Disclaimer: Buena Vista owns the Power Rangers. Erin's character belongs to Tigger and EstiRose, introduced in their story "Wallflowers" and used with permission. Spoken lyrics are courtesy of Jeffrey Steele and the Charlie Daniels band. No profit from or disrespect to Zima, but it IS a girly drink.
Hunter recognized a repeat of their earlier introductions--only this time with more people and greater detail. Chantal held her own at the grill, laying chicken and talking over her shoulder at the same time, but Anna Mae looked a little outnumbered. Hunter strolled over, standing at her shoulder and engaging anyone who wasn't actively questioning her in small talk. Strength in numbers.
Anna Mae barely acknowledged his presence, but he caught Chantal's appreciative look out of the corner of his eye. Unless he was mistaken, she was the outgoing one, while Anna Mae would be just as happy inside with the game on and a beer in hand. It seemed she was "his people" after all.
Speaking of which, Cam was still hiding behind the grill. Hunter smiled, exchanging an offhanded remark with Erin as he kept an eye on Cam. The asparagus had all been prepared, or speared, or whatever they were doing with it, and Chantal stepped back to let Cam lay it on the top rack of the grill. Quite a compliment, Hunter supposed, if she was really as tyrannical about cooking as she pretended.
"Can Ah get anyone a drink?" Anna Mae inquired solicitously, cutting off another question about her schooling with a speed that Hunter couldn't help but admire.
"Let me help," he offered. "What d'you have inside?"
Anna Mae listed off drink choices, and out of the corner of his eye Hunter saw Chantal shooing Cam away from the grill at last. "It's your party too," she was telling him. "This is our wedding present to Tori and Blake, so enjoy it."
Cam didn't look overly thrilled at the prospect, but he gave in graciously. He caught Hunter's eye as he and Anna Mae headed for the porch, and Hunter jerked his head toward the house. Cam didn't acknowledge the gesture in any way, but Hunter wasn't surprised to see him slipping in through the porch doors a few minutes later.
"So much for enjoying the party," Hunter teased, and Cam just gave him a look.
"Somethin' t'drink?" Anna Mae offered, sliding a beer across the counter to Hunter. "Prove y'manliness an' open that, would ya? Bottle opener's in the sink."
Cam just sighed, as though he already knew the answer to his question. "Do you have anything that isn't alcoholic?"
"You can have some of Kapri's orange juice," Hunter said, before Anna Mae could answer. Cam raised an eyebrow, and he added, "Hey, I'm not asking questions. Can you imagine her any less inhibited?"
"There's fizzy water an' coke, too," Anna Mae offered.
"Orange juice," Cam said, giving Hunter an uninterpretable look. "Thanks."
Hunter poured him a glass of orange juice, and Cam accepted it without a word. "You want that I should take these out?" Hunter asked Anna Mae.
"If y'all get Shane and Kapri, Ah'll take the Hansons' drinks," Anna Mae said over her shoulder. "Cam, make y'self useful an' pour some wine for Dustin and Marah. Ah'll be back in a jiff."
"A jiff?" Hunter repeated, bracing the door with his elbow as she stepped out onto the porch. "Who says that?"
"Ah do," she retorted. "Ya got a problem with it, racer boy?"
"Ooh, bringing out the big guns," he teased. "Now I'm racer boy!"
"Ah'll call you gay racer boy if y'all like it more," Anna Mae warned.
Hunter handed over Shane's beer and Kapri's orange juice and was ready with a retort by the time Anna Mae met him back at the porch. "Should I call you nature dyke, then?"
"Y'all call me what y'like," Anna Mae replied, unperturbed. "But tha's Dr. Nature Dyke t'ya, gay racer boy."
Oh yeah. Definitely "his people."
Cam had just set down one glass to open the door when they did it for him, and Hunter grabbed the glass and passed it to him as he stepped through. "Thanks," Cam said, nodding toward the counter. "Opened a beer for you."
Hunter lifted his chin in acknowledgement, catching Anna Mae's smile as he turned away from the door. "What?"
She just shook her head. "Y'all are mighty chivalrous," she remarked.
He shrugged, snagging the beer off the counter. "Cam's like that."
"Ah'm not talkin' 'bout Cam," Anna Mae said mildly.
Hunter snorted. "Me?" That was a new one. "No one's ever called me 'chivalrous' before."
