Absolute Valor (Southern Justice #3)

by Cayce Poponea

  “Yes,” she answers, her giggles filling the air around us. I can’t help myself as I engulf her in a hug, lifting her feet off the ground and spin her around. Her head is tossed back with her laughter, and it would be so effortless to lean in and kiss the spot where her neck, and shoulder meet. Today I will resist, keeping my word to her of my intentions coming with no strings attached. Someday, and I hope it will be soon, my lips will touch the skin of her neck and every inch which covers her body.

  “Come on, Audrey, before they send a search party out for us.” I’m unable to bring myself to release her completely, but I’ll take holding her hand for now. Tonight, we will sit down and have dinner in a restaurant I know she will fuss about, but there are no chain restaurants on the ground where our hotel is located. Maybe it was wrong of me to swear to her we can go out cheap. Granddaddy would have called it a matter of angles, as the money in between my underwear and skin will cover the tip.

  As we approached the crowd, which had thinned considerably, I feel Audrey slow down slightly. Glancing over my shoulder, I see her eyes fixed on something to our right. Following where her gaze landed, I see what Dylan had warned me about when we got the bikes out of the trailer this morning. Meghan Price stood with her friends surrounding her, her bright red hair blowing in the breeze, a solo cup in her hands.

  “You know Meghan?” I curiously test the waters with Audrey. Meghan could be a real pill when she wanted, thinking her family name carried more weight than it did.

  “No, never saw her before today.”

  Pulling her up beside me, I exchange her hand for her shoulders, wrapping my arm around her. “Meghan Price, only daughter of Melvin Price and heiress to the family fortune—if there is any left. She thrives on attention. She will do most anything to piss off her daddy and get her picture in the papers. Today, her search includes riding half naked on the back of an old dude’s bike.” Audrey’s eyes are squinted, mulling something over in her mind. “Tomorrow, it will be something, or someone, else. I’m surprised she showed up today, on account of her being afraid of Miss Priscilla.” Audrey looked up at me, surprise in her eyes and her gaping mouth. “Oh yes, Priscilla Morgan does not care for Meghan or any of her followers. About two years ago, she tried everything she could to get Dylan into her bed. Momma called her up and had a nice conversation with her. Which is why I’m surprised she showed up today.” It was mostly the truth, although an abridged version at best. I personally wasn’t there for the conversation, but I did get an email from Dylan on how he watched a miracle, the day when our sweet, loving momma dropped an F-bomb.

  “Looks like they’re about ready to head out.” Pointing at my brothers putting their gear back on. Our plan had been to ride back with the others who signed up for the run. Austin had made a comment about how close to Florida we would be, and how it would be a shame not to see our girls in next to nothing, drinking something cold by the ocean. At the time, I was picturing Harmony, funny how life has a way of changing plans and creating new ones.

  “Lainie mentioned only the fam—I mean only ya’ll were going to Florida, not the whole group.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to hide my smile at the truth behind what she thought slipped out. “You had it right the first time, Sweetness. The family is going on down to Florida.”

  Having Audrey on the back of my bike, knowing how much trust she has to have in me, is pretty much the most incredibly amazing and fucking frustrating feeling in the world. Where I love having her close, I can’t touch her as much as I want; a squeeze to her leg or tugging at her hand isn’t enough. I’d never let a thing happen to her, not even if she decided she doesn’t want what is brewing between us.

  Austin took the lead as we turned off the highway just inside the Florida state line. He’d researched the shit out of this resort, wanting to make an impression on Lainie. With all the shit the two of them have been through this year, they deserved some time alone. I hope she isn’t too pissed about what he has planned for her.

  Crossing over bridges and down winding roads, I can feel Audrey moving her head from side to side, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the ocean. Omni Amelia Island Resort, the white lettering standing out against the gray stucco marquee. Manicured flowerbeds greeted us as we turned onto the gated entry. Huge palm trees lined the road as we followed Austin down the long drive.

