Southern Secrets

by Madison, Natasha

  "You want to go inside and open the lights and see if they work?" I ask as some trucks arrive. The sound of gravel making me look toward the trucks.

  I grab my phone and send the text to Jacob.

  Me: Just changed the lights and they were both busted with rocks.

  I press send and look up when I see a couple of guys from the barn. "Hey.” I nod to a couple of them.

  "You coming to have a beer with us?” Elliot, one of the foremen, asks me. "My treat."

  "Yeah, I’ll be right in," I say, putting the ladder in the back of my truck.

  The phone pings in my pocket and I take it out to see it’s a text from Jacob.

  Jacob: We are installing cameras tomorrow. She will just have to deal with it.

  I shake my head and answer him back.

  Me: Good luck with that.

  I put my phone away and walk into the bar. I see that it’s quieter than it was yesterday. I spot Amelia in back of the bar as she is pouring a beer in a glass. Walking to the back I go to the bathroom and wash my hands.

  "You should go and get a motel room," my head tells me when I look at my reflection.

  Drying my hands, I don’t look at myself in the mirror before I walk out. I join the guys at the bar and sit on the empty stool. "What can I get you?" Amelia asks when she comes to me.

  "I don’t know. If I ask for a beer, will you put something inside it?" I ask, and she throws her head back and laughs. Her neck is bare, and I close my eyes and picture myself biting her and leaving my mark. My cock springs to action wanting in on the picture.

  She doesn’t answer me. Instead, she walks down to the beer taps as she fills a glass for me. She puts a coaster down and places the beer on it. "There you go," she says and smiles. "It’s safe to drink." She turns and walks away, and I want to ask her to come back and talk to me.

  Instead, I just take the beer and take a sip. The guys finish their beer and head out to their house. I am the only one at the bar. "It really is quiet on Tuesday," I say, and she nods her head, as she wipes down the bar where the guys left. I look over seeing that it’s almost nine o’clock and the bar is empty.

  "Why do you do it?" I finally ask her the question I’ve been thinking about all day. My thumb is hitting the top of the wooden bar.

  "Why do I do what?" she asks, looking at me.

  "Work the two jobs." She looks at me.

  "Well, for one, I have bills," she says. "And I’m paying my aunt monthly to own this."

  "You bought the bar?" I ask, shocked when she nods her head. "Yeah."

  "I knew you were independent and hard-working," I say, and she looks at me. "But I had no idea that you were working to buy the bar."

  "Yeah," she says, and I know she is hiding something. I can feel it. "She wanted to just give me the bar," she says as Jill comes out of the sports section.

  "Hey, it’s all done. Do you think I can clock out?" she asks Amelia, who nods her head.

  "I’m going to close up, too." She looks at the clock on the wall. "See you Thursday," she says, and Jill turns to walk out of the place. I get off the stool and walk around the bar.

  "What are you doing?" she asks, shocked.

  "Well, it’ll go faster if we both do this," I say as I grab the dirty glasses.

  "First breakfast and now this." She smirks at me. "You don’t have to keep doing this to stay with me." My eyebrows pinch together. "All you have to do is pick up after yourself." She turns around and walks toward the office, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.

  Chapter 10

  Amelia

  Why the fuck did you just invite him to come over again? I yell at myself when I walk into the office. I place the money in the safe and turn back to walk out. It takes us ten minutes to close everything since tonight was abnormally quieter than usual. "Thank you," I say when I lock the door. I start walking to my car and look up at the lights he changed. "For the lights and helping me clean up."

  "My pleasure," he says and stops by my car as I grab the keys. I unlock the door, and he opens the door for me.

  "I’m going to grab something to eat," he says. "Want me to grab something for you?"

  NO, my head screams. "Yeah, that sounds good." Fucking hell, I curse myself.

  "Perfect, I’ll see you soon," he says, waiting for me to get in the car. I get in and pull away from the bar without looking in the rearview mirror. I storm into the house, kicking off my boots and then going to the bathroom.

