Southern Hearts (Southern Love Series) (12 page)

"Married at the age of eighteen, fourteen years later
she's killed by a drunk driver."

Farrah turned on her side and looked at Shane. "I
don't know what to say." She squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's been a year since Sarah died. I moved out of the
home we purchased together to run away from the memories. It's hard, Farrah. I
have nothing to remember her by. I wish Sarah and I had had a child."
Shane cleared his throat and looked away from her.

"So you could still have a piece of her on this
earth?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

Farrah dabbed at the tears that trickled down her own
cheeks. "My mother always said things happen for a reason that only God
can explain."

"I know. My grandmother told me that too." He
kissed Farrah's forehead.

"I think I could live here forever."

No threatening letters, break-ins, or Austin
, she
thought.

"Yeah, but this isn't home," Shane said.

His blue eyes made Farrah shudder. She felt like he could
see into her soul.

"It's only a temporary fix."

"You're just saying that because I cook three meals a
day for you." She laughed.

"Plus you make dessert." He smiled.

Farrah observed Shane from where she lay; he was devilishly
handsome with his shaggy brown hair and alluring blue eyes. Her gaze traveled
across his nice abs; it was evident that Shane worked out every day. Whoever
fell in love with and married Shane would be a lucky lady one day.

"Farrah, did you hear me?" Shane looked at her
strangely.

"Sorry." Farrah shook her head. "Maybe we
should go in. The sun might be getting to me."

"Okay." Shane packed all their belongings and
helped her up. They laughed and talked as they walked back to their seaside
villa.

***

Farrah closed her eyes as the wind blew in her face and as
Shane drove down the sandy white beach to the Natural Pool that they had heard
so much about from Pablo, the villa caretaker. It was a must-see destination according
to him. Every once in a while, Shane would look over at her and ask if she was
okay. The road to the Natural Pool was on rough terrain; she braced her arm
against the dashboard to keep from being jerked side to side.

"You okay?" Shane shouted as he maneuvered the jeep
down the golden sand that seemed to go on forever.

"Yeah," Farrah said through clenched teeth and
opened her eyes. "Stop!" she called out.

Shane brought the jeep to a complete stop in the middle of
what could probably be called the desert.

Farrah stepped out of the jeep and took pictures of the
rustic orange rocks, but something else caught her attention: the Divi Divi
trees that she had read so much about.

"You stopped to take pictures?" he asked as he
watched her take three snapshots of the trees.

"Divi Divi trees!" she exclaimed. "The trees
always point southwest because of the trade winds."

"Oh," Shane said.

For the next few minutes, they took turns taking pictures
of each other with the trees serving as the backdrop.

Getting back to the truck, they ventured up the rocky,
bumpy hill. Farrah closed her eyes to get her mind off throwing up her
breakfast and lunch from this morning.

"You okay?" Shane asked again. Looking over at
her, he could tell she was fighting the urge to vomit.

"Yeah," she said in an effort to clear her
throat.

Farrah eyed Shane's cell phone. Temptation told her to call
Austin. Just to hear his voice. She wished she could turn her emotions off so
she wouldn't feel the pain of losing the man she loved. She thought she would
be fine by now. Sighing, she shook off the feeling of missing Austin. It would
probably take forever to get over him, but eventually she would.

"Wow!" she said excitedly as the wind whipped
wildly around them; they had finally made it to the coast.

The Natural Pool was utterly breathtaking; as waves crashed
over the rocks, she understood why people said it was one of Aruba's gems. This
was a part of heaven, a hidden pool surrounded by volcanic rocks. Farrah immediately
took out her camera and snapped pictures of the rocks and the pool. She turned
her attention to Shane, who stood before her wearing swim trunks.

"Enjoying the view?" Shane smirked and took the
camera away from Farrah.

"Hey, I wasn't finished," Farrah said.

As they continued checking out their surroundings, it was
evident that she had been caught staring at Shane's physique.

"Well, I'll be damned, the lady is blushing,"
Shane said, stepping closer to Farrah.

"No, I'm actually shielding my eyes from the sun,
which is so blasted bright," she lied.

She moved past him and took off her sarong, revealing a
two-piece bathing suit in snake print metallic.

"Close your mouth before a fly gets in there,"
she said, laughing.

"Welcome to Cura di Tortuga, or as us native people
like to call it, Conchi," a voice with an islander accent said.

Farrah saw an old woman standing next to them wearing a
huge, bright yellow sun hat. "Hi. I'm Farrah, and this is Shane,"
Farrah said with a smile.

