Southern Chance

by Natasha Madison

  “Yeah.” I watch the trees fly by as he drives me home. “Well, it just hit me.”

  “Interesting,” he says, and I hate the way he says it as though he knows I’m bullshitting. I know I’m bullshitting, but I don’t need him to know.

  “Does this not feeling good have anything to do with you meeting Ethan tonight?”

  I glare over at him. “No.”

  “Liar,” he says, trying not to laugh, and looking at the road while he grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. “It’s going to be fine.”

  “Is it?” I ask him. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.” He side-eyes me. “Maybe we should just go slow. Like maybe this weekend I can come over for breakfast, and we can see how that goes.” He pulls into the driveway of Casey’s house. “Or we can have cake or something.”

  “Baby,” he says, and I hate his tone. Okay, fine, I love when he calls me baby because his tone is soft and filled with love. “I’m not going that long without you.”

  “Well, I’m not going to be sleeping at your house with Ethan there. That is just …” I don’t say anything because he pulls me to him. “Jacob.”

  “Kallie, you sleep with me,” he says, and I want to push away from him. “We just won’t tell him.”

  “So, you want me to sneak into your house?” I ask, shaking my head.

  “For now, that is what we have to do,” he says, kissing me.

  “No, we can be grown-ups about this and have dinner, and then I can see you tomorrow morning.”

  “Fuck no,” he says. “Now kiss me because I have to go to work.”

  “Fine, we can table this discussion.” I barely get the words out before his mouth is on mine, and I’m lost in his touch, in his kiss, lost in him. “Be safe.”

  “Always.” He kisses me one last time, and I open the door, turning to get out. He grabs my hand one last time. “He’s going to love you.”

  “Or hate me for taking you away from him,” I mumble and get out of the car, and he rolls down the window.

  “I love you, Kallie,” he says, and I look over my shoulder. “I’ll call you later.”

  I turn and walk up the steps toward the front door, ringing it first. I made the mistake of walking in yesterday and found them dry humping each other on the island. “It’s open!” Olivia yells, and I stick my head in. “It’s all clear. Cowboy is not home.”

  “Good,” I say, stepping into the entrance and walking to the kitchen where Olivia has set up her office on said island.

  “The coffee is fresh.” She smiles at me, and points at the coffeepot on the counter that looks brand new.

  “Thank you,” I say. Putting my bag down, I take my laptop out and start it up, then walk to the coffeemaker. “Why does it smell like bacon?”

  “I made Casey breakfast this morning,” Olivia says, and I look over at her for two reasons. One, my brother has never made a meal in his life. In fact, my mother still cooks all his meals. And two, Olivia doesn’t cook. “I know, I know …” She puts up her hands. “But I wanted to do something nice for him.”

  “I mean, we had to throw out five pots because you burned them so bad.”

  “Okay, fine.” She smiles at me, and I look over at her. She doesn’t have one ounce of makeup on her face. Her hair is piled on top of her head. She has a nice glow to her face from being out in the sun in the afternoon. She is also wearing a white tank top with black yoga pants and a long sweater over her. “I asked your mom for instructions.” I look at her, and she just stares at me. “Don’t think too much into it, please.”

  I shake my head. “Honestly, I’ve never seen you happier,” I say. “You aren’t even wearing makeup.”

  “I know.” She smiles. “And my skin is so soft. I think it’s the water,” Olivia says.

  “I’m going to give my notice,” I say, putting the cup of coffee to my lips.

  Her mouth flies open. “I mean, are you sure?” She puts her own cup down and leans forward. “This is a big change. You’re going from city to country.”

  I smile. “I’ve always been country.” Tilting my head, I say, “And I’ve always been in love with Jacob.” She looks down. “It was one mistake, and I have forgiven him for it.”

  “At the end of the day, he is your person,” she says. “He makes you happy.”

