*gulp* Here's chapter 1 rough. I'm up for opinions!

Southern Grace

Chapter 1

Lawson

There weren’t many certainties in the futures of the students at Clifton High School. This early in the school year, most of the senior class had barely given a fleeting thought to life post-graduation. But, as with any rule, there was one exception. His name was Samuel Lawson Chadwick.

Samuel (nobody ever called him Samuel- just Lawson) was one of the rare breed of individuals who knew his future from birth. The son of a second generation police chief, it was assumed by the entire town he would follow in the family business; it happened to be a title Lawson wanted to honor. He didn’t stray from the obligation. Consequently, by his freshman year of high school, he had few decisions left to make about his path in life. By the time senior year approached, Lawson was done making the decisions some would have just begun to face. This gave Lawson a ton of free time and not a lot of available friends to spend it with. His best friend, Tobias, worked every available shift at his fathers’ hardware store to save money for college. When they finally had a chance to kill time together, Lawson had to throw down a new rule. No college talk until the sun went down. Daylight hours were for surfing only.

When Lawson pulled into the driveway at Tobias’s house, he wasn’t waiting outside like usual. Normally, he met Lawson at the end of the driveway; surfboard in hand, he was always ready to jump into the convertible. No Toby meant no surfing. Lawson put the Mustang in park, turned off the ignition and banged his head against the steering wheel. “Tobes, don’t bail on me,” he muttered. “I. Need. To. Surf.”

“Mr. Chadwick,” a voice sang from the house, “you plan ta’ sit there the entire mornin’ or you reckon you could come say hello?”

Lawson lips curled upward as his head remained buried in the steering wheel. She had the same effect on him every time he saw her. Even after all these years, he still melted at the sound of her voice. He lifted his head, offered an acknowledging nod and pushed the long blond hair from his face.

“Good morning, Mrs. Hardy. What’s up with your boy? Is he dumping me for a better offer today?” Lawson pulled the keys out of the ignition, reclaimed his composure and headed toward the house. In all the years he and Tobias had been friends, no one ever knew Mrs. Hardy had the power to turn Lawson to mush. Tobes would kill him if he ever found out. Plus, since she was more like a second mom, he was embarrassed to admit he had a crush on her. She represented everything Lawson wanted in his future. She was as close to perfection as Lawson thought he would ever see. And that was exactly why Tobias was supposed to wait outside for him on surfing days-no distractions.

Lawson climbed the steps to the front porch where Mrs. Hardy greeted him with a hot cup of tea and a warm smile. “No, son, he’s goin’ today. He’s just runnin’ a ‘lil late. He’s been workin’ like a madman lately. He said to give him five minutes. Come on inside.” Lawson followed Mrs. Hardy into the kitchen and spotted a plate of pancakes and sausage sitting at the table. “Help yourself, hun. It’ll be cold by the time he gits ‘round ta’ eatin’.” Never one to refuse a home cooked meal, Lawson dove into the food.

“Can I git you some juice?”

“No thanks, Mrs. Hardy. This is fine, thank you,” Lawson replied between bites.

Mrs. Hardy pulled out her chair and Lawson stood as she did. “Samuel Chadwick, you sit and eat.” She sat and sipped her coffee as Lawson made light work of the plate of food. “Boy, don’t you eat at home?”

“Yes ma’am,” Lawson replied as he wiped his mouth. “I had breakfast once today.”

When Mrs. Hardy laughed, her entire face lit up, and it was more than a reflection of the warm, buttery walls of the kitchen. “Well, you know my cookin’ son. There’s more where that came from.”

“Oh no, ma’am, I’m fine, thank you.” Lawson got up to clear his plate just as Tobias barreled down the stairs.

“Dude, I’m sorry. Must’ve slept straight through my alarm,” Tobias huffed as he dropped his surfboard on the floor.

“Alarm?” Lawson stared at him. “Since when do we need an alarm on surf days?”

“Our boy is growin’ up, Lawson. He’s almost a responsible adult. Almost.” Mrs. Hardy laughed again and the sound sent the blood flowing to Lawson’s cheeks.

“You ready yet, or what?” Lawson smacked Tobias across the back of his head and picked up his surfboard.

“”Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” Tobias slipped on his shoes and reached for the paper plate of food his mom handed him. He kissed her on the cheek and started for the door.

Lawson followed behind as Mrs. Hardy called out behind them. “You boys be careful out there. And Lawson, make sure he brings you back by supper. We’re havin’ your favorite-fried chicken and homemade mashed.”

“That sounds great, Mrs. Hardy. Thanks.”

“Bye mom. Back by dinner,” Tobias yelled and Lawson closed the door behind them.

“Dude,” Lawson said, “have I ever told you your mom’s cooking is the bomb?”

“Only all the time,” Tobias replied as they jumped into the Mustang.

It wasn’t a long drive to the beach but it was long enough for Lawson to get caught up with his best friend.

