Southern Charms

by S. E. Kloos

  Xander crooked a finger under her chin in order to lift her head back up, giving her a serious look. “You ain’t got shit to be sorry ‘bout, ya hear? You got as much right to get freaked out over a loss a temper as anyone else. Tell ya what; I’ll make ya a deal. I’ll work on my temper if you promise me you’ll keep in mind that if I ever do lose it again, it ain’t with you. Even if it is, I ain’t gonna act on it like you expect me to.”

  Her face fell at that. “But that’s just it, Xander. I learned a long time ago to expect it, so when it does, you’re ready for it. If it doesn’t, it’s a nice surprise.” Then she lowered her voice a bit. “I don’t like it, but I can’t help it. When you hear the words over and over, then they still do it, it makes you not put faith in what someone says. It’ll never happen again doesn’t mean anything anymore, because it does happen again. It’s fucked up, but it’s the way it is.”

  Xander’s brow rose higher on his forehead at her words. “Just how long were you in that kind of situation?”

  Tears pricking at her eyes and a small lump forming in her throat, she swallowed hard before answering. “Over six months. Every time it happened was sworn to be the last, until the next time came. Every time was worse than the one before it. I want to believe you, I do. Please, don't take this the wrong way, but I wanted to believe him, too.” Pulling her chin free, she turned away from his piercing green eyes, shaking her head as a tear slipped down her finally healed cheek. “And that didn’t turn out very well.”

  Xander watched as that single tear slowly slid down her cheek, mocking him with every centimeter it moved, to the point he was ready to go hunting so he had an excuse to kill something. Lightly tapping a finger on her knee a few times, he tsked a bit. “Well, there is really only one way to prove my point that I can see, Sugar Britches.” Reaching up to wipe that mocking tear away, he once again turned her to face him, a smirk on his face. “You just gonna have to spend time with me until you figure out that not all guys are that fucked in the head. Whatcha say, Little Darlin’? Never know,” he winked at her, “You might just have some fun.”

  She looked him in the eyes for a minute or so, trying to decide just how good of an idea this was, before giving him a half smile. “Will you teach me how to ride a horse?”

  Giving her another one of those blinding smiles, Xander chuckled a bit. “It would be my pleasure, Little Darlin’.” Glancing off to the side and down the walkway, he bit into the corner of his bottom lip as he tried to figure out the best horse for her to learn on. He would have picked Rocky hands down, had Mark not been a jackoff. Since he was out, he figured his mama’s horse was the best choice left of the bunch they had on the ranch. She was one of the older ones, making her the least likely to take off or rear up and throw the lady from her back.

  Standing, he went to the stable doors before calling toward the house, “Mama.” Once she was out on the porch, giving him the attention he inquired. “When was the last time you took out Laylonni?”

  When she actually had to think about the answer, Xander had already decided it was too long ago to be good for the old girl, being confirmed when his mama answered with ‘about three weeks’. A riding horse of Laylonni’s age needed to be taken out at least once a week, if not twice in that time, to keep the muscles tight enough for her to be able to be ridden. He looked back at his mama when she called back out to him, “Why?”

  “Miss Elizabeth here wanted to ride, but Mark’s dumbass hurt Rocky’s back.”

  “You be good to her, Xander... Elizabeth?” Once the young lady she was looking for was in her sights, “You stayin’ for supper tonight, Sugar? It’ll be done in ‘bout an hour.”

  Eyes going wide, she looked at her watch, not realizing that so much time had passed. Looking back up, “I told my aunt I’d be home for dinner.”

  Mrs. Steele waved a hand in the air, “I’ll call her and let her know. Y'all kids have fun, now.”

  Elizabeth blinked at her as she disappeared back inside, then turned to Xander. “She doesn’t get told no, does she.”

  Xander snorted while shaking his head. “I only heard it once in 26 years, Sugar Britches. She didn’t like it much. Come on, I’ll show you how to saddle.”

  Chapter 12

  Elizabeth had no idea that so much that went into putting a saddle on a horse. It took almost ten minutes before he said she was ready, then led her out of the stable and out toward the corral.