  “For my whole life, I knew that I would be his wife,” I say. “For my whole life, nothing made me happier than seeing him. Then I lost him, and I lost myself. I was me, but there were all these pieces of me missing and now …” I smile. “Now with him, seeing him, touching him. He was my missing piece.”

  She puts her hands to her chest. “Bless your heart.” I shake my head, laughing. “Did I not say it in the right way again?”

  “I have no idea,” I say, “but you’re learning.”

  “So you are really going to leave and come live here?” she asks, and I nod. “What are you going to do?”

  “I have no idea, and I’m scared as fuck, but the other way is me being away from him, and I’m not okay with that option.”

  “Does he know?”

  “He doesn’t. I think he’s afraid to ask.” I walk to the chair next to her and take out my phone. “I’m going to call Meryl right now.” I take the phone and dial Meryl, who answers right away.

  “Hey,” she says, answering the phone with us on speaker. “I just got your email and Olivia’s. You guys are on fire.” She laughs. “I should send you two away more often if you are going to come back with all these ideas.”

  “Yeah,” I say, thinking of the whole look we did yesterday. We incorporated some country flair to the chic pictures they sent over. I was a graphic designer, and Olivia was a stylist, and the two of us together made quite the team. It also helped that we understood what the other was saying. “I’m calling with some news.”

  “Oh,” she says, picking up the phone now, “is everything okay?”

  “Well, we are still laying low. The detective is supposed to call us by the end of the week with the result from the fingerprints found at the scene,” I inform her. When we called her in the middle of the night, she knew it wasn’t good, and she knew from the news stories that it was going to get a lot worse before it got better, so she was more than okay with us leaving.

  “Well, that’s good to hear,” she says. “So what’s up?”

  “I guess there is no easy way to say this.” I think about when I started at the magazine five years ago, and how she took a chance on a brand-new student straight out of college with no experience. I think about my life back in LA and how different it is to the country. I used to do spin class five days a week, and I used to have celery juice every single morning. Now I have coffee and lard, and I couldn’t be happier. “I’m staying here.”

  “What do you mean staying there?” she asks.

  “I mean, when this is all over, I’m only going back to LA to pack up my stuff, and then I’m moving back.” Olivia reaches over and hugs me, putting her head on my shoulder.

  “I see,” Meryl says.

  “I love my job, I really do, but I love my life here even more. And now that I’m back, I can’t think about leaving.”

  “What if I said you can do both?” Meryl says right away, and I look at Olivia, who looks at me with her eyes wide.

  “I would say what do you mean?” And then Olivia chimes in.

  “Actually, she would say hush your mouth.” She looks at me and whispers, “That was good, right?” and I nod, smiling.

  “Oh, Jesus, do not tell me that you are turning country,” Meryl says, and Olivia laughs out loud.

  “Heavens to bitsy, no!” Olivia shrieks, and I laugh.

  “It’s heavens to Betsy,” I say, and she just shrugs.

  “Anyway, as I was saying, what if you worked from home and then flew in a couple of times a year? You can skype from wherever you are during meetings,” she says, and I clap my hands quietly. “That way I’m not losing my favorite graphic goddess, and you still do what you lo
ve.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I say, overjoyed.

  “I reckon she’s happy,” Olivia says, and we all laugh now.

  “I’ll send you a new contract, and you can look it over,” Meryl says, “and, Olivia, don’t go falling in love with any cowboys.”

  “The saying is save a horse and ride a cowboy.” She winks at me, and my face goes into a grimace.

  “Gross,” I whisper, and she just shrugs. I see a little mark on the top of her breast when her shirt dips low. “That’s even grosser.” I point at the mark, and she pulls up her shirt.

  “He’s your brother. Apparently, branding me turns him on,” she says, and I fake vomit.

  “I will keep an eye out for your email,” I tell Meryl and hang up the phone. “Holy shit.”

  “That’s amazing. We are still going to work together,” Olivia says. “Just not live with each other.” She pouts. “I’m going to have to get a new roommate.” She puts her hand up and her thumb down. I push away from the island and walk over to the fridge.

