The Boys Down South by Abbi Glines

1

dixie monroe

six years later…

The paper bag was being crushed in my hand. The death grip I had on it from the moment I noticed that old blue Ford truck slowly pulling through the caution light was causing my hand to go numb. I wasn’t ready to see that truck. Not yet. Steel hadn’t warned me. Not about this he hadn’t.

But then again…Steel may not know yet. I glanced over my shoulder to see if the truck was going to drive by, so I could breathe again, or if it was going to stop and I was going to have a mini panic attack. My heartbeat quickened as the truck pulled into a parking spot right outside Harrod’s Pharmacy. He was getting out. It was him.

I knew I needed to look away. I didn’t want him to catch me staring. Really, it was pathetic. Completely ridiculous. Asher Sutton had destroyed me. I shouldn’t react to him anymore, and I most definitely shouldn’t care that his face was still chiseled perfection and his body that of every woman’s dreams.

Before I could gather my bearings, control my reaction to him, self-preservation kicked in, and I instinctively took a step out of his line of sight. His truck door swung open, long jean-clad legs stepping out onto the pavement. The dark hair I used to run my fingers through was cut short, highlighting his face, the stubble covering his jaw making him appear like a dangerous angel. The flannel shirt he was wearing was faded and tightly fit across his chest. A chest I knew all too well was smooth and rippled with muscle.

“Don’t go there, Dixie,” Scarlet North, my best friend since middle school, whispered in my ear. Her hand clamped around my arm and she tugged me hard enough to snap me out of my foolish stupor.

“Evil. Remember that, Dixie. That man is evil. He’s more beautiful than any one male has a right to be on the planet. But he’s the devil. You know that. Besides, don’t forget about Steel. You’re now dating Asher’s little brother.” Her last six words were a murmur. Only I could hear what she said.

Gossip in a small town was bad. In Malroy, Alabama, it was worse than bad. The place was a mecca of gossip. Everybody knew everything and everybody was in everyone’s business. There was a very good chance, right there on Main Street, that people were peeking from their windows to see if I would look Asher’s way. There had been enough talk about us in Malroy to last a lifetime, maybe two, and two years of Asher being away at college didn’t change a thing.

“I didn’t know he was coming home,” I said, simply trying to slow down my heart rate from seeing Asher for the first time in years. He didn’t come home last summer. He stayed in Gainesville, Florida, taking summer classes, and seemed to have forgotten about Malroy.

“He’s probably just here to see his momma. He’ll leave soon enough, you’ll see. Steel would’ve told you if Asher was coming home for the summer,” Scarlet assured me.

I managed to nod while gripping my scrunched-up paper bag in front of me like a shield. Asher was back and I didn’t know how to react. What was I supposed to expect? Would he keep pretending like I didn’t exist? Could he even do that now that I was dating his brother? Would Steel tell him? Would Asher care?

No, he wouldn’t. I knew that all too well. Asher wouldn’t care at all. He had made it very clear to the entire town that he didn’t want me anymore. He didn’t care who had me now. He was done with me. I went from being one half of the “golden couple” to the discarded girl who surely must’ve done something horrible for Asher to throw me away and never look back. The end happened so quickly; it still made no sense to me.

He had been my safe harbor. I felt secure in his love. I gave my innocence to Asher, believing in my heart he would be my forever, my one and only. But he blindsided me by leaving me without any explanation whatsoever.

The people I thought were my friends believed it had been my fault, something unforgivable that I had done, and quickly turned their backs on me. They all worshiped the football star that had singlehandedly put our town on the map, the boy who led our team to a State Championship two years in a row. He could do no wrong in their eyes. So, they wasted no time taking his side. Everyone except Scarlet. She was my only true friend.

“He’s a giant asshole. Full of himself. The great and mighty Sutton,” she snarled his way.

I rolled my eyes and turned to look at her. “Don’t act like being a Sutton boy is a bad thing. You’re so in love with Brent Sutton you can’t see straight,” I pointed out.

