Live For You (Boys of the South ~ Book 1)

by Marquita Valentine

  “I can’t go on Facebook as my real self. Who would I send out friend requests to—my agent?

  “Lacey Evans.”

  Our conversation is becoming stranger and stranger. Who is this woman? “I thought you didn’t want me lying about my name.”

  “She’s a real person, you goose,” Nana laughs. “I wanted to introduce you two after service today, but her mother said she was sick and had stayed home.”

  Figures. The first church service I finally go to with Nana, and she’s already plotting against me. Or would that be for me? Either way, I don’t need her help. I know how to make friends. Well, I know how to lose friends.

  “If you get’s Lacey’s number, I’ll text her sometime this week.” I have no intention of ever doing this. I like being alone. Hanging out with Cole and his sister doesn’t count.

  Nana smiles, wringing out the dish cloth. “I’ll do you one better.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes, really. Lacey’s coming here tomorrow to pick up the clothes I sewed for them.” She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “Then you can meet her in person, like normal folks do.”

  I bump her with my hip. “Weren’t you the one suggesting Facebook?”

  “Desperate granddaughters call for desperate measures,” she deadpans.

  Laughing, I throw my arms around her. “I love you, Nana.”

  “And I love you.” Her hand strokes the top of my head. “Now about that Morgan boy.”

  “Nana,” I groan, hiding my smile. “I’m sorry for being such a brat.”

  She kisses my forehead. “I know.”

  “And I’m seeing Cole tomorrow, down by the creek again. Maybe I should pack us a lunch?” My heart pounds, with my little confession or anticipation, I’m not entirely sure.

  “I’ll pack it. Lacey will be by in the morning, before you have to leave.”

  “Thank you,” I whisper.

  “It’s okay to take a chance on somebody, Violet Rae,” she says softly. “You’re not really living, if you don’t.”

  Easier said than done, I think. But I don’t say it. I know she means the best. So, for her and for me…I’ll take a chance on Cole Morgan.

  *** *** ***

  Cole

  My head snaps back with the force of Wyatt’s blow.

  “Pay attention,” he snarls, smacking my face with a boxing glove.

  Over the past couple of days our original four o’clock “appointment” has turned into a series of me getting my ass handed to me and not giving a shit..

  I shake off the blow and the smack from Wyatt, sweat flying everywhere. The gym is hot as fuck and it’s packed. Men and women are getting their boxing on in every inch of the place. Wyatt and I occupy a ring off to the side.

  “Let’s go again,” I say around the mouth guard, then bang my gloves together.

  Wyatt leans his neck to one side, then the other. “Your funeral.”

  We go another round, my best friend doing all his dirty moves and pinning me to the floor and against the ropes. Then we climb out of the ring, grab our bags and plop down in the nearest chairs, squirting water into our mouths and drinking like it’s our last taste.

  Wyatt wipes his mouth with the side of his arm before he pulls one glove off with his teeth, then he sets to work on the other one. I do the same, neither of us saying anything as we cool down.

  “Plan on telling me what got you so off your game?” Wyatt asks, leaning back in his chair as he stretches out his legs.

  I rub a spot above my ear, not sure if I want to share. But this is Wyatt and he knows everything about me. Unfortunately. “Met a girl.”

  “Nice.”

  “Yeah.” I drink more water, then set the bottle in the floor beside my chair.

  “Anyone I know?”

  There’s a very real possibility that he does know who Violet Lynn is, but I made a promise to Rae. And unlike some, I keep my fucking promises. “Nah.”

  “Bringing her to my party?”

  “Thinking about it.”

  “Good.”

  “You?”

  “Asked Lacey.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense.” Lacey has never come to one of our parties. Ever. I doubt she would have come to The Double Deuce last night, if she hadn’t known ahead of time Wyatt would be there.

  “She said yes.”

  I glance at Wyatt. The smile on his face is so wide that I think it might split it open. “Who’s she bringing as her plus one?” The Tanakas had had formal invitations printed and mailed out to all of their son’s friends as well as family.

