Southern Charm Read online

  Southern Charm

  By

  Leila Lacey

  Family Legacy Series

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 by Leila Lacey.

  All rights are reserved in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. The scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes) prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. Editing by: Geri Hansford who may be contacted at: [email protected]

  This book is lovingly dedicated to my grandmother Gladys. Thank you for being so good to me. I miss you more than words can say.

  CHAPTER 1

  “Shelby, yoo hoo, Shelby darling over here,” Shelby Beasley’s sister, Savannah, said when she saw her sister walk into the Country Club Restaurant to meet her and their mother for lunch.

  “Savannah, for God’s sake; put your hand down!” Shelby’s mother, Sarah, said in her distinct southern drawl. The Beasley’s were a wealthy and well known family in the town of Shelbyville, Georgia.

  The Country Club restaurant was built in 1858. John Beasley had this building commissioned to be designed and built by the famous New York architect, James Manson. Completed in 1859, this building was originally used as a warehouse and later housed Lunyard Shipping Company. The lower floors were known as the Lower Range and the top floors as the Upper Range.

  During the War Between the States, General Sherman’s lesser officers used this building’s empty offices for housing and planning space. The main dining room showcases a map that was hand-drawn by Union soldiers detailing Sherman’s march from Tennessee through Georgia. The Beasley family was one with deep roots in the community so were expected to look and behave a certain way.

  “Oh for Pete’s sake, Momma, don’t get your feathers all ruffled! I was just trying to get frumpy Sally over there in her chair as soon as possible so as few people see her as possible,” Savannah said to her mother sitting back into her chair pouting.

  “You better watch your tone, young lady!” Sarah said in a hushed angry tone to her daughter. “I swear, sometimes you get too big for your britches. I am not your father. I am not wrapped around your middle finger. Do not forget that!”

  “Hello, Momma,” Shelby said arriving at the table and kissing her mother on the cheek before sitting in her own chair. “Hello, Savannah! How are you today?” she said smiling to her sister.

  “Shelby!” Savannah said rolling her eyes at her sister and taking a sip of her Mint Julep.

  “Well, who put a bee in your bonnet today?” Shelby said curiously.

  “I would say that it was being expected to have lunch with you AGAIN, looking like a slob and claiming you as my sister,” Savanah said rudely.

  “SAVANNAH!” Sarah said to her daughter. Don’t you DARE speak to your sister that way!”

  “It’s ok, Momma! I know Savannah hates me without the hateful vile words that come out of her mouth toward me,” Shelby said sadly. Shelby was what some would call the ‘ugly duckling’ in the family. She had chocolate colored skin like her father but hazel colored eyes like her mother. She is 5’5” when her sister and her mother were 5’ 10”. Her father and brother were 6’4” and of course the thing that they hated the most about her, while the rest of her family was slender and athletic, Shelby was a plus-sized woman that wore a size 18. Shelby graduated from high school when she was 16 and went to Harvard, graduated with her PhD in Art History and a Masters in Public Administration. To her mother she was a walking disappointment because she was overweight.

  Pretending to be playing the violin, Savannah rolled her eyes heaven ward. “Honestly!” her mother said slapping her arms down. Right then a waiter approached their table. “Can I take you order miss?” he said to Shelby.

  “Hello James! How are you today?” Shelby said to him smiling.

  “I am busy as a stump-tailed cow in fly time, Ms. Shelby! How are you?” James said. Shelby knew all the people that worked for her family locally on a first name basis and some of them she knew their families as well. Shelby had never seen her status or money as making her better than anyone. She could not say the same for her sister.

  “I am well! How are your girls?” Shelby said to him but Savannah cut off his response.

  “Oh my God, can you fraternize with the help on your own time please? Tell him what disgusting thing you want to eat so that he can get back to work!” Savannah said looking at James like he had just stepped in a patch of cow manure and put his feet up on the table.

  “James, bring my daughter a Spinach Salad with Apple Cider dressing please." Her mother said dismissively.

  “Momma, I am hungry! I did not eat breakfast this morning,” Shelby said to her in a whining tone. She always felt like a five year old around her mother. Her mother had ordered her to be her sister’s Maid of Honor for her wedding even though they did not like each other. Her sister, of course, had acted like she was thrilled trying to keep her “position” with their mother firmly in hand. Then she had teased, mocked and had been cruel to her every chance she got after that in the planning of this wedding.

  “Oh hush, Shelby! Your sister’s wedding is in six days and you still need to lose at least ten pounds to fit into your dress. I will not have you embarrassing this family!” she said in her patented hushed angry tone. Shelby’s mother was known for two things: judgment and whispering things she found distasteful.

  “Momma, I have lost forty pounds in two months and I can fit into my dress,” Shelby said to her starting to fidget. Shelby had always fidgeted with her hair and hands when she was upset or nervous.

  “Being able to fit in it and looking good in it are two different things, Shelby. You looked like a pink pig in a blanket at the last fitting!” her sister said. Shelby started to tap her foot under the table nervously.

