Southern Seduction

by Alcorn, N. A.

  “Yes. She said there was just somethin’ about you. She felt she needed to look after you. Mama’s a good-natured woman, but she don’t take to people like she’s taken to you. And so quickly, too. She’s gonna be mighty proud to be your kin, Shelby.” Now I’m the one tearing up, but he kisses my hand again and I laugh.

  “What?” He chuckles lightly with me.

  “Sometimes when you talk, you sound like an eighty-year-old Western movie,” I say, then repeat his last sentence with his twang. I’m always catching him on this and teasing him, and I actually think he likes it. He nudges me playfully.

  “C’mon, Yankee girl, let’s go give Mama the good news.” He stands up and pulls me with him.

  “Yeah, then maybe she can help me figure out what I’m going to do about Aunt Bea. I’m really not sure how to handle this. You know she’s barely said two words to me since I arrived? She won’t even look at me.” My heart breaks at my own words. How could she treat me like this?

  “Oh, Shelby, she just ain’t right in the head. I don’t think it’s you at all,” he offers as he throws his arm over my shoulders. We get no more than a few steps down the hall when he stops me and cups my face in his hands, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. “I’m sorry for how sad this is making you. I will do whatever it takes to help you through this, Red.” He leans down and covers my mouth with his.

  I can’t tell you how many times I have paused in the past two weeks to really look at him and realize that I had him pegged all wrong. I thought he was this careless, shallow player, but he really isn’t. He has been so gentle and pure with me. I’ve never thought about my dream boyfriend because I wanted nothing to do with the opposite sex, but I can say right now—I couldn’t imagine somebody more perfect then Kip.

  “C’mon, you two. Your brothers will have a field day with this.” I hear Alma from behind Kip.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he says before he gives me another peck. He turns on his heel, facing his mom. “Mama, you got a minute?”

  “Sure, son, everythin’ all right?” She tilts her head at us, probably trying to figure out what we’re up to.

  “Let me take that, Alma,” I say, grabbing the laundry basket from her. “I’ll put these away while you start bringing her up to speed, Kip.” I smile and wink at him before heading to the linen closet.

  I put away all of the towels ... slowly. I need to let this shit sink in, too! I don’t even know where to begin or how to process it all. Despite the sadness and confusion, though, I’ve realized something wonderful! That connection May talked about? Well, now it all makes perfect sense—she’s my sister! I have a sister! Holy shit—I have three sisters! I love them all to death, and I know them already. But, the biggest jackpot? Alma is my aunt! This news excites me as much as it saddens me. What if Kip and I don’t work out? What will that mean for her and me? I can’t bear the thought of losing her after I’ve just “found” her.

  “Baby?” Kip’s concerned voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I look over my shoulder at him. “You all right? You’re takin’ a long time puttin’ those things away.” He walks up behind me and slides his arms around my waist. I close my eyes and lean up against his hard chest. Have I mentioned how nice his chest is? All natural build, this man. My favorite part? The area right beneath his belly button. I bite him there, playfully, quite often. “What’s the matter, baby?” He squeezes me.

  “Just processing everything, Kip. This is a lot, even though half of it is wonderful.” I crook my neck to look up at him.

  “We’ll get through this together. We’ll figure everythin’ out, you and me. You’re not alone, baby. You’ve got me, and you’ve got Mama.” He drops a few kisses on my lips.

  “You’re right. Thank you.” I turn to him for a full hug. So safe.

  “C’mon, I’ve got Mama on the edge of her seat in the kitchen.” He pats my butt.

  I nod in agreement and we head to the kitchen.

  “Now, what is the big news? Kip told me about the envelope, but not what’s in there.” She glances over at it. Kip and I sit down across from her. He grabs the envelope and pulls out my mother’s letter.

  “I think it’s best if you just see for yourself, Mama. That all right, Shelby?” He looks at me before handing it over.

  “Yes, of course.”

  We both sit back, watching her as she reads. The moment she gets to the part that affects her, her hand comes up quickly to cover her gasp. She looks at me, tears welling in her eyes. “I had no idea he was with your mom, or that they were going to have a baby.”