"Suits ya," Anna Mae offered. She was pouring a glass of "fizzy water" for Rosie, and it belatedly occurred to him that they should have served Blake and Tori first. The party was for them, after all.
Chivalrous? Nah. He clearly didn't have the knack.
"So, y'all together then?" Anna Mae asked.
"Sorry?" Not really listening, Hunter was heading for the door when her next words stopped him in his tracks.
"Y'an' Cam," she clarified. "Ya'll together?"
He turned and stared at her. "You been talking to Blake?"
"Fam'ly's the las' t'know," she answered, and it took him a moment to realize she'd misunderstood.
"We're not together," he said, exasperated. "Blake was trying to set us up too, and I don't get it. Can't people just be friends anymore?"
Anna Mae shot a backwards glance at him. "Y'be mad if I said y'all are kinda defensive about it?" she inquired.
"You be mad if I tell you to mind your own business?" Hunter countered.
She shrugged but didn't answer.
"Sorry." The apology was reluctant, forced out only when he realized that, yes, she would be mad. "Guess I kinda... overreacted."
"Nah." She smiled over her shoulder at him. "Ah shouldnta said anything."
The door opened again, and Cam looked around for Anna Mae before he'd even closed it behind him. "Chantal wants to know where her Zima is," he told her, a hint of apology in his tone.
Anna Mae sighed loudly, but her reluctance was half-hearted and obviously for show. "Ah'll never get her t'drink somethin' respectable," she murmured, opening the refrigerator again.
"Girly drink," Hunter agreed, sliding the bottle opener toward her.
She smirked, but she picked up the bottle opener and pointed it at him. "Now, don' let me catch ya sayin' that in public," she warned. "N'one can diss mah girl's drink but me, y'hear?"
He held up his hands in surrender. "I'll sneer quietly."
She shook her head, Zima in hand as she headed for the door. "Ah hear ya."
Catching Cam's eye, Hunter began, "Did you ask Tori and Blake--"
"Wine and a soda," Cam answered, not even waiting for him to finish. "I've got it. Who are these for?" he asked, indicating the two glasses still sitting on the counter.
"Rosie and..." Hunter thought about it, ticking off people in his mind. "Grandma, I guess. Where'd Jeike go, anyway?"
"Probably taking her daughter home," Cam said reasonably. "I think Tori's mom is driving."
"Oh." Hunter frowned at Cam's back for a moment, wondering about Anna Mae's assumption. Did they act like they were together? Was it only because she knew they weren't straight? And where had his brother, of all people, come up with the same idea?
"Looking to socialize?" Cam asked over his shoulder.
Hunter's frown deepened. "Huh?"
"With Jeike," Cam prompted. "You want to check out her sense of humor?"
"Anna Mae thought we were together," Hunter blurted out. As soon as he said it, he wished he'd waited until Cam had turned around. He wouldn't mind seeing his expression.
From the back, though, Cam didn't so much as pause. "It's a wedding. We came together. I guess it's not so surprising that she might think that."
"It doesn't bother you?" Hunter demanded.
Cam shrugged. "Why should it?"
That stumped him for a moment. Of course Cam wouldn't care what other people thought. This was the guy whose idea of Friday night fun was an evening in the zord bay and an e-book on temporal theory. But still...
"Guess I didn't think you'd want to be associated with me like that," he said at last.
Cam put the wine back and turned around, amusement obvious in his tone if not his expression. "People have thought that for years, Hunter. I go to your races. You come to my classes. We go clubbing, do coffeehouses, and hang out whenever you're in town."
Hunter shifted uncomfortably, and Cam added, "Even if we weren't out, they'd still wonder. That's just the way people are."
"It's not the way we are," Hunter muttered. "Guys are always bringing people to the track. It's no big deal."
Cam shrugged again. "So start dating again," he suggested. "That's all it takes."
"Why do I have to date?" Hunter demanded. "You date. You haven't been out with anyone for months. The singles scene is starting to forget what you look like."
Cam didn't smile. "I don't feel like it," he replied. "It's you or neither of us, because I don't care what people think.
Hunter raised an eyebrow, feeling oddly defensive. "You saying that I do?"
"You're the one who brought it up," Cam pointed out.
"Just surprised me, that's all." Hunter frowned. "Not saying I think there's anything wrong with it."
Anna Mae tromped back into the kitchen, not bothering to close the door behind her. "We got Tori an' Blake standin' around wi'out drinks," she remarked, spotting the glasses Cam held up. "Good, y'got 'em. If y'take those out, Ah'll start servin' the corn. Hunter, ya wanna set out the taters an' rice?
