“Things are feeling different, Susan,” he said with sadness. “I’m not with you as much as I used to be, and things are changing.”
“I know,” I said. “Mom said you and I were like an old married couple, but now you and Nate are the old married couple, and Mick and I are the old married couple. It’s Mick’s turn to watch out for me and take care of me, and I suspect you’re going to have your hands full watching out for Nate.”
He gave me a big grin and said, “That’s it, isn’t it? Our friendship isn’t changing, our roles are changing. I can live with that.”
“I can, too,” I said affectionately as I leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.
He returned a kiss to my nose, and said, “I’ll always love you, Susan. You’ll always be my best girlfriend.”
“I love you, too, Darby,” I said affectionately.
“What’s with all the kissing?” Mick asked with a smile as he joined us.
“Just a little torch passing, Mick,” said Darby. “She’s all yours.” He smiled and walked off to find Nate.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Dirt Road? We’re looking for Dirt Road?” Mick asked incredulously.
I laughed and said, “That was my reaction the first time, too.”
We were on our way to Aunt Sony and Uncle Alfred’s after stopping first at Delia Despre’s Cooking Creole barn. Mick surveyed the damage and called his uncle for a few contacts so the repairs could be done quickly and without excessive cost. His uncle had relatives on his wife’s side in Louisiana, and they were all in construction, too. Mick made several calls and arranged for people to be there as early as tomorrow morning, with all of the work being completed by week’s end. Mick offered to write Delia a check for the canceled classes and missed income for the week, but she would have none of it. She was charmed by him and appreciated his help.
Now I was trying to help him find Dirt Road so we could meet up with Darby, Nate, Mom, and Dad. We had planned to stop in for lemonade, but Aunt Sony insisted we all come for lunch before heading out to the airport for our flights home.
“We’ve driven far enough,” I told him. “It should be just up ahead on your left. Look for a homemade wooden sign.”
I was starting to think we passed it by, when I spotted the sign a little farther down the road. “There it is!” I exclaimed with a laugh. I wasn’t hot and miserable today, but last Monday’s memory of finding this place with Darby and Nate was still fresh in my mind.
Mick turned at the sign and slowly started down the lane. As before, it was much darker under the heavy tree cover. The Spanish moss gave the same creepy vibe as before.
“This is really kind of enchanting, isn’t it?” he asked as he looked around and through the trees.
“Enchanting?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “Enchanting as in lovely with elves and fairies coming to greet us? Or, enchanting as a voodoo doctor might jump out at any minute and cast a spell on us or stick needles in us?”
Mick laughed. “No, enchanting as it’s really kind of lovely, and we could pull over and -”
“What was that?” I asked alarmed as Mick stopped the car. The loud bang sounded like a gunshot.
“Flat tire,” he said with a sigh.
“Isn’t that kind of odd?” I asked. “With this being a newer rental car, wouldn’t the tires be like new?”
“We could have picked up a nail somewhere. It happens,” he said as he exited the car.
I stepped out and watched as Mick retrieved the carjack and started the tire-changing process. I stood off to the side and watched him jack up the car. The muscles in his arm flexed with each pump, and he was not only incredibly sexy to watch, but the fact that he was so masculine, and could take care of any situation, made him even more desirable. He was my knight in shining armor.
I was starting to have naughty thoughts about what we could do out here under the tree canopy before going in to Aunt Sony’s, when I smelled the roses. It was a faint odor, but I could smell it. A shudder ran down my spine.
Mick had the tire off and was checking it over. “The tire has a slice in it. It almost looks like it was purposely cut,” he said with a puzzled look. He stood up and walked several yards back down the lane surveying the ground as he walked. He stooped to pick something up.
“Look at this, Susan,” he said as he examined the object. “It’s an old pocketknife. It’s the only thing around that could have cut the tire, but that’s not possible. The car would have easily run over this.”
We both studied the old knife. It was black with steel ends, and there was a small coat of arms in the middle of the handle. It had two blades, but neither of them was sharp.