  “Shelby, will you please stop fidgeting!?” her mother said frustrated as the waiter arrived with their food. They all sat in silence and ate their lunch with Savannah and her mother talking every now and then about the women that were there lunching and what they were wearing. Shelby hated when they talked about people that way. So she sat eating her salad in silence letting her mind wander to going to the gallery opening with Lance the night before. Lance Chandler had been Shelby’s best friend since the eighth grade. Lance’s family was not wealthy like Shelby’s; as a matter of fact, he had grown up in the trailer park on the opposite side of town from Shelby. His mother had been an art teacher at the private school that Shelby went to, so Lance and his brother had been allowed to attend the school for free. Lance was a twin. His brother, Logan, had been kicked out of school his junior year for putting rat poisoning in one of the English teacher’s coffee. Shelby used to have a HUGE crush on Logan. Lance was tall with dark brown hair that he always kept in a military crew cut and had ocean blue eyes. He had been on the track, football, and baseball team, and had been in the chess club and on the debate team with Shelby. Lance was the typical all American country boy. With the exception that he had never been mean to Shelby, never teased her about her weight or let anyone else do it in front of him. She had gone to the art opening with him yesterday as a favor to return the favor of him coming to the wedding with her as her date.

  “Shelby, why are we pretending that we are dating again?” Lance had said to her as they walked through the gallery lo
oking at all the sculptures that Lance was showing.

  “Momma says it an embarrassment that Savannah is getting married and Grayson has been married for two years,” she had said pretending to look at the sculpture up close. “I am the fat ugly duckling messing up the family name.”

  “Shelby, I will NOT have you talking about yourself that way in my presence!” Lance had said to her. “As usual, your momma is barking up the wrong tree! You are sweet, smart, funny and beautiful. Your sister is the one that is a hell bitch. She should be ashamed of her.” Lance had always hated Savannah. She had been the head cheerleader, prom queen, class president and all around mean girl. And although Lance was the Captain of the football and track teams, he had no interest in the head cheerleader, which Savannah had never experienced.

  “Well, I know that and you know that but you know Momma. She wants perfection at Savannah’s wedding. I really appreciate you doing this for me, Lance. I know people are thinking you are involved with me. It could look bad for you,” she had said looking around the gallery.

  “BAD FOR ME? HOW?” Lance had yelled and then lowered his voice looking around the art gallery because people were looking at them. “You are my friend. You are a kind, amazing, smart woman. I HATE that you let your family make you feel less than that.” Shelby had quickly changed the subject before this conversation turned into what she had started to affectionately call ‘tough love’. Lance hated that she did not value herself and that she had let her family treat her like she was an outcast.

  Snap Snap “SHELBY! SHELBY!” Sarah was yelling at her daughter trying to get her attention. “Shelby, are you listening to a word I am saying?” she asked her in that distinct aristocrat southern drawl.

  “What? Oh, I am sorry, Momma. I was just thinking about my to-do list as Savannah’s Maid of Honor,” Shelby said.

  “I swear, sometimes I think that nanny dropped you on your head, young lady!” Her mother said exasperated. “I asked you if we were going to get to meet this mystery man of yours before the wedding.”

  “Momma, Lance is not a mystery man. He is the white trash redneck that Shelby has been throwing herself at for years. I guess he finally took pity on her,” Savannah said to her mother. Savannah had a way of making ‘Good Morning’ sound like ‘fuck you’ with a twist of Southern Belle on it.

  “That is not the point, Savannah. This young man has to be properly vetted before Shelby brings him to a huge family event like your wedding. Even if he is white trash, at least he is not that criminal brother of his,” she said taking a sip of her fourth glass of champagne.

  “Vetted? Momma you make it sound like I am running for president. He is just my boyfriend,” Shelby said to her mother, feeling very intimidated as usual.

  “Shelby? Hi, Sugar Plum, I did not know you would be here today!” Shelby’s best friend, Cassidy Graham, said as she arrived at the table.

  “Speaking of trash,” Savannah said under her breath but making sure she said it loud enough so everyone at the table could hear.

  “Hello, Happy Hooker, Cruella,” Cassidy said referring to Savannah and her mother respectively.

  “Excuse me!” Sarah said giving Cassidy a dirty look. “Who do you think...” before her mother could finish her question, Shelby interrupted.

  “Cassidy, will you go to the bathroom with me? You can catch me up on the way there,” Shelby said as she grabbed her hand and started walking to the bathroom, dragging her friend along behind her. When she got to the bathroom she let her go.

  “Cassidy, I have told you how Momma’s hairs get up when you talk to her like that!” Shelby said to her best friend. Cassidy Graham had been Shelby’s best friend since they were five, and Shelby’s mother hated it! The only reason she allowed their relationship was because the Grahams were wealthier that Shelby’s family and her momma always wanted to keep her options open. Cassidy was 6’0” and 230 pounds, so while she was not stick thin, she carried her weight differently than Shelby. Cassidy never cared what people thought of her. Her favorite saying was “I don’t give a tiny rat’s ass”.

