by Lori Leger
“I’ve only heard the old raw egg in orange juice thing.”
“It won’t hurt, but it won’t rehydrate you like the tomato juice will. Nothing works as well as not allowing it to happen in the first place. You should know better, Doc.”
She sighed and lowered her chin so that it rested on his arm. “I know, but that woman—”
“—was all over me as soon as you walked out. She couldn’t wait for you to leave.”
“Who is she?”
“An old friend…a girlfriend for a short…very short time...Angelique Baptiste. She’s got Creole blood in her, and she’s mean as all hell if she doesn’t like you. It looks like she doesn’t like you.”
“But does she like you?”
“Not anymore. I threw her ass out and banned her from all of my clubs. I can’t have her around upsetting my...clientele.”
“Thank you, Red.”
“You’re welcome.” He raised his arm, looked at his watch, and blew his breath out in a loud puff. “It’s five o’clock.”
“You’re kidding,” she gasped, glancing at her own watch.
“Man, I can barely get five hours of sleep in at night, much less during a nap.”
“I can’t either, and I feel so rested.” She stretched lazily.
“It could be why I can’t feel my right arm,” Red commented.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit up.
Red tried to move his arm and couldn’t get it to budge.
“Is it completely asleep?”
He winced. “Yep.”
“Sorry about that. I never moved, which is strange because I usually toss and turn all night.”
He grabbed his temporarily dead appendage with his left hand and moved it down to his chest, cringing as he flexed his fingers. “No need to apologize.”
She kneeled next to him and began to massage his shoulder joint and upper arm. “That’s going to hurt like hell when the feeling starts to come back, you know.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “It was worth it. I need to show you something, though.”
“Okay,” she said pushing her curls away from her face. “I need to go take a quick shower first, and do something with this hair. It’s a mess, isn’t it?”
He shrugged the one shoulder he could move. “I grew up in a house full of women with curly hair, Tiff. It looks perfectly normal to me. Go take your shower. I’ll be here when you get out. Probably in severe pain, but I’ll be here.”
She grabbed a clean pair of jeans, a long sleeve tee-shirt, and some underclothes before padding into her bathroom.
As soon as she stepped into her running shower, her home phone began to ring. “Can you answer that for me?” she called out.
<>
Red threw his legs over the side of the bed and picked up the telephone.
“Hello.”
“Is Tiffany there?” drawled a deep, familiar voice.
“Drake?”
“That you, McAllister?”
“Yep.”
“How’s my sister?”
“Better now, she had a hell of a hangover this morning.”
“You’ve been there all this time to help her through it?”
“I came in a little after eleven and made her a remedy then we both fell asleep. We just woke up a little while ago and she’s taking a shower.”
“Good, I’m glad she’s feeling better. Did you straighten things out with her?”
“I haven’t had a chance to show the surveillance tape, yet, but she seems to be fine with my explanation.” As he expected, he heard the unmistakable sound of horrified silence from the opposite end of the line.
“Um...Where do you have this surveillance camera set up?”
“In the hallway by the restrooms.”
“Oh…”
Red chuckled, hearing the relief in Drake’s reply. “I have three cameras situated around the club.”
“Three? Uh, I never saw any cameras. Wh..uh…where are they?”
“Well, they’re called hidden cameras for a reason, and uh, I imagine you would like to know.” He heard Drake release a long, drawn-out sigh, a sound of complete surrender. Not surprisingly, Tiffany’s brother detoured from the subject of hidden cameras and the secrets they might reveal.
“So, I guess we’re still invited to your place for Christmas dinner?”
“If I were a betting man, I’d go for it.”
“Good, I’m looking forward to it,” Drake admitted.
“I bet you are,” Red answered smugly, before bursting into laughter as Drake uttered a not so mild oath.
“Tell Tiff I’m glad she’s feeling better. I’ll be pretty busy for the next month or so.”
“I’ll tell her...oh, and Drake?”
“Yes,” he drawled expectantly, as though waiting for the dig.
“Good luck, man. You are so going to need it.” He ended the call with a hearty laugh and placed the cordless phone on Tiffany’s nightstand.
Almost immediately, he heard the impatient ringing of Doc’s doorbell. He walked to the door and opened it, seeing her ex standing on the opposite side of the screen.
“Tanner!” He said with and exuberant cry. Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better,” Red gushed.
“What the hell are you doing here, McAllister?”
Red stepped into the doorway, filling it with his bulk. “Ah, that would be replacing you.”
“She’s been screwing around with you for months, hasn’t she?” Tanner accused.
“I wish,” Red snorted. “No, she hasn’t. Not that you have a right to ask after what you’ve done to her for five years.”
“Maybe you need to shut the hell up,” Tanner said angrily.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have acted like a dog chasing every bitch in town,” Red replied. He jerked open the door, causing Tanner to flinch from the nearness of the screen to his face. “You might want to get the hell out of here before you get your precious nose broken…again.”
Tanner didn’t attempt to disguise his glare of seething hatred. “This is far from over, McAllister.”
