Blissfully Blindsided

by Robin Alexander

  Blissfully Blindsided

  By Robin Alexander

  Blissfully Blindsided

  © 2018 by Robin Alexander

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  First Ebook Edition: 2018

  This Ebook Is Published By

  Robin Alexander Romance

  Walker, La. USA

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  _______________________________________________

  Credits

  Executive Editor: Ruth Stanley

  Cover Design by: Tiger Graphics

  About Blissfully Blindsided.

  Blaze Sonnier has had a bad year. In the spring she made national news while dressed as the Easter Bunny in a brawl where she was trying to defend herself, and earned the moniker Bitch Slap Bunny. In the fall the mother who abandoned Blaze for an acting career showed up on her doorstep, not only injured from an accident but broke and in need of a place to stay. While on a bike ride to purge her stress Blaze encounters one small (in physical stature only) silver lining with a flat tire.

  The job Caleigh Breaux took after graduating college required her to live as a nomad into her late thirties. Weary of traveling, hotels and being unable to have a real relationship, she made a career change. Though she hoped the change would lead her to meet the woman of her dreams she’s stunned when it happens the night she rolls into the town of Falcon, Louisiana.

  In her latest romantic comedy, Robin Alexander has woven another tale with her trademark humor about small-town life, family, forgiveness, and falling in love.

  Dedication

  For Taylor.

  She will always be my hero.

  And for Mrs. Virginia.

  She was a precious gift.

  Chapter 1

  “I can do this,” Caleigh Breaux said angrily as she looked at her tidy little package of tools that had never been used and the jack she had no idea how to operate. She could’ve easily called her grandfather for help, but at thirty-seven years old, she thought she should be able to change a tire on her own. There was also the fact she’d spent much of her two-day, cross-country trip on the phone with her grandparents trying to assure them she was more than capable of making the journey alone. Nevertheless, they would check on her nearly every hour, put the call on speaker, and to Caleigh’s annoyance, refer to her as the baby.

  “That baby shit has to go,” Caleigh groused as she wiped sweat from her brow. “I’ve been grown for a long time, and I don’t know why they refuse to accept that.”

  Actually, Caleigh did know. At five foot two inches tall with a head full of blond curls, she didn’t look very different than she did when she was in her teens. She’d inherited her mother’s youthful genes and was sometimes still asked for her ID when she ordered a drink. She was sure she’d appreciate that when she got older, but it drove her crazy that her looks made her family still see her as a child.

  Sensibility told Caleigh to call for help, but her pride and determination to prove she was not the baby wouldn’t allow common sense to prevail. It was September but still very hot and humid in south Louisiana. The heat added to her annoyance and made it hard for her to remain calm and concentrate. Her anger rose as she tried to read her car manual and sweat dripped off her face onto the pages in the waning light.

  Caleigh took a wrench from the tool packet and began loosening the lug nuts on the rear passenger side tire. She felt pretty confident when that task was complete, but placing the jack beneath the frame of the car proved difficult. She had no idea what part was actually considered the frame. She lay her head in the dirt and studied the undercarriage of her car wondering what damage she would cause if she placed the jack incorrectly.

  “Need help?”

  Startled, Caleigh jumped to her feet and blurted out all the thoughts that crossed her mind. “I didn’t hear a car—you’re on a bike. Why on earth would you ride a bike out here?”

  “Exercise,” the woman said as she set the kickstand and glanced at the license plate on Caleigh’s car as she got off of her bike. “How did someone from Nebraska find Old Dump Road? I don’t think it’s on any GPS.”

  “I’m not originally from Nebraska, I grew up in Baton Rouge. My grandparents live in Falcon, and that’s how I know this road is a shortcut.”

  “It’s not much of a road anymore, just a mass of potholes. You’re lucky you only have a flat tire. My name is Blaze Sonnier. Who’re your grandparents?”

  “Dean and Edie Breaux.” Caleigh put out her hand. “I’m Caleigh Breaux.” She noticed how Blaze’s eyes narrowed slightly when she’d mentioned her grandparents’ names.

