Southern Heart

by Madison, Natasha

  I laugh at him. “They are all civil. They just like to tease you."

  My family has always accepted him, even from before, but when we walked into the barbecue on Sunday at my grandparents’ holding hands, there were whispers and then a couple of fingers pointing. I was nervous as hell, and I almost threw up in the car on the way there, but they treated him just like they did the last time. No one treated him any different, and I think it was a relief even to Mayson, even if he pretends it wasn’t.

  When I get out of the shower, he is dressed in jeans and a black shirt, his hands going nuts on his phone. "Everything okay?"

  "Yeah, we are just chasing a lead,” he says as I walk into the closet to put back on the thong he just took off me and the same strapless bra.

  I slip on my blue jeans with holes in the middle of my thighs and one in the knee. I grab my yellow off-the-shoulder loose shirt. I slip my arms in the sleeves and tie the little bows at the bottom. I walk out, and he looks up and smiles. "You look beautiful," he says, getting up and kissing my bare shoulder. "Ready to go?"

  "Almost," I say, walking into the bathroom and grabbing the necklace he gave me two weeks ago.

  "Let me," he says, coming in, and I hold up my hair so he can clasp the necklace. The heart pendant falls in the middle of my chest. I hold the heart in my hand and smile at him through the mirror. "Ready?"

  "Yes," I say, walking out and slipping my cowboy boots on. I grab my purse and walk out of the house, holding his hand in mine, and we walk over to the truck he also bought two weeks ago.

  I look out the window as we make our way over to my grandparents’ house.

  We get there thirty minutes late, and I look over at him. "We aren’t that late,” I say and laugh when he closes his eyes and gets out of the truck. He comes over and grabs my hand, kissing my fingers as we walk around the house to the backyard.

  I smile when I see all the people here. Sunday dinners were something I always looked forward to. It was a chance for my cousins and me to get together. Quinn is talking to his brother Reed and Asher about something.

  Amelia spots me and waves from across the yard as she plays with Aubrey. Her brother, Graham, along with my brothers Toby and Keith, are in the middle of the yard as they look at something on someone’s phone.

  "There you are,” my mother says, coming to me now. "Your grandmother was looking for you." She kisses my cheek and then hugs Mayson next. “It shows that you got the clearance to go back to the gym.”

  “Well, it wasn’t from me," I say, folding my hands over my chest. "He went to see Dr. Gabe, who gave him the okay." I mention my boss, who didn’t listen to anything that I said. I thought it was too soon, but what do I know, apparently.

  "You’re still upset." He puts his arm around my shoulder. "I just asked him if I could hit the gym."

  "After I told you no," I remind him. It was the first big fight we had. I look down now, and think about how we made up. That is now tied up there along with the first time.

  "There she is," I hear and look over to see my grandparents coming over to us, their hands intertwined together. "Hello, lovebirds." My grandmother smiles at us. "To be young and in love.”

  We all laugh now as Ethan comes over to grab Mayson. "Guys are taking the horses out and going over to the clearing to shoot."

  "Why just the guys?" I ask Ethan, who looks over at my grandfather for help.

  "Um," he says. "The women are busy cooking." He winks at my grandmother, who glares at him.

  "Ethan McIntyre, you did not just say that," she hisses. "Did we teach you nothing?”

  "Well, you taught me that you don’t want me in the kitchen with you," he says. "The only boy you allow in the kitchen is Gabriel." He turns to Mayson. "You coming?"

  "Yeah," he says and kisses me softly and then walks away with Ethan.

  "He’s too good looking for his own good," I say to my grandmother and then look down when I feel someone pull on my shirt and see Aubrey. "Well, hello there, beautiful girl," I say, kissing her cheek. She slaps my chest and plays with the locket. My grandparents walk to greet someone who just showed up.

  "We were wondering how late you would be today." My aunt Kallie comes over now with my aunt Olivia by her side. "I had you at ten minutes."

  "I had you not coming at all." My aunt Olivia laughs now.

  "We aren’t always late," I say and try to be serious about it. "It’s only been three weeks. We were on time that first week," I say, and Amelia looks over at me.

