Southern Secrets by Natasha Madison

Chapter 4

Amelia

Looking out the window,I see the black smoke starting to thin out. "You okay?" I hear from beside me and look over at Chelsea.

"Not really," I say honestly as she pushes me over with her hip to wash her hands. We’ve been at my grandmother's house ever since we walked away from the fire. "How are you doing?" I ask, and she looks down at her hands.

"I thought cooking and baking would make me feel better." She turns the water off and grabs a dish cloth to dry her hands. She looks out the same window I was just looking out. "It’s not."

"Has anyone texted you?" I ask, and she grabs the phone from her pocket as she checks it. "No, nothing." I look around the kitchen at my grandmother, who hasn’t stopped cooking since this happened even though my mother and aunt have been trying to force her to sit down.

I look back outside. "I need some air," I say, and she takes a step to follow me. "Go sit down. You haven’t eaten anything today.”

She glares at me. "I can sit outside," she says, and I’m about to argue with her when my grandmother calls her over.

I take the opportunity while she’s busy to slip outside. The sun is slowly setting, and the smell of fire is still in the air. I sit down on the top step and look up at the gray sky. My eyes fixate on the smoke, and I don’t hear the footsteps until someone sits beside me.

"Hey, sweetheart." I look over to see my grandfather put his arms around my shoulders and pull me to him, kissing my temple. He lets out a big deep breath. "What are you doing outside?"

"Is the fire under control?" I ask. His whole face looks tired and his eyes worried.

"Last I heard," he says. "Just about."

I put my head on his shoulder just like I used to do when I was a little girl. Heck, I still do it. "Don’t worry, Grandpa. We’ll build it back even better."

He chuckles a little. "Oh, if I know my kids, it’ll be brand new in a week with all these new gadgets."

It’s my turn to laugh. My grandparents have lived on this farm their whole life and my great-grandparents before them. Then my uncle Casey came in and brought in technology. Let’s just say my grandfather is not too pleased with it. "I set off the sprinklers last time I opened his iPad."

"I’ll teach you, Grandpa." I kiss his cheek. "Let me go and get you something to eat."

I start to get up, and he gets up with me. "If I don’t tell your grandmother I’m here, I’ll never hear the end of it."

We walk into the house together, and my grandmother comes over and gives him a hug. He doesn’t stay to eat. Instead, he grabs some food to take to the men.

I kiss everyone goodbye at midnight and make my way home. I don’t bother catching a ride. Instead, I walk in the field. The same field I grew up in. I bet if you blindfolded us all, we would still know how to get to our houses.

The warm breeze blows softly as I walk up the back steps of my house. My little, small house that I bought without my parents knowing.

I press the keypad, and the door clicks open. I make my way to the couch and sit down for a second. Laying my head back, I close my eyes for just a minute. Or so I thought.

The soft alarm makes my eyes spring open as I jump off the couch and grab my phone from the coffee table. I turn the alarm off and scroll to see if anyone has texted me.

The last text I got was from Chelsea at three.

Chelsea: Mayson just got home. Fire is finally out.

I don’t bother answering her in case she’s sleeping. Instead, I close my eyes for just a couple of seconds before I roll off the couch and walk toward my bedroom. My whole body feels like it was run over by a semi. I pull my shirt over my head and throw it in the dirty laundry before starting the shower.

Slipping off my jeans, I get into the shower and put my head back. I still smell of smoke, and I was only there for a short time. I close my eyes, and all I can see is the barn again. All I can see is the fire. I can’t believe that this nightmare is my reality. I put my hands on my face as I sob into them silently.

Getting out, I dress in another pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then slide on my worn boots. I walk out of the house and see that the sun is slowly coming up. It takes me two minutes to get to the barn, and when I get there, I’m surprised to see the lights on.

The smell of coffee hits me as soon as I walk into the barn, and I almost groan. "Good morning," I say to no one in particular. I hear the sound of hay moving when I see Willow stick her head out of her horse's stall.

"Good morning," she says, looking just like I feel. "You’re here early."

I look over at the clock and see that it’s not even past five. "Couldn’t sleep," I say. "Figured I’d get here and bang out the paperwork in case I need to help with deliveries." I walk to my office and open the door. I toss my keys on the desk and turn around to go to the coffee machine.

I walk out and spot Quinn. "Hey," I say, surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckles, and then I hear Willow from behind him walking to us. "That is what I asked him, too," she says. I grab my coffee mug off the shelf and fill it to the rim.

"Well, for one …" Quinn says. I turn to look back at him, bringing the hot coffee to my lips. "I own this." He puts his hands on his hips. You can tell from his eyes that he hasn’t slept yet.

When we were growing up, he always had this need to help and nurture, so it was no surprise when he decided to open his own equine therapy farm. I thought he would do well. What I wasn’t expecting was for him to open seven of them. When he opened the first one, he asked me to help him with the paperwork. It was supposed to be for a month until he got up and running. Once that month was over, he asked me to stay on for a couple of months. Needless to say, five years later, I’m still here, and I love every minute of it.

"Okay, so you own this place. It doesn’t mean you can’t take a day off," Willow says from beside him. "You didn’t even sleep." She looks up at him.

