“Didn’t he take a fuck ton of money from his investors?” he asks, and I don’t answer him.
“Is that what all this is about? What in the world are you doing up at that farm?” he asks, and I just shake my head.
“I think that if we find out what else Dominic is hiding, all the pieces will click into place.”
“Got it,” he says. “I’ll be in touch.”
I hang up the phone, then look out the window at the setting sun. I look up at the ceiling, and I pick up my phone one last time.
Me: I want a detail on the house. Round up the guys.
I don’t care what Jacob says. I don’t trust anyone but my guys at this point.
Chapter Thirteen
Olivia
My eyes open, and I gasp when I see that the house is pitch black. I sit up too fast, and when I lean out to catch myself, my hand knocks over the lamp on the nightstand. “Fuck,” I hiss but not before I hear him running in the house.
The lights are flipped on, causing my eyes to squint from the brightness. “What happened?” he asks. I look at him, seeing that he was sleeping. One of his eyes is still closed as he gets used to the brightness.
“I …” I lean down to pick up the pieces, and then I look up at him. He’s in shorts again and no shirt. “I woke up, and I got up too fast,” I say. “My head started spinning.”
“I’ll get a broom,” he says. “Don’t touch anything.” He is back before I can try to pick up anymore of it. “I’ll take care of this. You go sit on the couch.” I watch him as he cleans up the mess. Walking around to go to the living room, I find he was sleeping on the couch again. I look over at the clock in the kitchen and see it’s a little after midnight.
“I napped for eight hours,” I say when he comes into the room with the dustpan filled. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
He looks over at me when he throws out the glass. “Well, I tried at around seven, but you just mumbled something and then rolled over.” He walks back to the hallway and puts away the broom. “And two, I think there is a saying never wake a sleeping baby.” I put my hands to my mouth as he goes to wash his hands at the sink. “So I figured you’d wake when you were hungry.”
“Well, now that you say that,” I say. “Why don’t you go back to bed?”
“And miss a midnight snack with you?” he jokes. “What do you want to eat?”
“I can prepare my own snack,” I say and walk into the kitchen.
“Do you want me to warm up biscuits?” He says the words, and I look over at him and try not to give away too much. “Mom brought over some.” He walks to the fridge and takes out a Ziploc bag with the biscuits inside. “She also brought over some apple butter.”
“Did she put instructions on that?” I ask. Walking over to him, I take the bag from him, and there in the middle are the instructions. “Where do you keep your pans?” I ask. He looks at me, and I laugh. “You’ve never cooked in your kitchen?”
“It took me like two years to break it to Mom that I would be living in this house full-time.” He opens the cabinets until he finds the pans he needs and hands it to me. “When the furniture got delivered, I swear I saw her wipe her tears.” I place the biscuits on the pan and then start the oven.
“Aww, you’re her baby boy,” I joke with him. Something creeps into me, but I brush it away. I’ve never really wanted children, but the thought of protecting my own child fills my head.
“I’m not even going to tell you the number of times I’ve come home and found her cleaning my house. I had to sit her down and tell her to stop.” He shakes his head.
“She’s taking care of you, cowboy. You can’t fault her for that,” I say, thinking back to the one time I was sick, and my mother just brushed it off.
“I don’t feel well, Mom. I have a sore throat,” I said while I laid on the couch. Even getting up and going to the bathroom hurt.
“Oh, please stop with the dramatics, Olivia. You have a show to do.” She said this while ripping off the blanket I managed to get on me. “The car will be here in five minutes. Pop some Advil and get dressed. I’ve worked too hard for you to ruin everything.”
“I’ll be back.” He walks toward his bedroom, and I turn and open his fridge. I grab a couple of the muffins out with some of the apple butter and her famous strawberry jam. By the time he comes back, I have the muffins in the oven heating, too. “So what woke you?” he asks, taking plates out for us.