“So, I’ll ask you again. You had to use an alarm, Tobes?” Lawson glared at Tobias. “And, this time I’d like to hear a real answer. I’m not buying the load your mom is sellin’”

“It’s not a load…” Tobias stumbled. “Well, not really.”

“I knew it!” Lawson chided. “Spill!”

“Well, it’s mostly true. I have been working a lot of extra hours at the store, but it’s not really about being a responsible adult. More like, I’m tryin’ to avoid the barrage of questions about my future.”

Lawson shot Tobias a challenging glance.

“Come on, Lawson. You know how my mom can be,” Toby’s defense mechanisms kicked in as he flustered his way through an explanation. “Every minute I spend at home has to be about college. We’re constantly talking about applications, tours or decisions. She’s overly scheduled and she thinks she can manicure my future as easily as the lawn. I don’t wanna be sculpted. I just want to grow wild for one more year!” Tobias’ face darkened to match the shade of his shaved red hair.

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Lawson reassured his friend. “That’s all, just let it go for today.” Lawson glanced at Tobias, a smile turned up the corners of his mouth.

“What’s so funny?” Tobias asked as they pulled into the parking lot at the beach.

“Nothin’, man. You’ve never seen yourself when you get all agitated. You look like a cherry tomato sittin’ on top of a pure white tablecloth!” Lawson leaned into the steering wheel, howling with laughter.

Tobias smacked Lawson in the back of the head. “You’re an ass,” he hissed.

“Ahhhhh, but you love my assy self!” Lawson snorted.

“Whatever,” Tobias replied. “There’s gonna be a whole lot more ass to love if you keep imaginin’ food every minute of the day.”

Lawson’s jaw fell wide with the insult and he pounded his fist on his heart. “I’m crushed.” He whipped his head toward Tobias. “You mean you wouldn’t love having more of me to love?” he asked, batting his eyelashes.

“I would drop you like a hotcake,” Tobias replied without missing a beat.

Lawson wiped a pretend tear from his eye and sniffled. The sound of a horn returned his attention back to driving, just in time to find he was kissing bumpers with another car turning into his parking space.

“What the HELL!” Lawson’s voice pierced Tobias’s eardrums. “Are you KIDDING me? Didn’t this jackass see my signal?”

Lawson leapt out of the convertible and rushed toward the front of the car with Tobias on his heels. He bent down and inspected the Mustang and found it unscathed. “Gotta love the classics,” he patted the car lovingly.

Both doors on the conjoined MX6 sportster opened slowly. The windows were tinted but the car was a deep purple. There was no doubt in Lawson’s mind a girl was behind the wheel. As he approached the driver side door all he could see was a pair of very long, very tanned legs unfolding from behind the steering wheel. The legs connected to the most insanely hot blonde he had ever met face to face. There was no other way to describe her. Tall. Tanned. Toned. She was a vision of perfection, and as primitive as it sounded, she was just plain smokin’.

“Damn.” Tobias whispered. “So much for no distractions!”

Grace

“Please tell me this isn’t happening,” Grace moaned from behind clenched fists. She turned toward her sister in the passenger seat, eyes blazing with fury. “Trinity, please tell me you saw that boy not paying attention.”

“I did,” Trinity verified. “However, that doesn’t negate the fact mom and dad are gonna kill you if this car is even slightly scratched.”

“Thanks very much for the support,” Grace snapped. She sucked in a deep breath of air and held it before continuing, “I guess I should go look.”

Grace’s hand trembled with frustration as she reached for the door handle and pushed it open. The warm, southern sunlight, previously restricted by the nearly black tinted windows, rushed over her legs as she exited the vehicle. As the boy approached, Grace was uncomfortably aware he no longer looked at his car, but was fixated on her. She pushed her way past him like he was a speck of fluff blowing in the breeze.

Grace bent down to inspect her car and relief washed over her. There was no damage to either vehicle; she could rest easy knowing she’d avoided any death sentence from her parents.

“Man, you got so lucky,” Trinity said.

“I did,” Grace confirmed. She turned to the boy who still stood mindlessly staring at her. “Could you please explain to me how you thought you could park a car when you paid no attention to what was around you? You’re lucky it was just my car you hit and not a small person.”

“I know and I’m sorry,” the boy twisted out the apology. “I really don’t have any excuse. But there’s no damage, so let’s just forget it happened.”

Grace noticed a man walking toward them from the far end of the lot, waving his hands to get their attention. “Great,” Grace muttered, “what now?”

The man’s face was wrinkled with worry as he approached. “Everything alright over here?” he puffed.

The bad driver was the first to respond. “Yes, Charlie. Everything is good.”

The man in the uniform, a parking lot attendant, inspected both vehicles before he replied. “Well, good then, Laws, get it movin’, would ya’? You’re backin’ up my lot.”

“Sure, Charlie, no problem,” the boy agreed.

Charlie shook the boy’s hand before leaving and hollered over his shoulder as he rushed back to his post, “tell the Chief I said hello.”