  “Rub it in, why don’t you?” His smiles falls. “I’m more worried about Lacey changing her mind between now and then, or my parents conveniently forgetting that they scheduled her to work that night. Hell, I wish it were this weekend instead the end of the month. Twenty- three days is a long damn time.”

  “I thought you were taking over.” Ever since Wyatt has come home, his parents have promised to let him run their restaurant in Forrestville. They have three more locations in Charlotte and are loaded as hell, but they make their son work. Yeah, he’s got it easier than I do, in a lot of respects, but the dude works his ass off for them. And he’s just come home from a fucking war.

  He waves his hand in the air. “New conditions. I have to re-enroll in college and find an appropriate girlfriend.”

  I blink at him. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No.” His mouth flattens. “They caught me and Lacey together.”

  “You were with her. At work? Holy shi—”

  “Get your mind out of the gutter.” He shoots me a look of disgust. “She was holding my hand. We were doing nothing more than talking.”

  If it had been nothing more, then his parents wouldn’t have made new conditions for him. “Sucks to be you.”

  He grabs his water bottle and stands. “I don’t know about that.” He glances around, then looks me right in the face, eyes serious as hell. “First time she’s ever touched me, on purpose anyway. So, I’d say it was worth it.”

  I stand, then follow him to the locker room. “But you still can’t date her.” Well, he could, because he’s an adult and not to mention a veteran. However, he respects his parents and most of the time, he does exactly what’s expected of him.

  He pauses, looking over his shoulder. “Would that stop you?”

  I’ve been doing as I please since the age of ten. Then again, my parents aren’t his and could give two shits about me. Still, I won’t lie to him. “Hell, no.”

  Chapter Nine

  Violet

  I’m sitting on the couch, computer in my lap while I go through my email. My inbox has almost a thousand unanswered messages, most of them from “friends”, my agent, my handlers and my publicists. I don’t answer those. I do, however, answer the ones from my fans that my publicists forward to me from my official Violet Lynn website.

  They don’t deserve to be punished for my lack of enthusiasm over my career. Plus, I’m pretty darn grateful I still have fans. And if I have to admit it, I’m grateful to have publicists as well, since they sort through all those emails: the good, the bad and the supremely ugly.

  There is a knock on the door as I hit send on the last one. Closing my laptop, I place it beside me and uncross my legs, heading to the foyer.

  I open the door, not surprised to find Lacey Evans standing on the other side. She fits the description that Nana gave me before she “conveniently” had to go run some errands. Lacey is very pretty with auburn hair, heavy bangs over brown eyes and freckles that dust her nose and cheeks.

  “Hi,” I say, holding up my hand. “You must be Lacey.”

  She stares at me, her eyes widening a little before a shy smile graces her face. “You must be Violet Rae, Miss Violet’s granddaughter. I’ve heard at lot about you.”

  “Call me Rae.” I open the screen door, gesturing for her to come inside. “I’ll think I’m in trouble if you don’t.”

  She laughs
nervously, following me to the living room, but saying absolutely nothing. Great. I can’t even make small talk. Maybe if I texted her…

  I grab the brown paper grocery bag from beside the recliner and hand it to Lacey. She takes it with another shy smile and stand there, looking at me. “So…”

  Nodding my head and smiling, I say, “Yeah…”

  “Guess I’ll go.” She heads back to the front of the house and this time I follow her.

  I should say something. Maybe invite her to…Oh, I don’t know: go shopping or get our nails done. Take a chance, I tell myself.

  “Wait!”I cry out. She freezes and I ram into her back. “Oompf.”

  A distressed sound echoes as she falls to her knees, clothing spilling out of the bag.

  “Oh God. I’m so sorry, Lacey.”

  Her long hair touches the floor, but she remains unmoving as I gather everything. “It’s okay,” she says in a whisper thin voice. “Didn’t know I needed to wear my knee and elbow pads in the house.”

  I grin at her joke. “Yeah, well, the next time you come over, wear a helmet.”

  “It’s outside, on the porch.” Slowly she stands, a few inches taller than me and pushes her hair out of her face. She’s not smiling, but she doesn’t look mad either. Just resigned and a little sad. I refrain from hugging her.

