Cold As January

by Katie Graykowski

  “January can handle this. She’s an adult and can make her own decisions.” Nina came to stand on January’s other side.

  “And we’re not really in a book club.” Susie came and stood on the first stair.

  “January’s on a triathlon team. We’re called The Tough Ladies.” Charisma, their coach, took the spot next to Susie. “This morning she swam two miles.” She said it like she double-dog dared him to question it.

  Her teammates surrounded her and took up defensive postures like they expected Bru to start throwing punches. While he had been known to mix it up, January knew he would never hit a girl … well, not without her express consent.

  “Sugar, I just know you’re going to respect January’s decision to not have anything to do with her baby’s father.” Sweet Louise slipped her arm through Bru’s and smiled up at him. Then she stopped and turned and stared at January. “Wait, you swam two miles this morning … on purpose?”

  Sweet Louise made it sound like it wasn’t the dumbest thing she’d ever heard, but it definitely made the top five.

  “A triathlon team?” Bru shook his head. “I didn’t see that one coming.”

  Sweet Louise looked like she was still trying to wrap her head around the swimming. “I can see swimming that far if you were on a boat that capsized in the Gulf and you had to swim to shore, but to do it for fun is crazy. Do you win prize money or something? You know, like on Fear Factor where they strapped those people to a board and let tarantulas crawl all over them?”

  No one knew what to say to that. A car rumbled down a side street and an angry blue jay chirped maniacally in a tree across the street.

  “We only win medals. And bragging rights. No prize money.” Charisma looked slightly offended. She took triathlons and everything else very seriously.

  “It could be worse. We could be a team of MMA fighters.” Laney folded her arms.

  “Or we could be a band called the Five Women of Folk Music.” Susie grinned.

  “That would be scary.” Nina glanced at Susie. “I’ve heard you sing. Competing in triathlons is pretty tame, but we could kick it up a notch and go BASE jumping.”

  “Or mountain climbing,” Charisma said. “Y’all need to build your upper body strength. Who’s up for a K2 climb?”

  “Is she serious?” Bru watched January.

  “Unfortunately.” January rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not training for K2 or any other mountain climbing. I just like training with my team. We’ve competed in six triathlons, including two Iron Mans. I’ve been cutting back on my training for the sake of the baby, but I’m not giving it up.” She was firm on this. This wasn’t a negotiation.

  “If they want to swim two miles for no good reason, I say let them.” Sweet Louise released her hold on Bru and squatted down. “Can someone please get me a trash bag so I can clean this up?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Bru headed toward his work truck.

  And that was that. Her brother now knew what she and her friends really did together, and he hadn’t gotten mad.

  Sweet Louise wielded more power than January had originally thought. They were definitely getting her drunk so she could tell them how she did it.

  “I really need to know how you do that. If you weren’t here, I know he’d be angry.” January watched Bru grab a box of trash bags out of the back of his truck.

  “Have a little faith. I don’t know your brother very well yet, but the truth is always the better choice.” Sweet Louise smiled.

  “I know. It was stupid to keep my team a secret.” She could see that now. Why had she complicated something so simple?

  Sweet Louise gave her arm a squeeze. “Don’t worry about it, sugar. Nobody’s perfect where family is concerned.”

  “Speaking of family …” January’s stomach rumbled loudly. “Sorry, but Baby J is always hungry.”

  “Y’all better move out of my way. I’ve got a grandchild to feed.” Sweet Louise took feeding people very seriously. She ran down the stairs and straight to Armando.

  “I would have never thought to hire someone to set up a kitchen and beds.” Laney pulled out her phone and checked the screen.

  “She’s pretty amazing.” Nina smiled as she watched Sweet Louise gesturing grandly toward the backyard. “Wouldn’t you have loved to meet her mother to see if that’s where she got it from?”

  “I never thought of that.” Laney waggled her phone. “I need to make a work call. Be right back.” She walked over to her brand-new Mustang convertible and leaned against the hood.

