Southern Comfort: Chandler's Story (The Southern Series Book 1)

by Shelley Stringer

  “Sister, you’re going to wear a hole in that old hallway floor with your pacing back and forth.” I jumped, as Everett came up behind me.

  “Why don’t you draw Ava a bath, and I’ll pour us a glass of wine. Have you thought about where the little princess is going to sleep?”

  “I guess with me. I have a blow-up twin mattress in the closet, so I thought I’d make her a pallet on the floor beside my bed.”

  “What about tomorrow, Darlin’? What are you going to do with her while you go to class?”

  “Well, there is a drop-off stay-n-play place close to campus. I only have two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I’m out at 11:00 a.m. So I thought I’d drop her there in the morning and pick her up before noon.”

  “I bet you’ll have to have some paperwork completed before you can leave her. I have a better idea. Drop her off at the store with me! She’s so good, she just plays in the floor. Business has been so slow, and I probably won’t see a customer till afternoon. You can pick her up when you get out of class. Then you can go check out that place you were talking about and see if you want to use it the rest of the week.”

  “Everett, you are an absolute doll,” I said, leaning over to kiss him.

  “I know. I just amaaaazze myself,” he said, shaking all over dramatically.

  Ava was still watching the credits to the movie when I picked her up off the couch. I started the bath water, and chased her around the bathroom to undress her while she picked her toys up off the floor and chunked them into the tub. Picking her up and lifting her into the bubbles, I suddenly felt apprehensive as chill bumps formed to send shivers down my spine. I immediately looked up at the glass blocks covering the window, and could see nothing but the reflection of the bathroom lights bouncing off the glass. Or could I? I made out a faint outline, and then it seemed to move.

  “Everett?” I called out into the hallway.

  “Right here. Here is your wine.” He handed me a glass. “Andie, your face is as white as my fanny-ass! What’s wrong?”

  “I thought I saw something, through the window.”

  Everett sat his glass down on the cabinet and walked back around to the kitchen to peer out the side window. “I don’t see anyone out there, Bebe. I bet it was just a reflection. Do you want me to go and see?” I heard him unlocking the back door.

  “NO! Everett, NO! Lock the door back!” I yelled, startling Ava. She stood up, reaching for me as she began to cry.

  I heard Everett lock the door and then hurry back to the bathroom. “I’m sorry, Andie. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “I’m just overreacting.” I mumbled, hanging my head. As I hugged Ava to me, I explained, “It’s just that Banton was adamant we not open the doors, or go outside.”

  “It’s all right. You’re really shaking. I didn’t know if I could say anything, Bebe, but…”

  “But what?” I asked, glancing up at him. I felt so silly.

  “Banton talked to me a little about the incident with the man in the window. He thinks, and I do too, that you might need a little help dealin’ with all of this,” he swirled his wine glass as he pointed around the house. “And now the attack in N’awlins, well, that would do a number on any of us. I know someone you could talk to, Darlin’, someone who might help you work through some of this…” his voice trailed off as he watched my reaction.

  “You think I need to see a shrink?” My shoulders sank. They all did think I was crazy.

  “It’s not a crime, Sugar. People do it all the time. We are just worried about you, and we don’t like to see you upset. Just think about it. Besides, everyone in my family has a shrink on speed-dial. Join the crowd, Darlin’!”

  I laughed. Maybe he was right. “I’ll think about it.”

  He changed the subject. “What are we going to put Sleeping Beauty in for bed? I didn’t buy jammies today.”

  “I have some t-shirts up in my closet that will probably work. I’ll go and get one,” I replied.

  “I’ll go get it. You dry her off,” Everett commanded, flitting from the room.

  He came back just when I was getting her training pants on. I slipped the LSU t-shirt on her, and it fit like a long gown. She was playing with a bottle of lotion she got off the vanity.

