“Caleigh is not a good-time kind of girl or wily,” Edie insisted. “She couldn’t have relationships at her old job, and I know she wants one now. She’s already met Blaze and thinks she’s interesting and attractive. Those are her words.”
Carey yawned. “Okay, that I can deal with.”
“I’m so glad we’ve gotten this cleared up,” Edie said with relief. “How’ve you been and how’s TJ?”
When Edie’s question was met with silence, Dean held out his hand. “You can give me my phone because she’s done hung up. You know Carey don’t ever say goodbye.”
“Please promise me you’ll stop making assumptions,” Edie said as she switched off her lamp and lay down.
“I don’t think I did in this case. Like I said, you didn’t see the twinkle in Caleigh’s eye when she was talking about acquaintances.”
“Well, don’t you ever refer to her as a wily bastard again. Shame on you, honey.”
“She’ll be a wily shit from now on.” Dean gave Edie a kiss and switched off his lamp. “Do you know what emo is?”
“It pertains to a number of things. It could be a style of fashion, people who are sensitive and express—”
“Son of a bitch. I need to start reading more than fishing magazines. Good night!” Dean snapped.
*******
“What’s up?” Blaze asked when she answered Carey’s call.
“How’s it going over there?”
“Weird,” Blaze said simply.
“You know eventually you’ll wanna talk about all the shit going on with you, and I’m gonna be on the road with TJ. I can’t hear really well in that truck of hers, and you’re gonna miss out on all my wise advice.”
Blaze smiled as she pulled one of the cartoon appliqués off the wall of her temporary bedroom and added it to the pile she was making. “You’re only gonna be gone a couple of weeks. I’ll survive.”
“I heard you met Caleigh Breaux.”
“I ate a Paulie’s Pasta salad today and burped nonstop. Did you hear about that too?” Blaze asked as she peeled another appliqué from the wall. “Who’s been talking about me now?”
“Dean and Edie.”
Blaze sighed. “I know it wasn’t good then.”
“Why won’t you tell me why you hate them?”
“I don’t hate them.” Blaze rolled her eyes when she tore the appliqué in half. “What’re they saying about me?”
Carey ignored Blaze’s question. “What’s Caleigh look like?”
“She’s not very tall, so you’d probably trip over her if you weren’t paying attention about where you were stepping,” Blaze said with a laugh. “She’s got blond curly hair, kinda long, brown eyes, nice teeth and smile. I’d say she’s pretty.”
“She’s also a lesbian who thinks you’re attractive and interesting.”
“Are you screwing with me?” Blaze waited for a response and realized Carey had ended the call. “You asshole,” she spat out and called Carey.
Carey was laughing when she answered. “That got your attention, didn’t it? Before you ask, I wasn’t screwing with you. I heard that directly from Dean and Edie, so you know it ain’t a rumor.”
“How did all this come up?” Blaze asked and realized Carey had ended the call again. “You asshole!”
*******
Blaze walked into her kitchen the next morning and found Chantal seated at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. “You’re up early.”
“The wheelchair was rather cumbersome, and it limited the things I could do. I didn’t feel very energetic until I got the scooter. That pot of coffee is fresh, I just made it. Do you still play the drums?”
The question surprised Blaze. “No, it’s just something I did in school.” She took a cup from the cabinet. “How did you know about that?”
“Ronnie had a picture on her phone of someone in a marching band with the back of their pants cut out revealing their backside. I asked her who it was, and she said it was you. She told me the story behind your apparel, and yes, that pun was intended.” Chantal smiled. “I was delighted to learn that you had been interested in the arts.”
“I don’t think my band teacher considered my playing an art form, unless he thought me accidentally hitting myself in the face with the sticks was artistic.” Blaze thought for a moment. “He was a nice guy. He’d take the time to pad the chinstrap on my hat before a performance. He always kept ice packs on hand for me when my brain would short circuit while I was trying to make all four limbs do different things at one time. That’s when I’d usually hit my chin or my face with the sticks. Now, that I think about it I know why he always suggested I take up painting instead. I’m sure he worried I was gonna knock one or both of my eyes out.”