  I start the shower, hoping that when I get out, he’ll be asleep, and I can eat without him pushing my buttons. I spend too long in the shower on purpose, and when I walk out to the kitchen, I stop in my tracks as I see him leaning on the island with the bag of food beside him. "Did you not eat?" I ask, and he looks up.

  "No, I was waiting for you," he says, standing up and putting his phone down. "I didn’t know what you wanted, so I got you," he says, taking the sandwiches out of the bag. "Grilled and fried."

  "Oh my God," I say, the towel that is piled on my hair falling off. "Um, I guess I’ll take the chicken." I look at him. "Grilled."

  "Okay," he says, handing me the sandwich and then grabs the other one.

  "Did you not order anything for yourself?" I ask, walking to the island.

  "I figured I would eat what you didn’t want," he says. "It doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s food." I ignore the fact that he didn’t pick first and let me choose. I ignore that no one has done that for me.

  "Okay, I guess this is a good time to talk about things." I open the sandwich and take a bite before turning and walking to grab a glass. "Until you get a place to stay, why don’t you stay here?"

  "I don’t know," he answers, eating the other sandwich. "Is it going to be weird?"

  "No," I answer honestly. "I’m assuming you aren’t going to treat my house like a revolving door."

  "What does that mean?" he asks, grabbing a glass and pouring himself something to drink.

  "You aren’t going to parade women in and out of my house," I say, and his hand stops midway to his mouth. "Other than that, I think it’ll be fine."

  "So the only thing you have a problem with is me having sex with other women?” he asks me and tries to hide the smirk by bringing the glass to his mouth.

  "No." I ignore the pull to look in his eyes. "I have a problem with you bringing the women here to have sex."

  "One," he says. "For the record, I would never disrespect you like that."

  "Good to know," I say, ignoring the burning in my stomach. He didn’t say he wouldn’t have sex with other women. He just said he won’t do it here.

  "I take it you don’t date," he says, and I finally look up at him.

  "There is no time in my life to start dating," I say. "I worry about one person and one person only. Me." He just stares at me. I don’t add anything else to it because there is no need to. No one needs to know what I went through. I won’t even tell Chelsea, so the last thing I’m going to do is tell Asher.

  "It’ll happen when it’s meant to happen," he says, and I just nod at him. "You ever fall in love?"

  I think about my answer. I think about lying about it. "Yup," I say. "Long time ago. Found out it wasn’t for me." I look down and blink away the one tear that threatens to fall. I will not shed one tear for him. "What about you?"

  He laughs. "Yeah, because everyone wants to fall in love with a homeless kid who lives paycheck to paycheck and had to work three jobs at one time because the only person he’s ever had stand by his side got sick and needed meds. In the end, nothing could save him, and he died." He shakes his head as I see him blink away tears. My hand flies out to touch his arm, and my thumb rubs his warm skin. "No, I’ve never been in love." I don’t move my hand, and his eyes go to my hand on his arm.

  He walks away from me, my hand falling onto the counter. "Love, it’s a strange thing," I say, breaking the silence. He throws away his wrapper and looks over at me.

  "If you say so," he says and walks toward the bedr
oom. "Thank you for letting me stay with you, Amelia." He looks down. "I’ll be out of your hair before you know it."

  I just nod my head at him and watch him walk toward the bedroom. He closes the door softly behind him, and I want to go and ask him all the questions, but what right do I have. No right, because if he asked me, I don’t know if I would answer him.

  Turning off the lights, I walk to my bedroom and slip into bed. I close my eyes, and usually I can fall asleep right away, but tonight, I hear his voice in my head. Have you ever been in love? The loaded question still hurts me to this day. I let the tear run down to my pillow as I fight back the memories that come with it.

  That night, I dream about what could have been. What was supposed to be, but when I grab my husband’s hand, it’s Asher’s face that is there.

