Southern Charms (17 page)

Chapter 33

Twenty minutes after Xander left, Elizabeth was laughing her ass off as Wyatt told her all manner of stories about Xander from when they were kids. From what she had been able to gather, he was the youngest of the whole group that was on their way by about six months. On the other hand, if given ranks and such, he would be considered the ringleader. Most of the bigger shenanigans they pulled as kids were his ideas. The ones that weren’t, he still stood up and took the blame for when they got caught.

She was currently learning that her cowboy had a record of his own, starting when he was fifteen. He was never booked on anything overly serious, just stupid teenage bullshit and hell raising--trespassing, underage drinking, and such. None of the older boys would ever let him get in trouble for the real serious shit they pulled, though.

As a matter of fact, Wyatt and this kid named Nik each took an assault charge for him when he was sixteen, in exchange for all the ass whoopings he took for them over the years.

“You gotta understand, Sweet Pea, things are different back home. We look out for each other, and we never leave a debt unpaid. I can’t tell ya how many times Xander faced his daddy for us, and the sumbitch deserved to get his ass beat much worse than what Xander did to him. Not a day goes by I regret sendin’ his ass home to his mama ‘fore the law showed up, and I’ll bet my horse Nik’ll say the same.”

Elizabeth bit her lip while cocking her head to the side. “What favor did you owe him to be here now?”

Wyatt ran his hand through his hair, sighing. “‘Fore I answer that, I want ya to know, I’da come anyways. Xander is like the kid brother I ain’t ever had, and I’d do anythin’ for him, just like his own brother would.” Once Elizabeth nodded her understanding, he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

“‘Bout four years back, my kid cousin was in a nasty situation, a lot like the one you was in. Xander footed the bill to get her out of it. She was livin’ in England where she was going to school, and at the time, I didn’t have the money on hand to fly her home. I doubt I gotta tell ya the boy got a temper, but he don’t lose it over nothin’. It’s explosive, but he got the fuse of a saint to counteract it. When I called him to ask for help, ‘fore we even got off the phone, he had tickets bought, tellin’ me where to be and when. He went along with me to bring my cousin home, after Xander taught the little fucker the same lesson he gonna teach that Yank, iffin he ever gets his hands on him. When he told me not to worry ‘bout it, I told him to mind it, and call if ever needed anythin’.”

Pausing, Wyatt shook his head. “However, I never -not in a million years- thought he would be callin’ me for the same reason.” Scratching his eyebrow with the back of his thumb nail, “I don’t doubt that by now Xander called up Kyle and told him what was goin’ on, but I know he called me first because I can do some wicked shit with computers.”

Elizabeth thought about that for a moment, but before she said anything, a shadow passed over her from the kitchen window.

From where Wyatt was sitting, he couldn’t be seen from the outside. When he saw the shadow slide over the young lady across from him and the fear spark in her eyes, he was out of his seat, gun in hand, pulling her up and along behind him.

Moving through the halls in a ducked position, he stopped in an area with no visible line of sight from anywhere but inside the house. Looking at the girl, he put a finger to his lips. After she nodded, Wyatt peeked out from around the wall toward the front on the house. When he didn’t see anything, he looked back at his friend’s terrified girlfriend. Crooking a finger under her chin, he forced her to look him in the eyes. Once he had her attention, he asked, “You ever shoot a gun before, Sweet Pea?”

Swallowing hard, Elizabeth nodded. “A BB gun.”

“Good ‘nough.” Taking her hands, he put his 9mm in them while flicking off the safety. “You see him or anyone ya don’t know, aim high and squeeze the trigger, ya hear? This got a bit more recoil than a pellet gun, so be prepared for that.”

Stunned, Elizabeth jolted. “What?”

Giving her a reassuring smile, Wyatt lowered his voice. “It’s called a warning shot for a reason, Sweet Pea. When they look to see where it came from, they lookin’ down the barrel of a gun no matter where you aimin’. It’ll also let me know someone here that ain’t supposed to be. Everythin’ gonna be just fine, I promise. Just stay here and I’ll be right back, alright, Sweet Pea?” When she nodded to him, he smiled at her. “Atta girl.”

