Dashing Through the Snow

by Lisa G Riley

  “Aw, come on, Lily-bud,” he protested even as he handed the blanket over. “Why you gotta be that way? It’s not as if modesty is some type of virtue or anything.”

  “I don’t understand why you have to wear these boots,” Smith muttered as he helped her put on the leather boots and zip them up. “They’re so impractical. Those heels must be at least three inches and they might as well be toothpicks for all the support they’ll give you in this kind of weather.”

  “They go best with my outfit, which I admit, I’m using as my metaphorical armor. I have to look as confident as possible when I see the family. Besides, I’ll just be going from the house to the car and back again since you’re going to drive us.”

  Smith looked up from the second boot. “Drive? It’s only five blocks!”

  Lily poked her bottom lip out and tried to look weak and pitiful. “But my finger hurts.”

  Smith narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Does it really?”

  “Some, yes…I mean just a little…okay maybe not really,” she said with a giggle when he continued to give her the stink eye, “But remember it’s cold outside and I can’t fit a glove over this contraption,” she said and held her hand up gingerly as she looked at him through her lashes. “And of course I’m not going to walk around wearing just one glove, so both my hands would be exposed, which would be awful, because I might get sick. And you wouldn’t want that, would you? Not on top of everything else? ”

  “Oh, all right!” he shouted, sounding and looking like a man at his breaking point. “Shit!”

  Lily grinned and kissed his cheek after he’d helped her up from the sofa. “Thank you.” She turned for her coat.

  “And don’t think you’re not going to pay me back for having the hotel boutique add this weird little space man jacket to my hotel bill,” Smith warned her as he helped her put on the white bubble jacket.

  Lily winced. “I really am sorry about that. I was being a bitch because you’d left without me to see Landry’s mistress. I’ll pay you back, honest. I’d fully intended to pay for it myself anyway -- putting it on your bill was just a momentary way to get back at you -- but I wasn’t around when you paid the bill. ”

  “Speaking of Landry,” he said, the matter apparently forgotten as he opened the passenger side door for her. “Where the hell do you think the man can be?”

  “I have no earthly,” Lily said. “But we’ve got less than a week to find him.”

  “Sobering thought,” Smith said.

  “Here’s something even more sobering,” Lily told him as they pulled into her parents’ driveway, “I started thinking about what Kip had said about how Landry sang the words to the song “Sweet Home Chicago” when he told him he was going home and I looked up the song. Okay, so the song, throughout its existence, has referred to several destinations besides Chicago, including Kokomo, Indiana; Des Moines, Iowa and California.”

  Smith looked at her with a frown. “As in the entire state of California?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. I left a message for my dear cousin John, he of the police department, asking him if he could possibly reach out to his fellow policemen in those places, and perhaps the state police, but he hasn’t gotten back to me.”

  “You asked him to see if they’d check for Landry’s car?”

  “Yeah, to see if they could put an All Points Bulletin out on it or something.”

  “Good idea,” he said as they walked up to her parents’ porch. “Maybe I’ll have better luck with John. I’ll call him.”

  Lily opened the door. “It’s worth a shot. Mom! Dad! You’ve got company,” she called and sighed when she went to take off her coat and couldn’t. “Damn it!”

  Smith chuckled and helped her with the first sleeve. “Just keep thinking about the freedom you’ll get in three weeks.”

  Glenda walked into the room. “Hey, you two! Why didn’t you call when you got back in town?” Her smile disappeared when she caught sight of Lily’s hand. “What on earth? Peter! Get down here!” she yelled.

  Hearing the near-hysteria in her voice, Lily reached for her mother. “Calm down, Mom. It’s a broken finger, that’s all.”

  Glenda hadn’t taken her eyes off Lily’s hand. Unfortunately the bruises were in full black and blue glory. “But your hand…and why are three of them wrapped? Peter!”

  Lily rolled her eyes and looked helplessly at Smith when she heard running feet --coming from the back of the house and upstairs. She guided her mother to the sofa and sat down with her. “I’m all right, Mom. I only have to wear the splint for three weeks.”