“Did you eventually take up something else artistic?”
“I wanted to take a woodshop class, but Dad wouldn’t let me since there would be saws involved.” Blaze shrugged. “It wasn’t like I was gonna hit myself in the face with one of those.” She noticed then that Chantal’s arm was bare. “Why aren’t you wearing your brace?”
Chantal seemed stunned for a moment. “It’s too uncomfortable to wear to bed, and I forgot to put it back on. May I ask if you’re a lesbian?”
“I am,” Blaze replied and realized she was divulging more personal information than she wanted to as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“How does your father feel about that?”
“He said it makes no difference to him, I’m his kid.”
“Good for him.” Chantal sounded genuinely impressed. “Are you seeing anyone?”
Chantal was steadily forging into personal information territory, and Blaze turned the tables. “Why did you decide to ride a motorcycle?”
“I wouldn’t classify it as a motorcycle, it was more like a scooter that tourists rent and ride. When you’re my age, the list of things you can’t and shouldn’t do grows longer by the day,” Chantal said begrudgingly. “I was with a group of young friends who thought it would be fun to rent scooters and drive them along the coast. I was offended when they all began to debate over who would be stuck driving me, so I rented my own. That two-minute and give or take a few seconds ride was the most exhilarating feeling I’d had in a while. A slight miscalculation and a curb brought it to a crashing halt.”
“If you’re broke, how did you manage to rent a scooter and the limo that brought you here?”
“Credit cards that are quickly reaching their limit,” Chantal said. “Won’t you sit down?”
Blaze noticed the look on Chantal’s face that made her feel Chantal wanted to tell her something. She was surprised at the panic it caused to rise within her. She realized then that she wasn’t ready to hear whatever Chantal wanted to say. “I have to leave soon. We got in a bunch of fall inventory yesterday that’s been delayed. I need to get it out on the shelves.”
“I know you’ve worked at The Old Store since you were young. Do you mind if I ask how you came to own it on what I assume was a meager salary?”
“Grandpa left me some money, and I saved it. Years later, Bill Winters’ wife died. He owned the store and lost interest in it because he was depressed. I managed it for him, and one day, he asked if I’d like to buy it. I didn’t have much credit then, so he financed it for me along with this house, which was also his. I make double payments most months because I wanna pay it off as fast as I can,” Blaze said and broke her rule about divulging personal information again.
“I remember Bill and Carolyn. They were nice people, and I’m saddened to learn she died. Is Ronnie okay?”
Blaze felt her defenses rise when Chantal continued asking questions and changing the topics abruptly. She felt as though she was being mined for information. “She’s fine. Why?”
“She’s made a few offhanded comments that lead me to believe she’s not happy in her marriage. She also seems to be spending a lot of time on the phone with her office, even though she’s on vacation.”
“She’s not hav
ing an affair if that’s what you’re thinking,” Blaze said brusquely. “Ronnie’s the assistant to the hospital administrator, and she basically does his job. Things fall apart when she’s not there because she’s the cog in the wheel that keeps everything going smoothly.”
“She seems to be the highly organized type.”
Blaze nodded. “Ronnie runs a tight ship. She has her stuff together all the time.”
As soon as those words left Blaze’s lips, Ronnie staggered through the back door looking disheveled and said, “I had no idea stuffing a boy’s dirty socks into my purse would even make my wallet stink. I kept wondering what smelled so bad when I got into my car this morning. I dug all through it when I got here thinking something had crawled under a seat and died, then realized the stench was coming from my purse! When you open the lid on your trash can outside and think there’s a dead rat in there, it’s the socks. Sorry.” She inhaled sharply. “Is the AC broken? How have you people not died from heatstroke in here?”
*******
“Are you telling me nobody in this town carries garden hoses except for The Old Store?” Caleigh asked.
The clerk shrugged. “It’s the end of the season, ma’am. My manager cleared out all the garden stuff at the beginning of this month to make room for Halloween and Christmas junk. I can’t think of anywhere else you might find a water hose unless you go to the big stores around New Orleans.”
