A Rainbow Above Us

by Sharon Sala

  She smiled shyly. “I guess I didn’t think about it like that.”

  “Well, I thought about it enough for both of us,” Bowie said. “Sleep well, sweetheart.”

  Rowan pulled back the covers and then slipped between them and stretched out. She was reaching down to pull up the covers when Bowie did it for her, then kissed her forehead as he tucked her in.

  Rowan sighed as she closed her eyes. “I haven’t been tucked into bed since my mother died.”

  Bowie stopped. “I thought you said you were ten when she passed.”

  “Yes…ten,” she murmured.

  “Your dad didn’t ever—”

  “Never… ‘Be a big girl. Big girls don’t cry.’”

  Bowie stood over her for a moment, waiting, watching for her to pull the covers up under her chin. And she did. Her breathing was changing. He knew she was already drifting off to sleep, but the farther away she went, the tighter the hold.

  The more he learned about her father, the less he liked him. Still bothered by what she’d revealed, Bowie went to get a drink, then settled for a beer instead. He popped the top, then turned out the lights, letting the dark settle around him as he took the first sip.

  He could hear the soft sounds of her breathing and ached for the lonely child and then the isolated woman she’d been. She didn’t know it yet, but that hurricane didn’t destroy her life. It had released her. Bowie knew his life hadn’t been easy, but he’d known his enemies’ faces. She’d never recognized the deceit or the covert aspects behind her own father’s smile.

  He sighed, wondering what the odds were of two broken people having a successful relationship, but he didn’t really care. Bowie wasn’t a betting man, but for him, Rowan Harper was the dark horse who’d come out of nowhere. He was about to lay every card he had on the table for her. If he’d learned one thing in the past twenty years, it was never pass up a sure thing.

  He finally finished his beer, trashed the bottle, set the alarm on his phone, and crawled into bed. Sleep came easy. He dreamed of the house he was renovating as if it were a person, seeing the old woman she’d been, and then him giving her a key that began turning back the clock of her life to new again, but in a different way.

  He woke up when the alarm went off and silenced it quickly, then sat up on the side of the bed and began thinking about the day. He looked across the room at Rowan, wishing he could crawl in bed with her and love her awake, then headed for the bathroom to dress.

  When he came out, coffee was made and she was sitting at the dining table holding a steaming mug cupped between her hands. The curtains were pulled back to let in the sunshine, and she was sitting motionless—again staring off into space.

  He crossed the distance between them, laid a hand on the back of her head, and leaned down for a quick morning kiss.

  “Good morning, sunshine.”

  She smiled. “It is a good morning, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m going to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Want one?”

  “I can do it for you,” she said and started to get up, but he stopped her.

  “I’m cooking this morning. Just sit tight. It won’t take but a couple of minutes, okay?”

  “Light on the peanut butter, heavy on the jelly, please.”

  He gave her a thumbs-up, then moved to the counter. He banged a door, rattled dishes, and opened and closed the refrigerator twice for one jar of jelly, but the sandwiches were finally made.

  He put Rowan’s sandwich down in front of her. One side had peanut butter, the other piece of bread had the jelly. And he’d left them open for her to put together.

  She grinned when she saw what he’d done. He’d drawn a big heart in the jelly, and put Bowie + Rowan in the peanut butter. When she put them together, the heart would be complete.

  “I love it,” she said.

  “Thanks. I was always really good in art.”

  She laughed as he sat down beside her and took his first bite. But once again, she was staring out the window. He stopped and tracked her line of vision.

  “What do you see out there?”

  “Oh, nothing…everything. The world and all of its possibilities, I guess.”

  “Am I included in your possibilities?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “How do my chances look?” he asked.

  She laughed. “You just carved our initials in a heart in my PB&J sandwich, so I would never have taken you as the indecisive type.”

  “Not indecisive at all, but a hurtin’, lovestruck sap would pretty much cover it.”

  “Just my type, so I’d say your chances look good, real good.”

  He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Thank you, baby. I promise you won’t be sorry. Oh…and don’t forget we’re going to your farm today, okay?”

  “I’m not likely to forget. The knot in my stomach is a great reminder.”

  “I’m sorry this is hard for you. All you have to do is say the word and we’ll leave whenever you say. Oh…and make a new grocery list. I’m sure there are things that need replacing.”

  “It is what it is,” Rowan said. “I’ll make the list and check with the girls to see if they need anything in particular. I’ll be ready whenever you call.”

  He nodded.

  They finished their sandwiches, and Bowie checked to make sure he had his phone and car keys, then shut off the security alarm at the front door.

  “Do I get a goodbye kiss?” he asked.

  Rowan threw her arms around his neck, centered her lips on his mouth, and kissed him senseless. When she heard him groan, she stopped.

  “Will that work?” she asked.

  Bowie slid an arm around her waist to pull her close. “It’ll hold me, but I want one more for the road.”

  And this time, she was the one whose head was spinning when he left. She stood in the doorway, waiting for him to look back. When he did, she waved.

  He just pointed at her and grinned.

