Southern Chance (Southern 1)

“Whatever happens, I’m going to be right there by your side,” he says, and I look up at the house and see my mother coming out with a worried look on her face.

“Well, here we go,” I say to him and open the door, stepping out. “Hey, Mom.” I put up my hand to wave to her while I wait for Jacob. “Let’s do this.” I put my hand in his, and he brings it up and kisses it, making my heart flutter.

“Hi, you two,” my mother says to us, and I see the smile on her face but also the tears in her eyes. We walk up the steps together, and she hugs me first. “Are you okay?’ she whispers in my ear. I nod at her, and then she goes to hug Jacob. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Thank you,” he says and then shocks us both when he grabs her hand with his. “Thank you for being there for Kallie and Gabriel.” He puts his arms around my shoulder as my mother wipes away tears. “He was in the best hands.” She pats his hand in hers. The door opens, and my father comes out and sees that my mother and I are crying.

“What in the world?” he says, then looks at Jacob. “This is a surprise.”

Jacob just nods at him. “Let’s go inside. I don’t think I can hold off Casey any longer,” he says, laughing. “You ready, boy?”

“Bring it.” Jacob looks at my father as he turns and walks inside, and we follow my parents.

I look up at him when we walk into the family room and see Olivia sitting on the couch with her feet curled under her with a glass of wine in her hand. “Ohhh, this is going to be good.” She smiles at me and winks, then looks over at Casey. “You need to simmer down, cowboy.”

“Darlin’,” he says softly to her, and she raises her eyebrows at him.

“Okay,” I start, “we might as well get this out of the way before lunch.” I walk over to the couch and sit next to Olivia, who hands me the wine glass. I look over at her and smile. “I might need something stronger after this.” I look at her with tears in my eyes.

I feel the couch beside me shift and look over to see Jacob sitting beside me. “Dad.” I look at him. “You should sit.”

“No,” he says, shaking his head, the worry written all over his face as he takes off his cowboy hat and holds it in his hand.

“Billy,” my mother says softly, going to him with tears running down her face, “you should sit.”

“Is she sick?” he asks my mother, his eyes now filling with tears. “Are you sick?” He looks at me and asks me while I look at Casey, who looks like he’s going to jump out of his skin.

“I’m not sick,” I start and take a deep breath. “Here it goes,” I mumble.

Casey barks out, “What in the hell happened to your hand?” He looks at the bandage around my wrist.

“I got a tattoo,” I tell them. My mother’s mouth falls open, and she sits down on the couch next to my father.

“You got a tattoo?” Casey asks me, shocked. “A tattoo.”

“It’s for life.” Olivia leans to whisper in my ear. “Forever.” She raises her eyebrows.

“I know.” I smile back at her. “It’s the date of my son’s birthday,” I say out loud, and then I look around the room. My father sits there in shock, his cowboy hat falling to the floor. My mother puts her hand in front of her mouth, and Casey folds his hands over his chest, his jaw tight.

“What are you talking about?” Olivia looks at me and grabs my hand in hers. My other hand slips into Jacob’s.

“I was pregnant when I left here,” I say. “I just didn’t know until I was two months along.”

My father now with tears pouring down his face. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was going to, but every single time I tried, I got scared.” I tell the truth. “There was just so much going on.”

“Where is the baby?” Casey’s tone is tight, and I look down and then at Jacob, who brings me to his chest.

“Sadly, my water broke at twenty-one weeks, and he didn’t make it.” I look over at my father who groans, and my mother gets up and goes over to him. I get up and walk to my purse by the door. Grabbing my wallet, I walk over to them and take out the picture of me and Gabriel. “This is Gabriel.” I hand my mother the picture, and she holds it for my father, who sobs with his hand over his mouth.

Casey walks over and looks at the picture, and he turns and looks at Jacob. “All alone,” he hisses. “She did that shit all by herself.”