Blaze

by Dale Mayer

  “Back in town,” he said. “Used to live here ten years ago, family still here.”

  She looked at him as if trying to recognize his face.

  And then he looked at her and grinned. “Gail?”

  She pulled out the empty chair beside him and sat down hard, a look of shocked surprise on her face. “Oh, my God, Blaze. I haven’t seen you in …?”

  “Ten years,” he said. “I’ve been back and forth for visits, but I haven’t done much socializing when I was here, preferring to spend all the time with my parents.”

  “I’m sorry about your mom,” she said, the smile falling away to be replaced by grief. “She was really special.”

  “She really was,” Blaze said. “And thank you. My mother lived a beautiful life. We all miss her, but she’s gone, and there’s nothing I can do but pick up the pieces and carry on.”

  “Good sentiment,” Gail said with a smile. “So, you’re the one who picked up Camilla then, are you?”

  He pulled his eyebrows together. “And how would you know about that?”

  “I saw Slim driving her car back to the recreation center where she was working. I talked to him when he came in for coffee, and he said she got a flat tire, and somebody brought her in, while Slim towed her car back.”

  “Yep, that was me. So, you’re a local, from around here. I’m looking for a shepherd seen in the area. Have you seen it?”

  “Sure, that big black one. Yeah, we wondered whose it was, and it comes and goes. You don’t see it for a bit, and then you see it again.”

  “Do you remember the last time you saw her?”

  “Probably a week or so ago?” she said, her gaze going out the window, as if looking inwardly. “I haven’t ever stopped and tried to talk to her or nothing. I always wondered whose it was though.”

  “It’s my mission to find and to help her if I can.”

  “Mission?” she pounced. “Is this a job then?”

  “An unpaid job,” he said with a grin. “A favor for a commander in the navy.”

  “Oh,” she said, settling back. “Well, I hope something’s done about the dog. I don’t know what shape she’s in. Every time I see her, she’s running.”

  “I think that’s all she knows how to do at this point. Running enough to stay alive.”

  She nodded. “That’s what happens when you start running though, isn’t it? You have to keep running because you don’t know what to do, and you don’t know if it’s safe to stop.”

  “True enough,” Blaze said, surprised at her insight. “So, what have you been doing for the last ten years?”

  Just then the door opened, she looked up, and she chuckled. “Speak of the devil …”

  He twisted to see Camilla walking in, her iPad in front of her, muttering to herself. He smiled. “Can I buy you a coffee?”

  She looked up, but her gaze was unfocused. When she finally recognized who it was, her face lit up with a smile. “I should be buying you a coffee,” she said.

  Gail hopped to her feet. “I’ll go grab a cup,” she said, laughing. “You two can sort out who will pay.”

  Camilla took Gail’s seat and looked at Gail’s retreating back. “Do you two know each other?”

  “We went to school together. I was just asking her about the shepherd you missed on the highway.”

  “I’ve mentioned it to a couple people too, and they all seem to think they’ve seen the same dog,” she said, frowning. “If it keeps crossing that street, somebody’ll hit it. I mean, obviously they don’t want to,” she said expansively with her hands. “I certainly didn’t want to.”

  Nodding solemnly and holding back his mirth at her broken-tires discussion from yesterday, he said, “Slim was a good guy. Sounds like he still is.”

  “We’d be lost without him. Did you know he’s the only locksmith in town too?”

  “I didn’t know that,” he said, “but that’s probably a good line for him.”

  “It’s fine if you just want to rekey a door, and you’re not too worried if it’s today or tomorrow,” she said, “but, if you’re locked out, and he’s doing a tow job forty miles away, well, don’t be expecting him to hurry back to unlock your house so you can get in.”

  “Speaking from personal experience, are you?” he asked, leaning forward, his tone gentle.

  She glared at him. “It’s not my fault I lost the keys to my house.”

  He could feel the chuckle starting inside again, but he managed to stay straight-faced and calm when he said, “No, of course not. I presume somebody else lost them?”

  At that, she glared. “No,” she said. “I live alone.”

  Confused, he said, “Well then, who lost them? Did your assistant misplace them?”

