Southern Chance

by Natasha Madison

  “Family meeting,” my father says, and I just look at him. “Kitchen.”

  Olivia gets up. Walking to the kitchen, I look back and see that Casey has his hand on her shoulder, and he walks to the kitchen with her.

  I sit on one of the chairs, and Casey sits next to Olivia. “We need to tell the boys what we are dealing with in case they see anything,” my father starts to say, and Casey nods his head.

  “Already on it,” he starts. “I think Olivia should stay with me.”

  “What?” Olivia whispers, and I groan.

  “Just hear me out, darlin’,” he says. “Separating you two is the smart thing to do. If they want to get to you.”

  “He’s right,” Olivia says. “It’s my fault that this is coming to your parents’ home. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you and your parents.”

  “Olivia, I knew the risks when I packed my bag and brought you here. This is not your fault,” I say.

  “I mean, in some ways it is. I should have just never come here,” Olivia says softly and looks at my parents. “I’m so sorry.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” my mother says, and my father smiles at her.

  “Family takes care of family,” my father says, and I lean over the table and put my hand on hers.

  “Sister from another mister,” I joke with her, then look at Casey. “You can’t sleep with her. She’s your sister.”

  “She is not even close to being my sister,” Casey says, shaking his head.

  “Kallie,” my father says, and I look at him. “I get why you are angry.” I sit up now. “But you have to let Jacob do his job.”

  “I’m not getting in his way. I want to stay out of his way. I want to be so far away from him that I moved to the other side of the country. If I could, I would even go farther.” I slap the table. “I want nothing to do with him. Not one thing. I don’t want to see him. I don’t want to talk about him. I don’t want to even hear his name.”

  “Honey,” my mother says, and I look at her. “He lives here, and he is pretty much all over town.” She looks down. “Ethan, too.” I look at her confused. “His son.”

  I push away from the table. “I need some air,” I tell them and walk out of the house and straight to the barn. Walking through the grass, I spot a couple of the boys who smile at me and hold up their cowboy hats to say hello. I walk into the stalls and see Ricardo, who has been with my family since my father took over the farm. “There she is,” he says, coming to me. He’s in his usual uniform of Levi’s, a button-down checkered shirt, and cowboy boots. He opens his arms for me, and I hug him. “Was wondering when you’d come back.”

  “Well, here I am.” I step out of his hug and look around. “I’m going to take my girl out.”

  “She’s already saddled for you.” I smile at him as he walks over to her stall and brings her out for me.

  “Hey, my girl,” I say softly to her and nuzzle her neck. Climbing on the saddle, I say, “I’ll put her away when I get back.”

  I gallop out into the field, and when I’m in the clearing, I push her fast. I feel the wind on my face as my hair whips back. I don’t even steer her; I just let her be free. It’s only when she slows down do I see she is taking me right back to where I was last night. I get off her and lead her to the water. I’m not here for more than a minute before I hear the sounds of twigs snapping, and I straighten my back up and my heart speeds up just a bit. Maybe coming all this way without anyone was a stupid idea.

  I wonder if Casey has it wired all the way out here. I look around to see where I could escape. My hands get clammy, and I turn to jump back on the horse when I see him walking out of the woods. As I watch him walking with his head down, I take him in. His shoulders are wider, his arms much bigger, and I see a little bit of ink coming up out of his collar. I wonder when he got that, and I wonder why he got it. I shake my head and look around to see if I can get away without him seeing me, but then he looks up and sees me, and he stops in his tracks.

  “What are you doing here?” he asks, and I look around.

  “Are you asking me what I’m doing here, on my property?” I want him to take off his hat to see if his hair is still black and long on top. I wonder if it still feels silky. I remember when he didn’t cut it for a year because I loved to play with it. He shakes his head. “What are you doing here is the question.”

  “I came to see the size of the rock,” he says and walks to the rock. “I’ll have it gone by tomorrow.”

