Bourbon Blaze

by Deanna L Rowley

  “Very good, now use the spatula to stir the soup, place it on the stove, turn on the burner, make sure it’s low.”

  “How can you tell which knob goes with which star?”

  “You have the knob right. The star is called a burner. See, look at the knob, it indicates which burner it goes to.” Sean pointed. Sophia tried to turn it, nothing happened.

  “It’s broken.”

  “No.” Sean smirked, “You have to push it in.” He reached over, put her hand on it, put his hand over hers. “Feel it, you push it in, turn it to where it says ‘lite.’ The clicking sound is supposed to be there, once the flame appears, move the dial to low.” He did it with her a couple of times, turned it off, making her do it by herself. Victorious, she looked at him.

  “I did it.”

  “You did.” Sean hugged her to him. “Now, the sandwich. I’ll take two sandwiches. How many would you like?”

  “Let’s try one for now. I can always make more, right?”

  “Correct. Now for three sandwiches, get six slices of bread.” Sophia did. “Next, take the butter, spread it on one side of each slice of bread.” Sean saw her frown.

  “Don’t forget to stir your soup. Scrape the sides of the pan while you do.” He stirred it, had her do it. “Good, now turn on a burner, turn the flame to medium. The pan is large enough to cook all three sandwiches at once. Put three slices of bread, butter side down, in the pan.” He kept an eye on her. “Good, now add two slices of cheese to each sandwich, stagger them.”

  “Huh?”

  “Here.” Sean put two slices on, making sure each one was to the edge of the bread. He let her do the other two. “Next, put the other slice of bread on, butter side up. When one side is golden brown, you’re going to flip them.”

  “What?” Sophia asked in shock. “Do I even have the tool to do that?”

  “You do.” Sean opened the drawer to pull out a turner. “Stir the soup.”

  “What're those bubbles in it?”

  “It’s boiling, it’s hot enough. Turn the flame off, let it sit for a couple of minutes before you pour it into bowls. Now, use this turner to slip it under the corner of the sandwich, look, if it’s golden brown, flip it.” Sophia watched Sean look, then flip. The top side was golden brown. Sophia took a deep breath, doing the other two, happy they looked the same. Waiting, she pulled down two bowls. Without being told, she looked at the other side. She didn’t flip them.

  “I don’t know if it is the proper term, it’s still a little pale.”

  “Perfect.” Sean said, he grabbed plates and silverware for them. Sophia looked at the sandwiches again, she turned off the burner and looked at him.

  “What do I do with them?”

  “Put them on the plates.” He indicated the ones he’d placed beside the stove. She put two on one, one on the last plate, she used the knife from the butter to cut them in two.

  “I did it.”

  “You did, now take them to the table, I’ll bring the soup.” In seconds they sat down to a light meal of toasted cheese and tomato soup. Afterward, Sophia was surprised Sean cleaned up.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Sean asked.

  “No, it’s too late for me. I’d say if you wanted some, go ahead, make it. I don’t have any coffee filters. I don’t even know how to work it. It’s different from the one at work.” She pointed to the one in the corner.

  “You bought a coffee maker you don’t know how to operate?”

  “No, it was here when I moved in. Everything was. I had to buy food and bring my clothes.”

  “This pot takes pods. If you’d like, we can sit down to make a grocery list. Since I’m still on nights, I can’t help you until the weekend. I’m sure there’s some stuff you can cook otherwise.”

  “The freezer is full of single meals. Join me in the living room?”

  “Sure.” Together they sat on the couch. Sean watched Sophia turn, sit cross-legged, staring at him. Before she said anything, she looked over at Kilo.

  “You can join us, Kilo.” Both humans laughed when he jumped to his feet, joining them. Sophia noticed he stayed closer to Sean, not crowding her, knowing she was still leery of him.

  “First, thank you for coming over tonight. I know it’s nasty out, I appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem. This is nothing, you’ll soon learn to get used to it.”

  “If you say so.” Sophia snorted, and jumped to her feet, “Would you like a finger or two of bourbon?”