She grinned, then shrugged and giggled. “Yeah, well, all Sutton boys ain’t bad. Just that particular one there.”

I agreed with her. The Sutton boys were a part of my life. They always had been and always would be. Our farms sat beside one another and our families remained intertwined.

The tiny diamond on my left hand sparkled in the bright sunlight as I lifted it. “No, they aren’t all bad,” I said. “One or two are decent enough.”

Scarlet released a sigh and shook her head. “Why are you wearing that? I thought you were still thinking about it?”

I glanced back at Asher’s blue truck, unable to pretend like it wasn’t there. My heart twisted painfully in my chest. He still had a crazy hold over me. “I wanted to see how it felt,” I admitted shyly, before glancing back down at the ring Steel had given me two weeks back. It hadn’t been a traditional proposal. Our relationship was complicated. And that blue truck reminded me why I hadn’t been able to say “yes” to Steel just yet.

“Stop looking.” Scarlet growled in frustration.

“Do you think he’ll care…about the ring?” I only let Scarlet see how incredibly vulnerable Asher still made me feel.

“Oh, Dixie.” She sighed and pulled me into a hug. “You know he won’t. It’s been three years. You’ve got to let Asher go for good.”

I closed my eyes and let her hold me, because in that moment, I knew she was right. She was always right. “How do I forget him, Scarlet?” The lilt in my voice made Scarlet squeeze a little tighter.

“Let yourself love Steel. He loves you. Be the girl he deserves,” she replied. Scarlet then pulled back to look at me. Both her hands rested on my shoulders comfortingly. “Asher Sutton broke you. He deserves for you to forget him. Steel Sutton, on the other hand, adores you. And he’s nothing like his big brother. He gave you a ring, sweetie. It’s time your heart let go of the wrong Sutton boy and fell in love with the one that deserves it.”

I knew she was right. I just wasn’t sure where to start. Not when everything still reminded me of the Sutton boy who didn’t love me back.

Four Years Ago…

I patiently sat in Daddy’s truck while he filled the diesel tank with fuel. Jack’s parking lot had begun to fill up. Jack’s was a pool hall, that was also a bar, or maybe it was the other way around. A bar that was also a pool hall. I wasn’t sure because I’d never been in there. If my daddy ever heard I was in there—and he would’ve found out quickly because Jack would’ve called him himself—he’d have thrown a fit.

The only reason I would want to go to Jack’s anyway was because of the faded blue pickup truck that was currently parked outside the place. I’d seen three of the five Sutton boys climb from it and enter the establishment. The only one that mattered to me, however, had been the driver. Asher had sauntered inside like he owned the place. All smiles and too sexy for words in the jeans he’d been wearing.

He had those jeans on today at school. I had noticed them as well as the Malroy Bears Football tee shirt he’d worn. Every day since the first day of school, Asher made sure to walk with me to at least a few of my classes. I knew he only did it to protect me and it worked. Emily James hadn’t harassed me this year, and because of that alone, high school was proving to be a lot easier than middle school had been.

The day I’d climbed into his truck in someone else’s stinky, oversized gym clothes had changed me forever. I’d become more confident when dealing with Emily’s cruel pranks. The last day of middle school she had tripped me. I was walking down the hallway for the very last time with my arms full of my locker contents; when I fell, notebooks, pencils, and even a few tampons went flying into the air, landing all around me. But that had been it and, seemingly, her final act of cruelty toward me. Now it was October and, in a week, I’d be turning fifteen. Emily had never looked my way again since I’d begun high school two months before.

Scarlet had texted me that she was going to Jack’s tonight. She wanted me to lie to my parents and go with her, which was common for Scarlet, but not for me. She knew before she even asked I wouldn’t do it. But she asked me anyway like she always did. Now, sitting here and having watched Asher walk inside, made me wish I was braver, wilder, and didn’t care so much about letting Daddy down.