"I'm Pala. I live over there. I'm here every day
greeting tourists who venture to the pool." Pala paused and looked at
Farrah strangely. "I also read auras."

"Oh. Okay." Farrah chuckled uneasily; the last
thing she needed was to be around some crazy, eccentric island woman.

"I can sense your hesitation." Pala clucked her
tongue. "I'm going to let you guys enjoy the pool, but I will wait here to
read you."

"Yeah. Thanks." Shane placed his hand at the
small of Farrah's back and guided her to the back of the jeep, where he took
out their snorkeling gear. "Farrah, are you sure about this?"

"Shane," Farrah grumbled, taking her gear from
him.

Last night, she had emailed her doctor in Dallas to get
permission to go snorkeling, which he said was perfectly fine.

With her mask and rubber fins in hand, she made her way
down to the pool. Shane came up beside her; they made their way down gingerly.
Shane and Farrah spent an hour in the pool checking out the awesome, colorful
marine life in the basin.

Sitting on the edge of the pool, Farrah watched as Shane
climbed a cliff and jumped into the water. "I'll give him a ten," the
woman said.

Farrah shielded her eyes from the light and looked up; Pala
was standing over her.

"I think you are right." Farrah made room for the
older woman to sit next to her on the bench. "You're heartbroken,"
Pala said softly.

Farrah's body tensed up as she looked at the woman next to
her.

"I'm sorry, dear. I don't mean to shock you."
Pala took Farrah's hand into hers. "He loves you, but he's confused,
because being together will only complicate things. Let him come to you."

"Umm, okay." Farrah didn't really understand the
lady; she could be a complete wacko. "You believe in soul mates,
right?" Pala asked. "Yes," Farrah said truthfully.

"The man you love is your soul mate. This baby you
carry in your womb is from him and your love. A child made of pure love."

Farrah put her hand to her stomach; for some reason, she
felt like she could talk to Pala. These times had been rough on her, especially
since she didn't have a mother to call upon. "Love is not supposed to
hurt."

"Dear, it takes two to love. Love is a choice."
Pala smiled. "True love is what you are experiencing; it's that unconditional
love. You're hurting right now, but I guarantee you that he is hurting ten
times more than you."

"Maybe," Farrah sighed.

Pala clicked her tongue and took Farrah's hand into hers.
"Give him time. Let him come to you."

"Farrah, are you okay?" Shane asked as he walked
towards them. Farrah noticed he was eyeing Pala suspiciously.

"Yeah," Farrah said after a while as she
continued to watch Pala.

"Here, son, help me up, would you?" Pala extended
her hands to Shane.

Shane easily helped Pala back onto her feet.

"Shane, I think you know it's time to let go."
Pala paused. "Your aura is deep red."

"What does that mean?" he asked, looking around
them like he was looking for a red light. Farrah laughed; she could tell that
Shane wasn't buying what the old woman was saying. Pala and Shane both looked
at Farrah.

"Sorry." She watched the two people attentively.

"You have a strong will. You are survival oriented,
but—" Pala started to say. "But what?" he interrupted.

"Farrah has a white sparkle surrounding her that
represents her pregnancy, and there is also one surrounding you."

Farrah couldn't control her laughter as she watched Shane's
face drop in horror. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"I wouldn't lie, son. You must have a child on the
way." Pala tapped his arm before hiking up the hill.

"Oh my," Farrah said as she tried to keep a
straight face.

"The old loon is probably crazy," Shane said
after a while.

"Is she, Shane?" Farrah teased. "When was
the last time you had sex?"

Shane dragged his hand down his face. "I'm not telling
you the last time I had sex," he said in disbelief.

"I guess we're in the same boat." She shrugged.
"I wonder who's having your baby," she sang.

Farrah laughed harder when she saw the way Shane cringed as
they walked to the jeep.

Austin checked his watch for the fourth time. Rebecca was
beyond late for their meeting, not to mention she missed the doctor appointment
that his assistant, Megan, made for her. Something wasn't right with this
picture.

She is not pregnant
echoed in his head; it was what
Shane had told him before he'd left with Farrah. Grabbing the picture of Farrah
off his desk, he looked it over. He missed watching her cook and listening to
her laugh. He cared about, respected, and loved Farrah deeply. He now
understood what his mother was preaching to him for so long before she died. He
didn't just want to tell Farrah he loved her; he wanted to show her.

