by Cora Kenborn
Sin City, here we come.
DIVORCE & DENIAL
Book Six #duboisdovegas
Weeks before saying “I do”, Savannah is blindsided with the consequences of the worst decision she's ever made.
Panicked, she kidnaps her pregnant sister and hops on the first flight to Vegas. The plan is simple—have a fake bachelorette party, get a quickie divorce, and return home with no one being the wiser.
With the clock ticking, the sisters race to right their wrongs before Savannah's fiancé finds out about her tequila soaked nuptials, and Adelaide's over-protective boyfriend locks her away until she gives birth.
One thing is for sure. What happens in Vegas sure as hell doesn’t stay there.
56
DEFCON-1
Savannah
New Orleans, Louisiana
I flew into DuBlanc like a bat out of hell. It was Tuesday, which meant Zep and Bam-Bam were out on the boat and Addie would be alone in the office. Except she wasn’t at her desk. Instead, Kevin was curled up in her leather chair.
Oh boy, she’s not going to be happy about that.
However, I didn’t have time to worry about my sister throwing down with my pig. I had an honest to God DEFCON 1 situation.
“Ads!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, causing Kevin to wake with a jolt. “Adelaide Dubois, I swear to God I need you right this second!”
A clattering noise came from the kitchen followed by a string of curses.
Bingo.
Tearing through the door, I slid into the kitchen Risky Business style. “Addie, you won’t believe—what the fuck are you doing?” My sister sat on the cracked linoleum floor in front of the refrigerator, legs splayed out in front of her, crying. No, she wasn’t crying. That was too nice of a word for what she was doing. She was sobbing. Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks and mixed with snot running from her nose, her face as red as Daddy’s bald spot after a day on the water. Addie was in the midst of an all-out ugly cry.
Taking a tentative step towards her, I examined her surroundings more closely. The freezer door was ajar, and frozen Lean Cuisine meals were scattered all around her. However, what caught and held my attention were the two frozen burritos she cradled to her chest.
“Ads,” I said gently so as not to spook her. “Honey, what’s going on?”
“I—I—I can’t—” she blubbered.
My brain automatically went to the only person who made my sister cry. “Did something happen with Zep?”
She sniffled and ran the sleeve of her cardigan under her nose. “Just that he did this to me!” she wailed, pointing to her perfectly rounded belly.
For fuck’s sake, I don’t have time for this shit.
“Addie, pull it together. I’m in serious shit right now.”
“But my burritos are stuck together, and I’m—I’m hungry.”
A goddamn burrito? If this is what pregnancy hormones do to you, then sign me up for a surrogate.
Stalking over to her, I snatched the conjoined burritos and pried them apart, the anger at Patrick coursing through me and giving me strength. Tearing a paper towel off the roll, I slammed the burritos on the plate and into the microwave, punching at buttons until it whirred to life.
After composing myself, I turned to my sister, noticing she looked much better than she had just moments before. Her face was still red and splotchy, but at least she’d stopped blubbering. The heat of the nuclear meltdown happening inside my head must have shone through because Addie suddenly wore an expression of trepidation.
“Savannah, what’s going on? You have that look in your eye.”
I knew which look she was talking about. It was the look I got right before I let my Dubois crazy take hold and fuck shit up on a level only the craziest of bitches knew existed. It was the, “I’m-about-to-light-this-fucker’s-house-on-fire” look.
“Once these burritos are nuked and my nephew is fed, you’re packing your bags because we’re going to Vegas to get me a divorce.”
Addie clambered to her feet, sputtering the entire way. “Excuse me? Did you say divorce?”
Taking a deep breath, I barely restrained the anxiety threatening to cause a mental breakdown and nodded. The words to explain my situation caught in my throat as I stared at my sister’s bewildered face, a hint of disappointment shining in her eyes.
I’d done the one thing she’d warned me against. Unwittingly, I’d fucked up the one good thing in my life before it even started. I was doomed, never able to escape my reckless past. No matter how hard I ran or how carefully I’d colored inside the lines and followed the rules, the irresponsible actions of the old Savvy came back to bite me in the ass.
The microwave dinged, and Addie rushed toward it like it held the answers to world peace, temporarily forgetting my predicament. She reached in and snatched up the burritos, letting out a yelp of pain, immediately tossing them from one hand to the other in her own personal game of hot potato.
“Jesus, put them down before you burn yourself! I don’t have time to take you to the damn hospital for a burrito related injury.”
She hurriedly turned around and dropped her precious lunch on the counter just as I started to advance on her. I caught her eye, and what I saw scared the crap out of me. She wore a feral expression as she stood hunched over, her arms forming a protective barrier between me and her glorified Hot Pockets as if I might to try to take them.
Fucking pregnant chicks and their food.
Carefully, she picked one up and bit into it. The groan that crawled up from her throat was obscene, so much so that I had to turn away. I didn’t need to know what my sister’s ‘O’ face looked like. Trying to block out the wholly inappropriate noises coming from my sister’s affair with overly processed beans wrapped in a stale tortilla, I began to pace.
