Southern Hearts (Southern Love Series) (8 page)

"Can it, Ranger," Hank chuckled as he sat across
from Austin.

"I hope you let Rebecca down easy," Shane said as
he poured bourbon into their glasses.

"How do I tell this woman who is planning this wedding
that I'm in love with a woman who makes me feel awesome and takes me to places
I've never been to physically and mentally?"

"You have it bad, boy," Hank laughed.
"Honestly, if you ask me, I think Rebecca doesn't love Austin

McBride for who he is, she loves you for your millions and
the houses you own."

"I'm not going to sit here and preach to you about who
you should be with." Shane paused. "I'm pretty sure I heard enough
while you guys were in the bathroom."

Hank slapped his leg and laughed out loud.

"Hell!" Austin said, trying not to laugh at his
best friend and cousin.

"It's the truth." Shane shrugged.

"Did you see her on Snowflake?" Hank said with
admiration. "That damn horse wouldn't let anyone near her after your momma
died. You should have seen my face when I heard Farrah talking to and petting
Snowflake."

"Even Snowflake knows Farrah is the one for you."
Shane laughed.

"I don't know how I'm going to break the news to
Rebecca that I'm in love with another woman. She makes me feel these things I
never felt before. Farrah is meant to be with me." Austin stared into the
distance thinking about Farrah.

"Have you seen her since you asked for more
chicken?" Shane snickered.

"You what?" Hank asked.

Austin rolled his eyes. "Shane, you sat there
whispering in her ear, and touching her. I had to get her away from you."

"Did you notice something today? When I used to flirt
with Rebecca, you didn't care, but with Farrah you get jealous even if I look
at her. I knew the day at the restaurant you cared about her. I only have one
warning to you, cousin."

"What's that, Ranger Shane?" Austin asked.

"Don't hurt Farrah," said Hank and Shane
together.

"She has this vulnerability about her that you just
want to protect." Shane narrowed his eyes at Austin. "If you're going
to hurt her, then do us a favor and leave Farrah alone."

"I can't leave her alone, and I wouldn't hurt her on
purpose." Austin stood up. "I need to talk to her."

"You need to close one door before you open another
one," Hank said as Austin walked away from the table.

Farrah sat on the sofa drinking a glass of wine and
flipping through her mother's photo album. Touching the necklace around her
neck, she thought of her mother. She remembered sitting in the hospital with
her grandmother as the nurse came out of the room with her mother's
possessions. Farrah saw firsthand how love could hurt. Rose Rue had loved
Reggie Rue with all her heart, but it wasn't enough at the end of the day. He'd
killed her mother and his wife and left Farrah questioning what love even was.
Maybe that was why she stayed with Frederick so long and endured his verbal and
physical abuse, until he beat her so bad that she was rushed to the hospital.
Her momma visited her in a dream telling her to leave Frederick and Louisiana.

The day Farrah was discharged from the hospital, she vowed
to never look back at the past. She promised herself never to dwell on it all.
The past was what made you stronger. Closing the photo album, she thought about
Austin and the love she had for him.

Taking another sip of wine, she closed her eyes. Farrah was
afraid to follow her heart; shit, she was scared of the love she had for
Austin. It was just a matter of time before love hurt her again.

Times like this she wished she had her mother to talk to.
Her heart was heavy as she thought about Austin.

She couldn't ask him to make a decision regarding them; it
was a decision that she would have to make for them. Farrah decided she would
learn how to let go of him even though it hurt so badly.

A knock on the door startled her. Getting up, she placed
the photo album in the cabinet and checked her appearance before opening the
door. "What, McBride? Did you get the chicken?"

"I said something tonight that I want to apologize
for." Austin looked at Farrah closely; her eyes were red from crying.
"Is there something wrong?"

"Austin, we can't do this anymore," she said
softly.

"I need you in my life." He stepped inside her
house and closed the door. "I can't lose you."

"Austin, this is not fair. I can't continue to do this
to Rebecca, and she loves you." She stepped away from him. Leaning against
the wall, she folded her arms and looked at him.

"Farrah, please don't do this." He pulled her to
him and hugged her tight. "I am going to remind you that I love you. I'm
going to do whatever it takes to show you that I love you."

"You are making this hard for me," she cried in
his arms.

"I'm never going to lose you," he whispered as he
stroked her back. "I have a concert in New York, and I want you to
come."

Farrah moved out of Austin's comforting arms.
"No."

"Farrah." He picked up his phone. "I will
call Rebecca right now and tell her that I'm in love with you."

Farrah reached for Austin's cell phone, but he held it
above his head so she couldn't get it. "Austin, this is a dangerous game
we're playing." She paused and looked at him. "I will attend the
concert, but I will stay at a different hotel."

