by Leila Lacey
“Well that is not a surprise.” Jackson said taking a sip of the drink that he had poured for himself.
“Jackson I do not think now is the time for you to have a pity party!” Sarah said.
“So all of you got together and had some type of strange orgy made kids and started passing them out like breathe mint!” Greyson said
“Son! I understand that you are upset. There is so much more to this story that...” Jackson started to say.
“So wait a minute!” Shelby finally said from her seat as she stood up and started to walk toward Sarah.
“I am not your daughter, Savannah is not your daughter, Greyson in not your son. Yet I am the one that you always hated. Why momma? She finished tears streaming down her face as she stood directly in front of her mother.
“Shelby I...” Sarah started to say drinking the last of the scotch she had poured herself. “I do not hate you. I do not hate any of my children. For better or worse I am your momma. But you, Shelby you look so much like your mother. As your father said it was always her. Right Jackson?” She said turning toward her husband.
“So what you are saying is I have been taking the blame for daddy being a man whore all these years with the pleasure of not having a mother that shows me love!” Shelby yelled at her.
“NOW YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH YOUNG LADY!” Jackson said to her angrily
“Oh! Really daddy? Are you really expecting us to respect you after this? To respect any of you!” Savannah yelled. “I found out today that I am a Graham and that Barney is actually my sister! Greyson was told that the woman that raised him is not his mother and he will never get to know her because she died two years ago and Shelby found out that her mother is alive and that you were ok with letting her live in squalor as long as she produced and Beasley heir!” Savannah screamed.
“I think its ok to say you have lost control of the room daddy” Greyson said.
“Savannah I...” Grace started to say when Savannah turned on her angrily
“Don’t you talk to me you bitch!” Savannah said to Grace.
“SAVANNAH!” Jackson said to her.
“Let me help you without Savannah. I do not care what anyone says that you are to my mother” Grace started to say to Savannah as she walked toward her. “If you speak to my mother like that again, I promise I will kick your boney ass all over Georgia. Now I may NOT agree with her decisions, but she is OUR mother for better or worse and you will show her some respect!” Cassidy finished. She was standing squarely in front of Savannah now nose to nose.
“Don’t you talk to me like that! I will knock you into the middle of next week!” Savannah said to her.
“Then I will kick your ass on Thursday!” Cassidy said.
“Cassidy! Stop!” Grace said to her daughter. She wanted to say more to Savannah but knew that she needed to accept a few things before they talked.
“I do not care what anyone says.” Savannah said turning away from Cassidy and walking to stand next to Sarah placing her arm around her. “THIS is my mother and she always will be.” Savannah said laying her head on Sarah’s shoulder.
“Huh! Well lucky you Savannah! Once again it’s all about you!” Shelby said rolling her eyes at her sister. “What I found out today is that my father cannot keep it in his pants or show our mother the respect of doing it protected. My mother has punished me all these years because my father loved my biological mother and not her. My brother found out that his mother is dead and our father did not even have the consideration for her to remember her name or that fact that she had died!” Shelby yelled at her sister.
“Let not forget that Savannah is my sister!” Cassidy said “I think I am gonna be sick” she finished.
“Cassidy! It is time for us to leave.” Grace said to her daughter standing up. “Savannah, I hope that one day you will make peace with this and we can have a talk.” Grace said solemnly.
“Oh Momma! I feel all warm a fuzzy” Savannah said rolling her eyes turning toward the window.
“That might be the herpes you really should get that checked out.” Cassidy said sarcastically. Grabbing her head Grace turned and walked toward the door. “Jackson I will speak to you later” she said as they left the room.
“I am sure she will” Sarah mumbled.
“I have to get out of here” Greyson finally said as he started to leave.
“Greyson you will not leave this house young man!” Jackson said.
We are a family and we will deal with this as such!” he finished. Stopping Greyson in his tracks.
“No daddy! This, this is a fucking farce!” he said as he walked out of the door.
“Daddy, you used to be hero. I thought you could do no wrong. Now I can barely stand to look at you.” Shelby said picking up her purse that she had placed on the table. Then taking off the signet pinky ring that every Beasley had and always wore, and placing it on the table. “I am no longer a Beasley, I don’t know who I am. She said as she looked at her mother in sadness.
“Shelby! Shelby!” her parents called as she walked out.