"Warn folks when y'do," she added, heading for the stove. "The taters got chives in 'em an' there s'almonds in the rice. We got any allergic folk, they shoul' know. Chana's jus' gotta add stuff when she cooks."
Anna Mae directed them with as much enthusiasm as Chantal had earlier, and Hunter wondered idly why she let Chantal boss her around. They were clearly two of a kind, no matter their backgrounds or interests. He placed casseroles according to her direction, and while he was setting food out he saw her conscripting Cam to help serve corn on the cob.
The food drew people inexorably toward the tables. Hunter found himself beside Shane just as Chantal announced that the chicken would be ready by the time they finished the corn. They grinned at each other, and for a moment it was just like old times. "That sounded like a challenge to me," Hunter remarked.
"Yeah it did," Shane agreed. "Let's put this grill to the test!"
It was hard to eat corn on the cob fast, and impossible to do it gracefully even under normal circumstances. But as soon as Shane finished Hunter dropped his too, pausing just long enough to grab a napkin and maneuver around Dustin. Kapri pretended not to get out of Shane's way, so they were even when it came to pushing each other down the steps.
"Stop!" Chantal pointed her tongs at them as they jostled their way to the grill. "Turn around. Walk back to the table and get your plates. You can eat corn with your bare hands, but I want to see you using utensils on this chicken."
"But Chana," Anna Mae drawled. She was hanging off the porch railing, watching the scene with interest. "Ah thought y'cut up the chicken jus' so it'd be finger food."
Chantal turned the tongs on her girlfriend. "Silence," she said sternly. She gave Hunter and Shane another mock glare. "Walk," she reminded them.
"Yes ma'am," Shane said smartly, and Hunter smothered a laugh. They smirked their way back to the porch. It had been a while since Shane had goofed off with him, and he pretended not to see the way the adults were deliberately ignoring their ruckus.
They ignored a lot more through the course of the evening. Even Hunter had to admit that their group was too rowdy to be anywhere but the backyard. Between Dustin's antics and Blake showing off, he and Shane had plenty of competition. And Tori didn't help, egging them on while Kapri and Marah laughed at everyone. Erin joined them before long, making nine on the porch and leaving the actual lawn to the quieter generation.
He didn't see Jeike and Mrs. Hanson return, which probably said something about how loud they were being, but they had food by the time he noticed them. He looked around for Anna Mae, saw her at the grill with Chantal, and concluded that they were amusing themselves in the chaos. They certainly didn't look unhappy over there.
When the food was gone--at least from the table on the porch--Blake offered to refill their drinks and Tori persuaded Cam to bring out his guitar. Marah started to pick up some of the plates, but she was stopped by a shout from the direction of the grill. "Tha's our job, honey," Anna Mae called. "Y'all jus' leave ev'rythin' right where t'is."
Dustin pulled Marah down beside him, muttering something that made her giggle. Hunter glanced over at Shane, who was telling Erin about the time Tori had supposedly been in a photo shoot for "GirlSport." He was having to edit the story a little, much to the amusement of the others, and he was saved only by Cam's return.
Hunter kicked a chair away from the table, and Cam pushed it up against the house so he could face the yard. Blake came out through the porch door, passing another beer to Hunter and one to Shane. He refilled Marah's glass before trotting down the steps to offer more wine to the others, and Hunter saw Chantal pass him on her way into the house.
"Hunter," Cam said, catching his attention as he pushed a second chair across the porch. He gestured toward the chair expectantly.
Surprised, Hunter lifted his beer and shook his head. "No way," he said, leaning back against the railing for emphasis. "This is your show."
"Nah, come on, Hunter!" Of course Blake would be listening, even halfway across the yard. "Let's hear it!"
Tori echoed him immediately, which unfortunately meant that the rest of the girls agreed in the name of solidarity. Dustin, too, cheered him on, though Shane looked like he didn't have a clue what was going on. He and Shane didn't talk much anymore.
"Come on," Cam said with a grin. He'd known they wouldn't let up once he suggested it. "Just do some Charlie Daniels and we'll leave you alone."
"Cam," Hunter said with a sigh. This was definitely not fair. They did coffeehouses together sometimes, but Blake and Tori were the only ones here that had seen them. He hadn't expected Cam to even mention it.