“I will Charlie,” the bad driver called after him. “Remember, you saw me here and that’s it.”

“I gotcha kid,” Charlie waved.

“Did he just call you Laws?” Grace asked as the boy turned toward her.

“Yeah, short for Lawson,” he replied. He extended his hand but Grace was feeling less than cordial. She gave him a look that let him know the introductions were over.

“You ready,” Grace asked trinity while continuing to shoot daggers into Lawson.

“Yeah, we’ve wasted enough time here,” Trinity replied.

“I can only assume you’ll move so I can get into my parking space,” Grace braked as she walked around him.

Lawson didn’t respond, but got into the Mustang and backed off the MX6.

“That’s what I thought,” Grace muttered.

The Mustang disappeared before Grace had her car parked. “Hopefully that’ll be the last we see of them today,” she said as she pulled the keys from the ignition.

“I don’t know Grace, they were kinda cute,” Trinity jabbed Grace with her elbow.

“Trin, I swear, you are so boy crazy. There’s a ton of cute boys out there. That doesn’t mean I have to flip out over every one who wrecks his car into me,” Grace snorted.

“No, maybe it doesn’t,” Trinity defended. “But wouldn’t that make a great story to tell your grandchildren?”

“Oh my GOD, with the grandkids even? You’re lucky I like you; you’re not much bigger than a kid yourself!”

The girls started unpacking the car and Trinity stood tall next to Grace. “Listen here, sister,” she waved her quick-tempered finger in the air. “Just because you’re eighteen months older than me, it doesn’t give you the right to treat me like a child.”

Grace turned from the trunk, her teasing dulled by the sight of Trinity’s impassioned eyes. “You’re right, sister. You’re not a kid. You’re way more grown up than me. All your talk about marriage and kids-it just freaks me out, that’s all. Who needs any of it?”

“I don’t know why you’re so opposed to the idea. It’s what people do, you know?” Trinity said.

“Some people,” Grace corrected. “It’s what some people do.”

“Ok, ok whatever you say,” Trinity gave up the argument. “But you have to admit, those boys were cute.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Grace conceded. “On a scale of one to ten, I’d give them a seven.”

“Seven? Come on, you have to at least go an eight or eight and a half. Even the bad driver!”

The girls continued their discussion to the beach and, at Trinity’s request, found themselves a spot near the lifeguard stand. They spent the morning in and out of the water, mostly to cool off when the sun got too hot to bear. Trinity relished in her favorite activity of people watching while Grace disappeared into a book. After eating their picnic lunch, they both rolled onto their bellies to fall asleep.

Grace was awakened by cool drops of water dancing off her back. She turned toward Trinity as she started to come out of her sun-induced coma. “Trinity, I think I felt rain. Come on, girl, get up.” She pushed on Trinity’s shoulder and tried uselessly to shake her awake.

“It isn’t raining, you’re getting burned,” a voice from above took her by surprise.

Grace rolled over and squinted, trying to examine the face that belonged to the voice. She dropped her head back in disgust when she realized the shadow being cast over her was thanks to the friend of the bad driver. “I must be having a nightmare,” Grace grunted.

The boy backed up and started to walk away. “Well if you wanna get crispy, that’s on you.”

“Wait, wait,” Grace sat up on her towel. “I’m sorry; I’m not always this rude. Thanks for the heads up.”

“It’s cool. We were on our way past and thought we should let you know. Lawson decided I should tell you myself. He figured you wouldn’t hurt me as badly.”

“He’s probably right,” Grace laughed.

“Anyway, I didn’t get to introduce myself. I’m Tobias.” Unlike with his counterpart, Grace accepted his gesture and shook his hand.

“Grace,” she replied. “And Sleeping Beauty over there,” she nodded, “that’s my sister, Trinity.”

“Nice to meet you both. And we are sorry about earlier. You know the incident that shall, from here out, go unmentioned.”

“It’s cool,” Grace replied, “now that the horror of telling my parents is unnecessary.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Tobias repeated.

“So, where is the driver of the year, anyway?” Grace asked.

“Packin’ up the boards; we’re gonna go grab some ice cream at this little place across the street. You two wanna come along?” Tobias invited.

“Oh, my gosh,” Trinity shrieked and bolted upright. “That would be so amazing right now.”

“So, I’ll take that as a yes,” Tobias laughed.

“Sounds like we’re in,” Grace agreed. “Just give us a minute to rinse off and pack up.”

“Take your time,” Tobias replied.

“Where should we meet you?” Trinity asked.

“How ‘bout we meet you at your car, since we know where you’re parked.” Tobias laughed and disappeared toward the parking lot.

“Ok,” Trinity crowed. “You still give him a seven after seeing him in his bathing suit?” She elbowed Grace, who couldn’t conceal her approval.

“Maybe he’s moved to an eight,” Grace admitted.

“And maybe a little fender bender was just what Cupid ordered!” Trinity yelled, as she rushed down to rinse off in the ocean.