Running On Empty (Fleur de Lis Book 2)

by A. L. Vincent

  It felt good to be home. Home was predictable. Home was safe.

  “Grace!” Carly called when she saw her. Carly was reclining in a foldable lawn chair beside Emily. There was an empty seat beside her, and Grace sank down in it.

  Carly reached into the cooler beside her and pulled out a beer.

  “Have a drink, Grace. Relax,” Carly said.

  Grace slid the beer into the Snapper’s coozie Carly offered. It was time to keep up appearances so no one asked too many questions. “What’s up?”

  “Not much. Enjoying some sunshine and good company. It’s a great day to be alive,” Carly said.

  “Hi, Em!” Grace said. “How are you? How is business?”

  “It’s going great, actually. Just picked up some holiday catering jobs in Lafayette. Hard to believe that the holidays are already just around the corner.”

  “That’s awesome,” Grace said.

  “And, Carly, how’s the book coming?” Grace asked. If Emily’s dream was cooking, Carly’s was writing. One day, Carly would publish a novel.

  “It’s coming. I haven’t been dating, so not a lot of new material.”

  Carly was writing a second book on dating. Grace just shook her head. If Carly would open her eyes and see how much she loved Joey and how much Joey loved her, then Carly would have a whole different love story to write. Carly had titled her book All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Man. She was in the process of trying to get it published, a process Grace was sure was about as easy as getting signed with a record label. A long journey full of disappointment and rejection.

  “Speaking of the holidays. It’s almost time to start planning the Halloween party,” Carly said. “The last one was a blast! And, Grace, you’ll be here so you can dress up too! We’ll have to go to New Orleans and do a girl’s shopping trip for a costume!”

  Grace felt the beer she had just sipped start to crawl back up her throat. She swallowed hard to keep it down. She was grateful when Daniel and Glinda walked up.

  “Hello there!” they said as they sat their lawn chairs down in the little circle.

  Ryder, Noah, and Gabe, finally run off by Joey, joined the circle as well.

  Gabe sat his seat down on one side of Grace. After Ryder had kissed both Carly and Grace hello, he scooted in between the two. Ryder’s dark eyes met hers for a moment and he frowned, but soon hid it behind his crooked cowboy smile. Grace smiled, glad he understood her need for something normal.

  “So, how’s the job hunt going?” Daniel asked Grace.

  “It’s going. I sent that resume off to Pointe Shade today,” she said.

  “That’s great,” Daniel said. “Bon chance, pretty lady.”

  Yeah right, Grace thought. She prayed she wouldn’t get that job. Surely there was something else out there. However, with the economy the way it was, that might be her only job opportunity here.

  The group was quiet for a moment, which Carly never handled well, so she blurted out, “You know what we need?”

  “What do we need?” Noah asked.

  “We need some music out here,” she said. “I can’t believe we’re not playing music already!”

  “I got that,” Noah said, and left.

  “Awesome!” Carly said. “Great food, great company, great music!”

  Grace smiled. Carly was known for her joie de vivre. And often, it was contagious. Carly was always so full of life and happy, she brought others up with her. You never had a bad time when Carly was around. She wouldn’t let you.

  Noah backed his truck in and pulled the tailgate down. He had picked up Sadie and Oscar along the way, and they tore off across the beach, frolicking in the surf. He tuned in the radio and came back and sat down next to Emily. He reached for Emily’s hand automatically. Grace smiled, glad the two had gotten their happily ever after.

  Soon, Joey announced the food was ready, and they gathered around the foldable tables that had been set up earlier. Everyone filled their plates, grabbed a beer, and sat down to peel shrimp and munch on spicy boiled potatoes, corn, and sausage.

  Grace let herself get caught up in the moment. She listened to the conversation and the laughter that always went along with good food and get-togethers. She laughed along with them as they relived past events and gave each other a hard time about this or that. Eventually, they started ribbing each other over who was going to win the cook-off the next day.

