Bourbon Blaze

by Deanna L Rowley

  “Let’s talk.” He said as he pulled up a chair and retrieved a pad of paper. Ready to settle in for the long haul.

  26

  “Hello?” Sophia answered her phone while in the parking lot of the local grocery store.

  “Sophia, where are you?” Came Susan’s breathless voice over the phone.

  “At the grocery store. I finished getting all the items on the list you and Ginny gave me. Why?”

  “Could I trouble you to go to the school and pick up Connor? I’m still at work. He has early dismissal. I forgot about it. I told him he could come over to your place. He wants to help you.”

  “Sure, does the school know I’m coming? Don’t I have to sign something? I don’t want to be accused of kidnapping.”

  “I’ve already put your name on the list. You have to go to the main office. Tell them who you are and why you’re there.”

  “No problem, I’ll go there now.” They hung up. Sophia drove to the high school. Once in the office, she looked around and saw a woman behind a desk.

  “May I help you?”

  “Yes, I’m Sophia Swanson, I’m here to pick up Connor Phillips.”

  “Oh, yes, one moment, please.” The woman picked up the phone, dialed, talked for a few seconds, hung up. She stood, and came over to the counter. Passing Sophia a piece of paper, she said, “Please fill this out. I’ll have to see some ID.”

  Sophia did, as she put her ID back in her wallet, she turned and grinned at Connor who stood behind her.

  “Are you breaking me out of this Popsicle joint?”

  “Yep, you ready to work once we get home?”

  “Who’s home? Yours or mine?”

  “Mine, your mother called. She said you wanted to come over. She’d forgotten about the early dismissal.” They talked as they left school. Sophia slowed her pace to meet Connor’s limp. Half an hour later, they were at Sophia’s house. Between them, they were able to load their arms to take all the groceries in at once.

  As Sophia put everything away, Connor walked around and inspected the house. “I like it.” He joined her back in the kitchen.

  “I know this is a stupid question, how are you on the stairs?”

  “Good, as long as I have a handrail to hang on to, I’m good. Why?”

  “Randy said the basement has bunk beds. You, your mother, Ginny, and her three kids are spending the night tonight. We planned on putting you kids in the living room. Being from Florida, we don’t have basements. I’ve seen the one at your house, I can’t picture what Randy said.”

  “Do you mind if I explore?” Connor asked as he began opening doors.

  “Go ahead.” Sophia finished putting away the groceries. She looked up and saw Connor grinning at her. He crooked his finger, she frowned as she followed him down the hall. At the door she thought was a linen closet, Connor paused and opened it. Sophia looked in, and sure enough, it was a huge closet. Before she could say anything, Connor stepped inside and pointed. Off to the side was another doorway.

  “How did you find it?”

  “I called Randy.” Connor smirked as he held up the house phone. They laughed as they both went down to look around.

  “Wow, this is huge.”

  “It’s a finished basement. The floor is done, so are the walls. Perfect place for us kids to hang out to stay out of your guys’ hair. There’s the TV, a ping pong table, and a foosball table. Let’s see what’s down this hall.” Down the hall, the back of the basement opened into a room holding not three, but four sets of bunk beds. Sleeping room for eight. Sophia nodded and walked around. She opened one door, surprised when she found a full bathroom.

  “Cool, we won’t have to keep coming upstairs to use the ones up there. I’m assuming you have the master. Mom and Ms. Ginny can have the two spare rooms, we kids can stay down here.”

  “I haven’t met Alyssa yet. I think you and she will be the oldest, I’m putting you in charge.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” They made their way back upstairs. In the kitchen, Connor started making hot chocolate. He explained what he was doing the whole time. Once they settled down to enjoy the sweet drink, he looked at her.

  “So how are you? I wanted to come and see you in the hospital, but I wasn’t allowed. I’m sorry about what happened to you.”

  “Don’t be, I survived. Thank you for thinking of me.” She reached out to gently place her hand over one of his. Since she’d been released from the hospital, she’d been able to take the eye patch off. Other than the cast, the only other signs of her trauma were the yellowish tint to her face as she healed.

  “We’re family, family sticks together. Because we’re family. I can say this honestly.”

