Fireflies and Magnolias
~ Dare River ~
Amelia Ann & Clayton
© 2015 Ava Miles
Amelia Ann Hollins might have been raised to be a sweet magnolia, but she’s found her inner fire—the quest for justice. The secrets she carries and a tragedy from her past prompt her to volunteer at a legal clinic in the worst part of town. Here she can serve and protect the one she couldn’t save. Here she will risk everything.
Clayton Chandler’s happy life ended when his daddy died tragically when he was a boy. He lost his belief in magic and signs, but Amelia Ann is stirring the embers of passion and faith inside him again. He doesn’t plan on risking his heart. To make matters worse, he works for her rock star brother and knows better than to date the younger sister of his best friend.
When Amelia Ann volunteers to help with her brother’s charity concert, Clayton has nowhere to run. Soon he can no longer deny his fiery passion for Amelia Ann, and as the danger of her calling and her secrets threaten their newfound love, they’ll learn fireflies are magical and magnolias can burn hotter than steel.
To my dear friend, Jai, who helped me remember the power of true love and vulnerability and has shared with me many times the sheer joy of sitting on a tree overlooking the river as our feet dangled in freedom.
And to my divine entourage, who is always guiding me to remember the treasures of love inside and around me.
Team Ava continues to be a blessing from above, especially Sienna for being my girl Friday in everything needed; Greg for the amazing covers; Angela for being the best editor I could have hoped for; and Leah and Beth for their eagle eyes.
Tracy Davis at Bread for the City, managing attorney and lead of their domestic violence group, who shared her insights on legal aid to domestic violence victims and so much more.
T.F. For heeding the call and arriving right on time.
All my beloved readers who love these characters as much as I do, re-read the books, spread the word to at least twenty friends, and send me little notes about how my books help them laugh or comfort them when a loved one passes away or a marriage ends. I am so happy you are part of our beautiful Dare family.
The ability to plan was one of Amelia Ann Hollins’ finest traits if she did say so herself. Before, she’d hated the flummery of the ladies’ teas she’d labored to create at her mama’s command. Now, she used all her skills to create what
she
wanted. Today she was going to catch a prize trout, the size of which would have won her Meade, Mississippi’s Annual Trout Competition.
“Rye darlin’, I wanted to speak with y’all about some ideas I have for your charity concert,” she said with more sugar in her Southern drawl than a glass of sweet tea.
She and her brother, country music superstar Rye Crenshaw, weren’t alone in his office. His deputy manager and best friend, Clayton Chandler, was there at Rye’s request, and he responded to her words with a sharp glance. His gray eyes were as stormy as the Tennessee clouds outside, and one look at them turned her knees week.
Even angry, Clayton was the handsomest man she’d ever met. His white cowboy hat concealed the jet-black hair she’d fantasized about running her hands through, and his jeans and simple white shirt hugged a muscular frame that made her salivate.
“I have everything under control,” Clayton said, sitting on the edge of her brother’s desk in his home office.
Control.
If men came with signs to warn away unsuspecting women,
control
would be the word flashing in bold red letters over Clayton’s head. She’d been battling his control since she’d first batted her eyelashes at him five months ago at Rye’s wedding and asked him to dance—an offer he’d refused like the gentleman he wasn’t. It had only made her more determined to have him. And he darn well knew it.
“I know you have everything in hand, Clayton, but let’s hear her out,” Rye said, sitting back in his leather office chair.
The concert would raise awareness and funds for victims of domestic violence, a cause that had become all too personal to their family after they had learned the truth about their sister Tammy’s abusive ex-husband.
“Rye, I don’t know how much you’ve thought about how to raise awareness around this topic during the concert,” she said, “but I thought it might be nice to feature a few women’s stories about overcoming domestic violence. It would make the cause feel more real for your fans. I’d like to offer my help. As part of a class project, I looked into legal services for women who are in Tammy’s position. I could contact the heads of Nashville’s leading women’s shelters for their suggestions.”
That’s how she’d discovered Community Legal Clinic, though they didn’t have to know that. Not yet, anyway.
Her volunteer job at the clinic couldn’t be more different from her summer internship at the swanky law firm of Kelly, Prentice & Stacks. There, she’d had a pristine cubicle in an office decorated with Carrara marble floors, gleaming hardwood doors, and shiny brass elevators.
At her new job, she shared a battered desk in an open room where all the attending lawyers worked amidst the ringing of phones and the buzz of one another’s conversations. There were no fancy coffee makers or catered lunches from exclusive downtown restaurants. No, she had to bring her lunch because it felt too dangerous to eat at the nearby diner covered in graffiti.
“Once the women are selected,” she continued, “you could hire a professional crew to shoot the spots. They could be played on the big stadium screens.” She wrung her hands as she waited for his response, not daring to glance at Clayton. “What do you think?”
The concert was scheduled for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, just over two months away, and they were expecting a record attendance at Nashville’s biggest concert venue. Rye had asked Jake Lassiter, one of his country music friends who’d just moved to Dare River, to open his act. The tickets had sold out two hours after going on sale.