  I can imagine the panic settling inside Audrey as we rounded the entrance, parking beside cars of high value and assumed prestige. Austin was already off his bike and jogging up to the check in desk—a man on a mission. I pulled alongside Dylan, his head shaking as he laughs behind Austin back.

  “Oh, my God.” I heard momma say as I removed my helmet. Austin has shown us so many pictures of this place in the last few days that I’m no longer impressed, just anxious to see it through Audrey’s eyes. “Where did he find this place?” I wanted to roll my eyes, but I know she’ll slap me hard if I do. Coming here is important to Austin and, by association, important to me. His need to disappear for a little while later will fall perfectly into my plans of talking with Audrey.

  Extending my hand out, I offered her help from the bike. “You ready, Sweetness?” As she stands beside the bike, her expressive eyes taking it all in. A young valet rushes over, wide eyed at the prospect of climbing on one of these bad boys and parking it.

  “Afternoon, Sir, welcome to the Omni Resort.” Audrey spins around, her helmet falling to the ground in the process. “Sorry, Miss, didn’t mean to startle you.” The attendant bends over, retrieving her helmet from the pavement before I can get the rest of the way off my bike.

  Not liking the way he is looking at my girl, I take the helmet from his outstretched hand. “Thanks, Dexter, but I’ve got her.”

  He finally takes me in, as I tower a foot above him. His eyes and his head keeps moving up as he swallows hard, and then scurries off.

  ”Chase,” Momma scoffs. “Behave.”

  I ignore her, only because Audrey is gigglin’; twice in one day I’ve managed to make her happy and I ain’t done yet. Austin comes back out just as Momma was about to say something else. Daddy is shaking his head and whispering to Dylan.

  “Okay, I got everyone their room keys and pool passes.” He starts handing out credit card shaped keys, with the hotel’s name on them. Audrey looks at hers as if it’s about to do back flips or something. “We’re all on the same floor. I put Audrey across from Momma and Daddy, right next to you, Chase. Dylan, you and Claire are on the other side of him and Lainie and I are clear down at the other end of the hall.”

  Audrey hasn’t taken her eyes off the key; she keeps turning it round and round in her hand. “Sweetness, you okay?” She blinks a few times and then starts to say something, but I don’t give her the chance. Knowing she chose living in a closet over renting a hotel room for the night, it doesn’t take much to guess what’s running through her head. “You didn’t think we would make you sleep in a bathtub now did ya?” By the blank look in her eye and lack of words, I knew I hit the nail on the head. “Come on,” I chuckle, pulling her close as we get ready to head in. “A cold beer and the pool are calling my name.” The automatic doors open and the welcome chill of the air-conditioning hits me in the chest.

  “Wait, aren’t you going to park the bikes in the lot?”

  I look down at her, “Nope, we have a guy who is trailering them back to Charleston. We’ll take a car back, Momma can’t handle riding for extended periods of time. Besides, I’ll get to hold your hand on the way back.”

  Austin leads us to the elevator bank and presses the up button, fidgeting the whole time. I toss him a look, reminding him to chill. The doors open and I tug a reluctant Audrey into the elevator. Momma and Claire were going ninety to nothing over all the amenities the resort offered. Leaning my back against the cool glass of the elevator, I pull Audrey into my arms, my chin resting on her shoulder as I watch her fingers still playing with the key card. “Sweetness, you’re going to wear the
letters off the thing.”

  Her fingers stop and she wraps her hand around the card. “Sorry,” she whispers as she brings her hand to her chest.

  Hugging her tighter, I know this is going to be an uphill battle. Audrey is exactly what I’ve always needed—I have to reverse all the garbage she’s been told all these years. I know it will be worth it, she will be worth it.

  “Austin wanted to do this for us, as a thank you for helping him get Lainie back.” I whisper into her ear. She nodded her head, but I knew she was trying to figure out how much her room cost him. Leaning my head back against the back of the elevator, an idea for dinner pops into my head.