  Bru finished cleaning up the cream corn, pulled the trash bag closed, and tossed it into the construction dumpster in the driveway. He walked toward January. “Can I talk to you over here for a minute?”

  It sounded like a question, but it was most certainly a command.

  She knew he wouldn’t blindly accept her choice of hobby or her choice of man. It wasn’t that Bru was overbearing, it was more that she hated to disappoint him. He had raised her like he was her father. He wanted the best for her—or, well, his version of the best for her.

  “Let’s check out the progress in the backyard.” Susie ushered everyone except January and Bru through the front door.

  Nina shot January a “want me to stay?” look.

  January shook her head.

  She wasn’t a little girl. No one pushed her around.

  “Want to tell me about your friend’s father?” Another question that was really a demand.

  “Not really. He’s an ass and won’t be in Baby J’s life.” Damn it, she could feel the tears welling. She needed a hug, but she wasn’t from a hug-y family. Hell, they barely shook hands.

  Bru leaned against the front porch railing. “Did he … um, did he hurt you?”

  She couldn’t hold back the tears and wrapped her arms around herself.

  After a full minute, he pulled her into his tree-trunk-sized arms.

  “It’s okay, Baby Bunny. I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you ever again.” Bru’s voice rumbled out of his chest against her ear.

  Their father had called her Baby Bunny. For some reason, that made the tears come faster.

  “I messed everything up, Bru. I fell in love with a man who isn’t capable of love.” She felt like an idiot. She was an idiot. But she was a broken-hearted idiot.

  “It’s okay. All I need for you to do is tell me his name.” Bru continued to hold her and stroke her hair, just as he’d done the night their father had died so many years ago. “And maybe his social security number and address. I’ll do the rest.”

  January laugh-snorted and it felt like a weight had been lifted from her heart. Her brother knew the truth, finally … and no one had gotten hurt … yet.

  “Yeah, I’m not going to tell you his name. Nice try.” She pulled back and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. “The last time I got dumped and gave you his name, he disappeared.”

  “That wasn’t my fault. I only suggested he move to another hemisphere. He didn’t have to take me up on it.” One corner of Bru’s mouth turned up. “What can I say, I’m persuasive.”

  “Persuasion,” she stuck her hands out in front of her like she was weighing two options, “or intimidation? I’m going to go with, he saw your little talk as more intimidation than persuasion.”

  “Either way, you never bumped into him again.” Bru shoved his hands into his back jeans pockets. “Just give me a little hint about lover boy’s name. I won’t do anything to him, I promise.”

  “Yeah, I’m not falling for that again.” She looped her arm through his. “I love you, big brother.” She didn’t say it enough, and she knew it made him uncomfortable, which was why she needed to say it more often.

  His face turned red. “Me too.”

  “That was lame.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I’m a guy. The only things we get emotional over are football, boobs, and food.” He opened the front door for her. “Now, tell me about Sweet Louise.”

 
; “She’s my spirit animal.” January stepped into the front hallway.

  Bru laughed. “What the hell does that even mean?”

  “It means I try to channel her spirit. I’m going to be Sweet Louise when I grow up.” Maybe Sweet Louise could give her lessons, or at least some pointers. The woman really needed to put together some sort of seminar, or in the very least, a workbook.

  “God, I hope not, or I’ll have to spend all of my time fighting men off.” He cracked his knuckles. “Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be fun, but I’m a busy man.”

  January loved her brother, and it felt like they’d turned a corner in their relationship. If she couldn’t have Giles, the love of her family was the next best thing.

  * * *

  Chapter 11

  * * *

  “Okay, I’ve found out quite a bit about the house,” Laney said as everyone sat on chaise lounges around the firepit Armando had set up in the backyard. Flames danced, crackled, and popped, adding a cozy feel to the backyard. The stars were out, and January could make out a couple of constellations, even with the city’s light pollution. It was after nine, and she and Baby J were full to bursting from dinner. Everyone was in their pajamas.

