Mississippi Blues

by D'Ann Lindun

  “Yes, it once meant a lot. But not at the cost you’re suggesting. To sell out Jace not once, but twice? No.” His gaze didn’t waver from hers.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “This conversation is pointless. You’re so twisted with resentment that there’s no getting through to you.” He sounded as bitter as she felt.

  “I guess there isn’t,” she said, “because there’s nothing you can say or do that’s going to change my mind. In fact, by coming here to question Jace about something he has no link to only makes me certain I’m right.”

  “Then I guess you and I don’t have anything else to talk about.” Resignation — and something else, regret? — filled his voice.

  “I guess not.” She slipped by him before he could see the despair in her eyes.

  • • •

  Summer rifled through her closet not finding a thing she liked. Finally, she chose a floral print dress and white sandals. She loved the way the floaty, full skirt and fitted bodice made her feel extra feminine. Pulling her hair back in a high ponytail and adding a touch of makeup, she told herself none of it was for Trey.

  “You look nice,” Mama commented when she saw Summer.

  “So do you.” Like every Wednesday evening for the last five years, Mama had gotten dressed in her good blue suit, including her pearl necklace, nylons, and high heels. Her hair and makeup were done perfectly. If you didn’t see her left side, for all the world she looked like any other woman off to church until she turned and the morning sun highlighted her scar. “You going to the late service with me today, Mama?”

  “I’m thinking on it.” She picked up a piece of apple and ate it in tiny, delicate bites.

  “Glory’s going to come by in about thirty minutes.” Summer tried not to let her mother see how much she hoped for her to walk out the door a healed woman.

  “Okay. I’ll just wait in the front room.” Mama wiped her fingers on a towel and went in the other room where she turned on a gospel album and began to sing along.

  Summer didn’t answer. As she cleaned, she hummed along to the tune on the stereo.

  Soon, Glory knocked on the door then came in. Her bright red hair stood on end and clashed wildly with her sleeveless, short purple dress. “Ready?”

  “Sure. Let me ask Mama if she’s coming.” Summer refused to allow herself to hope. Disappointment hurt too much. She steadied herself.

  Glory arched her penciled brows. “You think today’s the day?”

  “No, but I keep hoping.” Summer went in the living room where Mama was watching a TV program. “Glory’s here,” Summer said, “are you ready?”

  “Oh, darlin’, I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll stay here today. Jace just might change his mind and come home. What would he think if no one was here to meet him?” She stared at the TV, refusing to make eye contact. “I think I’ll make a special supper.”

  Summer knew this ritual well. For a minute, she wanted to argue, to urge, to plead. But she knew none of it would do any good. She’d tried everything short of physical force in the past to get her mama to leave the house and nothing had ever worked. Doc Marlette didn’t know what to do. He’d even consulted with a specialist in Jackson and that doctor suggested letting Mama decide when she was ready to come out. Summer forced a smile. “Okay, Mama. See you later tonight.”

  “Do you think she’ll ever go outside again?” Glory asked as she made a U-turn in the driveway.

  “I don’t know.” Summer closed her eyes and leaned back against the headrest. “She hasn’t once in five years. The prospects don’t look good. Now with Jace on the loose, all the things that upset her the most are staring her in the face.”

  Glory’s quick glance was sharp. “Any sign of him?”

  “Not one.” Summer kept her eyes closed and hoped her friend couldn’t tell she wasn’t telling the whole truth. She hated being in the position of lying to her friends, but she hated the idea of her brother back behind bars even more.

  “That has to be hard for her.” Glory clucked sympathetically.

  “None of it’s easy,” Summer agreed.

  “On you either,” Glory said. “All this has had to drag up the past for you as much as for your mama. Not only your brother being freed, but Trey Bouché being back in town … ”

  “You haven’t heard the latest either,” Summer glanced at her friend’s profile. Glory couldn’t let the non-existent relationship with Trey go. Summer was beginning to think Glory had a thing for him herself. “Jimmy Ray Hunt was murdered last night … oh, I forgot. You went out with him for a while, didn’t you?”