Once he was positive she was as alright as she was gonna get, Wyatt peeked back around the corner before getting up. Once again staying low, he moved back through the house to the front door, grabbing Xander’s rifle that was propped against the wall. After checking to see if it was loaded, he leaned against the wall to look out the window without touching the window covers.

When he saw the distorted body of someone through the glass, he cocked the gun with one hand while reaching for the doorknob with the other, glancing behind him when he heard the lady of the house squeak at the sound. It was kind of a scary noise if you’re already freaking out... and drunk. Moving his eyes back to the door when he heard voices, he glared hard before throwing the front door open and taking aim. “I oughta fuckin’ shoot y'all on principal alone, ya stupid bastards.” Taking a sick pleasure in how his ol’ buddies jumped back with their hands up, he lowered the barrel, calling back into the house as he clicked the safety back on. “You can come out now, Sweet Pea. It’s alright. It’s just mine and Xander’s dumbass friends.”

Riley and Nikolaus looked through the doorway, only to see the terrified brown eyes of the young lady Wyatt had told them about when he first called them.

Wyatt just glared at them again before turning back into the house, setting the rifle back in its place by the door before going over to Elizabeth. Crouching down next to her, he very gently -but quickly- disarmed her, clicking the safety before replacing it in the holster on the back of his belt.

Staying right where he was, he returned to glaring at his friends. “What the fuck is wrong with you two? First off, y'all ain’t even supposed to be here yet; and second, why the fuck wouldn’t ya give a little warnin’ before scarin’ the shit out of Steele’s girlfriend? You do realize he gonna fuck y'all up when he gets home, right?” Glancing at his watch, he added, “Which is gonna be just about any time now.”

Riley and Nikolaus stared at each other for a second before looking back at Wyatt and Elizabeth. Riley was the first to say something. “Sorry, Sugar. We didn’t mean to scare ya. We figured y'all heard the truck.”

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly while wiping the tears off her cheeks, Elizabeth tried to smile at them. “Don’t worry about it. It has just been a really shitty day.” Taking the hand presented to her and getting to her feet, she waved the boys in with better of a smile. “Xander ran to the store. Come on in.”

After tipping their hats to her, they did just that, shutting the door behind them and wiping their boots off, following her and Wyatt back to the kitchen.

Elizabeth went to the fridge and opened it, pursing her lips at just
how
low they were on beer. Shrugging, she grabbed two before handing them to the newcomers with a smile. “So, what are your names?”

Riley took his beer with a wide grin. “I’m Riley, but most people just call me Lee.” Nodding over at Nikolaus, he offered, “That’s Nikolaus, but he goes by Nik.”

Elizabeth smiled at them again. “Well, I’m Lizzy, but I have yet found someone that will actually call me that.”

Lee snorted. “And chances are, ya won’t. Where we come from, a lady is hardly ever called by name ‘less she married, and even then it depends.”

Sighing lightly, Elizabeth nodded, but before she said anything, the front door opened. A minute later Xander walked into the room, a case of beer in one hand and a bag of something in the other. He paused at the sight of Lee and Nik. Glancing toward Wyatt to ask what the fuck happend to an hour, he saw his girl first, her eyes still red and puffy. Glaring back at the two who were not there when he left, he set the shit in his hands down before crossing his arms, his glare deepening. “Why don’t y'all two come give me a hand unloadin’ the truck?”

Nodding to the not-really-a-question question, the boys set their beers down to follow Xander outside. They knew full well it was better to get reamed for scaring the girl to tears now, than it would be to wait until later.

Elizabeth watched after them until she couldn’t see them anymore, then turned to Wyatt, who didn’t look even the slightest bit concerned about the situation. “He’s not really mad, is he?”

Wyatt cocked a brow at her as he took a pull of his beer. After swallowing the mouthful, he nodded. “Oh, he nine kinds a pissed. He’ll give ‘em an ear full, possibly a crack on the back of the head, and it’ll be like it never happened. When it comes to this particular little gang we got, there ain’t no grudge holdin’. We deal with shit and let it go. I guarantee they laughin’ ‘bout some stupid shit when they come back in.”

