by Susan Boles
"Come on, Mama. Let me buy you dinner. We'll talk about things then."
She gave him a slit-eyed look. He gave her his best pleading look. With a sign she started walking back toward the house.
"Thank you." He said quietly.
Once they were in his rental, riding down the gravel road with a cloud of red dust rising behind in the setting sun, he decided to blow his cover. At least to his mama.
Chapter 17
He decided on Como Steak House in Como, Mississippi for dinner. It was a bit of a ride down the Interstate, but, in his opinion, had always had the best steaks around.
His mama gave him a sharp look once they were well on their way to the steak house.
"Okay. I kind of fudged the truth a little bit about being back in Mercy."
She sniffed. "I'm not an idiot, Ian. Once I got over the initial happy feeling from you just showing up out of the blue, I knew there had to be more to it. I'm just sorry I'm having to force it out of you. I believe it's got something to do with your new job. Right?"
He winced. Feeling awful about the fact that she'd been so over the moon about his visit thinking it was just to see her.
"You're right." He said in a quiet voice. "I didn't want to lie to you, but my boss made it very clear that this mission was fully under cover. No one could know."
"I'm your mama." She said in a no-nonsense voice. "I get to know everything."
"You'll have to take that up with Hank Patterson. My boss." He shrugged. "I guess I could get in trouble telling you what's going on but if you can't trust your mama, who can you trust?"
"That's exactly right."
He hesitated. Going against orders went against everything in him. Mama poked him in the arm to shake him out of himself.
"Okay. Here goes. I'm in town to protect Matt MacKenzie from a mob hit."
She burst out laughing. "You can't be serious! Nobody puts a mob hit on someone from a little no where place like Mercy, Mississippi." She gave him a sideways glance. "I can't even imagine what sweet old teddy bear Matt MacKenzie would have done that would warrant someone trying to kill him. He's spent his whole life in Mercy. And, as you know, nothing much happens in Mercy."
He glanced sideways at her in the dim light. "Wasn't there something about a wolf man getting himself murdered in the woods not long ago? That sounds like something out of the ordinary."
"Okay." She conceded. "You've got me there. So tell me how Matt came to have a hit put on him."
The sky to the west faded from scarlet, to orange to gray as he explained the situation.
"Well, I can see that you've got a real problem on your hands. I can't for the life of me imagine how you're going to catch someone with no idea what the person looks like."
She paused, then went on. "In a town like Mercy, strangers stand out. And I can't think of a single stranger I've seen lurking around." She waved a hand around. "You see people passing through. The ones that get off the interstate to eat or something. But they're gone before we even realize they're here. I mean someone who'd been seen multiple times. I'd have heard about it from the girls."
He didn't doubt that for a minute.
She frowned. "Maybe he's staying down the road in Hernando. Or even up the road in Memphis. How did you get involved?"
Ian shifted his long legs to a more comfortable position. The rental car was smaller than his big truck and his legs were cramping up from it.
"Mr. MacKenzie contact Hank at the Brotherhood in Montana and requested someone be sent here to protect him."
"How in tarnation did Matt know about your company?" she asked.
"Good question, Mama. Hank seemed to think that you had mentioned something about my new job and that's how Matt knew about the Brotherhood."
"Hm." She shifted her purse from her lap to the floorboard between her feet and adjusted the air vent on her side. "I surely haven't said a word about you to Matt MacKenzie." She glanced sideways at him. "I reckon you know the reason for that."
He nodded.
"I did tell the girls about it. They were all so worried about you when they heard you'd left the Navy. And right pleased that you'd found something you like. So I suppose Matt could have heard something about it from one of them. Or through the grapevine in general."
He laughed. "I didn't realize I'm such a hot topic of conversation these days."
She backhanded him lightly in the chest. "Don't sass me, young man." She leaned her head against the head rest. "I don't ever talk to Piper about you. Even thought we've become good friends from working together for Streetpups."
He tensed.
"I wish things had turned out different between the two of you. She's such a wonderful girl. But I reckon it was for the best that she didn't take off with you since her mama got cancer so soon after y'all graduated." She shook her head. "Poor woman. She fought the good fight."
"I intend to get her back while I'm here."
She squeezed his arm. "Nothing would make me happier."
Chapter 18
Piper thumb-tacked the last flier to a light pole in downtown Mercy and pushed her sweaty bangs off her forehead. A park bench beckoned from the shade of the huge oak tree in the town square and she made her way to it and sat gratefully.
She'd visit every business on the square and gotten something donated from each for the Streetpups annual fundraiser auction. The sense of satisfaction from a job well done almost overcame her heat stress.
A cold drink sure would go down well right about now. As she contemplated the energy involved in getting up and walking over to the Grits and Gravy for some sweet tea, a gray utility truck pulled into the parking slot closest to her and her cousin, Jason got out. She hid a inward groan. He'd gotten so much more annoying lately. Showing up in unexpected places like this had become a regular happening.
"Hey, Piper." He called as he approached. "Are you okay? You look a little overheated."
With a sigh, she waved. "I'm good, Jason. Just taking a bit of a break. I've been putting up fliers for the big Streetpups fundraiser next month."