Caleigh forced a smile. “Okay, thank you.” She walked out of the store wondering if being able to spray algae off her patio was worth a thirty-mile trip. She got into her car and started it, debating whether she should go to Blaze’s store or not. She was still at odds with her attraction to Blaze and her allegiance to Edie.
After Edie had left her house the day before, Caleigh spent a lot of time thinking about what she’d heard. She’d wanted to confront Blaze and hear her side of the story but worried Blaze might not have regretted what happened. In Caleigh’s eyes, her grandmother could do no wrong, aside from referring to her as the baby. She was convinced Blaze was completely out of line for talking to Edie that way, but she thought back to the night they met. Caleigh remembered the sour look on Blaze’s face when she mentioned her grandparents and considered she might not get an apology from her. There was no way she could pursue Blaze knowing she held animosity for Edie.
She sat there silently cursing the sudden vision of Blaze in a small tight pair of shorts and sports bra that she’d seen female MMA fighters wear. “No, I will not allow hormones to make me weak. I will dwell on the pink cottontail, and that is not sexy.”
Chapter 6
Blaze glanced at the monitor on her desk with all the surveillance camera views on it while she signed off on a few special orders Lyn wanted to place for customers. She tapped the screen and enlarged one of the video feed boxes and watched Caleigh push a cart down an aisle. She had to know if Carey had been screwing with her and jumped up quickly, banging her knee on the corner of a drawer. “Shit,” she groaned repeatedly through clenched teeth as she staggered toward her office door.
In the hallway, Blaze met Lyn, who held up a piece of paper. “Could you look at this purchase order, it’s—”
“Can’t right now,” Blaze said with her voice sounding strained as she limped on. “Will later. Promise.”
The resonating pain in her kneecap began to subside as Blaze headed for the aisle where she’d seen Caleigh, and found her looking at a spray nozzle. “Can I help you find something?”
“You said something really mean to my grandma when you were in high school and hurt her feelings.” Caleigh whirled around. “You’ve been avoiding her ever since.”
Blaze knew better, but for a second or two she wondered if Carey had played a practical joke on her as she stared into the fire in Caleigh’s eyes. Caleigh didn’t appear to think she was attractive and interesting. “I just wanted to know if you needed help with anything,” she said numbly.
“I do. I like you, and I’d really like to get to know you better, but I need to know why you treated my gram the way you did.”
“I was having a hard time then and she told my grandma to send me away to reform school. I heard her say it. She was sitting at our kitchen table.”
“Oh,” Caleigh said slowly, drawing out the word. “Blaze, that was a joke.”
Blaze shook her head. “They weren’t laughing.”
“She used to tell my parents to send me to reform school all the time. It was a running joke. She even teased Gramp saying she’d send him to reform school or dog obedience training. I know my grandma, and I can swear on my life she was joking that day.”
Blaze didn’t know what to say. She simply stood there mute, mentally replaying the conversation that had hurt and made her feel betrayed. She was assailed by feelings of shock and embarrassment.
“I could call her and I know she’ll tell you—”
“No.” Blaze shook her head and wanted to retreat, but she couldn’t will herself to move. She waved a hand at the spray nozzle Caleigh was holding. “That’s the Wilson sprayer. The outside casing is plastic, but everything inside is brass and it’ll last a long time.”
“Is it powerful enough to shoot algae off my patio?”
Blaze nodded and sounded robotic as she spoke. “The jet is pretty strong. If it doesn’t do the job then you’ll need a power washer. We do rent those. You have to be careful with them though. They’re powerful; I shot a shutter off my house. It bounced of the roof of my porch and fell into my neighbor’s yard. That’s when I learned their dog is a biter. Then again, he may’ve just been shaken up by my shutter landing in his favorite digging spot. I probably should’ve warned him before I jumped the fence into his territory. I should’ve worn pants that day. Pooter’s bite wouldn’t have been as bad. He got me on the calf when I tried to climb back over—”
“How long is this story?” Caleigh asked with a smile.