  Blaze smiled and shook Caleigh’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I can help with the tire and have you back on the road pretty quickly.”

  “Do I look like I don’t know what I’m doing?” Caleigh held up a hand when she noticed Blaze’s brow rise. “That wasn’t sarcasm, it was an honest question.”

  Blaze noted the dirt on Caleigh’s cheek and in her hair that had escaped her ponytail. “You look like you’re handling it, but it would be wrong just to ride on past you and not offer help.”

  “I really don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m embarrassed,” Caleigh admitted with a sigh. “I have no idea where to put the jack.”

  “Under the car—that was playful sarcasm…which wasn’t a good move judging by the look on your face.” Blaze smiled. “What’ve you done so far?”

  “I loosened the lug nuts.”

  Blaze knelt by the flat tire. “You got the first part down, so that’s good.” She hooked the crank handle to the jack and slid it beneath the car.

  Caleigh joined Blaze on the ground and studied the placement. “Okay, so that’s the frame.”

  “Yep, and I’m gonna turn this handle until the tire clears the ground. I had a flat recently, so I’ve had a refresher course on how to do this.”

  “Great.” Caleigh watched as Blaze pulled a hair band from the pocket of her jeans, swept her long bangs from her face, and twisted the band around them. The setting sun brought out the hues in her dark red, shoulder-length hair. Caleigh smiled when Blaze glanced up at her with a pair of pretty blue eyes. She watched the muscles in Blaze’s arms as she turned the jack handle and noticed she was wearing work boots, a short-sleeved denim shirt, and jeans. “So is this your normal exercise attire?”

  Blaze glanced at Caleigh again. “I would’ve worn something comfortable, but I made a spur-of-the-moment decision brought on by a stressful environment I wanted to escape for a while.”

  “What?” Caleigh asked slowly and cocked her head like a confused pup.

  “I just needed to burn off some frustration.”

  “I totally get that. Blaze is an interesting name.”

  “Unless it’s yours,” Blaze said as she removed the lug nuts. “I suppose Blaze is what came to mind when I was born because I had bright red hair. I hated it when I was little because other kids thought my name was weird.” She pulled the tire off the posts. “Okay, we’re ready for the spare. Will you open your trunk?”

  “Oh,” Caleigh said with a blank expression.

  “You don’t…have a spare?”

  Caleigh grimaced. “Okay, I’m in the process of moving to Falcon.”

  “Ah.” Blaze stood and brushed off her hands. “The tire is buried under a bu
nch of luggage, isn’t it?”

  “Kinda,” Caleigh said as she hurried to the driver’s side of the car and pushed the trunk release.

  Blaze walked to the back of the car and tried to keep her expression neutral as Caleigh opened the trunk and revealed what looked like hundreds of boxes. “Wow, so you’re really into shoes.”

  “I know that you’re thinking—I’m that woman. The prissy one who can’t change her own tire and has a ton of clothes and shoes, and her highest priority is getting her nails done. I swear I’m not, even though the evidence points to the contrary,” Caleigh said as she gathered boxes. “My former job required me to travel constantly, and I didn’t have a real home. It made no sense to buy things to decorate an apartment I rarely saw, so I compensated by buying things I did use, and that was clothes and shoes. The moving van that had my few furnishings left before I realized I forgot to pack my shoe closet.”

  “You had a whole closet dedicated to shoes?” Blaze asked as she grabbed boxes too.

  “I’ve had the same job since I graduated college, and I’m almost forty. That was a lot of years of collecting shoes, so yes. When I get into my new place, I’ll sort through them, then donate most to a women’s shelter.” Caleigh dropped an armload of boxes onto the road. “I am that woman. Oh, my God! I am! I can’t change a tire! I have a ton of shoes! I don’t know how to work in an office, and this is proof!”

  Blaze’s jaw sagged slightly as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing. “People wear shoes in an office,” she said numbly.

