Southern Comfort

by Natasha Madison

  “Casey,” she says after I say the part that I never told anyone. “She was the one who didn’t deserve you.” She puts her hands on my face so I can look at her. “She had the best man that she would ever have in her hands, and she let him get away.”

  “Darlin’,” I say softly, but she doesn’t let me say anything else. She gets on her tippy toes and kisses me. And here, in the middle of the place where my heart broke, it started beating once more.

  “Thank you,” she says when we walk back to the golf cart, “for sharing that story with me. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.” I don’t say anything while we drive back to my barn. I notice something is off at the crossing, so I look around and see fresh footprints. I look to the right and don’t see anything, but then I look to the left and see a shadow in the field.

  Glancing over to see if Olivia saw it, I decide not to say anything when I see her gazing out at the horizon. Instead, I drive straight to my parents’ house and turn off the cart. “Tell Mom I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

  “Where are you going?” she asks while she climbs out.

  “I’m going to just go close the barn door.” She doesn’t ask anymore questions, and when I get back to the barn, I run in and pull up the feeds from a couple of minutes ago. I watch frame by frame until I see the man. Wearing all black, he doesn’t once look up. Instead, he stands there watching us. Then he takes a picture, and just like that, he’s gone.

  I pick up the phone and call Derek, who answers right away. “Yeah, I just got the information.”

  “He’s using a phantom car.” I hear him typing. “I have nothing on him. He keeps his face covered the whole time. I don’t even have a shot of his eyes. But I’ll work on it in the meantime.”

  “What else do you have for me?” I ask, and he gets quiet.

  “How deep are you with Dominic Albano?” he asks quietly.

  “Not at all,” I answer truthfully. “Olivia was engaged to him. She broke it off.”

  “It’s a good thing because this guy is beyond dirty,” he says, my eyes closing. “From what the feds got on him, he will go away for a long time.” He pauses. “But that isn’t the worst of it.”

  “How can it get worse?” I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose.

  “A lot worse.” Derek’s tone is not to be mistaken with anything but bad. “He fucked with the wrong people. Not only did he borrow, but he also lost their money—their clean money. And you know nothing pisses off a mob like losing what he must have spent years to clean.”

  “Fuck,” I hiss, shaking my head. “How much are we talking?”

  “Thirty,” he says, and my heart sinks. “He also owes them ten.”

  “How the fuck did he let it get so bad?” I ask while Derek laughs.

  “The guy loved the private jet style. He also loved hookers and blow,” he says. “He also didn’t like wrapping it up. He has two kids that he keeps under the radar, but there are wire transfers every single month. Needless to say, their accounts have also been seized, and neither of them are happy.”

  “It just keeps getting better and better.” I sigh. “Let me know if you find out anything else.”

  “Will do,” he disconnects. I spend the next five minutes watching the figure over and over again, trying to see if I’ll notice something Derek missed.

  When I walk into the house a little while later, I find Olivia on the couch looking up at the ceiling. “What are you doing?” I ask, and she turns around and looks at me.

  “I’m dying of boredom.” She looks over, and once again, just looking at her takes my breath away. “I haven’t been out in four days,” she says. “I mean, out in public with humans.” She puts her hands up, and I can’t help the laughter that escapes now.

  “Pretty sure my parents are considered humans,” I say. She glares at me, and even the glare stirs something in me. I also know when she’s sad or mad or anything besides happy, so I do something I know I’m going to regret. “Why don’t we go out?” I can’t stop the words before they come out.

  She sits up and looks over at me. “Don’t toy with me, cowboy.”

  “I’m not toying with you. Call Kallie and see if she wants to go to the bar. We can go out,” I say and she starts to clap her hands. “Not late.” I point at her, taking a sip of my water.

  She gets up and runs over to me, surprising me by throwing her arms around my neck. My arms go around her waist automatically. “Thank you, cowboy,” she says, kissing my cheek. She looks at me, and all I can do is stare at her. There is nothing I can say. Actually, there is a whole list of words I can say, but I have to keep reminding myself that she’s leaving.

