Bitter Hearts (A Southern Loving Book 3) (5 page)

“I
know,” she mumbled, choosing a pencil from the holder on the table Kari started
outline the build-ins for each nursery.

Corey
took one last look at Kari “Yeah, but don’t forget that when it’s time for my
paycheck,” he joked.

“I
won’t,” she mumbled.

 
For hours Kari sat seated at her design table making drawings for the nursery
furniture for Hank with detail instruction on traditional wood stains. Her
stomach started to rumble, and it was long past time that she called it a
night. But if anyone knew Kari, they knew that she was a perfectionist and
everything had to be right including the instructions for the baby furniture.
This was her biggest order and challenge that probably would ever come her way,
especially working with someone who had so much dislike for her.

Kari
was just about to call it a night when the door chimed and open. She couldn’t
believe her eyes. A tight-lipped Hank stroll into her place of business. Their
eyes connected. Kari scrambled to get off the stool, her legs felt like jelly
as she met him in the middle of room.

“What
made you come all the way out here?” she blurted out. As soon as the words came
out her mouth Kari wanted the floors to swallow her up.

“Don’t
worry, I didn’t come out here to pop champagne,” he quipped with a smirk on his
face. “You left this at the ranch.” Holding out his hand he offered her the
green scarf.

“Oh
thanks.” Kari took the scarf from him and placed it on the desk.

“I
didn’t just come here to deliver you the scarf,” Hank said, after shuffling
back and forth. “I…came here to apologize for the way I treated you.”

Wordlessly,
she stood there staring up at him. “I can accept your apology if you can accept
mine for giving you the middle finger.”

 “Apology
accepted,” he said, and extended his hand to her. “We must shake on it.”

“Ditto,”
she said, shaking his hand.

Letting
go of her hand Hank walked around the office. “You have a nice office,” he said,
looking around the pristine white office, with a glass top desks, and nice art
on the walls, and a work area in the back that was cluttered with fabric.

“Thanks,”
she said.

“I
saw the designs you did for the nurseries and I must admit that you have a gift.”
He sighed, all of the wariness suddenly showing on his face. “Can I hire you to
decorate my cottage?”

Kari
was taken aback by his request. “You want to hire me?” she asked pointing to
her herself. “To work for you?”

“Yeah,”
he blushed, sticking his hand into his pockets.

“Wow,”
she was still in shocked. “Fine, I have to get measurements of the rooms you
want me to decorate and what colors you like.” Kari ticked off, going to her
desk she sat down and jotted down a few notes.

“Kari,
I want all the rooms done. Living room, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen.” His
voice was deep.

The
sound of his deep, smooth southern voice captivated her. Looking up from her
seat she stared into his cool grey eyes. “Oh ok-okay,” she stuttered.
“Just…um…um…give me directions to where you stay at so I can get the
measurements and we can go over colors together.”

“I
have time now,” he offered.

“To
go to your house?” she asked.

He
grinned in answer. “No. About the color stuff you were talking about earlier.”

“Of
course. Hold on.”

Hank
watched as Kari walked around the room. He noticed that she wasn’t wearing high
heels and was way shorter than his 6’2” stature. Hank had to admit Kari was a
pretty woman even with the tiredness in her eyes. She turned and looked at him
with a small smile at the corners of her mouth. Damn, her walk was like a slow
dance as her hips swayed from side to side.

“Okay,
here are the color pallets.” She waved for him to come to a large white table.

He
plopped down on the chair next to her and tried not to pay attention to how
delectable her perfume smelled. “I don’t know anything about this decorating
crap,” he said.

“What’s
your colors?” she asked.

Her
scent was intoxicatingly sweet, too sweet. He leaned away from her and took a
fresh breath of air to clear his nose and head. “I don’t know, all I want is
for my house to look different.”

Kari’s
head was tilted towards him. His jaw twitched angrily when he mentioned wanting
the house to look different. She wanted to ask him why, but figure it was none
one of her business. “Most of my single male clients always go with dark colors
for their living room and kitchen.”

“What
about the bedroom?” he asked.

“The
bedroom should be a soft place to land at the end of a long day.” She smiled at
him. “Do you have anything in mind?”

