With a sigh, the girl set her feet on the floor and stood. “I guess not.” Turning to Cane, she asked, “You’ll call if you hear anything?”
He nodded. “Cross my heart.”
As assured as she could be in this situation, Emma blew out a breath and took Colby’s hand. They walked that way, hand in hand, through the exit doors and into the parking lot. Colby needed the connection just as much as Emma did.
When they reached Cane’s truck, they clambered inside and buckled their seat belts seemingly on autopilot. Neither of them said a word. Colby didn’t want to push. But as the engine rumbled to life, Emma turned in her seat. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything,” she said without hesitation. Even if the truth was painful to admit, Emma deserved complete honesty. She’d been through so much in her short life. Steeling herself for an uncomfortable question, perhaps about how she’d broken her father’s heart, she glanced over and found Emma’s eyes shining with amusement. Her smile spread across her face, and despite everything, Colby found herself returning it. “What?”
Emma laughed. “Are you wearing pajamas?”
Hours later, still in her cat pajamas, Colby let herself into Jason’s house. After stuffing their faces with fries, they’d returned to the hospital in time to stand over a sleeping captain. According to Cane, by the time the doctors allowed them back, Jason was awake long enough for his mom to see the color of his eyes, and then he was out again.
The official word from Jason’s battery of tests and scans was smoke inhalation, bruised ribs, and a mild traumatic brain injury, which scared the crap out of Colby, but boiled down to them needing to keep him overnight for observation. If his next CT scan came back stable in the morning, he’d be free to go home.
She’d offered to stay with Emma for the night so the girl could sleep in her own bed. Jason’s parents had thought she did it to give them a break, but truthfully, her motives were selfish. She needed to be with Emma. She needed to be surrounded by Jason’s things. She wanted to go to sleep in one of his shirts, slip between his sheets, and cuddle with his pillow.
“I’m gonna go to bed,” Emma said, plodding across the thick carpet. Seeing her dad in that hospital bed, even asleep, had eased her anxiety greatly. She turned and yawned, blinking heavy eyelids as she asked, “We get to see Dad at nine?”
“We’ll be there when they open the doors,” Colby promised. “Go get some sleep, sweetheart.”
Emma nodded tiredly. “Night.” She turned back and began shuffling to her room. “Love you.”
The hole in Colby’s chest filled as she said, “I love you, too.” She listened for Emma’s door to click shut before slamming her head against the back of the sofa. “Now why couldn’t I say that to Jason?”
She dragged herself up and locked the front door with a sigh, then directed her feet toward the Landry Hallway of Frames. The night Emma had given her the tour seemed so long ago. So much had changed…and so little really had. Colby was still the woman in love with her childhood crush. And she was still holding on to the past with an iron fist, letting it screw everything else up.
The soft glow from the nightlight in the bathroom lit the hall. Colby ran her fingers over each frame as she passed, watching Emma’s life unfold via picture. She stopped in front of the wedding photo that captured her imagination that first visit.
“You have a beautiful family, Ashleigh,” she whispered. “I don’t think anyone can fill your shoes. I know I certainly don’t deserve the position. But you should know they are deeply loved.” Patting the corner of the gilded frame, she opened the door to Jason’s bedroom and stepped inside.
Colby had expected a feminine touch. He’d once shared this bedroom with his wife, and she hadn’t figured him to be the type to change it. But this room was all Jason. A sleek, modern, king-sized bed dominated the space. His comforter was deep green and simple. Hardwood floors were beneath her feet, and on the walls, his diploma, a baby picture of Emma, and a group shot of the Magnolia Springs Fire Department. A set of dumbbells and sparring pads were in the corner, and on the nightstand, a jar of chocolate-covered body paint.
Heat filled Colby’s cheeks, both at the memory and the realization that Emma could’ve seen it. She picked it up to stash it, then hesitated. With a glance at the closed door, she slowly turned the lid.
