Nineteen

                                    

                                          
Several hours later, I parked my pickup in front of the older of Fairview's two restaurants. Blake and I were both windblown and slightly sunburnt, but in good spirits. We'd gotten bored in the house so we decided to take out the four-wheeler and let Wyatt drive. That was an adventure in all senses of the word. 
                          
She tumbled out the passenger door before I could even turn the engine off. I followed soon after to find her surveying the handful of parked vehicles. 
                          
"Mama Callie's already here," she said, pointing out a gray Ford SuperDuty. 
                          
I nodded and followed her into the moderately run-down building. It was built sometime in the seventies and had been updated very little, if any. Thick yellow and orange carpet climbed the walls to meet cheap wooden panelling halfway. On the actual floor was a thin, grease spotted carpet that might've been a rich brown at one time. Now it was a dingy shade of dark gray. 
                          
While the building was old and seemingly unsanitary, the food was decent and they got a fair amount of business, especially on Sundays when the old folks gathered for breakfast with copious amounts of coffee and gossip. Being a Sunday evening, they had long since cleared out, although the aroma of the elderly seemed to hang in the air. 
                          
Before I even had a chance to pick out the diners I knew, Blake was storming towards the far right corner and plopping down at a table with her aunt. I reluctantly followed and took a seat to Callie's right at the square table, my back facing the window. 
                          
"How's my girls?" She greeted cheerfully, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she spoke. 
                          
Blake mirrored her grin, the family similarities coming out full force. Though Callie and Kellan had dimples, they all shared the same icy blue eyes that sparkled most of the time. I wondered if Blake's dad had them too, unable to remember from our brief meeting after the Border Days parade when he'd graciously hauled the horses back home. 
                          
"A lot better than this morning," Blake informed her. "Me and Coda had a good time today."
                          
"Oh, yeah? What'd you do?" 
                          
A mischievous glint showed up in her baby blues. "Well I started the day off by getting in a giant fight with Kellan, then Coda picked me up and took me to her house. We went fishing with Wyatt and her brother and I accidentally caused a break up."
                          
Callie lifted one eyebrow, only mildly surprised. "Whose breakup?"
                          
"Coda's brother Torrin and his bitchy girlfriend."
                          
"Interesting."
                          
Blake shrugged. "I never even met the girl but she bullied Coda so I hate her now."
                          
"Remind me not to mess with the people you love," I muttered, secretly flattered by her loyalty. 
                          
"You already have," Blake deadpanned, making my eyes widen in fear. "Aw, don't feel bad. The jackass deserves everything he got." 
                          
Callie's expression turned to one of alarm. "Wait, what?" 
                          
"Yeah, what are you talking about?" I questioned in horror. 
                          
Blake sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "Kellan. He's been a real moron lately and now he's getting what he deserves, and that's none of your attention."
                          
"Hang on," Callie raised a hand in a stop gesture, "are you saying my son's being an asshole?"
                          
Had the moment not been so serious from my perspective, I would've burst out laughing. It wasn't all that often you heard a mother call her son an asshole, especially a mother as loving as Callie.