She’d tell me all about it tomorrow anyway. The girl Asher took to his truck. Who the twins, Brent and Bray Sutton, had chosen at the end of the night. Who she, Scarlet, made out with in the dark. Or in front of everyone. To her, it didn’t matter. Even though she had her eye on Steel Sutton these days. He was in our grade and was the Sutton boy to pursue for girls our age. He seemed to be the most attainable. It was rare the older Sutton boys dated girls younger than them.

“You good with fried chicken? Jack’s cooking up fried chicken. You can run in the back and get a bucket. Get some of them fries of his, too. We’re fending for ourselves tonight,” Dad said breaking into my thoughts.

Momma went to church on Wednesday nights. Her ladies’ group bagged groceries and delivered them to the needy every week. Truth was she would have made us dinner if Daddy had allowed her. But he insisted we would eat out so she wouldn’t need to cook every night, and so we did. Every Wednesday night, just the two of us, and it was usually fried food.

“That’s fine with me,” I replied, a small thrill from possibly catching a glimpse of Asher again making my heart race. I didn’t want to act overly excited about chicken from a bar, or Daddy would get suspicious.

“Let me use your phone,” he said, extending his hand to me.

I didn’t have anything to hide from him, so I gave him my phone without any hesitation.

Daddy took my phone and called Jack, telling him what we wanted. “While your momma is gone, we might as well live it up. Reckon you can whip us up some sweet tea?”

Lately, Momma was on a health kick. It wouldn’t last long because they never did, but she wanted Daddy to consume less sugar and grease, which were the very things he enjoyed the most. She said he’d live longer that way. But he just ended up eating it whenever she wasn’t around. Like tonight, for example.

“Yeah, I can.” I might as well. If I said no, he’d just go get a beer from the case he hid inside the barn. The real kind, not the light version that Momma bought for him.

Although the chance was slight I’d see Asher from the back where I’d enter and Jack would send a server, I still couldn’t stop myself from getting giddy at the possibility. I had seen him today at school, and even though he’d talked to me and walked with me to three of my classes, always interested in what I was learning, my grades, and my new friends, I already couldn’t wait to see him again. Because even when everyone around us was calling out his name, trying to get his attention, Asher had only paid attention to me.

“Ask Jack to give us extra of that special sauce he makes,” Daddy added as I leapt from the truck. He must have been ravenous for extra sodium and a hearty dose of cholesterol.

“Okay,” I replied, thinking to myself about all the mayonnaise and fat in that special sauce and how unhappy Momma would be about that. I wasn’t going to point that out though because it would give me more time to stand there while the server ran to get the sauce, and maybe catch a glimpse of Asher.

The large, heavy wooden door that had been painted red years before I was born was a familiar sight to me. I’d only ever entered Jack’s through that back door. And only when Daddy brought me here. I’d get the food, then pay and leave. I never got to go inside through the front entrance because Daddy didn’t want me in a bar. High school students weren’t served alcohol, but they were allowed inside. Everyone but me because Jack would rat me out.

Brandon Heely was standing just inside the door with a bag of food I knew was ours. “Hey, Brandon,” I said politely. He’d been working here for years, even though he should’ve been off at college by now. But he wasn’t and probably never would be because he preferred to flip burgers at Jack’s and ride his motorcycle around Malroy, pretending to be the badass he wanted to be, but never could be.

“Hey, Dix, here’s your order.”

“Thank you,” I replied, reaching forward. “Daddy wants to add some extra special sauce,” I added, praying he had to go to the front to get some from the cooler.

Brandon chuckled. “This is his third time ordering this week. Jack says your momma has him on a diet. Is that true? Because it ain’t working if you ask me.”

Third time! Jeez! Daddy! I hadn’t realized he was sneaking off for greasy bar food that often.

“Yeah. She’ll eventually give up or catch him.”

Brandon sounded amused. “Stay right here. I’ll go get the sauce.”

This was my chance. “Okay.”