  “We should have a piece of pie to celebrate.” I pull out the homemade cherry cake that my mother made yesterday. “Do you want a piece?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

  “I’m full as a tick.” She puts her hand on her stomach, and I just look at her. “It’s not my fault, it’s Casey’s. He walks around all the time with all these sayings.”

  “You know I love you,” I say, “but I just want to make sure that neither of you get hurt.” She looks at me.

  “We both know this is temporary,” she says. “We’re just having fun.”

  “Okay, but …” I start to say, and she puts up her hand to stop me.

  “As soon as everything dies down and it’s safe for me to go home, I’m leaving,” Olivia says, and I don’t discuss it anymore since she changes the subject with work.

  We work side by side for the next five hours, only stopping to use the bathroom and drink, and when my phone rings, I pick it up without looking at the name. “Hey, baby.” His voice comes out soft. “Whatcha doing?”

  “Working.” I stop what I’m doing to answer him, the smile on my face is automatic when he’s around or talking to me.

  “I’m done for the day, and I was going to swing by and get you,” he says, and I’m about to make an excuse when the doorbell rings. “Answer the door.”

  I walk to the door, and when I open it, he’s standing there with a bouquet of wildflowers. “For you.” He hands them to me, and my hand drops from my ear with the phone in it. He comes in and kisses me right away, crushing the flowers between us. “Missed you,” he says when he finally lets me go. “You ready?”

  “She is,” Olivia says, and I look behind me, and she stands there with her feet crossed, watching us with a huge smile on her face. “Have fun.” She hands me my bag.

  “What time are you getting Ethan?” I ask, and he looks at me, opening the truck door.

  “As soon as you get in the truck.” He smiles and ushers me into the truck, and before I know what is going on, he pulls up to his house. “Savannah will be here in ten minutes.”

  I look over at him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I don’t want to be there when she is around. I get that we all have to live in this situation, but I’m still …” I shake my head. “I understand if you want to bring me back home, and I can come when he is already here.”

  “You can wait in the kitchen,” he says. “She never comes in.” I look over at him. “Even though we are co-parenting a child together, it’s still my place.” He looks down and then over at me. “It was just something that we never crossed. I don’t go into her place, and she doesn’t come into mine.”

  “Do you want to go into her house?” I ask.

  “Nope.” He gets out of the truck and so do I.

  “I’m going to ask Casey to pick me up at nine,” I say when he unlocks the door.

  “Kallie.” He says my name. “Let’s get through dinner,” he says.

  “What are we eating?” I ask, and he shrugs while I shake my head. “I’ll see what I can come up with.” I’m about to walk away from him when he grabs my hand and pulls me to him.

  “You haven’t kissed me,” he says softly, pushing my hair away from my face. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you more,” I say, putting my hands around his waist, and my stomach flips and flops like a fish out of water. He tilts his head and leans in to kiss me, and when I think it’ll be a soft kiss, it’s needy with his tongue slipping into my mouth and his hands buried in my hair. I arch my back into him at the same time a car pulls up, and I hear a car door close. I look over and see Savannah getting out of her car with Ethan, and they just look at us. “Oh my God,” I say, and then I look at him.

  “I’ll wait for you inside,” I say, and he just nods. “Also I might be throwing up in case you are looking for me.”

  I walk into the house and close the door behind me. Walking into the kitchen, I open the fridge and spot a couple of things, and when I slam the fridge door, I come face-to-face with Ethan, and he’s alone. “Um, hi,” I say to him as he looks at me with eyes just like his mother.

  “Hi,” he says, putting his bag on the couch and coming over.

  “Where is your dad?” I ask, suddenly nervous and anxious and scared of this little boy.

  “He’s outside with Mom,” he says, getting on the stool. “They are having an adult talk.” I look toward the door, not sure what to do.

  “Um,” I stutter, “it’s nice to meet you.” He smiles at me.