  "Your shirt was buttoned wrong." She shakes her head, and I hide my laughter.

  "How is work?" my aunt Olivia asks.

  "It was tough at the beginning." Last week, I started my job as a nurse at the family practice a town over. If it was up to Mayson, I would stay home until his father is caught, but I was going crazy. We compromised, and by that, I mean, I said it was okay to have someone drive me to work, sit in the parking lot, and then drive me back home. It was not only for Mayson but it was for my whole family, who were against me going back.

  "Starting a new job is always scary," my aunt Kallie says. “I’m sure in a couple of weeks, it’ll feel like you were there the whole time."

  "There she is," Emily says, coming over to us and looking at her daughter. "Were you good?

  "Where are the men?" Emily looks around.

  "They went to ride horses and then shoot," Amelia says with a gruff. "Like I can’t shoot." She looks at my aunt Olivia. "I’m going to shoot Quinn in the foot one of these days."

  We all laugh. "Was he mean to you?"

  "He was being a horse’s ass," she says, and I roll my lips.

  "I’ll talk to him," my aunt Olivia says.

  "Did they take Gabriel?" Emily says, looking around, and neither of us makes eye contact with her.

  "I’m going to kill your son." She looks at my mother, taking her phone out of her back pocket and calling him, walking away from us.

  "Ten minutes," I give out a number. We started this betting thing as far back as I can remember. We would always bet to see how long it would take.

  "Not coming," Amelia says. "He’s going to call her Sunrise, and she’ll be putty in his hand."

  "You need to look into becoming a lawyer," my aunt Olivia says to her.

  "I say five minutes," my aunt Kallie says. "I have to have faith in my boy." Amelia and I just look at her, shaking our heads.

  Emily comes back, putting her phone in her back pocket. "So what did he say?" Amelia asks.

  "Well…" she says.

  “Called it,” Amelia says, clapping her hands together now.

  “Oh, shut up," Emily says. "He is sitting on the horse with Jacob, so he’s fine."

  "Lies," I say and then look over at my grandmother, who is walking back into the house. "I’m going to go and help." I walk away from the women and stop to say hello to a couple of people who always come over.

  I open the screen door and walk in, smelling the pies right away. "What can I do to help?" I ask her, walking over to the sink and washing my hands, even before she says anything.

  "You are glowing," she says, and I look over at her. "You were always beautiful." She walks over to the oven and opens it to peek in. “But these past couple of weeks, it’s just…"

  "I feel like I’m complete." Does that make sense? "I know I don’t need a man to complete me, but going to bed in his arms every single night." I smile. "It’s the best thing in the world."

  She smiles at me. "To this day, I can’t sleep if your grandfather isn’t next to me. He could be downstairs watching television, and I won’t be able to sleep without him.”

  "That is so sweet." I smile now at her.

  "Sweet but also annoying." She grabs her rag, opening the oven again as she takes out the first pie. "Where is the plate you took last week?" My grandmother looks over at me.

  "I forgot it at home," I say to my grandmother. "I’m going to go quickly,” I say. "Can I take the truck?" I walk over to the table at the front door
and grab the keys.

  “Don’t be daft,” she says. “I have a million plates.”

  “No, it’s fine," I say, opening the front door.

  "Go and get Amelia to go with you," she says, and I shake my head.

  "I’ll be ten minutes,” I say and walk out of the house, getting in the truck and making my way back to my house.

  Chapter 29

  Mayson

  Fourteen of us got on horses and followed Quinn and Casey twenty-five minutes out, behind a forest of trees, coming out to a fenced-in opening. The sun is heating us up in record time.

  A red barn sits there right at the front of the fenced area. Asher gets off his horse and walks over to the barn doors. He opens one door and then goes to open the other one. One by one, we ride in.

  We all get off our horses, and I don’t know why I’m expecting a small barn, but nothing Casey does is small. There are twenty stalls all ready and prepared for the horses, buckets of water sitting in each stall filled with hay. "Each horse has its own stall," Asher says. "Load them up."

