Deadline

by Judy McDonough

Caroline checked the jewelry box again to see if her cell phone had magically reappeared. It hadn't. The velvet-lined box remained empty. She had no idea where her phone was, but she never realized how much she truly relied on it until she didn't have it. Especially after her crazy dream on the way home.

  Once she was ready for the evening, she went to her dad's office to check the time. His desk clock read 5:45. She had a little time to kill. She stretched out on the bed with her laptop and checked her email. A ton to sort through, she skimmed the names to see if any were from Trevor. Surprisingly, none were from him, but there were a few from her mom and one from Kristy.

  Caroline wrote a short and sweet email explaining to Trevor, her mom and Kristy why she hadn't answered if they'd called. She told them she had misplaced her phone and hadn't found it yet, though she wasn't sure when, or if, she would ever get it back. Trevor may not believe her because she always had it with her.

  Caroline surfed the internet for a while reading headlines until she got bored. Unsure why, curiosity perhaps, she searched for fatal car accidents in the area five years ago. She didn't expect to find much. Caroline didn't know the girl's name, age, or even the city where the accident took place. Not surprisingly, she came up empty. She broadened the area to include New Orleans, finding many links to choose from.

  She clicked on a random link and thought she might have hit the jackpot. The article reported the woman, Jenny Richardson, was twenty-three years old. Her parents currently lived in Mississippi but were originally from Metairie, Louisiana. She had recently graduated from LSU with a degree in elementary education. She was to be a Kindergarten teacher for the Golden Meadow lower elementary school in the fall, but she never made it. She died in June, the summer before she was to start her new job. If this was the woman Cade had been with, the picture of her included in the article was beautiful. She seemed like such a sweet person, and Caroline's heart ached for his loss.

  She closed her laptop. Why, after six years and with intentions to marry her, had Cade not asked Jenny. What was he waiting for? Caroline walked to the window to peer out toward the duck pond deep in thought. A beautiful blue butterfly landed on the window sill just in front of her face. It sat calmly with its wings slowly fanning up and down allowing Caroline to admire the beauty of its ombre wings.

  Suddenly, it flitted away and Caroline followed its path until it landed on the shoulder of the garden statue in the duck pond. Such beauty and grace, a symbol of new life and transition. Oh, to be able to fly with the carefree spirit of a butterfly. Feeling peaceful now, Caroline gathered her things and headed to the restaurant for an entertaining evening with her new friend.

  Caroline found the restaurant with ease, glad she hadn't needed to call Cade for directions. Not that she could call because she didn't know his number and couldn't find her stupid cell phone. She ground her teeth still peeved about that.

  It was cooler, but still humid outside, and dusk was just around the corner. Caroline planned it just right, she wouldn't be too early or seem overly eager. Although she shouldn't be worried about that, it wasn't like she was playing hard to get with a diamond on her finger. Men shied away when they knew a woman was claimed. Except for Cade. She wiped the smile from her face and reminded herself of her happiness with Trevor by repeating the mantra aloud.

  The place was packed. Glad to have a Jeep to jump the curb and drive up on the grass, she had to park in a field for the lack of available spots. She hated walking into a place like this by herself. She heard the music blasting from the speakers and it sounded great. Smiling contently and feeling like a VIP since she knew the leader of the band, she squared her shoulders and opened the heavy glass door.

  The bar was slammed. She waited patiently for two guys getting enough bottles of beer for a small army to move away. She bellied up to the bar and shouted over the music to the bartender, a short, balding man missing a few teeth. He wasn't the owner she'd met earlier in the week, but he resembled him. Caroline guessed he was the owner's brother.

  "I'd like some water, please." He paused for a moment and smiled though she had no idea what about.

  "He said you'd order water." Before she could reply, he turned around to fix a drink. What the—? He placed a glass in front of a perplexed Caroline and then rang a hand bell. The drink he gave her was not water, and for a moment, she thought he had her confused with someone else. She started to correct him, but then the band began playing a song. She recognized Neil Diamond's familiar tune, the classic she'd heard her whole life because of her name. Caroline started again to address the bartender until she heard Cade's smooth voice streaming through the microphone.

  She looked to the stage and made eye contact with him as he played the guitar and sang into the microphone, seducing her with his intense gaze. The lyrics she had memorized years ago were fresh and new, as if she was hearing them for the first time, written just for her. In that moment she and Cade could have been the only two in the bar, everyone else faded away.

  He didn't take his eyes off her through the whole chorus. Her face scarlet, the smile embellished was worth a thousand words. He smiled back, lighting up his handsome face, and winked.

  It was perfect. Caroline got lost in the moment as Cade continued through the rest of the song. Once they broke eye contact and she snapped herself back to reality, she realized everyone in the bar stared at her. She swallowed hard and turned back to the bartender to correct him about her drink. But mostly to pretend she wasn't being sized up by a whole restaurant full of people.

  He smiled. "Can I help ya, ma'am?"

  "I think you must have given me someone else's drink. I ordered water."

  His snaggletooth smile got bigger. "Beau tol' me ya'd order water, so he tol' me to give ya dis instead."

  She tried to keep her face from reflecting exactly what she thought, so she graciously smiled and asked, "What exactly did he tell you to give me?"

  "Dat's a Rum Runner, Miss Caroline. He said ya liked 'em. He right?"

  Caroline was impressed and unsure how Cade knew she liked Rum Runners. Had I mentioned that to him this afternoon when I was a little tipsy? "Great! He was correct. How much is it?"

  "He also tol' me to put whatever you want on his tab. I think he's kinda sweet on ya." He winked. "Can I getcha anything else?"

  "No, no thank you. I'm good." That scoundrel. She hadn't planned to drink tonight since she indulged so freely this afternoon. Cade must be determined to keep her as uninhibited as possible in her dad's absence. She laughed and shook her head as she pondered his intentions. While talking to the bartender, she hadn't noticed the band take a break. The moment she realized the stereo was playing, warm hands covered her eyes. Before she could say his name, a sultry voice said, "Guess who?"

  She smiled. "Hmmm. . .let me think. Stephen Tyler?"

  She heard his beautiful laughter. "Noooo, guess again."

  "Really? Those sexy pipes? Bon Jovi?"

  "Hmph, don't I wish. You only get one more practical guess before I make you get up on stage and sing."

  "Well, I'm assuming you don't want people running out screaming and holding their bleeding ears, so I will say the super hot and sexy gardener I heard outside my window my very first morning in Louisiana. Final answer."

  He spun her around with a big cheesy grin. "Aww, what gave it away?"

  "Lucky guess. Thanks for the drink. How'd you know I liked Rum Runners?"

  He slowly smiled and winked. "Lucky guess."

  About to insist that he tell her how he knew, she remembered he had looked through her photo albums. She assumed he'd seen a picture of her and Kristy drinking and started to ask when she recognized a member of his band walking over to them.

  "Ty? I didn't know you played, too! I didn't expect to know anyone else here. It's great to see you again." Caroline couldn't help but feel embarrassed and shy around him after her ridiculous afternoon display. He knew more about her than she would've ever allowed someone she'd just met to know. Still, a
perfect gentleman, Ty acted no differently toward her as he kissed her cheek then spoke to the bartender in Cajun.

  Cade talked in her ear so she could hear him. "Order whatever you like, it's my treat. I promised your dad I'd take care of you, so please, help yourself. I gotta get back up there to play. Enjoy yourself, sweet Caroline. I'm really glad you came tonight." He kissed her cheek and ran back up to the stage. She felt like a groupie, only it was her first time hearing him perform, and things were kind of backwards with him giving her special treatment. She liked it. . .a lot.

  Twenty-Three