  “What’s that?” Sophia wasn’t paying attention to what Connor said. Not until his next statement.

  “I lied. We didn’t have an early dismissal. I wanted to talk to you before everyone got here. I’m going to say this. If you get mad, so be it. Here goes. You're an asshat.”

  Sophia sputtered as she sipped her cocoa. “What did you say?”

  “Sean Kilduff is in love with you. I saw it on the day of my birthday. He couldn’t stop grinning whenever your name was mentioned. At first, I thought it was because Neil Saunders was there like he was warning Neil away from you. It was in his face, his eyes. He’s in love with you. I don’t want either of you to get lost in emotions and not see it. I want to see both of you happy.”

  “Thank you, I think. And I know. I didn’t tell anyone this, but he snuck into my hospital room. He told me exactly how he felt. I asked for a few days. Though I haven’t seen him, we’ve been talking every day. We’ve both been really busy trying to finish up at work so we can enjoy this coming weekend. I called Sean earlier, and he said he’s coming. He’s bringing someone with him. I was too shocked to ask who.”

  “Shit, I guess I’m going to have to have a talk with him. Since you are family and I am the man of the family.” Sophia didn’t know if she should laugh or not. “Now, I’m going to need your help with something over the next two days.”

  “What?”

  “Help me get Mom together with Neil Saunders. Even if it’s just to get them to sit or stand next to each other. I could tell he liked her.”

  “Really?” Sophia asked, glad to have the focus off her and onto someone else. “Tell me everything you know.” Leaning toward each other they began to plot to get them together.

  Sean hung up his phone, leaned back in his chair, and looked over at Kilo. “You still ready to go to Sophia’s this weekend? We’re going for Thanksgiving.”

  “Where?” Came the barked question from his doorway. Sean looked up and saw Max Abbott.

  “To a friend’s house. Want to come?”

  “Sure, why not? I have nothing better to do.” Max came in and sat across from Sean. Sean sent a quick text before he looked at the new man in the department.

  “Do you cook?”

  “I do, why? Am I going to have to cook the turkey?” Max chuckled.

  Sean laughed. “No, we’ll be going to Sophia Swanson’s house. She doesn’t know how to cook. Her cousin and some friends of hers are going over there after work tonight to teach her. She said she could peel potatoes, with her cast, we won’t know.”

  “Ah, how is she doing?”

  “Good. Since being released from the hospital, we’ve both been busy trying to get loose ends tied up to enjoy this weekend. But we talk every night on the phone. She had an issue with her arm and they had to recast it. Other than that, she’s doing great.”

  “So you two are an item?”

  “Yes. I’m in love with her. I’m going to ask her to marry me. She’ll soon realize I don’t care about her scars. They don’t bother me. When I first saw them, I wanted to find the man who did it and kill him. Not for me, for her. Now I know he died a horrible, painful death, and I’m perfectly fine with it.”

  “Do tell.” Max settled into his chair to listen. Sean told him what he knew from Sophia, Curt, and t
he DA. Along with what he’d learned after he’d run Tomas’s name.

  “Son of a bitch.” Max swore as he read the second hospital report. The one with the pictures of all her injuries from Dawg. “If you’re in love with her, how does she get along with Kilo? Wouldn’t she have PTSD from the other dog attacking her?”

  “She does, she’s working with a therapist. Kilo has been very understanding.”

  “Now you’ve got me confused. How can a dog be understanding with a human?”

  “You know a dog senses fear, right?” Sean went on to tell Max about the first time he’d ever seen Sophia and what happened. He described how Kilo reacted at the Bannerman’s running in front of her to steer the two big bull mastiff’s away from her. “Unconsciously, she pets Kilo, especially if she’s agitated about something or trying to get her point across. I’ve seen Kilo use his tail to knock on her door at the office. Sophia is the type to get lost in her designs. She leaves her office door open if anyone wants to talk to her, they knock but don’t enter until she acknowledges them.”

  “What about this weekend? What about Kilo? Will she be able to handle him and all the people?”