  I hook up my horse and walk out just in time to see Quinn walking over to a solid silver door on the right-hand side. He puts his thumb on the keypad, and you hear a click, the door opening for him. "Gentlemen and little one." He winks at Gabriel. "Are you ready to have some fun?"

  "Follow me." Asher walks past us to the doors in the back.

  Once I make my way out, I put my hand up over my eyes to see what I’m looking at. It looks like a shooting range, except there are targets all over the place. It looks like over a hundred people all scattered around the place. A wooden table is set up where you would stand to shoot.

  "Holy shit," Toby says. "I can see myself spending lots of time here." He claps his hands together happily.

  "If you bring my son here without me"—Ethan looks over at them—"Dad isn’t going to be able to save you from my foot going in your ass."

  "If you bring Gabriel here"—Beau looks over at us with his hands on his hips—"I’ll whip your asses myself."

  "I’ll help your father." Jacob now pipes in, and Toby just nods his head.

  Quinn and Casey now come back out with us, each of them carrying two shotguns. "Ready to play a little game?" Quinn walks over to the table, putting down both of the guns he is carrying. "You each get five shots." He smiles. "Most hit targets wins. Easy as that."

  The young kids fight over who will win, and Ethan and I just share a look, smirking at each other. I walk over, grabbing one of the folding chairs, and sit down. Ethan follows my lead as we sit down side by side.

  Toby and Keith both hit five targets. Reed misses one. I’m sitting back in my chair, making a plan in my head. Quinn comes over now and takes a seat next to me. I look over at him; in the past three weeks, he’s been coming around more. I mean, we aren’t best friends, that is for sure, but at least we aren’t at each other’s throat. "I’m telling Chelsea," Quinn says, looking at me. "That you are out here shooting, and you didn’t bring her."

  I laugh now. "Are you trying to get into my head?" I look over at him, shaking my head, then turn back to look at Ethan as he shoots.

  "Is it working?" he asks me.

  “You know I went to war, right?” I say, and he rolls his eyes.

  I laugh at him when Ethan calls my name. "Mayson, you’re up."

  I get up now, smiling at Quinn. "Watch and learn, grasshopper.” Walking over to the wooden table, I try out the guns to see which one I like more. I find the one I want and look over at Ethan. "What did you get?"

  "I got all of them." He holds up his whole hand. "Think you still got it?"

  I laugh. "Only one way to find out." I walk over to the shooting pad. I hold up the gun now, looking through the barrel. "I’m getting ready to shoot!” I shout to make sure everyone is in the back of the line.

  "Just so you know," Casey says now from beside me. "I have your file in my office."

  "What does that mean?" I ask, not looking over at him.

  "It means I know if you are going to throw this, just to be nice to your girlfriend’s family." He chuckles.

  "You obviously don’t have the right file,” I say, firing off a shot and hitting the first target. "Because it would tell you that I don’t give a shit who I’m up against." I aim again for another target and pull the trigger. "I’II win."

  I wait until my last shot to make the shot I’ve been thinking about. If you look over to the right, there is one target at an angle, and if you hit it in the right spot, you can hit two targets at one time. I hit it at the right spot, and the bullet goes through one and then straight into the one behind it.

  "Ooohhhh!” the guys behind me all yell out.

  "I knew he was going to do that," Ethan says, getting up when his phone rings. "Hey, Sunrise," he says and walks away to talk to her.

  "Nice shot," Jacob says, holding up his hand to give me a high five.

  I walk over to Casey, who looks at me, and smirk. "If you want…" I put the gun down on the table. "You can add that to my file."

  He shakes his head. "How?" Beau says, leaning back in his chair and looking over at where I took the shot. Ethan comes back over now, sitting down in one of the empty chairs.

  Walking over to the chair I was just sitting in, I lean over to Beau. "There are four other targets that you can do that with."

  "No, there isn’t." He shakes his head, and all the other men are looking at me, even Ethan.

  I point at Ethan now. "You are getting soft." I shake my head and then hold up my hand. "Right there." I point at the two on the far left. "Right down the middle. See how they are one in front of the other, but the other is far behind?"