“You’re
the decorator. I’m paying you the big bucks.” He shrugged, picking up the blue
stress ball on the desk and squeezed it a few times.

“You’re
a southern man,” she said, taking the ball from him. “I would do a rustic look
for the master bedroom. I like the bedroom you did in the McBride house.”

“I
only design and build the furniture,” he bragged, as he toss the ball in the
air.

“You
did an awesome job,” she confessed, looking at him as she tucked a tendril of
hair behind her ear.

“Thanks,”
he smiled.

His
smile was warm and welcoming. It made her forget about the tension between them
and the headache she had earlier was gone. “Oh, I forgot. Here are the designs
for the cribs,” Kari said, changing the subject and putting so much needed
distance between her and Hank.

He
accepted the sketches she handed him. “I’ll get started on the pieces tomorrow.
You can come out Saturday to get the measurements for the rooms.”

“Sounds
like a plan.”

Time
seemed like it stopped between them. Their eyes locked. His eyes bore into her
sharp, whiskey brown eyes. In that instant he knew what was happening: Hank was
attracted to Kari Hayes. “I need to be get…going.” He sucked in a nervous
breath and stood up.

“Yeah.”
She stood up and walked him to the door. “Thanks for stopping by.”

Hank
put on his cowboy hat and nodded his head as he strolled out the office. Kari
stood there at the window and watched him get into his truck and drive away.

 Grabbing
her purse and turning the lights off, she locked her office front door. Buying
her townhouse on Market Street gave her the opportunity to live and work at the
same place. The first floor, housed her office and a small kitchenette. The
second and third levels were her domain. With her designing background, and the
help of a great contactor she turned the two-level into her oasis.

Going
up stairs, Kari looked around the house she paid for with her own money. Not
bothering to stop in the living room, she made her way to her glamorous bedroom
that was her favorite place in the house. The lights were already on and the
fireplace was going. Going to the dresser, she put clothes onto the metal bed
with burnished brass finish that was custom designed by her. It was the focal
point of the room. The fabric on the headboard and footboard were also custom
made gold and cream colors. She added cute gold and white ceramic succulents
that made the room pop, but it was the vintage gold ceiling chandelier made the
room come together. 

After
her shower, Kari sat on the terrace enjoying the nighttime air and drinking a
glass of red wine. Sorting through today’s mail, a letter slipped through her
hands when she saw who the sender was.  Kari poured herself another glass of
wine and gulped it down. Adjusting the throw blanket on her, she tore open the
white envelope and began to read the words on the paper.

Dear
Kari,

I’m
hopeful that you will read this letter. Two years ago you walked out my life
and I can’t blame you, but you must know that I did love you genuinely. Every
day I suffer from the guilt of abusing your love and trust.  We may not be
together anymore, but I’m still in loved with you.

I’m
told that you live in Nashville now. I’m traveling there for business and hope
that you will give me the privilege of meeting with you….

There
was more to letter but Kari didn’t want to read it. Standing up, she walked to
the glass fireplace and tossed the letter in it. She wasn’t that same woman
that she was two years ago. How could the man she respected and love break her
heart and cause her to sob for days? Sitting back down in her lounge chair, she
wished she could forget the way she loved him. But no matter how much she tried
to forget there were always memories of the love she had for Sam that haunted
her.  Kari didn’t want to be in the same room as Sam, and she didn’t want to
read a letter detailing how sorry he was either.

After
the breakup with Sam, all she wanted to do was lay in bed and forget the hurt
and pain that he caused. Closing her eyes she could feel the temperature
dropping.  It’d been two year but her heart was still hurting like it was
yesterday. Kari didn’t want to admit it but she was miserable and bitter. A
gentle breeze blew over her and she realized that she couldn’t continue to live
like that. Kari felt trapped and that she couldn’t get a grip on her own life.
It was time for her live, love, and trust again.

***

Hank
sat on the bed with his head in his hands.  It was nearly 10 o’clock at night
and there was no sleep in his future. Since Natalie left him months ago, he was
unable to sleep. He kept thinking what he could have done differently to make
her stay. All the signs pointed to that love was lost. Hank called and texted
Natalie every day begging her to come home. He wasn’t ready to let her go even
though she was with another man. He kept hope that one day she’d come home and
put her key through the door. But maybe it was time for him to stop pretending,
she obviously didn’t want to make it work.