Mick looked up from the knife. “What’s that smell? Roses?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Aunt Sony’s mother.”
He let out a belly laugh. “Susan, you’ve been down here too long. Come on, let me finish this, and we’ll get up to the house.”
He slipped the knife into his pocket and put the spare tire on the car. I couldn’t wait for him to finish. Instead of naughty thoughts running through my mind, I was looking around for the voodoo doctor to come running through the woods and whisk us away never to be seen or heard from again. Our family would only find the abandoned car with a spare tire which had been slashed.
“Let’s go,” Mick said as he slammed the trunk lid shut. He didn’t have to tell me twice, and I hopped into the car, locking the door behind me.
As we entered the clearing and drove the circular drive to the house, he let out a low whistle. “Wow. This place is fantastic,” he said.
“Fantastic?” I asked with my eyes wide. “It’s run down and it looks terrible.”
“Yes, it does look pretty bad, but look at the architecture,” he said. His eyes were shining. “The cornices are stunning, the sculpted wood with the lace pattern between the pillars is beautiful, and the veranda is fantastic. It would be a dream to give this place a makeover.”
The veranda. I had been calling it a porch all week. And speaking of the veranda, it appeared to be full as everyone was seated on it and waiting for us.
“It’s about time you two showed up,” said Nate as he came down to greet us. He gave me a hug, and he held his hand out to shake Mick’s.
“We got a flat tire in the lane on the way in,” I told him.
“Ouch,” he said. “At least it wasn’t too hot to change it with the tree cover. Come on up here. Mick, I want you to meet my Aunt Sony and Uncle Alfred.” He turned to take the steps back up onto the veranda.
After introductions were made and hugs given all around, we were ushered into the house for lunch. I picked up the pitcher from the sideboard and filled it with warm water before handing it to Mick. I led him to the staircase, and we climbed the stairs to the bathroom to wash up. Along the way, he marveled and commented at the intricate moldings and the beautiful staircase. I was starting to look at the house through his eyes now, and could see how beautiful it must have been at one time, and especially how beautiful it could be in Mick’s capable hands.
“I would definitely put a sink in here,” he said laughing as we entered the large bathroom. He poured the water into the basin, and waited until I had finished with the clean water. He then began washing his own hands. I watched for a moment as he worked to remove the grime left by the tire. It dawned on me that his hands added to his sexiness. He could do anything with his hands. He could build, he could repair, he could sew a button onto a shirt, he could cook. The images of Mick’s hands in my life were running across my mind. He could hold me, touch me, caress me. The thoughts opened a deep longing for him within me.
He grabbed a towel from the shelf beneath the basin and started to dry his hands. I was still mesmerized. A humorous look crossed his face, and he asked, “Susan? Are you all right?”
I blushed. What was wrong with me? I had just blushed thinking about wanting my own husband. “I’m ok,” I said sheepishly. “I was just admiring -”
&n
bsp; The smell of roses settled around us once more. “What is with that smell?” he asked, cutting me off. “It’s almost sickening sweet.”
“I know,” I told him. “But I’m telling you, it’s Aunt Sony’s mother.”
I was hoping the water wouldn’t come on in the bathtub. The hair was already standing up at the back of my neck, and I wanted to run down the stairs. It took all of my courage to remain steady and walk normally to the dining room.
The table was once again loaded with food which looked and smelled fantastic. Barbeque chicken, country-fried steak and gravy, red beans and rice, southern-style greens, freshly baked biscuits with peach jam, and bread-and-butter pickles.
“Aunt Sony,” bellowed Dad cheerfully, “I don’t know how you accomplished all of this by yourself, but this food looks delicious!”
She smiled and said, “I’m not one to take credit where credit isn’t due, so I should tell you truthfully that Bonnie and Sally from the women’s auxiliary were here this morning and gave me a hand. But the chicken is my recipe, and it’s the best thing on the table.”
“I’m sure it is,” said Dad with a big smile. “I love barbeque chicken.”