  “Oh, my poor baby!”

  “Please, Mom, calm down,” Lily begged and when the room filled with people, the only thing she could be grateful for was that she wouldn’t have to tell the story more than once. She looked around. Her father, one of her aunts and her husband, and her cousin John and his wife were all there and talking at once. There was also a round little man she thought she recognized, but couldn’t quite place, who had come downstairs with her father.

  Finally, her father’s ear-splitting whistle filled the air. “Hold it, hold it. Everybody be quiet so Lily can tell us what the hell happened.”

  All eyes turned to Lily and without preamble, she told her story and afterward, escaped to the small powder room in the basement where she planned to hide from the chaos for at least ten minutes.

  Fifteen minutes later, she came back upstairs to the “Blame Smith for Lily’s Stubbornness” show.

  “You mean to tell me that even after what happened yesterday you haven’t been able to convince Lily to give up this notion of being a private detective?” she heard her father ask and she could hear a bit of anger in his voice.

  “No sir,” Smith said in his usual laconic tone. “What I’m saying is that I haven’t even tried. Why should I? She’s got as much of a right --”

  “Just because a person has a right to do something, doesn’t necessarily mean they actually should, Smith.” This came from John.

  “He’s right, nephew,” Lily heard a voice that was familiar, yet not, say and realized the stranger in the house must be Smith’s Uncle Rowdy. She hadn’t seen him since she was ten, but Smith had told her the man was living with him.

  “There’s no reason why Lily shouldn’t pursue her goal,” Smith said calmly. “Of course yesterday’s trouble was horrible, but that’s out of the ordinary. I’ve been a private detective for several years and I’ve rarely been hurt.”

  “‘Rarely,’” Glenda repeated softly. “That’s not the same as ‘never, is it?”

  Lily had heard enough and started talking before she crossed the threshold into the room. “Leave him alone. What’s the matter with you guys?” she asked as she came to stand next to Smith. “It’s hardly smart for all the crazy people to jump on the one sane person in the room. It gives away the secret --”

  “What in hell…uh heck are you talking about, girl? What secret?”

  “That you’re crazy, John!” Lily said with heavy sarcasm that implied that the answer was obvious. “That secret. And stop calling me ‘girl’ in that obnoxious, condescending way of yours. I hate it and it’s beneath both of us.”

  “It’s hardly necessary to call us crazy, Lily,” Glenda said.

  “I don’t know what else to call it, Mom, when you all act like I’m not grown with a mind of my own. And then to lay that kind of burden on Smith to get me to drop out of my career is just not right. He has no more say over what I do than any of the rest of you.” She turned to Rowdy and held her hand out to be shaken. “How are you, Mr. Rowdy? It’s been a long time, but it’s good to see you.”

  Rowdy’s eyes twinkled at her as he gave her a blinding smile, and sudden recognition hit Lily like a blast between the eyes. She narrowed her eyes at him and tightened her grip on his hand when he would have let go. “We have a lot to talk about, you and me,” she told him.

  He flushed, but quirked a brow. “We just might at that.”

  “It�
�s good that you remember him, Lily,” Glenda said as she rose. “It took forever for us to get him over here for dinner. But when I realized that he’d be alone this weekend because Smith was out of town, I wouldn’t take no for an answer and finally got him down here with a little help from Darla, of course.”

  “How is Mama,” Smith asked. “I missed my weekly call yesterday.”

  “Yes, she mentioned that when I talked to her. She and your dad are fine. Dinner will be on the table in five minutes, everybody,” Glenda called as she walked into the dining room. “Peter, come help me, will you?”

  Lily watched her parents leave and knew they were going in together to talk and worry about her in private. Wincing, she tried to squelch the guilt. Everyone else eventually made their way into the dining room, apparently realizing that the conversation about her and her career was a dead one.

  Smith came up behind her and rubbed her back. “Way to go, Norma Rae? You feelin’ okay?”

