Drive

by Stephanie Fournet

  He’d started a fresh pot of coffee and was cracking eggs into a skillet at the stove. She caught him peeking at his grandfather with a proud grin before his eyes found hers. He held her gaze for a moment and then licked his lips.

  “I love you.” He mouthed the words silently to her, but as far as her soul was concerned, they were shouted from every corner of the earth.

  Her chest quaked as she tried for breath. Maybe she was a coward, but she couldn’t respond in kind while sitting next to his grandfather.

  “Excuse me for a second,” she whispered to the man she’d grown quite fond of, and she pushed herself up from the table. Rainey stepped behind Jacques, and laying a hand on the small of his back as he cooked, she spoke loud enough for Pal to hear. “Can I help with anything?”

  Smiling at her, Jacques tilted his head toward the cabinets at his left. “You can get down some coffee mugs.”

  Rainey made sure she kept her back toward Pal when she tapped Jacques on the back to get his eyes.

  “I love you, too,” she mouthed when she had his attention.

  He gave her a wry smile. “That’ll earn you an extra piece of bacon,” he teased.

  Their flirty game was interrupted when the front door opened. Another old man with a heavily lined face and a friendly smile stepped into the kitchen and greeted Jacques’s grandfather, his Cajun accent just as thick.

  “Mornin’, Albert. I see Jacques’s car is back.” Then he took in the two of them by the stove in the opposite corner of the kitchen and gave a double jolt of surprise. “Mais, I didn’ know you had company.”

  “Rainey, dis our neighba, Floyd Cloutier,” Pal provided, pointing to her with his coffee mug.

  She lifted a hand in greeting. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

  “Floyd, dat’s Rainey Reeves,” Pal said. “Dem’s courtin’.”

  Floyd looked at Pal like he was Captain Obvious. “Well, I got eyes, me,” he muttered before turning to Jacques and pinning him with a stare. “She know ‘bout ma words?”

  Beside her, Jacques froze in the middle of flipping a piece of bacon. “Uh, no, Floyd. I can’t say the subject’s come up.”

  “What?” Rainey frowned, looking at each man in turn. “What are you talking about?”

  Jacques glanced from Floyd and then back to her with a cautious expression. His eyes went back to his neighbor. “I’m guessing you have something to say to her?”

  The neighbor’s eyes lit with warmth, and his wrinkles made way for a smile. “Dat I do.”

  Jacques gave a resigned sigh, finished flipping the bacon, and set his spatula on the stovetop. His mouth worked before he met Rainey’s eyes. “Floyd has a… a gift,” Jacques said, caution lacing his voice, his eyes watchful.

  “A gift?” Rainey looked between Jacques and Floyd. “What kind of gift?”

  The older man ducked his head a little demurely, and Rainey couldn’t help but smile, even though Jacques’s caution made her a tad nervous.

  “Well, I got dis way ‘bout me. Been like dis since I was a boy,” Floyd said, turning up his palms as if he had no explanation. “When I see a body, first t’ing, I see t’ree words dat gonna be part of dere day.”

  She blinked in rapid succession. “You mean like a premonition?” Her eyes shot to Jacques. He had a psychic neighbor — an old, Cajun man, no less — and in more than twenty hours in the car and three nights in the same bed, this hadn’t come up?

  “It foolproof,” Pal noted with a nod.

  Rainey’s eyes went back to Floyd. “And you have words for me? Like right now?”

  Floyd shrugged. “I got words fa ever’body, but you is new.”

  Rainey felt a jolt zing through her. When she could speak, she fired off a list of questions. “And they always come true? A-are they ever bad?” she stammered. “Is something bad going to happen today?”

  She heard a rattle and turned to see Jacques move his cast iron skillet off the stove. He wiped his hands on a dish towel and stepped in front of Rainey, facing Floyd and giving him a stern look. “Floyd, not everybody is up for your little predictions.”

  Jacques’s protective stance and rush to shield Rainey grounded something within her. He thought she couldn’t handle whatever Floyd had to say. He thought — as most of her actions in the time they’d known each other had led him to think — that she wasn’t strong enough to handle bad news or an unnerving fortune.