The smell was just as delicious, just as enticing, as the night at the hotel. Sliding her finger around the rim of the jar, Colby stole a taste as she climbed onto Jason’s bed and lay back against the pillows. As she’d hoped, they smelled like him—cinnamon and soap. The combination mixed with chocolate made her lightheaded.
She’d almost lost Jason tonight.
The irony, of course, was that she’d lost him the night before. Jason had held her hand and chased away the ghosts of her past, and all he’d asked for in return was her trust. And she hadn’t even given him that.
After sealing the lid on the jar, Colby reached into her purse and yanked out the letters Cane had given her. During their extended visit to McDonald’s, she had finished the letter from her mother. Walking out of the bathroom stall in her cat pajamas blubbering had terrified the little girl washing her hands, but she couldn’t help it. Reading her mother’s words from beyond the grave had been a game changer. Because, as it turned out, Colby had been wrong.
Her mother had known about the affair. The letters were apparently part of an exercise they did for marriage counseling. Her mom wrote that her dad had confessed his infidelity and begged her for forgiveness. They’d begun married life again with a fresh slate, happier than ever before. In the letter, she said that the world was filled with beautifully imperfect souls deserving of love, and her father was one of them.
Those words had kick-started the waterworks.
But her mother’s ending line was what triggered Colby’s bathroom breakdown: Don’t be afraid to love, Colby-girl. Love never gives up.
The last part came from her favorite bible verse. Every time one of them had tattled or complained about another, their mother’s reply had always been to quote 1 Corinthians 13. And for Colby to read that verse after she had given up on the man she loved—a man who lay battered and bruised in a hospital bed a mile down the road—it had simply been too much. She hadn’t had tears left to make it through the letter from her father.
But reading it now, alone in Jason’s room, seemed more fitting anyway.
“Time to get up, sleepyhead!”
“Aarrrggghhh.” Emma dove under her pillow, mumbling about happy morning people. It almost made Colby laugh, considering no one in the history of forever had applied that label to her before. But today was a new day. In more ways than one.
“I’ve got homemade beignets,” she tempted, prodding Emma in the side with a spoon. “And they are scrumptious, if I do say so myself. We’re bringing a batch to your dad, so come on, chica. Up, up, up!”
With that, Colby left the girl’s room, giggling to herself. Apparently, all it took for her to be the rise-and-shine-with-a-smile type was a severe lack of sleep, a good old-fashioned sugar rush, and her entire life being overhauled.
Her talk with Cane, discovering the letters from her parents, and almost losing Jason, had put everything into perspective. She awoke this morning a new woman. Or at least one with a new mindset. She’d made mistakes in her life and she had regrets—too many to count—but her father had loved her. He’d kept her apron. In his letter, he apologized for not being her hero, and then said that even though she had failed to show it, he never once doubted that she loved him, too.
Colby couldn’t change the past. But the future was a whole different story.
In Jason’s room, she tucked her parents’ now wrinkled letters inside her purse with a contented smile. She was going to be okay. And now that phase one of her plan to win Jason back was complete, there was only one thing to do before she went to get her man: decide on her wardrobe. Should she go with choice a) the totally fashionable, day-old cat
pajamas, or choice b) something of Jason’s?
She glanced in the mirror and nodded. Jason’s.
Dressed in a MSFD t-shirt that smelled like his aftershave and a pair of workout shorts rolled about a bazillion times, she emerged from Jason’s room to greet a yawning, shuffling Emma. “Morning, sunshine.”
The girl rubbed her eyes and shot Colby a look as they padded into the kitchen. “You’re two seconds away from humming a show tune, aren’t you?”
Colby laughed as she loaded a plate with beignets, dusted them a second time with powdered sugar, and slid the plate across the island. “I shall attempt to contain the perkiness while you eat,” she said with a wink.
“That’s all I ask,” Emma replied, taking a huge bite of a fried doughnut.
