Southern Desire (Southern Heart 2)

“Damn, he does good work.” Evan points to the arena.

“Told you he was worth the money. I think we should bring him on full-time.”

“Agreed. It’s been what, two months since he started working with her?”

“Little over, but yeah.”

My phone beeps, alerting me to a message.

“Booty call?” Evan grins.

“Dad. He’s at the feed store, making sure I don’t need anything.”

“He’s taken to retirement better than I thought he would.”

“I know. He and Mom seem to be happy to travel and spoil their grandkids.”

Joe stops in front of us, Midnight Rain breathing heavy. “Well?” he asks.

“Aaron and I would like to make you an offer to sign on with us full-time. We’re going to head back to the office. Meet us there when you’re done,” Evan tells him.

“Sounds good.” Joe nudges Midnight and they ride off.

Evan and I go back to the office and hash out an offer. This is something that he and I always said growing up we would do. We would run our own farms and work together on projects, neighbors and best friends. He just happened to change the plan a little when he fell in love with my little sister.

“Well, how was your first week?” Aunt Jenny asks me as we sit on their back patio Saturday afternoon.

“Great. I love my job,” I say with way too much excitement for a grown adult. She laughs. “McKinley is a sweetheart. I knew the two of you would hit it off.”

“She’s great. Basically, she and I share the bookings. They can request either of us. She said that both of us would tag team weddings. That gives us more opportunities to capture it all.” I ramble on about my new job.

“That’s great, Whit. Your mom would be so proud of you.” Her voice is soft and she swipes the corner of her eye.

“I hope so.”

“Enough of the heavy. Mike called and wants us to stop by the bar tonight. He said, and I quote, ‘She’s been avoiding this long enough.’ I tried to tell him you were just working on a few shoots that you did this week.”

Jenny and I both laugh at her impression of Mike. “What exactly am I avoiding?” I ask.

Olivia grins. “He’s jealous. He told me I’ve been hogging all of your attention. I tried to tell him that you living with me is not being a hog, but he wasn’t having it. We are summoned to be at the bar tonight.”

“Don’t you work tonight?”

“Yeah, but you can hang out at the bar. You have to go. I don’t want to hear him bitching about it.”

“Since when did he become such a softie?”

Jenny laughs. “Livy tends to make him seem that way. I’m guessing he made a general suggestion that you stop by tonight and this is what you get.” She points toward Olivia.

She sticks her tongue out at her mom. “Maybe.” She grins.

“So the truth comes out. You’re the one who insists that I be there?”

“Whitneeey,” she whines. “You’ve been here a week and we have not hung out yet. All you do is work.”

“What are we going to do with her?” I ask my Aunt Jenny. “I’m trying to be a responsible adult, then we have this one,”—I point to Liv—“trying to corrupt me.” That causes me to be on the receiving end of her sticking her tongue out. “Besides, you’re working. How much hanging out can we do?”

“You let me worry about that. Please, please, please,” she begs.

“Okay, fine. I’ll drive separate because I don’t want to be there all night just watching the two of you work.”

“Yay!” She claps her hands and it reminds me of Lexi. I keep that comment to myself.

Olivia left for work a couple of hours ago. I convinced her that I really need to get some editing in, but promised that I would come to the bar later. I’m loving this new job and I want to impress McKinley. She has given me such an amazing opportunity to do what I love at a generous commission. Not only that, but I hate to have things hanging over my head. I like that I will be able to relax the rest of the weekend, knowing that it’s all caught up.

The parking lot is full and I have to drive around back to find a spot. I grab my keys, phone, and wristlet and head inside. The place is packed, but Mike spots me as I make my way toward the bar.

“Whitney,” he greets me over the loud music. “Good thing you showed. Liv was ready to send the cavalry to get you.”

“She’s crazy.” I grin.

He points to a seat at the end of the bar. I slide onto the stool and he sets a draft beer in front of me. “I’m driving,” I remind him.

“I got you. You need to enjoy yourself.”

I can tell from the look in his eyes that his words have far deeper meaning. I’m sure Olivia has kept him up to date with how I’ve been handling things over the past year. I’ve been going through the motions. I’m hopeful that this move will help bring me back to life. My chest aches with sadness when I think about Mom, but her words ring in my head.

Open your heart.

To do that, I need to learn to live with the gaping hole her death caused. It helps being here with family. Aunt Jenny looks a lot like her, and I feel closer to her being here.

The guy next to me pays his tab and leaves, mumbling something about getting home to his wife. I take a sip of my beer and close my eyes. It’s been a long week, but a good one.

“Hey, man, can I get water,” a deep southern drawl says from beside me.

I don’t have to open my eyes to know who it is. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

Aaron.

“Hey, Whitney, how was your first week?” he asks, settling on the stool beside me.

I can smell him. The scent that is outdoors, spicy, and just Aaron takes over my senses. Slowly I open my eyes and find him regarding me carefully. I give him a smile, not because it’s the polite thing to do but because you can’t look at Aaron Mills and not smile. It’s not possible. “Good. My boss is amazing,” I say.

He laughs. “That she is. There seemed to be a lot of activity at the studio this week.”

“It was busy. There was a backlist of people waiting.”

“She’s done well for herself, my little sister.”