Southern Heart, Madison, Natasha [the little red hen ebook TXT] 📗

as the butterflies in my stomach flutter everywhere.

"Chelsea." He says my name now in almost a plea when he lets go of my lips for just a second but then comes back to kiss me. His tongue comes out to play with mine once again, and my arms wrap around his neck. My eyes fly open when he stops kissing me but doesn’t move away from me. "This is wrong." He looks at my lips. “I’m too old for you.”

"This," I tell him, swallowing, and rubbing my nose with his, then kissing his lips softly, "is the smartest thing I’ve ever done." I kiss him again. “I’ve waited a long time to take that chance and kiss you,” I say, going back to his lips. “Every single time I saw you, I would think about how it would be like to hold your hand. To lean over and kiss you.” He looks at me, and I hope he hears my words.

The front door opens, and I jump away from him. "Hello," I hear Amelia say as she walks into the room, both of us standing close to each other. Her eyes go from me to Mayson. "Hey," she says. "The door was open." She uses her thumb to point over her shoulder. "I’m sorry. I can come back."

"No," I say, my voice coming back to me. "It’s fine. I was just checking his bandages."

"I was wondering if you wanted to go for some lunch." Amelia comes in more now. She is the same age as I am, so we grew up more like sisters than cousins.

"You should go," Mayson says, and I look over at him.

"I’m not leaving you here alone," I tell him, then I turn back to look at Amelia, who is watching our exchange with eagle eyes. "I can’t leave him alone."

"No problem," she says. "Quinn is on his way."

"There, I won’t be alone," he says. "I’ll be fine."

"Go change," Amelia says, and I look over at her and glare. "You have blood on your shirt." I look down and see that I have a couple of spots of blood.

"Fine, I’ll go change." I look at her. "There is still breakfast on the counter," I tell Mayson, who nods at me and walks over to the island. Amelia looks at him and then at me. Her eyebrows rise, and I just shake my head. I turn around and walk to my bedroom, knowing I will have to talk eventually.

I slip on my khaki linen shorts and grab a white sleeveless shirt, tucking it in the front. I slip on my caramel Tory Burch flip-flops. Walking to the bathroom, I wash my face and look at the little red spots around my lips from his beard. I smile if just for a minute and then tie my hair back.

When I make my way back to the kitchen, I see Amelia is standing in the back of the island chatting with Mayson, and she throws her head back and laughs. She smiles when she sees me. "Ready?"

"Yeah," I say. "Can we wait for Quinn?" I ask, walking to sit on the stool next to Mayson.

"I’m here," Quinn says, coming in the front door. He looks at us. "You can go now."

"Jesus Christ," Mayson mumbles, and I look over at him. He looks sideways at me. "I don’t need a babysitter."

"I’m not babysitting anyone," Quinn says, going to the fridge, opening it, and sticking his head inside. Grabbing the plate of pie I have in there, he asks, "Is there ice cream?"

"As if I would have apple pie without ice cream," I say, getting up now. "If you need me, call me," I say, grabbing my purse. I take one more look at Mayson before turning to walk out of the house.

"So," Amelia says from beside me, and I look over at her. Her blond hair is blowing in the wind.

"Can we get into the car first before you start?" I ask, not looking at her as she laughs. "I hate you." I open her truck door and get in.

"You hate me because I see right through all the bullshit." She chuckles, starting the truck and not saying a word.

I look out at the trees as we drive into town. My eyes roam everywhere now as I try to see if anything is in the dense trees. You can’t see shit, and I close my eyes as the sun hits my face.

We get to the diner, and I get out of her truck. This diner has been around since our parents were in high school. It’s the place to be Friday night right before the football game or Saturday night if the fair comes to town. "I’m going to get a cheeseburger," I say as I slam the door shut. "With sweet potato fries," I tell her, laughing, and feel eyes on me. I turn around but seeing no one there, I tell myself it’s all in my head.

Walking into the diner, I say hello to mostly everyone. Living in a small town, you know everyone. There are no secrets in small towns, and if there are, eventually they come to light.

"Good morning, beautiful girls," Heloise says, coming over to us. "I’ll get you two strawberry milkshakes in just a minute," she says, walking past us now toward another table.

"Do you think she’ll ever see us as grown-ups?" Amelia asks me, looking around. "So what’s new?"

"Oh, fuck off," I say under my breath, looking around to see if anyone is out of the normal. If there is a weird face anywhere.

"Such language for the perfect child." She makes fun of me, and I glare. "But honestly, are you okay?"

"No," I say, avoiding her eyes and grabbing the menu that hasn’t changed in over twenty years. "And I know what you're going to say."

"Really?" She sings the word. "And what do you think I’m going to say?”

"That it’s stupid to get involved," I say, my eyes roaming over the menu. "That