  “He wasn’t. They didn’t. Keep reading,” I encourage her as I try not to cry myself. Within seconds, she’s gasping again. She reads a bit more, then jumps up quickly.

  “I knew there was something about you!” She pulls me up from my seat and crushes me in the warmest, most loving hug. “My niece ... my beautiful niece,” she cries, then pulls away slightly. “How did I not see it? The red hair ... his eyes ... his chin. I’ve been without my brother—my best friend—for so long, and now here you are, a part of him. Like a gift. The best gift I’ve ever received in my life. I knew there was somethin’ about you, Shelby. I knew from the moment I met you that I was supposed to love you and look after you. Oh God ...” she trails off and pulls me into another tight embrace. I can’t help it—I cry with her. She feels like “home” to me, more so than ever.

  “All right, Mama, let up for air.” Kip chuckles.

  “Oh hush, you!” She swats at him, then looks back at me. “Look at you, you gorgeous girl, you.” She palms my cheeks and shakes my head back and forth.

  “I second that! She’s definitely gorgeous—and every other name in the book that defines beauty.” He winks at me.

  “All right, stop it,” I say, feeling overwhelmed.

  “Mama, c’mon and sit down again.” Kip gestures. “What do you think we should do? Should Shelby approach Bea about this?”

  “I’d like to tell the girls that I’m their sister.” I sigh and sit as well.

  “May will be thrilled!” Alma clasps her hands.

  “Nobody’s heard from May since she left.” Kip furrows his brow.

  “She and Shelby write each other all the time!” Alma looks at him as if he’s crazy.

  “What?! Why didn’t you tell me that?” he asks, seemingly annoyed. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

  “Kip,” Alma breathes in a warning tone. He looks at her and she shakes her head. I feel like I’m missing something here.

  “Mama, she’s my friend. I want to make sure she’s all right,” he responds. “Is she all right, baby?” He turns his focus back to me.

  “Um ... yeah. She’s doing really good, actually. She got a job and a nice place to stay, and she’s getting ready to start back at college. She’s going to become a doctor. Her latest letter mentioned a resident she’s just met. They’ve gone on a few dates. She really likes him.” I smile, feeling so happy for her—until Kip shifts uncomfortably in his seat, pulling my smile away. “What’s the matter with you?”

  “She’s datin’ somebody? Is he good to her? I want her to be happy. She deserves it.”

  “Well, so far so good,” I answer, but continue to study him curiously. You ever get an uneasy feeling, but you’re not quite sure why? Well, that’s me right now. I turn my focus back to Alma when she clears her throat.

  “What do you want to do, Shelby? This has to be about you and your expectations. Do you want a relationship with Bea?” She reaches across the table and takes my hand.

  “I’m not sure. How can I have a relationship with someone who won’t even look at me? She hasn’t asked about my mother. She wasn’t there when she died. She wasn’t there to protect me when I needed her the most.” I get choked up. Yeah, I am damn mad at her! Her weakness has done nothing but hurt herself and the people she supposedly loves.

  “What do you mean, Shelby, honey? Did someone hurt you?” Alma’s face contorts with concern and ready alarm.

  “
It’s the past. I don’t want to bring it up. But she should’ve been there. How could she become so weak?” I shrug Kip away when he tries to comfort me. It’s nothing against him, I’m just used to handling my feelings by myself. Sometimes when he gets too close, it makes me feel weird or more irritated. It’s difficult to explain.

  “Oh, honey, Bea hasn’t been right since my brother died. That bastard she married has done a number on her.”

  “Maybe you need to go over there, baby, and just put it out there. If not for anythin’ but to give yourself peace.”

  “Oh, Kip, I don’t know if she should go in there with guns a-blazin’,” Alma says as she puts my mother’s letter back into the envelope.

  “Mama, I think the truth should be laid out! Bea should face what her weakness has done, and Shelby needs a clean slate. She’ll get that knowing she did her part by giving Bea a chance to redeem herself, or at least apologize. Hell, at least tell her side of the story! Shelby deserves that much, at the very least.” He smacks the table.

  “So, Shelby deserves the truth?” Alma raises her eyebrow at him.