  But even if she’d been a weak little weakling, couldn’t she change? After all, she’d crossed the South in search of a cure for her sister; she’d told off her no-good father, and she’d given her heart to a musician. If someone would have predicted she’d do any of those things six months ago, she would have called them crazy.

  She grabbed Jacques by the elbow. “Hold on a second,” she said, mustering courage. “Maybe I want to hear what he has to say.”

  “Well, do you, cher?” This came from Pal, and he eyed her with warm amusement.

  She looked at all three men in turn, her eyes settling on the one she loved. “Give me an example of one of the predictions Floyd’s given you.”

  He folded his arms across his chest, not giving any of his thoughts away. “Sunday when we left?”

  “Yeah?” she asked, her stomach tightening.

  Jacques arched a brow full of meaning. “Floyd’s words for me were berry, Birmingham, and Best Western.”

  The jolt she’d felt a moment before shot through her with triple force, but she willed herself to stay calm. “Okay, I get Birmingham and Best Western, but why berry?”

  Jacques couldn’t suppress his grin. “You asked me for berry Capri Sun if they didn’t have Tropical Punch.” He quirked a sexy, knowing brow at her. “And they didn’t have Tropical Punch.”

  Her mouth fell open, but she smiled all the same, feeling the hair on her arms stand on end. “Okay… that’s pretty… wow.” She wrinkled her nose at Floyd. “Do you ever predict bad things? I mean, berry, Birmingham, and Best Western…” Her eyes found Jacques. “Those were all good things.” Beneath his heated gaze, Rainey recognized a deep happiness.

  “Very good things,” he murmured.

  She pulled her eyes back to Floyd in time to watch him shrug. “Sometimes dey not good.” He gave her a friendly grimace. “One time, ma wife Netty, her words was earring, elbow, and electric. Soon as I tole her, she remember de ‘lectric bill was due, and she rush down de stairs fa her checkbook, slipped on de last steps, and crack her elbow. Durin’ all de commotion ‘tween dat and de hospital, she lost a pearl earring somewhere in da mix.”

  Rainey’s eyes went wide. “That’s awful!”

  Floyd nodded his head in enthusiastic agreement. “Fa t’ree weeks, she didn’ want nuttin’ ta do wit ma words.”

  “I don’t blame her,” Rainey said with a concerned frown. The she shook off her worry. What the hell, she thought. “Okay, just tell me.”

  Floyd smiled, looking a little relieved to finally have permission. “Watermelon, witness, waiting.”

  “Watermelon, witness, waiting,” she repeated dumbly. Witness what, she wondered. Then she shrugged. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

  Jacques gave her an arch look. “Just don’t choke on a watermelon seed,” he said, half-serious, as though hearing Floyd’s prediction for her had made him just as nervous.

  “I’ll do my best,” she teased.

  He gave her a look that seemed to say “You’d better,” and then he turned back to the stove. “Breakfast is ready.”

  Jacques was meeting the rest of Heroine at Kate and Kara’s dad’s office to go over the record deal they’d received, so after breakfast, he drove Rainey and Archie home.

  The ride felt like a free fall.

  Even though Jacques’s neighborhood was just a few minutes from hers, she couldn’t help but take out her crochet hook and yarn. She’d finished her shorts, but she’d bought enough of the sea-glass green yarn to make a cover-up, and she might as well keep herself busy. After spending three solid d
ays with Jacques, she was going to have serious withdrawals.

  Floyd should have added withdrawals to his list of words, she thought fitfully.

  “You okay?” Jacques asked when they stopped at the light at Johnston and St. Mary.

  “Yeah,” she fibbed. “Why do you ask?”

  He gave her a no-nonsense look. “Because your shoulders are up around your ears, and you haven’t said a word since you told Pal and Floyd goodbye.”

  She brought her eyes back to the yarn in her lap. “I’m just… thinking about getting back to reality,” she hedged.

  Jacques’s hand settled on her knee, and she found herself meeting his gaze. “Are you worried about Holi?” he asked.

