Southern Secrets

by Madison, Natasha

  "Chelsea said I have to wake you up every two hours," I say, and she rolls her eyes. I watch her turn on her side in a fetal position and bring the covers under her chin. "Good night, Amelia," I say softly, turning and walking out of the room.

  My whole body on alert, I walk to the front door and lock up. Turning off the lights, I walk to the back door and make sure that it’s locked also. I walk to the bathroom, taking off the dusty clothes and dumping them in the corner. Getting into the shower, I hang my head as the hot water washes over me.

  Leaving her in that ambulance and not going with her shifted something inside me, and I knew then and there that whatever this shit was had to stop. I worked side by side with Jacob the whole time. My only focus was finding out what happened to her.

  The phone in my back pocket felt heavier and heavier with each message. My ability not to want to kill someone slipped away, each time. Jacob had to send me away from a couple of the guys we were interviewing because if one of them said again that she was smoking hot, I was going to throat punch them.

  I get out of the shower and slip on a pair of boxers and shorts. I walk back to her bedroom and see she’s still sleeping. I think about walking to her bed and lying down beside her just so I can make sure she is okay all night long. My heart pushes me to go, but my head, my head moves my feet away from her door, and I walk over to the couch to lie down and set my phone alarm to go off in two hours. I turn on my back and look up at the ceiling, my eyes never closing to sleep when I hear the soft alarm. I get up and walk to the bedroom. Her eyes open slowly when I walk in. "Did you set an alarm?" she asks me softly.

  "Yeah," I tell her and see that the sun is coming up. "Go back to sleep."

  "Turn off your alarm," she grumbles out, "or I’ll break the phone."

  I laugh. "How is your head?"

  "It’s not my head that hurts. It’s the pain in my ass in front of me that’s bothering me." She turns in her bed. "Now, let me sleep."

  "Call me if you need anything," I say, and I want to just sit and make sure she is okay, but instead, I walk back to the couch, and this time, sleep comes and takes me. The sound of movement makes my eyes fly open, and I see that the sun is streaming into the room. "Hey," I say, getting up seeing her in the kitchen.

  "Why are you sleeping on the couch?" She looks over at me, and she looks tired but still so beautiful that she takes my breath away.

  "I was scared I wouldn’t hear you," I say, getting up as she walks to the cupboard and gets two mugs out. She wears another pair of shorts and a long-sleeve sweater. "How are you feeling?"

  "Annoyed," she says, pouring coffee in the mugs and then putting the pot back. "I got seventeen voice messages from my grandmother." She hands me a cup of coffee. "One text from my grandfather." She goes back to her mug and smells it right before she drinks it. "A text from every single cousin and my mother should be here any minute."

  I walk to the fridge, grabbing some milk and putting a splash in my coffee. "Are you hungry?"

  "My mother is coming, and I’m assuming from the voice mails from my grandmother, she has cooked everything that I’ve ever said I liked since I was a little girl," she says, and I smile.

  "Nothing wrong with family loving you," I say, taking another sip, and I see her face soften just a bit.

  "I didn’t mean," she says softly.

  I shake my head. "You don’t have to apologize." It looks like she is going to say something else, but the front door opens.

  "Incoming," Amelia says to me, holding her coffee cup in both hands.

  "Good morning." I look over my shoulder and see Kallie standing there with her hands full of food. "Oh, good, you had coffee." I laugh and then look down when Amelia glares at me. "Good morning, Asher," Kallie says.

  I walk over to her to help grab some things from her hands. "Here, let me help you there, Mrs. McIntyre."

  "Suck-up," Amelia grumbles when I walk back with all the food in my hands. Placing the food on the island, Kallie walks over to Amelia and holds her face in her hands. "I’m fine."

  "When aren’t you fine?" she asks her daughter and then turns around. "What do you want to eat?" she asks, grabbing plates out of the cupboard.

  "If you guys are going to be okay," I say to them, "I’m going to go and meet up with the guys." I look at them, and Amelia just stares at me.