Standing
up from the bed, Hank went to the dresser drawer and pulled out Natalie’s
clothes and started to pack them up in boxes. Maybe in the future she would
come back, but until then he would have to let her go. Picking up the wedding
picture of them, Hank traced Natalie beautiful face. Why couldn’t she love
him?  He gave her everything that she needed and wanted. Tears blurred his
vision as he threw the pictures and empty jewelry box against the wall.  What
was wrong with him? What could he do to make her love him? He would do anything
for her to love him.

Stumbling
out the bedroom he made his way to the kitchen and fixed himself a glass of
bourbon. He was drunk, angry and hurt. He didn’t need love or a woman to make
him happy. It would take the whole bottle of bourbon to help relieved the pain.
He made a lot of scarifies for her and the only thing he got in return was a
slap in the face.

Natalie
was gone and now he was left to pick up the broken pieces. He felt like he was
caught in a maze and all he was doing was going around in the circle. Hank felt
like was lost and there was no way out this hellhole. He couldn’t see no light
guiding him out of his darkness. Somehow, he had to find his way out the dark and
back home, until then he would be wandering around in agony.

Chapter Three

Saturday
came by swiftly. Kari found herself wondering where the week went as she drove
to Hank’s house. She was surprised to find out that he lived on Southern Hearts
Ranch too. Following his directions, she turned on the private road that lead
straight to his house. It was hard not to gaze out the window and at the horses
and cattle in the pastures.

Driving
up the hill, Kari’s mouth gaped open as she looked at the two-story white and
brown Tudor house that held characteristic with its weeping mortar brick
exterior, flared eves arched, gables, and triple-stacked chimneys. The house
was a new model but Hank added Grand stone and wrought iron and lush
landscaping to give it a dated look. The house had to be at least three miles
away from the main house and sat on twenty-one acres. Kari was in complete
shock. Hank must be confused on what a mini mansion and a cottage was.  This
house was grand and nothing like a crackerjack cottage.

Parking
next to his red truck in front of the garage, Kari made sure she had workbag as
she got out. Trekking up the stone pathway to the front she knocked on the slightly
ajar classic wood door and waited for Hank. Knocking for the second time, she
walked inside the house which was an utter masterpiece with a gourmet kitchen,
dining and living room area.

“Hank!”
Kari called out.

Normally
she would’ve stopped at the foyer, but her curiosity got the best of her. The
walls were painted a light tan color, but the furniture didn’t match the
function of the home. Kari noticed the house lacked personality. The heavy
drapes prevented natural lights from shining into the house.

 Instead
of going up the stairs, she journey down the hallway and opened the second door
on the left. She inspected the master suite; it’s generous size with a tall
stone fireplace and a sitting room. Her high heels clicked against hardwood
floor as she walked to boxes stacked onto the king size bed. Even with the
floor to ceiling windows the bedroom felt cold and empty.

Walking
over to the window, she started to pull open the drapes, when she kicked a
glass bottle. Reaching down Kari picked up the bottle that read “Jack Daniels.”
Turning back around, she went to the boxes and opened one. There were women’s
clothes in one box and another was filled with a broken picture frame. Picking
up the frame, she saw a wedding photo of Hank and whom she assumed was his
wife.

“What
are you doing?” he barked.

Kari
was startled and snatched her hand from the frame, but in the process the glass
cut her hand open. She gasped and closed her hand as blood trickled down her
hand. “I’m sorry,” she said, rushing pass him,

Hank
put his arm out to stop her.  “Let me see,” his voice was full of concern, as
he gripped her hand in his. “It’s a minor cut, let’s get it cleaned up.”

“You
shouldn’t have scared me,” Kari said, as Hank ushered her to the kitchen.
Sitting on a barstool she held her aching hand as Hank pulled out a first aid
kit from a cabinet.

“Then
that means you shouldn’t have been snooping in my belongings.” He sat the kit
on the table and started removing items from it.

“Your
right,” she said, trying to give him the puppy eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Umph”
was all the he said, before he started to clean up her wound.

“Sshhit.”
Kari tired snatching her hand away from Hank when he poured alcohol onto the
cut. “That hurts.”