  I break eye contact first and drop my hands from her waist. “Yeah, go call Kallie.” She nods her head and walks away to the bedroom. Standing in the kitchen, I put my hands on the counter and hang my head. “Don’t go there,” I remind myself. “It’s just going to hurt when she leaves.” I shake my head.

  “Kallie says she’s in!” she yells from the room. “She said she’s putting on her cowboy boots, and she’s going to do some honky-tonk thingamajig.”

  “Great!” I shout back at her. “Just fucking great,” I mumble under my breath.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Olivia

  I can’t stop the smile on my face as we walk to the bar. I look over at him, and once again, I want to stop and just stare. He is so handsome. I want to put my hands on his face and kiss him for making me so happy.

  “If I don’t tell you later on tonight …” I start. When he looks over at me, I stop, and my heels sink into the gravel just a touch. Any other time, I would freak out, but standing in front of him right now, I don’t really care. “I had a great, great night.”

  He steps closer to me with a smile, and my heart speeds up just a bit. “You are very welcome.” I look at him in his black jeans and white T-shirt with his cowboy boots. It’s what he wears every single day, and it should not get to me still. It should not make my heart flutter just a bit, and it definitely shouldn’t make me think of taking the shirt off him. “And if you want to keep your jacket on all night.” He leans in just a touch, and I smell his musky cologne. Shaking my head, the ponytail moving side to side, I look down at my outfit. I paired my white jeans with a black tube top and then wore my black mini jacket with it.

  “Hey there.” I hear behind me and turn to look over my shoulder at Beau. He nods at Casey, then smiles big when he sees me. His black hair is perfectly coiffed, his outfit—khaki pants and a button-down—very much like someone in politics. I wonder if he owns any jeans. “Don’t you look beautiful.”

  I’m about to answer him when Casey barks out, “Let’s go inside.” He walks toward the door, making Beau laugh. The sound of country music is coming from inside, and the door opens as a couple of people leave. I look around and see that most of the parking lot is full.

  We follow him in, and the country music fills the room. I stand here looking around to see if Kallie and Jacob are here, but I don’t see them anywhere. I’m about to say something to Casey when I feel his hand slip into mine. He pulls me toward an empty table. About ten people are already on the dance floor doing a line dance. Wooden tables are all around the dance floor, and looking past the dance floor, I see the back room is full of people playing pool while others are watching.

  “I’m going to hit the bar,” Beau says. “Do you want anything?” I look over at the bar, seeing all the stools taken as Savannah stands behind it with a smile. She tosses a bottle up in the air and then pours it into the shot glasses in front of her. Then she walks down the line, grabbing a glass and filling a drink. Her black hair is perfectly done, and her blue eyes shine. I look at her, and even I have to admit that she is beautiful. Her son, Ethan, looks just like her and nothing like Jacob.

  “I’ll have a beer,” Casey answers right away “And she’ll have a white wine.” I look over at him, shocked that he would order for me, and a little bit annoyed that he knows what I want, b
ut then I look at Beau.

  “And a shot of tequila,” I say. Beau looks at me with a smirk, then looks at Casey almost as if he needs permission. “Um, excuse me? If I want a shot of tequila, I’m going to get a shot of tequila.”

  “Well, then.” Beau turns around. I’m about to bark at Casey when the door opens, and I see it’s Kallie and Jacob. She has to stop on the way to us to say hello to people who they know and that is almost everyone in the place since they grew up here.

  “It must be fun,” I say to him while I watch them say hello to the people around them. “Literally knowing everyone when you walk in someplace.”

  I lean on the table as the song changes. This time, the beat goes a bit faster, letting some of the girls cheer while they do another dance that I think I can do, but in fact, I would need a lot of wine to actually do. I look behind the dance floor at the guys in back. About fifteen of them all gather around three pool tables.

  “What in the hell is she wearing?” I hear Casey from next to me. When I turn back and look at Kallie, I have to roll my lips.