  "You can do whatever you want," she says, her eyes going down to the food in front of her. I look over at Kallie, who smiles at me, and I see tears in her eyes. "I’ll be fine."

  "Oh, we know," I say, turning and walking back to the bedroom. I slip on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. When I walk back out, Kallie is the only one there. "Where is she?"

  "She went to lie down," Kallie says softly.

  "I won't be long," I say, and she looks down at her hands and then looks up again.

  "Asher," she says my name, and I look over to where Amelia's bedroom is. "She isn’t good with people helping her."

  "Yeah, I got that pretty loud and clear," I say and she smiles and a lone tear escapes.

  "She’s worth it," she says and then walks toward Amelia’s room. I want to tell her that I know she’s worth it. I want to tell her that I’m the one who isn’t worth it. All the support that this family has given me and I’m not worthy of any of it.

  I grab my keys and walk out to the truck, the phone ringing in my hand. I see it’s Ethan. "Morning," I say, getting into the truck and starting it.

  "We are at the clubhouse," he says.

  "Be there in ten," I say and disconnect. When I get there, I see more cars than are usually there. I walk in, and the door is buzzed open right away. I look around and see that some of the guys are here.

  Ethan sits at a desk with a cup of coffee in his hand, leaning back in the chair. Jacob stands with Casey beside him. "Morning," I say, walking toward them.

  "Just in time," Casey says to me. "We were just going over the camera feed."

  I sit on one of the desks while the screens fill with the back of the bar. "Nothing is out of sorts," Casey says, and then I see the door open and the light comes out from inside, showing Amelia walking out carrying the garbage bag.

  She walks with her head down but something in the corner makes me sit up. "Stop it,” I snap out. "Go back a couple of seconds and look at the side corner." I point and Casey goes back and starts it again. You see a dark figure, but if you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn't have seen it. What caught my eye was the orange dot. "That’s a cigarette," I say and we all watch as the man steps out of his corner, flicking his cigarette. He moves behind her and lifts his hand, hitting her over the head. My hands go into fists when I see her fall. The figure stands over her, not moving. He turns and just walks away from her, his head down with a hoodie blocking his face. "We can’t see anything." I shake my head. "But.” I look up. "He left his DNA."

  "I’m going to go out there and see if I can find it," Ethan says.

  "He wasn’t there for ten minutes," I say. "He was camping out there, so chances are there are more than a couple to choose from."

  I look back at Jacob, who shares a look with Casey as Ethan walks out of the room. "You were right," Casey says, shaking his head. "You lost me a thousand dollars." He walks over to me and slaps my shoulder. "Glad I lost this one."

  "What are you talking about?" I ask, and he smiles. "I’ll let Jacob talk to you. I’m going to go and help my father."

  I watch Casey walk out of the room and then turn to Jacob. "What am I missing?"

  He stands there tapping his finger on the middle of table. "Have you ever thought about what you want to do in life?" I just look at him.

  "To be honest, I don’t even know if I’m staying," I say, admitting it finally, and he just looks at me. "My whole life I went from place to place. I figured if I was supposed to be in one place, the universe would let me know." I fold my arms over my chest. "The fire burning everything I have was a sign I should be moving along."

  "Or it could be a sign tha
t you were wasting away at working on a farm when you should be following what you’re good at."

  "And what is that?" I ask.

  "Seeing you at the fire and then again last night. And here this morning proves to me what I’ve thought all along. You were made for this," he says. "Let's just look at what we just saw. Hell, I didn’t even see the guy in the corner."

  "That doesn’t mean anything," I say. "I’m observant."

  "You are more than that. You have good instincts," he says. "You had the scene of the crime closed off even before I got there last night. You are protective, you have problem-solving skills, and you have the heart for it. That’s not something that you learn. That’s something instilled in you."

  "I never had anyone in my whole life care about what I did," I say, and I know I should stop. "Never had a father figure guide me toward the right path. Never had anyone give a shit at what I was good at. It’s a lot to take in and think about."

  He comes to me. "That’s all I can ask you," he says. "It’s time to set some roots. Maybe you were led here for a reason." He slaps my shoulder. "I want you to think about it, and I want you to know that I’m here for you regardless of what you decide. You’re one of the good ones, Asher."