He wasn’t wrong. Ten minutes later, the door opened again, the sound of laughter bouncing off the walls nearly covering the indignant voice of either Lee or Nik, she wasn’t sure. Eyes meeting Wyatt’s -who had his feet kicked up on the table and his ankles crossed- she stared with wide eyes as he lifted his beer bottle and winked, “Told ya”, before taking a drink, killing the last of his beer. Smirking at the still stunned lady, he offered, “You ain’t buds for twenty some odd years without learnin’ a few things over them years, Sweet Pea. Don’t worry, you’ll be ‘round long enough to learn.”

Blinking at him, Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder when she heard something hit the ground, then turned back and lowered her voice. “What?”

Wyatt just shrugged at her, tapping the tip of his nose before lacing his fingers together behind his head. Right as the other boys came back into the room, that same smirk on his face clearly said, ‘I know something you don’t know’.

Chapter 34

It was  more than a half hour later when there was a blaring car horn outside, making Elizabeth jump and the boys roll their eyes. Xander stood up from the table with a sigh. “Idiots.”

Xander went to the door. Leaning on the jam when he opened it, he called out. “Y'all a bunch of fuckers, know that shit?”

There was laughter as the engine was cut and the driver got out. “Awe, come Xan. Ya know your ass missed us.”

Xander snorted. “About as much as my wisdom teeth, Dom. Well, come on in. Everyone’s in the kitchen.”

Dominic followed after him. “Can’t wait to meet this girl of yours, Xan. She sounds like quite the little peach.”

Xander smirked over his shoulder. “That she is. You fuck with her and I’ll put a hurtin’ on ya, ya hear me?”

Once Xander and the last of his guests got to the kitchen, there was a round of ‘hey’s’, but Elizabeth was in a state of shock at the sight that met her eyes when she turned around.

Xander smiled at her. “Darlin’, these are the other two fuckers ya been hearin’ ‘bout. This here is Dominic, Dom for short. And this asshole is...”

She cut him off. “Patrick?”

Patrick crossed his arms with a smirk, chuckling hard. “Well now, would ya lookie here. Seems I get to kick the bastard’s ass again.”

The rest of the boys looked back and forth between the two a few times before Wyatt called out what everyone was thinking. “Y'all two know each other?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Not well, no. He lived on the floor below Brandon and I. It was him and his roommate Matt who helped me out the day Brandon got arrested. I had more interaction with Matt that night than I did him, though, since he was busy with Brandon.”

Xander gave her an indignant look while pointing to Patrick. “You got me mixed up with
this
fucker the day we met? Seriously?”

Jaw dropping, she stared at him for a minute, mouth opening and closing a few times. She had no idea what to say to that. Tripping over her tongue a few times, all she could get out was, “Uh... sorry?” and a shrug.

Xander snorted before he chuckled, “I’m fuckin’ with ya, Baby Doll. I’ve known Rick here since I was three. Matter of fact, we got mistaken for brothers till we was what...” He turned to Rick with pursed lips, “Seven? Eight?”

Rick shrugged. “Somethin’ like it. You didn’t start lookin’ like Ky till you was damn near ten.” He turned back and smiled at the still clearly stunned lady. “Matt is the only person who called me Patrick ‘sides my mama when I’m in hot water. Everyone normally just calls me Rick.” Leaning on the counter while crossing his arms, his eyes softened a bit. “How ya been, Doll? Ya had me worried ‘bout ya for a while there that night, and more than once over the last few months.”

Licking her lips, Elizabeth scratched the back of her head before shrugging. “Alright, I guess. Took about a month for the bruise to fade completely, and about six weeks for the bone to heal. I met Xander about a month after I left New York... been with him ever since. I have no current complaints.”

Xander snorted. “Better not.”

Rick glared at him. “Glad to hear it, Dolly.” Looking back at her, “I would really hate to have to stomp his ass, too.”

Xander rolled his eyes. “Like ya fuckin’ could. I’ve been kickin’ your ass for twenty years Ricky, and that shit ain’t ‘bout to change.”

Looking at his best friend out of the corner of his eye, Rick cocked a brow. “You ain’t tried in seven years Steele. A lot can change over that much time.”

