It was basically open house at Blaze’s place on the weekends. Ronnie and the kids would come over and so would Dean and Edie. Carey and TJ would join in too sometimes. As October neared an end, Frank was finally persuaded to join them.
“I wish you would’ve left your patio furniture on the porch,” Ronnie complained as she stood at the back door staring at Chantal and Frank in the seating area Blaze had set up in the backyard. “We could’ve opened the hallway bathroom window and heard everything they were saying.”
“This time of year is one of two small windows where I can actually enjoy sitting out there without being rained on or having heatstroke.” Blaze joined Ronnie at the door. “Plus Mom has enjoyed it too.”
Ronnie tore her gaze from Chantal and Frank and gawked at Blaze. “You called her mom.”
“I did not.” Blaze looked at Ronnie as though she was crazy. “I said Chantal.”
Ronnie turned to Edie, Caleigh, and Rosie, who were at the table decorating the pumpkin- and bat-shaped sugar cookies Edie had baked. “I know y’all heard her say mom.”
Caleigh pretended she hadn’t heard anything, but Edie nodded. “So why is that a big deal?” Rosie asked before she stuffed a cookie in her mouth.
“We’ve never called her that,” Ronnie said while she stared at Blaze. “Are we gonna do that now?”
“It was a slip of the tongue. You call her what you want when you want.” Blaze returned her gaze to Chantal and Frank. “Dad just smiled at something she said.”
Ronnie looked out the screen door again. “I don’t have any memories of seeing them together like that. It’s weird but kinda nice.”
Chantal stood about that time, and Blaze yelled, “Dad, you have to steady her, she’s not stable on that scooter in the grass,” as she barreled out the door.
“Aw, Blaze is falling for Chantal,” Ronnie said with a grin. “Y’all should see her out there fussing over scooter momma.”
“I don’t think she’s the only one,” Caleigh said.
Ronnie turned from the window. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that you seem pretty sweet on Chantal too.”
“Who gave Chantal a pedicure the other night?” Caleigh asked Rosie.
“The same person who sat on the couch next to Grandma with her head on her shoulder. Momma, don’t even try to pretend you don’t like Grandma,” Rosie said sternly. “She looked so happy with your head propped on her. You need to hug her.”
“How does the saying go?” Edie looked up at the ceiling and pretended to think. ‘“Out of the mouths of babes,’ that’s it.” She gasped when Dean and Ronnie’s boys yelled at something that happened in the football game they were watching in the living room. “Hold it down in there, Dean. You made me mess up the cat I was making on a cookie. It looks like a French poodle now.”
Ronnie pursed her lips for a moment and gazed at Edie. “You think I should hug her too?”
“Do you want to?” Edie asked.
“I don’t just lay my head on anyone, so I feel like that is the first step in my expression of affection. The one y’all need to be talking to about this is Blaze,” Ronnie said. “When I was sitting next to Chantal on the couch the other night, Blaze was giving me the eye of disapproval. Wasn’t she, Caleigh?”
Caleigh shook her head. “I don’t think it was disapproval. It seemed to me she was just mentally working things out. I’m not gonna pressure her to hug Chantal, and I don’t think anyone else should either. Blaze needs to move at her own pace.”
“It’s really freaky how well you know her already,” Rosie said with a grin. “Blaze doesn’t like to be pushed. Momma has to be pushed.”
Ronnie’s jaw sagged. “I do not. I make up my own mind.”
“That’s why you have to be pushed because you’re stubborn. It’s like the thing with your underwear. The kind you wear creeps into your butt crack, and you’re always pulling them out. I kept telling you that was gross, but you kept buying the same kind. So the other day, I told you you’re wearing old lady undies, and you went right to the store and bought a new kind.” Rosie made a flourish with her hand. “That was a push. But hey, don’t hug your momma until Blaze does it first.”
Ronnie glared at Rosie for a moment and turned when the door opened. Chantal rolled in on her scooter and said, “Blaze, you have to let me do some things on my own. I’ve got another month on this scooter, and—” Her eyes went wide when Ronnie threw her arms around her. “Was I falling?”