  My eyes fly open, and I stay in bed until I hear him walk out the front door. When I walk into the kitchen, I spot the plate on the stove with a note on it. I pick up the white paper, reading what he left.

  Didn’t want to wake you.

  See you later.

  A

  I bring the note to my nose, seeing if it smells like him and then look around to see if he isn’t standing there watching me. I look over to see the coffee pot still on. Grabbing a cup of coffee, I eat, standing at the island.

  I don’t see him that day, nor does he show up at the bar that night. I push the disappointment away from myself, and when I park in the driveway, his truck is there. When I walk in, I’m expecting to see him in the kitchen. The only thing that greets me is the soft light coming from the stovetop.

  I toss my keys on the counter and walk to the stove, seeing a plate there with another note.

  Your grandmother sent this for you.

  A

  I look toward the guest bedroom. The door is closed, and the light off. I warm the food and take it to my bedroom with me.

  The next morning, I wake up early, and even though I won’t admit it to myself, I walk out and see that he isn’t there. The coffee is started, but no food. I grab a cup and walk back into my room.

  What is your problem? I ask myself, and I want to yell that this is what I wanted. The disappointment running through me makes my stomach burn and my heart ache just a tiny bit. I fight it back, reminding myself this is all for the best.

  Getting to the barn, I say hello to everyone as I go to my desk. I walk back to the stalls to see if Willow or Quinn is there. When I don’t spot either of them, I take my phone out, and I’m about to call them when I hear a car door shut. My heart speeds up, my palms get sweaty, and my mouth suddenly goes dry.

  I walk toward the barn door, and when I see that it’s my mother, this sudden letdown runs through me. "There is my girl," my mother says, smiling when she sees me. Walking to the passenger side of the truck, she opens it and grabs two white bags.

  "Let me help you." I rush to her and grab a heavy bag from her.

  "Thank you," she says, and she puts her arm around me as we walk back into the barn. "You look tired."

  "I’m not," I answer her honestly. "What is all this?" I change the subject.

  "That is for Asher," she says, and I want to roll my eyes. "He was at your grandparents’ yesterday, and your grandmother went on a shopping spree."

  "He can buy his own clothes," I huff, walking to my car to dump the bags in there.

  "What are you doing?" my mother asks me.

  "I’ll bring them home to Asher," I say, and her eyebrows shoot up.

  "Wait, he’s staying with you?" she asks me when I grab the bag from her hand and dump it into the back seat of my car.

  "Yeah," I say, avoiding her eyes and closing the car door. "He helped me out."

  "Is that a good idea?" my mother asks me softly.

  "Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?" I fold my arms over my chest. "He needs help. What was I supposed to do?"

  "Have you had coffee today?" my mother asks, trying to hide the sly smile.

  "I’m fine," I say, annoyed. "I’m not tired. I’m helping a friend, and it’s fine."

  She walks to me and puts her hand on my cheek, and I look at her. She looks the same she did when she was eighteen. "One of these days, someone is going to want to help you juggle all those balls you have in the air, and you are going to freak the fuck out."

  "Mom!" I laugh. "You just said the f-word." I point at her.

  "Damn straight, I did," she says. "Now, what is troubling you?"

  "Nothing," I say, trying to figure it out myself. "I’m cranky, and I don’t know why, and it’s bothering me that I can’t fix why I’m cranky."

  "Unless you know the answer and you don’t like it," my mother says, and it makes me put my head back and groan. "I have to get back to work." She kisses my cheek. "I’ll see you Sunday, yes?"

  "Always," I say and watch her get into her truck and pull off.

  I grab my phone and pull up Asher’s name. Going to the text.

  Me: Where have you been?

  I quickly delete it and start again.

  Me: Haven’t seen you in a while.

  I erase that also. "What the fuck?" I mumble.

  Me: My mother dropped off clothes. Come and get them.

  I stare at it for a good ten seconds before I delete it.

  Me: My mother dropped off clothes for you. I’ll leave them at home.

