Breaking Magnolia

by M. Allen

  Dragging her feet back beneath her, she slowly stood up straight and met his scrutinizing gaze. Looking up at him now she wondered how she successfully forgot him. All six foot two inches of roughly honed rancher. A day’s worth of stubble covered his square jaw and the muscle within ticked. No doubt he was grinding his teeth. Under his beat-up baseball cap, he scrunched up his face the way he did when he got confused.

  Ten years apart faded away to nothing. Memories assailed her one after the other. His voice in her ear, I love you, Maggie. Be mine, Maggie. Shaking away the thoughts, she brushed her hands over her shirt, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. When he walked down the front steps, he looked almost angry to see her. When he narrowed those maple eyes at her, she knew he was. “What are you doin’ here?”

  His southern drawl was smooth like a lazy river over babbling stones. Up north, the words were harsh and cutting. Even Eric’s voice fit in with New York. But Dax was all southern manners, deep and gravelly. With her emotions on overdrive, the last thing she needed was his rugged ass standing in front of her, looking like a better version of the statue of David, while she clumsily loped about. It was enough to drive a woman mad. “What am I doin’ here? This is my home. What are you doin’ here?”

  “I thought home was someplace you lived. Last time I checked, you don’t live here.” Though his words were cutting, his tone was shaky, almost nervous.

  Slamming the car door behind her, she righted herself. “Well, I’m back. And you can thank my lying, cheating husband for that.” Why the hell had she blurted that out? It was like word vomit—first, she’d told her mother, then the woman taking her ticket at the airport, then the stewardess, and now Dax. Each time she thought about it, her anger flared.

  He froze at the bottom of the steps as his mouth dropped open. “Say what now? He cheated?”

  “Yes.”

  “On you?”

  “Yes.”

  “He… cheated… on… you?” His words were halting as if he were having trouble understanding what she was saying.

  Throwing her hands up in the air, she walked to the bed of the truck to pull out her luggage. “Yes, I can’t explain it any other way, so ya might as well stop askin’. So now I am home to catch my breath and think. Is that okay with you?”

  Ten years since she’d been home, and this was their first conversation. It’s not at all how she pictured it. She thought maybe they’d meet after church or in passing in a restaurant, say their awkward hellos, and sigh in relief that they’d gotten past the unease of running into an ex-love. But with him standing there, witnessing her life falling to pieces, just made it seem that much worse. Not only had Eric cheated, but now Dax got to see the aftermath.

  “Um, yeah? Sorry, I guess.” He shuffled from one foot to the other, then settled on shoving his hand in the pockets of his jeans.

  There was something to be said for a man who could wear a pair of low-slung loose-fitting jeans like a second skin. Eric had always worn tailored dress pants. Dax probably didn’t own a single pair. How had she ended up with two men who were complete opposites in all ways?

  Seeming to come out of his daze, he hurried beside her. When she reached for the suitcase, his large hand was there first. She paused, looking up at him, and for a moment she though she saw sorrow in his eyes. “I’m sorry he did that to you, Maggie.”

  What could she say to that? Awkwardness settled over her, and they stood gazing at each other for a second longer than she’d like. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” With one hand, he pulled her case from the bed of the truck. Before she could grab it, he strutted away from her to put it up on the porch. Had a man ever looked so good walking away? Damn those jeans.

  When he turned back to get the other, he paused, tilting his head to the side as though he’d caught her ogling him. What was she doing? Hadn’t she gotten herself into enough man trouble? With a sound of disgust, she walked to the other side of the truck to retrieve Hayden. Two clicks later, and she had his car seat unbuckled. The kid slept like a rock. He tipped forward right into her waiting arms. She scooped him up, letting his head rest on her shoulder as she started for the house. Uncle Mike waited at the top of the stairs next to her bags.

  Dax stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes were wide, and he took a small step back “You have a kid?”

  “No, this is a strange one I picked up at the airport.” She adjusted Hayden on her shoulder. “Yes, I have a kid. This is my son, Hayden.”

