Southern Chance

by Natasha Madison

  My leg moves up and down with nerves. I want to go up to her and make sure she’s okay. I want her to know that I care. I want her to know that I didn’t fucking sleep with Savannah. I want to tell her all my secrets. My stomach falls when I look over and see her getting up and wiping away a tear. She smiles and pretends to be okay, but I know she isn’t. She picks up her to-go drink, and they walk out the door. I watch Olivia put her arm around Kallie and walk her to the truck.

  “I’m not hungry,” I tell the table. “Rain check.”

  “Yeah, of course,” Beau says, and I get up. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Yeah,” I say and walk out of the diner toward my truck. I sit in the driver’s seat and put the key inside. My head throbs as my chest feels crushed, so I go to the only place that calms me. I park the truck in my secret spot and make my way down to the creek. The place that calms me yet breaks me equally.

  My mind feels like it’s going to explode with all the memories rushing back. All the memories—good, bad, sad, ugly—replay in my head like a movie.

  The first time I kissed her. Her telling me that she loved me the first time. The first time I made love to her. The first time we got into a fight and she threw me out of her house. The first time I came crawling back. The first time she woke up in my arms. The last time I kissed her, right before our world got taken from us. The last time I saw her here was with tears streaming down her face.

  I’m almost at the creek when I spot him. Someone who is definitely not from here. He stands with his jeans and leather jacket on as he takes pictures. I watch him for a bit, and then he takes out his phone and does something on it. I take out my own phone and snap a picture of him.

  As I step out into the clearing, the branches snap under my feet, getting the guy’s attention. His black hair is pushed all the way back, his eyes in surprise that someone should be here. “Can I help you?” I ask, and he changes now.

  He laughs nervously. “Not really. I think I’m lost. I was …” He turns around and pretends to be looking at something. “On a hike and I must have taken the wrong turn.”

  “Yeah, those trails are tricky.” I play into his story even though there are no fucking trails anywhere in this town. “You should really have brought a guide with you.”

  “Yeah, I should have,” he says, looking down at his feet, and I notice he’s wearing Chucks.

  “Where you from?” I ask, trying to reel him in.

  “Oh, I’m a West Coast boy,” he says. “Figured I’d get away to clear my head.”

  “Well, you came to the right place,” I say, “but this is private property.”

  “Really?” He acts shocked. “I didn’t know.”

  I shrug. “Let me help you to your car,” I say, and he nods at me.

  “Do you remember where you parked?”

  “I think a little over that way.” He points to the path that leads to the road.

  “Well, let me escort you there.” I hold out my hand and wait for him to walk in front of me.

  “You really don’t have to do that,” he says, looking over his shoulder at me.

  “It’s my pleasure.” I smile tight, and I take him to his car that is parked on the side of the road. I make a mental note of his license place, but I have no doubt it’s a rental.

  “Well, thank you,” he says, unlocking his car door. “People in the South are so trusting.”

  “That’s what we make you believe,” I say. “People in the South also shoot first and ask questions later.”

  He laughs nervously, getting into his car. “I didn’t get your name.”

  “You didn’t,” I say. “I didn’t get yours either.”

  “Dwayne,” he says.

  “Nice to meet you, Dwayne. You have a safe journey home.” I turn and walk back to the creek, stopping and turning to see which way he drives. When I see him pull off, I run to my truck, getting in and calling Monica.

  “I need you to run this plate,” I say, shouting off the number.

  “I’ll call you when I get the information,” she says. I hang up and call the one man I have spent the past eight years avoiding.

  “What now?” he answers.

  “Five minutes, your parents’ house.” I don’t even wait for him to respond before I toss my phone on the passenger seat. Pulling up to Kallie’s house, I stop the truck and grab my phone. I look around to see if I see anything when I walk to the door. I don’t have to knock when the door swings open and a pissed-off Casey is there. He walks out and closes the door behind him.

  “She’s been home two days. Two and every single time she turns around she’s hit with the reality that you fucked another woman,” he says between clenched teeth. “I had to fucking carry her in today.” He looks around. “After having a panic attack where she almost fucking fainted.”

  “You think I want to cause her pain?” I now stand up to him. “You think that in any of this, I want her to feel the pain that I feel every fucking day?” I shake my head. “This isn’t about me. I found someone creeping around the creek.”

  He steps back at my words. “What did you just say?” His jaw clenches. “Let’s go inside.”

  He walks back inside. “Mom, Dad!” he yells, then yells up the stairs, “Kallie, Darlin’!”

  “What is all this screaming going on?” Charlotte comes out of the kitchen, and she’s wiping her hands on a towel, and you can see she was crying. “Jacob, honey, I don’t think …”

  “Mom, not now.” Casey goes to the liquor cabinet. “Mom, please go get the girls,” he says, taking a swig. He goes to hand me the bottle, but he just shrugs when I shake my head. “Suit yourself.”

  Charlotte comes down with Olivia right behind her who glares at me. “I don’t like you,” she says, and I almost roll my eyes.

  “Um …” Charlotte says. “Kallie will be down in a minute.”

  “What is all this about?” Billy says, coming into the house from the backyard.