  “Would you like some lotion like Chandler?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “Andler’s.” I squeezed a small amount of lotion in her hand. I smoothed some on my arm, and then smoothed it on hers. She rubbed it all over her arms, and then her legs, mimicking me.

  “Wow, you smell pretty!” I hugged her.

  “Pretty wotion,” she giggled. I checked my watch. Nine fifteen.

  “Do you want to take a bath, Chandler?” I can watch Ava, and we can play in the hallway, just outside the door.”

  I didn’t want to do anything until Banton was back, but I didn’t want him to have to sit with me in the tub after he got back either, so I agreed. I ran upstairs to get my robe and gown, and as I started back down the stairs, the cloud-like sphere appeared at the top of the stairs, and seemed to be waiting for me to go down. I suddenly smelled a scent, like perfume. I stepped closer to the top of the stairs, and it began floating down the staircase. I could smell … gardenias.

  Sinking down on the top step, I was unable to move. Now I really was crazy. As the tears gathered, I thought, It couldn’t be possible. Whatever it is, it is playing with me now, and it seems cruel. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the cloud moved toward the front door and then disappeared. I was suddenly angry with myself. I stood up and stomped down the staircase, around the bottom into the hallway, and past Everett and Ava. Everett looked up at me as I went in to the bath.

  “Everything all right, Miss Thing?”

  “Yeah. It’s going to be,” I answered, jerking a towel off the bar and tossing it on the ottoman beside the tub.

  “Well…, okay, then.” He chuckled.

  With the door open, and Everett just outside with Ava in my view, I managed to get through my bath without any hysterics. Ava walked back and forth between us, handing me her toys so I could play with them in the tub. Before I knew it, she had me laughing.

  “Andler’s mad?” she asked me.

  “No, Chandler’s not mad. Just silly.”

  “You can say that again, Sister!” Everett commented from the hallway, sipping on his third glass of wine.

  “Andler’s siwy!” Ava giggled as I blew bubbles at her.

  After I dried off and donned my pajamas, we all piled in my bed for Everett to read us a bedtime story.

  Ten-thirty.

  Ava fell fast asleep before the little mermaid lost her flipper for legs. I flipped my laptop on, and worked some of my nervous energy on editing my paper. When I was completely through and hit print to send the final copy to the printer on my dresser, it was 11:45. I was beginning to feel nauseated every time I looked at the clock.

  Everett got up and stretched. “Well, I think I will fetch a blanket from the cabinet in the hallway, and bed down on the couch. Want me to help you blow the mattress up for Ava?”

  “Everett, I’m sorry they’re not back yet. I don’t know…,” I began.

  “Hey, I’ve slept on your couch before. No biggie.” He went over to drag the mattress out of my closet.

  After we tucked the sheets in and put Ava in her bed beside mine, Everett gave me a kiss, and went downstairs. I began pacing back and forth across my room, out to the stairs, and then over to Banton’s room. I was frantic by the time the clock on my nightstand said 1:00 am. Finally I heard the lock on the back door, and boots on the kitchen floor. I flew down the stairs and down the hallway, meeting John’s startled face in the kitchen doorway.

  “Andie, what are you still doing up?” he asked me.

  I hugged him. “Where is Banton?” I asked hysterically.

  “Calm down. He’s just finishing up a couple of things. This is Colin, Ben, and Ty. They are going to do a couple of things in here. We’re going to set up some equipme
nt in the kitchen, and they are going to rack out here on the living room floor tonight. Is that all right with you?”

  “Um, sure. That’s fine,” I answered, relieved they were finally back. The other three nodded to me as they went back into the kitchen. Watching them go, I thought, They look too young to be Navy SEALs. John hugged me again and urged me to go back upstairs, assuring me Banton would be back in a few minutes.

  I returned to the staircase and when I looked up, my little cloud-friend led the way in front of me.

