Tie Dye and Flannel, page 1
part #7 of Chase And Rowan Series
Tie Dye and Flannel
Rhavensfyre
Tie Dye and Flannel (Chase and Rowan Series, Book 4)
Copyright © 2014 by Rhavensfyre
This is a work of fiction-names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Acknowledgements
To our lovely Beta Readers. You know who you are and you are loved. You put up with the odd, the obvious, and the painful. Your humor keeps us going, and you reassure us when we start to worry that everything has gone all to Hell.
To our readers who wait so patiently for the next book, who fall in love with our characters as much as we do, you are the reason we revisit these worlds we try to so carefully to construct.
To the universe around us, and the people who looked at us strangely as we discussed our plots and plans in public. Our enthusiasm might have caused some ear burning moments, but we hope you enjoyed our banter.
“As I was walking on land I considered mine, a hawk cried out from overhead. I gazed up at it, drifting on the air currents high above me, and I realized I was the trespasser.”
Chapter One
California, 1988
Dr. Stacie Phillips hummed along to the song on the radio. Love Will Find Its Way to You bounced along as happily as her truck did down the dirt road leading to the Flying S. The heavy duty truck springs were designed for the extra weight in the back, not for a comfortable ride or her backside.
All the necessary equipment a large animal vet would need was securely locked into various padded compartments in the utility box that sported the Phillips Vet Services name and logo. The white on white truck was now an even tan color as the dust cloud settled on its otherwise pristine surface. Stacie sighed and shook her head at the professional hazard. “I should buy stock in the local carwash.”
Reba McEntire was one of her favorite singers and this was her go-to tape when no one was around to hear her singing to the road. Even though Reba’s voice sounded grainy as hell from the tape being played so often, it was preferable to the radio and to her own voice, which she likened to the sound of an out of tune coyote howling at the wrong moon. This far out in the middle of nowhere she could barely pick up a signal on a good day, and it hadn’t been a good day so far. She slid a quick glance over at the spot where her antenna should have been, but now only sported a dejected stump where some ass had bent the metal beyond repair sometime last night. “Teenagers with nothing better to do,” Stacie muttered in disgust, conveniently forgetting all the trouble she and Josie used to get into back in high school. Now that she had a job, bills and student loans to pay off, she had learned the fine line between fun and destruction really quick.
Stacie grinned at an old memory of an equally dusty road and a much older and more decrepit pick-up truck carrying a much younger and less wise group of high school students playing hooky for the day. Stacie, Josie and Dee were all on that ride, bouncing in the back of Jess Robin’s Chevy and trying not to spill the beer’s Dee had lifted from his uncle’s “special” refrigerator. The one that sat on the porch and held nothing but beer. The kitchen fridge was for food, but he was too lazy to bring his beer inside, so it sat there, a beacon that called to a bunch of teenagers looking for trouble.
They had carefully pried open the bottom of a case and pulled out a few cans, then slid the much lighter box to the back and under another case and ran for it before he looked up from the television. “We could always threaten to tell his buddies he watches Guiding Light in his underwear if he catches us,” Josie whispered. Stacie’s heart was already prepared to leap out of her chest when Josie’s whisper sent it crawling up her throat and she hissed at her between clenched teeth to hush up. Josie laughed and spun away, leaving Stacie to bring up the rear. Her longer legs made up the distance between them quickly and they both jumped into the truck bed a second before they heard the screen door slam behind them.
“Damn, that was close,” Josie giggled, pulling a lock of bright auburn hair away from her face so she could grin wildly at Stacie. Stacie stared back at her best friend and contemplated punching her.
“Josephine Michelle Turner! That was the stupidest thing in the world to do,” she yelled, channeling Josie’s mother loud enough to be heard over the wind blowing past them.
“Maybe. But you only live once. Come on Stace, live a little, braniac,” Dee St. John teased, then threw her a beer and sidled in closer to Josie. He whispered something in her friend’s ear and she giggled and blushed. Stacie frowned, caught up in an unexpected surge of emotion. Anger? Why was she angry? Both Josie and Dee were her friends. Josie was her best friend. For as long as she could remember it was always the two of them against the world. She pretended to examine the can in her hands while she watched the two of them together. Josie looked up at Dee and smiled, a soft, secretive smile that sent another spike of anger straight through Stacie’s heart. She searched around for the reason, rooting through her mind like a blindfolded man digging through mud to find a very small key. Jealousy? She closed her eyes and wrapped her thoughts around that answer. Why should she be jealous?
*
The truck hit a huge pothole that sent Stacie bouncing out of her seat hard enough to jostle her spine and shake her out of the past. “That was a long time ago,” Stacie reminded herself. Before she knew that she was different from the other girls, and before she learned that she didn’t have to lose Josie just because she had Dee. The last year of High School was painful for her as she watched Dee and Josie pair off and spend more time together. Embarrassed and confused, Stacie had earned her “braniac” nickname twice over. She dove into her classes and took home straight A’s for the last two semesters. It was enough to get her a partial scholarship to go to a real college. UC Davis had a pre-med program and she had big plans for herself. Her last summer at home had been spent hitting as many rodeo’s and shows as she could, racking up quite a few wins running barrels. That let her sell the two barrel horses she had been training up for a hefty profit and gave her enough money to live on for a while until she could find some part time work near the campus.