  “What’s for dinner?” he asks, not even giving a shit that I was just almost dry humping his dad while he sucked my face.

  “I was going to do mac and cheese,” I say, and he nods at me.

  “Cool,” he says, getting up. “I’m going to put my things away.” Grabbing his bag, he starts to walk, and then he stops. “You really are pretty,” he says and heads to his room.

  “Thanks,” I whisper and let out the huge breath I was holding in.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Jacob

  “Go inside, buddy,” Savannah says to Ethan. “Give me some sugar.” She smiles at him. He hugs her around her waist, and she bends down to kiss him. “Love you.”

  He skips and hops over to me, coming up the steps. “Hey, Dad,” he says, and I lean down and kiss him on the head.

  “Hey, kiddo. Did you have fun?” I ask him, and he nods. “Go inside and say hi to Kallie.”

  “Okay,” he says and walks into the house and closes the door behind him. My heart speeds up, knowing that Kallie is going to have a bit of a panic attack when he comes in without me.

  “What’s up?” I ask her, my eyes watching the door the whole time.

  “So what’s the story with Kallie?” she asks. “I know that you guys are together, but I thought maybe you would talk to me before introducing her to Ethan.” My head turns back to Savannah the minute she says the last word.

  “Excuse me?” I try not to lose my shit with her. I haven’t told Kallie that the reason that I don’t have her in my house is because the only thing I want from her is Ethan. I don’t tell her that after she left, I was never alone with Savannah in one room. I would bring Beau or meet her in the open so people would see that we weren’t together.

  “It’s the first girl you introduce him to, and there is a lot of history there. I was just thinking that you would discuss it with me. This is a big thing in his life, and I don’t want him to feel like his life is being uprooted with it.”

  I walk down the steps to her, and I want to shake her. “Savannah, the only thing I talk to you about ever is Ethan,” I say, and she looks up at me. “We made a pact eight years ago, and I’ve kept up my part in it. But things are different now. Kallie is back, and a part of my life, and if I have anything to do with it, she’ll be an even bigger part of it.”

  “Trust me, Jacob, I know too well the pact that we made,” she says softly. “I just don’t want Ethan to feel like—”

  “
She’s here, and she’s back,” I say. “I’m going to talk to Ethan tonight about it. He’s a good kid, and he’ll adapt. And if he doesn’t, we’ll make sure that we are united in this, and that no matter who I’m with or who you’re with, he knows we are still his parents.”

  “Fine,” she says and walks away from me to the truck. “Text me later to tell me how it went.”

  “Sure thing,” I say and turn to walk into the house. I walk to the kitchen and see Kallie putting a pot on the stove. She looks over at me and glares. “I’m sorry.”

  “He came in here,” she whispers, looking over my shoulder to make sure the coast is clear, “and I didn’t know what to say.”

  “Well, where is he now?” I look around, and she points to his room.

  “Unpacking his bag,” she tells me and wipes a tear away. I walk to her and take her in my arms. “He’s beautiful,” she says. “So beautiful.”

  “He is,” I say, and I kiss her lips.

  “Why were you outside?” she asks, and I know I should tell her.

  “Nothing.” I lie to her, and she glares at me.

  “If we are doing this, no more secrets.” She pushes away from me, but I hold her tighter.

  “Okay, fine, she was just surprised that I was introducing you to Ethan so fast,” I say.

  “And?” she prompts.

  “And I told her in no uncertain words that it was none of her business and that I was going—” I don’t finish because she puts her hand on my mouth when she sees Ethan come into the room.

  “I have math homework,” Ethan says, “but I need help.”

  “You go help him. I’m going to get dinner going,” she says, and I kiss her.

  “Get your things and we can do it at the table.” I look at Ethan and walk to the table. I help Ethan with his homework while pots bang in the kitchen, and I hear her hissing on the phone with someone when she looks at me. “You don’t have bread crumbs.”