Barbara, still staring at her lover, seemed to be assessing him. Disgust—and something else—was written on her face. “No,’’ she finally said. “Norman is not here. And isn’t that lucky for you?’’
_____
I hit the Play button on my answering machine. As soon as I heard the voice, I knew I’d regret not waiting until the morning.
“Hello, Mace. It’s your mama.’’
She took a long, pre-lecture breath. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of tortilla chips and my homemade salsa. Might as well be fortified for what was coming.
“Honey, your cousin Bubba called here tonight. Not the good Bubba. Aunt Jo’s boy. Did you know he broke his arm? Anyhoo, Bubba said he saw you crying in your beer at the Perch while Carlos danced with Kelly Conover. Bubba said she looked as fine as chrome rims on a Ford F-350, by the way. Funny, I completely forgot to ask him what Kelly was wearing …’’
I knew Mama must have a point in mind, somewhere.
“Bubba said he would have come over to check on you, but he was getting lucky with some gal he just met.’’
Sounded like Bubba.
“But what I called about, honey, is you and Carlos. Have you even tried talking to him? I just know if you tell him how you really feel, you’ll be able to iron out things between you.’’
Wila meowed from her spot under my bed.
“My sentiments exactly, girl,’’ I said. “Who’d take relationship advice from a woman who’s been married five times?’’
“Now, Mace, I can picture you rolling your eyes about now.’’
How does she do that?
“But honey, you know I’ve seen you happy with Carlos. All I want is for you to be happy. I think he could give you that, if you’d just let him. Why won’t you let him?’’
The chip in my mouth turned to ashes. I couldn’t swallow, given the lump in my throat. I told myself it was the jalapeno peppers I’d chopped into the salsa bringing tears to my eyes.
“Okay, honey, the machine is telling me to quit now. You’re a beautiful girl, every bit as pretty as Kelly. Well, you would be with a little make-up, anyways. Remember that. I lov … ’’
The beep cut her off, mid-word. I sat there for a moment on my couch, staring out the window into the night. Wila padded into the living room from her hiding spot, and jumped up next to me. We’re not normally a cuddly couple, but the cat seemed to sense I wanted company. Her warm body was a comfort beside me.
“I screwed up, Wila.’’ Whispering, I stroked her velvety coat. “It’s my fault Carlos is fooling around with Kelly. If I’d tried harder to let him know how I feel, that would have been me dancing with him tonight.’’
Wila purred. Did she agree? Was she contradicting me? Maybe she was just enjoying the massage.
The last explanation was most likely. Still, it felt good to unburden myself. I wasn’t Catholic, so the cat was the best confessor I was likely to get.
“What should I do, Wila?’’
A knock at my bedroom window put a quick end to my conversation with the cat. I jumped up; Wila leapt to the floor. As she scurried under the couch, I grabbed Paw-Paw’s shotgun from the closet.
My cottage is tiny, and I could see the window of my bedroom from the living room, just a half dozen steps away.
It was inky dark in the backyard. Whoever had knocked was outside the glow of the light from the front porch. A shiver worked its way along my spine. Could the intruder see me, while I couldn’t see him, or her? Another knock sounded, more insistent this time.
“Who’s there?’’
Taking cover behind the bedroom doorframe, I quickly loaded and racked the shotgun. That dramatic sound everyone knows from the movies ricocheted out the screened window.
“¡Dios mío! Don’t shoot! It’s me, Carlos. I didn’t want to wake you in case you were sleeping.’’
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding, pulled back the slide and ejected the shell.
“Well, I’m not sleepy now.’’ I went to the window. “What are you doing out there?’’
“I’m checking to make sure you’re safe.’’ He tapped at the glass. “I’ve told you about this. I really wish you wouldn’t leave the window open, Mace. Anybody could push through this screen.’’
His overprotectiveness was about to make me bristle, as usual. I counted to five instead. Maybe it meant he still cared about me, at least a little.
“Want to come in?’’
“I was hoping you’d ask.’’
Once he was inside, and settled on the couch, I got him a soda. I grabbed my salsa, found a couple of napkins, and transferred the chips I’d been eating straight from the bag into a glass bowl. Mama would be proud.
“What brings you way out here?’’
“I wanted to talk.’’
“Ever hear of a phone?’’
He cocked his head at me. I hoped my smile stripped the words of any sting.
“I wanted to see you in person. I was afraid if I called first, you’d say I couldn’t come.’’
“Fair enough,’’ I said. “Let’s talk.’’
I put the bowl between us on the couch and sat down. He took a long swallow from his can of Coke.
“No games?’’ he finally asked, as he looked into my eyes.
I showed him my hands, holding no tricks.
“I’m sorry about how I was acting with Kelly tonight. It was childish. I wanted to make you jealous.’’
“Mission accomplished,’’ I said.
“I’d like to give things another try, Mace. Give us another try.’’
I searched his face. His eyes held mine. I felt like I was floating in those dark chocolate pools. And then I remembered how just a couple of hours earlier, he’d been staring just that same way into Kelly’s eyes.
“I don’t know, Carlos. You seemed awfully cozy with the movie star.’’
He shrugged. “It was just one dance. The main reason I called Kelly tonight was business. I needed to ask her some questions regarding the investigation.’’
I sat up straight. “Why? Do you think Kelly’s involved?’’
He shook a finger at me. “You know I’m not going to tell you that.’’
“That means you do.’’
“No, it means I’m not going to tell you. So quit asking.’’ He leaned closer, brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “Besides, this is about us. Do you think what we have is worth working on?’’
Judging by the way my skin sizzled at his touch, I did. For once, I didn’t hesitate.
“Yes, I absolutely do,’’ I said. “Can we start working on it right now, please?’’
His eyes went all hot and liquid. I felt a shudder of desire. We moved toward each other, and kissed. His mouth tasted sweet, like cinnamon breath mints overlaid with Coke. He laced his fingers into my hair, and pulled my face roughly to his. Willingly, I went. Fingers fumbled with zippers and buttons. The bowl tumbled off the couch. We tore at one another’s clothes.
Anger. Confusion. Love. Lust. All the emotions that had been racing through my body crystallized, and then melded into one powerful urge. We became one, and the flame of hurt I’d felt when I saw him with Kelly was extinguished, right there on the couch. Just to be sure, we put the flame out again.
After we were spent, he chuckled.
“Not exactly the after-glow response I’d hoped for.’’ I gave his shoulder a playful punch.
He picked a crushed tortilla chip from my hair and showed it to me. I had to smile, because I had spotted a big glob of salsa on his bare chest. I swiped the salsa onto my finger, and then dabbed it on the chip. He popped the combination into his mouth.
“Not bad,’’ he said.
“I’ve got a leftover slice of Mama’s butterscotch pie in the fridge,’’
I said. “Want something sweet?’’
“I just had something sweet.’’ He gave me an exaggerated leer.
I was about to ask if he was ready for thirds on that particular treat, when I heard the sound of country music floating through the night air. Outside, a truck was jouncing into my yard. Carlos raised his eyebrows at me. I shrugged, grabbed a long T-shirt, and went to the window to look out.