  “Shelby, you know I hate your whore of a sister with a passion and I do not like the way your mother treats you! Being that your momma will always be kissing my momma’s ass, I know I can give her a taste of her own medicine,” Cassidy said, fixing her face. Cassidy was always so well dressed. She never had a hair out of place and her make-up was flawless. Today she was wearing a sexy red elastic waist wrapped chest jumpsuit, with her light brown hair in a ponytail, and chandelier drop earrings, gold bangle bracelets and red stiletto sandals. She always looked so beautiful and well put together. Shelby was wearing a pair of brown polyester pants and an olive green wrap top and brown flats. Cassidy saw her looking at her in the mirror and turned toward her.

  “You know that I can take you shopping and fix you up! You won’t let me. Shelby, you are beautiful inside and out! Stop letting your momma and hell bitch sister make you down on yourself!” Taking a deep breath and putting her back against the wall and hanging her head, Shelby had had this conversation a million times with Cassidy. She always walked away feeling like no one understood what she went through.

  Sigh. “I have decided to let you take me to get my hair and makeup done for the wedding so that Momma doesn’t criticize me the entire wedding,” Shelby said over Cassidy’s squeals and clapping of joy!

  “Oh Shelby! I am so excited! I am going to make you look like a beautiful little princess!” Cassidy said hugging her.

  “Ok, Ok. Well, please just don’t start with them today for me. Please?” she said to her friend looking at her pleadingly.

  “Alright, Alright! I will just go and meet Daddy in the cigar room,” Cassidy said looking away while opening the door as they walked out of the bathroom. “You should come with me. You know that Daddy always loves to see you!” she said to her friend with her arm around her.

  “No! I better get back, but please tell him I said hello and I will see him soon!” She said kissing her friend’s cheek. Turning to hurry back to her table, Shelby realized that her mother was not at the table anymore.

  “Where is Momma?” she said to her sister as she sat back down at the table. Never even bothering to look up from her cell phone, Savannah said, “she went to personally invite Mister Graham to the wedding,” smacking on her strawberry. “You know momma is always networking,” she finished smiling as she posted to her Facebook page.

  “Oh, well, you think it’s ok if we finish eating?” Shelby said to her sister trying to find something to talk about. She had always wanted to be close to her sister, but it seemed like her sister had never wanted to know her; let alone be her sister.

  “Well, Shelby, we know there is not much that will keep you from eating, is there?” Savannah said stopping to look up at her sister and give her a fake smile. Taking a deep breath and looking around the restaurant, Shelby shook her head and looked away.

  “Never mind, Savannah,” Shelby whispered.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Logan! Logan, are you here?” Lance said walking into the front door of his brother’s motorcycle repair shop. Logan and Lance were identical twins. Their father had left their mother Leanne while she was pregnant with them and had never paid child support or alimony. Having graduated from college she immediately became an at-home wife. She had no experience in the working world let alone using her teaching degree. She had been forced to work making a lot less than her experienced counter parts. Being an eighth grade teacher at Douglas Academy had one and only one perk; her sons were allowed to attend the school for free and get what, she had hoped, would be a life changing education. It had definitely changed their lives, while Lance had become a football star, a part of the “in-crowd”; Logan had been ostracized and eventually kicked out of school. Even though they ran in different crowds and had very different interests Lance and Logan managed to stay very close. They had, of course, done the typical things that all multiples do, playing tricks on people that could not tel
l them apart and switching places. When Logan was fifteen, he stayed out until 3 a.m. with some of his friends drinking and smoking at an old worn down shack that was in the woods where all the “bad kids” hung out.. Logan had to be brought home by the Sheriff after they broke windows out of an old store-front in town. Their mother knew that she had done all she could do for him and it was time for some tough love. She kicked him out of the house that night and told him not to return until he was ready to abide by her rules. He had never returned. Instead he had gotten into some legal trouble out of desperation. He broke into the general store and was caught. The judge sentenced him to six years in the juvenile detention center.

  The only good thing that had come out of Logan’s time in the detention center was that he stopped blaming his mother for their father leaving and their relationship had gotten much, much better. It had been seven years since Logan had gotten out of jail and not much had changed about the town. Logan had a hard time finding a job that paid enough to take care of him and his now three year old daughter, Gia. Although his juvenile record was sealed, everyone in town knew about his past. Lance had, however, been working for the local auction house since he had graduated from college and made a decent amount of money. He and Logan had decided to open an auto repair shop specializing in motorcycles. Logan would run the shop and make all the decisions and Lance would be a silent financial backer.

  “Yeah! I am out back,” Logan yelled to Lance. Closing the front door and looking around, he could not believe the changes in the place in such a short time. Logan had put so much time and work into opening the garage. When you walked in the front entrance of the shop, the right side of the store had frosted-glass walls with an incased notebook dating back to the 1940’s that had notes and sketches of Harley-Davidson’s never-ending drive towards uncompromising quality and design. The left side of the store was painted in a tangerine fusion orange which Logan affectionately said, “It’s orange, dude.” The carpet at the front of the shop was a mega twist Berber. When Lance got to the garage portion of the shop, he saw Logan on 12-foot ladder fixing the iridescent lights.