Southern Secrets (Southern #7) - Natasha Madison Page 0,17
are a pain in the ass," I finally say, instead of saying she is right.
"Well, good news, then." She presses the button to open her car door. "I take it you will be coming to sleep in a bed tonight instead of a back seat?"
"Do I have a choice?" I ask, reaching out to open her door.
"We all have choices, Asher," she says, standing in front of me. "You have a choice to be an idiot and sleep in the back of your truck …" She tilts her head to the side, and even in the dark of the night, I can see the crystal in her eyes. "Or you can take me up on my offer and sleep in a bed that does not have bedbugs but that has been thrown up on and cleaned."
I laugh at her. "Well, when you put it that way, how can I say no to a bed that once had vomit on it?"
"Good choice," she says. "I’m going to pick up food on the way home. If you get there before me, the garage code is one, two, three, four."
"Your garage door is one, two, three, four?" I ask, shocked. "Your uncle is Casey Barnes, and you have one, two, three, four as a fucking code?"
She rolls her eyes at me. "You can change it if you like." She reaches out and grabs the door handle. I help her close the door, and I stand here, watching the car drive away.
Shaking my head, I grab the phone out of my pocket and walk back to the door of the bar. I turn on the flashlight and point it toward the spotlights that are out and I see that there is a hole in one of them. I look down at the ground and see the small pieces of glass on the ground. I snap a picture of the light and then walk over to the other one. I can’t see anything wrong with it.
I walk back to my truck and feel eyes on me. I turn around with my flashlight from my phone looking around. "Hello," I say to no one. I turn from one side to the next seeing no one there, but still feeling eyes on me.
I look at the clock and see that it’s almost eleven and I don’t know who is up. Instead, I send a text to Ethan, Casey, and Jacob.
Me: There is one busted light at the bar. Is there a camera feed?
My phone rings in my hand. I look down and see that it’s Jacob.
"Hey." I start my truck now.
"What do you mean the lights are busted?" Jacob asks right away, and I can hear rustling in the background.
"I was walking Amelia out of the bar, and I realized it was pitch black. She thought the lights were out, but when I went back and checked, I saw one busted. I can’t see the other one in the dark, but I’m going to come by tomorrow and change it."
"I told Beau that he should get cameras up," he says. "I’m going to call Casey tomorrow to see."
"While you are doing that, you should know that her garage password is one, two, three, four," I say, and he hisses out and groans.
"I thought she was joking," he says. "That kid is her mother’s daughter."
I smile because as much as I want to agree with him, I see a lot more of Jacob in her than I do Kallie. But I only know Kallie from a handful of times I’ve seen her at the barbecue. "Where are you staying tonight?" he asks, and my stomach burns when I think of the answer.
"I was going to stay in the truck," I say, "but Amelia said I could stay in her spare bedroom."
"If you don’t want to stay there," he says, "you can always come and stay with us."
I look down, the heat rising in my neck, and my stomach rises and falls. "You don’t have to do that."
"Please," he says. "Listen, Asher, I know you’ve just come into town, and I know you have a great job and position at the farm," he says, "but I’d like to talk to you about your options."
"My options?" I repeat the words, not sure what he means by this.
"You ever think of going into law enforcement?" he asks, and I tap the steering wheel. "I’d love to sit down with you and talk to you more about it."