  “But I wore mine on the road!” Caleigh snatched a shoebox out of the trunk and spiked it on the ground like a football. She waved her hands around wildly and stared at the sky. “Is this a sign? Is the universe trying to tell me through a flat tire that I should’ve stayed in my old job where I knew what I was doing?” Breathing heavily, she met Blaze’s startled gaze. “I can’t even change my own tire, so how am I gonna run a whole human resources department?”

  Blaze looked at the shoes and boxes scattered around Caleigh’s feet thinking they’d be there for hours if Caleigh continued to have an emotional crisis. “How long have you been driving?”

  “Since I got my learner’s permit at fifteen years old,” Caleigh replied, looking confused.

  “I mean today.”

  “Oh. Shit.” Caleigh thought for a moment. “Don’t judge, I’m gonna have to use my fingers to count.”

  “Don’t bother. When was the last time you ate?”

  “I get sleepy after I eat, so I just had nuts and a lot of energy drinks.” Caleigh waved both hands. “I’m sure that’s why I’m half-crazed, but I’ve had two days of driving to think, and I’m stressed. It’s just everything my old boss told me is true. I thought he was saying those things because he didn’t want me to resign. I stayed on the road all the time for MVP Pharmacies. If there was a problem at a store, I solved it. If I was in New York and Jim needed me in Seattle, I was there the next day taking care of human resources issues.” Caleigh held up a finger. “Here’s the deal, though. I solved the problem, and I was gone. I’ve never managed a department full of people on a daily basis. I don’t know what made me think I could do that. I don’t know why Falcon Shipyard hired me, other than the fact I interview really well and my hair looked great during the video conference.”

  “You’re tired and hungry, and that makes everything seem worse than it is,” Blaze said as the last bit of daylight quickly faded. She started grabbing boxes and setting them on the road. “I’ll go from buttercup to bear in a heartbeat when I’m hungry. Most people feel hunger coming on gradually, but not me. I’m fine one minute and starving the next, and people start waving bananas in my face. After you eat and sleep, you’re gonna be like, ‘I’ve got this, it’s no big deal.’ You’ll see.”

  Caleigh sounded as though she was talking to herself when she said, “I didn’t make a rash decision. I thought about leaving MVP for a long time. I was so sick of living like a nomad. I didn’t really have any friends outside of work, and I couldn’t have a relationship.” She sighed as she grabbed an armload of boxes. “I can make this work. I do have management skills, and I am intelligent, even though I don’t know what a car frame looks like.”

  “Right.” Blaze scooted the remaining boxes from around the spare tire compartment and opened it. “You’re gonna be just fine. You’ll realize that tomorrow morning.” She lifted the tire out and took it around to the side of the car.

  Caleigh pulled her phone from her pocket and used the flashlight on it to illuminate the area where Blaze was working. “So you put the tire on and the nuts.”

  “Right. See, you would’ve gotten this. I’ll tighten everything up once I let the jack down.”

  “I think I would’ve gotten it eventually.” Caleigh blew out a breath. “Can you imagine how embarrassing it is to lose your mind in front of a total stranger?”

  “Trust me when I say it would be worse if you were in front of a group of people armed with cell phones videoing your worst moment that goes viral when it hits the web.” Blaze hand-tightened the last lug nut and cranked the jack handle. “Fortunately for you, it’s just me out here, and I forgot my phone at home.”

  “Blaze, I owe you big-time.”

  “No, you don’t. Helping with the tire made me forget about all the crap I’ve been dealing with, so you did me a favor too. We’re even. The jack is out now, and this is the part where you use the wrench to really tighten the nuts.” Blaze grunted as she turned the wrench. “Don’t ride on this little doughnut spare for very long. It’ll be good to get you into town, but they’re not made for a lot of mileage.”

  “I’ll get it fixed tomorrow.” Caleigh watched Blaze for a moment and said, “You looked as though you knew my grandparents when I mentioned them.”