“No, I’m hugging you,” Ronnie said with a determined expression on her face.
Chantal seemed to melt and leaned her head against Ronnie’s. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“Gaaa, she’s so easy,” Rosie whispered with a laugh.
Blaze stood in the doorway watching the whole spectacle. When her bottom lip began to quiver, she turned and ran into Frank, who yelled, “You almost knocked me off the damn porch. What’s wrong with you?”
“I’ll be back.” Caleigh grabbed a handful of napkins out of the holder in the middle of the table and headed for the door where she nearly ran into Frank. “Which way did she go?”
“That way.” Frank looked bewildered and pointed at the side of the house opposite of the carport.
Caleigh hopped off the side of the porch, and when she rounded the side of the house, she saw Blaze leaning against it with her arms folded. “I brought you some napkins. Do any of the vendors you buy from at the store sell Kleenex by the case?”
“I should look into that,” Blaze said with a weak smile as she took the napkins from Caleigh and wiped her eyes. “If I could change one thing about myself, it would be this.”
“There are so many things I really like about you, and the fact that you get emotional when you see something sweet is one of the biggest of them. I almost cried because I could see Chantal’s face when Ronnie hugged her. At first, she looked shocked, then she just melted. Her bottom lip started quivering—”
“Not helping,” Blaze squeaked and covered her face with the napkins.
“Okay, well, Ronnie’s face looked like a pro wrestler intent on crushing a rib cage. I think she wanted to express affection, but her face was in rebellion. If she came at me looking like that, I wouldn’t think a hug was on her mind.”
“Much better, thank you.” Blaze pulled the napkins from her face and sniffed. “That jackass just had to go and give the first hug. Now Chantal is gonna think I hate her because I don’t want to do it.”
“Why don’t you?”
Blaze fanned her face with the napkins. “This is what’s gonna happen. I can’t give her a little hug that expresses ‘Hey, I’m happy you’re here, and we’re getting to know each other. It’s all good.’ I will start blubbering, snot will appear, and I’ll make a simple moment awkward. You!” she spat out when Ronnie strode around the corner of the house. “I could choke you right now.”
“You’re crying again,” Ronnie said acerbically.
Caleigh was angered by Ronnie’s insensitivity and stepped between her and Blaze. “She’s emotional because she has a big heart, don’t chastise her for that.”
“You’re really cute when you’re protective,” Ronnie said with a laugh.
“You won’t think that if I head butt you in the stomach,” Caleigh retorted.
Ronnie held her hands up in surrender. “Let’s all back up a step here. I didn’t mean to sound like a dick when I made the remark about Blaze crying. It’s just that she’s crying more often lately, and we need to talk about that.”
“She’s dealing with a lot of emotional shit.” Caleigh moved to block Ronnie when she began to step around her. “You need to remember she’s been very supportive of you.”
“Okay, tiny bulldog.” Ronnie met Blaze’s amused gaze. “I’m sorry. Can we talk now?”
“No, say something else to piss her off. I wanna see the head butt,” Blaze said with a grin.
Ronnie held up a hand. “Here’s the deal. I think you need to face up to the fact that you not onl
y like Chantal, you’re starting to love her. I don’t think you know how to deal with that because I feel the same way. I can’t believe how much I love having her here. Sometimes, I get jealous because she’s at your house and not mine. But I’m still a little nervous about it all. In the back of my mind, I worry that once she knows we love her, she’ll leave again. That’s stupid, right? Is that where you’re at?”
“Yeah,” Blaze admitted somberly.
“So what do we do? Continue to hang on to this worry and not enjoy being a family, or do we just go all in and hope she means it when she says she wants to stay here?” Ronnie asked.
“If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be hiding out here,” Blaze said angrily.