“Wow,
someone is a baby,” Hank chuckled.

“I’m
not a baby,” she said softly. It was hard for her not to focus on Hank’s
fingers gently tracing her hand. Kari tried not to look at him, but she
couldn’t resist. Those hard callused hands that reminded her of the hard work
he did every day.

“You’ll
survive,” he said, as he finished wrapping her hand with a gauze.

“You
will too,” Kari said, looking into his grey eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have
said anything.”

Hank
stood up and started to clean up the remnants from the first aid kit. “My wife
took a wrecking ball to our marriage and destroyed everything in her wake. I
have to live with these scars that she left on my heart.”

“How?”

Sitting
there on the barstool, Kari would’ve never pictured that the handsome, strong
man in front of her was suffering from a broken heart. Everything was making
sense now. He was trying to erase the memories of her from the house.

“I
don’t know,” he said truthfully. “Life goes on, right?”

“She
doesn’t know what she had in you,” Kari said, clearing her throat.
You’re
here for work; it’s not time to socialize.
“I should…get those
measurements.”

Hank
watched as Kari went to her workbag on the sofa and pulled out what appeared to
an electronic tape measure. He watched her moved swiftly from each side of the
room getting measurements. When she asked him ‘How he would survive with the
scars from his wife deception,’ Hank had seen the brief sadness in those brown
eyes.

“What
colors do you want for the living room?” Kari asked, with her eyes glued to the
clip board in her hand.

“Why
don’t you tell me what you envision?” His crossed his arms over his chest and
stared at her intently.

“Ok.”
She put her finger on her chin and circled around him like he was a prey. “Your
masculinity oozes out, so does your southern roots. This house is rustic and
beyond magnificent. You should incorporate that in the style of your home.”

“I
like where you’re going,” he said, while he nodded his head.

“Let’s
go with earth tone colors that will absolutely go great with the hardwood
floors and the big stone fireplace. A round, wooden carven chandelier with
electric candles.”

“See,
you just re-decorated the living room,” he said proudly.

“Ok,
then.” She clasped her hands together and reclaimed her seat on the barstool.

“What
are you doing for lunch? I have some ribs bathing in some in my famous sauce.”

“I
don’t think that’s appropriate,” Kari said, tapping away on her iPad.

“Wasn’t
it improper for you to go poking through the belongings in my room?”

Kari
groaned and stopped typing. She looked up from her iPad at Hank, who wore a
grin on his face. “Fine,” she said, putting down the electronic device. “I’ll
have lunch with you because obviously, I don’t have anything else to do on a Saturday.”

“Good.”
Hank went to the refrigerator and took out ribs on an aluminum tray. “I can put
you to work with peeling potatoes.”

“Potatoes
for what?” she said, scrunching up her face and looking at her newly manicure
nails.

Hank
slapped his forehead. “Damn sugar, I forget that you didn’t want to get messy.
Just pull up a chair and watch me cook.”

Kari
could recognize the insult that was coming from Hank. Instead of going back and
forth with him, she waltzed over to the wall and picked up the apron that said
“Kiss The Cook” and tied it around her waist. “I don’t know… how to cook,” she
said, looking down at her feet.

“What?”
he said in disbelief. “How do you eat?”

Kari
wanted to tell Hank that since growing up she had cooks and maids at her
service. Moving to Nashville she let that rich life go to live a more practical
life. “I never learned how.”

“Did
your mom cook?”

“Nope,
but she knew how to eat,” she said truthfully.

Hank
laughed. Reaching in the kitchen drawer he handed Kari a peeler. He noticed the
way she stared at the utensil as if it was a foreign object.  “It’s a vegetable
peeler.”

“I
knew that,” she lied.

“Here,
let me show you how it’s done.” Hank picked up a potato and demonstrated to
Kari how it was done.

“Ooh,
that’s easy,” she replied, picking up a potato and mimicking Hank’s action.

“So,
what do you eat when you’re at home?” Hank asked.

“Well,
there are plenty of restaurants and not to mention I can eat cereal at night.” She
smiled, peeling the potato.

“I’m
going to toss these on the grill and I’ll be right back.” He walked out the
kitchen carrying the tray full of ribs.

