Southern Chance (Southern 1)

I make my way to the rock that Casey wants off his property, walking with my head down. My head is bringing me back to when I used to walk with her by my side. Her hand was always in mine, even if it was just her pinky. The sounds of the stream fill the silence of the day with some birds chirping. I’m not expecting anyone to be here, least of all her. And she’s all alone after we just had the conversation that someone is after her.

The minute I ask her a question, I see her sass come out, and I almost want to smile. I want to ask her to sit on the rock with me. I want to know what she has been up to. I want to know if she found someone to love her.

“You should be at home with your wife and child and not worry about where I am.” The minute she says that, I want to take a step back. I want to tell her that I don’t have a wife, that I would never take a wife who wasn’t her. How does she not know that I’m not married? How did no one tell her that I never was with Savannah especially after she left?

I walk away from her, wanting to take her in my arms and see if her kisses are the same. To see if she melts in my arms the same way, to see if the kiss is just as good as I remember. Is it as good as in my dreams? I get in my truck and call Casey. I expect him to send me to voice mail, but he answers right away.

“What part of she might be in danger does she not understand?” I say, not even bothering to say hello.

“What the heck are you talking about?” he asks.

“I just found Kallie by herself at the creek,” I say. “I could have been anyone.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he says. “It won’t happen again.”

“Tomorrow morning at ten a.m., my office. It’s time to get a game plan going to make sure no one gets injured in the crossfire.”

“This doesn’t change anything,” Casey says, and he hangs up. I toss my phone to the side and make my way to my mother’s house.

“There he is,” my mother says. I watch as Ethan gets up and runs to me.

“Dad,” he says, jumping into my arms, “you took forever.”

“Sorry, kiddo,” I say, leaning and kissing his neck. I’m about to ask him about his day when the front door opens, and Savannah walks in wearing white jeans and a tank top. Her black hair is curled like normal.

“There they are,” she says with a smile and comes over to us. “How was your day?” she asks Ethan, leaning and kissing his neck.

I put him down, and he runs back to the kitchen. “Mom is here, Grandma.”

“I didn’t know you were going to be here?” I say, and it’s almost as if I step away from her in case someone is watching, which is ridiculous.

“Yeah, your mom called and thought it would be good to drop by for dinner,” she says. Looking in the kitchen, she then turns to me. “I heard about the grocery store.”

“Shocking,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s only been three hours.” Taking off the hat on my head, I toss it on the coffee table and go sit on the couch.

“How bad was it?” she asks, and I just shake my head.

“She thinks we’re married,” I say, and she takes a step back. “I know. That’s what I thought, too.”

“Why would she think we’re married?” she asks, sitting down on the couch and facing me. “Who told her that?”

“I haven’t spoken or seen her in eight years, so I have no idea why she would think or say that.”

“It’s safe to say every person knows that I’ve had a child out of wedlock,” Savannah says, laughing. “I almost had the ‘A’ tattooed on my chest to make sure if you didn’t know, you know now.”

“I don’t know.” I pull my hair on the top of my head. I keep it longer than I did when she left. I want to say it’s because it’s easier to style, but the fact is, she loved my hair long.

I look at Savannah, and I’m brought back to the day I went to see her.

I knocked on her door. I wanted to pound on it and break it down, but she answered right away. Her face was pale, her eyes almost sunken in, and her lips were white. “What’s wrong?”

“I have morning sickness,” she said and turned to walk back into her little apartment. She was the only eighteen-year-old I knew living on her own. Her mother took off as soon as everyone found out she was pregnant.