  “Good,” I say. He stands there, and I turn to look back at the water, ignoring the pull to him.

  “You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he says, and I want to yell at him and ask why he even cares. I want to yell that what I do has nothing to do with him. I want to yell that he needs to go and take care of his wife and their child.

  “You should be at home with your wife and child and not worry about where I am.” My mouth opens before I can take the words back. The last thing I want him to know is that I care or that I even think of him.

  He ignores my outburst. “I’m going to have a meeting with the guys tomorrow, and I would like for you and Olivia to be there.” He takes off his hat and scratches his head. “It’s good to have everyone working with each other.”

  I nod at him, swallowing over the lump in my throat as I look at him. The man I wanted to share everything with; the man I wanted to have children with; the man who said he would hold my hand forever. The same man who holds his wife at night and then tucks their child into bed. Maybe coming home wasn’t a good idea. I thought I could handle it. Thought it would be fine. I. Was. Wrong. Nothing about being here is fine.

  “I’ll text Casey about it,” he says, looking down. I know he wants to say something else, but he doesn’t. “See you tomorrow.” He turns and walks away from me. This time, I watch his back until I can’t see him anymore. Only when I feel wetness on my hand do I realize I’m crying. Only then do I fall to my knees and bury my face in my hands. I cry for the boy I lost, I cry for the love I lost, and I cry for the piece of me I lost.

  I’m raw, and my whole body aches from head to toe. I get back on the horse and take my time getting home. The sun is setting, and when I get to the barn, Ricardo is sitting at the desk. “Welcome back,” he says, and I smile at him. I wonder how awful I look. I’m sure he can tell I’ve been crying. “I’ll take her.”

  “Thank you,” I say. After handing him the reins, I walk back to the house. Olivia is lying on the swing outside. She’s slipped out of her jeans and is now in yoga pants and a T-shirt. “Hey,” I say, climbing up the steps to the porch and sitting on the end of the swing.

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” she says softly, her eyes staring straight ahead. “He’s taken everything from me.” I don’t say anything as I swing with her. “And now I’ve put your family in harm’s way.”

  “Meh.” I shrug. “We can take care of ourselves.”

  She turns and looks at me, and her eyelashes are wet from tears. “You guys don’t deserve this.”

  “Neither do you,” I remind her. “It’ll all get settled soon. When is he going to court?”

  “Two weeks,” she tells me. “And I have to go.”

  “We will,” I say. “It’s me and you.” I look ahead.

  “How’re you feeling?” she asks, and I look at her.

  “Like I’m empty,” I say. “There is nothing left inside me. I have nothing else to give. I have nothing that anyone wants.”

  “Then he’s stupid,” she says softly and turns back to stare at the horizon. “He sure is pretty, though.” I don’t respond. Instead, I just look out at the horizon with her, and when my mother comes out to call us in for dinner, we just look at each other.

  “Will you come with me to Casey’s house?” she asks. “Not to sleep. You should sleep here. They are right about that. But to work and stuff.”

  “Yes,” I say, and she grabs my hand. We walk into the house, and we stop when we see Cas
ey standing there with his feet spread apart and his arms crossed over his chest.

  “What now?” I ask, and he just looks at me.

  “Did you forget to mention something?” He looks at me, and I wait as my heart beats in my chest. “You spoke to Jacob.” My mother drops the cup she has in her hand, and it shatters on the floor.

  All eyes turn to her, and I shake my head. Her hands shake, and she walks over to the chair and sits down. “I just need a minute.” My father rushes to her side. Squatting down in front of her, he grabs her hands in his and kisses them. “I’m fine.”

  “You are running yourself to the ground,” he says, and she looks at him. She takes one of her hands and cups his cheek. “I can’t do this without you.”

  “That’s so romantic,” Olivia says and then looks at me. “I need me a Southern man.”