"Hun-ter," Marah and Kapri chorused. He glared at them half-heartedly, and they just dissolved into giggles. He wasn't whining. He was just surprised.
"I'm not doing Charlie Daniels," he said at last, shooting Cam a warning look.
Cam just smiled. "Jeffrey Steele?"
"Fine," Hunter grumbled. He made his way over to the chairs while Cam checked the strings on his acoustic guitar. He sat down on the deck, putting his back to the chair like they did when they practiced. This wasn't a performance, and he wasn't going to make it one.
Chantal came out of the house with a bottle in each hand, and again she and Blake passed each other on the steps. "Hey, thanks for the food," he said, catching her eye as he turned around. "You're a fantastic cook, Chantal."
That provoked an overwhelming round of agreement and toasts, and not just from those gathered on the porch. Under cover of the noise, Hunter poked Cam's knee and demanded, "A little warning next time, all right?"
"You could have said no," Cam told him. "It was just a suggestion."
"Sure it was," Hunter muttered. "If I wanted to be the bad guy and spoil everyone's fun. You gonna help me out with 'The Crowd Goes Wild,' or what?"
"If you want," Cam agreed. "Are we doing both verses?"
He thought about it for half a second. "Sure. Kind of a Dustin and Shane thing, y'know? They'll like it."
Cam nodded, and he started out with an idle intro that quieted everyone down faster than Hunter had expected. Hunter listened too, the guitar next to his ear as it settled into an E-D-A progression. He looked up, caught Cam's eye when the other glanced over at him, and nodded once.
The guitar went from A to E and Hunter began, "He was an underdog, a no-threat. A NASCAR junkie, a rookie, a wannabe: still wet behind the ears, a red-line revver just jamming his gears."
There was absolute silence but for the guitar and his words. He focused on the nearest leg of the table, more nervous than he was trying to show about reciting in front of people he knew. "There are those that are, and those that ain't... the quickest get stickers; he was nothing but paint."
He looked up then, deliberately catching Dustin's eye as he added, "Chartreuse paint." That got a chuckle, and he saw Dustin grin.
"Big race," Hunter continued, transferring his attention back to the table. "We cut to the last ten laps, and here comes Junior, sneaking up from the back of the pack... Fire in his eyes, he's waving out the window as he passes 'em by.
"The tension mounts, now he's number two: all out of rubber, and running on fumes. It's door to door, out of turn four... he sees those checkers and he hears that roar--"
"And the crowd goes wild," Cam echoed quietly, his timing perfect as he added the only sung part of the story: "You're shining like a superstar--"
"And the crowd goes wild," Hunter repeated. He heard the chords change, and he let Cam fool around for a minute or so before settling back into the spoken progression.
If not for the fact that he had long ago changed the second verse from "blue-" to "brown-eyed singer," he would have done it now. Shane didn't react, but Hunter caught Kapri's smile. They finished with another chorus, not bothering to add the play-by-play that Hunter had written for the state finals at Sacramento. Cam, as usual, dragged out the instrumental breaks between verses and then ended seconds after the last words. He knew when Hunter didn't mind waiting and when he did.
The others were applauding. He snuck a glance out at the yard, and yes, everyone really was clapping. "The Crowd Goes Wild" wasn't one they usually started with; it took a certain amount of energy and he certainly hadn't seen it coming. But it wasn't so bad to see most of his family and all his old friends in the audience after all. He let Cam prod him into another song with only a token grumble when he suggested "The Devil Went Down To Georgia."
Tori supported this choice loudly, and he saw Blake grinning. They had seen him and Cam do this one, one night a couple of years back. That was the first time they tried having Cam do Johnny's lines, and Blake had teased Hunter ever since about being the devil. They were considerably better at it now.
This time, Hunter almost did stand up. Almost. He was used to looking at Cam, especially with a rhythm this fast and with what was essentially dialogue between the song's main players. But he stayed where he was, not quite ready to draw that much attention to them--
Until Cam kicked the leg of his chair, giving him a pointed look when Hunter glanced up at him. "I'm not talking to the devil on the ground," he informed Hunter. Blake hooted and Hunter sighed, but when Cam stood up he followed suit.
"Hey Erin," Cam said, eyes down as he adjusted his grip on his guitar.
"Yeah," she answered, from her place between Tori and Kapri. She looked just as curious as the others, though maybe not quite as eager as Blake. Some brothers were too smug for their own good... why he found this so amusing, Hunter didn't know.
