Southern Comfort (Southern 2)

I call Jacob next. He’s the sheriff of the town and knows about Olivia and her situation. When it goes straight to voice mail, I take the phone in my hand and punch the steering wheel. I knew I shouldn’t have left this morning. Something was telling me not to go. I should have listened to my gut, should have known it was too quiet and that things would all fall apart.

Twelve years ago, if you told me that I would end up owning almost half of my town, I would have laughed at you and called you crazy. I was a cowboy on the rodeo circuit making a name for myself. I wanted to take all the titles as rodeo king and then go home and raise my horses.

Well, my family’s horses. Those were my goals and what I wanted to do. I mean, that and get married to my Lorelei and have a whole house full of kids. I was content in doing this because it was the only thing I knew.

Family tradition was to take over the family’s mustang farm. But with just one word, one sentence, one heartbreak, the course of your life can change in a blink of an eye.

I played Russian roulette with my rodeo career, took a bet on myself, and I hung up my chaps.

Turning on the computer, I applied for community college. Who knew me playing on the computer in my first class would lead to me getting a contract with the military, which would lead to me opening one of the biggest security firms in the world. I now have fifteen international offices, and it’s just growing. But I keep that life separate from Casey the farmer. The truth be told, the only people who really know are my family and Derek.

But my love is the farm where it first started, and it’s where I learned how to be the man I am. Seeing the farm passed down from one generation to the next, I waited for my turn. Except I did it differently. I think back to when I got the farm and how I forced my father to sell it to me instead of handing it over.

When Kallie said she was coming back home, I thought it was strange, but after being away for eight years, it was a welcomed surprise. But then she arrived with her roommate, Olivia, who was running from something. Seems Olivia’s ex-fiancé was caught with his hand in so many cookie jars it’s surprising he still has both hands. He was arrested for embezzling, and her problems just got bigger and bigger. They thought she was in on it, and when someone leaked her name to the press, they pushed her into hiding. Kallie thought the farm would be the perfect place to get away, and I would have to agree with her.

But instead of just hiding out, she found that someone was after her. We had a picture of him, but we still didn’t know anything about him or his motives. We knew nothing, and it just made this so much worse because it seemed we were chasing a ghost. We had to separate Kallie and Olivia, so it was a no-brainer that she would move in with me. I didn’t think anything of it, but now having her in my house makes me smile. The little things she does to put a smile on my face. Like opening a beer as soon as I come home at around three or putting notes on the fridge about making today count. I always shake my head, but every day, I look for that note.

Forget that I want to have her naked under me. Forget that she is the most untouchable person I’ve ever met. I’m about to forget that I made a promise to myself to respect what she is going through and not push myself on her. But it was getting harder every single minute, especially with her in her shorts at night and her long legs. The only thing I could think of was having them wrapped around my waist.

I shake my head, directing my focus back to the road, but no matter how fast I drive home, it still seems as if it’s farther and farther away. I dial my father, and I don’t even let him say hello before I blurt out, “There is someone in my house.”

“I’m ten minutes out,” he says, and I hear him rushing around.

“I’ll be there in two.” Hanging up, I hold the phone in my hand like a lifeline to her when it rings, showing me it’s Derek.

“Tell me something good,” I hiss out when I answer him.

“Okay, he’s going upstairs,” he tells me, “but…”

“But what?” I shout at him when his voice trails off. “But what?” I repeat again.