Ronnie leaned against the house. “It’s like everything is too good to be true. I suppose Dad and Chantal worked out their differences because I just saw him serve her a cup of coffee. Dean’s in the living room with my boys watching football. Edie is decorating cookies with Rosie. They remind me so much of our grandparents, and that makes sense because they were all good friends. Now I feel like they’re my grandparents. The family atmosphere I’ve always wanted is going on in this house right now. None of that would’ve happened if Chantal,” she waved a hand at Caleigh, “and you hadn’t come into our lives.”
“Yay me,” Caleigh joked with a grin that faded when she noticed Blaze and Ronnie staring into space. “Not time for humor yet, huh?”
Blaze smiled. “It is. We’re overthinking this too much. Ronnie, you just summed up everything I’ve been feeling. I do feel a little bit better knowing you’re dealing with the same thing. No matter how much I try to keep a safe emotional distance from Chantal, I am starting to love her. I’m crying all the time like an idiot because I’m happy, even though I’m a little scared. I wish there was some way I could shut off my internal sprinkler.”
“You can have some of my herbs. Since Chantal and I went to see the herbalist a couple of weeks ago, I’m not as emotional. Whatever’s in the herbal cocktail she made for me really does have a calming effect. I’ll share with you, but be forewarned, my pee smells like roadkill, and I’m always washing my lady parts because I’m afraid they’ll smell that way too.”
“Thank you, but I’m gonna pass on that,” Blaze said slowly.
Ronnie glanced at Caleigh. “That’s probably a wise move. I’m sure you wanna keep your girlfriend. I’m gonna go inside, take a few herb pills, and wash my junk.”
When Ronnie walked away, Caleigh said, “I wish I had a relationship like that with my sisters. We don’t share the same brain like you and Ronnie do.”
“That’s probably one of the scariest things you’ve ever said to me.” Blaze lowered her voice to a whisper. “I think Ronnie is bat-shit crazy. Do I act like her?”
“Sometimes. Oh,” Caleigh held up a finger, “I want you to know I wouldn’t have really head butted your sister. I talk out of my ass when I get mad.”
“And it was so sexy, I almost asked you to marry me.”
“When I’m ready for you to do that seriously, I’ll threaten you with a head butt,” Caleigh said with a cocky smile.
“If we’re alone, you probably won’t get the proposal first.” Blaze blew out a breath. “You’re so hot when you’re feisty.”
*******
“What’re y’all doing?” Blaze asked when she and Caleigh walked toward the porch and found all the guys tearing up the ramp she’d made for Chantal.
“You did a good job on this, honey, but it’s too steep,” Frank said.
“Because I didn’t want to extend it all the way into my carport,” Blaze said with a frown.
“If Chantal gets away from you or Ronnie on that scooter, she’s liable to shoot across the lawn, and you don’t want that. Frank and I thought this would be a good opportunity to teach the boys a skill.” Dean pointed his pry bar at Caleigh. “I taught you how to build when you were little, remember?”
“You nailed the back of my shirt to a workbench you were making because you were supposed to be watching me, and you made me hand you screws when you needed them,” Caleigh said. “You taught me how to spread grass seed too. You put a mask and goggles on me and strapped me to your homemade spreader because you needed a weight on it. I got seasick going around the yard backward in a circle. Yeah, I remember your lessons.” She smiled at Trey and Leif. “Good luck, boys. Come on, Blaze, you don’t wanna be out here for this.”
“You loved the goggles,” Dean said as Caleigh and Blaze headed inside.
“Was the man smell too strong for y’all out there?” Rosie asked dryly when Blaze and Caleigh walked into the kitchen.
“No, it was the pain of knowing Dad is about to raid the lumberyard at the store,” Blaze said.
“Don’t take their fun from them so they’ll stay outside.” Ronnie waved a hand at Edie, Chantal, and Rosie. “Ask them, they were screaming at a football game so loudly I almost got your skillet out of the cabinet and started randomly beating.”
“I’m learning how to make gumbo,” Chantal interjected proudly from where she balanced on her scooter at the stove. “Or just stirring the pot Edie brought over as it warms, but I have learned how to make cornbread.”