Austin knew he had a lot of making up to do with Farrah, if
she would only allow him to show her that he could indeed be the man she wanted
in her life. He needed to make amends for his misjudgments. A relationship with
Farrah was what he wanted. He wanted to make her his wife and share a lifetime
loving, supporting, caring about, and learning from one another.

Headlights bounced off the walls. Austin peered out of the
window to see Rebecca's Mercedes pulling up in the circular driveway. Leaving
his office, he went to the living room to wait for Rebecca and the argument
that was surely about to happen.

"I'm here—" Rebecca looked down at the suitcase
on the floor.

"Rebecca, come have a seat," he said.

"I will stand," she said dryly.

Austin threw his hands in the air. "Have it your way.
There is no easy way for me to say this, Rebecca, but I'm not going through
with this wedding."

"What about me and the baby? We're supposed to raise
our child in a two-parent household!" she cried.

Austin's eyes went to Rebecca's small stomach, which didn't
show any signs of being pregnant. He missed her first pregnancy check-up due to
a concert, but the one time that he was geared up to go, she said the
appointment had been canceled.

Walking over to the table, Austin picked up the small brown
paper bag.

"Rebecca, if you are pregnant with my child, I will
take care of it, but I will not waste another moment being away from the woman
I love."

Rebecca put her hand on her stomach. "You loved me
before she came into the picture. Maybe we should take a trip and get back to
the way we used to be. Let's postpone the wedding and just go away for a
while," Rebecca begged.

"Rebecca." Austin tossed the brown bag to her.
"In the bag there's a home pregnancy test." Austin registered shock
on Rebecca's face.

"You want me to take a freaking test?" she
shouted.

"Yes." Austin sat there on the sofa and watched
Rebecca weigh her options.

"Fine," she said, rushing off to the bathroom.

Austin folded his fingers and thought about what Megan had
told him when he asked his assistant if she thought Rebecca was pregnant.

"Rebecca said the doctor appointment was
canceled," Megan said as she walked into the office carrying the planner
that had his schedule.

"How many weeks is she supposed to be?" Austin
asked.

"I think ten weeks, or something. I will talk to
Rebecca about the next appointment," Megan said before walking out of the
office.

"Do you think she is really pregnant?" Austin
asked.

"Honestly…" She paused, staring at him.
"No. Some women will say any and everything to keep a man," Megan
said as she left the room.

Rebecca came back into the living room without the
pregnancy test. Getting on her knees, she kneeled in front of him. "I love
you so much," she sobbed.

Austin had to hand it to Rebecca; her acting right now
could win her an Oscar.

"Where is the test?" He frowned.

Rebecca put her hand on her stomach. "Please don't do
this, Austin."

 "Why?" he shouted. "Is it because your dad
disowned you and divorced your mother? Is that why you lied about a baby?"

Rebecca's face turned red, and her hands started to
tremble. "I love you," she cried.

 "You don't know what love is, Rebecca!" he
shouted as he moved away from her.

Rebecca snickered. "I don't know what love is? You ran
around with that woman, parading her around New York like some prize."

"How did you know she was in New York?" Austin
watched as Rebecca tried to think of a lie.

"What?" she stuttered.

"How do you know she was in New York with me?" he
said through clenched teeth as he took a step towards her.

"TMZ," she answered.

Austin knew Rebecca was lying; she had a bad habit of twirling
her hair when she lied.

"You had me followed. You concocted this fake
pregnancy."

"I did it to keep you." Rebecca wiped her tears.
"Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No, Rebecca, all I wanted was the truth," he
said softly. "I tried to walk away from you with dignity and respect."

"Walk away from me? Dignity and respect?" she
huffed. "Canceling our wedding because you couldn't keep your dick in your
pants!"

Austin lost the last bit of patience he had with Rebecca.
"Look! I wasn't even intimate with Farrah before I knew that marrying you
would be a bad mistake. Someone told me that people are only in your life for a
reason, just like me and you. I found my anchor, and hopefully one day you will
find yours."

"I'm not done yet." Rebecca slapped him across
the face.

"Get out!" he yelled. "The New York
apartment locks will change. There is a cab outside to take you to wherever you
want to go."

"Fuck you!" Rebecca screamed as she pulled her
suitcase out of the house.

Austin cringed as Rebecca slammed the front door on her way
out.

Picking up the phone, Austin called Shane. For the past
week, he had been calling him to check on Farrah. During their conversations,
he could feel that Shane was keeping something from him. When he called Shane's
phone and there was no answer, Austin tried Farrah's phone, but realized at the
last moment that Farrah had changed her phone number. He didn't expect her to
relay her new number to him, especially with everything that happened between
them.

