by Colbie Kay
Table of Contents
Sweet Southern Secrets
Copyright
Other Books by Colbie Kay
A Note to Our Readers
Playlist
Dedication
Sweet Southern Secrets
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Bonus – The Georgia Peaches: Fourth of July Weekend
Saving Dawson
Acknowledgments
About Colbie Kay
About Chianti Summers
Sweet Southern Secrets
Copyright
Colbie Kay & Chianti Summers Copyright 2017©
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by Tracie Douglas-Rabas of Dark Water Covers
Editing & Formatting by E&F Indie Services
Featured cover models:
Lance Jones & Baby Sawyer
Photography by Randy Sewell of RLS Model Images Photography
Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18+.
Other Books by Colbie Kay
Satan’s Sinners MC Series
City Lights
Quiet Country
Night Sky
Returning Home Coming soon
The Betrayed (A Rocker Series)
Saving Grace
Saving Dawson
Surviving Colton
Freeing Elijah – Coming Soon
The Twisted Series
Beautifully Twisted – Coming Soon
Standalones
Double Crossed – Coming soon
A Note to Our Readers
Thank you for purchasing this book and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we loved writing it. We hope that you fall in love with all the craziness of these characters.
Playlist
The Weekend - Brantley Gilbert
The Joker - Steve Miller Band
She’s Country - Jason Aldean
Star of the Show - Thomas Rhett
Sweetest Sin - Jessica Simpson
Kick It In The Sticks - Brantley Gilbert
There Goes My Life - Kenny Chesney
They Can’t See - Michael Tyler
Black - Dierks Bentley
Hey Mama - Michael Tyler
God, Your Mama, and Me - Florida Georgia Line (Feat. Backstreet Boys)
Crash My Party - Luke Bryan
Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain) - Gary Allan
Crying on a Suitcase - Casey James
I’m Comin’ Over - Chris Young
Hurricane - Luke Combs
Make Me..(feat. G-Eazy) - Britney Spears, G-Eazy
In Case You Didn’t Know - Brett Young
Hypnotize the Moon - Clay Walker
Dedication
To our families, friends, and loved ones for all of your support and to our readers we love you all.
Sweet Southern Secrets
Prologue
Our class of fifty seniors lines up outside of the gymnasium in our blue caps and gowns, awaiting our cue to start walking. Mr. Stewart, our Principal, stops talking at the podium, and the music begins. In a single file line, we make our entrance, and the applauding begins from our friends, families, and underclassmen.
As we fill the rows of chairs that were reserved for us in front of the podium and projection screen, Mr. Stewart stands once again. He and Mrs. Vice go through all of the scholarships; some of the seniors got good ones, but my two sisters and I got full ride scholarships to University of Georgia. Studies come easy for me, and I helped my sisters along the way, causing them to get just as good of grades as I did. Thanks to our efforts, the University offered all three of us a full ride for academic excellence.
Mr. Stewart announces, “That is all for the scholarships.” There’s a round of applause for all of us that stood, walked up front, and received our scholarship acknowledgements. Mr. Stewart goes on, “Our valedictorian is an outstanding student. She holds a 4.0 GPA, she had straight A’s throughout her time in high school, and she participated in many extracurricular activities. Please give a warm welcome to Callie Fisher, who will now be delivering her valedictorian speech.”
Standing, I walk back up to the podium with my folded-up piece of paper on hand in case I forget something. I shake hands with and thank Mr. Stewart before facing my fellow classmates and the crowd gathered in the bleachers. Leaning towards the mic, I start my speech.
“As I look around this gymnasium full of friends, family, and underclassmen who have gathered here today to celebrate the end of this chapter of our lives, I want to tell y’all a story. There’s a woman in this crowd that, eighteen years ago, had 3 babies. At one time! All three were girls, and she raised them by herself for most of their lives. Yes, she worked a lot, and she worked hard for her family, but she taught those girls everything they needed to know about making it on their own when they grew up. Now, as I stand here today, eighteen years later, I can say that no matter the mistakes or accomplishments we have made, she has stood by our sides. I know that no matter where life takes us she will always be there cheering us on. I hope today we made you proud, Momma.”
I look out at the bleachers full of people and find her in the crowd, then blow her a kiss and continue on. “Today marks a day in our lives that we will never forget. It’s our graduation day. As we look among the crowd of people that sit in front of us today, we reflect on the past four years. We have experienced many things during this time in our lives. We have cheered for each other, shed tears with each other—and we may have had experiences that our parents should never know about.” That gets the crowd laughing and, when they settle down, I finish up my last bit.
