The Color of Love

by Sharon Sala

  “God bless her. You tell her she’s become my new heroine. I am in awe of how she survived and escaped that.”

  Peanut smiled. “I sure will, and while I’m thinking about it, I suppose you should know that we are officially a couple.”

  Betty’s eyes widened, and then she clapped her hands and laughed. “I knew it! I knew it! I told my husband a month ago that you were attracted to Ruby Dye, and he didn’t believe it.”

  Peanut shrugged. “I’m gone on her. What can I say?”

  “Well, congratulations, boss. You have good taste.”

  “Thanks. I think so,” Peanut said. “So, I’m headed home. Thanks for holding down the fort here.”

  “No problem,” Betty said. “My best to Ruby.”

  Peanut nodded as he left with his laptop and the Mathis file and headed home, but he couldn’t get the reading of Elmer Mathis’s will out of his mind. He had a feeling this was going to be a messy one.

  * * *

  Loretta Baird was at her favorite spa getting a pedicure. She’d already had a massage and a manicure and was checking her email when her phone signaled a call. She started to let it go to voicemail and then changed her mind.

  “Hello.”

  “May I speak to Loretta Baird, please? My name’s Butterman. I’m the lawyer for Elmer Mathis.”

  Loretta frowned. “I’m Loretta Baird.”

  “Ms. Baird, I’m sorry to inform you that your uncle, Elmer Mathis, passed away this morning at his care center in Savannah.”

  “Oh really? That’s too bad,” Loretta said.

  Peanut’s eyebrows rose. Suddenly Elmer’s final wishes were beginning to make sense.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Peanut said. “The reading of the will takes place in my office at ten a.m. this coming Friday in Blessings, Georgia. If you are unable to attend, a letter informing you of the will’s contents will be mailed to you. Are you still at the same address in Atlanta?”

  Loretta’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Yes, but I’ll be there. Uh…can you tell me what he was worth?”

  Peanut frowned. “No, ma’am, I cannot.”

  “Oh well, no matter. I’ll see you Friday,” she said, and he heard her squeal “Score! Yay me!” before the call disconnected.

  Peanut sighed. Nothing like loving family.

  He made similar calls informing her sisters—Betsy Lowe, who also lived in Atlanta, and then Wilma Smith, who lived in Savannah.

  By the time he’d made the last call, he was thoroughly disgusted. None of them had expressed sympathy or regret, but all three had asked what Elmer was worth.

  There was only one more woman to notify regarding the reading of the will—Melissa Dean. He entered her phone number, listened to the rings, and was preparing himself to leave a voicemail when she answered.

  “Hello, this is Melissa,” she said.

  “Good afternoon, Melissa. This is Peanut Butterman.”

  “Hello, Mr. Butterman.”

  He heard both surprise and question in her voice and set out to clarify the call. “First, my condolences on Mr. Mathis’s passing. I know you were his caregiver.”

  Melissa’s quick breath and then shaky voice told him everything.

  “Yes, I was, and thank you. Even though he hadn’t known me for almost a year now, I will miss him.”

  “I’m calling to inform you that you are named in his will. The reading will be this coming Friday. Ten o’clock in my office.”

  “Well, my goodness,” she said, and then started to cry. “I’m sorry. This just makes it all so final.”

  “Yes, ma’am. So, see you then?”

  “Yes, of course, and thank you for the call.”

  “You’re welcome, Melissa.”

  Now that all of the heirs had been notified, Peanut got up to check on Ruby. She’d been asleep when he came home, and another peek into her bedroom showed she was still sleeping, so he went back to his office, booted up his laptop, and got back to work.

  Chapter 5

  After a meeting with his court-appointed lawyer, Jarrod Dye saw that his situation was right where he’d guessed it would be. Pleading out was his only option for possible leniency, and he blamed Ruby for all of this. If she hadn’t cut him up and made him lose control, none of this would have happened. Because of her, he’d be an old man before he got out—if he survived prison. The longer he thought about it, the angrier he became, so when his lawyer, Allen Young, was getting ready to leave, Jarrod casually asked if Allen would call his brother to let him know where Jarrod was.

