The Dead Come Calling

by C. C. Wood

  “You’re talking to him every day?”

  “Well…yeah,” she answered baldly. “But it’s weird.”

  I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud. It seemed that Stony understood my friend as well as I did. The best way to get around her stubbornness was to meet it head on. She was one of the strongest people I knew and had a will of sheer iron. If a man backed away from a challenge she threw down, she lost all respect for him. Instead Stony was ignoring her words and listening to her actions. I knew that Jonelle kept men at a distance for a reason and none of them had ever fought to keep her when she broke things off. As perverse as it was, I believed Jonelle needed a man who would prove to her that he would stick around, even as she did her worst to drive him away.

  “I’m going to give you the same advice you gave me about Mal,” I told her.

  “What? To jump his bones?”

  I laughed then. “No, to take a chance.”

  She was silent for a long time, so long I wondered if she’d hung up on me. Just as I was about to check my screen, she said, “And I’ll tell you what you told me. I’ll think about it.”

  “Is this what you felt like when you were trying to talk me into hooking up with Mal?” I asked indignantly. “Because it’s frustrating as hell.”

  Jonelle burst into laughter. “Oh, hell yeah.”

  I giggled with her.

  Most of the tension had left her voice when she spoke again. “I’ll come by for dinner,” she stated. “But I’m punching him in the nose if he tries to kiss me.”

  “No need for violence,” I replied soothingly.

  “Yeah, you’re just saying that because he’s never kissed you. Then you’d understand why I need to protect myself from him.”

  “That bad?” I asked sympathetically.

  “No, that good.”

  Chapter

  I was secretly glad when Mal found me in the kitchen and told me that he wouldn’t be leaving until the next day. I assumed he would be going to California since Los Angeles was the epicenter for the television and motion picture industry, but he shook his head.

  “No, I’m going to Atlanta.”

  “Atlanta, Georgia?” He’d briefly mentioned Georgia yesterday but it hadn’t penetrated at the time.

  He nodded. “That’s where the headquarters are and I’m not leaving until tomorrow. Even though Lloyd was in a huge hurry, for some reason he can’t manage to make it out there until Thursday, so now I’m waiting on him.”

  He sounded so disgusted that I suppressed my smile. I rarely saw Mal ruffled, but this was twice in one week.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re staying another night,” I admitted. “Jonelle is coming over later and I have a feeling that sparks are going to fly.”

  “Is Stony bothering her?” he asked, his expression darkening. “I can tell him to knock it off. I warned him that a slam-bam-thank you ma’am wouldn’t go over well with your best friend.”

  A sharp bark of laughter escaped my mouth before I could hold it back. “No, that’s Jonelle’s M.O. I think in this case it’s that Stony doesn’t want to fall in line with her plans for keeping things simple.”

  Mal shook his head. “Don’t tell me any more. I don’t need to know about his love life unless he’s being an asshole.”

  “I don’t think he is. In fact, I think he’s perfect for Jonelle. I’m just worried she’ll never let her guard down enough to admit it.”

  “It would be kind of nice if Stony and Blaine settled down with women. They’d probably bicker with each other less if they had wives to do that with instead.”

  My eyebrows lifted. “Wow, Mal, that was almost sexist.”

  His cheeks flushed a dull red. “I just mean that they’ll probably fight less if they have other people to fight with.”

  I let him off the hook because Mal was definitely not sexist, though he did have a tendency to be overprotective of me. “You’re probably right. Especially if Stony ends up with Jonelle. He’ll never get a moment’s peace.”

  Mal grinned. “That sounds exactly like what he needs.”

  “Like what who needs?” Blaine asked, his head appearing behind Mal’s shoulder in the doorway.

  “Nobody,” Mal replied firmly. “It looks like you and Stony are going to have to take the couch and floor tonight,” he continued. “I’m here until tomorrow morning.”