  He said nothing, and for a moment they stood like that. Him looking like she’d given him the shock of the century, and her daring him to say one bad thing. Finally, when Magnolia couldn’t take it anymore, she asked, “What are you doin’ here?”

  When he ran his hand over the back of his neck, she could see the muscles in his arms bending and flexing. Goodness, he’d filled out since the last time she’d seen him. Dax had always been muscular but now, he was breathtaking. “I, ah, I work here.”

  “Are you shittin’ me?” This was all she needed, seeing Dax every day while she tried to take the time to figure out what parts of herself she had left.

  He leaned back on his heels, and a small crinkle appeared between his eyebrows. “No, I am not shittin’ you.” He pointed to the house across the property. “Matter of fact, I live over there.”

  “You’re Daddy’s managing partner?” This just got better and better. She could feel her temper rising. This was not what she expected her homecoming to be, not with Dax here… all the time.

  The left side of his mouth tilted up in a smirk. “That’s right.”

  “But he hates you.” It was true. Her father disapproved of Dax so much so that at one point he forbid her to see him. Didn’t stop her from sneaking out of her window every night, though.

  “This isn’t high school anymore, Magnolia. Things change.” He motioned to Hayden. “Life happens.”

  He only called her Magnolia when his temper was starting to rise, just like hers. Maggie stomped up the stairs and handed Hayden to her uncle. He hesitantly took the boy and held him in his arms like he’d never held a child before. She stomped down the stairs to face off against Dax. “Why? Why this ranch? You could’ve worked anywhere.”

  “I don’t have to explain myself to you.” He crossed his arms over his chest, the material of his grey t-shirt pulling tightly across his biceps.

  She pointed a finger in his face. “Yes, you do.” Was this some kind of sick joke? She left one perfect looking, beautiful man to be faced with a ruggedly built, sexy as hell one. Was this some sort of karma coming back to bite her in the ass? Because, if so, she’d like to know who she’d pissed off so much in her life to deserve this amount of torture. The embarrassment alone was enough to choke her.

  “No. I. Don’t.” He punctuated each of his words before he turned away from her and began walking away. He called over his shoulder, “Don’t you worry, Magnolia. I’ll be sure to stay out of your way. Won’t be long before you hop back on a plane, and we don’t hear from you for another ten years.” Ouch. Then he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “By the way… cute kid.”

  The nerve of that man. But as he marched away from her, she watched his big strides eat up the distance to his house. To herself, she muttered, “Ugh, can you believe the nerve of that man?”

  From the porch, her uncle chuckled. “Some things never change.”

  “What are you talkin’ about?” she huffed and marched forward to grab Hayden from him.

  As he handed him over, he said. “Y’all have always been like fire and ice.”

  “Whatever that means.” She rolled her eyes and turned for the door, then stopped and sucked in a breath, ready to face her father.

  Chapter 4

  Holy hell! I can’t believe she’s here. Magnolia Reed. The woman who’d plagued his existence for more than a decade. She’d rushed back into his life with the subtlety of a tornado, that same way she’d left it. He stomped across the yard, needing to get awa
y from her as fast as possible. That thick, wavy hair, those too-smart green-hazel eyes, and that curvaceous body would be the death of him.

  She hadn’t killed him before. Came damn near close to it, but he’d come out on the other side. For the first time in a decade, he panicked. His heart thrummed in his chest and sweat beaded his brow. He took the stairs to his house two at a time and plowed through the door faster than he thought imaginable. The wooden floor creaked under his boots as he went straight from the front door into the kitchen. He bent low, tossing his hat to the floor as he opened and closed cabinets. One after another, he pulled out dishes, pots and pans, searching.

  Finally, after tearing apart the kitchen, he found the brown cardboard box he’d been looking for. Dax sat with his back pressed to the fridge, the cool stainless steel seeping through his shirt. He ran his hands over the top of the dusty cardboard, then blew the dust bunnies to the ground before pulling apart the top.