  “Yes” Sean watched Sophia go to the kitchen, and brought down a bottle of bourbon. She poured an inch in two glasses. Back in the living room Sophia handed one of the glasses to Sean and settled into the couch. “I have a glass this size almost every night.”

  “Hopefully, you won’t be kicking me out anytime soon, allowing this to burn off before I leave.”

  “You can stay?”

  “I can.”

  “Good, because I’d like to talk to you about a few things. First, I’d like to tell you thanks for coming over tonight. Second, the other day, after talking to you, I went to Susan’s after work. I apologized for my actions, she apologized for hers. We agreed it would be better for me to stay here. She pointed out, yes, we’re related, but we’ve known each other for a month. We’ve agreed on a couple of things. Do you work on Saturday?”

  “This coming Saturday?”

  “Yes.”

  “As of right now, no. I don’t know if something will come up. Why?”

  “It’s Connor’s thirteenth birthday, he said I could invite anyone I know. I’m inviting you. I work until noon. The party starts at two. I’m telling you I won’t be at your house by three.”

  “Thanks for letting me know, do you want me to meet you here, we can go together?”

  “Yes. Next question. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? I invited Susan and Connor over, she’s going to teach me how to cook some things. I don’t expect to do the whole meal, I wouldn’t wish my cooking on my worst enemy. I’m sure I can peel potatoes or something.” Sophia grinned when Sean laughed. “I have to tell her I invited four other people. I’m thinking of inviting another person. I don’t know if I should.”

  “Now, I’m intrigued.” Sean settled into his corner of the couch. Reached out to take Sophia’s feet in his lap. He began to massage them. “Tell me who these new people are. Maybe I know them.”

  “The possible one is Randy, my landlord. I don’t know if he has any family. I know he’s not married or seeing anyone.”

  “Did he hit on you?” Sean asked.

  “No. Curt and I hired a new employee today. She’ll be running the office, freeing up Curt and me so we can do our own job. Her daughter, Alyssa, is in the same grade as Connor and Justin. The woman we hired is Ginny.”

  “Alexander? John’s allowing Ginny to work outside the house?”

  “No, John left Ginny and the kids less than a week ago. Ginny thinks he’s having an affair. She hasn’t seen or talked to him since he left. She’s made the decision she has to do for herself and her kids. She’s not counting on him for anything.”

  “Damn, I knew he was old fashioned. I never expected him to leave his family.” Sean said. He continued to massage Sophia’s feet. “Both are a few years younger than I am.”

  “Ginny said she’s thirty, she has three children, twelve, ten and eight.”

  “I remember now. He’s a couple years older than her, younger than me. He got her pregnant while she was a senior in high school. They married, she stayed home. If I recall, her parents were killed by a drunk driver around that time. I do know she received a huge life insurance settlement. John bragged one night he used it for a down payment for the house they bought.”

  “Do you think if Ginny knew, she might be able to keep the house? She mentioned she thought John would make her sell the house, split the profit.”

  “I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer.”

  “But John is.”

  “Damn.”

  �
��Yeah, the other reason why I don’t know if I should invite Randy is he has the hots for Ginny. He saw her yesterday when she came in for her interview. Today she started. She’s coming in an hour later because of Jack and Brandon’s bus, it works for us. Randy said if we work out and I end up moving in with you, he’s going to offer Ginny this house if she’s forced to sell her current one.”

  “Wow, he is smitten. After one meeting?”

  “So he says.”

  Sean continued to rub her feet. They were silent for a long time. At one point, Sean watched Kilo inch himself closer to Sophia. Continuing to relax, she reached out to put her hand on top of the dog’s head. Kilo looked at Sean with a goofy expression on his face. Sean smirked at the dog. Sophia had her eyes closed, not seeing their exchange.

  “Would you like me to leave?” Sean asked, after several more minutes of silence.

  “Not really.” Sophia opened one eye. “Your hands are magic. I’m enjoying the massage.”