As he turned to walk away, I slowly followed behind him. I crept closer to the swinging door and just when I thought I wasn’t going to see anything before it closed in my face, I caught a glimpse of Asher, standing at the pool table, with a grin on his beautiful lips. His arm was propped on Andrea James, Emily’s older, college-aged sister. She was leaning against him, enjoying herself and Asher doing the same. She worked here, had to be at least twenty, and like her sister Emily, she was gorgeous and curvy. Now I officially hated her.

Andrea was in heels, making her almost as tall as Asher. She was leaning in to whisper in his ear when the door closed and blocked my view of them. I slowly backed away. I knew Asher was popular with the older girls. He was popular with all the girls, regardless of their age. They all wanted him because he had it all—looks, charm and football star. But I wanted him for other reasons altogether. Not that it mattered anyway. I was a kid to Asher, one he was following around to keep safe and protect from bullies at school. I was just a charity case to him and I knew that.

Brandon stepped back through the door with two containers of their famous sauce. “Here you go. Jack said to tell the old man he better not clog his arteries and have your momma up here giving him the what for.”

I forced a smile. “I will. Thanks, Brandon. Have a good night,” I said, before turning to rush out with our order. I was glad I hadn’t gone with Scarlet. I’d seen enough through that door to last me for months. I didn’t need to see anymore. My heart couldn’t bear it.

I opened the door and set the bag on the seat. Daddy pulled the order to the middle to peek inside, while I climbed back in the truck. “You get the extra sauce?”

“Yes, Sir. But three times this week? Seriously? You need to admit that to Momma. Her healthy eating regimen is making you eat even worse. Greasy bar food isn’t meant to be consumed more than once a week, Daddy. And even that’s a lot for you. Enough to kill you.”

Daddy sighed. “I’d much rather eat your momma’s greasy food, but she’s quit frying stuff.”

“That’s because she wants you to live a long time. Jack’s cooking won’t help that.”

“I ain’t gonna fuss with you about this. Your mother gives me enough grief. My granddaddy ate fried food and raw beef up until his ninety-sixth birthday, when he went on to be with the Lord. I’m just fine. Great genetics.”

My great-granddad had lived a long life and I couldn’t argue with that. I sighed and leaned my head back in my seat. I started to think about Asher, my mind going over all I’d seen at Jack’s. It was a form of torture I did not want and I knew I had to turn my thoughts to something else. Anyone else, just not a Sutton boy. Because they all reminded me of Asher. Even the youngest one, who appeared part Native American. Their momma looked like that too. The rest were spitting images of their father. My daddy always said, “Vance Sutton reproduced and made replicas of himself.”

Vance Sutton must have been really handsome because he didn’t have one ugly son. They were all striking. They just weren’t all Asher. Dear Lord, I needed to stop thinking about him.

“Tell me what you want for your birthday next week,” Daddy asked, changing the subject.

I wanted Asher Sutton to notice that I had boobs and curves now and that I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I wanted Asher Sutton to see me as something more than just a helpless girl who needed him to protect her from bad people. But these were all things that Daddy couldn’t give me. No one could.

“Put whatever you were going to spend on me in my savings account for a car.”

Daddy sighed. “How much you got saved? You’ve been working and saving for a couple years now and you still got one more year left. I’d think you had plenty by now. I told you I’d meet you halfway. Whatever you save, I’ll match.”

I wasn’t sure what I wanted yet. To be safe, I was saving all I could. If I had extra money in the end, I could use it for any problems the car had later on. I didn’t need anything else.

“I’m saving until I turn sixteen. Right now, the balance on my savings is five thousand, even with interest.”

Daddy released a whistle. “Lord, girl! I’m gonna have to take out a loan to meet you halfway at that rate.”

Of course, he was teasing. I replied, “guess you better start saving too.”

That brought a deep belly laugh from him. I smiled and inhaled the greasy chicken smell filling the truck. I might not have Asher Sutton, but I had a good life, and I was grateful for that.