  As she was walking next to him, Elizabeth looked up. “So you’re 26?”

  Xander shook his head a bit. “Naw, not quite. Close though, couple more months... in August.” Looking down at her, “Now I know better than ask, but what ‘bout you?”

  Giggling as her eyes danced, she asked, “Yet you ask anyways?” Shaking her head, she looked back up at him. “I’ll be 24 in May.” Then she cocked her head to the side, “So how long have you been riding?”

  Blowing a hard breath through his lips, Xander lifted both shoulders before dropping them again. “Oh, long time. Since ‘bout the time I could walk.”

  “What about in competition?”

  Humming a bit, he offered, “It’ll be 11 years in September. Started that shit when I was fifteen, in the junior division. I moved to the one I’m in now when I turned 18.”

  “Are there like, huge differences between the two divisions or something?”

  Wrinkling his nose, Xander shook head head. “Not really. Bigger animals, longer times, and a few less rules and regulations. That’s ‘bout it.” Pulling the horse to a stop in the middle of the corral, he patted her neck before crooking a finger at Elizabeth, “Come here.” He explained, pointing to a foot hold in the saddle, “Right foot through there. I’ll boost you up.” Once her foot was where he told her to put it, Xander gripped her by the hips and lifted her, telling her to swing her leg over and put her foot in the other foot hold. Once she was up, Xander handed over the reigns. “Hang on to these. Laylonni here will take her cues as to what you want by what she feels through these. You tug to the right, she’ll go right and so forth. You pull back, she’ll stop. Got it?” At the girl’s nod, Xander took a step back while crossing his arms. “Now, TAP your feet to her sides. The harder you hit, the faster she gonna go.”

  For the remaining time before Mrs. Steele called them in to dinner, Xander worked with Elizabeth on the finer points of riding; how to sit in the saddle properly so as to not hurt your ass, how to get the horse to follow your commands, things like that. By this time the hour was up, Elizabeth was up to riding a soft trot.

  As they were putting Laylonni up, Xander looked over the horse’s back with a smirk. “Not too shabby for a city gal, I suspect. Maybe there’s a bit of a country gal in there somewhere after all, huh?”

  Elizabeth just giggled as she threw a brush at him.

  Chapter 13

  Elizabeth ended up staying at the Steele ranch until after dark, having been invited to take a ride along the trails around the ranch after dinner. Before she left that night, Xander had given her his cell number, telling her to call him to let him know she made it home, since she was still learning the area. She ending up having to call him once from a diner, because she took a wrong turn and couldn’t figure out where, plus she didn’t know her uncle’s number off the top of her head. She appreciated the fact he didn’t laugh at her as he told her how to find the main road she was looking for... well, while she was on the phone with him anyways.

  The next afternoon Mark had come over, and as promised, brought his wife with him. To her surprise, they had actually hit it off almost immediately. Elizabeth really liked her; she was blunt and straight to the point, not beating around the bush on anything or holding her tongue. Before Valerie and Mark left that night, the girls made plans for Saturday to go to the city for some shopping, fast food, and a new cell phone for Elizabeth. The way she saw it, Brandon already knew where she was, so it was pointless to hide anymore. Plus, she was tired of it as it was. If she was out and had a phone, she had a better
chance of getting help, than if she didn’t.

  After Valerie dropped her off at home that evening, she got a shower and ate dinner. About an hour later, she was lying in bed listening to her iPod when her phone rang. Grabbing it off her night stand to look at the caller ID, her brow drew up at the unknown number. After a short debate, she shrugged and flipped it open. “Hello?”

  “Howdy, Sugar Britches.”

  Smiling while rolling her eyes, she answered. “Hey Xander, what’s up?”

  “Not a damn thin’. Hey, whatcya doin’ tonight?”

  “Not a lot. What number are you calling from?”

  “Kyle’s phone, ‘cause mine is currently deader than a doornail. Anyhow, I was wantin’ to know if ya wanted to go out tonight.”

  Blinking a bit, Elizabeth inquired. “And do what?”

  “Get rowdy and raise all kinds a hell. There’s a barn dance out in the sticks and I need a partner.”