“Awesome,” Blaze said with a laugh.
Edie sighed as she looked at all the cookie decoration stuff on the table and the things they’d used to cook with on the counters. “Blaze, I’m sorry for the state of your kitchen, but I promise I’ll clean it up.”
Blaze looked at all the mess and said, “It reminds me of Grandma’s kitchen when y’all would get together and cook. I love it.”
“Should I throw flour around then to make it more like the old days?” Edie asked.
“Maybe not go that far.” Blaze laughed.
Ronnie sighed. “Damn. Flour mess always meant biscuits, and I miss them.”
“I know Iona’s recipe by heart. I could whip up a pan and teach y’all how to make them in the process,” Edie offered.
*******
“Even in the dim light out here, I can tell you still have flour in your hair,” Caleigh said later that evening when everyone had gone home, and they were enjoying the outside seating area with glasses of wine.
I’m sure Rosie is washing a cake out of the crack of her butt right now. I can’t believe that little shit blew a handful on me.”
“I couldn’t believe you poured half a bag down the back of her pants.” Caleigh laughed. “She sifted a trail of flour everywhere she walked.”
“Are you still happy with my chaotic life?”
Caleigh gave Blaze a quick kiss. “Oh, yeah, but are you?”
“Ronnie is right. You and Chantal changed everything. Before y’all came along, Ronnie and I were caught up in our own lives and had kinda drifted apart. I’d see Dad every once in a while, but he was doing his own thing.” Blaze smiled. “Until recently, I didn’t realize how quiet my house had been. It’s full of the good kind of chaos now. I love it and even that pile of torn-up wood lying in the yard beside Chantal’s new ramp. But the best of all is you. I’ve never been so happy to have someone in my life as I am now.”
“You had good words that time,” Caleigh said with a sigh.
“Yeah, they only seem to fail me when I’m trying to express how great you are.”
“I’m still fucking awesome, right?” Caleigh asked.
“Super fucking awesome.” Blaze grinned. “I added a new word, so I feel like I should get a reward. How about letting me go upstairs and see the Halloween costume you’ve been working on?”
Caleigh kissed Blaze hard. “That’s your reward, and upstairs is still off-limits. I’m not satisfied with the way it’s coming out, and Halloween is just a couple days away. I know I’m goofy, but I haven’t been able to do things like make costumes and…grocery shop. I’m sorry about the bill I racked up Friday.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ll eventually eat that industrial-sized six-pack of ketchup, and we’ll never run out of toothpaste now.” Bl
aze took a sip of her wine. “I’m really glad you bought a case of this. It’s tasty, and so is the cheese wheel you got.” She smiled at Caleigh, who looked chagrined, and waved a hand at her newly expanded outdoor seating area. “Hey, look what I did. Do you really think we needed four more chairs with ottomans?”
“Yeah, but we knew that you have a furniture obsession. I succumbed to peer pressure and had a compulsive shopping breakdown. I’m never going back to a warehouse store with my boss. Sam pushed a full cart and one of those industrial dolly things packed with boxes up to the checkout. I had to haul some of his stuff because it wouldn’t fit in his SUV. If truth be known, I think we’ve been eating Sam’s cheese wheel because I don’t remember grabbing one of those in my frenzy.”
Blaze laughed. “You really are so super fucking awesome.”
Chapter 22
Two days later, Blaze cocked her head and gazed at Chantal. “You scare the shit out of me.”
“Am I too frightening?” Chantal looked at her reflection in a hand mirror. “I don’t want to scare the little trick-or-treaters away.”
“You look great. Hold still.” Caleigh put her finger beneath Chantal’s chin as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. “I think you’re the coolest demonic clown I’ve ever made.”
Chantal gazed at her reflection in the mirror. “I look like I have a mouth within a giant mouth with jagged teeth.”
“Let me tease your hair up all wild, and you’ll really look freaky,” Caleigh said with a gleam in her eyes.
Blissfully Blindsided Page 21