  She hesitated for only a second. Holi hadn’t exactly been the focus of her concern. “Yes… of course.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could press, the light changed, and she pointed to it. “It’s green,” she offered.

  Jacques negotiated the turn onto Johnston Street, but he said nothing until he merged into the turning lane in front of Fatima Church.

  “So, my meeting’s in twenty minutes.”

  Rainey eyed his profile. He didn’t look at her, and he didn’t say more. “Yeah?” she prompted.

  A long moment passed. A break in traffic allowed him to make the turn into her neighborhood.

  “Yeah. So… I’m wondering if you’re going to tell me what’s really bothering you before I have to leave.”

  Rainey sighed, but she didn’t want to give ground and look like a coward. “It’s nothing. I’m fine,” she said, and she told herself she would be. No matter what. That almost made it the truth. Didn’t it?

  Jacques pulled into her driveway, killed the engine, and gave her a hard stare. Rainey found it easy to smile at his serious, scrutinizing expression. Serious and scrutinizing — like everything else — looked good on Jacques Gilchrist. Her best defense, she decided was to stare back, even if she had to bite her lip to keep her smile in check.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re so damn cute. Even when you’re keeping something from me.” He gave a tight shake of his head. “It’s infuriating.”

  “I told you everything when I said I love you.” It was an equivocation, but no less true. Telling him she loved him summed it all up. He had her heart. And it would hurt like hell when he gave it back to her.

  Jacques’s serious expression softened. “I don’t know how long this will take, but I want to see you tonight.”

  She wanted to see him too. And she hoped seeing him meant sleeping in the same bed. Among other things.

  “I’d like that,” she admitted. “You’re welcome to come over. I think I should be here tonight. Ash has had to do everything for Holi solo for the last three days, so I want to be here to pitch in.”

  Jacques nodded. “Of course.” Then his eyes locked with hers. “As long as I’m welcome, I’ll be here.”

  Rainey’s breath hitched. It was in moments like this — moments like last night when he’d said he loved her, moments like the look in his eyes after she’d walked away from her father — when Rainey could abandon all doubt.

  Maybe this can work.

  “You are always welcome,” she vowed, and Jacques, shaking off the last of his scrutiny, rewarded her with a genuine smile. He reached for her, wrapped a hand behind her neck, and tugged her to him.

  He kissed her once and spoke against her lips. “Have I told you this was the best road trip of my life?” He pulled back just far enough so he could look into her eyes. His were soft and warm.

  “Um… no, but I can safely say the same.” She hoped he knew it was true. She’d travelled all over as a kid, but the last few days had been better than the best tour stop or family vacation. If Rainey ever had the chance to do it again, she’d claim it without looking back.

  Jacques pressed his lips to hers again, lingering, savoring before he pulled back. “I’ll help you in with your bags.”

  Rainey shook her head and unlatched her seatbelt. “You’ll be late. This meeting is too important.”

  Despite her words, Jacques was out of the car and carrying her backpack and now empty ice chest to the front porch before she could stop him. She collected Archie, her purse, and craft bag and followed him.

  “You need to go, Jacques,” she scolded gently. He’d set down his load by her front door, and when she reached him, he turned and threw his arms around her.

  “I’m going,” he said, kissing her one last time. And then he was walking backward as he spoke. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  He was halfway to the Impala when the words bubbled up inside her. “Thank you!” she shouted. “Thank you for everything!”

  Jacques gave a wave as he opened the driver’s side door. “I love you.”

  “I love you!” she shouted back.

  And then he was gone.

  I’ll see him tonight, she reminded himself, knowing full well that the meeting ahead would change everything for him. For them. But she took a fortifying breath and opened her front door, ready to face whatever the future held.

  The living room, at least, held her sister, who lay stretched out on the couch, blinking at the slice of sunlight Rainey’s entrance poured over her.

  “Hi!” A smile quickly followed her startled greeting. “I didn’t expect you back this early.” Holi made to push herself up, and Rainey quickly protested.

  “Don’t get up. I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said, setting down her bags and unclipping Archie’s leash. The dog ran forward, and despite her protests, Holi sat and patted her lap for him.