Dee and Josie announced their engagement at the senior graduation party and when she came home for winter break, she found out why there was such a hurry. Bright summer days and shared laughter seemed a long way away by then, and Stacie had been keeping her distance. She genuinely liked Dee and she was happy that Josie was happy, but she still felt cheated of their last year together.
Josie hunted her down. Already as big as a house and struggling to get out of her car, Josie had showed up on her parents doorstep, all fired up and demanding to know why Stacie hadn’t told her she was home for Christmas. One awkward hug later and Stacie found herself wondering what all the fuss was about, too. It was just Josie, what was she afraid of? It wasn’t like it was so unusual, high school friends growing away from each other as their paths diverged into adulthood, right?
She stood there, hands stuffed in her jeans pockets and staring at the ground. She was wearing her favorite flannel shirt and kicking dirt like an eight year old caught stealing the neighbor’s fruit off their trees while Josie read her the riot act for being an idiot.
“I love you, Stace. You can’t escape from me that easily. Besides, who’s going to be this little girl’s Godmother?” she asked, rubbing her overly round belly lovingly.
“Godmother?” Stacie asked, her jaw dropping at the idea. Images of little old ladies in long gowns and wings, replete with magic wands came to mind. She looked down at herself. Tall, thin, and dressed in ratty jeans and a flannel shirt, her cowboy boots covered in questionable detritus from mucking the barn out earlier in the morning, she started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’ve never seen a fairy Godmother dressed like me before,” Stacie said, her laughter ending in a snort when she saw the look on Josie’s face. She started coughing.
“Huh? That’s a totally different thing.”
Stacie’s humor dried up instantly. She had been joking but the reality behind the joke wasn’t quite as funny. She wiped suddenly damp palms on her jeans and cleared her throat. She hadn’t been this nervous since her first job interview. Except that this was more significant than any job interview, wasn’t it? If it went well, she would be a part of Josie’s family forever and that made it the most important conversation in her life. “Uh, Josie? Before you set your heart on this, we need to talk.”
“Okaaayy,” Josie drew the word out, clearly confused at what was making Stacie so nervous.
“I’m thirsty. Orange Crush?” she asked, feeling the urge to run away.
“You’re stalling. Come on. Out with it,” Josie said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You look like a mom,” Stacie said, taking in the wide stance and stern gaze levelled at her.
“As long as it’s not my mom, I’m okay with that.” Josie grinned, then gave up the stiff arm approach. She reached behind her and rubbed her low back. “But I need to sit down for a while. This is hell on my back. I wil
Stacie bolted, running back into the house while Josie settled down on one of the chairs dotting the front porch. She popped the cap off of two bottles, grabbed a questionably aged bag of Oreo’s from the cabinet, and headed back out.
“Thanks,” Josie said, ignoring the cookies in favor of the Orange Crush. “You’re the only one I know who eats those things with soda.”
“Don’t care for milk.”
“And you’ve never told me why.” Josie raised an eyebrow at her.
“I don’t know. It’s like your drinking another animal’s breast milk. It’s just gross to me.” She tried very hard not to look down from Josie’s face. She had always been a small thing, but being pregnant had evidently helped her out in the chest department. She squeezed her eyes shut. She would not go there, she thought. She would not ogle her friend’s breasts, her very pregnant friend’s breasts at that. Ick.
“Okay. Thanks for ruining milk for me.” Josie made a gagging sound in her throat and stuck out her tongue, then snatched up an Oreo and popped it in her mouth. “Ew, stale.”
“Yeah, I think this is the bag I opened before I left for fall semester.”
Josie scrubbed the crumbs off her fingers and settled back in her chair. “Okay, enough small talk. What gives?”
“I don’t know if you want me to be your baby’s Godmother.”
“Why ever not?”
“Um. People might talk.”
“About what?”
“About me.” Stacie stuttered over her next words. “I, uh. Oh, hell, Jose…”
“Just spit it out.”
“I’m gay.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m a lesbian. I like girls.” Stacie stopped after that. There was nothing else to say after that. It was the first time she had said those three words together out loud, and it felt strange. She felt sick to her stomach and it only got worse the longer Josie just sat there and stared at her. Finally, she just launched from her chair, unable to stand the silence. “It’s fine. I warned you. I’ll be going back to Sacramento next week. You don’t have to see me again.”
“Stop.” Josie grabbed at Stacie’s wrist and pulled her back down into her chair. “I’m sorry. Just give me a minute to process this.”
“Okay.”