"I will arrange for your stay myself," he said,
lifting her in his arms. "When we get back from New York, I will tell
Rebecca."

Austin kissed away any and every worry that plagued Farrah
for the moment. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom where they made
love through the night.

***

Madison Square Garden was packed with eager fans who sang
along with Austin's popular song "Far Away." Farrah was a big fan of
country music; she liked watching Austin sing and do something he enjoyed.
Standing in the VIP section, she swayed her hips and nodded her head to the
beat of his song.

"Thank y'all for coming to see me," Austin said,
and for a split second, his eyes landed on her. Farrah smiled at him.

She watched in excitement as he poured his heart into
everything on stage for forty-five minutes. Austin's performance had a lot of
energy as his deep, twangy vocals echoed throughout the arena.

When Austin's set was finished, two of the biggest guys
she'd ever laid eyes upon told her to follow them.

She followed them into a busy hallway where people were
running around and talking on walkie-talkies. They stopped in front of a door
that read 'Austin McBride.'

Walking into the room, she smiled when she came
face-to-face with Austin. He wore blue jeans, a white undershirt, and cowboy
boots along with his cowboy hat.

"Hi," she said breathlessly.

"Hi, love."

Austin's southern accent made her tingle everywhere.
"Great show." She smiled as he came closer to her.

"I'm happy you enjoyed it." He kissed her.
"I'll be done in a few minutes, but I wanted to see you."

Farrah held Austin's sweaty hand. "I'm going to the
hotel." The last thing she wanted was for someone to walk in on them. She
knew that everyone in his crew knew Austin was getting married to Rebecca.

"I don't want you venturing out in New York by
yourself," he said, his face masked in concern.

"Austin, I can handle myself." She dangled the
pepper spray keychain in front of him. "Plus, I took a cab here."

"I had a limo waiting for you," he said.

"I didn't know." She kissed his lips.

"Wait a second." He reached into his pocket,
taking out his cell phone to dial a number. "This is Austin McBride. I
hired a driver for the evening. Can you please have someone here within ten
minutes?"

Farrah made herself a fruit salad and plopped down on the
sofa. "I have ten minutes. What am I going to do?" She giggled as
Austin took the plate of fruit away from her.

"I have a few ideas." He grinned.

"Stop, Austin. This is neither the time nor the place
to do that," she said, reclaiming her plate of fruit.

"Wait up for me," he said as he pulled her to him
and kissed her on the lips.

"Okay." She handed him the plate. "Eat.
You're going to need your energy for tonight."

Austin hooted with laugher as he watched Farrah walk out of
the dressing room.

"Darrell!" he called out.

"Yes, boss."

"Make sure Ms. Rue gets to the limo and to the hotel
safely," Austin said as he bit into the strawberry Farrah had been eating.

***

"Let's go out and enjoy NYC." Farrah jumped on
the bed next to a sleeping Austin. A lot of time had passed since they woke up;
it was already two in the afternoon.

"Baby, close your eyes." Austin pulled Farrah on
top of him. "Stay here and sleep next to me."

"So, no sightseeing?" She ruffled his dirty blond
hair. "I was thinking we could do the incognito thing."

Austin peeked at Farrah. "What do you have in
mind?"

"A horse carriage ride, Statue of Liberty, and dinner.
Plus, you can leave the cowboy boots, hat, and jeans here. We will be two
regular tourists." Farrah ran to the closet where she pulled out three
shopping bags filled with clothes. "So you will be wearing khakis, a polo
shirt, and a hat."

"I only wear Dallas Cowboys hats." He eyed the
bag and smirked.

Farrah smiled. "I know."

She tossed him a cap and even put on her own Dallas Cowboys
hat. "Sexy," he said.

"Let's go out!" she said, jumping on top of him.

***

After ten minutes, they walked hand in hand down Times
Square. Austin enjoyed New York through Farrah's eyes. They stopped at
different stores, buying trinkets. Austin took Farrah everywhere, including the
Statue of Liberty and Central Park. Farrah was fascinated as they walked down
5th Avenue, and Austin smiled as he pulled Farrah into FAO Schwarz.

For twenty minutes, Farrah and Austin created music on the
big piano at FAO Schwarz. She purchased candy from the store as Austin bought
her a big pink stuffed animal.

"Here." She handed him the stuffed animal she had
purchased for him, a small English Bulldog.

Austin looked at the small animal and back at Farrah.
"This is very sweet of you."

"You told me about your English Bulldog Patches that
died last year. I saw it and had to get it for you."

