Hope to get a few chapters done before I got back to school on monday ! I dont know if Jesse is Wades older or younger brother but I am writing him in as his older brother. Anyway I hope you enjoy and please review :D
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It was August 15th in Bluebell. The summer sun was splitting the stones as the Sahara like temperatures showed no sign of giving up anytime soon. There was a sense of calm around the town as most of the residents found respite from the heat in their air-conditioned homes or the Rammer Jammer. The children were enjoying their time as a result of Tom Long backing into the towns water pump sprinkling water across the towns square and the ice-cream truck that broke down outside the bakery and had no choice but to give away its array of ice-creams.
Somewhere that was not enjoying the summer was The Plantation and Lavon Hayes house.
'Wade talk to him,please!'
'No.'
'Wade he has been here 2 months and the most you have said to him is 'pass the remote'...'
'That's not true, I drove him home one night'
'And you sat in silence the whole way and began to drive off before he had even gotten out of the car' Zoe slammed her hand on the was in no mood to have the same argument with him that they had been having all summer. She marched over to the sink and pushed open the windows, she knew she was only replacing hot heat with even hotter heat but she was desperate. She picked up Wade's shirt that was lying on the ground and threw it at him.
'Wade he is your brother, and he is home and he wants to fix things with you and your dad but you wont even hear him out' She sighed as she dragged her fingers through her hair as Wade ran his hand over his bare chest. He could see how agitated she was and how uncomfortable she was, it couldnt be easy to be 4 months pregnant in this heat but he wasnt backing down.
'Zoe, I cannot talk to him I hate him-'
'No you hate what he did but he is back now and you should be mature enough to at least hear what he has to say' Wade hopped down off the counter, even if she was all sweaty and grumpy and getting bigger he still thought she looked beautiful. He looked her up and down as she stood there with a puss on her face. He leaned in to put his hand on her hips.
' until you fix things with Jesse' She walked off into the hall as Wade slapped his hand against this upper leg. Suddenly the heat had just gotten a lot hotter.
'I just passed a very angry Zoe on the stairs' Lavon said as he pulled 2 beers out of the fridge and tossed one to Wade ' She's gettin' bigger by the day'
'Yeah maybe don't tell her that as we learned from Wade's little incident last week' Lemon interjected as Wade popped open the beer.
'She only let me back into bed last night...'Wade said recalling the horrors of telling Zoe how she had ballooned in the past to say the heat was affecting everyone.
'So uhh what you guys fightin' bout now?'
Wade played with the bottle cap 'She wants me to talk to Jesse, I'm puttin' it down to the heat and the hormones' Lemon shook her head as she faced Wade ' And she is right!' Lavon pulled open the fridge and pretended to look for something as Wade stood up 'How was she right, once again Jesse just strolls back in and just expects everything is going to be fine, well there not! Does anyone round here understand that?' Silence feel across the room as Wade looked at Lemon and Lavon. 'I gotta go to work I'll see you guys tonight' He slammed the door behind him as Lemon and Lavon looked at each other.
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'Wade I need a bottle of your coldest beer and fast' George said wiping the sweat from his brow straight away he noticed something was bothering Wade as he kept his head down as he handed him the beer.
'I uh..I was talkin' to Jesse yesterday..'
'Zoe put you up to this? Cause I know she being Zoe times 2 lately you know bein' with child n'all..'
'No' George laughed 'but she is right, you and Jesse you guys been through a lot both together and apart, too much to just not speak' Wade looked up as George began to leave ' If you wont do it for you or your dad at least do it for Zoe, she loves you man and she hates seein' you like this' Wade threw his rag on the bar as a sign of defeat 'Hey Wanda..I'm goin' on my break'.
He wasnt exactly sure where he would find Jesse but as there was no sign of him at Earl's he knew exactly where to look. If you drove 2 miles past the high school and off the beaten track a bit you would find an abandoned cottage among only nature and a creek with probably the finest water spring in Alabama. The house was actually just behind Lavon's plantation and if you were to clean up the surroundings you would find a clear cut road that joined up with the back of the plantation. Wade could have walked there it was so close but there was something about the long drive that brought back memories.
He found Jesse where he knew he would, on the steps of the cottage porch, like he had been so many times growing up. Wade held the 6 pack in his hand as he approached his brother who was completely engrossed in his thoughts.
'You uh remember when Earl told us we was movin' out of this house?' Jesse raised his head as he say Wade standing in front of him. He rubbed his knuckles together.
'Yeah uh you cried for like a week couldnt get you to shut up' Jesse laughed recalling the fond memory as Wade took a seat beside him as the brothers clinked together the beer bottles.