  Quinn gets up, grabbing the guns now. "He wins." Everyone gets up, getting ready to head back to the barbecue.

  "What does he win?" Gabriel asks and comes over to me. "Will you share it with me?"

  "I can do better than that,” I say. "You can have it."

  His eyes open wide. "Thank you, Uncle Mayson," he says and runs after Quinn. "What did he win?” He hops up and down beside him.

  “He won a sticker,” Quinn says, looking around. "A sticker that Grandma has at the house."

  "A sticker," he says, defeated.

  "And the biggest piece of pie." Quinn tries to think of another cool prize.

  "That sucks," he says, and we all laugh.

  "Let’s head back before the girls freak out," Jacob says, walking back into the barn and grabbing his horse. "I’m going to head back with the kids," Jacob says, and I look up, seeing most of the kids on their horses.

  "I’ll help close up here," I say, looking back to see Asher cleaning up. "Tell Chelsea."

  "That you love her," Toby says. "I’ll tell her." He laughs and trots out with Keith next to him.

  "I’ll make sure she’s okay," Beau says, following Jacob in the back of the group.

  I help Asher close the back doors and then look in to see the room that Quinn walked in before, and I stop in my tracks. "What in the…?" The whole room has wall-to-wall cages with guns in them. "You definitely didn’t show Toby this room," I say, walking in, and Quinn laughs, shaking his head.

  "You and Ethan are the only ones who have really seen it," Casey says. "If you ever want to come out and shoot."

  "You could bring Chelsea out, and we can see if she has a better shot." Quinn smirks at me. "My money is on Chelsea."

  "Mine, too," I say, and then we walk out of the room and get on the horses. I wait outside of the barn for Casey and Quinn to come out. Asher then closes up, and the four of us ride back. A bit faster than when we got there.

  Getting back to the barn, I get off the horse and walk with Quinn back into the barn. "I’ll take care of them," Asher says to us. "It won’t take me long."

  We leave the horses there, and we walk back out. The party is now in full swing, and even more people have shown up. "How does it get bigger and bigger?" I shake my head. "Just when I think it can’t be bigger.”

  My eyes roam the
backyard, looking for Chelsea. "You know my grandparents," Quinn says. "The more, the merrier."

  "Yeah," I say, not paying attention as I look to see Jacob and Kallie now together.

  I walk now to them since they are the closest. "Have you seen Chelsea?" I ask, and they both shake their heads.

  "She is probably inside with Gram," Jacob says, and I nod.

  I’m making my way into the kitchen when I’m stopped by Reed and his best friend, Scott. "I was just telling him," he says, "about the shot you got."

  I smirk at them. "All you have to do is look before you shoot." I look around again and see people coming and going. "Have you seen Chelsea?" I ask, and they both shake their head.

  I nod and then make my way two steps before Ethan comes to me, holding Aubrey in his arms. "Have you seen Chelsea?" I ask, looking around, and he does the same thing.

  "I saw her a little while ago," Emily says calmly. "She must be around here somewhere," she says, and I look at Ethan, who is now looking around the yard also.

  "There is my mom.” Ethan points out to where Savannah is with Beau.

  I jog to them. "Have you seen Chelsea?" I ask, and Savannah just shakes her head.

  "She is probably inside," Beau says, and I nod, turning and making my way inside.

  I pull open the door, and I’m stepping inside the house, my heart is beating so fast, it feels like it is going to jump out of my chest. I turn the corner to the kitchen and see blond hair, and just for a second, I calm down until the person turns and I see that it’s Amelia.

  "Hey," I say, my hands shaking now. "Have you seen Chelsea?"

  "No." She shakes her head, and I’m about to go back outside when her grandparents walk back into the house.

  Her grandfather is laughing now, and the minute he sees me, his laughing stops. "Have you seen Chelsea?" I look at him and see her grandmother gasp.

  "Is she not back yet?" she says in almost a whisper, and the back door opens now, and Ethan and Beau come in.

  "She isn’t anywhere out there," Ethan says.

  "She left." I look over at her grandmother. My mouth is suddenly dry as the hair on the back of my neck stands up.