  “I know who they are,” Blaze said. “Falcon is a small town. You’ll get to know just about everybody pretty quickly because most everyone works at the shipyard, or they’re related to someone who does.”

  “I know about Falcon. I spent a lot of time with Gramp and Gram when I was little,” Caleigh said with a faint smile. “I’m looking forward to being close to them again and living somewhere quaint and quiet.”

  Blaze tightened the last bolt and put the toolkit back together. “I assume the jack was under one of the seats.”

  “It was, but I’m gonna throw all that into the trunk and sort it later. It’s hot and it’s dark—hey, I could put your bike in my backseat and give you a ride to town.”

  “Thank you, but I’m gonna visit a friend who doesn’t live far from here,” Blaze said as she carried the jack and toolkit to the back of the car. She set them down, then hoisted the flat tire into the trunk.

  “I should’ve helped you with that, but I’m just standing here like a moron. I’m definitely not myself tonight.”

  “One of us has to hold the light,” Blaze said as she set the jack and tools into the trunk, then began picking up the shoeboxes. “That tire takes up more space than the little doughnut spare, so your trunk isn’t going to be as neat as it was before.”

  Caleigh laughed. “That’s one thing I’m not sweating.” She started grabbing boxes and throwing them into the trunk.

  When the trunk lid miraculously closed over the mound of boxes and shoes, Blaze said, “It was nice meeting you, Caleigh. I’m sure you’ll do fine at your new job.”

  “I have to hug you, is that okay?”

  Blaze shrugged with a smile. “Sure.”

  “I can’t thank you enough.” Caleigh wrapped her arms around Blaze and gave her a squeeze. “I don’t care what you say, I still owe you. Let me take you out to eat sometime.”

  “Shop at my store, that’ll be payback,” Blaze said when Caleigh released her. “It’s in the center of town, and it’s called The Old Store, but most everybody calls it The Store.”

  “I know that place,” Caleigh exclaimed. “Gramp used to take me there when I was little. It was so cool, there were groceries o
n one aisle and hardware on another.”

  Blaze laughed as she got onto her bike. “It’s not that way anymore. It’s mainly hardware and household items now.”

  “I really don’t want you to ride your bike on this dark road.”

  “I’m not going to. There’s a trail just up ahead that’ll take me through the woods to Carey’s place. Good night,” Blaze said as she rode off.

  “Be careful,” Caleigh called after Blaze as she watched her disappear into the darkness. She got into her car and started it. When her headlights lit up the road, Blaze was nowhere in sight. “You are either brave or crazy or both. There’s no way I’d ride a bike out here after dark.”

  *******

  “You crazy ass,” Carey Dunn yelled as Blaze rode up to the porch where she sat. “I almost went in and got my shotgun when I caught sight of something out there moving around in the darkness. I thought you were a coyote. What’re you doing on that bike this time of night?”

  “It was daylight when I left the house, but I helped a woman on Old Dump Road who had a flat tire.” Blaze got off her bike and limped up the steps of Carey’s porch.

  “Why do you look like you’ve been riding a horse nonstop for twenty-four hours?”

  “I just learned it’s a bad idea to take a long bike ride while wearing jeans on a hot night. I’ve never chafed this bad before. My butt cheeks and the insides of my thighs are on fire,” Blaze said as she unzipped her pants.

  “You’re not about to take off—oh shit, you are.” Carey looked away as Blaze yanked her jeans down her thighs.

  “Don’t worry, my shirt is long you won’t see anything. Did smoke come out when I pulled my pants down? Seriously, I think I’m on fire.”

  “I’m not looking.” Carey stood up keeping her gaze averted. “I’m gonna go get you a pair of shorts and something for your fire.”

  “Thank you,” Blaze said with a groan.

  Carey went inside her house, found a pair of shorts and grabbed a jar of balm. She quickened her pace when she heard a yelp. When she returned to the porch Blaze’s boots, pants, and underwear lay in a pile and there was a puddle at Blaze’s feet. “Did you pee out here?” she asked aghast and looked away.