  A soft ding announces we’ve reached our floor. The doors open to a large glass window overlooking the pool and ocean. Words are not needed to express what we’re all feeling. “To the left people, bathing suits are optional, and the tips will be good.” Leave it to Dylan to ruin the moment. Austin and Lainie turn to the right, as we plan to meet at the pool in twenty minutes.

  It takes Audrey three attempts at inserting her key—something tells me this is possibly the first time she had ever stayed in a hotel. As the green light flashes and the sound of the door unlocking clicks, her smile once again fills her face. “Twenty minutes, Sweetness, or I’m coming to get you.” I threaten as she quietly closes the door.

  I’ve always loved hotel beds. When we were little, momma would let us jump on them all we wanted. So, I close the door of my room, toss the room key to the table beside the bed, and then throw my body into the center of the bed. I enjoyed the bounce just as much as I did as a kid.

  With fifteen minutes to kill, I have an important call to make. Pulling up the number that Dad gave me in my phone, I hit the send button.

  “South Carolina Power, this is Melissa, how can I help you?”

  “Afternoon, Miss Melissa. May I speak with Raymond Gilbert, please?” It’s clear Melissa has no social skills when she doesn’t ask me to hold or even who the hell I am before putting me on hold, exposing me to this god-awful music.

  “Hello, Gilbert here.” A gruff, smoker’s voice interrupts the power company’s ads for what to do before drilling in your yard.

  “Mr. Gilbert, hello. This is Chase Morgan, Dean Morgan’s son. How are you today, Sir?” I, on the other hand, have perfect manners, between momma and the Marine Corps, although dealing with Priscilla Morgan is far worse than any drill sergeant I’d ever met.

  “Well, hello, Sir. I’m doing well, thank you. What can I help you with today?” I hate dropping Dad’s name, but this is important and I have a big enough throat to swallow my pride and take care of my girl.

  “I have a favor of sorts to ask. My girlfriend was unable to pay her electric bill and I would like to take care of it for her. Dad led me to believe you were the man to speak with, in regards to getting power restored.” Another skim of the truth. Dad had helped Gilbert when his wife took off with the contractor he’d hired to fix their leaky roof. He’d taken twelve grand of the man’s money, along with his wife and kids. He could care less about the money and the ex-wife, but Gilbert wanted full custody of the kids. Dad did some digging and settled out of court with what he found.

  “Of course, I’ll need the name on the account or the address.”

  “Audrey Helms, 142 Beaumont Way, Lot Seven.” I waited silently when I heard his fingers clicking away on the computer. It reminds me of when I talked with Austin. Speaking of Austin, I get up off the bed and walk over to the window. I glanced down the beach and the line of cabanas facing the water, scanning them all until I spotted the last one. Workers had it roped off and were pulling the lounge furniture out of it, replacing them with a table and chairs. As soon as I got this paid, I would call the restaurant downstairs and make a reservation.

  “Mr. Morgan, I apologize for the delay, but I have the information you requested. In order to restore service we will need to collect the past due, and the current amounts. Now, considering your affiliation, I can accept at least half of the past due—”

  The only favor I wanted was for him to get Audrey’s electricity back on. “Mr. Gilbert, I apologize for interrupting, but I am prepared to pay the full amount. The issue may be the urgency in having it back on as soon as possible.” I hear him begin typing again.

  “Mr. Morgan, considering the amount of help your family has given me, I would be willing to personally go out to the residence myself and connect the power. However, since I have no training in that area, I’ll leave it to the professionals. If I can process a payment today, we can contact Miss Helms and make sure an adult will be at the residence for the reconnection of the service.”

  I pulled out my wallet and the sporadically used credit card. “I’m ready with my American Express whenever you are. Someone from your office can call her tomorrow and set up a time to be out there.” As I wait to give him my card number, I watch the staff carry several lanterns out to the cabana, as a photography crew sets up in the brush behind the hotel.