  “Ah.” Sean nodded, continuing to rub her feet, he ran his hands under the legs of her sweatpants, running his hands up the front of her legs. Sophia jerked her feet toward her. She sat up on the couch. Swinging her legs over Kilo, put them on the floor. She looked at her hands, looked at Sean, “If anything is going to happen, you need to know I’m self-conscious with my body.”

  “You told me that. If you want to talk about it, I’m more than willing to listen. I’m free until three o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Otherwise, I’m not available until the weekend. I don’t want to pressure you into anything.”

  “Thank you, I do want to have sex with you.” Sophia grinned when Sean sputtered. “Keeping it real. I don’t want to be naked in the light.”

  “You want to be naked with me?” Sean leered at her.

  “Of course.” Sophia stared at him then caught onto what he’d said. “You ass.” She laughed at him. She pushed him over, laughing together. Kilo sat there studying them intently. She looked at Sean.

  “He doesn’t join in?”

  “Not unless I give him the command. Did you know that yesterday you pet him? A few moments ago, while rubbing your feet, you were petting him again.”

  “Oh. I love dogs, but I’m scared of them. I’m working with Dr. Malcolm three times a week. I think I’m making progress.”

  “We know.” Sean chuckled as he looked at Kilo. “I’d like to ask you a question.”

  “What?”

  “When I came to HALO yesterday, Kilo came inside without me. How did you not become a screaming mess when you saw Kilo?”

  Sophia laughed. She told him how people knocked on her door. How the three of them heard someone knocking. How the saw a tail then Kilo’s butt, as he backed up until he looked in and grinned at them.

  Sean looked at the dog, shaking his head. “So, do you want me to leave now?”

  “If you don’t mind some heavy petting, some kissing, no nakedness tonight, you can stay later if you’d like.”

  “I like. Let me let Kilo out, check your doors and windows, I’ll join you.” Sean put his shoes on, donned his jacket, called his dog. Together they slipped outside.

  Sophia took care of the two empty glasses of bourbon, cleaning the kitchen while she waited.

  18

  Sean hurried out of the house and down the porch steps. He told Kilo to go take care of business. As he waited, he grabbed the shovel to clear off the steps and the sidewalk, making a path to the garage. Sophia’s car must be in the garage because he didn’t see it in the driveway. Sean walked over, looked in the side door, seeing the car. He walked around the garage, waiting for Kilo to return. On the backside of the garage, he spotted some footprints, he waved them off belonging to Randy or Sophia. Sean didn’t pay much attention. Hearing Kilo further away from the garage, he went to investigate. He lived two miles down the road, couldn’t be too careful in his own back yard.

  “Kilo, come.” Sean called. It took several minutes before the dog reappeared. “Let’s get back to Sophia.” At the woman’s name, Kilo hurried to the front door. Sean looked around as he followed. To make life better for everyone, he’d have to talk to Sophia about putting a doggie door in the back door. They shook the snow off before Sean knocked. He opened the door and entered. He knocked loud enough to let her know he was coming. He shut the door behind him, kicked off his shoes and removed his jacket. Turning to find Sophia standing there before them, holding a towel.

  “I don’t know if you dry Kilo’s feet off or not, I’ve seen some people do it.”

  “I do, thanks.” He took the towel, squatted down, held the cloth out. Sophia smiled when Kilo lifted each foot to be dried off. When Sean finished, Sophia told him to hang the towel on the coatrack.

  “Never know when you’ll need it again.”

  “Thanks.” He showed Kilo where his bowls were. Kilo started eating, he turned to Sophia. “So, what’s next?”

  “It’s going on nine, how would you feel about going to bed?”

  Sean groaned, he walked back to the door, making sure the lock was secure. He checked the windows. Sophia started turning off lights. He noticed she left the light above the stove on. She held out her hand. He took it. Sean was going to do everything in his power to let her set the pace. Glad he’d stuck several condoms in his wallet a couple of days ago, prepared for whatever happened.

  Sean was surprised when Sophia led him to the opposite end of the house from the kitchen. When they entered the door at the end of the hall, he nodded when he saw it was the master.