He joined her on the bench, stretching his long legs next to hers and giving her a shy grin. He wasn't really a bad guy. It wasn't his fault she found him a bit too much to take on most occasions. She should be nicer to him, though. He was the only family she had outside of her Daddy.
He tended to drone on and on about his job with the state as a geologist. And she just couldn't get interested in all that detail about dirt and rock. If she was honest though, and for some reason she felt a need for it right now, she could be just as boring about her work.
She smiled at him. "It's a scorcher. But I'm done for now. I was just trying to summon up the energy to walk across the street for some sweet tea."
He stood and held out his hand. "Come on. I'll buy you some sweet tea."
She took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet. They strolled into the café where she gave a small sigh of pure please at the air conditioned interior. Helen, who'd been the main waitress here as long a she could remember, was waiting on a couple she didn't recognize.
They slid into a booth along the wall and she glanced at the new table-top juke box to see what the selections looked like. She hadn't heard anyone actually using one yet. Jason pushed a couple of quarters into the slot and punched in a couple of selections. Hm. He must've played them before since he knew the numbers without looking. Elvis crooned Heartbreak Hotel quietly into the space between them.
"I love Elvis." Jason said. "Don't you?"
"Uh. Sure. Doesn't everybody?" She laughed. "I'm not crazy about the movies though." She paused. "But I would sure love to have some of their marketing magic for Streetpups."
He quirked and eyebrow. "I bet you do pretty good yourself. I think I heard you've really gotten people to contribute to the auctions and put the organization on the map around here."
Heat rose in her cheeks at the over–the-top praise.
"You sure know how to win a girl over." She
laughed. "For somebody who wasn't raised around here you've got the laying-it-on-thick trick down to an art."
"Just being honest."
He fiddled with the napkin wrapped silverware on the table between them, seemingly at a loss for words now. Luckily, Helen chose that moment to come over and take their order for two sweet teas, breaking the awkwardness.
The bell over the door jangled and Ian entered, waving to Helen and looking around. He spotted them sitting at the booth and came straight over. Piper wasn’t sure if she was angry or relieved he'd shown up. Thing had begun to get a bit awkward between her and her cousin. She could never think of anything to talk to him about.
"Hey!" Ian said dragging up a chair from a nearby table and straddling it next to them. "What are you doing here?"
She smiled, determine to use this opportunity to make a break from Jason. "We're just cooling off with a glass of tea. I've been putting up fliers for the Streetpups auction and Jason found me nearly melting in the town square and offered to buy me some tea." She motioned across the table. "I don't think you know my cousin, Jason. He moved here after you'd left."
Jason gave Ian a dirty look, startling her. "I believe I've heard some things about you."
Ian looked taken aback, but laughed. "I bet you have. Mercy is a very small town. With not much to do other than talk about everybody."
Animosity crackled in the air and the diners at other tables, sensing that something was about to go down, turned their attention to them. Well, this was certainly taking a turn for the worse.
Piper jumped in. "So what brings you in, Ian?"
Ian slowly turned his gaze to her, and the tension eased.
The other diners looked away, seeming disappointed. She sure wasn't disappointed. She didn't think Jason had any kind of fight in him and knew from past experience that Ian could whip the butt of any guy who wanted to go toe-to-toe. It hadn't happened often --- Ian was slow to burn --- but when it did, the opponent had usually regretted riling Ian up.
"Same as you. Looking for some cold tea on a hot day."
"I have some business to take care of, Piper." Jason said as he slid out of the booth. "I'll see you at supper tonight."
"That is one weird guy," Ian said as they watched Jason leave.
"Be nice." Piper said. "He can't help it."
"What was that about dinner?" Ian asked.
"He invites himself over to eat with us whenever the mood strikes."
"Hm." Ian returned his gaze to her. "How about riding out to the lake with me? We could do a little swimming. Cool off."
"Absolutely not."
Ian grinned. "I'm not giving up."
He'd given up ten years ago. And vestiges of that old hurt throbbed below the scar that'd formed. But they'd both grown up a lot since then. Time changed everyone. And everything. Her mama dying being the biggest example of that. Maybe they could work through all the baggage. Deep down she hoped that was true.
"Let me give you a ride home, at least."
Walking the nearly one mile back to the house in the hot summer sun; or riding with Ian in the comfort of his air conditioned car. It should be a no brainer. But somehow the obvious answer felt like the most dangerous one.
Chapter 19
Ian checked his slicked back hair in the rearview mirror making sure it wasn't ruffled into porcupine quills by the ride over with the windows down. Picking up the bouquet of mixed flower's he'd bought from the limited selection on hand at the small florist on the town square, he exited the car.
This should be interesting. He'd invited himself to dinner at the MacKenzie house. If the weird cousin could be here, so could he. After all, he was protecting the host. And if the host's daughter happened to be the love of his life…well, that was just the cherry on top.
Piper answered the door in a sweet little sky blue summer dress with narrow shoulder straps and silver colored sandals. She also had her hair pulled up into that distractingly messy topknot she'd sported previously.
