Cash racked, I broke, and we started in earnest. For the first couple of shots, Kate and Adam heckled us, but soon, the only sound was the clack of the balls as they collided in the pockets.
I nailed my final shot and slammed my cue down on the apron of the table. “We’re going again, and this time, you’re going to put some effort into it, LeBlanc. I don’t need you to let me win.”
He closed the distance between us and got in my face. “I didn’t let you win. I distinctly remember you saying you didn’t want to put on a show tonight.”
I shoved him back and jabbed him in the chest with my finger. “That was when I was playing people who don’t know which end of the cue to shoot with. I had every intention of beating you fair and square.”
“I didn’t let you win, Ms. Bonhomme, but I’ll surely take another shot at humbling you.”
“Good luck with that,” Kate called from behind us. “Ain’t no man can take down our girl.”
Cash groaned aloud and held up his hands in surrender. “All right, we need to take a ten-minute break. You guys keep this table busy, and we’ll be right back.” He took my hand and led me out the back toward the overflow parking.
“Why did we need a break?”
He chuckled and scuffed at the gravel. “I won’t lie, it was hard watching you dance with Adam like that. He’s got a way with women I can’t even pretend to understand.”
“You say that like you’re the ugly friend who can’t get laid. You can’t possibly be spinning that yarn looking for sympathy.”
“God. Do you always say whatever you think?” He was laughing, but I felt my face get warm.
“Yeah, I tend to. You’ve got to be pretty direct when you’re a single woman in a big city.”
I followed him as he walked through the field Em used as overflow parking, or for bonfires on the fourth of July and Halloween. He sat on a stump around the blackened pit where they built the fires and patted the log next to him.
The moon was so big in the sky it was almost within reach. We sat together in silence, his fingers warm on my thigh where he rested it. Neither of us moved, content to be still together on the squat, polished logs.
“So what is it?” I finally asked as the breeze picked up, prickling my skin and making me shiver. “You’re the strong, silent type, and Adam’s the outgoing one?”
He chuckled. “You guessed it. We’re an unbeatable team of sexiness.”
I laughed with him, but the truth was, together they were the perfect man. Each of them separate was darn near perfect to look at as it was. “We weren’t being vain, you know.” There was a pregnant silence as I felt him placing my words. “Everybody was so raw, we were just trying to…”
“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “Hard to feel pretty when you’re putting a loved one in the ground, isn’t it?”
“Hard to feel anything, it seems, even now.”
His hand was warm on my face as he turned it toward him. “What do you feel right now?”
And then he was the moon, pulling me toward him like spring tide. His lips brushed mine softly, gentle and generous, without demanding anything in return. But he made me generous too, my lips parting as a whimper escaped me, my tongue darting out to taste him.
“Gods, girl. You taste like honey wine.” He chuckled again, a deep primal sound that made a shiver run down my spine and things low in me heat up.
I wanted to crawl into his lap, tear his clothes off and kiss him while I melted into his skin, but instead I pulled away, laughing and breathless. “I definitely felt that.” I stood, backing away from him and nearly falling into the bonfire pit. “I’d better get back to my girls.”
He didn’t follow me in, and I didn’t see him again before Amy decided she’d had enough country music, and we needed to go home. Laying alone in my twin bed, I tossed and turned for an hour before sleep crept up on me.
When it finally did, I dreamt of two men, one fair, one dark, and I rocked between them to music no one could hear but us, their bodies pressed tight against mine.
Chapter 5
We’d planned to stay for a full week, but as the house guests began to taper off, I found myself looking for ways to occupy Kate and Amy. We’d spent the morning arguing, them wanting to be supportive, and me telling them to get back to their lives.
“I can fly up on Wednesday and if you’re really worried about being a good friend, you can save me the Uber fare and come get me.” I wrinkled my nose at Amy.
“Okay, but I’m going shopping before we even think about leaving, Sweetie.” Kate spoke around the remains of the third beignet she was masticating. “And I’d hate to leave without spending a little more time at that cute bar. You could really make a killing down there if you were feeling it.”