Josie sat for a minute. She seemed ready to speak once or twice, then didn’t. She drank her soda and stared down at the floor for a minute. The only thing moving around them was a line of ant’s intent on finding out if a spilled drop of Orange Crush was something good to carry home. They marched on, oblivious to the tableau above them until Stacie crumbled a bit of Oreo cookie and let it fall. It must have seemed like Manna from heaven to such small creatures. They changed route and started divvying up the surprise bounty. Stacie admired their simplistic communal life. No drama there, no life changing announcements or soul searching secrets to expose to the world.
“A lesbian,” Josie said in an odd voice, as if she was trying to get a taste for what the words meant. “But, Stacie. You’re only nineteen. How do you know that’s uh, the way you are?”
“I could ask you the same thing. You’re with Dee. Been thinking about him since you were what? Fifteen? Sixteen?” Stacie went on the offensive. Josie flinched at the harsh words and Stacie instantly felt like shit. She rubbed her neck hard enough for it to burn and smiled sheepishly. “Jesus, Jose. I’m sorry. But if you must know, I fell for someone in High School. A cute girl who never saw me ‘that way’ and I almost lost her as a friend because I didn’t know what to do with my feelings. She’s married now, even has a kid on the way.” Stacie hated using the air quotes but she did anyway. They were always there, whether or not most of the people who used that phrase knew it. Using them now made her feel dirty, reinforcing the sense of otherness she felt. It was that sense of otherness that drove her now. She didn’t realize until this moment just how important it was that Josie understood and accepted her.
“No, I should be the one who’s sorry.” Josie leaned over and grabbed Stacie’s hand then very gently asked, “Is this why you made yourself absent most of the summer?”
“Yes.”
“I missed you.”
Stacie laughed, a rough bark of a laugh that felt raw in her throat, then wiped her eyes to keep happy tears from falling. “I missed you, too.”
Josie pulled herself up out of the chair with a groan, her stomach leading by a nose until Stacie jumped up and helped her. She froze when Josie pulled her in for an embrace and hugged her fiercely.
“Listen you. We are friends and you WILL be little Rowan’s Godmother. I expect to see you for Christmas dinner next week, as always, and to hell with anyone who objects.” Josie released her and stepped back, then grinned. Her eyes twinkled mischievously and she winked. “Dee would be so jealous if he knew you had the hot’s for me. I used to worry he would pick you over me, you know.” Her smile faded and she gazed into Stacie’s eyes, an earnest expression on her face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be the person you needed me to be, not the way you wanted. I love you, Stacie…and you will always be a part of my family.”
“It’s enough, Josie, that you’re my friend.”
“Good, now let’s see if I can get this stomach back into my car. I’ve still got shopping to do and we have a lot of catching up to do before you leave for school again. I want to hear about college. Any girlfriends?”
“Josie!”
Laughter followed, the friendly banter of old friends who knew exactly what to say and when to say it to bring back pleasant memories.
“Don’t be a stranger,” Josie called out as she drove away.
“Never,” Stacie promised, waving back at her lifelong friend. She would never tell a soul, but it was that conversation that sent her back to school with a new plan in mind. She revamped her classes and started checking out the Veterinary Medicine Program offered by the University. Going back home after school didn’t seem like such a bad option, and with Livestock outnumbering the human population a thousand to one, they needed a good Vet.
It turned out that Josie also had a secret, instead of just one little girl she was actually pregnant with twins. The entire time she was worried about how Josie would react to her being gay, Josie was worried about Stacie finding out she would be a Godmother to two children instead of just the one.
*
Harlan bugled loudly. The Flying S’s resident stallion announcing the veterinarian’s arrival better than any alarm or bell. The palomino ran up to the fence line and made a huge show of it, prancing around and acting like he was a total badass. “Ha! You won’t be so happy when you see me later, Harly, not when it’s time for your shots today!” she called out, then hit a short blast of her horn to let the barn staff know she was there. Stacie shook her head in amusement. If Dee hadn’t already brought the horses in from pasture, Harlan had just given the entire herd enough warning to make it all the way to the back forty.
A small figure in jeans and a t-shirt flew out of the barn and ran at full speed towards the driveway. Familiar bright auburn hair glowed in the sunlight and haloed a sun kissed face graced with a smattering of freckles.
“Stacie!” Rowan yelled, then jumped up and down with all the enthusiasm a small eight year old girl could muster while she waited for her to park. As soon as Stacie cleared the vehicle, Rowan was off like a shot, barreling across the lawn as fast as she could go, only to throw herself into open arms for an honest to goodness hug.
“Ughh, don’t squeeze so hard. You’ll break me.”
“Hah! No, I won’t!”
“No, I don’t suspect you will. Maybe next year. You’re getting bigger every year.” Stacie laughed. “Where’s everybody at?”
“Well Daddy and Rob are out in the field and Mom is at the house. She said to come up after you’re done with the horses.” Solemn gray eyes peered into hers and she added in a guilty sounding whisper. “She’s not feeling well today.”