CHAPTER 9
“Wow and I thought poor people were the only people that did stuff like this” Lance said as he sat back on Shelby’s couch. He had come right over when she had called him hysterical, to tell him what she had just learned. “I mean really this is some hillbilly shit!” he said. “So who is your mother?”
“I do not know. I could not stand there and listen to all of that. My family are not the people that I thought they were” Shelby said taking another sip of her glass of wine.
“Shel, I hate to tell you but your family was always this flawed you just kept your head down and tried to make it. I mean granted I feel like you just told me about a cross over episode of Maury and Jerry Springer!” Lance said laughing. Lance had come right over after Shelby had called so he was still in his gym shorts and a front zip hoodie. If she did not love his damn brother so much she would be all over him. Lance had always been a sexy man to her. But now she cherished him more than anyone else in her life except Cassidy.
“It’s not funny Lance. Do you realize that Cassidy and Savannah are SISTERS?” Shelby said laughing a little.
“You know I just realized that with you saying it!” Lance said and they both laughed hysterically “Can’t you just see that family reunion? You know that Savannah is going to become even more if a terror now that she knows one of her parents is one of the richest people in the world.” Lance finished shaking his head. Shelby smiled and shook her head and then all of a sudden it was like all the wind went out of her sails and she started to cry and couldn’t stop. For the next hour all Lance did was hold her and let her cry. Finally calming down Shelby started to wipe her face. “Ok that is it. No more crying I will not do this any...” she was saying when she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Shelby went to the door it was Cassidy. Shelby could barely get the door all the way open when Cassidy fell in.
“Cassidy are you all right!” Shelby shouted to her friend. She was leaning over Cassidy to see if she was passed out she was, and she smelled like a distillery. Waving her hand in front of her face. Shelby looked at Lance “She is drunk, stinking drunk!” was all she could think to say to him. “Lance can you carry her to my guest room?” She said to him accepting his hand to help her stand up.
“Of course” Lance said. Just as they started to walk up the steps Shelby’s doorbell rang again. Looking back she said to Lance “Go ahead and take her up I will get some water and aspirin after I see who is at the door.” Lance continued on up the steps with Cassidy in his arms. Shelby could not believe that Cassidy was drunk. She had never had a drink that was not a mint julep or champagne and Shelby got a strong whiff of tequila when she had leaned over her. Shelbi guessed she would be passed out drunk somewhere if she had not had Lance to talk to. Wrapped up in her thought Shelby did not ask who it was before she opened the door, when she did Logan was standing there holding what looked to be four dozen roses.
“Logan what are you doing here?” Shelby said to him leaning her head against the door. Shelby was so tired of fighting with people she just wanted to go and lay down and pull her duvet over her head.
“I have been calling you for hours and you would not answer…” Logan started to say but stopped when he realized that Shelby looked like she had been crying. “Shelby what is wrong?” he said stepping into the house a closing the door.
“Nothing Logan I have so stuff going on. Why are you here?” she said annoyed. Logan started to walk closer to her with his arms stretched out. Shelby side stepped Logan to prevent him from touching her.
“Shelby I know something is wrong. What is it?” Logan said it broke his heart she did not want him touching her. He had made so many stupid ass mistakes with this incredible woman and now. He had used all of his nine lives up.
“Well at this moment” Shelby said crossing her arms across her chest. “This is what’s wrong with Me.” she said pointing at him and herself rapidly. “This dance that we keep doing were we try and one of us fucks up and we end up having to apologize. I finally got it yesterday Logan. You are right we are too different there are too many differences for us to be together. I think we should stop this before we ruin anything we may have had between us.” She finished.
“Shelby let me...” Logan started to speak again and she cut him off again holding her hand up.
“Just GO Logan” Shelby said pointing to the door. Shelby thought she was going to throw up. Sending Logan away was one of the hardest things she would do. But she was tired of the back and forth a she was just saving them BOTH a little heart ache down the road. Logan places the roses on the round table that say in the middle of her foyer, walked toward Shelby leaned in and kissed her temple. “I am sorry, I won’t come back.” He said in a broken voice before he walked out the front door.
******
“Hello!” Logan said into his alarm clock. Realizing that he had not grabbed his phone when it rang again he threw the clock down and picked up his phone. “Hello!” he tried again.
“Logan!” Lance said on the other end.
“Lance what time is it?” Logan said trying to clear some of the sleep from his eyes and focus on the bedside clock was now on the floor.