Xander smirked at him. “Not that much.”

Before the two could really get into it, as they were prone to doing, Wyatt whistled. “Yo, knock it off you two. I ain’t really in the mood to play referee tonight. Y'all can fuck each other up tomorrow.” Once the two youngest settled back down, Wyatt looked at Xander. “So what’s the plan then?”

Xander shrugged. “Fuck if I know at this point. I got a competition comin’ up, and I would
really
like to not have a repeat of the last time he showed up at one. Kyle got some serious shit goin’ on right now, so he ain’t gonna be able to fly out here for at least two weeks...”

Lee cut in at that point. “And it too late for ya to back out, right?”

Xander shook his head. “Actually it’s not, but if I back out, I lose my slot in the Nationals. The one I got comin’ up is a qualifier for it. I don’t ride in it, I don’t ride in that; already a title holder or not.”

Every single person, Elizabeth included, grimaced at that. They all knew just how important that shit was to him. They were also all aware the only thing that would stop him from riding in this competition was his mama, something not even Elizabeth would fault him for. Xander had been riding long before she came along, and she wouldn’t ever expect him -or even want him- to stop doing it. It was such a large part of not just his life, but he himself, that his knuckles boasted a ‘RIDE HARD’ tattoo across them. Even with it being a spur the moment idea, it meant enough to him to brand himself for life without thought.

Over the last few months, she even fell in love with the scene. She would never try to come between him and an arena, never mind the fact that she knew she would never win that fight.

What none of them had any way of knowing was, Xander would drop it in a heartbeat if she asked him to.

Dom hummed, cocking his head a bit. “When and where?”

Glancing his way, Xander tsked. “Starts Saturday in Vegas. I’m scheduled for Sunday since I am otherwise occupied Saturday. Because I
am
a title holder, they gave me the preferred time slot I wanted.”

“Whatcha got goin’ on Saturday?”

Xander nodded his head toward Elizabeth. “My lady’s birthday is Saturday, and I promised her my time for the day. ‘Course that was made before the qualifyin’ dates came out, but since I hold five of six gold or silver titles this year, I got to keep it.”

Nik snorted. “Only five of six? Losin’ your touch there, Steele.”

Xander growled in his throat and glared at him. “I have a title in all six, Asshole. The sixth, however, is only the bronze.” Then he glared at the floor. “Fuckin’ bull.”

Nik dropped his face in his hand, sighing hard. Like five of six is the most horrible thing ever. He couldn’t understand why Xander got so pissed off about that
one
third place ranking, when there isn’t a rider in recent history to have
that
many national championships at once. There ain’t a single person amongst them that could do half of what that boy could do on a horse. He could ride circles around the lot of them blindfolded, yet he’s pissed off over a third place ranking in
bull
riding. He kinda wanted to punch his youngest friend at the moment.

“That wasn’t what the fuck I meant you jackoff, and you know it.” Looking back up at Xander, he crossed his arms. “Anyway, I ain’t got shit goin’ on for a while. You wantin’ some extra protection for your lady, I got no problems taggin’ ‘long with ya to Vegas. ‘Sides, I ain’t seen ya in action in a month of Sundays.”

Lee was the next to nod. “I ain’t seen ya ride since the juniors, and I ain’t ever been to Vegas. I’m in.”

Patrick smirked. “A weekend in Vegas and a chance to see ya eat dirt? I wouldn’t miss this shit for the world.” He laughed as he ducked the flying bottle cap aimed for his head, giving Xander the finger when he saw the glare he was receiving.

Dom shrugged. “I gotta clear it with the ol’ lady, but count me in. If anything, she’ll wanna go, too.”

Xander then looked at Wyatt, who cocked a brow at him. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere till this sumbitch is dealt with, you should know that. I been tellin’ ya since we was little, I got ya back, no matter what.”

Elizabeth looked around the room. Just because she was still drunk, she put her hand up. “Ooo, ooo, I wanna go, I wanna go.”

Every set of eyes landed on her. She smiled and giggled, breaking the mushy atmosphere in the air, causing the boys to chuckle right along with her.