  Glory jerked her head once. “Don’t remind me. I can’t believe he’s dead, though.”

  “Murdered,” Summer said. “Trey came out to tell me. And also ask if I’d seen Jace.”

  “What? He thinks Jace had something to do with Jimmy Ray?” Glory swerved, one tire dropping into the bar ditch. She corrected, driving to the other side of the road. Finally, she got the car straightened out. “Why?”

  Summer forced herself to let go of the door handle. “Trey thinks Lindy might be responsible for killing him. He believes Jace is now holding Lindy hostage. The Chief is all for this half-baked theory. I think they’re both reaching.” Summer’s heartbeat jumped, whether from Glory’s wild driving, or knowing her brother was loose, she couldn’t tell.

  “What do you think happened to Lindy?” Glory asked. “Could she have killed Jimmy Ray? If she got messed up in one of his bad deals, I feel for her. I saw more of that when I dated Jimmy Ray than I care to talk about.”

  Summer shrugged. “I have no idea what happened to Lindy. She was with Jimmy Ray the night before last and no one’s seen her since. Now he’s dead. Nothing adds up. I refuse to see how Jace ties into any of this, though.” He couldn’t be responsible for Lindy’s mysterious departure. If he was, and she’d been defending him all this time … She didn’t want to think about it.

  “Yeah, I think Trey’s looking for reasons to see you,” Glory commented.

  “If that’s true, he’s wasting his time.” Summer declared, wondering if Glory was right.

  • • •

  Summer couldn’t concentrate on the sermon. The inside of the old church seemed extra hot and she longed for the service to be over. Preacher Finn’s voice droned on and on and on. She couldn’t have repeated a word he said if she tried. Her back and legs felt sticky and tendrils of hair stuck to the sides of her face. She must’ve sighed because Glory elbowed her in the ribs. Making an effort, she tried harder to pay attention.

  Knowing Glory’s sharp eyes were on her, Summer refused to allow her gaze to drift three rows up and two over. Trey stood there with Mary-Gray who was glued to his side. The girl smiled up at him and Summer fought waves of jealousy.

  As her gaze rested on the back of Trey’s tanned neck, she thought Preacher Finn would probably have a coronary if he ever found out how she longed to slap Mary-Gray Bennet senseless.

  Before her mind went any further south, she attempted to change the direction of her thoughts. Church wasn’t the place for her to take in Trey’s neck, the width of his shoulders, or the way his waist tapered to long legs. If she allowed herself to continue thinking like this, she might remember the night she’d fallen in love with him. This certainly wasn’t the proper time or place for daydreaming about making love.

  Closing her eyes, she forced her lust away.

  Glory jabbed her again and Summer realized the congregation was about to sing. Picking up her hymnal, she mouthed the words with everyone else. The simple task took all her concentration. Forcing herself to keep her eyes on her music, she refused to glance at Trey again until the service mercifully ended. Preacher Finn invited everyone to stay for a picnic on the lawn.

  Summer and Glory made their way outside. Wanting only to escape so
she didn’t have to see Trey with his date, Summer didn’t hear what Glory said. Tipping her head she asked, “What was that?”

  Glory rolled her eyes. “Try to focus. Do you want to stay for supper?”

  She didn’t, but she could see Glory did. “If you want to.”

  “I brought fruit salad.”

  “I forgot all about bringing something.” Summer had been so consumed with her brother she hadn’t given any thought to the picnic.

  “It’s okay. I made enough for both of us, and I have extra plates in my picnic basket,” Glory said.

  “Then let’s stay,” Summer said, although all she wanted to do was get out there before she bumped into Trey. Or had to watch Mary-Gray hang on him anymore.

  The church ladies set up the meal on several long tables brought out from the basement. Reluctantly, Summer followed Glory through the line. The choices overwhelmed her. She chose enough that no one would notice her lack of appetite.

