Redneck Prince Charming

Chapter Twelve

The next morning Max and Aaden were in the living room watching cartoons while Kathleen washed up the dishes from their pancake breakfast. The phone rang and she heard Aaden answer it.

"Hello?" There was a pause while the person on the other end was speaking and then Aaden spoke again.

"Alright.. I'll talk to Kathleen and Max and if they wanna come we'll be down shortly." he said. She heard him set the phone down on the receiver and he came into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" she asked. Aaden started rinsing the dishes in the sink and stacking them in the strainer.

"That was my cousin Billy. He asked if we wanted to come four wheeling today." Kathleen bit her lip and looked at him questioningly.

"I don't want to sound stupid but what are fourwheelers?" she asked. Aaden's eyes widened in shock.

"Are you serious? You don't know what fourwheelers are?" he asked. She looked back down at the plate she was washing feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no I don't' know." Aaden couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do you know what an ATV is?" he asked. She looked up at him.

"Of course I do." Then her eyes widened with realization. "Oh an ATV is a fourwheeler…" She blushed with embarrassment as he laughed at her.

"I feel stupid." she said matter-of-factly. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose.

"You're not stupid. Just a bit sheltered." he replied. "So do you want to go?" Kathleen shrugged but inside she was jumping with excitement. She had always wanted to ride an ATV, no fourwheeler, she corrected herself. But her parents and Tom had thought they were far beneath them and so she had never gotten the chance.

"Sure if you and Max want to." she replied.

An hour later and Kathleen was wondering if she should have agreed. They were on a fourwheeler on the edge of the road. She looked at the trail they were about to start up and swallowed hard. It was washed out from rain and covered in rocks. She looked over at Max who was on a fourwheeler with Aaden's cousin Billy.

Billy, Kathleen had learned was Pete's son. Pete and his two other sons Chuck and Dennis were here as well. Kathleen had been shocked by the fact that Pete had been married and though his wife had passed several years ago, when Aaden had mentioned her name in front of Pete, Pete's eyes had filled with love and he had smiled and told Kathleen that not another woman in the world would ever compare to his Samantha.

Billy looked a lot like his dad. He was tall and large. He wore a camouflage boone hat. He had red hair and a red mustache. It was obvious that Billy also shared his fathers love of alcohol and he kept taking swigs from a flask hooked to his belt.

Chuck and Dennis looked a lot alike and Kathleen realized they must look more like their mother. They were shorter than Aaden and Pete probably around six feet. They both had thick black hair and dark eyes. Chuck was rail skinny and seemed to wear a permanent smile while Dennis was muscular and had military type tattoos on his arms. Aaden had told Kathleen that he had served for ten years in the marines and that he was a quiet, serious type of person.

"So are we ready to head on up the trail?" Pete asked after Kathleen had been introduced to everyone. Aaden nodded.

"I'm ready if y'all are." he said. Kathleen nodded though she felt as if she was about to throw up from the nerves in her stomach. She wrapped her arms tight around Aaden's waist as they followed Pete and Billy's fourwheelers up the trail with Chuck and Dennis bringing up the rear on their machines.