Thunder In the Rain ~ Kane Brown Love Story Sequel

Beers, Barley, & Boys

*Sawyer's POV*

I struggled to unwrap my ankle, but after repeated tries, I managed to get it off. At least the swelling is down. But my ankle was still a displeasing color. I looked at myself in the mirror and played back Kane's comment about my hair. When I had lived here, I hadn't been one who worried about my looks, but if one thing rubbed off on me from New York it was that. Did he find me boring now? Am I just like those other girls? My heart ached at the thought that Kane found me ordinary and boring.

I shook my head before tears could spring up to my eyes. Kane loves me and I love him. I repeated it in my head while hobbling around the bathroom, collecting my towels and toiletries. I climbed into the shower and let the warm water soothe away my negative thoughts. I was home and Kane was here with me. We were going to enjoy the next few days and everything will be fine. But the dreaded idea of having to go back to more photo-shoots and interviews kept me from sleeping peacefully that night.

*Kane's POV*

I knew it had been coming. I knew it since I had called him. And he wasn't gonna avoid it any longer.

"I bet that since you didn't go for another piece of cobbler that you don't want her hearin' this." He said with his arms crossed, sizing me up.

"The cobbler was great! Best one I've ever had!" I defended quickly

"It was my Mama's. An' when I married Sawyer's ma, my Mama passed it on." He said and rubbed at his eyes.

I knew Sawyer's mother wasn't in the picture anymore. I knew what had happened and that neither her or her father spoke of it frequently. I had hit a nerve and it hurt me to see this man breaking before my eyes. He cleared his throat and opened the fridge, pulling out a beer.

"You want one? I have a feeling this is gonna be a long talk." He said

He held a long necked, amber bottle out to me, and I took it, thanking him. I didn't drink often. Almost never since my incident, which almost all of my fans knew about after it my mugshot was dug up and plastered with headlines last year.

I thought back to last year when I had first met Sawyer's father. He had busted the headlight of my truck. The same truck that was parked in his driveway right now. I had only seen the abusive alcoholic side of him when we first ran into one another. Sawyer had tried to convince me back then that he wasn't a bad person, just that he occasionally had one too many when he was stressed. I had to admit that she had been right, but I had heard that he had been getting help since Sawyer announced that she was gonna be touring with me.

"So you wanna start by telling me what happened to her first?" He was serious as he took a drink.

"I dunno what exactly happened - " I started but was cut off

"An why's that?" He pressed.

"I was on tour and she had other commitments to take care of." I said

"Boy. Take a drink and follow me." He said

He stood there, watching me. He showed no intention of moving until I had taken a drink, so I did. He nodded and walked out of the kitchen and into the living-room area. I got my first chance to look around the room. There were pictures everywhere on the mantle along with his shotgun. There were two stuffed bucks hung up on the wall. He stopped at the mantle and motioned towards one picture.

I walked over and took a good look at it. It was of Sawyer sitting in a field. She had part of her hair braided back with leaves sticking out. She was sitting in front of some bush that was covered in yellow flowers. Her white blouse hung off her shoulders, showing her lightly tanned skin. She looked younger in it so I figured it had to be around high school. She looked beautiful.

Her father sat down in his chair and I sat on the other couch. He looked up at the picture again, took a deep breath, and put his bottle to his lips. He swallowed before he turned his face to look at me. He looked tired.

"I know what you're askin'." He said quietly, "But I'm curious as to what big speech you might'a come up with while driving near fourteen hours down here."

I cleared my throat, "Mr. Michigan, Sir, I'd like to m-" I was cut off

"You're really just gonna do that? No big speech?What'd you do that fourteen hours?" He looked at me, "Try again. An' put a little of that musical love poetry into it."

I looked at him for a moment before setting down my drink and folding my hands in front of me and balancing my elbows on my knees, "Mr. Michigan, I know I'm some big celebrity to you. Some big star. But I'm just a young guy who grew up in Northwest Georgia and Chattanooga. I can offer financial stability. An I love her to death. You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for her. An I know you're a man of tradition so I'm here asking-" I was cut off again.

"Don't be asking. You gotta tell a man. Look him in the eyes and tell. Show him you ain't no sissy." He said sternly and I started to sweat. "An' throw that 'sir' back in there. I liked that."

"Sir, I know you see me as a big celebrity star, but I'm just a young guy who grew up in Northwest Georgia and Chattanooga. I am financially stable, and I love Sawyer to death. We both know that there's nothing I wouldn't do for her. I know you're a man of traditions so I'm telling you that I'd like to marry your daughter." I got through the whole thing.

He sat there, staring at me. He looked to the floor, as if contemplating something. He hummed and took another drink from his bottle, emptying it. He passed it back and forth from one hand to the other, humming again. He looked up at me with a shine in his eyes.

"I always wanted someone who could protect her an' offer her the world." He said and looked around, "Shoot, just look at this place. Barely scraping by when she was growing up. A girl with her talents would'a been stuck in a little place like this. An' I was no help to the situation."

"She thinks more of you than you think, and you oughta give yourself more credit. After all, you raised her on your own. I know how tough that can be. My Mama raised me on her own until my grandma helped us out. At one point, we were living out of the back of my Mama's car." I said

"An' now that you've got money to spare?" He asked

I smiled, "To tell you the truth, Sir. One of the first things I did with my paychecks from performing was buy my Mama a good, working car."

He laughed, "Now that's the kinda man I want Sawyer to marry."

He stuck his hand out to me and we shook hands. He had the same spark in his eyes that Sawyer had, and he had tears brimming his eyes. I took out empty bottles to the kitchen and headed up to bed. Sawyer had probably fallen asleep earlier so I carefully tiptoed past before getting into my bed in the guest room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The plot thickens!

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