“To my classmates today: We can close the book on this part of our lives, so take a good look around and hold all of your memories in your heart forever. We have built moments here in the last four years, and while some should be forgotten, I’m sure others should go down in the hall of fame. In the end, remember where you came from, never give up on your dreams, and always reach for the stars. Congratulations to us, we did it! Happy Graduation!” The crowd and graduates erupt with clapping and yelling.
Mr. Stewart calls name after name to receive their diplomas. “Callie Elaine Fisher.” As I walk up the stairs, our guidance counselor congratulates me and shakes my hand. Mrs. Vice hands me a rose and also shakes my hand, then Mr. Stewart places the diploma in one hand, shakes the other, and says, “Congratulations.” I walk down the opposite set of steps and hear, “Cayden Marie Fisher.” A few minutes later, he says, “Cydney Rose Fisher.” We did it! The Georgia Peaches have graduated high school and are about to go on to the University of Georgia in Athens this fall—and the
y won’t know what hit them with us triplets.
When we were looking at different colleges to attend, we were kind of set on the University of Georgia even before we found out they were offering us all a full ride scholarship. One of the perks is that it isn’t far from home, only a couple hours’ drive away. We don’t want to get too far away from Momma.
The campus is unlike anything I’ve ever seen with its fresh green grass, trees you can lean against while studying, and the brick buildings that give it a historical feel. It should feel historic, since it was founded in the 1700s. Some of the buildings have those thick white pillars lining the front, making them look like mansions rich people live in. Some have more than one story, so when you’re pulling into the parking lot they’re the first you see, and it’s a beautiful sight at night when they’re lit up.
Wide sidewalks run along the perimeter of each building and connect, leading you to the different buildings. When we did our tour, I asked how big the campus was and they told me 762 acres. There are 465 buildings on campus. That’s freaking huge! To me, anyway, having come from the little town of Senoia, which doesn’t even have a population of five thousand.
We’re ready to see what college life has in store for us, and hopefully we don’t get ourselves in too much trouble, because the men on campus outnumber the women. With the three of us, you can never be sure. We are three southern ladies that like to have fun, party, and sometimes get a little dirty.
Chapter 1
“You’re not going anywhere yet. I wanted to show you just how much I appreciate all the tutoring.” I hear an edge to his tone that I don’t like.
No, that’s okay, you don’t need to show me anything. I want to go back now. Let go of my hand!” My body starts to shake.
I said you aren’t going anywhere.” I don’t even see it coming when his fist connects with my cheek.
I go down to the ground and try getting up, but he is on top of me. I fight and flail against Roger, but he’s too strong. I scream, hoping someone will help me, but the booming from the fireworks drowns out all hope.
Roger’s hands tug at my panties, trying to get them off after he hikes my dress up around my waist. I kick around and throw punches at him, but nothing is working. Tears have started falling from my eyes and I can’t believe this is happening.
One side of my panties is torn and he is working on the other side. “Shut up!” he yells before backhanding me a couple more times. It’s hard and hurts; my vision blurs and I can taste the coppery flavor of blood from where he split my lip. My mind starts to shut down, there’s absolutely nothing I can do—he’s going to rape me.
All of a sudden Roger is ripped off of me; he flies backwards and the tall, broad figure neither of us noticed before says, “Go now!” in a deep voice. I can’t see who it is or what he looks like, but I waste no time. Jumping up, I run. I run as fast as I can, trying to make my way through the trees. The fireworks give me some light, but I fall a few times until I get to the clearing.
Gasping for air, tears roll down my cheeks and sweat drips from my body as I wake from the nightmare. It’s been a few months since that night on the Fourth of July when Roger tried to rape me, and I have the same reoccurring dream every single night. Even though I know Roger went to jail and he can’t hurt me right now, I still feel as though I’m held captive by what could have happened.
Everywhere I go, I listen for that loud, deep voice, demanding that I run, in every man’s tone. I’m not sure I would even recognize the voice, since he only spoke two words. I’d like to hope I would so I could thank the mystery man for saving me. We had so many people there that night; it could be anyone, and I’ll probably never find out who he was. I remember the stature and outline of his body, but that’s not a lot to go on. I wish I had more to go on and hopefully I never forget those little details.
