rolling her eyes.

“Get out here, son.” Mom pulls the door all the way open.

“Hey, Mom.” I smirk then hop out of the truck.

Tux follows, sitting obediently at my feet while I hug my mom.

“Well, who is that?” she whispers into my ear.

Have I mentioned that my mom has never had the subtle thing down?

I pull back to introduce Teale, but Abby begins squealing a high-pitched scream.

“My ass,” she wails.

We turn to see her on the ground. Quinn’s bent over laughing hysterically, only pissing Abby off more. She sends Quinn the bird and then tries to stand back up on her feet. The roller blades seem to have another idea.

“It’s not funny, jackass. My eggs are fertilized and need to be fed to hatch.”

“What the hell?” I whisper.

“Some damn fake animal she has. Don’t ask.”

“She needs a good whipping with that mouth of hers.”

I feel Teale’s hand press into the middle of my back. I pull her right up to my side with my arm wrapped around her shoulders, so there’s no space between us.

“Mom, this is Teale, my girlfriend, and Teale this is my mom, Blair.”

“Girlfriend?” Mom asks then beams. “I swear this boy never tells us a damn thing. We have to find everything out on our own and don’t even get me started on the jobs he has.”

Mom grabs Teale’s arm, ushering her into the house. Teale peers over her shoulder, gazing at me with a deer in the headlights look. There’s only one way to introduce her to my family; it’s similar to tearing off the Band-Aid. Nothing else will do.

Abby’s soft sobs catch my attention. Quinn’s following mom and Teale while trying to take a selfie. There are a good four or more years between all of us siblings and even with the age difference we’ve managed always to be close.

“Hey, squirt.” I kneel down in front of her.

“Don’t call me that.” She wipes at the tears under her eyes.

“Want some help in?” I ask her.

“No, Ernie and its babies are already dead. I had one job and failed them.”

“C’mon, it can’t be that bad.” I fight like hell to stifle my laughter, knowing it will only set off her hot temper. “What’s up with the roller blades?”

“None of your business.”

I lift her up in my arms, and when Abby makes it clear she doesn't want to be carried into the house, I throw her over my shoulder. She begins to scream and kick her legs until my fingers tickle her ribs. It’s only a matter of time until Abby is squealing and laughing in my arms.

When I walk into the house, it feels damn good to be home. I know it’s just all the memories this place holds and having Teale here with me. It’s a sensation that I’ll never be able to describe.

Mom has Teale at the dining room table chatting her ear off, so I decide to head up to Abby’s room to check out these dead eggs. If I thought stifling my laughter outside was hard, then it’s damn near impossible right now. Abby holds up a little plastic device that has a keychain on it, trying to explain to me all about how the animals died.