Southern Charm

Chapter 18

JESSIE

"Ryan, what the hell are you doing here?" Meghan asked. "And after all this time, now is when you decide to show up? I guess you never cared before." Meghan scoffed.

I turned to look at my future sister-in-law, confused as hell. "Wait, you know him?" I asked.

Meghan nodded and stood from her chair while sighing. "Yeah, he's our older brother. Ryan still lives in Montana, or I assume he does. I have no clue since I haven't spoken to him in four years. Unless our mother speaks to him, he's been MIA the whole time."

Ryan smiled. "Nice to see you too, baby sis, and it's nice to meet you, Jessie. I've heard a lot about you."

"Okay, wait a minute. I didn't know you guys had a brother. I've never heard Ryan come out of Trace's mouth once, so how could you have heard about me?"

"You see Jess, Ryan doesn't get brought up ever because he is the one who cut us out of his life. He's been to every state for all I know because he is a runner. We act like he's not part of the family unless you're my mother." Meghan crossed her arms and glared at her brother. "Ryan has had a criminal record since I was eighteen years old, and if I'm not mistaken, it's grown a lot more since we last spoke."

"Look, Mom called, and I came to see Trace. Who gives a damn about my record. We're supposed to be family. Trace is still my brother, just like you're still my sister, and while I may not be the greatest man on earth, I care about both of you. Mom filled me in that they're getting married too," Ryan said.

"You can't show up out of the blue and expect to be in the wedding if that's what you're thinking. I don't know you, and the decision would be up to Trace. As of now, he's sleeping, so maybe you should come back when he's awake," I said. I didn't want to make Ryan feel bad, but I didn't know him. He was a stranger. What if Trace woke up and was mad I let him be here? Ryan needed to leave for right now because it was the best thing to do.

Ryan nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry to have imposed. It was nice to meet you, Jessie, and see you Meghan. I'll be back hopefully tomorrow. All I want to do is have a conversation with both of you. You too, Jessie. You'll be family, so you deserve to know everything."

Ryan left the room, and I turned to Meghan. We were both a little speechless until I spoke. "It would've been nice to hear about him!"

"Yeah, I agree, and I'm sorry. We should've told you about him, but my mother should have warned us he was coming too. Ryan isn't exactly someone you want to be around if you ask me," Meghan said.

That didn't sound good. If Ryan had a criminal record, what would he bring here to us now that he was visiting? "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, for starters, he's a mister, still your girl type of guy. Ryan has hit on plenty of Trace's female friends and some of his old girlfriends. Women go for older, and when they see Ryan, they go wild."

I laughed. "Oh, please. Trace is ten times better looking than him. The second he came in, I could see that."

Meghan smiled. "I knew I loved you." Meghan chuckled. "Anyway, usually wherever Ryan goes is where the danger follows, and they can be anything from buddies he was in jail with or people who hate him."

My eyes widened. "So basically, what you're saying is Ryan needs to get out of dodge before he stirs up something here?"

"Yes, exactly. The last time Ryan and Trace saw each other, they got into a fight. When I say fight, I mean fist fight. Ryan is the one who started it, and he went to jail because Trace pressed charges for Ryan's good. I don't know if Ryan has been in jail since then, but I know the tension between these two hasn't been resolved."