We all took our seats, and the food was passed around the table at supersonic speed. It was every bit as good as it looked and smelled.
“I hear all of y'all had some excitement this week,” said Uncle Alfred. “You look a mite tattered still, Nathaniel, and Susan, are you back up to speed?”
Nate rolled his eyes, and I smiled. “My voice isn’t quite there yet, but at least you can hear me now,” I said. “And I’m doing ok. I haven’t had any nightmares about being in the tomb, so I think I’m ok.” Mick reached under the table and gave my knee a little squeeze.
“I would have nightmares for the rest of my life,” said my mother with a horrified look on her face. “To think you spent the night in a tomb with a dead body …” her voice trailed off. “Well, I would have lost more than my voice. I would have lost my mind.”
“It wasn’t a dead body, Mom,” I said with exaggeration. “It was bones. For some reason, the bones were easier to deal with than an actual body.”
“Let’s talk about something else,” said Darby with a visible shudder and a smile. “Speaking of the dead isn’t appropriate dinner-table talk.” He looked over at Uncle Alfred and said, “Nate’s eyebrows and eyelashes are going to take a while to grow out, but in about six weeks, his nose and eyes should be normal again.”
“I was going to make bananas foster for dessert today,” said Aunt Sony, “but after what happened to Nathaniel, I didn’t want to bring flames to the table.” She winked at Nate, “I baked pies instead. Mick, give me a hand in the kitchen will you, dear?”
“Sure thing,” he said as he stood from the table flashing a smile my way. I could tell he was enjoying himself, and I was glad he agreed to come instead of moving up our flight and rushing back home.
A few minutes later, they returned with two pecan pies and two sweet potato pies. I had a sliver of both. Over dessert, Nate and Aunt Sony entertained Mom, Dad, and Mick with the details of our last visit. It was Aunt Sony who brought up the bathroom incident.
“Poor Susan,” she said. “My mother scared her half to death when she turned the water on in the bathtub while Susan was still bathing. She stood there naked and screaming while Darby and Nathaniel rushed in to rescue her. Poor Nathaniel passed out as soon as he realized what Mother had done.”
She laughed loudly, but I stole a quick glance at Mick and saw his jaw clenched under his forced smile. I never told him Darby and Nate had run in while I was naked, and I hadn’t wanted to either.
Dad was usually clued in to my feelings, and I was pretty sure he had seen the slight reaction between me and Mick. “Well, thank goodness they’re both gay and didn’t care what they were looking at,” he said.
Mom broke out into peals of laughter. I slumped in my seat a little and wished they would drop the subject. And they did drop it because the scent of roses was heavy around us again. It seemed to be strongest at Mick’s seat.
“There are the roses again,” said Mick. “We smelled them when we were changing the tire, and upstairs in the bathroom, too.”
“Now, Nathaniel, don’t go all ‘fraidy cat on us,” Aunt Sony said. “You should know by now my mother wouldn’t hurt a fly, and she seems to like Mick. You know, Mick, you look very much like my father. He was a handsome man, too. He was a carpenter and made some of the furniture in this house, including this table.” She lifted the edge of the tablecloth and peered underneath. “Mother is probably enjoying you right now.”
The comment set me a little on edge. I wasn’t comfortable being in the presence of a ghost, and I certainly didn’t want her following Mick home.
Mom, Darby, and I cleared the table and started doing the dishes while everyone else retired to the veranda to chat. Mom couldn’t stop giggling about the bathroom incident. Darby put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, “We passed the torch, Susan. I’m sad I’ll never see you naked again.”
I slapped a towel at him, but I couldn’t hold back a smile.
When we were finished, we joined everyone on the veranda. I walked over to stand beside Mick as he leaned against the rail. He slipped his arm around my waist.
Aunt Sony was sitting with Nate on the wicker loveseat. She had a photograph album opened on her lap and was showing him pictures of himself and his parents. Darby had told Nate they were both gay, and Aunt Sony and Uncle Alfred had discussed it with Nate when they first arrived earlier in the day. He loved the story, and said it was like something out of a movie.