If I had any chance of marrying Pope and living happily ever after, I had to get my marriage with Patrick annulled. More importantly, I couldn’t ever let Pope find out about it. There would be no way to explain my way out of how stupid I’d been. I mean, who the hell didn’t know they were married? He’d think I was an idiot, a reckless and immature moron who couldn’t even remember she’d gotten married one drunken night in Vegas.
“Okay, you can’t just drop a bomb like that on me and not explain,” Addie proclaimed through a mouthful of burrito, little bits of tortilla flying from her lips as she spoke.
Letting my head fall back, I stared at the flickering fluorescent lights and groaned. “Apparently, I’m married.”
Addie let out a muffled snort as she crammed the last of her burrito into her mouth. “I gathered that part.”
Collapsing into one of the rickety dinette chairs, I dropped my head into my hands. “I went down to the courthouse to get our marriage license, but when I handed over our application, the clerk told me she couldn’t issue one until I had the proper documentation showing the dissolution of my first marriage. I thought it was a mistake, but then she read the records for me, and I remembered.”
I heard the click of her heels across the linoleum and looked up just as she reached my side. She laid a comforting hand on my shoulder, but instead of feeling her comfort, all I felt was her pity. Standing, I shook off her hand and stalked to the freezer. A growl of frustration rumbled through me as I remembered I hadn’t replaced the emergency vodka since the last Dubois crisis. Addie stayed blessedly silent for once in her life, letting me find the words in my own time.
My mind raced with tequila drenched memories of that weekend in Las Vegas with Patrick and our friends. It had been the summer after college, and we’d decided to take a gap year before we headed out into the real world. Gavin, Patrick’s best friend, had acquired an old school bus that he’d converted into a makeshift motorhome. The six of us had piled in and headed down the road before our graduation caps hit the ground. We’d zig-zagged across the country, working odd jobs and selling crafts at street markets for cash. It’d been the time of my life until things with Patric
k turned sour.
“We were in Vegas partying, and we walked by one of those chapels. I didn’t even think about it when Patrick dragged me inside. It was just like on TV. The guy was dressed like Elvis and emphasized each word by gyrating his hips. I could barely breathe I was laughing so hard. I thought it was all for show, Ads. I didn’t think I was marrying him for real. Anyway, we went back to the bus and passed out. By the time we hit Albuquerque, I’d forgotten all about it.”
Addie’s face glazed over in astonishment as I recounted the story. “What about rings?”
I laughed at the thought. We hadn’t worn the cheap gold bands for more than an hour. “Patrick said rings were a symbol of oppression and a bunch of other crap and then we threw them into the fountains at the Bellagio.”
“And he never mentioned it again?”
I shook my head, toying with a chipped piece of the Formica table top.
“Even when you guys broke up?”
I sucked on my teeth and gave her a sheepish look. Not wanting to reveal this little piece of information, but knowing I had to, I inhaled a deep breath to steady myself. “We didn’t exactly break up, per se.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits as her laser vision demanded that I elaborate.
“Things weren’t good with us for a while. We were all crammed together, and he was in my face every day. I just couldn’t take it anymore, so when we hit Austin, and I got offered a job at the bar, I took off. It was supposed to be our last day there before heading north; I packed a bag while everyone slept and left him a note. I haven’t heard from him since.”
What I didn’t tell her was that I’d stolen his watch on my way out and pawned it for cash to get a room for the night. I didn’t think my sister needed to be enlightened to any more of my post break-up kleptomaniac tendencies.
“He never tried to contact you after that?”
I shook my head and stood, collecting my bag and checking my phone for the hundredth time in the last hour. “Nope, we’re still Facebook friends, but he hasn’t so much as liked a post since I left. I messaged him after I left the courthouse, but he hasn’t responded yet.”
Addie rubbed at her temples as she paced in front of me. “So you want to go to Vegas and do what? You can’t do anything without him, can you?”
“I just need to get him there. After that, we can have it annulled and done in just a few days.”
“But Sav, what if he doesn’t respond? Or if he does, what if he refuses to meet you?”
My eyes flashed to my sister’s as the dark backup plan I had tucked away started to creep forward in my mind. “I have a plan. He’ll come to Vegas and deal with this shit. Trust me.”
Trepidation clouded her eyes. “Savannah, what the hell do you have up your sleeve?”
I waved her off and pushed through the door to the office. She followed, albeit hesitantly. “None of that matters right now. If it comes to that, I’ll let you know. Right now, we need to close up shop and get ready to go.”
Addie gave a little squeak as I gathered the papers on her desk into a stack and powered off her computer. “I am not going to Vegas.”
“Oh, but you are. I need you with me in case someone has to bail me out of jail.”
“Is that supposed to convince me?”
“Did it work?”
“No.”
“Then maybe this will. Addie, you’re my sister, and right now, I need you. I don’t ask for much—“
“Are you shitting me? You ask for everything. Just last week you asked to borrow my computer to look up tentacle porn because you were curious and didn’t want to get a virus on your computer!”
“You have a better virus protection program than I do.”
She threw her hands up, her neck and face turning red. “That’s not the point! I’m almost seven months pregnant Savannah. I can’t be gallivanting all over Las Vegas trying to clean up another one of your messes.”