  As he reached in, his pulse quickened, and he swallowed around the nervous ball in his throat. First his fingers brushed against the cool neck of a bottle. He wrapped his hand around it. Feeling the smooth cut glass, he pulled it out, studying the label while licking his lips. He tipped back his head and sighed, knowing what that warm brown liquid would feel like as it burned down his throat. And the oblivion it could offer. With shaky hands, he put it on the ground next to him and went for what he was looking for… the blue velvet box.

  He didn’t dare open it. That would be like ripping open a ten-year gash in his chest. No, instead he put it on the ground next to the bottle, staring at the two things that had tortured him for years. When he glanced at the bottle, staring it down, he felt for the first time in four years the damn thing was staring back at him.

  Chapter 5

  Dax had only been a momentary distraction from her nerves. Now, standing just outside the front door, she dreaded seeing her father. Not because of him, but because of herself, she’d stayed away for too long. This moment could go either way. He could make her feel guilty, or he’d welcome her home. Behind her, Uncle Mike prodded her forward. “Y’all go on in. I got the bags.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t move.

  “Maggie, ya gotta take a step forward. Can’t just stay out here all night long.”

  “Right.” With one hand cradling Hayden, she reached out with the other and turned the door knob. With that first step into her childhood home, her senses were invaded with the feeling of rightness. The smell of cinnamon and the fire burning in the hearth surrounded her. With the high ceilings, exposed wooden beams and plush furnishing, it felt more like a luxurious ski lodge than a ranch house on a farm. To her left was the lone set of stairs that led up to the bedrooms. If only she could avoid this moment and go straight to bed.

  “Mike? That you?” Her father’s deep burly voice came from down the hall. No doubt he was in his office even now.

  Magnolia cleared her throat. “No, Daddy. It’s me.”

  The scrape of a chair and his heavy footsteps sent her heart racing. Then suddenly he was standing before her. In ten years, her father hadn’t changed much, except for the slightly rounded belly and the severe lack of hair on top of his head. He still wore a plaid button down, worn jeans, and beat-up work boots. Standing before her he paused, his bright blue eyes running over her from head to toe. In that moment, Maggie wished she’d taken the time to fix herself up. Maybe if she hadn’t worn her worst pair of pants, she’d feel better about this.

  He tilted his head down and in the softest words she’d ever heard him speak, he said, “Now, I spoke to your momma—”

  She raised her eyebrows. “You spoke to Mom?”

  “She called here after your plane took off. You could’ve called me. I’d always come to get ya. No matter how far, my girl, I will always get you.”

  Magnolia’s mother and father hadn’t spoken for longer than she’d been away. Her emotions were too raw to hide her shock, and her father even looked a bit sheepish. “I know it’s been awhile, but yes, I spoke to her, and we both decided y’all should stay here, so you can clear your head.”

  Her eyes began to well and spill over. She brushed at her cheek, swiping away the first tear. In all this time, she’d never felt so alone, and here he was offering her exactly what she needed.

  Then, as though she were ten years old and just scraped her knee, her father held his arms open wide. His face crinkled in as though he too was fighting back tears. “Oh, baby girl.”

  There were some things only a father could do for his daughter, and right now, Maggie’s father was the lifeline she needed. With quick steps, she walked toward him and pressed her face into his chest. His large arms wrapped around her. When she sucked in a breath, she couldn’t stop the sob from breaking past her lips. And just like that, with a sleeping Hayden tucked into her side, she let the dam of tears break in the comfort of her father’s arms.

  His evergreen scent gave her the sense of security she’d been searching for all this time. When her legs started to give out, he went down to the floor with her, holding her as she let out every bit of hurt. Everything she’d built was over; everything she’d planned was now gone. The worst wasn’t knowing that it all ended; the worst was knowing someone she’d put her trust and commitment into couldn’t offer her the same in return. How could a man claim to love a woman and yet cheat on her? The saying ‘life could change in the blink of an eye’ never made sense to her until recently. One second, she was married; the next, she was a single mom, with no job, no money, and no way to take care of Hayden.