As Jason’s daughter made yummy noises, Colby set to work cleaning the mess she’d made that morning. Then she packed the rest of the beignets for the hospital. She knew it might be too late. Jason could have decided she was a head case after all and he was better off without her. But she wasn’t leaving that hospital room until she’d put herself out there and, for once in her life, put her heart on the line.
At exactly ten past nine, their time slightly delayed by traffic, Colby and Emma walked back through the sliding door to Northshore Hospital. Her ratty slippers glided over the smooth linoleum as they made their way to the elevator. She was sure she looked a mess, but Jason had witnessed every one of her awkward stages growing up and had even seen her naked. A mismatched wardrobe was the least of her concerns today.
When they reached his floor, Colby’s heart began to pound. Two doors down, she lost feeling to her feet. And just outside his door, she forgot the pretty speech she’d spent all night rehearsing. Emma scrunched her nose as she curled her hand around the handle. “You’re coming in, right?”
Hugging the bag containing her peace offering, she nodded. “Most definitely.”
This time when they walked into his room, Jason was awake. And he wasn’t alone. Sharon and the Chief were seated along the left side of the bed, apparently not having fallen victim to the traffic. Colby’s nervous stomach flipped. But then she got a good look at her captain, and suddenly she could care less if the whole hospital wanted to listen in on her groveling. Lying above the covers in track pants and a t-shirt, hair damp from a shower and feet wonderfully bare, Jason looked good enough to eat. And when he halted his channel-flipping to stare at her in obvious surprise, eyes raking over her body draped in his clothes, Colby half-wished she’d brought the jar of chocolate body paint from the nightstand.
“Daddy!”
Emma ran to the side of his bed, and Jason blinked as he shifted his attention to his daughter. “Bug!” He raised an arm slowly and said, “Be gentle. A house kicked your old man’s butt yesterday, but I desperately need a hug from my girl.”
Easing a knee onto the bed, she crawled beside him. He put his arm around her and closed his eyes tight. “I love you so much, Emma. I’m so sorry.”
Sharon grasped her husband’s hand and placed her other on Emma’s head.
Colby’s chest squeezed watching their four-way embrace. This was her family. Her second family. And she no longer felt like she was intruding or giving anyone the wrong idea by being there. This was where she belonged.
Emma sniffed into Jason’s neck. “I was so scared.”
“I know, baby.” He opened his eyes and looked at Colby. “But it would take a lot more than that to take me away from you.”
Hoping with everything in her that Jason was giving her an opening, Colby took a step forward and held up the bag. With only a quick glance at his parents she said, “We brought breakfast.”
The whole Landry family smiled at her, though the one from the man in the bed was closer to a wicked smirk. He lifted an eyebrow in question, and she took another step toward the bed.
“I come bearing bribery,” she said, her voice wobbling but determined. “But homemade beignets are just the first phase of my master plan. The second phase is letting you know I’ve decided to stay in Magnolia Springs.”
At the revelation, Jason’s mouth fell open. She smiled as she took the third and final step. Things still needed to be ironed out, both here and in Vegas, and she had several phone calls left to make, but she knew what she wanted. She set the bag of beignets on the bed beside Emma, biting back a laugh. It looked like she was the one doing the surprising today. Remembering the outcomes of Jason’s surprises—the blindfolded meal and their amazing night in New Orleans—gave her faith that this one would have a happy ending, too.
“The third phase is the most important,” she said, crawling in on his other side, careful not to jostle. Sharon caught her eye over her son’s head and smiled in encouragement. Wow, this is embarrassing. Smiling through the awkwardness, Colby forged ahead, looking only at Jason. “And that’s making sure you know how completely, hopelessly, and unalterably in love with you I am. The both of you,” she added, grabbing Emma’s hand and ignoring the happy noises from her audience.
“I have made so many mistakes,” she admitted, “and I’ve been terrified to open my heart. But Jason, it’s always been yours. I’ve loved you ever since I can remember, and I will gladly spend the rest of my life making up for not telling you that sooner.” She cupped his cheek with her free hand, desperately wanting to erase the memory of the night in his gym when she’d done the same—the night she’d almost lost everything. “I love you, Jason Landry.”
