Bitter Hearts (A Southern Loving Book 3)

by Thorn, Ava

  Chapter Three

  Saturday came by swiftly. Kari found herself wondering where the week went as she drove to Hank’s house. She was surprised to find out that he lived on Southern Hearts Ranch too. Following his directions, she turned on the private road that lead straight to his house. It was hard not to gaze out the window and at the horses and cattle in the pastures.

  Driving up the hill, Kari’s mouth gaped open as she looked at the two-story white and brown Tudor house that held characteristic with its weeping mortar brick exterior, flared eves arched, gables, and triple-stacked chimneys. The house was a new model but Hank added Grand stone and wrought iron and lush landscaping to give it a dated look. The house had to be at least three miles away from the main house and sat on twenty-one acres. Kari was in complete shock. Hank must be confused on what a mini mansion and a cottage was. This house was grand and nothing like a crackerjack cottage.

  Parking next to his red truck in front of the garage, Kari made sure she had workbag as she got out. Trekking up the stone pathway to the front she knocked on the slightly ajar classic wood door and waited for Hank. Knocking for the second time, she walked inside the house which was an utter masterpiece with a gourmet kitchen, dining and living room area.

  “Hank!” Kari called out.

  Normally she would’ve stopped at the foyer, but her curiosity got the best of her. The walls were painted a light tan color, but the furniture didn’t match the function of the home. Kari noticed the house lacked personality. The heavy drapes prevented natural lights from shining into the house.

  Instead of going up the stairs, she journey down the hallway and opened the second door on the left. She inspected the master suite; it’s generous size with a tall stone fireplace and a sitting room. Her high heels clicked against hardwood floor as she walked to boxes stacked onto the king size bed. Even with the floor to ceiling windows the bedroom felt cold and empty.

  Walking over to the window, she started to pull open the drapes, when she kicked a glass bottle. Reaching down Kari picked up the bottle that read “Jack Daniels.” Turning back around, she went to the boxes and opened one. There were women’s clothes in one box and another was filled with a broken picture frame. Picking up the frame, she saw a wedding photo of Hank and whom she assumed was his wife.

  “What are you doing?” he barked.

  Kari was startled and snatched her hand from the frame, but in the process the glass cut her hand open. She gasped and closed her hand as blood trickled down her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said, rushing pass him,

  Hank put his arm out to stop her. “Let me see,” his voice was full of concern, as he gripped her hand in his. “It’s a minor cut, let’s get it cleaned up.”

  “You shouldn’t have scared me,” Kari said, as Hank ushered her to the kitchen. Sitting on a barstool she held her aching hand as Hank pulled out a first aid kit from a cabinet.

  “Then that means you shouldn’t have been snooping in my belongings.” He sat the kit on the table and started removing items from it.

  “Your right,” she said, trying to give him the puppy eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “Umph” was all the he said, before he started to clean up her wound.

  “Sshhit.” Kari tired snatching her hand away from Hank when he poured alcohol onto the cut. “That hurts.”

  “Wow, someone is a baby,” Hank chuckled.

  “I’m not a baby,” she said softly. It was hard for her not to focus on Hank’s fingers gently tracing her hand. Kari tried not to look at him, but she couldn’t resist. Those hard callused hands that reminded her of the hard work he did every day.

  “You’ll survive,” he said, as he finished wrapping her hand with a gauze.

  “You will too,” Kari said, looking into his grey eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Hank stood up and started to clean up the remnants from the first aid kit. “My wife took a wrecking ball to our marriage and destroyed everything in her wake. I have to live with these scars that she left on my heart.”

  “How?”

  Sitting there on the barstool, Kari would’ve never pictured that the handsome, strong man in front of her was suffering from a broken heart. Everything was making sense now. He was trying to erase the memories of her from the house.

  “I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “Life goes on, right?”

  “She doesn’t know what she had in you,” Kari said, clearing her throat. You’re here for work; it’s not time to socialize. “I should…get those measurements.”

  Hank watched as Kari went to her workbag on the sofa and pulled out what appeared to an electronic tape measure. He watched her moved swiftly from each side of the room getting measurements. When she asked him ‘How he would survive with the scars from his wife deception,’ Hank had seen the brief sadness in those brown eyes.

  “What colors do you want for the living room?” Kari asked, with her eyes glued to the clip board in her hand.

  “Why don’t you tell me what you envision?” His crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her intently.

  “Ok.” She put her finger on her chin and circled around him like he was a prey. “Your masculinity oozes out, so does your southern roots. This house is rustic and beyond magnificent. You should incorporate that in the style of your home.”

  “I like where you’re going,” he said, while he nodded his head.

  “Let’s go with earth tone colors that will absolutely go great with the hardwood floors and the big stone fireplace. A round, wooden carven chandelier with electric candles.”

  “See, you just re-decorated the living room,” he said proudly.

  “Ok, then.” She clasped her hands together and reclaimed her seat on the barstool.

  “What are you doing for lunch? I have some ribs bathing in some in my famous sauce.”

  “I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Kari said, tapping away on her iPad.

  “Wasn’t it improper for you to go poking through the belongings in my room?”

