Happy, Happy, Happy. ♥

Chapter Six. ♥

Oh my Jesus, this is so freakin' late! I'm so sorry, I hope you don't hate me!

....

Grace’s Point of View:

I was lying upside down on the dock as John Luke and Cole fished. I was bored out of my mind; let’s just say fishing wasn’t my favorite thing to do. I didn’t have the patience to sit and wait for something to bite my line. I was way more of a hunter, shooting was way better than sitting.

“You guys, we’ve been out here for hours. The sun isn’t even out anymore so I can’t work on my tan anymore,” I whined, pushing myself up and laying across both of their laps.

“You’re the most impatient girl I’ve ever met! How can you sit in a tree stand for hours but not on a dock,” Cole asked, not moving from his spot.

“I get a gun and a chance to shoot something. This is just sitting and waiting for a fish,” I sighed, flopping my hands dramatically around.

“What do you want me to do about it? I haven’t even caught a fish yet,” John Luke said, placing a hand on my stomach.

I stuck out my bottom lip and batted my eyelashes at him pleadingly. “Please, John Luke. Please can we leave? Please?”

He tried to look anywhere but my face but he ended up looking down and caving. “Fine, let’s go do something else. It’s not like we’re going to catch any fish or anything, man.”

“You are so whipped and you’re not even with her,” Cole groaned as we all got up and made our way to John Luke’s truck.

“You’re just mad that no girl bats her eyes at you like that,” John Luke said, picking me up and setting me in the passenger seat. “Now shut it and help me put these poles in my truck bed.”

He closed my door and went behind the truck to put everything up. I was taping my fingers against my leg as I waited for them to come back. When they did I saw that Cole wasn’t getting in, and John Luke was driving off without him.

“Where’d you stash Cole?” I asked, kicking off my sandals and placing my feet on his dash. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“No, he wanted to stay and fish some more. I figured we’d go for a walk through the woods,” he said, winking at me as he parked outside of a trail.

I opened my door and used it to jump out, losing my balance and falling on my butt. I ended up laughing as I lay back on my hands. John Luke crouched down in front of me and laughed along, his dimples popping out and making my heartbeat stutter.

 “You couldn’t have waited ten seconds for me to come over here and help you out?” he asked, offering me his hand and pulling me up to my feet.

“I’m an independent woman who doesn’t need anyone’s help!” I said, threading our fingers together and walking down the trail. “But thank you for helping me up.”

John Luke’s Point of View:

I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful she was. I wanted her to be mine but we’d already made the decision together that we shouldn’t be together. I don’t know how much longer I could handle just being friends.

We ended up stopping in front of the tree that held a tree stand. I stopped at the bottom and offered her a step so she could reach the ladder. She climbed up and I followed trying to keep my eyes off of her, uhm, hindquarters…

She pushed the trapdoor out of the way so she could climb inside before holding it open for me. I closed it and sat on the floor with my legs crossed. She walked over and sat next to me, a small grin on her lips as she looked at me.

“What’s on your mind, buttercup?” I asked, pushing her knee with my hand and winking at her.

“I’ve got a lot of my mind lately, it’s just distracting. I’m sorry,” she said, biting her lip as she looked down at her legs.

“Do you want to talk about it? I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener,” I said, hoping to make her stop frowning at me.

“I don’t want to be just friends with you! I hate it,” she shouted, pushing up to her feet and placing her hands on her hips. “I know I said that it was what we needed but I don’t think it is.”

I stood up with her and tried to hold in my happiness. “I don’t want to be just friends with you either. I think you’re too beautiful for us to not be together. You make my heart race and my palms sweat and my stomach knots up.”

She smiled so big it made her eyes squint as she moved closer to me. She placed her hands behind my neck and said, “I think it’s about time that you kiss me, John Luke Robertson.”

I don’t think I’d ever been more in agreement with anyone in my life. I took her cheeks in my hand and smiled at her as we moved our lips closer together. When they finally touched Grace shivered before pulling me closer and deepening the kiss.

She smiled against my lips and I couldn’t fight my shiver when her nails grazed the skin on the back of my neck. She was going to kill me before this was over but I was going to die a happy man.

….

I was sitting at the Duck Commander headquarters when dad, Jase, Si, and Phil walked in with matching smiles. I felt my blood run a little bit faster as they sat down around me, pinning me in. They must have found out about Grace and me from mom. She’d caught as coming home last night past curfew and swore she wouldn’t tell dad if she got to know if we were dating or not.

“What are all of you all looking at? Did I do something wrong?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

“We heard from your mama and Miss Kay that you’re dating Grace. Is that right, John Luke?” dad asked, staring straight at me.

“Uhm, that is true. We got together last night,” I said, trying to keep my voice from breaking or shaking. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Did you get her daddy’s permission to date her?” Papaw Phil asked. “You gotta get the daddy’s permission before you date a girl.”

“I haven’t talked to her dad yet. We just got together last night and she went hunting with her daddy and Dean today so I haven’t talked to her,” I said, grasping straws by this point.

“I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do tonight, you’re going to go over to her house for dinner and you’re going to ask her daddy for permission to date her. That’s what I would’ve wanted Beau to do for Sadie,” dad said, nodding his head. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I’ll call her later on today and ask if it’s okay,” I said, kind of afraid of disagreeing with the two of them.

Grace’s Point of View:

I’d just gotten out of the shower after hunting all day with my daddy and my brother. I heard my phone ringing and I ran to answer it just as it stopped. I saw a familiar set of dimples on my phone screen and I felt butterflies explode in my stomach.

I clicked on his picture and waited for him to answer it. When he did I felt my heart skip a couple of beats. “Hey angel, what are you doing?”

Once I remembered how to speak I said, “I just got out of the shower. I’ve been out with the guys all day, killing us some ducks.”

“Do you think your mama would mind if I came over for dinner tonight? My entire family is saying that I need to ask your dad for permission to date you,” he said.

“Oh really, you have to ask permission? I guess that’s sort of sweet so I’ll tell her to set an extra place,” I said, pulling on some shorts and a tank top. “What are you doing right now?”

We talked on the phone until I heard my door open and shut and knew my mom was home. “Babe, my mom’s home, I’m going to go talk to her about dinner. I’ll text you later.”

“I’ll talk to you later, buttercup,” he said before the line went dead.

I was about to run downstairs when a thought hit me. What if my dad told John Luke that we couldn’t be together? I don’t think I could handle that.