Southern Admirer (Southern Loving Book 2) (12 page)

“Calm down and think,” he uttered. “Miraculously
you come home to find that in our bedroom.” He nodded at the panties on the
floor in the living room. “Sarah, I’m not even going to entertain you.”

“You think I’m an idiot? I will not stand for you
cheating on me with her.”

Shane appeared to be confused. “Who the hell is
her?”

“Jasmine!” Sarah stormed into the living and
snatched the panties off the floor. “These are her that’s the only bitch I know
who wears a size eight in Victoria Secret panties.”

“Jazz has never been here.”

“Oh, here name is Jazz now? When did you start
giving her a nickname? Before or after you fucked her.” Sarah tossed the
panties in his face. “Smell them like the dog you are.”

Shane tossd them onto the floor. He poured the
remaining of his beer out and grabbed his car keys. “I’m leaving,” he said
walking out the door.

***

“Self-righteous son of a bitch,” Jasmine mumbled.
No one knew about her problems with Sarah except for her ex-best friend Sandra.
She kept her lips tight about the problems that Shane’s wife was causing her,
maybe it was her fault and the secret crush that she had on him.

Undressing Shay and swaddling her in a pink
blanket for her first photo shoot, Jasmine ignored the knock on the door, and
she didn’t want to talk to him. Maybe being single was a good idea for her, she
needed to just focus on her daughter. The door crept open slowly and Shane
poked his head in.

“Brenda the photographer is here,” he said,
looking at her.

“Okay, can you grab the bags by the door?” she
asked without looking at him. Picking Shay up gingerly from the bed, Jasmine
walked passed him but not before Shane stopped her.

“I’ll talk to you after the photo shoot,” Shane
said against her ear.

Jasmine didn’t bother to reply to him, because he
didn’t ask her; it was more like an order.

For the next hour, Jasmine busied herself with
helping Brenda pose Shay for her first close up with the camera.

Shane sat back in watched different photos being
snapped of Shay including a princess one with a tiara on her small head,
beautiful big flower bow and wearing a tutu. Jasmine even incorporated pictures
of Shay sleeping on his old guitar. Not to mention she added some of his
western flair to the pictures with Shay napping in on his black saddle that
read “McBride” with a pair of pink and black cowgirl boot. His eyes started to
tear when he thought about the work Jasmine went through to make this day
special.

“Okay, Shane take off your shirt,” Brenda said,
looking at him with a huge smile.

Shane looked at the blonde middle-aged
photographer, who flirted with him when she first laid eyes on him. “For what?”
he asked turning his attention on Jasmine.

“I want you to take a picture with Shay.” Jasmine placed
Shay into the bassinet and stood in front of him. “I think it would be nice, if
you took a picture with Shay without the shirt.” Her eyes traveled down to his
well-fitting blue jeans.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, watching
Jasmine carefully.

“I’ll be right back,” she giggled, and ran down
the hall to retrieve his white cowboy hat. “Cowboy dad with baby daughter.”
Jasmine placed the hat on his head and proceeded to unbutton his blue flannel
shirt.

“Are you still mad?” Shane asked, gazing into those
dreamy brown eyes of hers.

Running her tongue over her bottom lip, she looked
up at him. “Can we focus on Shay’s photo shoot?” This wasn’t the time nor place
for them to have this conversation, especially with Brenda taking picture of
them interacting with one another.

Jasmine sat back and watched as Shane cradled Shay
in his strong arms. Her eyes were glued to Shane’s superb body. There was no
fault in his lean muscular, hairless body. Her fingers craved to touch the
black star tattoo on his chest and the tribal tattoo on his upper arm.
Jasmine’s skin crawled when she heard Brenda whistling at Shane like she was at
some strip show.

“Let’s do a picture with all three of us,” Shane
suggested.

“What?” Jazz said, as she tried to think of an
excuse why she shouldn’t be included in the pictures. “I haven’t lost all my
baby weight.”