  Kari groaned and stopped typing. She looked up from her iPad at Hank, who wore a grin on his face. “Fine,” she said, putting down the electronic device. “I’ll have lunch with you because obviously, I don’t have anything else to do on a Saturday.”

  “Good.” Hank went to the refrigerator and took out ribs on an aluminum tray. “I can put you to work with peeling potatoes.”

  “Potatoes for what?” she said, scrunching up her face and looking at her newly manicure nails.

  Hank slapped his forehead. “Damn sugar, I forget that you didn’t want to get messy. Just pull up a chair and watch me cook.”

  Kari could recognize the insult that was coming from Hank. Instead of going back and forth with him, she waltzed over to the wall and picked up the apron that said “Kiss The Cook” and tied it around her waist. “I don’t know… how to cook,” she said, looking down at her feet.

  “What?” he said in disbelief. “How do you eat?”

  Kari wanted to tell Hank that since growing up she had cooks and maids at her service. Moving to Nashville she let that rich life go to live a more practical life. “I never learned how.”

  “Did your mom cook?”

  “Nope, but she knew how to eat,” she said truthfully.

  Hank laughed. Reaching in the kitchen drawer he handed Kari a peeler. He noticed the way she stared at the utensil as if it was a foreign object. “It’s a vegetable peeler.”

  “I knew that,” she lied.

  “Here, let me show you how it’s done.” Hank picked up a potato and demonstrated to Kari how it was done.

  “Ooh, that’s easy,” she replied, picking up a potato and mimicking Hank’s action.

  “So, what do you eat when you’re at home?” Hank asked.

  “Well, there are plenty of restaurants and not to mention I can eat cereal at night.” She smiled, peeling the potato.

  “I’m going to toss these on the grill and I’ll be right back.” He
walked out the kitchen carrying the tray full of ribs.

  By the time three o’clock rolled around Kari and Hank were sitting down to an old-fashion southern lunch that consist of BBQ ribs, potato salad, and bake beans. The outdoor patio by the pool was set today, and the weather was pleasantly nice and sunny. A few clouds in the sky would occasionally pass over blocking out the sun. Throughout the afternoon, they would catch each other taking subtle peaks at one another.

  For some unexplained reason, there was a twinge of excitement passing through her. Kari didn’t know if it was because she enjoyed spending the time with Hank as he taught her how to cook or if it was because she couldn’t’ wait to bite into the delicious food that he’d prepared.

  Hank fixed Kari a plate and sat it down and front of her next to a mason jar filled with iced tea and lemon. “Thank you,” she said.

  “You’re welcome, doll.”

  He ate his food but couldn’t take his eyes off of Kari as they made small talk. She bounced happily as she chewed; everything about Kari was cute even the way she ate. Just by the way she carried herself, Hank knew that Kari was from a different lifestyle than he was accustom to you. Yeah, he lived in a nice big house that he worked his ass off for, but Kari came from money. Her mannerisms, the way she scooped her food from the plate, and how she sipped her drink.

  “So Mr. Jackson, are you a cowboy?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

  “What do you think a cowboy is?” He fired back at her.

  “Let me.” Kari picked up her cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, with an amused looked on his face.

  “Getting the definition.” She looked at him with a coy smile before reciting the definition. “A cowboy is an animal herder who tends to cattle on a ranch on horseback and performs multiple tasks on the ranch. So I ask you again Hank, are you a cowboy?”

  “What made you think of me as a cowboy?” He gazed at her as he ate a spoonful of potato salad. “Was it the blue jeans, belt buckle, boots and cowboy hat?”

  “Maybe.” Kari took another sip of her beverage, nervous from the way Hank was staring at her. “Are you?”

  “I think most people would consider me one.” He winked at her. When Kari smiled at him something huge started to happen with enormous uncertainty that was growing by the minute, as she talked and grinned at him. It was a new feeling that was indescribable. There was no name he could attribute how he was feeling; it made him get goose bumps.

  As their plates emptied, Hank knew it was about time before Kari said that she was leaving but he wasn’t ready. His heart screamed for him to push to the front door and say goodnight, but his something else was telling him to the opposite. It felt good to have someone to pay attention to him the way she did. Sometimes their eyes would meet when they agreed on the same thing, or their hands would accidentally touch one another’s only for them to smile, nod awkwardly. They both tried to appear that they weren’t bothered by the fact they were attracted to each other.

  It’s only lunch, Hank reminded himself. He would admit that Kari was a beautiful, smart and creative woman. When their eyes locked over the table, Kari’s demeanor was different from the first time they met. Was she starting to feel what he was feeling? Hank was going against all his instincts. His wife of three years just left him for another man, Natalie taught him to never fall in love with woman like Kari who loved the flashy life. Hank told himself he would never be that love sick man again.

  No, he thought to himself. He couldn’t allow himself to break every rule he’d put in place to protect his heart. Just because Kari was a pretty girl with a nice body shouldn’t make him swoon to the temptation. As Hank continued to look in those whiskey color eyes, the feeling that was growing every second that passed, only intensified. He had to look away from her.