  I press send before I erase it and put my phone away, turning when the hair on the back of my neck flies up, and I feel someone watching me. I turn in a circle and look at the open field toward the dense bushes in the back. I see what looks like a little orange circle, and when I pick up my hand to put it over my eyes to see better, I can’t find it again.

  Chapter 11

  Asher

  I get out of the truck after having to park almost in the street. I can hear the country music all the way over here. The parking lot is jam-packed as I see the lights coming out from the windows. The walk to the bar is the longest, and even though I told myself coming here wasn’t a good idea, I still got dressed, and here I am.

  The whole week I’ve avoided seeing her. I mean, not that I had the time not to avoid her. I spent the week helping Billy repair fences. The man was doing it himself when I found him. When I got home, I had enough energy for a shower. I fell asleep, but I would listen for her and only fully fall asleep when I heard her come in.

  In the morning, I tried to make the least amount of noise I could so I didn’t wake her. But I was hoping she would come out. The only thing I’ve heard from her is a text about the clothes her grandmother bought me.

  I pull open the door, and the heat from all the people in there hits me right away. I take one step in and stop in awe. The bar is jam-packed. I mean, it usually is on a Saturday, but it’s more so today. All you see is a sea of people. I move through the crowd toward the bar and stop when I see Ethan and Emily standing by a table talking.

  "Hey," I say to them and look around. "This is crazy."

  "Yeah, my sister got one of the popular bands to come and play tonight," Ethan says, looking around and smiling. "She should have charged a cover."

  "Nah," I say, looking around and seeing that people are crowded on the dance floor, and the band hasn’t even started yet. "This is better. They will buy drinks instead of paying for the cover."

  "Exactly what she said to us." Emily smiles and steps closer to Ethan when someone tries to walk past her.

  I take a second to look over at the pool tables part of the bar and see at least forty people around the two tables. I look toward the sports section and see the door opening and closing every second as someone goes in and leaves. I can tell that even that part of the bar is jam-packed, but there are some games on tonight. I do know that some of the men who come with their wives or girlfriends leave them to dance and go watch the game. Something for everyone.

  "Are you here with anyone?" Emily asks, and I look at her.

  "Not that I know of," I say, laughing. "I’m going to go get something to drink. You guys want so
mething?"

  "A beer," Ethan says right away, and someone bumps into Emily, pushing her into him. She smiles at him as she wraps an arm around his shoulder.

  "I’m good," Emily says, and they share a smile, and he bends to kiss her. I walk away from them and zigzag my way toward the bar.

  I can’t even get close enough to order, but I’m close enough to see her. She throws her head back at something and laughs. Her hair is down today, and she curled the ends, parting it down the middle. Her eyes shine so blue they look crystal from here. She is wearing a green tank top with a black vest, showing off her tanned, toned arms. She holds her hand up, pointing at someone to grab their drink order.

  She turns, and I see it’s just her and someone else behind the bar, which is unusual on a Saturday. Usually, she has three people. She doesn’t need your help, my head screams at me at the same time as my feet move to the side.

  "Excuse me," I say as I make my way around the bar, and I stop when I see she’s wearing jean shorts with a thick brown cowboy belt. Her long, lean, tanned legs are fully exposed with short cowboy boots. My heart goes up to my throat as I watch her walking back to the guy and getting the money from him.

  She turns around, and she sees me and stops moving, my feet walking toward her. "Hey," she says, a smile filling her face, and the heart that has risen to my throat feels like it’s going to come out. "Fancy seeing you here, roomie."

  "Figured this was the only place I could see you," I finally say. "I’m assuming if I try to offer you help, you will say no." She rolls her eyes. "That’s what I thought."

  "Fine," she admits. "A bit more people are here than I thought would be," she says, looking toward the crowd, then turning back and smiling big. "But it’s so fucking awesome," she says, clapping her hands over her head. "Now let's get the drinks flowing."

  I’ve never seen her this happy. Usually, she reserves her happiness and doesn’t really let it show.