“You looking fine, doll,” he said, holding his arm
for her to come join him.

Sighing, Jasmine walked over and took Shay from
his arms. “Let’s just start,” she said, plastering on a smile. When Shane
wrapped his arms around hers, Jazz had to remind herself to breathe.

“Can you guys give me more love and happiness?”
Brenda asked as she stopped to change her film.

“Jasmine,” Shane said her name softly. Turning
around, she looked up at him. “Are you still mad at me?”

Exhaling the breath she was holding. She wasn’t
really that mad, okay she was but- she didn’t really know. “I would be lying if
I said no,” she replied.

Shane looked guilty. “Jazz, I shouldn’t have blown
up at you, I do apologize.” He never wanted Jasmine to be mad or sad, she meant
a lot to him. Maybe more, but he wasn’t willing to admit that.

“We need to talk, because I don’t want these big
blow ups to come between us.” Her voice was like a whispered.

“I’m seriously sorry, if I made you feel
insignificant. I really want to make this work with you.”

Shay wiggled and started to fuss.

“It’s okay my love,” Jasmine said as she patted
Shay on the back. “You want our co-parenting to work out.”

“No…yeah.” Shane took off his hat and ran his
fingers through his hair. He didn’t know what he truly wanted. “We have history
and always will… I mean, we’ve been together already for three weeks now and
we’ve been intimate.” He pointed at their daughter. “We’ve done some incredible
things together and created this amazing human being.”

Jasmine made a face. “I’m confused.”

“I believe we are good together, when we allow the
chemistry between us to flow. There might be something good that come out of it
besides Shay,” Shane said and Jasmine suddenly laughed.

Why is she laughing? Was this a good sign for
them? But he would take hearing her laughter any day of the week.

“Stop laughing,” he said, trying not to be
offended and Jasmine only laughed harder. That caused him to laugh.

“I think I needed that laugh,” she said, after
their amusement died down.

Picking her hand up and intertwining their fingers
together. “Jazz,” he whispered. Lifting her head up, her confused eyes bored
into his. He leaned down and kissed her.

Slapping Shane never cross her mind. She kissed
him back as his hands wandered to her waist, her body was fire from one simple
kiss.

That kiss was a symbol of something more that was
being captured by Brenda’s camera lens. These two people had feelings for one
another big time.

Just as the kiss was deepening, “I’m done,” Brenda
said loudly enough for them to hear her.

Jasmine pulled away from him and took and stepped
away, chuckling nervously. “Thanks.

Shane knew they had a lot to talk about regarding
Sarah and the kiss. It was time they stopped hiding from one another and just
talk for once.

“Shane, can you dress Shay while I finish up with
Brenda?” Jasmine was already handing him a cranky baby that started to pee all
over him.

“Your mom is leaving me with the hard work,” Shane
said to Shay as he walked down the hall.

“Thank you so much,” Jasmine said as she helped
Brenda pack up. “I can’t wait to see the pictures,”

“I should have them ready in a few days,” she
replied.

“Thanks, could I actually pay extra to have them
ready by Friday?” Jasmine asked. She wanted each guest to take home a birth
announcement with Shay’s picture on it.

“No problem,” Brenda said and gave a look of
dissatisfaction at Jasmine before walking out the door.

Slightly taken aback by the woman’s behavior, she
didn’t have time to analyze Brenda’s evil glare because there were still a lot
of things she had to take care before the party in three days.

***

Shane had been so busy in the last month that he
neglected Soldier, the first horse he’d ridden since he was eighteen-years old.
He brushed the chestnut coat. The name Soldier fitted his horse so well, not
because most people thought Mustangs were a spitfire, which they were. Mustangs
possessed agility, sensibility, alertness and hardiness that other horses
didn’t have.

“I miss you boy,” Shane said and received a neigh
from Soldier. He laughed and went back to brushing him.