  “Lay it on me.” January glanced back at her house, feeling content with the world. She hoped that by finding out who still lived in her house, she could give that being some peace. Maybe she could even help them move on.

  “Your house was built in 1923 by Morrison Burn. Well, he didn’t actually build it, he paid for the house to be built, which at first I found odd because he owned another house one block over.” Laney pointed to the left. “It’s that big gothic limestone mansion with the green shutters. Anyway, he built that house first and then five years later built this one.”

  “Maybe he was the silent partner in a construction company.” Nina sounded bored. Sitting around a fire talking about some dead guy wasn’t exactly the kind of fast-paced activity she usually enjoyed.

  Even January was willing to admit that when Laney went into research mode, she was kind of boring. She put the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn.

  Nina picked up a brownie and took a huge bite.

  Sweet Louise had made brownies and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. She hadn’t made them ahead of time because she said that brownies and cookies should be eaten warm. And she was right. That woman knew her food.

  “Mr. Burn wasn’t in construction. He was an attorney.” Laney smiled, and I-know-something-you-don’t-know was written all over her face. “I started researching him. He also built five more houses one street over.”

  “Sounds like he was a developer.” Susie picked up a chocolate chip cookie and turned to Sweet Louise. “May I have the recipe?”

  “You bet, baby doll.” Sweet Louise patted Susie’s knee. “You eat up. Y’all are all too skinny because you do crazy things like swim two miles for no good reason.”

  “Mr. Burn wasn’t a developer.” Clearly, Laney wanted to draw this out.

  “Spill it, Lanes. By the time we find out who’s still living in my house, Baby J is going to be going off to college.” January thought about having another cookie and waited for Baby J to weigh in, but nothing happened, so she guessed he or she was cookie ambivalent.

  “At first I just assumed he had the house built to use as rental income, but no, turns out Counselor Burn was something of a player.” Laney glanced around the group, making eye contact with every single person. “He built those houses for his girlfriends. In total, he had six houses built for his mistresses.” Laney shoved a huge brownie into her mouth.

  “Every one of his harem girls got their own house?” Charisma had forgone the sweets for carrot sticks. She crunched on another one. If January didn’t love her to death and hadn’t seen her eat the occasional donut, she would have killed her years ago. “All a girl had to do to get a free house downtown was be his girlfriend … I guess I’m too late to get in on that.”

  “Sounds like he was quite a stud.” Sweet Louise sighed long and hard. “Or at least, he thought he was. What is it with men thinking more is better? It’s not. Sometimes it’s just too much.”

  “His wife certainly felt that more wasn’t better. In fact, it appears his extramarital affairs are what got him killed.” Laney tapped on the keyboard of her laptop to wake it up. “According to this website, his wife, Verna-May Higginbotham Burn, found him,” she threw up some air quotes, “in the company of other women,” she dropped her hands, “and stabbed him through the heart with her kitchen knife. It says here that it was her family money that paid for the houses.”

  “Makes sense. With all of those mistresses, who has time to practice law?” Nina lay back on her chaise. “Which mistress did January’s house belong to?”

  “Ladies, this house belonged to … drum roll please …” Laney beat on the teak of her chaise, “Miss Faye Anne Glover.”

  Everyone went silent, like they were waiting for Faye to step out and take a bow.

  Leaves rustled in the evening breeze. A police siren wailed in the distance.

  January stood and went to her back door. “Slam a door once if you’re Faye, or twice if you’re not.”

  Everyone went still while they listened.

  After a full minute, a door inside the house slammed.

  All of the air seemed to have been sucked out of the backyard.

  January didn’t have any idea what to do next. She returned to her chaise and eyed the cookies.

  Sweet Louise stood and addressed the house. “Faye, why don’t you come on out here and join us. We’re having girls’ night. We’re about to start bad-mouthing men, I’d sure love to hear your opinion on the subject.”