  Biting her lip, she groaned, “I’m not much of a dancer, and you already have a broken foot.”

  There was snort on the other end of the line. “Then you ain’t ever had a good partner, ‘cause every girl can dance. And don’t you be worried none ‘bout my foot. I got this boot cast doohickey from the doc today that not even Rocky could break if he tried. So, whatcha say, Little Darlin’? Come out with me tonight?”

  Taking a minute to think about it, Elizabeth finally gave in. “Alright, I’ll go, but I warned you that I can’t dance for shit.”

  After they cleared up the details and he said he would be there to pick her up in an hour, Elizabeth hung up with Xander. She wasted no time dialing another number. Once there was a greeting on the other end, Elizabeth whimpered into the phone. “Val, I need your help.”

  Ten minutes later, Elizabeth was opening the front door, pulling Valerie inside and up to her room, where it looked like a Texas tornado had hit. Val looked around the room with wide eyes before looking at the freaking out little Dolly. Scoffing with a shake of her head, Val came up with a plan of attack.

  Grabbing the frantic girl by the shoulders, Valerie finally got her attention and very calmly explained. “You head off to the shower right quick, Dolly. I’ll make sense a this mess, then pick you out somethin’ to wear. All you doin’ right now is wastin’ time we ain’t got, Doll.”

  Whimpering at that, Elizabeth whirled around, hitting Val in the face with her hair in her haste, making Val snort and shake her head. She then turned back to the mess of clothing that littered every surface of the room with her hands on her hips. Once she heard the bathroom door slam, she giggled, looking back over her shoulder at the door. “That poor Dolly ain’t got no idea what the fuck she in for tonight.” Turning back to the room, she rubbed her hands together, “Now, let’s see what I can find in here.”

  By the time Elizabeth came out of the shower, Val had an outfit laid out that was not up for debate, no matter how much protest came out of Elizabeth. When she tried, Val just cocked a brow at her. “You asked me to help, Dolly, so you dress the way I say. Now, put it on.”

  What Val didn’t know, was that all she was gonna ask was if it wasn’t too revealing for the first time her and Xander ever actually hung out. She didn’t have a problem with the outfit. If she had, she wouldn’t have bought the damn thing. Glaring a tad, Elizabeth began to get dressed in the short jean skirt and the corset style halter top. It was like most of the rest of her going out clothes in its length, or lack thereof. It only went down to the bottom of her ribs showing off her whole stomach. It was almost the exact same outfit she wore the first time she had met Xander, only the shirt wasn’t a tank top or white. The corset was black with white designs stitched into it.

  Valerie watched as her little dolly pulled on her socks, then gagged when she saw her reaching for her sneakers. Rolling her eyes, Val sighed. “What size shoe do ya wear?” A triumphant smile came to her lips when the answer was ‘7’. Sitting down on the bed, Val pulled off the black boots she was wearing before tossing them on the floor in front of Elizabeth with the order to put them on. Once the boots were on her dolly’s feet, she had her stand and do a twirl for her, finger tapping to her chin in thought of what was missing.

  After a moment, Val snapped her fingers with an ‘ah ha’ before undoing her belt to take off the changeable buckle. Picking up the black belt from the floor, she hooked it on and handed the belt over to be put on.

  Elizabeth looked at the buckle, which was apparently very important to the outfit, snorting hard before laughing out loud at what it was. It was a silver plate with dark pink rhinestones that spelled out ‘8 seconds don’t win my Rodeo’ with that mudflap girl above it in black rhinestones, the rest filled in with silver ones.

  Cocking a brow at her new friend, Elizabeth snorted again. “Seriously?”

  Val nodded enthusiastically at that. “Oh, absolutely, Dolly. You goin’ dancin’ with a rodeo boy. You gonna wanna be remindin’ him that eight seconds really ain’t as long as he thinks it is. Plus, you goin’ dancin’ with a rodeo boy, so it’s cute.” Looking out the window when she saw a set of headlights sweep over it and Xander’s truck coming to a stop, she turned back to her Dolly, to usher her out the door and down the steps. Before she opened the door, she gave Elizabeth a look to be obeyed, as well as a piece of parting advice. “Take his hat at some point and wear it.” Lifting a hand to stop the coming question, “You just trust me on this now and do it, ya hear?”