  Her jaw dropped. “Why would you blame Blyth?”

  He settled back with a sigh. “Instead of me making all these wild guesses, why don’t you tell me how you lost them.”

  “Well, I put them down,” she said.

  He felt like he’d dropped down a rabbit hole. “Okay, so you’re the one who lost them.”

  “Yes, of course.” She stopped, frowned at him and said, “I just said that.”

  He wanted to roll his eyes but knew that wouldn’t go over well.

  Just then Gail returned with a cup of coffee and put it down in front of Camilla. She picked up the cream and dumped in a good portion, stirring it heavily.

  “Looks like you’ve already had a busy day,” he said.

  Camilla nodded. “I’m more stressed because it’s a wedding. I don’t like doing weddings.”

  “I’m surprised you’re in here.”

  She shot him a dark look. “I’m hiding. If my assistant knows I’m here, she’ll be after me.”

  “So take her a cup of coffee back with you.”

  “I already did that this morning,” she said, “but we have a thousand and one things to set up. I’ve got at least seven spots I’m supposed to hit right now.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do fine. It’ll all come together.”

  “It’ll come together,” she snapped. And then smiled and sat back. “I’m sorry. I don’t need to be mean to you. I just get really stressed over weddings.”

  “When was the last one?”

  “About three years ago,” she said, “and it better be three more years before I do another one.”

  “It’ll go off just fine,” he announced. He had no clue if it would or not, but she obviously needed something to calm her down.

  She took a big slug of the coffee and settled back with a smile. “That hit the spot.” She looked at him. “So, did you look for the shepherd?”

  He grinned at her. “I did. But, no, I didn’t catch her. I think I caught a glimpse of her though. And might have found a way to tame her.”

  “How can you tame her if you can’t catch her?” she asked with that supreme logic he had yet to figure out.

  “We’ll see,” he said. “Do you need any help with your wedding this weekend?” He didn’t even have a clue why he was offering because he was the least social person ever, and weddings and him did not get along. But then again, he’d only attended a couple, and they were for buddies. And they had actually been fun. He wasn’t so sure about something that required a wedding planner. That sounded dangerously too highfalutin for him.

  “We’ve got all that stuff under control,” she said, frowning. “But it is nice of you to ask.”

  “Thank you.” He picked up his coffee and nodded.

  She looked at the plate beside him and said, “Did you have one of Gail’s cinnamon buns?”

  “Did she make them?” he asked in surprise. “Because I did, and it was divine. I should take one home to my dad.”

  “I’m sure he’d like that,” she said. “I should tell you our mothers were not friends.”

  His lips quirked at hearing her repeat his father’s earlier words. “Oh?”

  Her shoulders sagged as he watched. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but my mother phone
d me last night and warned me to stay away from you, so I have this perverse need to go against her wishes.”

  He just stared, trying to process what she said and finding laughter bubbling up at the thought.

  “I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”

  “It’s not that you’re talking too much,” he said, holding his laughter in check, “but it’s like you just say whatever comes to mind.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “Not really,” he said slowly. “I tend to process and filter what I say, whereas you tend to just blurt it out.”

  She frowned and stirred her coffee cup again. He watched, seeing the coffee almost splash over the top. “It’s fine, you know,” he said gently. “I’m just used to people who are more worried about how they’re received.”

  “I should probably guard my tongue more,” she said, “but my mother has upset me, as usual.”

  “Does it matter to you if your mother wasn’t friends with my mother?”

  “I don’t want it to matter,” she said, “but the fact that I’m sitting here stirring my coffee as I am means it does.”

  “Okay. Do you always do what your mother tells you, or do you always do the opposite of what your mother tells you?”

  She grinned, and then she chuckled. “I’m being foolish, aren’t I? I’m almost thirty, and here my mom calls from the West Coast. She’s already heard from her evil spies how you were back in town, and apparently, being Enid’s son, you are the absolute worst person I could possibly spend time with, and she’s horrified.”

  “Wow, she really didn’t like my mother, did she?” He understood that. His mother was a lot of things, but she was a beautiful woman and very good at what she did, and that kind of grace and presence often spawned jealousy in others. “I’m sorry for your mother.”