She took one look at Ian and his flowers and called over her shoulder, "Daddy. Ian's here to see you." And left him standing on the porch.
He fumed in silence. So that was the way she wanted to play it. Well, he could play her game. Then, Matt MacKenzie stood in front of him, with the screen door between them.
"What are you doing here?" He asked in an annoyed voice. "I thought I told you to stay away from Piper."
Ian'd had enough. "You hired me to protect you. Sir. And I need to be in close proximity to do that job well. That's why I'm here."
Matt looked at the flowers in his hand. "And you brought flowers to my daughter as cover for your mission?"
"Now that you put it that way, that's not a bad cover."
Matt's shoulders went back. "Now wait just a minute here. You are not going to use my daughter for any cover story. I thought your cover story is you're visiting your mama."
Ian maintained his calm demeanor, but his voice had a hard edge to it. "If you keep raising your voice like this, Piper is going to know all about my real mission. So, if you want to keep it a secret, I suggest you let me in." He reached for the handle on the screen door. "I promise you I have no intention of hurting, Piper."
"Your promise means nothing. You broke her heart ten years ago."
Ian took a deep, calming breath. "Sir. With all due respect. Piper told me she wouldn't leave Mercy with me when I asked her to marry me ten years ago. So some of that falls on her shoulders. And I had to go. There was no way I could pursue my goal of becoming a Navy fighter pilot without leaving."
With ill grace, Matt stepped away from the door. "Come in, then. If you're hell bent on having dinner here tonight."
Round one to him, Ian thought.
As he stepped into the dining room, he saw that the cousin was already seated at the antique table. Ian placed the flowers he'd brought on the matching sideboard and seated himself on the opposite side of the table from Jason.
A worn antique Aubusson rug rested under his feet, covering most of the hardwood floor in the room. An antique chandelier dripped crystal from the ceiling. He remembered it all well from his days having dinner with Piper and her parents so long ago. Piper's mama had been a debutante and determined that her own daughter would grow up with the same rituals and manners.
He noticed Piper giving him a look down her nose. So much for classy manners. Apparently he was back on the shit list for some unknown reason. Two steps forward, one step back.
On the table sat a roast with potatoes and carrots on a platter along with a plate of dinner rolls and a cut glass pitcher of tea.
Piper silently handed him a plate she had sitting next to her own. He grinned. She must have known he would win his way in here tonight. Satisfied with this much for now, he waited for Matt to pass the platter with the roast to get serving started.
Helping himself to generous portions of all of it, he tucked in. The roast melted in his mouth.
"Did you cook dinner, Piper?" He asked.
"If you want to call it that, I did. I threw the meat and vegetables into the crock pot to cook all day and browned the rolls in the oven."
Matt said, "Piper's too busy with her work to do a lot of cooking. And it doesn't make sense for her to cook big meals regularly, anyway, since it's just the two of us now." He tucked into his own plate with gusto.
Ian ventured a look across the table at Jason who was sitting quietly, eating his food and observing the interplay between all of them.
Chapter 20
Piper scanned the men from under downcast lashes. So far everyone was behaving well. She'd figured her daddy was going to let Ian in the house, although the why still eluded her; so she'd put a plate at the table for him.
She knew the old Ian would never have come here without being mostly sure of a welcome. So the current Ian must have felt pretty confident he'd be having dinner here tonight for him to have showed up uninvited.
And that led to what was going on in the present between the
two men. She knew there had to be something because Daddy had been harping on staying away from Ian ever since he'd gotten into town. And now, here sat Ian, having dinner with them pretty as you please.
Her best tactic might be sugar instead of vinegar. Being a pain in the ass wouldn't get her any answers. She smiled over at Ian, who smiled back at her.
"I'm glad you're enjoying dinner, Ian. Although it's probably nowhere near as good as your mama cooks." Should she flutter her eyelashes, ala Scarlett O'Hara? No. Best not go over the top. Ian wasn't a stupid man.
When they'd finished eating Piper found herself clearing the table alone. Par for the course. She sighed, stacking the heirloom plates carefully to carry them to the kitchen at the back of the antebellum house.
As she practically tip toed along the hallway to avoid dropping the plates, a shadow appeared and a hand reached around her, lifting the top two plates. She glanced over her should to see Ian holding the plates with raised eyebrows.
"My mama didn't raise no fool." She said. "I won't turn down help." And they continued down the hall to the kitchen.
"You go ahead and get started loading the dishwasher and I'll bring the rest of the plates." Ian told her.
As she ran the water hot as she could stand it, she plugged the sink. Her mama would haunt her if she put these antique plates in the dishwasher. Which she explained to Ian when he returned with another armload of china and cutlery.
He stepped up beside her and pulled a drying towel from the stack next to the stove. Reaching over, he carefully took the wet dinner plate from her hand and dried it.
"I thought I recognized this china." He said. "I've eaten off it a long time ago. It's your great-grandma Weaver's isn't it?"
Surprised that he'd remembered, she nodded, a lump in her throat. He could be so darn sweet. It made it even harder not to let bygones be bygones.
He must have picked up on her softened mood. Once the dishes were all dried and put away, he took her hands in his.