  Elizabeth took a deep breath before nodding. “You and Mark are still going to come out right?”

  Valerie nodded. “Absolutely, Dolly. I just gotta run home right quick and change, but I promise ya, I’ll be there as long as ya need me to.”

  Giving her a tight squeeze, Elizabeth pulled back and turned to the door. Taking one more deep breath before opening it, she called back to her aunt and uncle that she was leaving. With one more glance at Val, Elizabeth was out the door. She trotted down the steps and strolled across the grass, taking in the full picture of her ‘date’. She felt her mouth go dry at the sight. He wasn’t dressed up like she was used to when going to a club or whatever, but she honestly couldn’t even fathom him in anything but the well worn Wranglers jeans that looked like they were tailored just for him, along with the dark red button up that he rolled up to just below his elbows. He left the top few buttons undone, showing the black undershirt he had on under it. He had on one black cowboy boot and his boot cast on the other. The look was completed by his black Stetson, which she had yet to see him without, his just shy of chin length hair peeking out from under it that she could see was still damp from the shower.

  She was swallowing a whimper about the same time Xander was doing the same with a groan, after taking in the sight that was his Little Darlin’.

  When she reached a point that was close enough to read the belt buckle, he made a silent prayer to God that he could keep his hands to himself. Moving around his truck, he opened the door for her, holding out a hand to help her climb up. Giving her a smile as she took it, “Looks like I was right ‘bout you havin’ a hidden country girl in there somewhere. You just about look the full part, Little Darlin’.”

  Looking down at her outfit, she then looked up to give him a coy little smile. Well, he gave her the perfect opportunity. She couldn’t very well turn it down, now could she? Reaching up, she plucked his hat from his head to put it on her own. Giving him the most innocent look she could, her still developing southern twang came out without thought on her part. “How ‘bout now, Cowboy?” This was first time she had seen him without a hat, and she was nearly tempted to run her fingers through his dirty blonde hair.

  This time, there was no swallowing the groan before it was born. Letting go of her hand, he grabbed her by the hips, then picked her up and set her on the seat before he got nose to nose with her, his green eyes dark and smoldering. “You, My Little Darlin’, are gonna make me forget to be a gentleman tonight.” With great effort, he pulled back to smirk at her., “Put ya belt on,” bef
ore shutting her door.

  Once he climbed up in his seat, he looked over at her while starting his truck, but didn’t say anything as his eyes raked over her again. Giving his head a shake, he tossed an arm behind her seat and backed out of the drive.

  Once they were on the road, he turned the volume of the radio back up just as the CD track changed one that -to his surprise- made his Little Darlin’ squeal and turn it up more, so she could sing along and dance around in her seat.

  As the song ended, Xander was nearly laughing at the way she was wagging her finger at him. Instead, he just chuckled a bit while shaking his head. “Well now, you ain’t ever struck me as someone that likes this kind of music, Little Darlin’.”

  Elizabeth just giggled as she leaned back in her seat. “Well, I’m sure there is a lot about me you would be surprised at, Xander. I might not be from the south like you are, but I was raised in a small town. I didn’t move to the city until I went to college.”

  Grinning over at her, Xander chuckled again, “Well, my apologies Ma’am, if I offended you.”

  The rest of the drive out to the sticks was spent singing along to the music.

  Chapter 14

  When Xander pulled up the shindig, it was still kinda early, so there weren’t all that many people there. There was enough for it to be a pretty packed parking area, though. Once Xander parked, cut the engine and took the keys out of the ignition, he turned around in his seat, and then dug around a minute before finding what he was looking for. Turning back and sitting down, he dusted off another Stetson, this one white. Once he was satisfied with how clean it was, he put it on before winking at his Little Darlin’ while hopping out. Walking around his truck, he opened her door. Instead of simply giving her a hand out, he once again lifted her by the hips to gently set her on her feet.

  Elizabeth pursed her lips before flicking the brim of the hat. “You look better in black.”