  “Hey, Archie-boy, I missed you.” The poodle hopped up and let her shower him with affection. Holi looked at her sister. “Where’s Jacques?”

  Rainey carried the ice chest toward the kitchen and stopped at the counter. Half a Sugar Baby watermelon rested on a cutting board next to two crescent-shaped slices. A shiver ran down her spine.

  “He… uh… he had to go to a meeting.” In her distracted state, she blurted Jacques’s news. “Heroine got a record deal.”

  “Holy crap! Are you serious?” Holi’s shock pulled Rainey out of her stupor, and she looked back at her sister.

  “Yeah, it sounds like a big deal… I’m really happy for him.” I am really happy for him, she thought with a genuine sense of relief.

  She felt Holi’s eyes on her as she rinsed out the ice chest. “So, what’s going on with you two? Still just friends?” Her voice dripped with doubt.

  Rainey faced her again. “I’m in love with him.” The words were easier to admit than she would have imagined.

  Holi blinked. “Well, I knew that before you left. The question is, does he know it?”

  The corner of her mouth tugged up disobediently. “He knows it. And he feels the same.” Then she ripped a wad of paper towels from the roll on the counter. “Not that it will matter in the end.”

  Holi’s eyes narrowed in distaste. “Why do you have to be so fatalistic? Why not just enjoy what life is giving you right now?”

  Hearing the words from her sister — who was being forced to come to terms with her own mortality — left Rainey dumbstruck.

  “You’re right,” she said, setting the clean ice chest on the counter. She walked across the space and took a seat on the couch beside Holi. “Of course, you’re right. I just…”

  Holi raised an expectant brow. “You just what?”

  “The way I feel for him?” Rainey struggled to put everything into words. “It’s so big… so much greater than anything I’ve felt before that it’s hard to put the fear of the inevitable aside.”

  “Rainey,” Holi said, shaking her head, “take it from me. You can’t know what the future holds.”

  She shrugged and tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. Her future held loss, and pretending otherwise was just delusional. “So, you mean I should just be happy with what I have now?”

  Holi’s hand closed around her wrist. “Yes… and no.”


  Rainey frowned at her sister.

  “I mean, yes, of course you should be happy with what you have now. Now is all any of us can guarantee, but—” She sighed, clearly frustrated as she grasped for the right words. “—don’t be… don’t be afraid to h-hope.” Her voice broke on the last word, and Rainey’s eyes flew wide.

  “Holi—”

  Holi shook her head with a fierce look in her eye and squeezed Rainey’s wrist almost painfully. “No. I’m not crying today,” she vowed, her voice straining with the effort. She cleared her throat. “Ash asked me to marry him last night, and I said yes.”

  Holi held up her left hand and displayed a ring that absolutely dwarfed her frail finger. Rainey gasped, and her vision blurred with sudden tears of joy.

  “Oh, my God, Holi!” At once, she crushed her sister in her embrace, overcome with emotion. Tears streamed down her face, yet she found herself laughing. “That is wonderful news.”

  Holi squeezed her in return. “I knew you’d feel that way,” she said, still straining to speak.

  How she could keep from crying at a time like this, Rainey would never know. But when Holi pulled back, she saw her sister was blinking away tears.

  “We’re not waiting. We’re going to do it Saturday.”

  “Saturday!?” Rainey remembered the feeling of being struck in the head with a volleyball in eighth grade P.E. The sensation of surprise was exactly the same.

  Holi nodded. “We’ll do it here. It’ll be simple and small. Just family. Ash’s dad is friends with a justice of the peace, and he’s agreed to officiate,” Holi said, brushing her hand through the air. “We’re not doing any of the flowers or dresses or bridal parties or anything like that, but we’d like you and Ash’s brother Tyler to act as our witnesses.”

  Rainey felt — she actually felt — the blood rush from her head. Watermelon, witness, waiting. “W-witnesses?” she managed.

  Holi shrugged. “You know, be my maid of honor without all the fuss.”

  Rainey gripped her sister’s hand and hoped she wouldn’t pass out. “O-of course,” she stammered. “I’d be honored.”

  Holi frowned at her. “You okay? You look a little pale there.”