  “Do you want dessert?” he asked, trying to make this lunch date between them last longer. Hank was confused and startled at this feeling that he never felt before, even with Natalie.

  She shook her head and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I shouldn’t.”

  Hank nodded his head in agreement. He sat there in silence looking at her. He was hot, uncomfortable and full. He focused his gaze to the trees in the distance. The air between them became heated. Neither one of them moved an inch from their respective seats.

  “I should help you clean up,” Kari offered, and stood up with her plate.

  “No,” he said, standing up quickly. “Don’t worry about the dishes.”

  “No seriously,” she said, picking up his plate.

  “I don’t even know if you know how to wash dishes,” Hank pondered aloud. Kari’s head snapped up so hard. If looks could kill he would be dead. “I didn’t mean anything…”

  “Since I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know you, I know for a fact that you’ve been on my coat tails since the day we met.” Kari sat the dishes back down on the table.

  “I made an observation, Kari, your hands have never seen hard work; their soft as a baby’s ass. The designer clothes and shoes you wear, and not to mention that expensive car you drive.”

  “So, you’re judging me on my lifestyle?” she scoffed. Forgetting about the dirty dishes, Kari went into the house and gathered her belongings as Hank followed her.

  “Listen, you’re taking what I just said out of context,” he said, and tried to touch her arm, when she flinched away from him. Hank held his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “You didn’t hurt my feelings,” she faked a laugh. “It just baffles me that you don’t know shit about me, but can draw a conclusion based on what I wear and drive.”

  “Kari you drive around an $80,000 car, which is more than I have in my bank account. Your shoes are probably the same price as my mortgage,” Hank said in disgust. “You’ve never worked hard for anything in your life.”

  Hank words struck Kari like a hard slap in the face. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned around and walked out the door. “We should just keep everything professional,” she said, right before her voice started to break.

  “Ka---Kari I’m sorry.”

  Kari turned around and put a happy face on. It turned out looking a bit pained. “It’s okay.”

  Hank wasn’t convinced. “I didn’t mean any harm.”

  “Thanks for lunch,” she said, practically running out of the house and to her car and sped down the gravel road.

  Hank was torn between telling Kari that he was sorry or leaving things the way it was with her between them. As he cleaned the kitchen, he tried to stay on task but his mind kept drifting to Kari and the expression of hurt on her face.

  Ever since the death of his parents at a young age, Hank conditioned himself from exhibiting specific emotions, sadness, but the breakup with Natalie unraveled everything he taught himself. He grew up never knowing his daddy and when his mother Kate died when he was young, Austin’s mother and Hank’s Aunt Charlene took him in, raising him like he was a McBride. After his uncle and aunt passed away Hank felt he was all alone in this world, until the day he met Natalie Michaels. He thought they wanted the same things; a home, children, stability, intimacy, spirituality. How someone could decide after three years of marriage that they were no longer happy or no longer in love? He broke his neck to give Natalie everything her heart desired and more than she’d ever wanted.

  Sitting down at the kitchen table, he pulled out his cell phone that read no miss calls. He tried Natalie’s phone number but was met with an automatic greeting that the number no longer existed. This was final straw, there were no silver lining for them. The life he loved was over. The only thing that was left was filing for divorce, which shouldn’t be as easy as it was; there were no kids or dog to fight over. Nothing exciting was going to come from this, maybe with the exception of a new found freedom and a life lesson of never trusting another woman again. Ultimately, he felt like this was the end of his world.

  Hopefully he could find something good a
bout this split. Hank would have to work hard to find some sort of balance with the direction his life was headed in. He would have to tell himself to find something or anything positive in this breakup, but it was hard to believe his own uplifting thoughts. He hated walking away knowing that he couldn’t do anything to make things right between them.

  ***

  After a hot shower and glass of wine Kari laid in bed. She tried to close her eyes, but every time she did Hank’s voice echoed in her head. ‘I made an observation Kari, your hands never seen hard work their soft as a baby’s ass. The designer clothes and shoes you wear and not to mention that expensive car you drive.’ He was right even if she didn’t want to admit it. She never washed dishes a day in her life until she moved to Nashville.

  Kari wasn’t going to apologize that she was born into great financial circumstances that her family provided for her. The daughter of a prominent real estate tycoon, Nigel Hayes, and her mother, Clare Jennings, was an heir to an architect firm with more than several billion dollars in construction since the early 80’s. Hank was only looking from the outside in, he probably viewed her as some spoiled brat who got whatever she wants, but he didn’t see that she was the lonely child who craved for her parents to recognize her. From the time she was born until she 18 years old, Kari was raised by nannies and housekeepers, all while her parents were jet setting around the country or working hard. Both her parents were workaholics, who for the most part she only saw on the weekends and a few holidays. The most visible parent she had was her nanny Rita.

  Kari always felt like she never came first in her parents’ life. Her siblings were older than her and barely paid her much attention. Those feelings of not being important to her parents followed her through childhood and adulthood it caused her to be shy, insecure, and timid through her years in college. Somehow through college she grew out of it but the scars remained. With the breakup with Sam, the old wounds she thought were healed were starting to bleed again. Kari had become that insecure woman all over again.