  “Funny,” I say, shoving the clothes back in the bag. “Let’s try this again, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “So, um, I was wondering, if you’d like to go do something sometime?” I shift my weight from one side to the other. “I haven’t been the most social person lately and my nana wants me to make friends.” I poke her in the arm. “Tag. You’re it.” I did not just say or do that. Any of it.

  Then again, can anyone who wears a t-shirt with the slogan: Keep Calm and Hit Like a Girl, be all that snobby?

  Lacey digs into the pocket of her loose jeans and pulls out a piece of folded paper. “I’m doing a rally this Saturday, if you want to come. We usually go for dinner afterwards.”

  Opening the paper, I quickly read all the pertinent information, then glance up at her. “You’re a Roller Derby girl?” This is so amazingly cool.

  Her chin tips up. “Co-captain this year.”

  “I’m so in.” I pull my phone out of my back pocket and enter the information into my calendar. “Do you have a car? I‘m not allowed to drive.”

  “I’ll have one that night.” She pushes the screen door open and walks outside, then sits on the first step and puts on a pair of old school roller skates. “Be ready at five.”

  “You skated here?”

  “It’s only five miles.”

  My jaw hits the porch. “Only five miles? I ran half a mile yesterday and nearly passed out.”

  She shrugs, then blows her bangs out of her eyes. “Endurance training.”

  “Thanks for inviting me.”

  Next are her elbow pads, knee pads and helmet. My eyes widen. Oh crap. Lacey wasn’t joking.

  “See ya later.”

  “Later.” I watch as she carefully makes her way down the stairs and the gravel driveway. Once on the road, she waves, then sets off.

  It’s not until she disappears around a curve in the road that I check my phone again. 10:15. Forty-five minutes, until I see Cole. Anticipation curls through me, warming everything inside and making me forget all about the fool I’d just made of myself.

  I head back inside, locking the door behind me. A quick shower and I’m standing in front of my closet, deliberating what to wear. Running clothes says: Hey Guy, I’m just here to work out and thought I’d take a break.

  I frown. Not sure if that’s message I want to send.

  Pulling out a strapless sundress, I bite my lip. This one says: Hey Guy, I’m just traipsing through the forest and talking to my bird peeps. Picnic lunch?

  I hang it back up, close the door and look at myself in the mirror.

  My extremely short hair is smoothed down on one side, the purple tips giving it an odd patterned look that I’ve grown to love. The towel around my nude body falls to the floor. In the past I’d had moments of thinking I’m too fat or too skinny, like any other girl, only my moments of doubt usually preceded television appearances, magazine shoots or awards shows. Sometimes the pressure of being perfect, of looking perfect and acting perfect had made me either want to starve myself or gorge on junk food.

  But that jagged scar. I press my fingertips to my stomach, then trace the line. It’s thin and faded, with a little help from a plastic surgeon. My parents had insisted; I hadn’t given a damn. A part of me is glad that Dr. Fitzgerald couldn’t magically make it disappear.

  On my hip, I had a bluebird tattooed as soon as I wasn’t under house arrest anymore. My permanent reminder.

  Some things should be carried into the future, with the woman I’m trying to discover how to be.

  “I love you,” Jaxon whispers, his hands tangling in my hair before his mouth lowers to mine. “It’s me and you forever.”

  And some things should be left with the girl I used to know.

  Chapter Ten

  Violet

  When Cole arrives, he’s alone. I was ready to take a chance on him, but his sister’s presence was my safety net. Now there’s nothing between us and God only knows what I could allow to happen between us.

  Something in my face must have given me away, because he says, “Kelly’s in school.”

  “Oh. I’d forgotten school had started. Sorry,” I say straightening the blanket I’d laid on the ground. Only moments before Cole arrived I had thought it to be cute and perfect, but now as he stares at me, then the plaid material, all I can think is this is an invitation for seduction.

  “Why are you sorry?”

  “Because I don’t want Kelly to feel left out.”

