"When I miss my Tennessee home, and I've been away way too long... Outside my southern comfort zone..."


Cassidy’s business law midterm went as she expected. Horribly. Mostly likely, she failed the entire thing, and it wasn’t because she hadn’t tried to do well. Sure she spent time with Jamie when she really should have been studying, but in the moments when she did study, it all felt pointless. There was no way in hell she’d be able to grasp all the concepts in time for the test.

She walked out of the lecture hall that day feeling like absolute crap. Not only had she woken up that day and decided to forego makeup but she also decided to throw on sweats and an old t-shirt. Overall, she looked more homeless than anything, and had her professor not recognized her, she probably would’ve been kicked out of the classroom.

Once in the Dallas heat, she threw on her sunglasses, shielding her delicate gray eyes from the sun and went on her way. As of now, she had a date with two of her best friends: Ben and Jerry. And she planned on taking them to bed and devouring at least two pints of ice cream.

But her date with them would have to wait as her real date sent a text message, requesting her company at home. It was only one day since Jamie had taken a frozen piece of rubber to the face, and he was rendered useless to the team. Now spending some time on the injured reserve list, he had spare time on his hands and he wanted to spend it with her.

Overall, Cassidy was flattered that Jamie had genuinely wanted to spend time with her. No guy had ever made that apparent before. But with the way things had gone today, all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and feel sorry for herself. Not that that was a healthy choice, but having time to sulk would make her feel better in the long run.

However, Jamie was injured. And only being able to see out of one eye left him incredibly vulnerable to further injury. His depth perception was altered, and not being able to drive meant he was cooped in his house all day. It was just a matter of time until he got over zealous with the stairs and stumbled down them. That realization had Cassidy in her car and at Jamie’s house as quickly as she could get there. Lord knows she didn’t want the Dallas Stars captain’s death pinned on her hands.

She let herself into his house, knowing that he kept a spare key in one of the potted plants by the door. Just as she stepped into the house, she was shocked to see Jamie sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV to the best of his ability.

“Hey Jame,” Cassidy set her hands on either side of Jamie’s face and gently tilted his head backwards, pecking his lips quickly. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m alright; just getting ready to watch the game,” he looked up at her and smiled.

Cassidy put her purse down on the coffee table and walked into the small bathroom just off of the foyer. Just as she shut the door, she heard yelling.

“Cass, your phone is ringing!”

She looked at herself in the mirror and began to wash her hands, getting the grossness from school off of them, “pick it up, it’s probably just Kennedy!”

When she opened the door back up, Jamie was on the phone with the caller.

“No, it’s the right number. She’s just in the bathroom right now.” He paused and looked up at Cassidy as she walked back into the room. “Oh, she’s right here actually.”

Jamie handed her the cell phone and cringed as she held it up to her ear, “hello?”

“Cass who just answered your phone?”

She was almost too stunned to answer and remained silent for a moment until she could think of how to explain this without getting into too much detail. “His name’s Jamie,”

Her father sighed on the other end of the phone, “be careful honey. I don’t want this boy distracting you. After all, I do need you back here in Nashville at some point.”

Cassidy glanced at Jamie and turned towards the backdoor, pulling it open and stepping outside to have some privacy. “He’s not dad. And I thought we agreed that if I found a good job out here or in California, you’d let me go.”

“That was the idea before, I just can’t keep running the store without you. Cass I don’t want to take your dreams away from you, because they’re good dreams dear. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices for awhile before you can have those dreams.”

She bit her lower lip, and hesitated before answering, “alright dad, I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon and see you in a few months.” She waited again and nodded, “love you too.”

Jamie was staring at her as she reentered the house. He reached out for her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she sat down on the couch next to him. Already she could tell that the swelling around his eye had gone down.

“It wasn’t Kennedy…” he murmured, sounding innocent.

Cassidy giggled and set her head down on his shoulder, “you just had your first conversation with my dad.”

He took in a deep breath, holding it for a minute. “And he wants you back in Nashville,” he shot her a quick glance and shrugged his shoulders, “I heard you.”

She could tell that Jamie was slightly disappointed. If she moved back to Nashville, it would effectively end whatever they had going on. “Jamie, he needs me. After I graduate, I’ll probably move back and get a job with a firm in Nashville.”

“Maybe all he needs is to just talk to you, and see you, and it’ll be enough for him to see how badly you want something else.”

Cassidy shook her head, “I don’t have the money to fly out there anytime soon. Plus with school, I’d need a really good reason to go out there.”

Jamie stared at her and then pulled his phone out of his pocket, fiddling with it for a few minutes until he smirked and nodded, “March fourteenth,”

“Three weeks away; what about it?”

“We have a game against the Predators that day. We fly in the day before.” He paused and set his phone down, “it’s not much time, but it might be enough to ease your dad’s nerves until you can see him over the summer.” He leaned into her, pressing his lips against hers lightly, “plus that makes me your reason to go.”

She sighed loudly and laid her head down in Jamie’s lap, “I don’t know; I’ve never brought anyone home to meet my dad before. It just seems all very serious, and I’m still not sure where we stand.”

---

Three weeks ago, Cassidy found out she passed all her midterms, leaving her with a sense of relief.

Two weeks ago, Jamie took her out on another nice date, confessed that he really cared about her and very awkwardly asked her not to go on dates with anyone but him.

One week ago, Kennedy had walked in on Cassidy and Jamie having sex. After Jamie left and the embarrassment had died down, Kennedy had asked if it was any good, to which all Cassidy could do was blush and nod.

Today, Cassidy landed in Nashville shortly after the team’s plane had landed. Jamie was waiting for her by the baggage claim, and having not checked a suitcase, Cassidy smiled as Jamie took her carry-on from her hands and carried it outside to the waiting car and driver.