  Tear after tear hit her father’s shirt, soaking it through, yet he clung to her as he ran his hands through his hair. “Shh, it’ll be all right.”

  “What am I gonna do, Daddy? I don’t know how to do this. How am I gonna take care of Hayden? What happens now?” The questions she’d been turning over in her mind spilled from her lips one after another. An oppressing weight landed in her chest. For the first time in her life, Magnolia was lost. How long she sat like that, surrounded in his arms, letting every ounce of pent up sadness and stress go, she didn’t know. But when she was done, her face felt tight with dried tears, and the smallest bit of the pressure on her chest lifted.

  “I’ll tell ya what we’re gonna do.” Her uncle slammed down the suitcases just inside the door, looking as mad as a rattlesnake. “Invite that son of a bitch here. I got my shotgun and a good place they’ll never find the body.”

  She sniffled, then amongst all the heartache she laughed. A tear-riddled, half-sobbing laugh. “No objections here.”

  Her father squeezed her tightly and rested his head atop hers. “You just don’t worry now. This is your home, and y’all can stay as long as you want. Hell, I’ll be happy to keep ya forever.” He ran his fingers over Hayden’s hair. “Especially this little man.” He choked up. “Aw, Maggie, he looks just like you.”

  Why had she been so scared to come home? Was it because of her father or because she was ashamed of her own behavior? All this time, maybe she never came home not because she was chasing a new life. Maybe she was running from the old one. “Thank you, Daddy. I was hoping you’d say we could stay with you.”

  When he looked down at her, she could see the anguish he felt in his eyes. “Magnolia, don’t you know you can always come home?”

  Uncle Mike rushed forward and helped her to her feet, which wasn’t easy as she held Hayden. Exhaustion settled in on her, the kind you felt after having a good cry. “I know that now.” Overwhelmed and tired, she couldn’t stifle a yawn.

  “Well, for now, why don’t y’all get settled upstairs in your room.” He directed her toward the stairs. “We’ll bring up the luggage.”

  When she pressed her foot onto the first step, it creaked in greeting. Maggie was home, and everything would be okay… hopefully.

  Chapter 6

  “Magnolia Reed!” Her father’s voice boomed from beside her.

  Startling awake, she shot straight up in bed. “Wha—? I’m
awake.”

  “You sure?”

  She tipped back against the pillow and pulled the heavy comforter over her head once more. “No.”

  “Now, Maggie. I know you’re goin’ through a rough patch, but you can’t do this all day, every day.” As he pulled the comforter from her face, she cracked open her eyes to see him standing over her with his hands on his hips.

  “I’m not staying in bed every day. Yesterday, I put on a different nightgown.” Yesterday she had stumbled from her bed and finally took off the black turtleneck and replaced it with a white cotton night dress that came just above her knees and cut off at the arms. Across the top was a light blue bow that threaded through the material. It had reminded her of when she was younger and everything was right with the world.

  “Four days. You’ve been lying here for four days, Magnolia. And I’m here for ya, but woman, there comes a time when ya gotta pull yourself up by the boot straps.”

  It had been four days. Each night, Hayden crawled into bed beside her, and each morning, she got him ready and sent him out with her father or uncle. The men hadn’t seen him in ages, and Hayden was more than happy to be with them. But when they left to go about their days, she crawled right back into bed, needing the oblivion that came from sleep.

  “Oh, Daddy, just let me lie here a while longer.” She groaned and rolled into her blankets.

  “No, ma’am.” He wrapped his hand in the comforter and yanked it back, tossing the whole thing to the floor. “Ya got a youngin’ who needs his momma’s attention.”

  When Magnolia stood to retrieve the blanket from the floor, she glowered at him. “Hayden is just fine with y’all for a day or two while I take a moment.”

  “Four days is not a moment, and I raised you stronger than this.” Before she could slip back onto the bed, he bent over, tucked his shoulder into her waist, and hoisted her up on his shoulder.