That night changed something inside of me and left me feeling empty. It’s almost like feeling dead inside. I don’t like it, but I can’t change it, it’s who I’ve become. Long gone are the short shorts and skirts, the tight-fitting tops, the makeup and doing my hair. I’m not the bubbly social butterfly I once was anymore. I stick to myself and my sisters and I hope to keep it that way. I don’t want to ever be put in a situation like that again. Maybe, just maybe, if I look my worst it will keep these college guys away from me. If not, then all the little triggers that cause me to freak out will surely do the trick.
My alarm clock screams loudly, letting me know it’s seven o’clock in the morning and time for me to get out of bed so I can make it to my first class. Reaching over to my nightstand, I hit the button to turn off the sound of Brantley Gilbert singing about the weekend. Oh, how I wish it was the weekend so I could sleep in and be holed up in our condo. I’ve never been a morning person, but out of the three of us girls, only one is bound to already be up with coffee brewing.
Coffee is life!
After a quick shower, I put my long auburn hair up in a messy bun on the top of my head, throw on some baggy jeans and an oversized t-shirt, and I am ready to go. Walking down the hallway from the bathroom, I start thinking about how lucky we were to have gotten our condo. Most of the time it’s a long waiting list.
I love that it’s right across the street from the college. They have multiple buildings set up for the students that need off-campus housing, so it was perfect for us. The inside is super nice with upped security. We were excited to find this 1600 sq. ft., three bedroom, two bath condo because it has plenty of space for the three of us.
I guess a few years ago the college bought the old vintage building and started doing renovations from the outside in. Our condo was the last to get done just this past summer. We fell in love as soon as we opened the front door because it has an open layout with cherry Brazilian hardwood floors throughout the space. Sunlight barrels through the French doors in the living room and the white painted walls give it a lively feel. The kitchen has matching beautiful cherry cabinetry and the light granite countertops give it a very modern look.
We jumped on it as soon as we were done looking, and then a week later when the call came saying it was ours, I don’t know who was more excited, us or Momma. The four of us jumped around Momma’s living room like a bunch of young girls that just found out their crush liked them back.
When we chose our furniture, we wanted to keep the modern theme going, so we went with black leather for our couch and loveseat and chose black wood and glass tables for the kitchen and living areas. It’s perfect for us.
We love the fact that it’s located on the third floor and the balcony has a great view of the campus, especially at night when the campus is lit up. It’s one amazing sight. The most important aspect for me is that it has the extra security, including the fact that you have to have a passcode to get inside the building. You also have to have a keycard to use the elevator, and there are security cameras on the outside as well as throughout the inside on every floor. In addition, the campus security watches to see who comes and goes, plus they do round-the-clock hourly drive-by checks to make sure no funny business is going on. This makes me feel so much better about my safety. Is it one hundred percent better, no, but it is a bonus, considering the events of this past summer.
As I walk into our kitchen I hear an expected and excited, “Good morning, Callie!” And there she is, the hyper-ass morning sister.
“Yeah, good morning, Cydney!” I grumble as I plop down in a chair at the kitchen table.
Cydney slides a cup of coffee in front of me while sitting in the seat next to mine. “Are you going to do your hair today? Maybe put on a little makeup?” Her motherly nature starts to come out, but I don’t want to hear it. She might be the oldest, but I’m grown and I don’t need her babying me.
“Don’t start, Cyd!” Bringing the hot liquid up to my lips, I blow a little so it can cool as I glare at my sister, letting her know to dro
p it.
Of course she doesn’t!
“I’m not starting! I’m just saying you can’t live like this forever. I know it was awful that night, but you are letting him win by turning into this recluse.” We heatedly stare at one another; this subject always takes a turn for the worst and quick.
“You dress like this, wear your hair this way, and you don’t ever put on makeup. What’s so wrong with me doing it?”
Cydney’s grey eyes bore into my green ones. “Because that’s who I am. I’ve always been this way, but you haven’t and this isn’t you, nor is it your style.” I know she’s right, but it just makes me so angry and I hate when they try to push shit on me.
Clutching the mug with both hands, I set it on the table and keep a tight hold on the cup. “I’m not going to be like this forever! I just need time to get over it. Can I at least have that?” I stand, shove the chair under the table, grab my bag off the kitchen counter, and decide I don’t really need breakfast.
“Maybe you should consider talking to someone.”
“I don’t need to fucking talk to someone. Leave it alone, and me while we’re at it.” I start to head out the door when our other sister comes into the room.
“What’s with all the yelling?” Cayden asks after yawning.
I know we woke her up, but right now I don’t care. “Ask her,” I tell Cayden as I tilt my head towards Cydney then slam the door behind me and head to my first class.