“I don’t know,” I say the truth. “I just opened my eyes, and everything was so dark, and then …” I put my head down, ashamed to say that I was scared of the dark. He comes over to me, putting his hand under my chin and lifts my face so I’m looking at him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t leave any lights on,” he whispers, wrapping one hand around my waist, and I wait for him to kiss me. When he kissed me yesterday, nothing in the world could have prepared me for the kiss. My whole body lit up, my heart sped up faster than a speeding train, and my belly did the wave. It was the most perfect kiss I’ve ever gotten, it’s a kiss I’ll never forget.
He brings his lips down to mine and kisses me softly at first. “Your eyes change color when I kiss you.” He kisses me again, only this time, his tongue comes out, and he slips it into my mouth. I’m not expecting to feel the same way again, but it’s even more than it was yesterday. My hands go to his hips, and I turn my head to the side, waiting for him to take the kiss deeper. When he does, the beeping from the oven fills the room. I laugh out loud while he groans, then I turn to take the things out of the oven. Placing them all on a plate, I sit with him at the island while we eat. Neither of us says anything, and when we finally finish, and I get up, I see him yawning.
“Go to bed. I’ll clean this up.” He stands there looking at me.
“Only if you come with me,” he says. My eyes roam the room as I look at the mess. “You can clean that up later.”
“How about I sleep on the couch?” I say, hoping he goes to sleep in his own bed.
“Fine.” He turns to walk away. I clean up as fast as I can and then turn on the little light over the stove. Walking over to the couch, I stop when I see him standing there with a pillow under his arm. “Get in.” I just look at him. “I have to sleep on the edge.”
“You don’t have to sleep on the couch with me.” Shaking my head, I walk over to the couch, then lie on my side with my back to the cushions. He puts a pillow next to the one my head is lying on, then covers us both with the blanket.
“Night, darlin’.” He turns his head and kisses my lips.
“Night, cowboy,” I say, putting my head close to his. I don’t know how fast it takes me to fall asleep, but the next time I open my eyes, the sun is slowly creeping in. I look over and see that Casey is trying to get up without disturbing me.
“What time is it?” I whisper, and he looks over his shoulder at me.
“Six fifteen.” He gets up. “Go back to sleep. I’m late.” He walks to his bedroom.
“How are you late for anything?” I ask him as the sound of his laughter comes from his bedroom.
“I’m up at five usually and in the barn by five thirty.” He comes out with his Levi’s on while he slips into his white T-shirt. “I’ll be back at seven, and we can walk over for breakfast.” He brushes back his hair with his hands. “Think you’ll be ready?”
“I’m ready now,” I say. Tossing the covers back, I get off the couch. I don’t notice that my shorts have risen, showing off my long legs. I’ve been told I have great legs, and they go on for miles. It’s why Victoria’s Secret took me. He looks at me up and down. “I mean, I can be ready in ten minutes.” Running to the bedroom, I slip on my blue capri yoga pants and a sports bra with a midriff black shirt. I grab my sneakers and walk out to see him putting on his boots.
“You have a sweater?” he asks, and I look over at him in a T-shirt.
“Why? It’s warm out.” Sitting on the steps, I put on my socks, then slip on my shoes. “I’m fine.”
/> “Darlin’.” He stands up, and I just look at him. “You are walking into a barn with your skin showing.”
“Ankles are not pieces of the body, cowboy.” I shake my head at him. “It’s just ankles. You know, in some countries, the ankles are considered the sexiest part of a woman’s body,” I say, tying up my hair, but my shirt rises, and he looks at me, shaking his head. “They are all covered from head to toe, but they keep their ankles out.”
“You don’t say?” he says from beside me. Our hands graze while we walk, and his pinky reaches out to hold mine. The rest of the walk to the barn is quiet. I listen to the sounds of birds in the distance, and I swear it’s the calmest place in the world.