  Blaine shrugged, and then winced and rubbed the back of his neck as if already anticipating the crick he’d have after spending a night on my sofa. “No problem,” he lied. “I’m so tired that I could probably sleep standing up tonight.”

  I frowned at him. “Why don’t you lay down and take a nap before dinner?” I suggested.

  “Stony took over the couch in the living room,” he replied.

  “Use my bed,” I offered.

  Blaine opened his mouth but Mal spoke before he could reply. “No, use the bed in the guest room. Zoe doesn’t need the smell of your funky feet all over her sheets.”

  My lip curled slightly at his comment, but I smoothed out my expression before either one of them had a chance to see it. I’d forgotten that the smell of Blaine’s feet could rival a skunk at the end of the day.

  “Sure thing, boss,” Blaine drawled, his voice dry and bland. He gave Mal a pointed look then disappeared from the kitchen.

  While Blaine and Stony napped, Mal and I worked until it was time for the guys to start dinner. They insisted that I put my feet up and take it easy, Stony even going so far as to open a good bottle of red wine that he’d bought at the store and pouring me a glass.

  Feeling thoroughly spoiled, I insisted on answering the door when the bell rang. I was almost certain that it was Jonelle anyway.

  She gave me a hug when I opened the door. “Hey, you look better,” she commented.

  “Gee, thanks,” I quipped.

  “No, I mean you don’t look as stressed out as you did a couple of days ago.”

  “I’m not,” I replied with a shrug.

  “Hey, the cock hopper is here!” Teri cried behind me.

  I dropped my head and stared at my feet with huge sigh. I didn’t bother trying to hold it back.

  “Stop calling her that, Teri,” I grumbled.

  “Let me guess,” Jonelle said as she hung her purse on the hook by the front door. “She called me a cock hopper again.”

  I nodded.

  “Fine,” Teri sniffed. “How about twatwaffle?” she asked.

  I twisted my head to glare at her through squinty eyes.

  She didn’t take the hint and needled me again. “Fuck truck?”

  “How about ‘Zoe’s best friend’?” I asked.

  “Shit. Fine. I’ll call her JoBlow, okay? That’s my final offer.”

  “What’s she saying?” Jonelle asked, her expression amused as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “She wants to know how you feel about the nickname JoBlow?”

  Jonelle threw her head back and laughed loudly. “I don’t care what she calls me, Zoe,” she explained between guffaws. “I can’t exactly hear her.”

  “Yeah, but I can and it bugs me,” I complained. “Especially when she gets really raunchy.”

  Jonelle just shook her head. “I know that she doesn’t care for me, but sometimes I think she and I would be good friends if I could hear her.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Teri groaned before she disappeared.

  “Damn, that’s a neat trick,” I told Jonelle. “As soon as you said that, she disappeared.”

  Jonelle rubbed her hands together. “I wonder if that would work on Stony.”

  “I doubt it,” I replied.

  “Oh, well. It’s worth a try.”

  Jonelle followed me into the kitchen and I poured her a glass of wine as she said hello to everyone.

  To my surprise, dinner went extremely well. Jonelle and Stony barely spoke to each other, but neither of them seemed upset. In fact, Jonelle was downright animated as she talked with the
rest of us. Stony didn’t seem bothered by her behavior. He told me stories from his college days with Blaine and Mal and the trouble they got into when they all lived in an apartment in Waco.

  I noticed that Jonelle seemed to soak up every word, even though she barely looked at Stony. Though she didn’t want her heart engaged, her mind definitely was, which would be half the battle when it came to winning her over.

  I decided to help Stony out the next time I had a chance and make sure they had some alone time together. He’d already cracked the wall she’d erected around her emotions. If he kept chipping away, she would eventually give in.

  As I observed Stony and the way he looked at her, the stronger my belief became that he would take excellent care of her heart should she give it.

  I glanced over at Mal and suddenly I wondered if Jonelle noticed the same thing when she saw Mal and I together. A strange sense of unreality washed over me as that thought settled into my brain, rooting itself there. Maybe Jonelle felt the same way I did; that she saw something I could not because my own fears and emotions had blinded me to it.