  He walks out and leaves me alone, my eyes looking up at the black screen. "Would he ask you to stay if he knew the truth?" I ask myself.

  Chapter 16

  Amelia

  "What the fuck are you doing here?" I hear growled and look up to see Quinn standing in my office at the barn.

  "It’s been three days. I’m fine," I say, and he shakes his head. "And I’m bored," I admit. "The last three days have been going at a snail’s pace. I can’t watch television; I can’t get on my phone. I can’t go to the bar because my father has guys stationed outside, and people are constantly hovering all over me." I throw my hands up in frustration.

  "Who are these people?" He leans against the door, crossing his arms and his legs. He tries to hide the smile fighting to come out.

  "Well, for one, Mother." I put my finger up. "She is there every single morning to make sure I wake up okay."

  "That’s her job," he reminds me, making me glare at him.

  "Then there is Asher." I put my second finger up, and I can see his eyes are going just a touch lighter as he listens to me. "Guy sleeps on the couch every night, and he wakes me up every fucking two hours."

  "He’s making sure you are okay." He shrugs.

  "I’m fine!" I shout out. "I don’t have headaches. I don’t have dizziness. I’m fine. One hundred percent fine."

  "Hey, what are you doing here?" I look over and see Ethan standing there.

  "This is where I work," I say. "That is my name on the door." I point at the door I added my name to last year when I got into a fight with Quinn.

  Ethan looks at Quinn. "I know you work here, smart-ass. What I’m asking is why are you here? Chelsea said you have to be off work for seven days."

  "Five days," I say, holding up my hand. "Not seven."

  "Well, I don’t know about you," Ethan says. "But Sunday." He sticks out his thumb. "Monday." His other finger comes out. "Tuesday."

  I hold up my hand. "I get it. You know how to count and the days of the week." I glare at him.

  "Come on," he says to me. "Let’s go for a ride."

  "I have a ton of work to do here," I say, looking at my desk and seeing that there is actually nothing for me to do. "Who did my work?"

  "Willow," Quinn says. "She was worried you would be a basket case when you came back."

  "I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m grouchy." I get up and walk to them. "I’m perfectly happy." I force the smile. "And chipper."

  "You look like the Joker in Batman," Quinn says, and I punch his arm. "I’m telling your mom on you."

  I’m about to punch him again when Ethan pulls my arm out of the office. "Come on," he says, pulling me out of the barn. "Let’s go visit Grandpa and get your horse."

  "Ugh, fine," I say, getting in the truck with him. "You're annoying, by the way."

  "That’s my job as an older brother," he says, smirking. "Literally my only job."

  "Really?" I look over at him. "I thought Dad said it was to protect me."

  "And bother you," he adds in. "You know, to make up for all the times you woke me up in the middle of the night."

  "I was a child," I say, shaking my head as we get to the barn. I get out laughing. "I had no way of knowing it was wrong."

  "What about when you came into my room when you were seven and painted my nails when I was sleeping?"

  I roll my eyes when I look up and see my grandfather coming to us. His face fills with a smile, and I can’t help the smile that comes on my face. "There she is." His voice is soft, and I walk to him, hugging him.

  "Hi, Grandpa," I say, smiling up at him. His big white cowboy hat is on his head.

  "What are you doing out of bed?" he asks me. I roll my eyes, and he shakes his head, laughing. "Just like her momma."

  "We are going to go for a ride," Ethan says. "I’m not saddling your horse," he says as we walk to the barn with my grandfather's arm around my shoulder.

  "Don’t touch my horse," I tell Ethan, and we walk into the barn as I walk to my stall and saddle my horse.

  "Be careful with her," my grandfather tells Ethan. "If she gets hurt, I’ll tan your hide."

  "Grandpa, I’m almost thirty." He laughs at him, and my grandfather stands there with his hands on his hips. "Fine, I’ll make sure she is okay."

  We ride side by side, the sun high in the sky as we go into the forest. "Don’t you work?" I ask Ethan, and he laughs.