Dad looked at his watch, stood, and said, “Well folks, I’d like to stay longer, but if we’re all going to catch our flights, we’d best get going.”
Hugs, kisses, and good-byes were given all across the veranda. Aunt Sony gave Nate the photograph album to take with him.
“Do you have your knife?” she asked.
“I put it on the buffet in the dining room. I’ll be back in a minute,” he said as he ran into the house.
“Our flight’s only about an hour,” Dad said to Mick. “What’s yours? Twice that?”
Before Mick could answer, Nate came out with a puzzled expression on his face and said, “I know I put it on the buffet, but it’s not there.” He looked at me and then at Darby. “Did you guys see it when you were cleaning up after lunch?”
Darby shook his head.
“What did it look like?” I asked.
“It was my dad’s pocketknife. Old, black, with a crest of arms on it,” he said.
My mouth fell open, and my eyes bugged out as Mick pulled the knife from his pocket.
“Thanks, man,” Nate said with a broad smile as he reached to take it.
Mick didn’t let him take it right away. “I didn’t pick this up off the buffet, Nate,” he said.
“Where did you get it?” he asked still smiling.
Mick hesitated for only a moment before saying, “We found it in the lane. It was right behind the car when our tire was slashed.”
I wasn’t surprised to see Nate crumple to the wooden floor of the veranda.
Chapter Twelve
“I’m running down to the mall,” I told Mick as I stuck my head through his office doorway.
“Why?” he asked. “It’s after 6:00. Can’t it wait for another day?” I could see he was concerned.
“I’m going to meet Sam at the food court for a smoothie. Other than a few minutes on the phone, I haven’t talked with her for over a week. I want to get the news on the burglar and the rapist, and I want to pick up something for Aunt Sony and Uncle Alfred to thank them for their hospitality.” Today was our first day home, and I wanted to get the gift and send it out right away.
“Let me come with you,” he said as he started to fold up blueprints.
“No, Mick,” I insisted. “Larry won’t be there, and it’ll just be girl talk. I won’t stay long, and I’ll be home before dark, I
promise.”
“Ok,” he relented. “But make sure Barry walks out with you when you leave. Even if you and Samantha are together, make sure he walks out with you.”
I flashed him a smile and said, “I will. I promise.”
I grabbed my purse, ran down the three flights of stairs, and out to the carport. I was disappointed Lugnut didn’t have the Chevelle repaired yet. It was a simple job, and it should have been done days ago. Mick had talked with him earlier in the day, and Lugnut said the guy doing the front end body work was taking longer than expected, but Mick could come by and pick the car up in a couple of days.
It felt dishonest to use the Toyota for non-company transportation, so I slid behind the wheel of Mick’s BMW. I loved the comfort of the car, but I loved the Chevelle more. I’d be happy when I had it back.
I spotted Samantha’s car outside the food court entrance and knew she would be waiting for me. I parked next to her car. There was no one around, and I took off running for the doors. It felt silly to run through the lot in broad daylight, but I didn’t know if it was safe to simply walk.
There were two old men sitting at a table, and as far away from them as possible sat Samantha. There was no one else around.
“Oh my gosh!” I said as I sat down at the table. “There are fewer people than the last time I was here. If they don’t catch this guy soon, some of these stores are going to have to close.”
“I know,” she said. “The guy at the smoothie counter said they’re only staying open one more week. If things don’t change by then, they’re closing up.”
She was already sipping her drink. I got up to go get my own. Smoothie Delights served the best smoothies I’d ever tasted, and I couldn’t wait to get the Pina Colada Delight. It was made with fresh pineapple, fresh coconut, and vanilla yogurt.
“You’re Susan Hunter, aren’t you?” asked the girl behind the counter. She was frowning at me, and I suddenly felt uneasy.
“I am. Susan Raines, actually. Do I know you?” I asked.
4 Big Easy Hunter Page 12