  “All right, Mr. Morgan. To restore the service, the total we would charge to the card is one thousand, ten dollars, and nine cents.”

  For a second I thought we had a bad connection, but I recalled Dylan saying something to Carson about the electricity being off for a while now. “Not a problem, whenever you’re ready?”

  “You’re sure about this, Austin?”

  “As sure as you are about saving Audrey.” He returned, as the bartender slid our beers across the wooden surface of the bar.

  “I’m not trying to save her. Well, not like you’re implying. I like her a whole lot, a hell of a lot more than a friend and I want a future with her.” I tip back my bottle, as we make our way to the edge of the pool. I’m waiting for the shit storm of questions my revelation is about to bring me. I’m counting on Dylan to be the first to say something.

  “You know Momma thinks something is brewing with her. She’s had me watching her house for the past month.” Dylan is my brother; devoted heart, body, and balls to Claire. Still something stirs in me knowing another man was watch her.

  “Chase?” Austin looks at me from his spot on the edge of the pool. “I love you to death, man, but I am telling you straight up.” Plopping myself down beside him on the tile of the side of the pool, I wait. “If you really care about her, don’t waste any time with games and bullshit. Tell her how you feel and the truth about Ginny. But…” He points his beer in the center of my chest, “I don’t give a flying fuck how many ways they taught you to kill a man over there. You make her cry, I will kick your motherfucking ass.”

  Easing myself down into the cool water, I look one more time at the doors of the hotel to see if the girls have made it down yet. I lean my arms on the side of the pool, watching as the waves crash along the beach. “I’m taking her to dinner while you do your thing with Lainie.” I pause as I consider whether I should tell them about the necklace, or discuss it with her first. “I also called the electric company and paid the bill. Had the guy switch the billing address to my PO box so I can pay it for her from now on.” A sense of pride fills my chest as I think about all the things I want to take care of for her, and places I want to take her to.

  “Carson is having a guy keep an ear to the ground for Lucas. After what Ginny had to say, he wants us to be careful.” Lucas is a punk ass bitch. He may have a few thugs in his corner, but if push came to shove, the motherfuckers would hide like bitches. I’d still feel better if he wasn’t in the picture.

  “Maybe I should move her into Claire and Lainie’s building. It’s secure and she would have friends close by.” I think aloud, watching the horizon.

  “I hear there may be an apartment opening up soon.” Austin snickers, his face already showing the anticipation of what he’s planning on doing. I can feel eyes on me as if someone was watching me. I’ve never lacked attention when it came to women, but this time, I’m hoping the eyes I feel belong to a certain hazel-eyed girl.

  “There’s my beautiful bride.” Dad calls
from his chair beside the pool. I can’t help the smile that comes automatically as I turn to see my girl.

  Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.

  —Anonymous

  Dark wood furniture with white linen sheets and aqua blue pillows bring the blue of the ocean into the room. Granite tabletops sat beside the bed on each side, holding globe lamps in colors, which complimented the pillows. I’ve seen plenty of rooms like this in pictures on magazine covers, but I never thought I’d ever get to sleep in one. The large window, which takes up three quarters of the far wall, gives me a clear view of the waves, which roll softly to the shore. Children run in and out of the surf, their parents chasing them or helping to build sand castles, only to watch them fall with the power of the surf.

  Setting my backpack on the end of the bed, I know I have a small amount of time to get the sweat of the day off me, and get down to the pool. Unzipping the top, I pull out the only cute sundress I own, and rush into the bathroom to jump into the shower. I know it’s silly, I’m going to be out in the heat and in the chlorine of the pool, but I’m covered in sweat and smell like a Yeti.

  I know I need to hurry so as not to make anyone wait for me, but as much as I loved Priscilla’s shower, I’m in a whole lot of like with this one, too. As I’m brushing my hair into a ponytail, the sound of laughter and pounding on my door lets me know the girls have arrived. Shoving my dirty clothes in an extra trash bag, I open the door to three giggling women, each with a glass of something in their hands.