Southern Sunshine (Southern 8)

"Don’t ‘hey, Grandma’ me." She moves out of my touch. “That didn’t work when you were fifteen, and it’s not going to work now. Go wash your hands, and then you can have one,” she says, and my father laughs. “You, too," she says. I turn around and laugh at him, pointing.

"Your mom just schooled you,” I say, walking to the sink where he joins me and pushes me, making me laugh more.

"Where is Dad?" my father asks, grabbing the rag and drying his hands, and then grabbing a muffin.

"He’s …" she starts to say, but the back door opens, and he walks in. "There he is." She looks at us. “Did you guys eat?"

"Yeah," my father answers. “But I’ll have another muffin."

I grab one and walk over to the table to sit down. My grandfather walks to my grandmother and kisses her on the lips. “Love you,” he says to her, and she looks up at him with all the love in the world.

"I’m eating," my father says, groaning.

"Now you know how I feel,” I say. “Imagine if he grabbed her butt." My grandparents laugh while my father glares. "Scared. I was scared for my life." My grandfather walks over to the sink and washes his hands, knowing the wrath he will suffer if he doesn’t.

"Shut up," my father says, shaking his head.

My grandfather takes off his hat and comes to sit at the table with me. “You went to work?" he asks, and I nod. "Obviously not hard work,” he says. “Your shirt is still white." He snickers while my grandmother puts a plate of cookies and muffins on the table. “Come work with me."

"He won’t survive," my father says, pulling out the empty chair beside me.

“Are you kidding me?” I shake my head. "I spent the night in the ocean, in the rain."

My grandfather chuckles as my grandmother brings him a drink. She stands next to him and puts her arm around his shoulders. He smiles up at her and puts his hand around her waist. "Did you go by Kaine’s?" my grandfather asks, and my father just nods.

"Yeah, just came from there,” he says.

"And what do you think?" He picks up his drink and takes a sip, bringing his other hand onto the table.

"I think that …" He shakes his head. “We are going to lose money as soon as we pay off his debt."

I look over at my father, not sure what he’s talking about. “Kaine has no debt,” I say.

"Stubborn, stubborn man," my grandfather says. “Always was." He laughs. “It’s why we got along so well."

"He has more debt than the land will cover. The barn needs to be demolished. The house looks like it’s had better days," my father says.

"Well," my grandfather says, “we take a loss." He leans back in his chair. “I know he would do it for me. And there is no way in hell I’m going to let Hazel and her little girl get shorted in all this."

My head snaps back, not sure I heard right. “Little girl?" I ask, confused. "She has a daughter?”

"Yeah," my grandfather says, “met her the other day when we went by there.” My mouth suddenly goes dry. He smiles. “Chip off the old block. Looks just like her. Sweet as hell, asked me about a tractor.”

“Holy shit,” I say, not realizing I’m saying the words out loud until my grandmother smacks my shoulder. “Sorry, Grandma." My head is spinning. She’s a mom. She is probably here with her husband, and I was thinking about her with a semi boner. I have so many questions, but all I can think of is she has a kid. “A kid,” I say out loud.

"The only thing in the world Kaine loved was Hazel and her little girl. Even if he didn’t want to ask for it, the only thing he would care about is for Hazel and Sofia to be taken care of," my grandfather says, and I repeat Sofia in my head.

"We can’t just show up there and pay off the debt," my father says, and my grandfather nods.

"No way," he says. “Not if she’s anything like Kaine."

"She’s stubborn as hell," I put in. My grandparents look at me in shock while my father laughs at me.

"She ignored him," my father says with great pride, and I glare at him yet again.

"Reed Barnes," my grandmother says, putting her hands on her hips. "If you were rude to her …"

I hold my hands up. “I didn’t say anything to her." This time, but I don’t add that in.

"So, what do you want to do?" my father asks, and even I know the answer to this one.

"We buy it from her and make sure she has some extra for her and her daughter," my grandmother says, and my grandfather nods. “If you need money, I have it."