  When the meal was finished and the mess put away, the sun was beginning to set across the water. Gabe disappeared to get his guitar, and Noah started a fire in the fire pit. Joey broke out the sticks and marshmallows. As the group melted marshmallows and made s’mores, Gabe sat and played the guitar. The light music blended with the snaps and pops of the fire.

  Ryder took a seat beside Grace, and she leaned into the arm he wrapped around her. Warmed by firelight and friendship, Grace took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and felt a small piece of icy anger snap off and melt away.

  Chapter Twelve

  Grace shuddered as Brent ran his cold fingers along her cheek.

  “Remember me, sweetheart?” he whispered in her ear. “I haven’t forgotten you. And I’ll be damned if I let you forget me. About this…”

  Panic raced through Grace as she sat up in bed, heart racing, sweat beading her forehead. Her room was still dark so it was either really late or really early. She looked over to her phone to see the time.

  “Want to run, Furb?” she asked. The small dog jumped on the floor to dance in circles on his back legs. He barked once in response.

  “Hush!” she fussed as Carly’s dog barked in response. It was a reprimand for waking the old cranky dog.

  “C’mon,” she said, putting her shoes on. She hooked the leash on and carried him out the door in an effort to keep him quiet.

  When they were outside and out of earshot of sleeping dogs and people, she put him down, and they went to the beach. She let him off the leash and together they ran down the shoreline. The morning was cool, a signal that summer was definitely coming to an end and that fall would soon be there. The weather was supposed to be gorgeous today for the cook-off, and for that Grace was happy. Pretty weather meant a good turnout, and that would be good for Benjamin’s scholarship.

  I haven’t forgotten you…

  Grace ran at full speed down the beach, ran until her lungs hurt and her knees ached. Only when Brent’s voice stopped echoing in her head did she collapse on the beach, breathless. Finally numb, she pushed herself up off the cold sand and limped home.

  ***

  After a shower and a nap, Grace walked through the parking lot of Snapper’s. Several cook-off contestants had already set up BBQ pits and tents. The smoky smell of burning coals floated on the air, combined with the sounds of music from the jukebox and the laughter and taunts from the people milling about and getting their food together.

  The oilfield company men, in town for one last hurrah before the season ended, had all congregated and lined up along one side of the lot. The regulars who had chosen to participate claimed the other. So, not only was there the overall contest, there was also the regulars versus the tourists competition.

  She passed Jay’s tent first. “Hey, Jay. Whatcha cooking?”

  “Beer can chicken,” he replied, holding up a can of Budweiser.

  “You gonna have any left to shove up that chicken?” she asked, laughing.

  “Oh, I’m sure Carly has plenty of Bud in there for me.” He laughed.

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  Two other regulars, Walter and Red, had set up next to him. They had not started any kind of prep work other than to set up lawn chairs with a big red ice chest settled in between. They sat, beers in hand, their long legs stretched out.

  “You guys cooking or what?” Grace asked.

  “We’re drinking.”

  “I see that. You going to actually cook anything?”

  “Yep, shrimp kebabs. Seafood, quick cooking, less prep, more drinkin’.”

 
Grace shook her head. “You guys aren’t right.”

  She kept walking until she got to the end. Joey, being his normal perfectionist self, had arrived early and his tent was closest to the bar. There was one tent and four pits. Joey, Noah, and Gabe would all be cooking that day. Ryder had been recruited to judge, as well as Daniel.

  Kevin Douglas had also joined them for the cook-off. Kevin had served with Noah in the Marine Corps. He had retired and returned to his hometown of Point Shade. Unlike Noah, he still had the look of a military man. His hair was clipped short, his movements more precise. Noah’s look was more relaxed, casual. You only saw the resemblance in their eyes, both on guard, and still haunted by things they had seen and could never forget.

  Several chairs were set up. There would need to be because Carly, Emily, Grace, Glinda, and probably a few others would make that their home base for the day.