Red smiled broadly at him. “Oh, I think it is. You’ve had five years to make her happy, Collins. Now back the hell off and I’ll show you how a real man gets it done.”
Red had just closed the door on Tiffany’s past when she joined him. He grinned at her attire: comfy jeans and a long sleeved tee with her freshly shampooed hair wrapped in a towel. “I swear, Doc, I still say without make-up you could pass for a fresh-faced teenager.”
Tiffany shrugged as she curled a leg under her on the sofa. “Some women can’t leave the house without make-up, but I never was like that. Not until I had to for Tanner.”
“Well, you sure as hell don’t have to anymore.”
“Was that the doorbell I heard?” Tiffany asked.
“Yeah, it was your ex. It pays to go to church on Sunday. It made my day to have him find me here.”
She smiled. “It kind of makes my day, too,” she said.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I sort of threw it in his face. I couldn’t help myself.”
“I’m sure he said something to deserve it. But, you need to know that his father is a powerful man. He’s always saying that his dad can ‘make things happen’ to ruin people’s lives. I’d hate to see your life in turmoil just because Tanner can’t stand to lose.”
“Don’t worry about me, Doc. I can take care of myself.”
Tiffany picked up the note from the table and smiled as she read it. She folded it into a neat square and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. “Who was on the phone earlier?”
“Drake called to see how you were. He said he’d be busy for the next month, but he’d be here for Christmas.”
She nodded and stood up suddenly. “I’m starving and I feel like cooking. How do you feel about spaghetti?”
“Is that an invitation?”
“Sure is.”
“Then I’d love some spaghet
ti. Tell me what I can do to help.”
Tiffany cooked down a pound of ground sirloin and added a jar of spaghetti sauce and some seasonings, while Red got the water boiling for the pasta.
Once the noodles were cooking and the sauce was simmering on the burners, Red called Tiffany over to her computer. “Come here Doc, I want to show you something.”
He sat in front of her computer and pulled up the video files from the flash drive he’d brought.
Tiffany’s eyes flashed with anger as she saw Angelique’s self satisfied expression upon leaving the ladies room. “She obviously thinks you’re worth it.”
“I guess,” he said. He reached for the flash drive then paused, giving her a curious glance.
“What?” she asked him.
“I’m just debating on whether to show you something else.”
“Do you use this thing to spy on people?” she accused.
“This is used to protect people and my clubs. I only check it out when there’s trouble, but I rarely have any trouble.”
“Well, you have my curiosity peaked. Is it more video of that Angelique woman?”
“It’s better than that. You know how Drake said he thought he’d seen Annie?”
“Yes.”
“He did more than see her, and I’ve got it on video.”
She turned and grabbed his arm sending him a pleading look. “Ooh, I want to see.”
He looked down at her and kissed the tip of her nose. “Now how can I say no to anything when you look at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes?” He turned back to the computer. “You have to promise to keep this to yourself.”
Tiffany held up three fingers. “I swear, scout’s honor.”
“You were never a Girl Scout,” he snorted.
She looked at him and rolled her eyes then stood at attention, raised her right hand in the three finger salute and repeated the Girl Scout Promise, word for word.
He gave her a crooked grin. “That’s quite impressive.”
“Yeah, yeah, now show me this mysterious footage you have of my brother and your sister.”
Within seconds Red had the video at the spot where she and Drake entered the club. He watched her reaction as their siblings collided in the hallway.
“Is that it?” she asked, sounding disappointed.
“Nope. Keep watching,” he said, satisfied at her next reaction.
“Oh, he waited for her…and they’re dancing together,” she breathed excitedly as Red fast forwarded to that spot.
He scanned quickly through the first dance and partially through the second one.
She inhaled sharply. “Look at how attracted they are to each other.”
“You think? Keep watching,” he said, grinning at her expected reaction to the footage.
“Oh my God! That is so not like Drake. I have never seen him lose his composure before.”
“It’s the same with Annie. She’s said for years that she would never fall for a guy because it would screw up her plans. She’s about to remember that…right…about…now,” he said, as the video revealed her swift departure, followed by Drake. Red shut off the video after he skipped to Drake re-entering the club, alone.
“What do you think happened?” she asked.
“Just what I said, it scared the hell out of her and she ran.”
Tiffany frowned at him. “But they know each other now, I’m confused.”
“Well, my guess is you’re only half right. When Drake met the other girls, he must have noticed the resemblance. That’s when he asked what Annie had been wearing, remember? Obviously they didn’t exchange names…or correct names, anyway.”
“So, you’re saying he knows who she is, but she has no idea he’s my brother.”
“Uh huh,” he said grinning down at her. “You know what that means don’t you?”
Tiffany responded with her own impish grin. “Oh, God, I can’t wait for Christmas.”
<><><>
After a satisfying meal of spaghetti, they cleaned the kitchen and sat on the couch to watch some television. They’d slept through most of the Saints game, but satisfied themselves by watching the Texans instead. He was just thinking he’d never been so relaxed with another person when his cell phone rang. He sat up to answer it.