  “What’s on the other side of the house?”

  “Two bedrooms and a bath. This is the master with a separate bath.”

  “Ah.” Sean stood back, and waited for her to make the first move. “So, how do you want to do this?”

  “Are you spending the night?”

  “I can, or I can stay as long as you want me to.”

  “Let’s play it by ear? If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a quick shower.”

  “Don’t rush on my account.”

  “I don’t want you to get your hopes up. I’ll be honest, I haven’t been with anyone in almost two years. No one except for my doctors, Susan, Connor, and Curt have seen my scars.”

  “Why Curt?”

  “I wanted to show him why I freaked out when Kilo first came to the office. He kept asking me questions, I knew his brother Chris had told him what happened. You can tell someone you have scars. Until you see them, you’ll never understand.”

  “May I see them?”

  “Are you sure you want to?”

  “Yes, they are a part of you, Sophia. It was a traumatic time in your life. You have PTSD because of it. You’re going to want someone with you if you have an episode. I talked you down twice. I’d like to know what you’re dealing with.”

  “You promise not to throw up?”

  “I promise.” He took her gently in his arms and held her close. He didn’t say anything. He could feel her breathing rapidly. Her heart raced. “If you’re not ready, it’s all right.”

  “I’m not, but I don’t want to put you off any longer. I’m debating if I should let you see it all at once or a little at a time.”

  “Whatever you’re comfortable with.” Sean continued to hold her. They stood there in each other’s arms for several minutes before Sophia stepped back from Sean.

  Drawing in a deep breath, Sophia lifted her shirt off, tossing it across the room to land in a basket. She stood before Sean in her black lacy bra.

  “Sweet Jesus.” Sean whispered. He studied the curvy woman before him. Her voluptuous breasts were pure perfection. Large enough to fill his hands, just the type he loved. Without a word, she pivoted, presenting her back to him.

  Seconds later, he focused on her back. It took everything he had not to respond. He clenched his teeth together until his jaw ached, fisting his hands. His nails pressed into his palms.

  After several moments of silence, Sean lifted his hand. “May I touch them?”

 
“They don’t hurt.”

  “That’s not what I asked.” Sean stressed he wouldn’t touch her unless she gave him permission. He waited.

  Sophia warred with herself as she stood there in her bra and sweats. Her torn, scarred back facing Sean. She thought she could do this. She began to shake. She kept saying over and over in her head, she wouldn’t cry. She felt warm arms wrap around her from behind. Sean had wrapped his massive arms around her, bringing her back to his front. She sighed in relief at how safe she felt though still shook uncontrollably.

  “Sh, you’re safe, I’ve got you.”

  Sophia didn’t know she was crying until she felt her tears hit her hands, holding Sean’s arms. Sean walked her over to the bed, reached down, grabbed the blanket folded on the end, holding it out to her. With minimal movement, he wrapped the blanket around her, helping her down to the bed. He joined her, keeping his arms wrapped around her. “Sh.” Sean continued to soothe her with his words. Not making any sudden movements. “Talk to me,” Sean said after several more minutes of silence.

  “What do you want me to say?”

  “Anything, how it happened, what you went through, what you want to happen to the asshat who caused this. Tell me about growing up in Florida, about your parents, anything. I want you to talk, to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay.” Sophia sighed. Sean breathed easier when he felt her begin to relax. “I was six when my mother died. She worked retail, overnights.”

  “What type of retail store is open overnights?”

  “Big box stores. Mom worked overnight, stocking shelves. Well, she worked in the clothing department. When the freight came in, she hung it on the hangers, then out on the sales floor. She worked there for years. The store had inventory once a year, the employees worked a lot of overtime in the month leading up to inventory. Everything had to be perfect, things pre-counted. Mom came down sick three weeks before inventory, her bosses wouldn’t allow her to call in sick. If she did, they threatened to fire her. My parents weren’t rich, we didn’t come from money. It was the three of us, Mom, Dad, and me. Mom was coming home from work one morning. Remember, she’d been sick for several days.”