  Chapter 15

  After last night’s debacle, Junior got up early, quietly made himself some breakfast, then left the house while his parents were still asleep, giving himself plenty of time to walk to work. He had no desire to be alone with either parent right now. All he wanted was to do the right thing and get to know his cousin better.

  He thought about telling Grandma Boone what he was doing, then let it go. It would be worse to be refused entrance to her house than to let her think he was a hoodlum, the name she’d called him when he and Grandpa were both in jail.

  He got to the jobsite a little before eight, but this morning, Bowie was already there. Junior jumped up on the porch and went inside, seeing Bowie near the back of the house where they would be adding new plumbing for the master bath.

  “Morning, Boss.”

  Bowie turned around, then smiled. “Morning yourself. Are you ready for today?”

  “I’m ready for whatever you need me to do,” Junior said.

  “We’re going to have plumbers here during the morning hours. I’m hoping they don’t run into issues, but with old plumbing, there’s never any way to tell until they start pulling out what’s there. Watch where you step back here today. We’re all going to be walking on the two-by-fours below the subfloor until the plumbers are finished.”

  Junior eyed the open spaces with the missing subflooring and looked at how far down it was to dirt. Far enough he knew he did not want to slip and drop. He’d be riding a two-by-four if that happened, and in a world of hurt.

  Bowie glanced out the door. “The crew is arriving. You’ll be answering to Ray for part of the day. I have to run an errand for a friend.”

  “Okay with me, Boss.”

  Bowie pointed. “There’s the plumber. Come on. We may need to help him carry supplies inside,” and out the door they went.


  * * *

  Junior wasn’t the only Boone who was up early. It was a little past eight when Jud turned off the street and up into Mel’s driveway. Both cars were under the carport. Exactly what he was looking for. They were both still there, and now so was he.

  He combed his hair away from his face with both hands, then swaggered up onto the porch like he owned it. As he was heading toward the front door, Jud noticed the shades were already up, and a light was on in the living room. He peered through the glass and was surprised to see Mel asleep in his recliner. He saw an empty whiskey bottle beside the chair and frowned. This didn’t look good.

  He knocked loudly, then checked to see if Mel was up. It didn’t appear that he’d even heard the sound. Jud knocked again, then made a fist and pounded on the door, and this time got results. He heard the sound of the recliner as Mel put it in an upright position and then heard him stumbling toward the door.

  Success.

  * * *

  Mel woke with a start and was up and moving toward the door before it occurred to him to look and see who was out there first. When he opened the door and saw his daddy, he sighed. Hopefully, he was here with money…or a suggestion of where to get some, Mel thought as he unlocked the storm door.

  Jud yanked it open and strode inside as if nothing had ever happened. He picked up the whiskey bottle and then turned around and waited for Mel to explain. But Mel didn’t have anything positive to say, so he said nothing at all.

  “What’s going on?” Jud asked. “Did you and Nellie get into a fight? Is that why you’re sleeping in the recliner?”

  “There’s nobody here but me, so I sleep where I want.” Mel took the empty whiskey bottle out of Jud’s hand and walked into the kitchen.

  Surprised by Mel’s answer, Jud followed, watching as Mel put the empty bottle in a wastebasket they used for recycling.

  “So where’s Nellie?”

  It was the combination of a throbbing hangover and the fact that Jud had left them all without a word that gave Mel the nerve to challenge him.

  “Why do you care? For all you knew, we could all be gone,” he muttered, and began making a pot of coffee.

  Jud frowned. “Look, I’m here now, so what the hell’s going on?”

  “Uh…let’s see… Where do I begin?” Mel said. “I guess I’ll start with me. Nellie left me. She went back home to her people in Kentucky, and I was not invited to go with her.”

  Jud’s surprise was evident. “You mean, as in just a visit, or what?”

  “She’s divorcing me! Just like Mama dumped you. And for the same damn reason. I’d leave, too, but I not only can’t afford to move but will also be evicted when my landlord realizes I can’t pay the rent I owe. So unless you came to tell me you’re putting my monthly salary in the bank, we’re done here.”

  Jud shrugged. “I’d tell you to come live with me, but I just signed a lease on a one-bedroom apartment.”

  “How convenient,” Mel said.

  Jud didn’t like where this was going and changed the subject. “What’s going on with Emmitt and Tiny? Has Junior been sentenced yet?”

  “You want information about them, then go knock on their door.”

  Jud didn’t know how to take this. His boys had never been defiant or questioned his authority. He didn’t know who to be mad at, but he was well aware that none of it would have happened if he’d left Bowie James the hell alone.

  “I’m not cutting my boys off,” Jud said. “Your money will be in your account like always.”

  Mel just looked at him.

  Jud was put so off-balance by this behavior that he didn’t know what to do. “I guess I’d better be going,” he said.

  “You can see yourself to the door,” Mel said and turned back to the coffee maker.

  Jud stood for a moment, staring at the stiff, unyielding set of his youngest son’s back, and then left.

  Mel locked the door after he heard Jud backing out of the drive. He thought about texting Emmitt to let him know their daddy was in town, and then changed his mind and took a shower instead.

  * * *

  Emmitt got up with heartburn and wandered through the house to the kitchen to take something for it. Then he noticed a dirty bowl and glass in the sink. Junior was already gone.