When we get to the barn, he opens the doors. “Welcome to my office,” he says. Walking into the barn, I see it looks almost new. I follow him as he walks into the little kitchen to start the coffee. “Want to see Lady Princess?” he asks, and I nod as we walk to the first stall. The horse sticks her head out.
“Well, hello there, pretty girl,” I say, rubbing the front of her nose. She blows out, and her tail wags. “Aren’t you a beauty?”
“Do you ride?” I look over at him. Something about Casey is that I can’t keep my secrets from him. It’s almost as if I know it’s safe with him.
“I did when I was younger, and then it got in the way of other things.” I leave it at that. I don’t say that it got in the way of my pageant training, and the one time I came in second place, she sold my horse and refused to let me ride anymore. “I used to love it.”
He walks away from me, but I continue petting the horse. When he comes back out, he is holding two cups in his hand. He hands me one of the cups. “Come sit in the office.” I follow him in the office, and I don’t know why I’m expecting to see a dusty office with papers all over the desk, but what is there is a brown desk with four huge monitors on it. Then another desk on the side with six monitors as it flashes to different parts of the farm.
“You really have it all wired up,” I say, motioning to the screens. He nods while he drinks his coffee. Sitting in the chair, he reads something on the computer. I look at the pictures on the wall. Stepping closer, I see one of Casey all dressed up in a suit while he accepts some award. He’s shaking hands with someone while holding another award in his hand in another picture. Then an old picture in the middle of all of them has him dressed in chaps and a white shirt that is covered in dirt. He has a cut on his cheek, and he’s wearing gloves. His look is of pure anger, but he has a little smirk as he holds up his hand with the number one.
“What is this?” I turn to him, and he looks up.
“That was the last time I was on the circuit,” he says. “It was a do or die situation, and that picture”—he points with his finger—“captures the after.”
“Why?” I ask him. When he leans back in the chair, I shake my head, feeling I overstepped. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“It’s just ancient history,” he says, and I don’t say anything else. I don’t know why it bothers me that he doesn’t tell me. Taking a sip of coffee, I decide to go back to the house.
“I’ll leave you to work,” I say and duck my head down. I turn to walk out of the room, trying not to let it get to me. Trying not to let it hurt that he hasn’t let me in. Why would he? Why should he? As soon as this is over, I’ll be just another memory for him.
Chapter Fourteen
Casey
“I’ll leave you to work,” she says, trying to sound like she’s okay. She walks out, leaving me wanting to kick myself. I just wasn’t ready to answer any of those questions. My stomach burns with the thought of her walking back to the house without me, and I’m out of my chair before she makes it to the barn door.
“Olivia.” I call her name, and when she turns back, I hate myself for the look on her face. The look that she did something wrong when she did nothing wrong. “Come with me.” I hold out my hand, but I’m expecting her to tell me to fuck off. I would have told me to fuck off. “Please. I want to show you something.”
She walks back to me, and I see that her shield is up now as her eyes are a dark blue. “I didn’t mean to pry.” She straightens her shoulders. “You don’t owe me any explanations, cowboy.” I hate that she pretends with me. I hate that I made her feel like she has to pretend.
“Will you come with me?” I ask, pointing over at the golf cart that I keep beside the barn. “I want to show you something.” She shakes her head and looks down, so I step into her space and put my finger under her chin. “Please.” She blinks away the tears without saying anything, but she nods her head. I hold her hand as we walk to the golf cart. She gets in, and I drive it away from the barn. “All this was my father’s,” I say, pointing at the fence we are driving toward. “On that part,” I say as we go through a small opening to the other side of the fence. “This was his best friend’s land.”
“Is it okay that we are on the property?” she asks from beside me as the wind blows her hair back.
“It is now since I bought it.” She just looks at me. When we pull up to the barn that I just finished renovating, I turn the cart off, getting out, and she gets out with me. “I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in this barn,” I say. “Well, not this one, but …” I put my hands on my hips. “I trained for the rodeo over there.” I point at the same fence that is there now. “Seven days a week. My father’s best friend trained me. Then he signed me to be part of his team. I was on top of the world. If you wanted to be in the rodeo circuit, you had to be with him. He was the best of the best, and he also trained the best of the best.”