“Emily’s already short a bartender. I don’t think she’d appreciate it if we made trouble.” I remembered the frat boys who had hunted me down. “Trust me. There’d be trouble.”
Mom and Dad were grateful to, I thought, for the sudden quiet of an almost empty house. Neither of them complained when I told them I was going to show the girls more of Breaux Bridge center.
“Take them to the Calico Cupboard, dear. They have a lovely soup of the day, you remember?”
I agreed to make sure they were well fed, and Mom reached up to kiss my cheek. “I keep dreaming of you and Blue, honey. You’re in a white dress, and she’s holding a bouquet of flowers for you. What do you think it means?”
“I think it means you’ve been dreaming about my wedding since before I was old enough to know what the word meant.” I hugged her and grabbed my bag. “We’ll be back to help polish off those casseroles, so you can get people back their dishes.”
We decided to walk into town, the mild Louisiana weather a pleasant change from the frigid northern autumn. As always, the wait at the café was almost an hour. I put our names down and we walked down Bridge Street. I reminisced as we wandered in and out of the quaint boutiques and mom and pop storefronts, wondering what the allure of the big city had been.
“God. Your town is like something out of a movie.” Kate was munching on a sliced caramel apple as she talked, masterfully keeping the food out of sight. If it had been me, I’d have spit apple and caramel everywhere. She handed me the box and pulled out her phone, snapping shots of the bridge over the Bayou Teche.
I couldn’t argue, so I simply turned us around and headed back toward the café. Within a hundred feet, a shiver crawled down my spine and I glanced around. Nothing seemed out of place on the road, but I heard raised voices between the brick buildings and turned into the alley, ignoring Amy’s protest.
“Y’all are ignoring the truth, and it’s gonna bite y’all in the ass, Cormier.” Cormier…that was Adam’s last name. I didn’t recognize the voice speaking, but it only made me more curious.
“If that’s a threat. It’s the last one you’ll make, Aldean. You don’t know what’s best for the pack.” It was Cash’s low growl that replied, and my stomach fluttered wildly at the menace in his tone.
The one he called Aldean scoffed. “You don’t have the sack, Cash. If you did, you’d already be the head of the family. You’re not wolves. Y’all are lap dogs, waiting for table scraps from the masters.”
There was a loud bang and I peeked around the corner to see Cash pinning a wiry man against the back of the building. The new man was red and sweaty, with scars on his face and tattoos on his arms. He looked like the kind of guy you didn’t want to run into in the dark.
Cash and Adam were surrounded, with three more scary types hemming them in as they faced who I assumed was the leader of the gang. The man’s face grew even redder and it almost looked like his bones were shifting under the skin as his face contorted in impotent rage.
One of the guys behind them raised a two by four. Before I could do anything, another man stepped out of the shadows. “Hey, I thought I recognized your voice, Cash…” The man dropped his hand as Adam turned around and saw them, and then his ga
ze fell on me. He glanced down at the wood and back at me, as I caught sight of Cash slowly releasing the guy he’d been threatening.
“Devon, we were waiting for you. What was the holdup?” Cash’s voice was careful.
The newcomer shrugged and grinned. “You know how Burl takes his time. I done waited fifteen minutes for a po’ boy.”
Adam chuckled. “Yeah, but it was worth it, right?”
“Shit. I’d have waited another twenty if he’d taken it.” The newcomer had a smooth, mellow voice. It reminded me of the old school crooners Mammie Blue used to play on her “hi-fi”. But looking at those broad shoulders and smoldering brown eyes, I’d wager if he was alone with a girl, he wouldn’t be the one singing.
Oh, God, a new low for you, Frankie, I thought to myself. There’s about to be bloodshed in the alley, and you’re thinking about dropping your panties for a complete stranger? Simmer the hell down.