  “I think that is her honky-tonk outfit.” She walks over with her cutoffs, cowboy boots, and what looks like a plaid button-down shirt tied right under her boobs.

  “Hey, sorry we’re late,” she huffs out. Jacob just pulls the chair out and side-eye glares at her.

  “What is that?” I say, taking out what looks like a twig from her hair. “Is this hay?”

  “No.” She looks around. “It’s grass.”

  “How could grass get stuck in your hair?” Casey asks, his eyebrows pinching together, and I throw my head back and laugh.

  “You guys banged on the grass?” I say. Hitting the table, I’m still laughing at them. The crowd around us looks at us, and I just shake my head.

  “Your lawn faces the road,” Casey says with a grimace on his face. “Oh my God.”

  “We were technically behind the truck.” Jacob leans over and takes Kallie’s mouth. Then he whispers something in her ear, and her cheeks go pink. I’m about to say something else when a guy comes up to the table, and Casey gets up to greet him.

  “Literally, it’s like everyone knows your name.” I smile at my joke. “Cheers. The bar? The show?” I look at Kallie, who shrugs. “You never watched Cheers?”

  “Nope,” Kallie says and stops talking when Grady comes in with Monica, the receptionist at the station. “Hey, guys,” she says, waving at them, and the two of them walk over to us.

  “Look at what the cat dragged out,” Grady says, looking at Casey and then smiling at me. I look over just in time to see Casey just glare at Grady while he talks to another guy who has come over, this one wearing a huge black cowboy hat. I sit back just watching how everyone just melds together.

  “I get why you left.” I lean over to speak to Kallie. “But I don’t know if I would have stayed gone this long.” I smile, moving to the new tune that just started. Looking over, I see a woman in tight acid-wash jeans and a white tube top saunter up to Casey. My stomach falls, and I try not to let it get to me. He’s been here his whole life, so it’s only normal that he would have dated her. Or at least she should have tried. I try not to look at them, forcing myself to look back at the dance floor. But my eyes have a mind of their own, flying back to Casey and the woman.

  “Hey there, Casey,” she says, batting her eyes. “Haven’t seen you in here in a while.” I try to swallow, but my throat is tight.

  The waitress comes back with a tray full of beers, ten shots of tequila, and a glass of wine. “Beau sent this,” she says, and I look over to see that he is chatting and laughing with Savannah.

  “So on the grass?” I say, picking up my shot of tequila and downing it. The liquid burns all the way down. “Bet that was itchy.” I try not to look over at Casey and take in the conversation that I’m having with Kallie. But when I see that she put her hand on his arm and fakes a laugh, I grab another shot and down it.

  “Are you okay?” Kallie asks quietly. I pretend I’m fine, but she knows me. “He isn’t interested in her.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I say. “I’m not here for long anyway.” I take another shot. The chair next to me is pulled out, and Casey sits back down. This time, he leans over and grabs a beer, bringing it to his lips. I am about to look over at him when Beau comes back to the table followed by Jacob. Grady and Monica head to the back where the pool tables are.

  “Why were you guys late?” Beau asks, taking a bottle of beer, bringing it to his lips.

  “They banged on the lawn.” I pick up my glass of wine, smiling when Beau looks at both of them and shakes his head.

  “I just got a visual.” Beau gags. “It was not good.”

  “Can we please talk about something else?” Casey says, making the whole table laugh again.

  “How are you doing?” Beau asks, looking straight at me, and I just shrug.

  “I’ve been better,” I say. “But I’ve been worse, so I don’t know which is worse.” I avoid everyone’s eyes as I look down and grab the glass of wine. I do not want to see the pity in their eyes.

  I feel arms around my shoulders, and I’m pulled to Kallie’s side. “Love you,” she says. I just smile at her, blinking away the tears.

  “Love you, too,” I say, and I’m about to say something else when I spot a guy come into the front door holding a bouquet. “Damn you, Southern gents.” The whole table looks over, and I hear Beau groan now.