  “I believe so. Sophia is a strong woman. She’s a survivor. I’ve talked it over with Randy, together we’ll be putting a doggie door in for Kilo. I’ve come up with an idea. It should take a couple of times for Kilo to catch on.”

  “First, who’s Randy? What do you have planned?”

  “Randy owns the house Sophia rents. He’s also my neighbor. I’m thinking of rigging up some type of bell Kilo could activate with his nose. You know, an early warning sign he’s coming inside. I don’t want Sophia to get spooked when he’s not there one minute, then there the next.”

  “What about putting bells on the bottom?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Max grabbed a pad of paper and drew a square. “The door opens in and out here. You can’t put the bells on the bottom of the swinging door. What if you put them on the bottom of the frame so when the door swings into the house, it activates the bells.” They discussed the logistics of it and ended up spending the rest of their shift talking to get to know each other. They were going to meet up after work to purchase the items they talked about. Max would then follow Sean out to Sophia’s house.

  “It seems so peaceful here.” Max looked around as they waited on the porch.

  “It is. I love it out here.”

  “You live here?”

  “About two miles down the road.” Sean pointed. “I have a large farmhouse. Four-bedrooms, three bathrooms. I have at least twenty acres to go with it. Where do you live?”

  “Small apartment in town. It’s all right for now, once I get better acquainted with the area, I’ll look for a more permanent home.”

  Sean nodded as he reached up and pounded on the door. It took several minutes before someone answered. He was ready to knock again as the door was whipped open. He smirked, seeing all the flour on Sophia’s face and the black tee shirt she wore.

  “Sean.” Sophia laughed. “Tell me you came to rescue me. They’re animals with this foodstuff.” She leaned toward him and he bent down to offer her his cheek. Once she gave him a quick kiss, she stepped back to let them in.

  Sean laughed and held up several bags of food. “Nope, I’m here to join them. Sophia, this is Max Abbott. He works at the Sheriff’s department. Max, Sophia Swanson.”

  They said hello at the same time shaking hands. Sophia looked down and laughed. Kilo stood there with a chew toy in his mouth. “Hey, Kilo, come on in.” They went to the kitchen. Sean noted all the laughing going on.

  After placing his grocery bags on the counter, Sean turned toward everyone. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” Everyone answered. Sophia did the introductions. “I know you know, Susan, I’m assuming you know, Randy?”

  “I do.” Sean shook Randy’s hand and gave Susan a kiss on the cheek.

  “Next we have Neil, if you don’t know him, you need to get out more.” She smirked, as she turned to the last woman in the kitchen. “This is Ginny Alexander. Ginny, this is Sean Kilduff, his dog Kilo. I’m sorry, I forgot your name.”

  “Max Abbott.” Max offered his hand to each person. Introductions were made, hands shook, drinks poured. It didn’t take long before the men gathered at the back door discussing how to install the doggie door. At one point, Sean turned and saw Sophia elbow deep in flour. She wore a plastic bag over her cast while using a rolling pin.

  “So, how’s everything going?” Sean asked Randy.

  “Good. It would go faster if Sophia would stop asking so many questions. She’s picking up on everything. So far, she’s cut up the onions, celery, and mushrooms for the stuffing. I’ve taught her how to make a fruit salad. I don’t know what Neil taught her, it smelled wonderful.”

  “You’ll find out tomorrow at dinner,” Neil said.

  “So, where are the others?” Sean asked as he bent down with a drill in his hand.

  “What others?” Max asked as he handed Sean some screws.

  “The kids.” As soon as Sean mentioned them, everyone heard yelling, and a herd of elephants came running up some stairs.

  “Mom!” Several voices rang out as one. Sean watched Randy as he stopped what he’d been doing to watch Ginny interact with her children.

  “Mom! Brandon…”

  “Stop right there, young man.” Ginny spoke sternly, not letting the little boy get any further. “What did I tell you about tattling on your brother?”

  “Not to.” He huffed out a huge breath of air.

  “Yet you’re about to tell me something he did, right? Isn’t that tattling?”

  “But Mom.” The little boy crossed his arms over his small chest and studied her.

  “You can tell me if you can answer yes to any of these questions. If you can’t answer yes, you can’t tell me. Deal?”