  “Hell yes!” He jerks his head back.

  “Then, son, maybe the truth should start with you.”

  “Mama, what are you talkin’ about?” he seethes.

  “You know what I’m talkin’ about, son,” she says pointedly.

  “I’ve never been dishonest with her. And I have never done anythin’ dishonest to her. Now drop it!”

  “First of all, you watch your tone with me! Secondly, if you really believed that, you wouldn’t be getting’ so bent out of shape right now.” Alma cocks a mean brow. I have a feeling that eyebrow has gotten many a point across.

  “Mama, don’t do this,” he says, almost in a whisper. A defeated-sounding whisper.

  “She deserves the truth,” she says.

  I stare back and forth between them like I’m at a tennis match. Their interaction has me feeling so uneasy, I think I may lose my breakfast.

  “You need to own up to your past behavior, son. You want to have a future with her, don’t you?” she asks.

  “Of course, Mama,” he says shakily, then brings his eyes to look at my confused ones. I can see he’s fighting back some tears. Oh God, this is not going to be good.

  Kip

  Oh God.

  I’m going to lose her.

  I’m going to lose her.

  “Kip?” She tilts her head. I can see she’s nervous. Hell—I’m nervous. I don’t know why Mama had to do this, especially right now. I take in several long breaths as I try to steady my thoughts, find my words ... I don’t know ... prolong the inevitable. “Kip!” she snaps.

  “Okay. Okay.” I run my hand through my hair. “Please hear me out.” Now why in the hell did I go and say something like that? That’s like an invitation for her to go ahead and get pissed off before I even start. “Shelby, before I met you, I wasn’t very serious with my relationships.” Oh hell! Just shoot me!

  “Do you have something? A disease?” she asks, her eyes wide with panic.

  “What?! Hell no! Damn it, just listen!” I say, feeling all flustered. Oh hell, I’m just going to spit it out! “I was seeing all three of your cousins—eh, sisters—at the same time. They didn’t know it, but obviously, I did,” I say quickly, going with my whole Band-Aid theory. She stares at me in silence. Her face is expressionless, and it’s scary as all fucking hell. Not being able to take the lack of ... well, anything ... I continue. “As soon as I met you, I broke it off with them. Except for Maggie—she did the breakin’ off herself, luckily.” I swallow.

  After a few minutes of silence, I look from Shelby to Mama, not really sure of what to do here. Breaking eye contact seems to have helped, because Shelby exhales loudly, trembling as she looks down at her hands. She plays with the hair tie at her wrist.

  “Baby, I—”

  “No! Don’t you touch me!” She pulls away, and my heart breaks at the big, fat tears plummeting down her cheeks.

  “Shelby, please. You need to listen to me. You’re not giving me a fair chance to explain myself,” I say softly.

  “What is there to explain? You took advantage of my sisters and their situation, knowing you could get away with it because they’d never tell anyone—including each other!” she yells.

  “Shelby, that’s not fair!” I raise my voice as well.

  “Oh, it isn’t?! You want to explain that to me?” She gets up. “You know what? Just save it, Kip! You make me sick! I don’t want anything to do with you!”

  “Now wait a minute, honey,” Mama interjects.

  “And you knew!” she screams at Mama. “Oh my God. Oh my God. I feel so stupid,” she says, almost as if she’s in shock. She covers her mouth and starts sobbing before she runs out the back door.

  “Why?! Why did you make me do that?!” I yell at Mama, jumping up to chase Shelby.

  “Let her go, Kip. Give her some space.” She grabs my arm.

  “In case you’ve lost count here, Mama, you’re batting zero in the advice department right now!” I pull away and run after her.

  I head down to the stables, guessing that’s the only place she’d run off to. Once inside, I see her sitting on a bale of hay near Lucky’s stall, crying her goddamn eyes out. Her head shoots up as soon as she hears me approach.