  Lily chuckled tiredly and leaned into him for a brief moment. “I’m fine, thanks. I hate having that kind of conversation with them. It never seems to do any good.”

  Smith slipped his hand under her hair to massage her neck. “Next time you have it, don’t wait until you’re ready to have a meltdown and emotions are high. Just sit them down one day when nothing’s going on. They’re reasonable, loving people. Hopefully, they’ll get it. Now, come with me.” He took her by the hand and led her to the door and out of sight of everyone else. Putting his hands on her waist, he bent his head. “Mistletoe,” he whispered. Lily looked up and smiled. “Someone might see,” she told him even as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Nobody’s paying attention to us; they’re all still reeling from your revolt. Now gimme a kiss.”

  Lily looked around first just to be sure. “Okay, but just one,” she whispered and raised her mouth to press her lips to his, at the last minute opening her mouth to give him a slow, wet, thorough kiss. Slowly, she slid her tongue inside his mouth, tangling it with his and moaning when he pulled it farther inside.

  Smith pulled her closer and took what she offered greedily. The carnality of the kiss made him ache to lay her down and he slowly began to pull out of it. Breathing heavily, he rested his forehead against hers. “How’s your hand?” he asked, still keeping his voice in an undertone.

  She winced before admitting, “It’s throbbing, but the medicine makes me loopy. I don’t like taking it.” Still resting her injured hand on his shoulder, she toyed with a loose button on his shirt with the other one.

  “I thought as much,” he said and gave her waist a quick squeeze, to make her raise her gaze to meet his. “Why not try taking just a half of one, and see how that works?”

  She nodded and pursed her lips for another kiss. “We’d better go in before we’re missed,” she said after the brief pressure of lips.

  Lily sat in the front passenger side as Smith drove, wondering how she was going to say what she needed to say once Smith, Rowdy and she reached Smith’s rental house. Rowdy sat in the back seat, quiet, but she didn’t sense any tension coming off him. They pulled into the driveway and she climbed out of the car and followed Smith to the house, stepping inside when he unlocked the door and held it open for her.

  Rowdy followed and then Smith. She trailed them into the living room and looked around after Smith had turned on the lights. The room had a Spartan look to it, but the few pieces that were there were nice. She smirked when she caught sight of the flat screen television. It was at least sixty inches.

  “I’ll be right back down, Lily,” Smith said as he put a foot on the first step of a short flight of stairs. “I’m going to spend the night with Lily tonight, Uncle Rowdy,” Smith said, “to help her get around.”

  “Hmph,” Rowdy said as he sat down in front of the television and picked up the remote. “Is that what they’re callin’ it now?”

  Embarrassed, Lily flushed. “Before you go, cowboy,” she said to Smith, as she stared at Rowdy. “I have something to tell you.”

  “Yeah, I did it,” Rowdy said defiantly, “and I’d do it again, too.” He stared right back at Lily.

  Shocked, Lily gasped, but recovering quickly, said, “Well at least you’re admitting it. It’ll save me the trouble of a trial.”

  Smith stepped in. “Hold up,” he said, looking totally baffled. “What is going on here?”

  “In my defense,” Rowdy began as he looked at Smith, “I did it for you. I did it for both of y’all.”

  “For me?” Lily screeched. “How could breaking my windshield possibly be for me?”

  Smith looked at her, still baffled. “Breaking your…” The light dawned and he turned angry eyes on his uncle. “Are you fuckin’ nuts? You’re the crazy Santa who’s been harassing her? You hit her in the back with that ice ball? You hurt her, Rowdy! Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?”

  Rowdy stood hurriedly. “I didn’t want to hurt her, I swear. I was just tryin’ to help. I promised your mother before I left that I would do my best to bring you two together. She believes that you’re meant for one another -- that you’re even in love with one another. After seein’ you together tonight, I can see that there’s something there. I think you should explore it. Actually, it’s kinda obvious that you already are, but --”

  “Wait!” Smith interrupted. “Are you saying that Mama told you to do those things to Lily?”