  He stood there a minute, thinking of the growing gap between him and his only son, when he caught sight of a car pulling up into the drive.

  Holy hell. It’s Daddy!

  Moments later, the doorbell rang.

  Emmitt hurried to answer, hoping the sound didn’t wake Tiny. She was already angry with him and he didn’t want a repeat of the fit she’d had last night.

  He opened the door, trying to gauge his father’s mood.

  Jud eyed Emmitt’s pajama bottoms, his bare beer belly, and bare feet.

  “Did I get you out of bed?”

  “No. I was in the kitchen. What do you want?”

  Jud glared. “This is the second time I’ve been asked that this morning.”

  “So you’ve already seen Mel. Was he sober?”

  “Hungover,” Jud muttered. “Where’s Tiny? Did she leave Blessings like Nellie did?”

  “I should be so lucky,” Emmitt mumbled. “She’s still sleeping, or she was.”

  “Oh. Well, the reason I’m here is to check on everybody. Where’s Junior? He hasn’t already had his sentencing, has he?”

  “We haven’t been notified of a court date yet,” Emmitt said.

  “Go get him out of bed. I want to talk to him.”

  “Too late,” Emmitt said. “He’s already at work.”

  “What? Why did he go to work all of a sudden?”

  “To help work off the debt he owes Bowie James—and we had nothing to do with it, so calm that rage. Your face is red as a beet. He did it because he thought you and Mama’s divorce, and Nellie leaving Mel, and the fights me and Tiny have been having are all because of what he did. He now knows enough of the back story to be disgusted with all of us.”

  Jud’s rage faded and was replaced with regret. He loved his grandson—at least the younger one—and was sorry this had all come out.

  “Well, you can tell him he doesn’t have to work. I’ll pay off the debt for him and—”

  “And then what? Turn him into Mel and me? We don’t have enough job skills between us to get hired as dishwashers at Granny’s. You aren’t paying anybody off. Junior is proud of what he’s doing. I don’t want him growing up dependent on you, too.”

  Jud’s heart was beginning to pound. He knew his blood pressure was rising. He could feel his face getting red all over again.

  “I told Mel, and I’m reassuring you as well. Your monthly salary will be in your bank account as always. Nothing about that is changing.”

  Emmitt had never felt like more of a loser. “And what do I have to do to earn it?”

  “Nothing now.”

  “Be warned. I’m never doing your dirty work again,” Emmitt said.

  Jud frowned. “Why are you both suddenly mad at me? You never once questioned or hesitated at anything I told you to do.”

  “I’m mad at myself,” Emmitt said. “And just so you know, don’t show your face anywhere in town without being prepared for the hard stares and cold shoulders. They’ve seen Bowie, too. They know what we did, know we all lied. If I could, me and Tiny would already be gone, but we can’t because we’re awaiting Junior’s court date. So if you don’t have anything else to talk about, then you better get while the gettin’s good. Tiny is almost as mad at you as she is at me. And whatever you do, stay away from Junior. He’s doing just fine without you.”

  Jud didn’t have to be told twice. He was out of the house and in the car within seconds. He had a healthy respect for Tiny. She was hell on wheels when she got mad. He backed up and sped away, leaving rubber on the st
reet behind him, and without hesitation drove straight home to have it out with Cora. He had no intention of knocking and was going to let himself in even if he had to break another safety chain to do it.

  He was struck by new anger as their home came into view. She had no right to do what she did, and he’d been too lenient with her, but no more.

  He parked in the driveway and stormed toward the front door with his key in hand, then shoved it in the lock, but it wouldn’t go in. He frowned and turned it the other way, thinking he must have had it upside down, but it still didn’t work.

  “Sonofabitch. She changed the locks,” he muttered and began banging on the front door, shouting. “Cora! Let me in now or I’ll kick it in.”

  Cora was in the kitchen making her breakfast when she heard the shouting. Her heart sank. She knew Judson well enough not to be surprised by this. She had feared this might happen once he got over the shock of what she’d done. It appeared the bully in him was back.

  She turned off the fire under her scrambled eggs just as he began to pound and kick on the door. In a panic now, and fearing for her physical safety, she grabbed her phone and dialed 911.

  “911. What is your emergency?” Avery asked.

  The moment she heard the familiar voice, she started crying. “Avery, this is Cora Boone. Judson is on my porch, beating on the door and yelling at me, threatening to kick it in if I don’t let him in. Hurry! I’m afraid if he gets in, he will hurt me!”

  “Stay on the phone with me, Cora. I’m going to dispatch this call out right now.”

  Cora heard the call going out and hoped they’d get there before Jud did his worst.

  “Okay, they’re on their way. Is he still there?” Avery asked.

  Cora moaned. “Yes, please hurry!”

  “Are you all right?” Avery asked.

  “I am for now,” she said.

  “Don’t hang up, whatever you do. I need to know if he does kick his way in.”

  “Yes, okay,” Cora said.

  Jud had already lost his cool and was unaware that neighbors on both sides of the house were now out on their porches.

  “Jud! Leave her alone!” one of them shouted.