  “Who is that?” I ask as we watch the man dressed just like everyone else in the bar. His shoulders are broad, and a smile on his face lights up even more when he sees Savannah.

  “That is Chase Peterson,” Beau says. “Owns the new construction company in town.”

  “He’s new in town,” Jacob says. I look back over at the bar and see that Savannah is a little surprised to see him here. By the look in her eyes, you can tell she is faking her smile. I’ve had that look in my eyes for my whole life. “He just started dating Savannah.”

  “Can you count lunch as a date?” Beau asks, looking at us, and I shake my head.

  “It has to be dinner,” I confirm. “Anything before five p.m. is not considered a date.”

  “It was a picnic,” Beau says.

  “Aww,” I say, putting my hands to my chest. “A picnic.” I look at the table and see Beau glaring. “That sounds awful,” I say, and he just shakes his head and takes another pull of his beer.

  “How have you never had a picnic?” Kallie asks. “We live next to a park.”

  “Well, my mother didn’t even want me playing on the grass, let alone sit down and have a meal,” I tell them, shrugging. “Don’t even get me started when I became a model. There was no time to do anything. So I missed the boat on that one.”

  “You guys need something more to drink?” Beau asks, getting up. I look at the table, seeing that two beers haven’t even been touched, and my glass of wine is only missing two sips. He turns to walk away from us. “Why doesn’t he just ask her out?”

  Casey and Jacob both shake their head. “That would be too easy,” Jacob says.

  When a slow song comes on, Kallie stands up and looks at Jacob. “Are you going to dance with me, or do I need to get another partner?” she teases. All he does is glare at her, but he gets up. Casey follows, and I look up at him.

  “Let’s dance,” he says, holding out his hand. I put my hand in his, letting him lead me to the dance floor. He wraps his arm around my waist and holds my hand on his chest.

  “This is nice,” I say, trying not to get too comfortable in his arms. “Being out with friends. Talking, joking.”

  “Yeah,” he says, looking at me. “Sometimes it is nice.” We move around in a circle. The dance floor gets more crowded, pushing us closer and closer together.

  “Thank you,” I whisper. I look around to see that eyes are on us, and it’s not just for me. “For tonight. For well …” My arms wrap around his neck, and my fingers go into his hair at the base of his neck. “We are being watched.�
� I try not to smile too big. “But not by the men.” I look around, seeing some of the women lurking around. “I know that your dance card must be full most nights.” I try not to let it bother me, but just thinking about it makes my voice go low. “If you want, I could stay with Kallie for the night.”

  “Darlin’.” He says my name and looks straight into my eyes. “I’m leaving here tonight with the woman I want to leave here with.” I can’t say anything else because of the lump in my throat and the fear that any words will come out with my voice shaking.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Casey

  I walk into my parents’ house, looking around to see that my mother is the only one in the kitchen. “Where is Dad?” I ask, heading to the coffeepot to grab another cup.

  “He is on his way down.” She looks at me. “Where is Olivia?” she asks, turning back to the stove.

  “Let’s just say Kallie and she had a drinking contest last night.” I shake my head, thinking back to all the tequila shots downed and then more showing up. It was the final straw when she took off her jacket and decided to try to line dance. I’m surprised I left with all my body parts intact since the single guys were walking around the dance floor like sharks waiting in the water to snap their prey. I’m not even going to think about how it felt watching all the men watch her. Jacob needed to remove the beer bottle from my hand before I broke it.

  Then when we were in the truck, she kept slipping down, and her head landed on my lap. I thought for sure she would feel my cock under her head and know that I wanted her. But luckily for me, she soon started snoring. When I finally did get home, she didn’t even wake when I placed her in bed, and this morning when the alarm went off, she didn’t stir.

  “Oh, dear,” my mother says, getting the bacon out of the oven. “Should I go over there?”

  “Nah.” I shake my head. “I woke her before I left. She took two Advil and went back to sleep.” I look out the window and then look back at my mother. “Do you think you can prepare something for me?”