Jesse began to laugh as he pointed to the big tall oak tree that over looked the creek. 'Remember when George Tucker fell from that tree and like snapped his arm and cried so bad when mom knocked it back into place' Wade chuckled 'Yeah all cause you pushed him' 'I think you'll find little brother that you pushed him.' There was a moments silence as the two brothers stared out into was once a beautiful garden tended to everyday by their mother.
'Nothin' every been the same since we left this house Wade'
'I know...but I guess this house just reminded him too much of mom at least in that shack he only got himself and his endless supply of beer..' Wade messed with a strand of grass.
'I loved this house and the hours we usedta spend out pickin' on George Tucker and tryin' to play ball with Lavon I guess thats why I left, didnt feel like home and hasnt felt like that in a long while' Wade thought about what Jesse said, he was right this house was home, the hours spent swimming in the creek in the summer and climbing the tree's in the winter seeing who could run from the house to the Dixie Stop and back in the quickest time without their mom noticing and the hours spent at night talking about all the things they would do when they grew up, the places they would go and the people they would be. But all that disappeared when their mom died. Suddenly Jesse was grown up, a bitter teenage boy with both eyes on a Bluebell exit and Wade a lost boy who feared loss and love and had no trust in anyone. Although they didnt speak about it they both recalled the night she died, Harley sitting with them on the top step of the stairs and numerous aunts and uncles crying in the kitchen.
Wade recalled the numerous times in the years after finding Jesse on the very step they sat on now hiding his tears from his baby brother and telling him everything would be ok, Wade needed to hear that but he didnt hear it half as much as he wanted. Eventually the pain and hurt got too much for Earl and he turned to drink and when that didnt ease the pain he packed up the family and moved them to his current house. A house that was not a home. Jesse rarely spoke and Wade spent most his time with Lavon until Lavon went to college as did George and suddenly it was just him again.
'I'm sorry for leavin' you Wade, not just for the army but for the years before that' Wade kept his head down. 'It's ok, truth is I wanted to go I did but somethin' just kept tellin' me to stay, stay in this town and deal with Earls crap and you know what as hard as it was I don't regret it cause while it was hard I managed to get a good job at the Rammer Jammer, Lavon came home and then Harley died and the most amazin' albeit frustratin' doctor arrived in her damn shorts and suddenly it started to feel like home again.'
Jesse threw his arm on Wades back ' I'm home now little brother and I wanna make things right with Earl and you and hopefully get to see my niece or nephew grow up and maybe find myself a pretty girl...Annabeths lookin' real hot lately' Wade laughed 'You think we could ever convince to Tucker to climb that tree again' Both boys broke out in laughter ' Only if he remembers to bring a change of underwear!'
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It was late when Wade got home, he and Jesse stayed talking for a few more hours before he dropped him home and went to the Rammer Jammer to apologize to Wanda for taking a slightly longer break than planned then he headed for home where his biggest challenge awaited him.
He walked into the kitchen to find Lavon, Lemon and Zoe all around the counter eating some leftover cake from dinner straight away tension filled the air as Lemon and Lavon made a dash for safety in his office. Zoe dropped her fork as she watched them walk away, she was wearing Wades shirt and a pair of shorts as Wade was hesitant to join her at the island.
'Zoe..'
'Wade..' she said as she flipped through a magazine.
'Ok listen we are both two very headstrong, stubborn people and that's what I love about you I do but we are also both very prideful people so please listen carefully as I will not be saying this very often in this relationship.. you were right I was wrong' Zoe's head shot up and her eye's widen, a small smile appeared on her face and Wade took it as a sign to come closer. He sat up on the stool and pulled her up onto his knees.
'You were right about Jesse, I shouldnt have acted the way I did all summer and how I acted towards you when I know you are going through all this' he put his hand on her stomach ' Jesse's arrival caught me off guard and I guess I was mad at him for havin' the option to come back after leavin' cause thats one thing more that I never got to wont be perfect straight away we both know that but I think we have both gone through too much together to not try salvage at least some of it' Zoe looked him in the eyes, finally she was seeing the sweet bartender with the big heart that she fell in love with not the jerk who she had been living with all summer.
She kissed him on the lips all while trying to hold back a smile 'I think you may be saying that very often in this relationship Mr Kinsella..' she said as she led him by the hand up to bed ' because I am always right' she joked as he wrapped his arms around her 'Oh is that right doc..' he tickled her as they made their way to the bedroom and suddenly the unbearable summer heat had lifted and had been replaced with that beautiful summer air that Lavon had been longing for.
Hope you enjoyed it ! And hopefully I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow. Good night ! :D