Once inside the car, Cassidy gave the driver her address, and they were off. Mostly terrified, she stared out the window trying to juggle the different ways she could introduce her dad to Jamie. Being such a huge hockey fan, he would definitely know who Jamie was. Sensing some discomfort, Jamie took Cassidy’s hand in his and held it in his lap, rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb.

Within twenty-five minutes, the car pulled up the long driveway to her childhood home. Although it was small, it was homey and cute from the outside. Cassidy stepped out of the car and took a deep breath in as Jamie stood beside her, her small suitcase still clutched at his side. Subtly he set his hand on her lower back, urging her towards the front door.

They stepped onto the front porch, the old wood creaked beneath their feet as Cassidy pulled open the screen door, lowered the latch on the front door and pushed it open.

“Dad,” she called out as she took a step into the house. She could still feel Jamie’s hand on her waist, stepping into the house behind her.

“Cass?” A voice called out back.

Jamie set her suitcase on the floor next to him, looking up to find the owner of the voice. After a moment, an older man stepped into the kitchen, staring at both of them.

“Hi dad,” she ran forward and wrapped her arms over his shoulders and embraced him tightly.

Speechless, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, turning his head to kiss her cheek quickly, “what’re you doin’ here, crazy girl?”

She pulled away slightly to look up at her dad, “honestly I’m not too sure. All I know is that a really good guy got me here,”

Immediately, her father’s eyes shot up to peer at Jamie. Cassidy backed up and moved back to Jamie. He stepped forward hesitantly, unable to figure out what her father was really thinking.

Jamie held out his hand, sighing contently as her father shook his hand. “Jamie Benn. It’s nice to meet you sir,” he said in that kind, quiet voice of his.

“Lee Knox.” He let go of Jamie’s hand and walked back to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea. “You a hockey player, Mr. Benn?”

“Yes sir,” Jamie murmured glancing at Cassidy. Soon her father returned with three glasses filled with the sweet tea, handing one to both his daughter and Jamie.

“You playin’ my Predators tomorrow?” He led them out to the front porch, sitting down in his rocking chair, pointing over to the porch swing across from him. Cassidy tugged on Jamie’s arm and sat down on the swing with him, beginning to rock back and forth on it.

“Yes sir,”

“And you’re gonna beat them tomorrow?”

Jamie was hesitant to answer. He licked his lips quickly, growing more comfortable as Cassidy linked her arm around his. “Yes sir,”

Lee smiled and brought his glass up to his lips, taking a long sip of his sweet tea, “good man.” He waved his glass towards the both of them, “how’d you meet him, Cass?”

She held her breath, pursing her lips and spoke quickly, “he was at the same bar I was at for my birthday.”

He nodded and took another sip of his iced tea and then set the glass beside his chair, “is that your preferred way of meeting women, Mr. Benn?”

Jamie smiled and shook his head, clutching onto Cassidy’s hand as she reached for his. “No sir, actually I didn’t even really talk to her that night. We spoke more a few nights later, after she saw me at the game you gave her tickets to.”

“So basically I set this entire relationship up?” Once Jamie nodded, Lee tilted his head to the side and winked, “you’re welcome.”

Jamie chuckled and looked down at his wristwatch, releasing Cassidy’s hand and then stood up from the swing. “I really enjoyed meeting you Mr. Knox. The team is having dinner tonight, so I have to get going.”

He stepped forward and shook Lee’s hand before turning back to face Cassidy, who had now gotten off the swing as well and approached him.

“You want to come with me tonight?” Although he spoke quietly, he knew Lee could still hear the conversation.

Cassidy wrapped her arms around Jamie, looking up at him, “I think I’m gonna stay with my dad tonight,”

“Alright,” he cupped wither sides of her face with his hands and kissed her lips quickly and innocently, before moving to her forehead, allowing his lips to linger there. “I’ll stop by tomorrow after the morning skate.”

“Be safe,” Cassidy murmured as Jamie walked off the front porch and back into the car with the driver.

When the car pulled out of the driveway, Cassidy returned to the porch swing, now sitting on it by herself as her father stared at her, obviously thinking about the whole situation.

“Was I right to call him a good man, Cassidy?”

She looked over at her father, pursed her lips, and nodded. “He’s a good man, dad. I know you’ve probably got some reservations about the whole thing because he’s an athlete, or whatever. But Jamie’s a really good guy, and he treats me well.” Cassidy paused and intertwined her fingers together. “Plus he got me here,”

Lee looked up at her and squinted his eyes. Despite the situation being mildly uncomfortable for him, Cassidy still saw the gentle man she had grown up with. “What do you mean?”

“He’s the one who convinced me to come out here. I kept telling him I didn’t have the money for it, that it wasn’t the right time. And you know what he did?” She paused, waiting for her dad to shake his head. “He bought me a plane ticket just to make sure I’d come out to see you. I told him how it had been hard for you to be here alone especially without mom, and Jamie bought me a plane ticket.”

Lee rubbed his temples and picked up his glass beside the rocking chair.

“Dad, Jamie’s the first guy I’ve really opened up to. I think you raised me to have a good read of people, and I know Jamie’s really an amazing man.”

“Cass, I believe you. I bet he’s a wonderful man. But you’re my little girl, and it’s going to take some time for me to adjust to the fact that I’m no longer the only man in your life.”

He stood up from the chair and Cassidy followed his lead, walking up to him, “but you’re still the most important man in my life.” She smiled and hugged him, leaning her cheek down against his shoulder, “and no matter what, you’re my dad, and I’m going to be your little girl forever.”

Notes

This chapter is titled after "Southern Comfort Zone" by Brad Paisley.

I'm thinking about writing a sequel to this story to have as backup once this one finishes. Any thoughts?