By
the time three o’clock rolled around Kari and Hank were sitting down to an
old-fashion southern lunch that consist of BBQ ribs, potato salad, and bake beans.
The outdoor patio by the pool was set today, and the weather was pleasantly
nice and sunny. A few clouds in the sky would occasionally pass over blocking
out the sun. Throughout the afternoon, they would catch each other taking
subtle peaks at one another.

For
some unexplained reason, there was a twinge of excitement passing through her.
Kari didn’t know if it was because she enjoyed spending the time with Hank as
he taught her how to cook or if it was because she couldn’t’ wait to bite into
the delicious food that he’d prepared.

Hank
fixed Kari a plate and sat it down and front of her next to a mason jar filled
with iced tea and lemon. “Thank you,” she said.

“You’re
welcome, doll.”

He
ate his food but couldn’t take his eyes off of Kari as they made small talk.
She bounced happily as she chewed; everything about Kari was cute even the way
she ate. Just by the way she carried herself, Hank knew that Kari was from a
different lifestyle than he was accustom to you. Yeah, he lived in a nice big
house that he worked his ass off for, but Kari came from money. Her mannerisms,
the way she scooped her food from the plate, and how she sipped her drink.

“So
Mr. Jackson, are you a cowboy?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“What
do you think a cowboy is?” He fired back at her.

“Let
me.” Kari picked up her cell phone.

“What
are you doing?” he asked, with an amused looked on his face.

“Getting
the definition.” She looked at him with a coy smile before reciting the
definition. “A cowboy is an animal herder who tends to cattle on a ranch on
horseback and performs multiple tasks on the ranch. So I ask you again Hank,
are you a cowboy?”

“What
made you think of me as a cowboy?” He gazed at her as he ate a spoonful of
potato salad. “Was it the blue jeans, belt buckle, boots and cowboy hat?”

“Maybe.”
Kari took another sip of her beverage, nervous from the way Hank was staring at
her. “Are you?”

“I
think most people would consider me one.” He winked at her.  When Kari smiled
at him something huge started to happen with enormous uncertainty that was
growing by the minute, as she talked and grinned at him. It was a new feeling
that was indescribable. There was no name he could attribute how he was feeling;
it made him get goose bumps.

As
their plates emptied, Hank knew it was about time before Kari said that she was
leaving but he wasn’t ready. His heart screamed for him to push to the front
door and say goodnight, but his something else was telling him to the opposite.
It felt good to have someone to pay attention to him the way she did. Sometimes
their eyes would meet when they agreed on the same thing, or their hands would
accidentally touch one another’s only for them to smile, nod awkwardly. They
both tried to appear that they weren’t bothered by the fact they were attracted
to each other.

It’s
only lunch, Hank reminded himself. He would admit that Kari was a beautiful,
smart and creative woman. When their eyes locked over the table, Kari’s
demeanor was different from the first time they met. Was she starting to feel
what he was feeling? Hank was going against all his instincts. His wife of three
years just left him for another man, Natalie taught him to never fall in love
with woman like Kari who loved the flashy life. Hank told himself he would
never be that love sick man again.

No
, he
thought to himself. He couldn’t allow himself to break every rule he’d put in
place to protect his heart. Just because Kari was a pretty girl with a nice
body shouldn’t make him swoon to the temptation. As Hank continued to look in
those whiskey color eyes, the feeling that was growing every second that
passed, only intensified. He had to look away from her.

“Do
you want dessert?” he asked, trying to make this lunch date between them last
longer. Hank was confused and startled at this feeling that he never felt
before, even with Natalie.

She
shook her head and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I shouldn’t.”

Hank
nodded his head in agreement. He sat there in silence looking at her. He was
hot, uncomfortable and full. He focused his gaze to the trees in the distance.
The air between them became heated. Neither one of them moved an inch from
their respective seats.

“I
should help you clean up,” Kari offered, and stood up with her plate.

“No,”
he said, standing up quickly. “Don’t worry about the dishes.”

“No
seriously,” she said, picking up his plate.

“I
don’t even know if you know how to wash dishes,” Hank pondered aloud. Kari’s
head snapped up so hard. If looks could kill he would be dead. “I didn’t mean
anything…”