I flinched as her vicious words lashed out and opened up old wounds. Without a word, I turned and scooped Kevin up in my arms, making my way for the door.
“Savvy, wait! I didn’t mean…”
I froze, turning my head to peek at her over my shoulder. “Yes, you did, and you’re right. This is my mess, and I need to figure it out myself. Pretty soon you’re going to have someone else to worry about. It’s not going to be you and me against the world anymore. I need to learn to stand on my own two feet sooner or later, might as well be now.”
Pushing through the front door, I headed out to the truck, the dank sea air swirling around me.
“Damn it, Savannah, wait!”
I turned to see my sister running after me, her cardigan hanging off one arm and her giant purse flopping against her side.
Addie bent at the waist and gasped for breath when she caught up with me. “I’m going with you.”
“You are? But what about…” I pointed back toward the office.
“Forget that. You were right. It’s you and me. You came with me to Sugarbirch even though that was my mess to clean up. It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t have your back now.”
Relief flooded my chest. While I was fully prepared to make the trip on my own, I really wanted my sister by my side. “Thank you.”
Addie worried the strap of her suitcase sized purse. “There’s just one thing.”
I felt my brows draw down in confusion. “What?”
“You have to tell Zep.”
“Zep, would you calm down? It’s just Vegas for a couple of days. Pretty soon you’re going to have my sister and my new nephew all to yourself. This is the last chance we’re going to have to do something like this. Besides, it’s my bachelorette party. You’re not going to ruin my bachelorette party, are you?”
“She’s pregnant, Savannah,” Zep growled over the speaker. Addie and I sat in the truck on our way to Terrebonne to drop Kevin off. Little did Zep know our bags were already packed and in the back of the truck.
“Yes, you’re right. She’s pregnant, not dead. Look, Z, you forced me out of my home, stole my sister away, and put a baby in her so that she can’t drink with me. The least you can do is stop making a fuss and let me have a few days away with her before our entire lives change yet again.”
“I didn’t force you out of your home, Sav. You got engaged and moved out.”
“Yes, because you were already trying to weasel your way in. I had to do something. If I hadn’t gotten engaged and moved out, you would’ve forced Addie’s hand to kick me out, and then I would’ve resented you and my nephew for driving a wedge between my sister and me. The whole thing would’ve caused a rift in the entire family, and people would’ve had to choose sides. We would’ve been forced to split the business in two, and it would’ve failed because we need all of us working together to make it successful. Then, all of us would’ve ended up in the poor house, and our kids would’ve gotten arrested for stealing food like Aladdin. Without the cute monkey and spunky genie to save them, they would’ve all rotted in a cell! Is that what you want? Do you want our children to rot in a cell, Zep?”
Silence. Not a peep came from the speaker as I held the phone up in front of me. I glanced toward Addie who was turning bright red from holding in her laughter as she drove us down the highway.
Suddenly, a long groan came from the other line, and I knew I had him.
“Will you please just let me have this, Zep?” I implored.
“Who the hell is going to make sure you two stay safe? Logic and reasoning fly out the window when the two of you are left to your own devices. I’m serious Savannah. You both lose sight of reality, and I just don’t know if I’m okay with—”
“Babs is coming with us!” I blurted out without thinking. Addie jerked the wheel, and the car swerved as her head whipped to the side so she could stare at me with eyes as big as silver dollars. I just shrugged. It was all I could think of at the moment.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Babs survived two
wars and nearly sixty years in the swamp. She can keep us alive for a few days.”
Maybe.
“It’s not keeping you alive that I’m worried about, it’s keeping you out of jail.”
“Well, you can’t win ‘em all, Z. We’re almost to Terrebonne, so reception is going to be spotty. We’ll send you pics from the strip!” I quickly disconnected the call, not allowing him to respond, and switched the phone to silent.
Addie gnawed on her lower lip and cast me a sideways glance. “I don’t think you convinced him, and are we really bringing Babs with us?”
I laughed and cuddled Kevin, who’d been nestled in my lap. “I didn’t need to convince him it was going to be okay. I just needed to convince him we weren’t up to anything nefarious and Babs is the perfect cover. Everyone knows Mama is terrified of flying and would never go to Vegas. If Babs is with us, they will be more worried about us keeping her out of trouble than what we’re really doing there.”
“Aren’t you even a little concerned how we’re going to keep a handle on her in Sin City?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll put the stalker app on her phone. It’s like a homing beacon. She’ll be fine.”
“Wait, if Babs is coming with us, who’s going to watch Kevin?”
“I can’t believe you just left him there,” Addie said, yet again, as we bumped down the gravel road towards Babs’ house. I’d called ahead and let her know we were coming. She was all too eager to join us, especially after I told her I was paying.
“I left a note,” I reasoned as I checked my phone again for a message from Patrick.
Nothing.
“Bam-Bam is going to lose it when he gets home. If Kevin shits in his shoes you may come back to a rack of bacon rather than a pet.”
Waving her off, I ignored the deplorable thought. “He loves Kevin. He’d never do anything to hurt him. They’ll both be fine, and Babs said that she’d have Sheriff Tucker check on Fluffy while she was gone.”