  Young thought nothing of the request and agreed.

  Jarrod wrote down his brother Gary’s name and number, then made a couple of notes.

  Tell him what’s happening and where I’ll likely be for the rest of my life. And tell him Ruby is just fine.

  The lawyer slipped the phone number into his briefcase, gathered up the rest of his notes, and left the interrogation room while his client was being taken back to his cell.

  Jarrod had one last chance to make Ruby sorry for what she’d done, but it wouldn’t happen if the lawyer didn’t call Jarrod’s brother. And even if Young did call Gary, his brother had to read past the obvious to what Jarrod was asking him to do. Right now, it was all maybes and what-ifs, but Jarrod needed something to pin his future on, and revenge was as good as it would get.

  Allen Young, Esquire, considered his latest court-appointed client a done deal. The perp wanted to plead out, which meant no trial, which meant Allen wouldn’t have to deal with him long.

  He thought about Dye’s request to call his brother and decided to get that out of the way before he forgot, so he took the note out of his briefcase and made the call.

  * * *

  Gary Dye was two years older than Jarrod, but they looked so much alike that from time to time people thought they were twins. Both were barely five-ten, with sparse brown hair, and thin to the point of skinny. Gary was in his metal shop finishing a welding job when he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He turned off the torch, flipped his helmet up, and put his phone on speaker as he answered.

  “Dye’s Welding,” he said.

  “May I speak to Gary Dye?”

  “I’m Gary. Who are you?” Gary asked.

  “This is Allen Young. I’m your brother’s lawyer.”

  Gary frowned. “Why does Jarrod need a lawyer?”

  Young proceeded to explain the charges and Jarrod’s decision to admit his guilt and plead out.

  Gary was stunned. “You’re shittin’ me,” he muttered.

  “No, sir. I’m sorry to say it’s all true. Jarrod asked me to notify you that he’ll likely be spending the rest of his life in prison, and to tell you that Ruby is just fine.”

  Gary inhaled sharply, then quickly recovered. “I’m real sorry Jarrod did this, and glad to hear she’s fine. I appreciate the call.”

  “No problem,” Young said, and disconnected.

  Gary set the phone aside, then took off his welding helmet, then went to get a cold drink, but his thoughts were churning.

  The lawyer said Jarrod had abducted his ex-wife from a little town called Blessings, Georgia, and while Jarrod could likely die in prison, Ruby was just fine.

  But not for damned long. Not if Gary had anything to do about it. He needed to make a little trip to this Blessings, Georgia, and rearrange Ruby’s future too. It wasn’t going to bother him. He had never liked her anyway.

  * * *

  Peanut was nearly through with the opening statement for next week’s trial. Even though a good portion of his business was done out of court as a mediator, he was ready to defend his client, May Temple, who worked at the Blue Ivy Bar at the edge of town.

  The charges didn’t amount to much. May was being sued by her landlord, Niles Holland, for failure to pay her rent. But
the kicker was that May was countersuing, claiming the property was unlivable because the landlord continually refused to fix what was broken. And she’d given Holland fair warning with a certified letter stating she wasn’t paying rent until he fixed everything.

  As far as Peanut was concerned, it was an open-and-shut case. May had receipts for every month’s rent up until three months ago. He had a copy of the letter May had sent Niles, the certified receipt of delivery, and pictures of the flooded bathroom. Also pictures of a hole in her ceiling from a leak in the apartment above hers, and a front door that would no longer lock, which had resulted in May being robbed while she was at work.

  Peanut hadn’t been bothered about going up against Niles until Niles had made the insulting comment about Ruby. Now Peanut was more than ready to make Niles own up and do the right thing. He was logging off the computer when Ruby walked into his office.

  “There’s my Unsinkable Molly Brown,” Peanut said as he swung around in his chair and patted his leg.