  Everyone waited for the back door to open and a spirit to float out, but there was nothing but the shadows of flames licking the dark night.

  Sweet Louise held up a hand. “It’s okay, Faye, you’re a little shy. I understand. You need to get to know us a little better. Come out whenever you’re ready.”

  “Faye, I’ve found some information about you. Is it okay to share it with the group?” Laney was completely serious. Since she was a doctor and an if-I-can’t-study-it-it-doesn’t-exist kind of person, she must have really been going out on a paranormal limb.

  Everyone waited for a response, but there was nothing but silence.

  “Don’t be embarrassed. When I tell everyone how ahead of your time you were, they’re going to insist you join us.” Laney glanced at her laptop’s screen. “Miss Faye was definitely a woman born at the wrong time. You will never guess what she was instrumental in founding.” Laney’s eyes glittered. Like her father, she tended to take the concept of research to the extreme.

  Normally, January rolled her eyes when Laney geeked out over research, but this time she was sitting on the edge of her chaise. “Are you going to tell us?”

  Susie sat on the edge of her seat too. “Yes, don’t leave us hanging.”

  Laney took a deep breath. “Okay, get this. Faye Glover is known as the Mother of Demolition Derby. She started competing in derbies in 1930 driving a Model T. She won several competitions but was never awarded the prizes because the rules specifically stated that a woman wasn’t allowed to compete.” Laney punched the air above her head. “You go, Faye. It’s thanks to women like you that I could become a doctor.”

  “Just like a man to keep a derby-driving woman down.” Sweet Louise adjusted the pillows at her back. “They try to control us because they know we’re smarter than they are. If women ruled the world, there would be no war. We could settle all of our differences over a deluxe pedicure and a couple of glasses of crisp chardonnay. There might be a couple of bouts of vicious name calling and hair pulling, but nobody’s perfect.”

  Charisma patted the spot next to her. “You come on out here, Faye, and have a carrot. Or wait, no, a brownie. You deserved those trophies and the carbs.”

  “You should take her up on it, because usually she only lets us eat brownies after
we’ve run at least ten miles.” Nina shoved another brownie into her mouth.

  Sweet Louise sat up straight. “We’re going to circle back to why you willingly ran ten miles, but for now, I found out something else about Faye Glover.” She waggled her smartphone. “It says here that she was a flapper in the 1920s and knew how to fly an airplane. In World War II, she ran the WASP—Women’s Air Service Pilots. They logged over thirty million miles flying supplies all over the state of Texas.” She looked up from her smartphone. “Miss Faye, you should definitely join us.”

  “Faye, we’re on a triathlon team called The Tough Ladies. We aren’t taking new members now, but for you, we’re willing to make an exception.” Charisma winked at Sweet Louise. “We already voted you in, by the way.”

  “Oh, honey, that’s so sweet, but I’m going to have to be an honorary member. The only exercise I get is sex.” Sweet Louise reclined back like a 1940s sexpot. “I practice a lot.”

  A door slammed inside the house.

  “Faye just seconded that.” Sweet Louise cupped her hands and yelled toward the house, “You’re my kinda woman. I knew we were going to be friends.”

  Another door slammed.

  “I love you too,” Sweet Louise yelled back. “Now come on out here so we can talk about all the people we hate and how we should make them suffer.”

  “I know I started this with the research and everything, but doesn’t anyone find it odd that we’re having a conversation with a ghost?” Laney looked like she was trying really hard not to overanalyze the situation.

  The door slammed twice.

  “That’s a no.” Sweet Louise nodded. “I find it comforting that Faye’s still here. I just decided that when I die, I’m going to stick around too. I need to stay on this plane to make sure y’all eat good food and never take life too seriously. It’ll be fun. I can spy on people and eat all the chocolate I want and never gain an ounce.” She sat up. “Can ghosts eat?”

  Everyone froze, waiting for a door slam.

  All was quiet.