Kashi poked at her food, pushing it around her plate with the ancient piece of silverware her uncle and aunt still used. They were extremely wealthy, why couldn't they just buy a new set? It screeched against the blue porcelain plate, making her wince.
Auntie Cee wiped her mouth with a napkin, setting it down next to her plate before she sighed. "Kashi dear you oughta' eat something." Her forehead was creased with little worry lines. It made her aunt look older than she was. The gray strands of hair seemed to stand out.
Sierra, who had stayed the night with Kashi, agreed, blearily rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her black hair was sticking out in too many directions to count, held only by a bandanna. She'd helped herself to seconds of the scrambled eggs, bacon, and was reaching for another one of Autie Cee's cinnamon rolls, dripping with homemade frosting. "At least have some coffee to wake you up." She took a bite from the food in front of her.
Kashi grimaced, but obliged, taking a sip out of the mug in front of her, staring at the pale liquid. She'd never been a big fan of coffee. She needed at least three tablespoons of sweet cream to drown out the taste of the bitter liquid. She didn't understand how her Aunt and uncle drank it black. Sierra may as well have drunk straight creamer for all the coffee she put in. That was a little too much sugar for Kashi. And though she didn't like the taste of coffee, the caffeine was something she could definitely use. With that thought she drank the rest of it.
Sierra looked at her phone, her eyebrows knit together. "Well, Matthias and Carr aren't staying in jail if that makes you feel any better Kashi." Sierra's mother worked with the sheriffs. She wasn't a deputy, but she still had some level of clearance at the station. "Mom said that their great Aunt came to get Matthias, and then ended up bailing out Carr too. She apparently didn't know Carr was in town."
Kashi nodded to herself. "Carr said he had a great grandmother that lived here or something. It makes sense that they both have a relative in town. Are they with her now?" She stared down at the food on her plate, picking up a forkful of eggs.
Sierra fired off a text to her mother. After a moment of silence. "Mom said that your dad came to pick Carr up in his truck. Matthias went home with her."
Auntie Cee stood up, grabbing her plate, her chair screeching against the floor. "Well Hudson and I decided that Matthias is welcome to come back to the ranch. He's a kid, and a good worker. We all make mistakes."
Kashi frowned at the way her aunt seemed to spit the words out. But she didn't have time to comment as her uncle appeared at the back door all dressed in his work clothes. "Come on Kashi, the horses don't feed themselves." He nodded his head to Sierra.
"See you soon Kash. Text me or call me if you need anything." Sierra said to Kashi, giving her friend a hug. "Sorry babe."
Kashi sighed. She didn't hate the work. It was rather rewarding. But she wanted nothing more than to curl up with her best friend on the couch and cry. There was so much to sift through. Carr had feelings for her, but she'd moved right on to Matthias who turned out to be Carr's brother. Carr warned her about trusting Matthias. Was he a bad person? Matthias had seemed fine. He was flirty, kind of like herself. He hadn't been mean to her. Honestly, he'd been a sweetheart. And not a bad dancer either. Carr had been a fantastic dancer.
Kashi trudged after her uncle, her thoughts hanging over her head like a dark stormcloud. It matched the dark gray of the sky. Kashi could hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance. It would be that kind of day. She quickened her pace to match her uncle's as they both realized that the storm was rolling in fast.
Kashi's work was swift and efficient, but her mind was somewhere else as she ran through the morning routine. Should she send a message to Carr or Matthias? She couldn't decide which of them she was mad at. She was definitely angry, that much was clear. Carr should have minded his own business, but Matthias shouldn't have lunged at his brother. She shuddered as she remembered the two of them fighting. It was terrifying. It looked as if they'd lost all control of themselves. They were tumbling and rolling in the white stones. Matthias had the jump on Carr, but Carr was most definitely the better fighter. The way he flipped Matthias off of himself…
Before she could replay the memory of Carr's fist connecting with Matt's jaw, she shook her head, hair that was free from her braids sticking to her forehead and neck, wet from sweat and the humidity.
She decided to text both of them. Separately of course.
Carr responded first, but it wasn't what she expected him to say. "Hey Kashi, I'm so sorry about all of that. But I have something to say about the mystery with your uncle and all. It's really important. Belle's in an hour?"
Kashi didn't let herself think twice when she confirmed it. She was wondering if she should have thought more about meeting him as she bounced her leg up and down where she was seated in her normal booth at Belle's. The tiny window unit AC in the front was running, but the inside of the restaurant was still stuffy and hot. She picked at the yellow nail polih from the night before. It was the same color as the lemon in her water on the table. The condensation was dripping onto the table, the ice melting fast.
Rain was falling outside, droplets the size of golf balls splashing onto the road. It was so dark it was almost nighttime, Belle's lights did their best to cheer the gloomy day, but Kashi was content being miserable, watching the water droplets slide down the window and flood the cracked sidewalk. The gutters were already full, water coming down in torrents.
The string of bells above the door jingled as someone in a black raincoat walked in, stomping their boots on the doormat. Carr hung his dripping jacket on the coat rack by the door that was probably older than the two of them combined. He spotted her immediately, offering a half smile.
Kashi offered him one as well, swallowing her anger and sadness. But he was still helping her, so she could at least be polite. Besides, he was a good guy. She knew that. So she nodded to him as he sat across from her. "Hey Carr."
"Hey Kash." He said, his voice seemingly heavy. "Look, um, I'm sorry about last night. I got ahead of myself. I should have waited until afterwards to try to talk to you."
"Carr, I get it. It's fine." Kashi smiled, genuinely this time. "Look I jumped to conclusions about you the other night too. Can we just put it behind us? Because I missed having you as a friend. We can figure out anything beyond that later."
Something like relief flitted over his features. His shoulders dropped a little as he loosed a small chuckle. "Sounds good Kash."
"Now let's order some butter cake and you can tell me what you had to say." Kashi smirked a little.
Carr nodded, but grimly. "Well, this is going to be hard to hear, but I know Jeremy Hughes. He is the man that left my mother. He's my dad."