Austin pulled her close to him as they walked down the
street. "I will always remember this day with you."

Neither one of them noticed the man taking pictures of
them.

After being back at the hotel for an hour, Austin saw a
mischievous smile on Farrah's beautiful face. "So I made plans for
us," she said.

"What type of plans?" he asked.

"I thought we could enjoy NYC in the evening
time," she said, sitting down next to him.

"I thought we were going to dinner," he said.

"We are," she said, checking her watch. "But
we don't have to dress up."

Farrah got up and ran into the bathroom. When she returned,
she was wearing a short yellow sundress.

Austin had picked up his guitar. He stopped mid-strum when
he saw her.

"I think we should just stay in," he said,
waggling his eyebrows.

"Or you can get dressed and come with me." She
kissed him slowly. "This is our last day in New York, and I promise tonight
you will have fun and excitement but also pleasure in the end."

"Hell yeah." He put his guitar down. "Let me
get dressed, sugar," he said as he rushed to change his clothes. Farrah
sat on the sofa laughing at him.

Thirty minutes later, they sat on a blanket in Bryant Park
at dusk. Austin was surprised that Farrah had thought of everything, including
a picnic basket that contained some tasty-looking dishes. Austin had been to
New York numerous times for business and pleasure, but not once had he ever done
a movie in Manhattan.

"I like this," he said. He looked around his
surroundings, making sure that no one recognized him.

"Austin," Farrah whispered. "No one even has
a clue who you are." She smiled as she took the containers from the
basket.

"Now what do we have here?" he said, eyeing the
food. "Who made all this?"

"I went to culinary school here. I have a friend who
has a restaurant in Harlem." She opened a container of fried chicken and
held it under his nose. "He did me a favor and prepared this meal for
us."

"I might have to thank your friend." Austin
leaned forward and kissed Farrah.

Farrah touched a finger to her lip and looked at him.
"We have macaroni salad, potato salad, deviled eggs, and most importantly,
that 7up cake that you love."

"Marry me," he said, looking at her.

He watched the smile on Farrah's face vanish.
"What?" she said, looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Marry me and be my wife," he repeated. "I
love you."

"You're engaged to another woman," she said in a
low voice.

"Let me be blunt when I tell you this—I'm deeply in
love with you. I was captivated by your essence the day I met you."

"Can we just enjoy the movie and the food?" she
pleaded.

"Okay."

He would drop the conversation for now, but they
would
have this talk. He watched as Farrah spread their dinner out on the blanket.

Austin could see that Farrah wasn't going to give him the
chance to be the man she needed in her life, but nothing could make him leave
her. Sometimes he wanted to shake her and tell her that he wasn't
him
—he
wasn't the man who had caused her pain. She looked him in the eye, and he
needed for her to believe that all she needed was him and that they should be
together.

Farrah fixed their plates and sat next to him at as the
opening credits rolled. "Are you comfortable?" she asked.

"Yes," he said as he continued watching the large
screen. "
E.T
.?"

"A classic movie that I haven't seen in ages,"
she said.

"I love you," he said. "Do you love
me?"

"Yes," she said softly. "Watch the
movie."

Austin sat next to Farrah and thought about Rebecca. He
knew that she wouldn't take it well that he was leaving her. He needed to
confess his true feelings to her. He would tell her that he was sorry, but was
he really? Farrah was that better half that his father always told him about.

"Boy, when you find that special woman who
completes you, don't let her go." His father looked across the room and
watched his mother in the kitchen. "When I met your mother, I knew she was
the one the first time I ever laid eyes on her."

Farrah was the one for him. Every day he spent with her
made it clearer.

***

"I think you missed a spot." Austin stepped
into the hot shower behind Farrah.

"I thought you were leaving to go to your own hotel
room." She shuddered as he kissed her shoulder.

"I decided that I can't leave you alone."

"Really." She smirked. "I thought you
wanted me for my cooking, but now I see you want me for something else."

"Actually," he said between kisses, "I
love Farrah and want her body, mind, and soul."

"I don't think I can give them," she said,
stepping away from him.

"I don't understand you," he said, getting
annoyed with her. "I love you and you love me."

"That doesn't make it cut and dry." She
stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. "If you love
me, Austin, why are we here and still sneaking around? We had sex three weeks
ago and you've been professing your love for me ever since."

"You're asking me about my sincerity towards
you?" he asked, turning off the water. "I've just been waiting for a
good time to tell Rebecca the wedding is off, that's all."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

"What are you implying?" he shouted. He didn't
give her time to respond. "You're implying that I want to have my cake and
eat it too, right?"

"Yes!" she shouted back at him and walked out
of the bathroom.