Austin always wanted to keep his personal life private.
However, he knew that now, with the breakup with Rebecca, it would be anything but
possible. He decided at that moment that he wouldn't lie or back down to other
people's opinions. Picking up the phone, he dialed Samuel's number.

"I want to release a statement regarding my breakup
with Rebecca and my affair with Farrah."

"Are you sure? This could be a career ending move for
you." Austin rolled his eyes at Samuel's theatrics.

"I don't care, I will not live a lie, nor will I allow
people to treat Farrah harshly because we love one another."

"Austin, I need you to think about this."

"No, I made my decision. Also, I want to do magazine
interviews to get the word out that my engagement with Rebecca is off."

"I will have a statement sent to your e-mail within
five minutes. I also have
GQ
and
People
magazines on standby."

Austin chuckled and ran his hand through his hair.
"You knew this was coming?"

"I knew that you were in love with Ms. Rue when you
walked into my office and started to demand I help her. Not to mention that
your eyes do this weird thing when you say her name."

Austin laughed. "God, I probably have it bad."

"You bought the woman a ranch in Tennessee, not to
mention giving her your mother's horse."

"I love her," he said simply. "I can't
picture my life without her."

Austin thought about what he had just said. It was the
truth. He couldn't picture himself living without Farrah. With Rebecca, he
couldn't imagine them having a family, his career and life together. She wanted
to live separately and didn't want to be part of his career or live at the
ranch, which was part of him. If he had married

Rebecca, it wouldn't have been because he was in love with
her; it would have been because it felt right at the moment, or because Rebecca
had been there for him when his mother died. But during the wedding planning,
Rebecca's behavior—and his own—proved to him that they weren't perfect
together.

Something happened to him when he met Farrah Rue. He
couldn't picture himself without her by his side. He couldn't imagine having
children with anyone but Farrah. His mother asked him if he could see himself growing
old with Rebecca; he used to ignore that question, but now he knew the answer.
He couldn't imagine growing old with anyone but Farrah.

***

"Shane, I promise I will be okay." Farrah sat on
the bed watching Shane pack. Since Pala had read their auras, she'd watched the
well-kept man become nervous and scared that the reading was true. "So,
who is she?"

"Who is who?"

"The woman you've been trying to reach for the past
three days." Farrah tossed him the t-shirt on the floor.

"Maybe I shouldn't go. You are pregnant with my
cousin's baby. I shouldn't leave," he said, looking at her.

"No," Farrah interrupted. "For three days, I
watched you toss and turn. Not to mention you've been staring into space since
Pala's revelations regarding your pending fatherhood."

"Fine." Shane sat down on the bed. "When my
wife died a year ago, let's just say a blast from the past was there to comfort
and help me during the first anniversary of my wife's death."

"Who is she?" Farrah asked.

"Jasmine St. Clair," Shane mumbled and leaned
back on the bed. "Her brother is my best friend and partner. One night,
when she came to see how I was doing, something happened between us. One thing
led to another, and before you know it…"

"Okay, okay. I understand." Farrah made a face.
"Do you think Jasmine is pregnant?"

"Jasmine won't return my phone calls, nor will she
talk to me."

"Oh." Farrah tossed more clothes into Shane's
suitcase.

"I'm going to Denver."

Farrah half-listened as Shane rambled off the hotel where
he would be staying. "Shane, I will be okay. I'm leaving in a few
days."

"You still have the key to my house?" He zipped
up his luggage and looked at her.

"Yes, Daddy," Farrah teased.

"I'm just making sure. I will call every day to check
on you," he promised.

The honk of the horn signaled that the taxi was there to
take Shane to the airport.

"Why don't you call him?" he asked.

Farrah shook her head. "No."

"I tried." Shane kissed her forehead and waved
goodbye as he got into the taxi.

One thing Farrah had realized about herself during her stay
in Aruba was that she always ran away from her problems instead of approaching
them head-on. Sitting in front of her computer, she toyed with the decision to buy
a ticket to go back to Louisiana. Rubbing her stomach, Farrah bought the
ticket. She needed to see her grandmother even if they were on bad terms. A
part of Farrah needed the closure of the past. Some nights she still woke up
from nightmares of her father waking her up and telling her that he had killed
her momma. She needed to forgive her grandmother and Frederick for the past. In
a few months, she would be bringing a son or daughter into this world. Her
grandmother was the only family member she had left in the world, and it was
time they made amends.