  As if he sensed my gaze, Mal turned and looked at me, our eyes locking across the table. In the bright light of the kitchen, I felt as though a veil had been ripped from over my eyes. It was as if I was seeing him for the first time. His brown eyes sparkled as they held mine, warm and…adoring. Mal looked at me as though he adored me. As if I were the only other person in the room.

  My heart slammed hard against my sternum before it picked up a rapid tattoo. Jonelle and Teri were right. He was crazy about me. If things didn’t work out between us, it wouldn’t be because he didn’t try.

  It would be because I was too much of a coward.

  I scooted my chair back from the table, unable to sit still any longer. “I’ll be right back,” I mumbled, feeling all their eyes on me as I walked out of the kitchen.

  I heard Jonelle get up to follow me, then Mal’s quiet voice, “Let me talk to her, please.”

  I didn’t hear Jonelle’s response because I opened the front door and stumbled out onto my porch. The late summer night was thick with heat in the twilight. The sun had just sunk over the horizon, leaving the sky streaked with vibrant orange and purple as the curtain of night slowly descended.

  Mal was on my heels, his hands closing over my arms and turning me to face him. He stared down at me, his eyes searching and worried. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Did something happen?”

  I looked up at him, the overwhelming emotions still swirling within me. I couldn’t find a voice for what I was feeling, so I decided to share it with him the only way I could. Rising up on my tiptoes, I lifted a hand to his cheek and laid my lips against his.

  He froze beneath my touch for less than a second and then his arms came around me, his hold tight and nearly bruising. The air around us seemed to heat and throb as we stood on my porch and embraced.

  I let everything I was feeling and thinking out in that kiss. My confusion, my fear, and my sudden recognition of what he was offering me. I gave him everything and he took it.

  But what he gave me in return was so much more. While he took everything I gave him, he also offered me all he had to give. In a single kiss, we shared the most honest, poignant exchange we’d ever had. I finally understood that Mal would never let me go as long as I wanted him to hold on.

  A car drove by with its windows down and the bass rattling my house with each thump. It was enough to break the spell.

  Mal lifted his head, breathing hard, and rested his brow against mine. His hold on me loosened slightly, but he kept me close.

  “I guess this means we’re both on the same page,” he murmured.

  I nodded, his hair brushing my forehead with the movement.

  “Good,” he whispered, brushing his lips over mine. “Though I have to tell you that your timing stinks.”

  I gasped and laughed at the same time, choking on the sound. “What?” I asked incredulously, pulling back so I could see his face.

  His smile was rueful. “You waited until I have to leave in twelve hours and you have a house full of people. There’s nothing I can do.”

  I stared at him in confusion until it dawned on me that he wanted privacy because he wanted to do more than kiss me.

  “Damn,” I grumbled back at him. “I hadn’t even thought of that until you brought it up.”

  Mal chuckled. “That takes care of my ego,” he teased.

  I laid my palm against his chest and batted my eyelashes at him playfully. “Would it make you feel better to know that I won’t be able to stop thinking about it now?”

  He groaned and let his head fall back as he stared at the ceiling of my porch. “You’re evil,” he stated.

  I patted his pectoral lightly. “Only a little.”

  With a quiet grunt, which made me smirk, he released his hold on my waist and took my hand from his chest. “We’re going back inside and you’re keeping your hands to yourself.”

  “If you say so,” I replied, my voice bland.

  “And I’m asking Stony to sleep in front of your door tonight.”

  “To keep you out of my room?” I asked sweetly.

  “No, to keep you in it.”

  Chapter

  The next morning I poured coffee into travel mugs for Blaine and Mal. Blaine was going to drive Mal to the airport and I wanted to be sure that they both stayed awake.

  I heard Mal enter the kitchen a few seconds before his arms wrapped around my waist and he rested his chin on my shoulder.