  I try not to laugh as I look over at Casey. “I think you already got one.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jacob

  I know I should just go get Ethan and go home. I know I should turn back and go to the rock. I know deep in my bones it’s a bad idea. My head is spinning. I don’t know what the fuck she did or how she did it, but she is in danger, and she is fighting me.

  I make my way to the rock that Casey wants off his property, walking with my head down. My head is bringing me back to when I used to walk with her by my side. Her hand was always in mine, even if it was just her pinky. The sounds of the stream fill the silence of the day with some birds chirping. I’m not expecting anyone to be here, least of all her. And she’s all alone after we just had the conversation that someone is after her.

  The minute I ask her a question, I see her sass come out, and I almost want to smile. I want to ask her to sit on the rock with me. I want to know what she has been up to. I want to know if she found someone to love her.

  “You should be at home with your wife and child and not worry about where I am.” The minute she says that, I want to take a step back. I want to tell her that I don’t have a wife, that I would never take a wife who wasn’t her. How does she not know that I’m not married? How did no one tell her that I never was with Savannah especially after she left?

  I walk away from her, wanting to take her in my arms and see if her kisses are the same. To see if she melts in my arms the same way, to see if the kiss is just as good as I remember. Is it as good as in my dreams? I get in my truck and call Casey. I expect him to send me to voice mail, but he answers right away.

  “What part of she might be in danger does she not understand?” I say, not even bothering to say hello.

  “What the heck are you talking about?” he asks.

  “I just found Kallie by herself at the creek,” I say. “I could have been anyone.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” he says. “It won’t happen again.”

  “Tomorrow morning at ten a.m., my office. It’s time to get a game plan going to make sure no one gets injured in the crossfire.”

  “This doesn’t change anything,” Casey says, and he hangs up. I toss my phone to the side and make my way to my mother’s house.

  “There he is,” my mother says. I watch as Ethan gets up and runs to me.

  “Dad,” he says, jumping into my arms, “you took forever.”

  “Sorry, kiddo,” I say, leaning and kissing his neck. I’m about to ask him about his day when the front door opens, and Savannah walks in wearing white jeans and a tank top. Her black hair is curled like normal.

  “There they are,” she says with a smile and comes over to us. “How was your day?” she asks Ethan, leaning and kissing his neck.

  I put him down, and he runs back to the kitchen. “Mom is here, Grandma.”

  “I didn’t know you were going to be here?” I say, and it’s almost as if I step away from her in case someone is watching, which is ridiculous.

  “Yeah, your mom called and thought it would be good to drop by for dinner,” she says. Looking in the kitchen, she then turns to me. “I heard about the grocery store.”

  “Shocking,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s only been three hours.” Taking off the hat on my head, I toss it on the coffee table and go sit on the couch.

  “How bad was it?” she asks, and I just shake my head.

  “She thinks we’re married,” I say, and she takes a step back. “I know. That’s what I thought, too.”

  “Why would she think we’re married?” she asks, sitting down on the couch and facing me. “Who told her that?”

  “I haven’t spoken or seen her in eight years, so I have no idea why she would think or say that.”

  “It’s safe to say every person knows that I’ve had a child out of wedlock,” Savannah says, laughing. “I almost had the ‘A’ tattooed on my chest to make sure if you didn’t know, you know now.”

  “I don’t know.” I pull my hair on the top of my head. I keep it longer than I did when she left. I want to say it’s because it’s easier to style, but the fact is, she loved my hair long.

  I look at Savannah, and I’m brought back to the day I went to see her.

  I knocked on her door. I wanted to pound on it and break it down, but she answered right away. Her face was pale, her eyes almost sunken in, and her lips were white. “What’s wrong?”

  “I have morning sickness,” she said and turned to walk back into her little apartment. She was the only eighteen-year-old I knew living on her own. Her mother took off as soon as everyone found out she was pregnant.

  I closed the door behind me, and she sat on her worn couch. “I’m so sorry, Jacob.”

  “Whose is it?” I asked, not moving from the door.