“It 3 a.m.” Lance said
“Lance why the hell are you calling me at 3 o’clock in the morning. You know I have to get up in a...” Logan was cut off by Lance
“Shelby was in a bad car accident!” Lance said. Logan sprang out of the bed like a spring
“WHAT? Where? When?” he yelled into the phone. He has started out of his bedroom to get in that car and get to Shelby. But realized that he was not wearing anything but boxer briefs. Putting the phone on speaker he threw it on the bed and started searching for his pants. “What happened!” he yelled to his brother.
“I don’t know! All I know is that she was hit head on my a semi. They had to use the Jaws of Life to get her out of the car.” Lance said. Logan had stopped in his tracks, his Shelby have been hit head on by an eighteen wheeler. It had been three months sense she had sent him away. Three hellish months when all he wanted to do was go to her every day and make love to her until she gave in and realized they were meant to be. Three months were he stayed away and suffered in silence. Luckily the shop was doing phenomenally to keep him busy. So busy that he had hired to extra men on a part time basis to get some help and be able to spend some time with Gia. But none of it had felt right without sharing it with Shelby.
“Logan! Are you still there?” Lance yelled into the phone snapping Logan out of his day dream
“Yeah! I will meet you at Mercy General!” Logan said before hanging up throwing on his jeans grabbing a white t-shirt and his boots and running out the door. He would call one of his workers once he got to the hospital and have them open the shop today.
It tool Logan what was normally a 20 minute drive from his mother house to the hospital in 10 minutes. Running into the Emergency waiting area, he ran to the reception desk.
“Shelby, Shelby Beasley, she came in by ambulance.” He was saying to the receptionist when Lance stepped out of a waiting room and called his name
“How is she have you heard anything?” As Logan walked into the waiting room with Lance. He was slapped in the face with one of the things that irked him most in the world rich entitled people and a face he had not ever see before. Taking a deep breath Lance introduced the one person did not know.
“Logan, this is Ivy Meade Shelby’s biological mother” Lance said “Ms. Meade this is my brother Logan” Logan was so worried about Shelby that it too him a minute to register what Lance had just said about this woman’s hand that he was shaking
“Please to... Wait WHAT?” Logan said looking back at Lance like he had lost his mind.
“It a looong story Cassidy, and a pretty disgusting one if you ask me. So you may want to wait on the explanation of what this fiasco is until we find out what is going on with Shelby”
Still standing with his mouth open, Logan looked around the room at all these always perfect people and for the first time in his life saw a kink in the amour.
“Agreed” Logan said looking at his brother and mouthing “what the fuck?” Just as he was trying to understand the collection of people that were and weren’t gathered at the hospital a doctor and nurse walked into the room.
“Are you the family for Shelby Beasley?” The older portly doctor said. Logan recognized him from his shop last week he had brought in his antique car for repairs, Logan marveled that he would not have guess that this man was a doctor standing in his garage. Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover. Logan had never gotten that saying until now.
“Yes doctor! How is my daughter?” Sarah Beasley said standing a coming to stand directly in from of him. That in itself was weird to Logan. Sarah Beasley was here and wringing her hand in anxiety and Jackson Beasley was not where to be seen.
Taking a deep breath the doctor said “Would you like to sit down?”
“NO, NO! I don’t want to sit down. Tell me what is going on with my daughter.” Sarah yelled at the doctor.
“Well she has an extensive list of injuries. Her spleen is ruptured, her liver is lacerated and he has 8 broken ribs, and her right leg and arm are broken. Now Shelby has a rare blood type and she had lost so much blood we will need to do a blood transfusion. Is there anyone here with Rh negative or O blood type?” the doctor said. The woman that had been introduced to Logan as Ivy raised her hand and said “I do”.
Shocked the doctor said. “Well that is rare are you related to Shelby?” the doctor asked looking around the room.
“Yes! She is her biological mother” Cassidy said to the doctor.
“Ok, I can see this is complicated. Ok, miss if you can go with my nurse to we can start collecting some blood from you.” The doctor paused to look down at the tablet that he had in his hand. “Unfortunately, the baby did not make it” the doctor said. He did not realize he had just dropped a bomb on everyone.
“Wait WHAT?” Logan said to the doctor grabbing his arm. “What did you just say?” he finished.
Looking around at the people in the doctor said “Yes you al didn’t know? Shelby was 12 weeks pregnant.”
“WHAT?” came all the voices in the room like a choir “PREGNANT?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Look for the third book in the Series “Shelby’s awakening” to get the rest of Shelby and Logan’s Story.