The air was still heavy and tight as the guys bantered, but Adam glanced my way again, reminding them all we were there
“Hey, girl. What you doing back here? It could’ve been trouble makers.” The men were beginning to back off as Kate and Amy joined me. Too many witnesses to start a fight now.
“Have you forgotten? We know each other. I knew it was trouble makers,” I scoffed. “Our names are about up inside for a table. Want to throw a wrench in their works and join us for lunch?” I asked, beaming at him. “You can come too, Cash, if you want.”
The other man scoffed and stepped forward, smoothing down the front of his shirt. “Since when do you associate with tourists, Cash?” The man Caleb had called Devon stepped forward as if he was going to place himself between us.
I threw my shoulders back and handed the apple I was stupidly still holding back to Kate. “Excuse me? I’m Breaux Bridge born and raised, Son. Or were you confused because I choose not to sound like I was educated in the backwater?”
Adam hissed something that sounded like “shit” and stepped between us. “We’d be happy to go to lunch with you ladies. In fact, I think it’s LeBlanc’s turn to buy.”
LeBlanc, Cormier…Football players and frat guys and their use of last names. Though the ones they’d been talking to certainly didn’t seem like the type who’d gone to college.
Cash was quiet, his shoulders tensed until we walked into the café and were led to a table in the back corner. He and Adam positioned themselves so their backs were to the wall, facing the doors, and I felt a premonition press heavily on my mind. Devon was more laid back than the others, and sat between Amy and Kate, flirting with them each in turn.
But none of them spoke of what had happened in the alley, and I knew better than to ask. Sometimes, when you have a secret, the safest thing for everyone is just to keep it to yourself.
Chapter 6
Lunch was strained and silent until the food arrived. There’s something about warm, freshly baked bread and whipped butter that softens just about any mood. The pressure on my mind lessened as I shoved more food at the guys and happily sprinkled extra salt on my own bread.
The basket was empty in minutes, and when the perky little waitress sashayed by, I ordered more before anyone else could say no. I ate like I hadn’t seen food in days, famished from the effort of keeping my premonitions at bay.
Only Amy suspected the truth about me, she believed I was called to a higher purpose, blessed by my ancestors the way her grandmother had been. She watched me until I shot her a dirty look.
“You’re extra hungry today, Frankie.”
“Shut it, Amy. I don’t get here much, I’m simply taking advantage.”
She grinned at me and I casually flipped her the bird as I swiped the last piece of thick cut peasant bread from the basket.
“The funeral been harder on you than you thought, huh?” It was the first Cash had spoken. I’d watched him slowly relax as nothing but middle aged and older women entered and exited the restaurant and bakery.
“Yeah. Or maybe just coming home, I don’t know. I sort of avoided coming back for a bit. God. When I left, deputy racism wasn’t sheriff yet. I could’ve skipped learning that.”
Adam cracked his knuckles, nostrils flaring at the mention of Sheriff Dolan. “He’s a piece of work, that’s for sure. It’s amazing the kinds of men who suddenly have complaints against them dropped, or not enough evidence to convict,” he said.
“Like who?” Kate was a corporate lawyer, but she perked up immediately.
“Usually the ones with deep pockets who write campaign checks,” Cash offered. We all nodded sagely, like we knew just the type. Of course, I probably worked for the deep-pocketed kind, ruthless and almost savage in our determination to dominate our market. It made me feel even more like a pretender, sitting with the kind of men who’d look at my thoughtless, selfish boss and sneer in disgust. I wanted them to see me the way I knew they saw my father. Fair, generous, and courageous enough to stand for what I thought was right.
And just like that, my carefully crafted mental shielding fell and I saw a gun, and a blur of dark, curly hair. “Goddamn it,” I hissed, spilling water in my lap. I blinked fast to clear my blurry vision and mopped at my lap with my napkin. “Sorry guys, I don’t feel so well. I need to head home.” I took a few bills out of my wallet and tossed them on the table.