  She was the only female to arrive so far. Carly would be in the bar overseeing things. Emily and Glinda would be along later with the sides for the feast. Grace had heard they were making an array of potato salad, rice dressing, pasta salads, and baked beans.

  She took a seat in one of the chairs and watched as the guys started preparing their dishes. She laughed as they all ribbed one another. Joey was making smoked duck with a jalapeno cheese stuffing. Kevin and Noah were barbecuing ribs and competing against each other. Gabe was smoking a brisket. Ryder, seeing her arrival, left the group to meet her. His dark eyes scanned hers as if trying to ascertain what she was thinking, how she was. When she nodded and smiled, he kissed her forehead and took the seat next to her.

  Grace surveyed the competitors across the lot again, wondering if they knew what they were getting into. She froze when she saw who had set up a tent across from them.

  It was Denis Mouton and friends.

  Brett’s cousin.

  What was that jackass doing here? Grace hoped he’d keep himself across the parking lot, but knew better.

  Carly walked up then. Blonde hair in a ponytail, big white sunglasses perched on her face. She had a pitcher of mimosas in one hand and plastic wine glasses in the other. Allison, the school teacher who had performed “Hot for Teacher,” walked up with her.

  “Mimosa?” Carly asked Grace.

  “Please.”

  Carly poured the drink and handed it to Grace. She then flopped down into the seat next to Grace. She kicked off her flip-flops and rested her feet on Ryder’s lap.

  “Thank God there won’t be any drama at the cook-off this year,” Carly said.

  “Right?” Ryder said. “I’d hate to have to actually kick someone’s ass this year.”

  “Sure you would.” Carly laughed. “I’ve never seen you turn away from a good fight.”

  Ryder grinned. “Nope. Not me.”

  Grace knew they were referring to the spaghetti cook-off they had held the year before as a grand opening celebration for Snapper’s. Emily’s then husband had shown up, drunk and looking to cause a scene. He had come looking for Ryder after assuming Emily had a thing going with the cowboy. Emily had ended up going off on Eddie, throwing her ring at him and stalking off. Grace still wished she had been here for that.

  “I wonder what Eddie would have done if you had actually walked off the porch?” Grace asked.

  “He woulda got more than he bargained for, I assure you. After he called Em a whore, that was it. I was ready to whip his ass.”

  Grace sipped the mimosa and leaned back in the lawn chair, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on her face. A shadow crossed her face and she opened her eyes to see that Gabe had finished up at his pit for the present and had joined them. She smiled when she saw him.

  “Mimosa?” Carly asked him as she poured herself another.

  Gabe held up a beer. “Nah, got a beer from Noah.” He sat down in the seat next to Grace.

  “What’s up?” he asked her.

  “Not much. Just relaxing.” She bit back a yawn. “Still too early to do much.”

  “Bull-oney,” he said. “I saw you running early this morning.”

  Grace’s face blanched as she thought about the morning, about the dream she’d had of Brent. She cut her eyes over to the Mouton tent where they were milling about, laughing, and drinking. Grace wondered if Carly had spoken too soon on the “no drama” comment. It might be Grace whipping some ass by the end of the day. As long as Mouton stayed on his side of the lot, things would be just fine.

  “You okay?” Gabe asked.

  She forced a smile. “I’m fine. How’s the brisket coming?”

  “It’s looking good. I may give Joey a run for his money this year.”

  “Good for you,” she said.

  Noah and Kevin, finished up for the time being, joined them.

  “I passed by the others on the way,” Grace said. “Red and Walter crack me up. Shrimp they said. So they have more time to drink.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  The rest of the morning was filled with the guys getting up every now and then to check on pits, while the girls sat and had a few more mimosas and talked about the old days, men, and Carly’s book. Ryder wandered in and out of the group, making rounds, playing a game of pool here and there, but always resumed his spot between Carly and Grace.