  Rowdy shook his head impatiently. “No, boy. She just told me to do what I could to bring you together. And since I want to see you happily married just as much as she does, I agreed. The harassing Santa Claus thing, though? That was entirely my own idea,” he said with pride.

  Smith exploded again. “You then lost too many balls in the fuckin’ weeds, hoss! What the hell is the matter with you?”

  “There’s nothin’ the matter with me,” Rowdy said. “I thought my plan was a good one and that it would scare Mama Long Legs here enough to come running to you for protection. I didn’t know y’all had decided to work together until you came home the other day and told me that you were leaving town with her.”

  When Smith looked ready to attack again, Lily said his name softly and put her hand on his arm. She turned to Rowdy. “But if you want me to be with your nephew so much,” she said with confusion, “that must mean you like me -- at least the “me” you remember, right?” When he nodded his head, she asked, “Then why would you hurt me? That snowball you hit me with was full of ice and left a bruise.”

  “I’m sorry, but I thought I was just packing snow. I didn’t know there was ice in it, I swear. And also,” he said eagerly, “I paid for your windshield. I put two hundred dollars in an envelope and mailed it to your house. I hope that was enough. Did you get it?”

  “It may have come while we were gone, but I haven’t checked my mail since we got back.”

  “Well, you let me know when it does get there and if that was enough.”

  He looked so sincere that Lily simply agreed. She turned to Smith and smoothed the frown lines from his face. “Try not to be mad at him anymore, cowboy. He didn’t mean to hurt me and he is sorry.”

  “Yeah,” Rowdy joined in, “And that whole ‘I’d do it all again’ speech I gave when we first got here? I wouldn’t, really. I’d skip the icy snowball part.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Late Wednesday afternoon, frustration at the stalling of their case had Lily slamming her office phone down on another dead end. Smith and she had been wracking their brains trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of one Charles Landry. Smith had come up with the idea that afternoon to call her grandmother and aunt to get them to contact a high-level muckity-muck at MSI to get them to check on the Golddigger’s Folly. As it was still kind of early in Australia and she knew her grandmother and Amelia liked to sleep late, Lily hadn’t made the call yet.

  Quincy came in with the mail. “More junk mail, cuz,” he said and tossing the small stack on her desk, slumped down in a chair. “I think
I’ll take off in a few.”

  Lily smiled. “That’s fine. Thanks for holding the fort down for me while I was gone, Quince, I appreciate it.”

  “You’ve already thanked me at least a dozen times, but no worries; it’s all good. There really wasn’t much to do while you were gone, anyway. But I’ve been thinking…”

  “Yes?”

  “Would you consider training me to become a private eye? I think I’d like the work.”

  Lily lifted a brow, knowing how his imagination worked. “Are you sure you’re not just wanting it because you picture yourself in a trench coat with a pipe in your mouth and attracting all the chicks.”

  He smiled guiltily. “Well, there is that, but give me a break, dude. I’ve been here a week now and I know that there will be down times. Hell, I’ve lived through them.”

  “What about school?”

  “Oh, I’ll still go, and besides you told me all the requirements for getting my license. I’m ready for that.”

  “But your parents…”

  “What about them? This is my life; not theirs.”

  Lily couldn’t fault the logic and she nodded. “Well, as you stated yourself, things are a bit slow right now and that means money’s tight.”

  “I know that, and I’m totally willing to work for gratis. Dude, that should tell you how much I want this -- I’m so literally willing to work for almost no money.”

  Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing. “I don’t know how to tell you this, dude, but gratis is for no money. It so literally means free.”

  “Oh,” he said with a sheepish grin. “So, I’ll work for free, then.”

  “Oh, I think I could scrape together some kind of wage for you if I decide to do this.”

  “For reals?” His gorgeous and charming grin spread across his face, making Lily smile in return. “You are the ult, dude, the absolute ult!”

  “Uh, thanks, I think. You’re cool, too.”

  Quincy just grinned and did a happy, little rump-shaking dance as he made his way out of her office. He passed Smith in the doorway. “Dude!” he said happily and held up his hand for a high five.