  “Ok, I guess you are here to stay. You just keep to yourself, and we’ll make out fine,” I said. The cloud disappeared at my door. I shook my head, and went in. I needed my head examined. As I crawled under the covers and clicked my lamp off, I heard Banton’s voice asking, “Who needs to keep to themselves?”

  “Banton, thank goodness!” I called out, sitting up in bed. “Are you all right?”

  “Yep. Just let me drop this stuff in my room, and clean up. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  I was so relieved, I finally began to relax. He crawled in bed with me ten minutes later, and curled up against my back. “I see we have company,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Are you referring to Ava Grace on the blow-up mattress, Everett on the couch, or the Green Berets on the living room floor?” I asked.

  “Well, I was referring to Ava. And the guys downstairs are Navy SEALs.”

  “Yeah, I know. I was being funny,” I quipped.

  “I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor. Ava is a doll, Andie. Have you had any trouble with her?” he asked, placing kisses down my neck.

  “Are you kidding? Everett and I practically fight over her. She never cries, only a whimper or two when I tried to take her home. She plays by herself, and stays with me constantly.”

  “And her mother?” He pulled back to study my expression.

  “She signed the medical release and shut the door in my face again. I left my name and number on her door.”

  “We’ll deal with all of that later. What will you do with her tomorrow, if her mother doesn’t come for her?” he asked, already worrying.

  “Already taken care of by Everett. Now, tell me what happened tonight.”

  “Nothing.”

  “Eight hours of nothing?” I asked skeptically.

  He kissed my neck, caressing my arms as he did. “We covered a lot of ground. We have some leads, and we wired some things for surveillance, and placed some equipment in the kitchen downstairs. If anyone comes within three miles of the greenhouse, we will know. Someone will be on the monitors twenty-four-seven. So for now this place is better than Fort Knox. Now, about making it up to you…”

  “Don’t forget, we have company,” I giggled as he kissed my neck again, his breath tickling my skin and sending shivers down my spine.

  He rose up on one elbow to look at Ava. She was curled on her side, her thumb in her mouth, sleeping peacefully.

  Rubbing my arm gently, he observed, “She’s out. She’ll never hear us making out. Besides, you know I’m always a gentleman, and I’m fully clothed.” He kissed me again, sliding just over me, and wrapping his arms around me. Just when I thought things might be getting out of hand, Beau nudged the door open and padded over to Ava’s mattress.

  Banton chuckled under his breath, tickling my neck. “Beau’s so confused with all the company, he doesn’t know where to sleep.”

  I leaned over to look at Ava, and Beau was curled up on the foot of the mattress with her. I lay back down, and turned over toward Banton. “I think he made a decision,” I observed, as he silenced me with his lips.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  We settled into a routine for the next two weeks, the two orphans, Ava and me, and the five Navy SEALs, Banton, John, Ben, Colin and Ty. Everett fluttered in and out like a mother hen, bringing food he’d cooked to feed the crew, playing with Ava, taking her when I had to go to class or labs. He knew enough to know not to ask questions but, like me, he couldn’t stay away. Buried in studying for finals and deadlines, I tried to keep my mind off what could be going on at home.

  Every night, three or more of the guys would run a different route under the streets of the city, catching glimpses of the fugitives they sought but never making contact. Banton stayed behind on some nights and we almost felt like a family, eating dinner, playing with Ava, and putting her to bed every evening.

  “I’m really getting attached,” Banton commented to me one Monday evening, as I sat watching him with Ava. Ava had all her dolls and toys piled in his lap on the floor, naming each one when she placed them back into a doll stroller Everett had brought to her.

  We’d been checking Jess’ apartment every day, to see if she was ready to take Ava back, but there was no sign of her. The landlord had posted an eviction notice on the door, and told Banton he hadn’t heard from her since she paid the first month’s rent. Ava never asked about her mommy, and we never said the word. It was like she had never existed.