  A look of appreciation crosses his face before he sits down beside me and stretches out his long legs. “I didn’t tell her about your…workout schedule.” Today he’s wearing worn-out jeans and a dark green t-shirt that somehow makes his eyes bluer. “Never seen anyone exercise wearing that.”

  My face heats and I glance down at what I’m wearing. A denim skirt and soft yellow peasant top. “I run every other day.” Not a complete lie in light of the fact that I will go running tomorrow just so that I’m not telling a lie. Now I really know why lies are exhausting to keep up with.

  “Rae?”

  I glance up at him. He’s leaning into me and I shift forward the tiniest bit. “Yes?”

  “I have to know something,” he says, his voice all husky. Up close like this his eyes are impossibly blue and I’m impossibly turned on by him. I’m possibly the dumbest girl alive for feeling like this about a guy I barely know. “But I don’t want to hurt your feelings or make you uncomfortable.”

  Cole knows. He broke his promise and looked me up. And now he wants all the dirty details.

  I swallow the regret and anger, sharp and cutting my throat as they go, replacing it with the acid of resignation. It’s not like what happened wasn’t public. It’s not like everyone in the damn world found out about the crash within minutes, thanks to Twitter. It’s not like I wasn’t bombarded with questions and accusations for weeks after the incident.

  So, why should he be any different?

  What I did was wrong and reckless. It doesn’t matter that I can’t remember driving my car or that the bouncers at Club Blue don’t even remember me leaving in my car. None of that matters, because I was the only one lying in a field, surrounded by glass and steel. Broken and bleeding out with every beat of my heart.

  “Okay,” I say, mentally bracing myself.

  His arm goes around me, grazing my waist, then he pulls it back and hold up a slice of cake wrapped in cellophane. “Did you make this or Miss Violet? I’m really hoping it’s you, because…dayum girl, you make a mean apology cake.”

  The breath I’d been holding rushes out and it’s all I can do not to cry in relief. Or hug him in thanks. He didn’t break
his promise. “We both did.”

  He grins, not even remotely aware what he’s doing to me. Betrayal has been my constant companion for so long that I’m not sure what to do without her. “Guess I’ll have to be satisfied with that.”

  “Doesn’t take much to satisfy you.” I blink at my blatant flirting. Ugh. Bad flirting. Maybe he didn’t notice.

  “Now that’s where you’re wrong. It entirely depends on the one doing the satisfying,” he says, smirking. Oh God. He noticed.

  I scoot away from him, digging through the picnic basket and talking a mile a minute. “Hungry? There’s all sorts of things Nana packed for us. She said a grown man like you would want to eat more than just some pitiful sandwiches. Her words not mine. I like sandwiches. Okay, so crackers, sliced cheese…Do you like cheese? Oh gosh, are you lactose intolerant? Ugh. I can’t believe I didn’t check with you first. Of course there’s nuts in here too and you—”

  The touch of his hand on my arm stops my words and compresses my chest. Slowly, I turn to look at him. “Calm down and take a deep breath, Rae.”

  “I’m trying,” I confess, but breathing’s not easy when you feel as though you’re drowning.

  “I won’t hurt you.” He says those four words with such conviction that I’m tempted to believe him. But I’ve been fooled before and I don’t trust myself, much less some guy I only met three days ago. It doesn’t matter that my own grandmother says he’s a nice young man. That description does nothing for me, but leave the taste of ash in my mouth. “Besides, you have your phone and Miss Violet knows we’re together.”

  He’s either the real deal or my ex’s twin in disguise. And I hate myself for even comparing Cole to that asshole. But what else can I think? Jaxon is my entire experience with the opposite sex. “Look.” I bite my lip. “I’m nervous.”

  “About lunch?” he asks, one dark eye brow rising. “It’s just good food and good company.”

  I turn his words over in my mind, examining them from every angle, but I can’t come up with anything to discredit him. “You’re right.”

  “Of course I am.” He unwraps the slice of cake and takes a bite, his eyes temporarily closing with delight. “So good.” When they open, amusement dances in them and the pent up tension leaves my body. “Want some?”