Devon stood as I did, reaching a hand out to me with a worried look, but I shied away from him. The last thing I needed was more visions, even if his big brown eyes melted my heart a little and his concern took a little edge off the sudden pain.
My stomach full of bread now felt uneasy in the aftermath of the violent image that had blasted me. I wasn’t certain if by not seeing it all I’d saved myself more horror or simply given my imagination just enough ammunition to skew things out of proportion.
I waved off Kate and Amy, but they followed my lead and put in money for the bill. “We’ll see her home, sorry to cut this short.” Kate shrugged her shoulders and put her arm around me. “You okay honey? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she whispered in my ear as we walked out of the restaurant into the blinding bright sunlight.
“I guess I did make a pig of myself. My stomach is cramping something awful.”
They led me straight upstairs to my room and I curled up on the bed, too cold to even move under the covers. I didn’t want to see more, but I knew I had to let the premonition come, if only to make sure the hair that had filled my vision wasn’t Adam’s, and the gun that flashed wasn’t aimed at anyone I loved or knew. But I never saw the future for strangers.
“You’ve got to stop playing with your gift like there’s no responsibility to it,” Amy chided me as she handed me a cup of tea. “It’s my grandmothers’ recipe. Your mom didn’t even blink when I asked if she had it.”
“My mom thinks it’s a simple headache remedy.”
“Do you have a headache? I thought it was your stomach.”
“Both. I’ve managed to bury my premonitions for a long time. When I do that, the price of the one I can’t stop is usually pretty steep.”
“You say that like you got off easy.”
I shrugged and sipped the tea. It did make me feel better. At least it settled my stomach a little and stopped the spots that were dancing in front of my eyes. “You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”
“Not likely. I knew when you started predicting the weddings that it was more than luck.”
I set my empty tea cup on the side table and crossed my heart with a finger. “But I wasn’t lying. I really didn’t do it on purpose. It just…leaks sometimes, even when I don’t want it to. I mean, come on. Who would believe me anyway?”
“I did.”
I patted the bed next to me and laid my head on her shoulder. “You really did, didn’t you? Thanks, Ames.”
“Go to sleep. I added Valeria root to the tea to knock you out for a bit. Your bed creaks, so I know you haven’t been sleeping, even from next door.”
I did as I was told and laid
down, pulling the coverlet over my legs. Cobwebs were already beginning to spin across my brain, trapping my thoughts before I could piece them together. If I had been able to think clearly, I would’ve noticed how light the constant weight of foretelling had become. All those sleepless nights cured with my grandmother’s tea. For fucks’ sake.
Chapter 7
Inevitably, the tea wore off, and I found myself staring at the ceiling as I listened to my parents and friends talking below me. My legs itched and jumped, refusing to stay still, until I got up. I brushed my hair and started down the stairs, but instead of turning into the den, where my family was waiting for me, I slipped on my shoes and out the door without a word.
My feet led the way, my brain still a little foggy, enough so that I didn’t question where I was going, but clear enough that I knew I should be concerned. Dark had fallen while I slept, and I wished for a flashlight, or my cell phone, to avoid the deeper spots in the marshy ground I found myself walking on.
Toes wet, heart picking up speed, I almost screamed when I suddenly found myself face to face with Cash in the trees.
“What the hell you doing here, Cher?” he gasped, his hand over his own heart. “And how the hell did y’all sneak up on me?”
“I don’t know… on both counts, actually. I was sleeping, then I had to walk, and then I found myself here…with you.”
“You ain’t with me, Sugar. You need to get yuh-self home straightway. This is no place for a little thing like you.” His accent grew thicker the more agitated he got, just like mine did, the careful Northeastern college façade giving way for the sexy southern drawl I hadn’t realized I’d been missing until then.
“I didn’t mean that. You know what I… You know what? Never mind.” I huffed and tried to get my bearings. “Not that I owe you an explanation, but I didn’t plan to come here, and I’m not sure where I am in the dark. I just know I had to be here.”
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