  “We are waiting for Kallie,” Casey says, taking another swig.

  “What is up with you?” Olivia gets close to Casey, and he just shakes his head. I hear her coming down the stairs. Her hair is piled on top of her head. She wears pink shorts and a white shirt, and she avoids looking at me.

  “Everyone’s here,” Casey says. “You can start anytime you want.”

  “After I left the diner, I went to the creek,” I start, and my eyes are on Kallie. She looks down at the floor, and I see her wipe a tear away. “I just needed to clear my head.” She shakes her head. “I was walking there, and I saw a guy. Knew right away he was not where he was supposed to be. He was taking pictures,” I say, and now she looks up at me with her mouth open. “He claims he got lost on the trails.”

  “There are no trails,” Billy says, looking at Casey who takes another swig.

  “I got his picture,” I tell them and open my phone. “He said his name is Dwayne.” I hand the phone to Olivia, who shakes her head, then passes the phone to Kallie, who takes it in her hand and shakes her head also.

  “I walked him to his car and got his plate number,” I say. “I’m running the plate, but I’m not expecting it to be that easy.”

  “You are not allowed at that creek,” Casey says to Kallie.

  “You don’t have to worry about that. After today, I think it’s safe to say I’m going into hibernation,” she says, getting up. “I’m not feeling well.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Olivia says, and then looks at Casey. “Enough of the drinking please.”

  Casey does not do what he’s told. He does not listen to anyone but his mother, and that is only on occasion. I’m waiting for him to laugh at her and take another gulp. Instead, he nods at her and puts the bottle down, and I’m not the only one with their mouth hanging open. Olivia looks at him and gives him a shy smile, and she walks upstairs just as my phone rings.

  “Hello?” I say, looking at Casey when I hear Grady. “I’m with Casey. I’m going to put you on speaker.” />
  “Okay, so the plate you got is from a rental agency,” he says, and I shake my head.

  “I knew it,” I say.

  “But get this, when I called the rental agency, they said that this car was not rented out. So the guy goes to check, and the plate was stolen off the car,” Grady says. “We have two of the guys going over there to check the surveillance footage. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Thank you,” I say and hang up.

  “What in the fuck is going on?” Billy says.

  “I have no idea,” I say and look upstairs, “but whatever it is, those two should never be alone.” I want to go up and check on her. I want to make sure she is okay. Instead, I turn around and head for the front door. “I’ll be in touch,” I say right before I slam the door behind me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kallie

  “Four days.” I hear moaned from beside me while I answer my last email from work. “It’s been four days and nothing.”

  I look over my laptop at her. “I don’t even know what you are talking about.” I grab my cup of coffee and take a sip. I’m sitting at Casey’s kitchen table while we work. We have been alternating working from my parents’ and Casey’s.

  “One, it’s been four days since we’ve been outside.” As she starts talking, she gets up to go to the fridge and takes out the bottle of white wine that I know she put in there. I look over her shoulder at the clock. It’s just a bit after noon.

  “We were outside yesterday.” I smile at her, and she glares at me as she stands at the island. “Okay, fine, walking to my parents’ house and then sitting on the back porch is not being outside.”

  “Thank you,” she says, drinking more wine and then taking a big gulp. “It’s also been four days since Casey kissed me.”

  I close my eyes tight. “Eww.”

  “I know, I know,” she says, sitting at the table now with the bottle of wine in one hand and the glass in the other, “but there is literally no one else to talk to about this.” I look at her. “I have you and your mother.” I put my hand in front of my mouth. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to be like I want to bone your son.”

  “You shouldn’t say that to anyone,” I say, and she shakes her head.

  “This is crazy,” she says. “I’m living in his house. I sleep under his roof.”

  “Okay,” I say, confused.

  “I just …” She looks down. “What does he even do?”

  I swallow down, and I think about what to tell her. “He does a little bit of everything.” I mean, technically it’s the truth. He does do a little bit of everything. I wait for her to ask me what in the hell that means, but she doesn’t.

  Olivia looks at me, pinching her eyebrows together. “We are living together and nothing. It’s just,” she says, shaking her head, “I just, it took my mind off everything.”

  “Oh my gosh.” I reach out to hold her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Um, I think you had enough of your own shit going on.” She looks at me. “Kallie, I can’t even begin to think how you feel being here around him.”

  “It’s fine.” I shrug. “It is what it is, and I have to accept it.”

  “Accepting it and having it flaunted in your face every second is enough to have you jump off a bridge.” She takes a sip of her wine.

  “If only there was a bridge I could jump off,” I joke with her. I don’t tell her that I’ve cried every single night. I don’t tell her that no matter how many times I tell myself not to think about him, it usually lasts maybe three minutes before another memory I’ve buried assaults me. I don’t tell her that I moved out of my bedroom and into the spare room at night because just the thought of sleeping in the bed we used to sleep in makes my chest get tight. I don’t tell her that I’ve had five panic attacks since my last one. I keep it to myself, just as I have everything else.

  “Seriously.” She takes another sip. “He holds me all night long.”

  “How are you sleeping?” I ask, and she looks down at her hands.