  “Deal.” They actually shook on it.

  “Is he bleeding?”

  “No.”

  “Does he have a broken bone?”

  “No.”

  “Is he unconscious?”

  “No.”

  “Does he need a doctor?”

  “No.”

  When Ginny didn’t continue, the young man uncrossed his arms from his chest, released a heavy breath, and hung his head. “I’m sorry, ma’am.”

  “Wow.” Max leaned in to whisper. “A boy who respects his mother. I like that.”

  “I know, right?” Randy laughed. “I’m about to step in it.”

  “Hey, Jack.” Randy called out. “Not to interrupt your conversation with your mother, can I ask a question, too?”

  “Might as well, Sir.” Jack sighed and looked at him. Ginny fretted, but nodded at Randy.

  “Do you need to call the police for your brother? If you do, three police officers are standing right here.” He pointed to Sean, Max, and Neil. “Oh, and a police dog.” Randy saw both mother and son’s expressions. Ginny smirked, and covered her mouth with her fingers. Her body shook in silent laughter while her eyes shined. Jack, on the other hand, stared at Randy and the other men in wide-eyed wonder.

  “Really?” Jack asked in fascination and started toward them. “You are all police officers? The dog too?”

  “Yes,” Sean said. “My official title is Major Sean Kilduff. I’m with the County Sheriff’s department. My partner is Kilo.” Sean pointed to Kilo.

  “I’m Sergeant Max Abbott.” Max held out his hand to the little boy. “I’ve been with the Stormville department for a month. I transferred in from Idaho. I was with the police department there for five years.”

  “I’m Lieutenant Neil Saunders. I’ve been with the department for three years.”

  “And you, Sir?” Jack asked Sean. “How long have you been with the department?”

  “Eight years.”

  “Oh, wow. May I play with Kilo?”

  Sean looked around, saw everyone watching him. When he caught Sophia’s expression, he smirked. Sean le
aned down and said in a loud whisper to make sure everyone heard him. He looked at Sophia as he spoke. “Yes, but please don’t call him pretty. He’s handsome, not pretty.”

  Sophia heard him and snorted out a laugh. Grinning, she leaned to the side and called out. “Kilo, did I hurt your canine pride when I called you pretty?” Kilo didn’t do anything except look at her, she laughed. “I still think you’re pretty. Can I hug you?”

  Everyone froze in shock when she came out from behind the counter and stood there, waiting to see what Kilo would do. The dog looked at Sean, after giving him the go-ahead, Kilo slowly made his way over to Sophia. Sean stood behind Kilo, and she nodded at him as she went down on her haunches. She took a deep breath and held out her hand toward the dog.

  “Hey.” She studied the dog. “It’s fine, I won’t scream, I promise.” Everyone watched with bated breath as Kilo inched his way toward Sophia. When he was about a foot away, Sophia made the first move and touched the top of his head. That was all the encouragement Kilo needed. He dropped to his belly, rolled over onto his back, and exposed his stomach to Sophia. Sophia laughed and rubbed him. “You are a pretty dog. I don’t care what your Daddy says. You can be my pretty boy.” Kilo jumped to his feet and licked her face. Sophia laughed as she hugged him. When Sophia stood, Kilo backed away. “Sorry, we have work to do.” She went over, washed her hands before going back to what she’d been doing.

  “Mister.” Jack asked as he tugged on Sean’s pant leg.

  “Yes, what’s your name?”

  “I’m Jack, can I pet your dog? What’s his name again?”

  “Kilo, and yes, you can pet him. He’s not on duty.”

  “Thank you.” Jack held his hand out to Kilo, laughing when the dog licked it. Everyone continued with their tasks while Kilo and Jack played off to the side. Sean joined the guys after he attached the bells to the frame, he called Kilo over. Everyone stepped back and watched as man and dog studied the door together. Sean talked in a foreign language to Kilo, and everyone watched in fascination, the canine nodded to him.

  “What’s he saying?” Jack asked Randy.

  Randy squatted down and put his arm around the young boy. “No clue. Let’s watch to see if we can figure it out.” Kilo went out, before coming back in, he pushed the door open from the outside three times, then waited.