“I’ll probably tell it until I stop feeling like a complete asshole idiot, and that’s gonna take a while.”
“I know Gram is gonna feel just as bad when I tell her about this,” Caleigh said gently.
“I owe her a big apology.” Blaze cleared her throat. “Is the algae on your patio dry?”
“Can we stop talking about algae for a moment?”
“Well, I’m just trying to help you avoid renting a power washer and possibly getting bitten by a dog,” Blaze replied with a laugh.
“When do you break for lunch?”
“Whenever I want to.” Blaze glanced at her watch. “It’s nine forty-five. If you’d like breakfast instead, there’s a place around the corner that makes amazing waffles.”
“Crunchy or soft?”
“Crunchy on the outside but fluffy and soft on the inside,” Blaze said.
Caleigh pointed to her shopping cart. “Get in, I’ll drive.”
*******
“I didn’t know all this was here,” Caleigh said in amazement as she and Blaze walked along the back of the old office buildings that faced the main street. “I thought Paulie’s Pasta and the burger place were the only restaurants aside from fast food.”
“All these little eateries started springing up after a big insurance company took over that building across the courtyard. Then the town council decided to put in the trees, benches, and fountain. I don’t know if you remember, but Falcon had an ordinance that liquor could only be sold in the bars on the outskirts of town. When they changed that, this area started getting busy at night. On the weekends, it’s like a miniature French Quarter. There’s live music in a lot of places, and sometimes a band will play in the square.”
“But there’s no shops selling T-shirts, beads, and voodoo dolls,” Caleigh said with a smile.
Blaze laughed. “Someone will eventually come up with that idea, I’m sure.” She led Caleigh to a door with Momma Nettles’ Fine Food painted on the glass and opened it. “Prepare to consume a lot of carbs and calories.”
“I am.” Caleigh stepped
inside and breathed deeply. “Oh, sweet carbs a-cookin’, this is my new happy place.”
“Right over there, Blaze. Corner pocket,” one of the servers said as she bustled around the tables refilling coffee cups.
“You must come here a lot if they know you by name,” Caleigh said as they made their way to the table.
“I’m infamous, everybody knows me. I even have my own memes,” Blaze said dryly. “I’m willing to bet you know why.”
“Does it have anything to do with an assault in a parking lot?” Caleigh asked as they sat in a booth.
“Yes, it does, but I didn’t dress up as a rabbit and go look for people to beat up and humiliate.”
“Damn.” Caleigh released an exaggerated sigh. “That’s one of the things I found so appealing about you. I guess your kindness, looks, and personality are gonna have to do.”
“I’ll pin a pink cottontail to the back of my pants and tear up a cardboard box if you’ll get a kick out of that.”
“You know I have a lot of shoeboxes,” Caleigh said excitedly. “You could be an MMA fighter with that knockout punch you have.”
Blaze regarded Caleigh for a moment. “That was a panic-fueled reaction. If you go online and watch the full videos you’ll see my face had already taken a beating.”
“I did, that’s how I know you’re not a face-humping maniac.”
“Good morning, Andrea,” Blaze said when the server appeared at their table. “This is Caleigh, she just moved here.”
“Mighty nice to meet you, honey,” Andrea said with a nod as she set two menus on the table. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get over here. What would you like to drink?”
“Coffee and a water, please, and it’s nice to meet you, Andrea,” Caleigh replied.
“Coming up.” Andrea looked at Blaze. “Same?”
Blaze nodded. “When Kelly, that’s the driver’s name, started screaming at me, I really didn’t understand what was going on,” she began when Andrea walked away, “I couldn’t imagine why she was demanding my driver’s license and insurance info. Then she screamed that I’d caused her accident because she was looking at me when she backed out of her parking place. I told her that wasn’t my fault and started to walk away and she grabbed me. I thought she was nuts, and I just wanted to get away from her, so I tried to shake her off. She was making all kinds of threats, and I called her a crazy bitch. Taci, her daughter, heard that and she walked over and punched me in the face. The hits kept coming, and I didn’t think they were gonna stop, so I hit back.”
Blissfully Blindsided Page 6