For a moment, he just lay there, staring into her eyes. It had to be the longest moment ever recorded. But then he placed his hand over hers and the light she feared she had snuffed out came back into Jason’s eyes. Colby began to hope.
And then, a nurse came in the door.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Landry needs his final CT scan now.”
Colby blinked her eyes.
Seriously? This couldn’t wait, like, five seconds? The woman who Colby was almost certain was pleasant enough when she wasn’t interrupting life-altering moments continued into the room, rolling a wheelchair. Colby looked to Jason, unsure of how to proceed, hoping he’d step in and ask for a few minutes of privacy—and discovered he had the audacity to be fighting back a smile.
“I really should do this now,” he told her, making a move to scoot toward the edge of the bed. Colby stood, dazed and utterly confused. Gingerly, Jason pushed to a sitting position and took her hand in his. When he looked into her eyes, she noticed his were shining with an emotion she couldn’t name. “This could be a while, so why don’t you go to the restaurant and I’ll come by there as soon as I get released. We need to talk.”
Uh, yeah we do. “What about Emma?”
“We can take her home, dear,” Sharon said, offering a smile though she looked as bewildered as Colby felt. The Chief, however, seemed to be in on Jason’s private joke because his whiskers were twitching.
Now Colby felt like she was intruding. Had she really waited too long?
Picking up the purse she didn’t even remember discarding, Colby padded to the door, stopping just outside it to turn around. “See you later?”
Jason met her gaze. “I promise.”
In those two words, Colby felt there was some sort of message. A message she wasn’t getting. But she nodded anyway, and continued padding down the hall, back to the elevator.
What in the heck just happened?
Hours later, Colby was in the kitchen of Robicheaux’s, just as confused as when she left the hospital, except now she was less dazed and more depressed. Jason never called. He never came by. She really had lost him.
It seemed her career as the future cat lady was trucking along right on schedule.
“Hey Coley, can you help me roll silver?”
Biting back a sigh, Colby tore her gaze away from her silent phone. If her sister was evoking her nickname and asking for help on a mindless task—an unnecessary mindless task, since Colby knew for a fact the silver was well stocked—the situation must be as bad as she’d t
hought. It was a good thing she hadn’t called her head chef Matt yet, because it looked like she wouldn’t be staying after all.
“Why not?” she replied. Rhonda and the rest of her staff could hold down the fort for a few minutes. Mindlessness sounded pretty good right about now.
Following Sherry into the dining room, Colby couldn’t help scouting the faces, hoping to see his. Even though it had been a long shot, her shoulders still deflated. Her sister wrapped an arm around her waist and said, “Don’t worry, girl. I’m sure Jason just got caught up with Emma. He’ll be here soon. I know it.” She pulsed a squeeze and gave Colby an optimistic smile.
Colby returned it, although her hopes were sagging around her ankles. “You’re right,” she said, stopping next to the rolling station. “That’s probably all it is.”
Sherry grabbed four sets of silver and tapped Colby on the shoulder. “Now get to work, lazy bones,” she teased. She scooted off to man more tables and the second Colby was alone again, her worried frown made its reappearance. Lazy was the opposite of what she was. Since leaving the hospital that morning, Colby had changed into her own clothes, washed a load of laundry, scoured the kitchen sink, inventoried the walk-in, and even cleaned the bathrooms. She’d just completed her second impressive pyramid of silver when the wail of a siren came from outside.
Like, right outside.
Concerned murmurs broke out as the patrons closest to the windows stood from their tables. The sound grew louder, closer, and more customers joined them, blocking Colby’s line of sight.
“Did something happen to the building across the street?” she asked aloud, worried about the historic Southern style home, but her question was lost in the excited chatter. The wail seemed to come to a stop just outside Robicheaux’s and Colby bolted to see what was happening.
Taste the Heat Page 19