  Ruby gave him a little sideways smile as she slid into his lap, then surprised him with a kiss on the cheek.

  “Thank you, love,” he said, and returned the favor. “I take it you had a good rest.”

  “I did,” she said, and slid her arm around his neck, then laid her head on his shoulder.

  Peanut held her close as he rested his chin on the top of her head. “I got a phone call while I was at the office. Elmer Mathis passed away this morning.”

  Ruby sat up, her expression already mirroring her sadness. “Oh, bless his heart. He had a terrible battle with Alzheimer’s. At least he’s no longer trapped in that body.”

  “Yes, this would be one of those times when the news was a blessing, instead of shock and sadness,” Peanut said.

  “He doesn’t have any family anymore, does he?” Ruby asked.

  Peanut hesitated. He couldn’t reveal specifics because of lawyer-client confidentiality, but relatives’ names wouldn’t fall under that rule unless the client had specifically asked for their names not to be mentioned.

  “He has three nieces. I notified them earlier.”

  “Oh…that’s good, then,” Ruby said.

  Peanut changed the subject. “I have a suggestion. It’s about your house.”

  “What is it?” Ruby asked.

  “Laurel Lorde cleans my house. I want to ask her to schedule yours as well. The longer that mess sits, the harder it will be to clean, and you can’t get anything in the open wounds on your hands.”

  Ruby frowned. “I don’t want her to see it like that.”

  “Honey, that’s just a little blood and fingerprint powder. I don’t think it will faze her.”

  “What if it reminds her of her first husband’s suicide?” Ruby asked.

  “She has a small child. She’s bound to be mopping up bloody scrapes and nose bleeds now and then.”

  Ruby was silent for a few moments, considering it. “If she’s willing, I would like to know everything is back in place. Except my bedspread, of course. I have an old one I can use until I get a chance to buy another.”

  “Great. I’ll call her later, and I will feel her out first. If I think I hear reluctance, I’ll nix it right then, okay?”

  “Yes, okay,” Ruby said. “And thank you for thinking of me.”

  “You’re always at the top of my list,” Peanut said.

  Ruby hesitated. “As many years as we’ve known each other, I don’t know a lot about your family.”

  “And I know nothing about yours,” Peanut said. “So I’ll go first. As you know by my name, my parents had a weird sense of humor. They thought it was hysterical to name me P. Nutt Butterman.”

  “What does the P stand for?” Ruby asked.

  Peanut rolled his eyes. “Not a damn thing. They thought that was funny too. I used to accuse them of smoking pot when they named me. Mom never denied it, but she would always get this indignant look on her face. God, I miss them.”

  Ruby slipped her hand in his. “Do you have other family?” she asked.

  “Not that I know of. What about you? What was your maiden name?” Peanut asked.

  “I was Ruby Jo Morris. My parents disowned me when I got pregnant. Mom died from breast cancer the first year I was married, and Dad remarried within a year and moved away. As far as I’m concerned, he’s dead too. I know I want nothing to do with him.”

  “I’m sorry, honey,” Peanut said.

  Ruby shrugged. “Don’t be. I have lots of family. Good family. The people in Blessings are my family.”

  “If the whole town is invited, we’re going to have one really big wedding,” he said.

  Ruby sighed. “I still can’t believe this is real.”

  Peanut cupped her cheek. “If you’d loved me as long as I’ve loved you, you’d have no problem believing,” he said.

  Her eyes narrowed, refusing to let that slide. “Well, if you hadn’t kept it to yourself for so long, I wouldn’t be behind your timeline.”

  He threw his head back and laughed.

  “Damn…you nailed me with that one, and I didn’t see it coming. Remind me never to go up against you in court.”

  “No problem,” she said, and made him laugh again.

  “What’s your favorite food?” Ruby asked.

  “A big rib-eye steak with a baked potato and any kind of salad. What about you?” he asked.

  “Chicken and dressing,” Ruby said. “What’s your favorite kind of movie to watch?”

  “Oh, definitely war movies…I’m a bit of a history buff,” he said.