  Together, they settled themselves under an oak tree on a blanket Glory retrieved from her car trunk. In spite of her resolve not to look for him, Summer’s gaze sought Trey. She found him with the Bennet family just across the lawn. Mary-Gray nestled next to him, chattering like a squirrel. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet smiled benevolently as their other three girls formed a semicircle around them. Trey looked completely at home with the Bennet family. Summer’s stomach did a flip-flop and the smell of fried chicken and fruit salad suddenly made her ill.

  “Careful, you’re wearing your heart on your sleeve,” Glory said low enough only Summer could hear.

  Jerking her attention to her friend Summer asked, “What?”

  “Your feelings are showing,” Glory said matter-of-factly. “For a woman not interested in a certain man you’re certainly fascinated by who he’s with.”

  “I am not.” Summer took a bite of whipped cream delight. “In fact, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I was just seeing who stayed for supper.”

  Glory snorted, very unladylike. “Sing it to the choir.”

  “Okay, say you win. Just suppose Trey Bouché has gotten under my skin. There’s nothing I can do about it. If I breathe his name, Mama goes off the deep end. Not to mention the absolute conviction his family has that my brother is the root of all evil in this town.”

  “You have to bend, too,” Glory said. “You’re so caught up in the past, you can’t see the future.”

  “What do you mean? Haven’t you heard a word I just said?” Summer stabbed at a cherry buried in the frothy dessert.

  “I hear you, but you don’t listen to me.” Glory motioned toward the Bennet family and Trey. “That man is going to slip away from you for good if you can’t find a way to put all this bitterness behind you. Are you happy, Summer? Is your mama? And Jace? There’s only one way for all of you to be truly at peace. You have to find a way to set things straight.”

  “You ought to take Preacher Finn’s job,” Summer said, “if you think that can ever happen.”

  “I know it can.” Glory had a dreamy look. “You have to want it bad enough. I’m not saying forget. I’m saying move on.”

  “I know.” Summer played with her food as she listened. She knew her friend was right, but how to go about letting all the anger and hurt go? Turning loose of those feelings wasn’t like letting a bird out of a cage, just open the door and let it fly away. Even if she could find a way to forgive, where would that leave her with Mama and Jace? They never would.

  If she chose forgiveness she’d lose her family; if she chose them she lost any chance with Trey.

  • • •

  “That man was nothing but white trash.”

  Trey bit into a piece of chicken to avoid answering Mrs. Bennet. For the last half hour, her family had been discussing Jimmy Ray Hunt’s murder and the list of possible suspects. They had tossed around everyone in Juliet from the barmaids to half of city council. Trey was quite sure if he hadn’t been there, they would’ve considered his dad a possibility, too. He wondered what they would say if they knew Lindy had been in Jimmy Ray’s bar. Mary-Gray would probably turn up her pert little nose and say, “I knew it.”

  His patience was quickly coming to an end with their little personal game of Clue. When Mary-Gray had called and invited him to go to church with her family, he had accepted for the chance to mingle with Lindy’s friends. He thought he might pick up a lead as to who had really killed Jimmy Ray, but all he’d heard so far was gossip and misguided guesses. Although the murder was the talk of the picnic, he hadn’t picked up a single piece of useful information.

  Without being obvious, he kept Summer in his sight. Although she had come into church later than him, he knew when she arrived as though she had gifted him with a breath of fresh air when he was suffocating.

  Tuning out Mary-Gray’s meant-to-be-charming chatter, he glanced again at Summer and Glory. They seemed to be having an intense discussion with their heads close together. He wondered what they could be talking about so seriously, looking so pretty. No one could miss Glory in her crazy dress that clashed with her vibrant hair. But it was Summer he couldn’t take his gaze off. Like her name, she looked sunny and bright in her flowery pink dress. Her skirt flowed out around her like the petals of a flower. Suddenly she smiled and he couldn’t breathe. Nor could he hear Mary-Gray. “Would you excuse me?”