  She looked down and then looked up at me. “Liam’s.” She said his name, and I just looked at her. “Don’t even go there. I know. I know. He’s a horrible person.”

  “How the fuck did that ever happen?” I asked her, and she sobbed.

  “He said he loved me,” she said, and I wanted to tell her that he didn’t love anyone but himself. “You can’t tell Beau.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” I finally shouted at her, “do you know what you’ve done?” I know I shouldn’t lash out at her, but I do anyway.

  “Um, hello.” I hear Savannah, and I blink when the front door opens, and I look over to see Beau coming in.

  He sees us both sitting here. He looks at me and then at Savannah, and I’m wondering how the fuck she can’t see that he’s in love with her. I swear he walks around with hearts in his eyes when she’s around. The smile on her face is even bigger than it was when I walked into the room when he walks to her and bends down in front of her.

  “Hey, there.” He kisses her cheek, and I swear if she sighs, I’m going to throw up.

  “Dinner is ready,” Ethan says, and I get up. “Hey, Uncle Beau,” he says, walking to him, and they high-five each other. Well, at least out of all the lies Savannah has told, calling him Uncle is the truth.

  Savannah gets up and goes into the kitchen and helps set the table. Beau’s eyes follow her the whole time, and he turns. “I heard something.”

  “I can imagine,” I say, getting up.

  “Did you really tell her to go to hell?” he asks me quietly, and I look over at him.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

  “Word on the street is you saw her in the grocery store and told her to go to hell and get out of your town,” he says, looking down. I just stand here in shock. “I take it that somewhere along the line, the story changed.”

  “A lot,” I say and go into the kitchen. I sit at the table and eat, and we don’t bring up Kallie. Ethan tells us all about his day, and he goes on and on about the sleepover he has on Saturday for his friend’s birthday party.

  When we leave my mother’s, Ethan asks to sleep over at her house, and I don’t fight it and neither does Savannah since she has to work. “Are you coming in tonight?” she asks Beau, and he shakes his head.

  “I have a big meeting tomorrow morning,” he says and goes to his car. “H
ave a good night.” We both watch him walk to his BMW, and he gets in and takes off.

  “If you sigh, I will throw up,” I say, and she shakes her head.

  “I don’t sigh.” She pushes my shoulder and walks away from me. “I’ll get him from school tomorrow.”

  Shaking my head, I get in my truck. I should just head home, but I don’t. I head back over to Kallie’s to do a wellness check. I pull up and see the light on in her room. I spot a couple of my guys and wave at them and then head home.

  The night pretty much consists of me tossing and turning. Finally, the last time I check the clock, it’s three a.m. When my phone rings at eight, I jump out of bed. “McIntyre.”

  “Hey, it’s Monica.”

  “Yeah,” I grumble out.

  “Just confirming that you have a meeting at ten with the squad,” she says.

  “Yeah. I’ll be there,” I say and toss the phone on the bed. By the time I shower and pour my coffee and get into the car, I’m already late. I rushed and just put on my black jeans with my white shirt. I left the hat off today, pushing my hair back with my hand. I slip on my aviator glasses when I start my car, and when I pull up to the station, I see that Casey’s truck is already here. Walking up the steps, I open the glass door and try not to stumble back. She’s standing there with tight white jeans molding her every curve. She’s wearing a short-sleeve gray silk shirt, and it’s tucked in the front and is loose over her breasts. I don’t take off my glasses as I spot the highest heeled shoes I’ve ever seen.

  “About time you showed up,” Casey says, and she finally looks at me. I want to smile and say hi. I want to walk up to her and push her hair away from her face and kiss her.

  “I’m on time,” I say and then look at Monica. “Morning.”

  “Morning yourself,” she says, smiling and leaning back in her chair.

  “The guys here?” I ask, and she nods her head.

  “Already in the back,” she says. “Do you want me to get you a coffee?”

  “Well, then,” Olivia finally says, turning to Casey, “do all the women flirt with married men in the South?”