Rye stroked his chin. “I hadn’t thought beyond the line-up and the songs yet, Amelia Ann, but I like your idea. It humanizes the cause we’re supporting and raises awareness in the best way possible. Clayton, what do you think?”
She could feel his gaze on her again, and it was so hot it could have melted steel. If she helped out with the concert, she would be working in close proximity with Clayton—the one thing she wanted even if it could ruin both their lives. He was going to fight her tooth and nail, whether he liked her idea or not.
She braced herself.
“Rye, I think she’s underestimating the time it will take,” Clayton drawled, tipping his white cowboy hat down to shade his eyes. “It’s an awful lot to take on at this late date.”
“Clayton may be right, honey,” Rye said, the first hint of concern in his voice. “The second year of law school isn’t as insane as the first, but it’s not easy.”
Rye knew the drill. He’d left law school a few weeks short of graduation to pursue his career in country music. He hadn’t looked back, but he knew the law was her passion.
“I promise to make it work, Rye,” she entreated.
Rye stroked his goatee, and for a minute she feared he’d say no. Time to play the ace up her sleeve.
“I know it will mean the world to Tammy to have me involved. Please, Rye, let me do this for our sister.” To emphasize her seriousness, she put her hands on her hips.
Clayton gave her a knowing glance. Yeah, he knew her tactics. Too bad she didn’t feel guilty anymore about going after what she wanted. People used to steamroll over her all the time, but she’d finally found her inner fire, and she wasn’t about to let anyone douse it.
“Okay, honey,” Rye said, giving her his mega-watt smile. “I’m happy you want to help out. Your idea will take the concert to a new level, and for this cause, I want to reach high.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. Though part of the reason she wanted to help out was to be near Clayton, she wasn’t lying. She was desperate to do this for Tammy. It was yet another way she could atone for having done the worst, most awful thing anyone could do to a loved one. She had called a tabloid anonymously and aired her sister’s dirty laundry to them. The article about Rye paying Sterling a fortune to divorce their sister had been front page news.
The thing was, so many wives returned. At the time, Amelia Ann hadn’t known if her ex brother-in-law had hurt her niece and nephew, and fear for them had convinced her to act. Ever since, she’d thought up a million different reasons to justify the call she’d made to the tabloid reporter, Gunner Nolan. A lot of soul searching had made her realize she didn’t repent her actions.
Her only regret—and it was a big one—was the hurt she’d caused her sister and their family.
Mixed in with that regret was the lingering fear of being discovered as the culprit. Even after all this time, her brother and Clayton were still looking for the leak. Like a prisoner on death row, every time she was with her family, she wondered how much longer she had before the truth came out.
But whether or not anyone understood what she was doing—or the need for it—she was making amends.
“Thank you, Rye! You won’t regret it.”
“We’ll make sure to work around your schedule,” Clayton said, being agreeable for the sake of her brother. Whether or not he actually included her in the arrangements was another battle they would wage, one she planned to win.
“I’ll send my fall class schedule to you, honey,” she said with a tight smile, knowing the endearment would drive him nuts.
She could get under Clayton’s skin faster than anyone alive.
And he could get under hers.
They were a match made in heaven.
He just hadn’t admitted it yet.
“Yes, email it to me when you have a chance, honey,” he drawled back, rocking on the heels of his black cowboy boots. “Rye, I’d like the final say on the women and the stories,” Clayton said in a flat tone. “J.P. can handle the legal issues involved.”
“I’m sure you’re overestimating the legal issues,” she said with some asperity. “You know, many of the women who serve on the boards of local women’s shelters were abused themselves at one time. Their stories are inspiring, and they’re usually happy to share them.”
She knew. She’d heard them. Of course, not every day was like that. No, it was hard, often brutal work, and sometimes the women who came in had bruises on their faces and necks. To Amelia Ann, each one had the eyes of her sister. But helping them—whether they needed advice on the process of filing a protection order or separating from their husbands—felt important. It felt right.
“That’s fine, Clayton,” Rye said easily. “You’ll talk to J.P., right?”
“Sure thing,” he responded, and his mouth tipped up in a smirk like he was happy about the minor victory.
The smile she gave him was all teeth. She stopped that smirk dead in its tracks.
Rye glanced down for a moment, like he was struggling with something. “Amelia Ann, do you think we should ask Tammy if she’d like to share her story at the concert, or is it that too personal? Heck, I…”
Her sense of victory faded, and her throat grew thick as she remembered the bruises she’d ignored on her sister’s arms for so long. It was the cross she had to bear—she had waited too long before acting. Their family had prided itself on appearances, never speaking about their problems or the uglier parts of life. That old pattern had been broken after their daddy’s heart attack. He’d summoned Rye home, wanting to bring his disowned son back into the fold. That one decision had saved her and Tammy in so many ways—heck, it had saved them all—but the path had been lined with so much hurt that sometimes her heart still bled from it all.