  “Shelby, wait. Please hear me out,” I plead. She just sits there, staring at me blankly. “First, I want to say that I think very highly of your sisters.” She scoffs at this proclamation, but I don’t let it deter me. “What I did wasn’t right, Shelby, but I’m not the only one at fault here. Do you think I meant any more to them than they meant to me?” I lift my brows at her.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “If I was the one they were hopelessly in love with, the guy they couldn’t live without, do you think I would’ve been kept a secret from everybody? Huh?” I lean up against the wall, waiting for her to answer. She seems to be thinking hard about this. “Shelby, I was their boy toy just as much as they were somebody for me to have fun with. I’m not saying they didn’t mean anything to me. I’ve been friends with them most of my life. I care about them. But I was never in love with them. Shelby, I’m not some scumbag who sleeps with just anybody. It was only them for the past year.” I stop when she barks back a condescending laugh. “What?”

  “Do you even hear yourself?” She throws her hands out. “What am I supposed to say to that, Kip? Oh, it’s all right, since you kept the number down to three. Three sisters! You’re a pig!” she spits out at me. The look of disgust on her face makes the ache in my chest just downright awful.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way about me.” Defeated, I look down to the ground. “Whatever your feelings for me, I’m begging you to please not hold them against my mother. She’d be heartbroken if you never spoke to her again. You’re the only link to her brother. Please don’t hold my behavior against her.” I choke on my words as I try to contain my emotions. After a moment of silence, I look up—only to be greeted by that expressionless stare again. I nod at her silence and walk out before I lose the last ounce of man left in me. Yeah, that’s right, I want to cry like a baby. I’m human, ain’t I? Damn it, my heart hurts.

  It’s been a week since Shelby broke things off with me. To make matters worse, she’s stayed on here. Don’t get hopeful for me. She’s just staying ‘til she finds her own place. She doesn’t want to go back to the Johnsons’. Oh, you think it’s good I know all this? You think she and I have been talking, since I know her plans? Not a chance in hell. I get all my info from my mother. Shelby barely tells her anything, but I can see she’s trying to get over my mother knowing about my past infidelities.

  She hasn’t confronted Bea or told the Johnson girls that she’s their sister. She hasn’t said much to anybody, really, other than what she’s told my mom. Mama tries to talk to her every day about me and how heartbroken I am. ‘Cause I am, ya know? Completely friggin’ heartbroken.

  I close my
eyes, trying to get back to sleep. I don’t know why I bother. I haven’t slept good all week. I got so used to her being in my arms at night. They ache for her.

  Just as I’m about to drift off, I hear something like glass breaking and Shelby starts screaming wildly. I jump out of my bed and rush off to her room. Flinging her door open, I catch her thrashing about her bed.

  “Get off of me! No!” she screams.

  “Shelby! Baby, wake up! You’re safe. You’re safe!” I wrap my arms around her after I make it through the maze of broken glass on the floor. Looks like she knocked over a vase. She finally opens her eyes. The dawn peekin’ through the windows allows me to see just how frightened she is. She stares at me, and then, out of nowhere, she crumbles in my arms and starts to sob. “Shh ... you’re safe, baby. I’ll never let anythin’ happen to you or anyone hurt you again. I promise.” I rock her and kiss her hair.

  “I hate her,” she breathes into my neck.

  “Who, baby?”

  “Bea. I hate her. I hate her so bad! How could she abandon me? How could she leave me with him? Leave my mother, Nate, and me with him? My mother tried to contact her when she got sick. She never responded, Kip. Never once.” She cranes her neck to look up at me.

  “Let’s go.” I get off the bed and pull her with me.

  “Let’s go where?”

  “You’re mad. You need to tell her. You need to do it when your feelings are raw. We’re going right now.” I bring her slippers over.

  “Unannounced? Just barge on over? I can’t do that.”

  “Oh, yes you can! I’m not going to see you hurtin’ for another minute! You need to unleash this burden onto her. You didn’t do anythin’ wrong, Shelby! You don’t deserve this! Not the nightmares, the lack of understandin’, or the lack of family. You deserve to go to sleep at night and have pleasant dreams. I could kill that son of a bitch for what he’s done to you!” I clamp my teeth down, angry as hell. “We’re going now!” I yank her to her feet. “While we’re both angry as hell!”

  Shelby follows my lead (it surprised the hell out of me, too) and we head out into the damp, cool morning ready for whatever battle awaits us.