“Are you about to ride?” Austin said as he walked
into the barn.

“Yeah, I should be saddling up in a minute.”

“I’ll take a ride with ya.” Austin was already
making a beeline to the spotted brown and white Pinto horse named Timber.

“We haven’t ridden together in a long time,
cousin,” Shane said as he put the brush down and started to saddle Soldier.
They used to always ride out early in the morning or late at night to talk
about the problems in their life.

Twenty minutes later, they were hitting the trail
as the sun shined brightly down on them. This was the place where they could
discuss anything from politics to jobs to love life.

“So tell me what’s eating at you,” Austin said,
looking they started a slow gallop.

“I slept with Jasmine,” he blurted out as they
stopped in a grassy pasture.

“I’m not even shocked to hear that,” Austin said
with a smirk. He could have teased his cousin relentlessly, but the look of
regret on Shane’s face told him it wasn’t the time or the place.

“Every time I laugh with Jasmine or kiss her I
feel guilty—”

 “For living? Shit, if Sarah were here right
now… One… your ass would probably be miserable and …two…you guys would have
been divorced,” Austin interrupted. He wasn’t going to sit up on Timber and
tell his cousin what he wanted to hear.

Shane sighed and took off his cowboy hat. “I have
the opportunity to live and be happy. You ever have the feeling like you gave
Rebecca the wrong end of the stick?” Shane realized his choice of words were
problematic. “Let me explain this better.”

“Yes, please do,” Austin said with a scowl.

“Austin, you made plans to marry Rebecca, slid a
ring onto her finger. She was led to believe that you guys were going to get
married and spend the rest of ya’ll lives together. Now you’ve fallen in love
with another woman and having a child together in a few months.”

“I regret the way things were handled with Rebecca
but I know that I would have been miserable with her, just like you were with
Sarah,” Austin said, staring into the open distance. Getting off his horse, he
walked to the white fence that separated McBride ranch from the rest of the
world. Horses thundered by in the open field.

Letting go of a sigh, Shane hopped off Solider,
holding the reins he walked toward the fence where Austin stood. “I’m not
saying you ruined Rebecca’s life…” he rambled.

“You are going to live a pitiful life,” Austin
said quickly. “Wandering around this earth with guilt and regret. Pity party
for one because I’m not interested in joining that party.”

Taking a deep breath, he leaned against the fence
and looked up at the dark sky and smelled the air around him, fresh dirt under
his feet. The smell of the horses galloping in the meadows felt good. He
couldn’t look at his cousin because a part of him was ashamed for starting a
new life with Jasmine.

“You love her!” Austin said shockingly.

“A part of me does love Jasmine,” he admitted.
“I’m not a man who can easily admit that I’m scared. I failed Sarah and the
thought of failing someone else hurts. I’m scared.”

Thunder rumbled overhead and the skies gave way,
soaking them to the skin in a matter of seconds. “Time don’t wait for no man,”
Austin yelled over the heavy rain as they mounted their horses and made a mad
dash back to the barn.

Putting their horses up for the night in silence
Shane thought about Austin’s remark about time not waiting for any man. “It’s
not about time.”

“What is it about?” Austin asked, looking
confused.

“I can’t be Jasmine’s heartbreak, she deserves
better than me.” Shane walked out the barn.

Jumping into his truck, he drove four miles down
the dirt road to his house. Pulling up to the house, he sat in the car
listening to the radio. Somewhere, he allowed himself to get lost in Jasmine’s
presence. She made him forget the past and brought change into his life.
Turning the car off, he stepped out the truck and ran to the house.

Walking into the house he was greeted by Jasmine’s
sweet laughter as she laid on the floor in front of Shay, who was positioned on
her tummy.

“What are you doing?” Shane asked.

“It’s called tummy time.” Jasmine looked up at him
for only a second only before reverting her attention back to Shay. “The baby
book said this will strengthen her neck muscles, which will help her roll over
and crawl.”