"Pay attention," Cam was saying, lifting his head at last. "This is how Hunter and I met."
The others must not have known the song, because Tori was the only one who snickered. For her benefit, and Blake's, Hunter added, "Yeah, except Cam wasn't Johnny."
Cam just smiled, letting that one roll off. "Ready?"
With a nod, he waited for Cam to go through a single series of chords--the same one he used in place of the fiddle solo, and, Hunter suspected, an improvised version of the actual guitar solo later on. In this one they had to work off of each other more, and he waited for the split-second pause that signaled Cam was about to start over.
"The devil went down to Georgia," he said, throwing himself into the familiar words. "He was looking for a soul to steal. He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind and he was willing to make a deal." He smirked at Cam without thinking about it. "He came across a young man sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot, and the devil jumped up on a hickory stump and said 'boy let me tell you what...'"
He reminded himself not to get in Cam's face. That was just what they needed today, between Blake and then Anna Mae, to do this song the same way they'd been performing it recently. It was more entertaining and a lot more fun, but no. Not what they needed.
"I bet you didn't know it," he told Cam, holding his ground, "but I'm a fiddle player too, and if you'd care to take a dare I'll make a bet with you."
This time it was Cam who grinned, lowering his head to hide his expression, and Hunter knew what he was thinking. He threw a look in Tori's direction. "If you hurt him, I will hunt you down."
"You play a pretty good fiddle, son, but give the devil his due... I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul 'cause I think I'm better than you. The boy said--"
"My name's Johnny," Cam interjected, still not quite hiding his grin, "and it may be a sin, but I'll take your bet and you're gonna regret, 'cause I'm the best that's ever been!"
They both covered the background vocals, and if they had never gotten the harmony quite right, enthusiasm counted for something. Cam's guitar was surprisingly forgiving. Cam took his cue from Hunter and kept his distance, Johnny beat the devil, and Hunter dropped to one knee, much to the amusement of everyone watching.
"The devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat," he told the deck. Then, lifting his head, he caught Cam's eye and added, "He laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny's feet."
"Devil, just come on back if you ever want to try again," Cam responded, not taking his eyes off of Hunter. A smile tugged at his lips again, and he finished triumphantly, "Cause I told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been!"
Cam put his hand over the strings and they froze, holding their positions until Dustin hollered at them and the others burst into applause like they were startled it was over. Cam held out his hand and helped Hunter up, and Hunter couldn't help grinning.
"You think that was good," he told the others, "you should see how we do it in front of an audience."
Cam cleared his throat, giving Hunter a pointed glance.
"Ooh ooh!" Kapri exclaimed, laughing when Marah clapped again. "Story!"
"That was the story," Cam said firmly. "You want to do one more?" he asked Hunter.
"Hey, where do we see you guys?" Dustin called. "What is this, your secret hobby? You sound, like professional or something!"
Only Dustin would call them professional. "We just do it to stay in practice," Hunter answered, exchanging glances with Cam. "Actually, it was Cam's idea."
Cam shrugged in Blake's general direction. "I don't spin," he remarked. "And you've got a good voice."
Hunter paused, a little surprised. Cam hadn't said that since the first time he'd convinced Hunter to try dramatic speaking instead of rapping. He certainly hadn't expected to hear it tonight... but it was kind of nice.
"What's this about an audience?" Shane put in. "I thought we all decided to stay away from talent shows!"
"They do coffeehouses," Tori informed him. "In Blue Bay, and once they did a dorm night here at AGU. You didn't do 'The Crowd Goes Wild'!" she added accusingly.
Hunter just shrugged, but he saw Cam frown over at him. "What did we do?" he wanted to know. "'The Devil Went Down To Georgia'... and what?"
"Uneasy Rider," Blake volunteered. "The college version!"
"The college version!" Marah exclaimed.
"Aw, I want to hear it!" Kapri dropped her shoulders and leaned forward, nudging Erin.
"Me too!" Erin agreed immediately.
Cam and Hunter looked at each other again. "That's probably not a good idea," Hunter said at last, deliberately not looking over at the other two tables. "Maybe we'll, uh... do it for you later."
He heard Blake snicker, and he glared at his brother. "Way to help us out, bro."
"It's not really suited to this occasion," Cam said smoothly. "Let's do..." Here his inspiration failed him, and he hesitated. "I don't know. Something else."
tbc