  "I am working," he says, looking at me.

  "Am I your work?" I shriek. "You guys are all assholes."

  He laughs. "We just want to make sure you’re okay."

  "Yeah, well, still," I say as we ride slowly through the woods, neither of us saying anything. Both of us are lost in our own thoughts.

  "So what’s the deal with you and Asher?" I look over at him.

  "There is no deal with Asher and me. His place burned down, and I offered him a place to sleep."

  "I did," Ethan says, not looking at me. "We all did. But he didn’t take anyone else up on their offer."

  I shrug, not wanting to think about it anymore. "I guess you have to ask him why he said yes to me and not to you."

  Ethan must sense my mood because the rest of the ride is quiet, and when we finally get back to the barn and leave the horses, he says, "Mom wants us to have dinner at her house."

  "Oh, that sounds good," I say because for the past three days, I’ve been sitting on the couch trying not to think about why Asher was coming home later than usual. The only answer that I had was that he was seeing someone. The thought made me fucking sick to my stomach, and I hate that it makes me feel this way. I wish I felt nothing.

  We pull up to my parents' house, and I see Emily out with Gabriel and Aubrey on her hip. "Daddy," Gabriel says, jumping up and down while Aubrey claps her hands together. I look over and see that Ethan’s whole face lights up. He gets out of the truck and walks to them, and I watch for a second as I wait for the sadness to pass. It’s what I thought I would have. I wait for the moment to pass like it always does before I get out.

  "Look who is here," Ethan says, and Gabriel runs over to me, smashing his face into my chest.

  "Auntie Amelia," he says, looking up at me. I kiss his head and scrunch my nose at him, something I used to do to him ever since he was young. "Daddy said you fell and hit your head."

  "I did," I say, walking into the house.

  "You should wear a helmet," he says, and I laugh at him. I walk into our childhood home, the smell of cooking filling the air.

  "Momma," I say when I get inside and make my way to the kitchen. Her eyes light up when she sees me.

  "Look at you," she says. "You have color in your cheeks."

  "I did that," Ethan says, coming in and going straight to the fridge.

  "
Did you wash your hands?" my mother asks him, and he rolls his eyes.

  "He did not," I tell my mother as I walk to the sink and start to wash my hands.

  “Tattletale,” Ethan mumbles under his breath as he comes up and pushes me over, making me laugh.

  "What is all this noise?" I hear my father say, coming in the side door. I turn my head, smiling, and then I see Asher behind him.

  "Now this is what I like to see," my father says. "The family all under one roof." My heart speeds up, and my stomach sinks when Asher looks at me and then turns his eyes right away to my mother as she talks to him. I dry my hands on the towel and avoid looking at him.

  "What can I do to help?" I ask my mother quietly as Ethan, Asher, and my father stand in the kitchen looking around.

  "You can wash the salad," my mother says, and I bend my head, going over to the sink and grabbing the bowl to place the salad in.

  The noise around me goes up just a notch, but I keep my head down, trying not to think about where he is. My mother works around me, and Emily also comes in to help. I feel so out of sorts, and it’s crazy.

  "Mom, is there any ginger ale?" I ask, and she nods her head.

  "In the garage fridge." I nod at her and walk toward the garage. Opening the door and walking down the four steps, I’m about to pull open the fridge when I feel eyes on me.

  I turn my head, seeing Asher there leaning against my mother’s parked car with his phone in his hand. "Hey," he says when I look at him.

  "Hi," I mumble and then turn to grab my drink and get out of there. My stomach feels like it’s spinning around and around.

  "Are you okay?" Asher asks, pushing himself off the car and walking over to me.

  "I’m fine, why?" I avoid looking at him as I duck my head. I feel him right beside me. His hand comes up, going under my chin. He lifts my head, and my eyes meet his. "What?" I ask, the sounds of my heart beating echoing so loud in my ears I can’t even hear myself talk.

  "Ever since I walked into the house, you’ve become quiet," he says, his voice soft, and he steps in even closer as his hand falls from under my chin.