“Sounds just like you,” she says, and I look over at her. “To put your whole heart into it.”
“It’s also the same place I fell in love.” My stomach lifts when I think about it. “Lorelei was his daughter and my best friend. Two peas in a pod.” She doesn’t say anything, folding her hands in front of her. “I had my whole life planned out when I was eighteen. I was going to ride the rodeo and then take over my family farm.”
“Looks like you succeeded,” she says, and I look over at the barn.
“It was also the same place she tore my heart out.” I look over at her. “She didn’t do it on purpose, mind you. I caught her cozying up to someone else when she thought I was busy.”
“Oh, Casey.” Her voice goes soft. I know she means it out of genuine concern and not just sympathy.
“Yeah, let’s just say walking in and seeing her laughing at me was not something I expected. I quit the next day, but her father refused to let me walk away.” I think back on the conversation.
“You can’t quit. I own you,” he hissed. “You signed a contract.”
“Roger,” my father said from beside me, and Roger looked over at him.
“Don’t Roger me, Billy.” He spoke to my father.
“Double or nothing,” I said, knowing there was no way Roger would turn down a bet. That was his vice. Not knowing when to bet or when to walk away. “If I win the next one, you let me walk away.”
“There is no way you can win. It’s the biggest one, and you are sitting at fourth place,” he said. “If you lose, I own you for the next five years.” I agreed and shook on it, my father looking on the whole time.
“Why would he do that?” she asks, shocked. She comes closer to me and holds my hand now.
“Because he could. Needless to say, I bet him that I would win, and if I’m honest, I didn’t think I would, but when I went out there, it’s almost as if I saw black or whatever. The only thing I focused on was getting my freedom.”
“But you won.” She smiles, and for the first time since I told this story, I can feel good about it.
“I did.” I smile, and she turns, putting her hands around my waist. “Not only did I win, but when I found out that his farm was in the red, deep in the red, I bought it from him.” She gasps in shock. “Yeah, well, when I showed up that day dressed in a suit, he was also in shock. He had no idea I was behind it.”
<
br /> “Look at you.” She laughs. “Doing the whole mic drop scene.”
“More or less. Then I came here and said my last goodbye to the barn before I demolished it,”
I say. “What I wasn’t expecting was Lorelei to be here.” For the first time, saying her name doesn’t bother me. For the first time, I can say her name without getting angry.
“Casey,” she whispered as she looked me up and down. Not the same man she left in this barn four years ago. Gone were my Levi’s and T-shirt, and in its place was the custom-made suit I got for this very occasion. “I didn’t …”
“Lorelei.” Saying her name still got me. She stood there in her own Levi’s and cowboy boots. A checkered button-down shirt tied in a knot at the stomach with her black hair curled. If you didn’t know better, you would think she was going to a photo shoot. “Good to see you.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, and I put my hands in my pockets. “And what are you wearing?”
“I’m here to take a look around.” I walked in a circle. “Lots of memories in this barn.”
“Yes,” she said, wringing her hands together. Her lower lip quivered just a bit.
“That stall.” I pointed at the one that had her horse in it. “It’s where I first fell in love with you.” I didn’t wait for her to say anything. “It’s also the first thing I’m going to rip down.”
“What?” she whispered.
“You see, I own this now.” I looked at her. “Signed the papers an hour ago.” Shock filled her face.
“Dad said he was selling to …” I shook my head.
“CBS Corporation,” I filled her in. “Casey Barnes Security.” I took one look at her. “That stall.” I pointed back to it again. “It’s also the place you broke my heart.”
“I never meant …” she said and took a step forward.
“Lorelei, I should thank you.” I smiled. “Excuse me, my plane takes off in thirty minutes.” I walked past her as tears ran down her face.
Southern Comfort Page 8