  “I’ve never slept better,” she says softly. “I mean, I’m leaving, so it’s stupid to get involved.” She fidgets with the label on the wine. “Maybe it’s a good thing.”

  “He’s never going to leave the farm,” I say. “It’s his baby.”

  “I would never expect him to.” She looks at me as the door opens, and the man of the hour comes in.

  “Hey there,” he says. Tossing his baseball hat on the table, he bends down and kisses me on the cheek, then walks to her. I’m waiting to see what she does, and instead of just waiting for him to kiss her, she tilts her head, offering him her cheek. “Darlin’.” His southern voice comes out.

  “Casey.” She says his name, and he looks at me.

  “I didn’t do anything.” I hold up my hands.

  “I want to go out,” Olivia says, and Casey puts his head back and rubs his face. “I want to get out of here and go out and see people.”

  “You see people here,” Casey says, going to the fridge and grabbing a water bottle. “You can come down to the barn.”

  “Casey.” She gets up, and I have to say she is dressing more country. She wears her tight blue jeans and tank top. Her hair is piled on top of her head, and she has just a touch of mascara on. I want to point out the ways she has actually changed in the past four days, but I’m not sure she is ready for it. “I want to go out and I don’t know, dance.”

  Casey looks over at me. “Listen, I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “We can go …” She snaps her fingers. “Line dancing.”

  Casey and I both groan. “There has to be a bar in this town.”

  “Oh, there is a bar, all right,” I say, and her eyes light up. “We actually can go.”

  “I don’t think you want to go there,” Casey says, avoiding my eyes.

  “Oh, come on,” I say, getting up. “I know that I’ll see people.”

  “Kallie.” He says my name, but Olivia puts her hand on his mouth.

  “Casey, I have cabin fever,” she tells him. “I used to live in LA where I sat in traffic for four hours a day, and I am sadly missing it.”

  “She’s right,” I say, and he looks as though he is going to admit defeat.

  “You are going to be there with us,” Olivia says. “We can’t be safer since you are going to be there. Come on, cowboy.”

  “Fuck me,” he says and looks at me. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  “I don’t think it can get worse than the diner,” I say. He starts to talk, and I hold up my hand. “I don’t think I have anymore tears to cry. I’m dehydrated. There is nothing I can do to change the past.”

  “There is just something,” he says, and Olivia stops him this time by grabbing his face and kissing him. “Darlin’.”

  “What time do I have to be ready?” Olivia asks, clapping her hands with excitement. “I don’t know if I have anything to wear.”

  “You have seventy-five pounds of clothes all over my closet,” Casey says. “I’m sure there is something there.”

  “I can move it to the other closet if you like.” She folds her arms over her chest, and he glares at her. “I can also sleep in the room also.” She turns and grabs her glass of wine, heading to the master bedroom.

  “Where are you going?” he shouts.

  She looks over her shoulder. “I’m going to finish my wine.” She smiles. “Then I’m going to nap because I’m going to get dressed up and dance my ass off tonight.” She laughs all the way to the bedroom.

  “How much trouble can she possibly get into?” Casey looks at me, and I shut my laptop.

  “You do see what she looks like, right?” I ask, and he doesn’t say anything. “You also see what she wears.” His jaw gets tight. “She is friendly with everyone. She did bring muffins to you and the boys in the barn.”

  “I think I need backup,” he says and grabs his hat. “I don’t want you to encourage her.”

  “If you think any
thing I say can encourage her”—I point at the bedroom—“then you are so oblivious.” I shake my head. “I’m going home.”

  “You can work here,” he tells me, walking out with me and closing the door behind me.

  “I need a nap,” I say. “Apparently, I’m going to have to dance my ass off tonight with her.”

  “This is a bad idea,” he says, and I look at him.

  “Then why did you agree to it?” I laugh and walk away from him.

  “Because it made her smile,” he says, and I turn around, walking backward.

  “Hope you know what you’re doing, big brother,” I say, and he shakes his head.

  “It’s only temporary,” he says, turning to walk back to the barn. I walk back to the house, and the smell of banana bread fills the house. My mother looks up from the oven where she’s placing the muffins on the plate when I walk into the room.

  “Mom, I swear by the time I go home, I’m going to have gained twenty pounds,” I say, putting down my laptop and walking over to the bowl that holds the muffins from this morning.

  “You can use a little bit of meat,” she tells me and takes off the oven mitt. “Are you done for the day already?”

  “No.” I take a piece of the muffin top and toss it into my mouth. “I am going to take a nap and then work after.”

  “Did you not sleep well?” my mother asks with worry all over her face. “We should get another mattress for that bedroom.”

  “I’m sleeping okay,” I say, “but Casey just agreed to take us out tonight.”

  She smiles at me. “That sounds like fun. You guys going to go bowling?”

  I shake my head and look down, then ask the question I’ve been dying to ask her for the past four days. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Tell you what?” She looks at me as I put the muffin down.

  “That he didn’t marry her.” I wipe away a tear and look at her.

  “Honey,” she says, coming over to me and hugging me, “you told me that you didn’t want to know. That what Jacob did with his life had nothing to do with you. Every single time I brought it up, even in passing, you changed the subject.”