Southern Chance (Southern 1)

I closed the door behind me, and she sat on her worn couch. “I’m so sorry, Jacob.”

“Whose is it?” I asked, not moving from the door.

She looked down and then looked up at me. “Liam’s.” She said his name, and I just looked at her. “Don’t even go there. I know. I know. He’s a horrible person.”

“How the fuck did that ever happen?” I asked her, and she sobbed.

“He said he loved me,” she said, and I wanted to tell her that he didn’t love anyone but himself. “You can’t tell Beau.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I finally shouted at her, “do you know what you’ve done?” I know I shouldn’t lash out at her, but I do anyway.

“Um, hello.” I hear Savannah, and I blink when the front door opens, and I look over to see Beau coming in.

He sees us both sitting here. He looks at me and then at Savannah, and I’m wondering how the fuck she can’t see that he’s in love with her. I swear he walks around with hearts in his eyes when she’s around. The smile on her face is even bigger than it was when I walked into the room when he walks to her and bends down in front of her.

“Hey, there.” He kisses her cheek, and I swear if she sighs, I’m going to throw up.

“Dinner is ready,” Ethan says, and I get up. “Hey, Uncle Beau,” he says, walking to him, and they high-five each other. Well, at least out of all the lies Savannah has told, calling him Uncle is the truth.

Savannah gets up and goes into the kitchen and helps set the table. Beau’s eyes follow her the whole time, and he turns. “I heard something.”

“I can imagine,” I say, getting up.

“Did you really tell her to go to hell?” he asks me quietly, and I look over at him.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“Word on the street is you saw her in the grocery store and told her to go to hell and get out of your town,” he says, looking down. I just stand here in shock. “I take it that somewhere along the line, the story changed.”

“A lot,” I say and go into the kitchen. I sit at the table and eat, and we don’t bring up Kallie. Ethan tells us all about his day, and he goes on and on about the sleepover he has on Saturday for his friend’s birthday party.

When we leave my mother’s, Ethan asks to sleep over at her house, and I don’t fight it and neither does Savannah since she has to work. “Are you coming in tonight?” she asks Beau, and he shakes his head.

“I have a big meeting tomorrow morning,” he says and goes to his car. “Have a good night.” We both watch him walk to his BMW, and he gets in and takes off.

“If you sigh, I will throw up,” I say, and she shakes her head.

“I don’t sigh.” She pushes my shoulder and walks away from me. “I’ll get him from school tomorrow.”

Shaking my head, I get in my truck. I should just head home, but I don’t. I head back over to Kallie’s to do a wellness check. I pull up and see the light on in her room. I spot a couple of my guys and wave at them and then head home.

The night pretty much consists of me tossing and turning. Finally, the last time I check the clock, it’s three a.m. When my phone rings at eight, I jump out of bed. “McIntyre.”

“Hey, it’s Monica.”

“Yeah,” I grumble out.

“Just confirming that you have a meeting at ten with the squad,” she says.

“Yeah. I’ll be there,” I say and toss the phone on the bed. By the time I shower and pour my coffee and get into the car, I’m already late. I rushed and just put on my black jeans with my white shirt. I left the hat off today, pushing my hair back with my hand. I slip on my aviator glasses when I start my car, and when I pull up to the station, I see that Casey’s truck is already here. Walking up the steps, I open the glass door and try not to stumble back. She’s standing there with tight white jeans molding her every curve. She’s wearing a short-sleeve gray silk shirt, and it’s tucked in the front and is loose over her breasts. I don’t take off my glasses as I spot the highest heeled shoes I’ve ever seen.

“About time you showed up,” Casey says, and she finally looks at me. I want to smile and say hi. I want to walk up to her and push her hair away from her face and kiss her.

“I’m on time,” I say and then look at Monica. “Morning.”