  “Is one of those for me?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” I replied.

  “What do I have to do to turn maybe into yes?” The stubble on his chin scraped the skin on the back of my neck as he pressed a light kiss there.

  I couldn’t stop the shiver that the sensation caused and felt Mal smile against my neck. He’d felt the tremor. “I don’t know. I’m thinking I should keep this one and give the other one to Blaine. You know, since he’s driving and all,” I teased.

  Mal waited until I put the carafe back into the coffeemaker before he turned me toward him. “That’s not nice,” he commented as his arms slid around my waist again.

  “I want to know why you continue to think I’m nice,” I replied. “I’ve never claimed anything of the sort.”

  The grin on his face spread into a wide smile. “Everything about you says you’re a nice girl.”

  I shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

  The smile on his face faded as he stared down at me. “I don’t want to leave,” he admitted softly.

  I couldn’t meet his eyes, focusing instead on the collar of his t-shirt. I lifted a hand to toy with the material where it rested against his collarbone. “I’m not crazy about the idea,” I muttered, “But you have to go. Everything that’s happening now, well, it won’t last forever. If you don’t take this opportunity, who knows when we’ll have it again.”

  Mal’s finger nudged my chin up. I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze. “I can stay,” he insisted.

  Vehemently, I shook my head. “No, you can’t. I won’t let you.” He sighed and I lifted my brows at him. “Now who’s using the sigh?” I pointed out.

  Another smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Fine, I’m going but I won’t be gone more than two days,” he stated.

  “Sounds good.” I laid both my palms against his chest, soaking up the feel of his body beneath my hands. “If you don’t leave soon, you’ll miss your plane.”

  “Kiss me good-bye first,” Mal commanded, leaning closer.

  “You’re being bossy,” I admonished.

  He didn’t reply, merely stared at me with warm, dark eyes. I slid my hands from his pectorals to cup the back of his neck and pulled his mouth down to mine. As far as kisses went, it was spectacular. My knees felt weak and my skin grew hot.

  A wolf whistle pierced the air and pulled us apart. I felt my face flush when I realized that Stony and Blaine were standing in the doorway to the kitchen, both w
earing sleazy grins.

  “Now, that’s more like it,” Stony called to Mal.

  Mal took a deep breath, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half-smile as we stared at each other. “When I get back, I’m putting them in the hotel,” he muttered.

  I smiled back at him. “But Teri will still be here,” I replied.

  “I’ll bribe her if I have to. I just want a little time alone to make-out with my woman.”

  “Your woman?” I asked archly.

  “My girl?” I didn’t bother replying to that piece of idiocy and he chuckled. “Want me to call you my girlfriend?”

  I grunted. “I guess woman will do, though I’m still a little uncomfortable with the my part since it implied ownership.”

  This time he laughed. “What if I say I’m your man? Is that better?”

  I decided that I’d given him enough crap for the time being. “We can discuss it when you get back,” I replied primly.

  Mal yanked me closer, kissing me fast and hard before he released me. “Sounds good.” His eyes dropped to my mouth as I licked my lips, still tasting his kiss. “Damn,” he swore, his pupils dilating.

  “Quit playing tonsil hockey already,” Stony complained. “I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”

  I turned back toward the travel mugs and added cream and sugar to Blaine’s. Then I screwed the lids on firmly and held them both out.

  Blaine took his with a smile and a kiss on my cheek. “Thanks.”

  Mal kissed my other cheek when he took his mug. “I’ll call you when I land,” he promised.

  “Have a safe trip,” I whispered back.

  Stony and I waved from the front door as they drove off.

  Then Stony threw a companionable arm around my shoulders and asked, “So what are you making us for breakfast?”

  “Bagels and cream cheese,” I tossed back.

  “I guess it’ll do.” He sounded so disappointed that I had to laugh.

  “I might be persuaded to make eggs and bacon if someone else will wash dishes.”