“McAllister here.” He felt the color drain from his face as he listened to the call. “Was anyone in it?...So, as far as you know there are no injuries, right?...Okay, I’m on my way.” He ended the call and stood up. “I need to go Doc, my club is on fire.”
“What?” she asked in shock.
“It’s on fire, as we speak. I need to go find out what the hell happened. Hopefully they can put it out before it causes too much damage.”
Tiffany placed her hand gently on his arm. “I’ll never forgive myself if Tanner had anything to do with this.”
“You’d have nothing to blame yourself for, but if he did, I’ll damn sure find out. I have my own ways of tracking down information.” He turned toward the door.
“Wait, Red. I’m going with you.”
He turned back in time to see her grab her purse and coat. “Don’t you have an early surgery tomorrow morning?”
“Yes,” she moaned, dropping her purse on the sofa.
“It’s gonna be a hell of a long night for me, but it means a lot that you offered.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss then turned to leave.
“Red.”
He pivoted one last time to gaze into eyes filled with concern.
She wrapped her arms around him to give him a tight hug. “Be careful, McAllister.”
“I will,” he said, hugging her back. Tiffany took a step back then pulled him down to kiss him fully on the lips. The kiss deepened as he responded, wrapping her in a tight embrace. He finally pulled away to rest his forehead on hers. “Damn, Doc. You sure don’t make it easy for a guy to walk away.”
She laughed, using one hand to push him gently back. “Just wanted you to know that I’ll be here waiting for you, Red, and I won’t be able to relax until I hear from you, so call me back as soon as it’s convenient for you,” she said.
“I will, I promise.” He kissed her again then sighed. “I have to go.”
She nodded and stepped away from him with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Red.”
He smiled sadly and nodded as he walked out the door.
Chapter 12
Red called Tiffany an hour and a half after he left her house. “Hey Doc,” he said, trying to sound more upbeat than he felt.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, but the club’s gone. Nothing is salvageable.”
“Aw Red, your beautiful club. Do they know what happened yet?”
“No, the Fire Marshal will have to go in and investigate to see what started it. I’ve already spoken to him and the police but if they suspect arson I’ll have to go in and give an official statement tomorrow.”
“Why you?”
“In cases of arson, the owner is always the first suspect, whether they come out and say it or not. I guess the insurance money would be tempting if the business was losing money.”
“But it was doing well, wasn’t it?”
“It was, but they’ll still have to clear me before they can start looking for other suspects.”
“If it’s arson, will you need me to give you an alibi?”
He sighed loudly. “I guess I would. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, you were with me the entire time. Will they take a statement over the phone or would I have to go in?”
“I imagine they’ll call you and let you know. I’ll have to give them your phone number if they ask for it. You want me to give them your home number or your cell?”
“Give them both numbers, along with the clinic and the hospital numbers. Let me give them to you.”
“They’re all on your card, aren’t they?”
“You have my card?”
“One of my sisters left it on the island for Thanksgiv
ing and I took it.”
“I’m in the book, you know,” she said, laughing.
“I know, but I wanted your card.” She was silent for several seconds and he pictured her smiling at his confession.
“Are you going to be there all night long?”
“I don’t know yet, hon. I’m not too damn sure what can be done tonight, after all.”
“Call me when you get home?”
“It may be too late, and I don’t want to wake you up. You have to get up early.”
“I won’t be able to sleep until I hear from you, Red.”
“Okay, I’ll call.”
“Thank you.”
“I better let you go. I need to call the investors and let them know their money just went up in smoke.”
<><><>
Red drug himself through his door around ten fifteen, his clothes and skin saturated with the stench of smoke. He punched the button for Tiffany’s number, smiling when she answered on the first ring.
“Hey, are you on your way back?”
“I’m home, Doc.”
“Oh, thank God. I’ve been bouncing off the walls over here. I’d much rather have gone with you than be stuck waiting to hear from you. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he said quietly.
“Red?”
“Huh?”
“Why don’t you come over here?”
“I can’t do that Doc. You don’t need to be missing out on any sleep.”
“I function well on a few hours of sleep, just like you.”
“I know, but I have to go over some things over here. I haven’t showered yet, and I reek.”
“If you change your mind, call me.”
“I won’t. Try to get some sleep, okay Doc?”
“You too, Red. Good night.”
Red took a hot shower, washing every trace of soot and smoke from his body. He changed into his lounge pants and a tee shirt and lay down in his bed. After tossing and turning for thirty minutes, he finally realized that being alone didn’t suit him anymore. He got up and exchanged his flannel pants for his most comfortable jeans then picked up the phone and hit redial.
“Red?”
“Doc...”
“I’m leaving the door unlocked for you. Lock it after you come in.”
Red stared at his phone, the line already dead from her quick disconnect. He squeezed his eyes shut, thanking God for her and praying nothing ruined this chance for them. He threw a few things into a small duffle bag and grabbed his phone and keys on the way out.