  “Andler, Aba needs go potty,” she announced, getting off the floor. Picking her up swiftly, I hugged her to me, suddenly emotional for the helpless charge I held in my arms. While I sat on the side of the tub waiting for her to do her “big girl thing,” as Everett called it, she looked up at me.

  “Andler?”

  “Yes,” I answered her sweet voice.

  “Andler is Aba’s mommy. Mommy Andler.” She smiled, and crossed her little arms across her chest. Unable to answer her, my eyes filled with tears. What would we do when her mother came back? Would the police abruptly show up someday and take her to foster care, to get lost in the system?

  “Uh-o, what’s wrong?” Banton asked as I handed her back to him and crossed my ankles to sit beside him in the floor.

  “Oh, you know me. We just shared a moment, that’s all.” He watched me curiously while I played with Ava’s curls. “What’s going to happen to her? We really have no business keeping her here, with everything going on. I worry about her mother coming back, and I worry more about her having to go to foster care.”

  “Chandler, I’m already on it. Dad has a lawyer looking in to everything, checking out what our alternatives are.”

  “You’ve already talked to someone?” I asked in awe, as he hugged her close to him. Ava reached her arms up, and placed a plastic dish on top of his head like a hat.

  “Mommy Andler, wook!” She pointed to him with her tiny finger, and smiled up at me. Banton gazed at me over her head, and formed an “Oh” with his mouth, letting me know he understood the reason for my emotional display.

  “Just hang in there, all right? We’ll work all of this out. And our situation here at the house won’t last forever. You just focus on getting through finals. The week after Thanksgiving, right?”

  “Yes. About that, Aunt Sue called this morning after class. She wants us to come for the weekend. I didn’t know what the situation would be with your project,” I said as I raised my eyebrows at him.

  “The whole weekend is out, for me. Why don’t we go over to their house Thursday morning, and spend the day Thanksgiving. I can come back Thursday night, and you keep Ava there the rest of the weekend?”

  “No way. Nice try, though. We both come back Thursday night.” There was no way he was going to get me to stay away at Aunt Sue’s, not knowing what was going on at home.

  A knock at the door changed the subject. Ava raced me to the door, her new favorite thing to do.

  “Wow, there is a new face every time the door opens!” Brie exclaimed.

  “Brie, this is Ava Grace. She is staying with us for a while, while her mommy is gone. Come in.”

  “I stopped by to see if I could look over your notes from English class for the final next week. I think I missed some things. Do you mind?”

  “No, not at all. Let me go get my laptop case, they are in there.” I ran upstairs to grab the notes while she visited with Banton. At the bottom of the stairs, I could hear John’s voice in the mix.

 
“We have pizza delivery on the way, so you might as well eat with us.” John was inviting Brie to stay, and I smiled with the knowledge he was trying to get the fix-up.

  “Sure, she’ll stay,” I replied for her, handing her my notes. “She needs to copy those anyway.”

  By the time the pizza arrived, Everett had made his nightly appearance with a couple of bottles of wine. The nightly recon team came through the back door, and although Brie shot me a curious glance, she didn’t ask any questions. Quite a party atmosphere had erupted in the house. Everyone sat around in the living room, with their pizza and beer and wine. Ava ran back and forth between Banton and me, tasting first my black olive and mushroom, and then back to Banton for pepperoni, with Beau close at her heels. There was a loud knock at the front door.

  “I’ll get it, stay there.” Banton smiled at me, as I held Ava in my lap.

  “I can’t imagine who on earth that could be, everyone else is here!” Everett exclaimed over his shoulder. He and Colin were deeply involved in a game of chess they had started several nights before.

  “Maybe it’s another redhead, this time for me.” Ty grinned at John, who shot him a look.

  After a few minutes, Banton closed the front door and called me from the entry hall, “Chandler, could I see you for a minute?”

  I handed Ava to John and Brie, who were seated cozily on the love seat.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, as I glimpsed Banton’s troubled face.

  He led me into the dining room, and sat me down in a chair at the table.