  “My forever favorite is Avatar, and I don’t even know what genre that falls into,” Ruby said. “All I know is that the first three times I saw it, I wished I was nine feet tall and blue and lived on Pandora.”

  “Well, I’m really glad you live in Blessings, because I can’t imagine this town without you,” he said.

  “Oh, Peanut…I want to make love to you. This won’t feel real until we do.”

  His heart skipped. He wanted nothing more.

  “You have no idea how much I want that, too, but right now you are still hurt enough that I’m almost afraid to touch you.”

  She sighed. “I know, but I wanted you to know how I feel.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, then laid her hand over his heart.

  “And this is how I feel,” he said.

  The hard thud of his heartbeat against her palm was heady. Knowing she affected him like this made her ache for more.

  When she suddenly shivered, Peanut kissed her.

  Ruby leaned into the kiss, ignoring the pull on the stitches in her lips.

  When his phone rang, she moaned softly.

  “Dang it,” she said, then got up and moved away so he could answer it.

  It was immediately obvious to her that it was business when he began to talk, and she left the office so he’d have privacy.

  * * *

  Vesta and Vera were working until dark every evening to make sure Ruby’s clients weren’t put at a disadvantage by her absence. Mabel Jean had stepped up to shampoo clients when she wasn’t busy with someone’s nails.

  The Curl Up and Dye was still the place to go in Blessings for the latest news, and the most popular subject was still Ruby Dye.

  Rachel Goodhope, who ran the bed-and-breakfast, came in for her appointment carrying a plate of lemon bars.

  “I know you girls are having to work overtime to pick up Ruby’s clients, and guessed you were going to be really hungry before you could close up and go home. I wanted to bring you a little something, so enjoy!” she said.

  “Oh golly, lemon bars,” Mabel Jean said. “I love anything lemon. Can I get you some coffee, Rachel?”

  “No, thank you,” Rachel said, as she set the plate beside the coffee station, then turned around. “So, who’s
doing me?” she asked.

  “I am,” Vesta said. “Vera has an appointment due any minute.”

  “I sure appreciate you guys working me in,” Rachel said, and sat down in Vesta’s chair long enough for Vesta to put a cape around her shoulders before she moved Rachel to the shampoo station. “How’s Ruby?” she asked.

  “Healing. Glad to be home.”

  “I can only imagine,” Rachel said. “Is there anything she needs? Anything I can do?”

  Vesta kept working as she talked. “I think Peanut has that covered.”

  “Peanut? How did he get involved?” Rachel asked.

  “Oh, haven’t you heard?” Vesta asked. “They’re a couple.”

  Rachel’s eyes widened. “Seriously? That is so awesome,” she said.

  Before the conversation could go further, the bell over the door signaled the arrival of Vera’s next appointment.

  * * *

  By night, nearly everyone in Blessings knew about Ruby and Peanut, and as Peanut had hoped, news about Ruby’s current condition became way less important than finding out she and Peanut were a couple.

  Right after dinner, Ruby went to take a shower. She was tired and thinking about going to bed early.

  Peanut used the time to call Laurel. Just when he thought it would go to voicemail, the call was answered.

  “Hello. This is Jake.”

  “Jake, this is Peanut Butterman. Is Laurel available?”

  “She’s putting Bonnie to bed. I’ll have her call you back in a few.”

  “Maybe I should ask your opinion before I talk to her.”

  “About what?” Jake asked.

  “I wanted to see if she would be willing to clean up Ruby Dye’s house. The kitchen, hall, and bathroom are somewhat bloody, and there is fingerprint powder all over the place. Ruby thought cleaning it might remind Laurel of her first husband’s suicide. Do you think I should let it go?”

  Jake hesitated a moment. “You know…that’s not something I feel I should answer. This will totally be Laurel’s call. Oh…wait. Here she comes now.”

  Peanut heard Laurel’s footsteps and then her say, “Who is it?” and heard Jake say, “It’s Peanut.”