"I’ll sleep tonight," he tells her and kisses her lips. "There is work to do, and I’ll just go crazy sitting at home."

"How bad is it?" I ask. When I left my grandmother’s house at midnight, they were still out there.

"The fire is out," he says, huffing out. "But the barn is ashes. There is nothing left of it."

“That is crazy,” I say, shaking my head and taking another long gulp of coffee and feeling the burn all the way down. My mind spins now, and I want to ask about Asher, but the last thing I want anyone to think is that I have a thing for him. We work together, and even though we flirt, we always do it when no one is around.

"Whatever it is, we are going to make it better," Quinn says. "From now on, we have two other barns that are going to be the headquarters." I nod and look at him.

"I’m assuming Asher is taking the day off," I say. He just looks at me, and we hear the gravel outside crunch.

"I’m going to take that as a no." Willow shakes her head and turns to walk back into her horse's stall. My eyes go to the barn door, and I watch Asher walk in.

He walks with his head down, not expecting us to be here. He stops walking when he feels eyes on him. "Hey," he says softly. "I didn’t know anyone would be here so early." He’s wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and you can smell the smoke on him. I swallow down the lump starting to grow in my throat as I think of him alone all night long with no one to hold his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn says, and Asher shrugs. "Did you even sleep?"

"Nah," he says, coming to the coffee machine. I move aside so he can get his coffee. "Need a refill?" he asks me softly with the coffee pot still in his hand. I shake my head, and he puts the pot back and takes a deep gulp of coffee. I look over at him as he leans back on the counter next to me. I would normally go to my office now, but the need to stay beside him is strong.

"I thought I heard my father tell you that if you came in today, you would be fired," Quinn says, and I laugh and roll my eyes. My uncle Casey has fired me at least once a week for working longer than I should.

"Well, I’ll make sure to stay clear of him," Asher says, and I throw my head back and laugh.

“You know he gets live videos from the farms, right?” Quinn tells him, and Asher just looks at him, not at all bothered by this news. “You haven’t even taken a shower,” Quinn points out to him.

"I can attest to that," I say, and Asher looks over at me and glares. His brown eyes look almost black. The redness of his eyes is also very apparent. "You stink."

"I have a bag of clothes," Quinn says, "that Willow packed for you. It’s in the office. Go to my house and take a shower."

"I’m not going to your house," Asher says, shaking his head. "I’m not going to intrude like that."

"Then take my keys," I say the words before I can stop them. "You can stay with me. I live alone and have two spare bedrooms." Fuck, fuck, fuck, my head thinks when I hear the words that have just come out of them. It’s one thing to be friendly and everything at work, but it’s another thing to have him under my roof. I mean, it’s not like I’m home often. Between here and the bar, I only go home to sleep.

"Um," Asher says.

I know I should just take it as a no and walk to my office and shut my mouth. My brain knows this but my mouth, not so much. "I won’t take no for an answer, and if you push me, I’ll call my grandfather." I smirk. "Casey you can say no to, but you have never ever said no to my grandfather." Just shut up already, I groan inwardly. I’m ready to duct-tape my own mouth to stop shit from coming out of it.

"I don’t need to stay with you," Asher says. "I can get a room at the motel."

“Then I’ll tell my grandmother,” I counter. “Not sure which one you want me to tell.” If I don’t do this, I’ll feel guilty about him staying alone, I tell myself.

“You’re a bully,” he says, and I shrug.

“I’ve been called worse,” I joke. “Last week, you called me a raging lunatic.”

“You told me that you hoped bees ate my junk.” He shakes his head. He lets go of a deep breath, and I want to rub his back, but instead, I clutch my mug tighter. “But I really need a shower.”

"Keys are on my desk. Why don’t you sleep for a bit and then come in at noon?" I suggest, and he looks at the clock and then back at Quinn.

"Or come back tomorrow," Quinn says. "Tomorrow will be good."

"Are you going to ride my ass all day if I don’t leave?" He looks at me.

I tilt my head to the side and smirk. "I don’t know what you mean by that," I say innocently, "but if you mean, will I tell every single family member who calls me today that you are here and haven’t showered or slept?" I stop at the entrance of my office. "The answer to that would be a big fat yes."

He groans, and I walk to my desk to grab the keys I just tossed there. I stop and pick up the black bag that Willow put there and bring it out to him. "Here." I walk to him and hand him the keys and the bag.

"Fine," he says, huffing out. "I’ll see you later." He puts his mug in the sink and then walks out.

I watch him walk out of the barn and then feel eyes on me. "Are we going to talk about this?" Quinn says, and I just stare at him.

"Nothing to talk about. The man is homeless," I say, ignoring the thumping of my heart against my chest. "What would you expect me to do?"

"We could have set him up at an empty house," Quinn says, and I fold my arms over my chest and roll my eyes, shaking my head.

"You think that man"—I point at the door Asher just walked out of—"would have taken you up on an offer to stay in a house that has been sitting empty for the past six months?" I don’t give him a chance to answer me. "Tell me, did you not offer him that house instead of sleeping in a barn?" Quinn just glares at me. "I thought so."

"Whatever," Quinn says, turning and walking away. "I’m telling your father you are living with a boy."

I watch his retreating back. "Snitches get stitches!"