  As the day progressed, Grace felt herself relax. When Ryder came back, she, too, put her feet in his lap. His hand rested on her ankle, tapping with the rhythm of the music that was piped through the speakers outside the bar.

  Grace felt another shadow across her face, and she smiled automatically, thinking it was Gabe again. Her face fell when she saw Mouton’s grey eyes leering at her. The sun behind him cast him in an evil glow.

  “Well, hey there. If it isn’t our little songbird.”

  Grace slowly sat up from her reclining position and twisted her body to face his. “Well, if it isn’t our neighborhood pig. Fitting to have you here for our BBQ. No one’s tried to roast you?”

  Grace heard Carly snicker behind her, but Grace didn’t take her eyes off Mouton. Mouton shifted his gaze over to Carly, eyes narrowing when he saw her laugh.

  Slowly, he turned back to Grace. “Funny girl, aren’t you?”

  “I prefer honest.” Grace smiled.

  “I was talking about you just this morning, by the way. Brent is in town from New Orleans this weekend. I told him about the cook-off, and he may stop in. Maybe you guys can revisit old times.”

  Grace felt the familiar bile rise at the mention of Brent’s name. She made her face go blank, show no reaction despite her racing heart.

  “Is that right?” Grace asked.

  “Yes,” Mouton said.

  “Whatever,” Grace said, shrugging.

  Mouton, obviously disappointed with her lack of reaction, said, “Well then, we’ll see you later.” He nodded at the guys who had left their posts at their pits and now stood behind the women. Beers in hand, they looked relaxed, but Grace knew better.

  “We’ll see you when they announce our names as the winners of the cook-off,” Mouton said to the guys.

  Joey smiled. “We will see about that, won’t we?”

  “Yes, we will,” Mouton said, nodding his head to the ladies, then walking away.

  The rest of them remained quiet as he left. “He’s so gross!” Carly exclaimed. “Can we fix the cook-off? Please?”

  Joey raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I can’t win fair and square?”

  Carly laughed. “Of course not. How silly of me.”

  “Good.”

  Carly hopped up then. “Speaking of which, let me get things going with the judging.”

  Allison asked, “You need some help?”

  “Nah, I got it. Emily and Glinda are coming up. They’re going to help out.” Carly handed the pitcher of mimosas to Allison. “You can make sure the mimosa glasses stay full.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Great,” replied Carly as she flounced off across the parking lot and onto the porch. She grabbed a mic. “Judg
es and contestants, it’s time for us to begin judging. Please bring your entries into the bar.”

  “You ready?” Allison asked, nodding toward Grace’s empty glass.

  “Yes, thanks.”

  Grace took a sip and leaned back in the chair again. “So, you teach, right?”

  “Yep, I do.”

  “You like it?”

  “I do.”

  “Is it hard?”

  “It can be. But it can be rewarding as well. I love working with kids. Teenagers though. I don’t think I could deal with the little ones.”

  “There’s an opening in Pointe Shade.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “Gabe and Daniel think I should apply. I sent my resume off this morning.”

  “What do you think?” Allison asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s something different, and a steady paycheck. And I do have a teaching degree.”

  “It’s a sub position. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to go back. And I can help you with anything you need.”

  “I may take you up on that.”

  “Just one word of warning,” Allison said.

  “What’s that?”

  “Pointe Shade is very conservative, if you know what I mean.”

  “No, what do you mean?”

  “They frown on drinking and sin. Think of that old movie Footloose.” Allison laughed. “A friend of mine who taught there actually said she got called into the office for posting a picture of a beer on social media.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, hell, they may fire me.”

  “Just keep a low profile and you’ll be fine. The faculty isn’t overly friendly from what I hear.”

  “Good deal. I’ll see what happens. They probably won’t even hire me anyway.”

  “If they do, let me know if I can do anything to help.”

  “I will, thanks.”

  Carly interrupted then, announcing it was time to proclaim the winners. Allison and Grace followed the others to the small area in front of the porch.