  Without waiting to hear their answer, Trey walked toward Summer. She looked up and their gazes met and held. He didn’t have a plan, he didn’t have anything to talk to her about, all he knew was he had to speak to her before she left. “Hi.”

  “Hey, Trey. What’s up?” Glory spoke to him. Summer did not.

  “Not much.” He squatted on his heels like a child trying to coax a kitten out of its hiding place. “Just thought I’d catch up.”

  “Starting with Mary-Gray Bennet, I see.” Summer’s voice dripped ice.

  He hid a smile. She was jealous. “A pretty girl asked me out. Do you know some reason I should’ve turned her down?”

  “Not a one.”

  He did smile this time at her tone. “Me either. Are you enjoying your picnic?”

  “I was.”

  Glory coughed. “I think I’ll go get some more punch. Do you want some?”

  Trey smiled at her. “No, thanks.”

  “No,” Summer said.

  Touching her shoulder, Glory said, “Be right back. Remember what we talked about.”

  “What were you having your heart-to-heart about?” He hoped it was him.

  “I can’t see where that’s any of your business.” She fiddled with the tiny gold heart she wore around her neck then sighed. “We were saying some things are hard to forget.”

  “Yeah.” His smiled faded. “I know.”

  “Have you found Lindy yet?”

  “No. Actually, that’s why I’m here. I’m going to circulate and see if I hear anything.” He frowned and picked at a strand of grass.

  “You really think you’re going to find someone here who knows where Lindy is?” She raised her eyebrows at him. “Honestly, do you think a kidnapper lurks among Juliet’s churchgoing members?”

  He studied the blade of grass. “Not really, but at this point I’ll try anything.”

  Her frozen tone warmed a fraction. “You haven’t found a clue?”

  “No.” He tossed the grass away, trying to think of a way to broach the other subject heavy on his mind.

  As if she read his thoughts, she said, “Let me answer the question I know you’re going to ask next. No, I haven’t talked to Jace. He hasn’t come home.”

  “Did I ask?” Why did he feel so crummy for wondering if Jace was behind Lindy’s disappearing act?

  “You wanted to.”

  He didn’t attempt to deny it. “Where do you think he is?”

  “N
ot with Lindy.” She twisted the chain again. “I don’t know, Trey. If I did, I’d tell you just to keep you from badgering me.”

  This wasn’t going well. For once he didn’t want to talk about Jace or even Lindy. He wished they could have one conversation without their siblings being the main focus. “I don’t mean to hound you.”

  “And yet here you are.”

  “I’m sorry.” He let his hands hang between his knees when all he wanted to do was reach out and take her face with his palms and kiss her until they both ached from it.

  She tilted her head and stared at him like she had never seen him before. “If only you meant that.”

  “I do. More than you know.” If he could just erase their history and make it all okay again, he would. But he had no magic, no way to pull down the invisible barrier between them.

  “Words come so easily to you, Trey.” She looked away. “Here comes Glory. And I see your date is looking for you. Good luck finding Lindy. I hope she’s all right.” She reached for her picnic basket.

  He’d been dismissed. He handed it over, careful not to touch her, and stood. “Take care of yourself.”

  “You, too.” Her big blue eyes glimmered and he hesitated. There had to be something to say to make them friends again. He knew what she wanted him to say — that he didn’t think Jace had killed Soloman — and he couldn’t do it. With a heavy sigh, he walked away.

  Mary-Gray looped her arm through his and he managed to smile at her. Brunette hair glistening, a form-hugging dress that showed legs for miles and smelling like honeysuckle, she should’ve made the blood race to his cock. But she didn’t pique his interest. “Re-introduce me around, will you?”

  “With pleasure.” She smiled at him and he faked one back.

  As they moved from group to group, old friends greeted him warmly. All asked about his parents and many wanted to know about his time in Afghanistan. Although everyone went out of their way to make him welcome, this felt wrong to him. Without the Chief shooting the bull with his cronies, Trey’s mother and MiLann sharing their secrets, and he and Jace off to play basketball, everything felt off kilter.