  She looked at him, her jaw slowly dropping, and then she laughed. “Oh, my gosh,” she said. “That’s perfect.”

  He gave himself a slight head shake. “What’s perfect?”

  “That you feel sorry for my mother. Because she’d be so outraged to hear that.”

  He chuckled. “Then I guess it’s a good thing she’s not in the coffee shop with us, isn’t it?”

  She squeezed his hand and said, “Thank you. Now you’ve put my mother firmly in her place, and, in my mind, that works too.”

  Just then Gail returned with a coffeepot and refilled his coffee cup. As she topped up Camilla’s, Camilla asked, “Can I get it to go, please? I really have to run.”

  “Of course you can.” And Gail disappeared with Camilla’s mug.

  “You could have at least drunk that one and then taken another one with you.”

  “I don’t have time,” Camilla said, pushing her chair back and standing. “The to-do list is just too long.”

  “If you get into trouble, and you need a hand, let me know.” And he watched as she accepted the takeout cup and bolted out the door.

  Gail looked at him with a wry grin. “So, I guess you’re paying for coffee?”

  At that, he laughed. “I guess I’m paying for coffee,” he said with an agreeable nod. “Still, it’s worth it. She does make me smile.”

  “Actually she makes all of us smile,” Gail said with a wink, and she turned and headed back behind the counter.

  Chapter 4

  Only as she walked into the rented center with her coffee did she realize that she hadn’t paid for it. She groaned, wondering what Blaze must think of her.

  “Is that coffee for me?”

  “If you like it with double cream, yes,” she hedged.

  Blyth shot out her arm and said, “Today, for my midafternoon caffeine fix, I’ll take it with double cream.”

  Camilla handed it over and carried on, but she wrote a note at the bottom of her tablet to thank Blaze as soon as she could. The trouble was, he had her contact information—but she hadn’t collected his. Not very good on her part. But she did have Gail’s contact. She fired off an email to Gail that said to apologize for her and that she’d pick up the tab next time. She should do it in person, but, right now, she was just too flustered and too busy to be bothered.

  The next couple hours went by in a flash before she sagged into the closest chair and looked around. The dress rehearsal was tonight from eight to ten p.m., and then everybody was off to a fancy late dinner and drinks. Saturday, Camilla had to do more at the center, and then the wedding ceremony—which luckily Camilla was not in charge of—was Sunday morning, and the reception—which Camilla was in charge of—was Sunday noon through early evening. It was expected to be over between six and seven p.m.. But she’d often seen many of these die down and close up as soon as the bride and groom disappeared. She’d also seen many where the guests didn’t leave for hours after the event was over. Lizzie and Brick were leaving somewhere around five o’clock, they’d said, maybe earlier if they could sneak away. Camilla could hope it would be earlier for everybody’s sake.

  “We have two hours until they get here,” Blyth said.

  Camilla looked at her. “What?”

  “It’s six o’clock. They’ll be here in two hours, ready to start at eight.”

  She shook her head rapidly. “No, it’s only one o’clock now,” she said, lifting her iPad. She stared at it and then hit Refresh, realizing that, for whatever reason, the time on it had frozen. “Oh, my God, I thought we had hours yet.”

  “We do,” Blyth said bracingly. “We have two hours left.” She stopped in front of Camilla and said, “And really we’re well in hand here.”

  “No, we’re not. We still have to pick up all the flowers.”

  “They closed at six.”

  Just then her phone rang. It was the florist shop.

  “I thought you were coming to pick these up tonight,” Wanda said.

  “I’m on my way. I’m on my way,” Camilla said, running for the door.

  “I’ll drop them off on my way,” Wanda said with a sigh. “You’ll just have an accident if you try to race here. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” And she hung up.

  Camilla, already halfway toward the front door, turned to look at Blyth and said, “We were supposed to pick them up a half hour ago.”

  “You didn’t tell me that,” Blyth said.

  Camilla frowned, rubbed her temple. “What is happening to me?”

  “You’re not doing another wedding, period,” Blyth said. “You’re never like this except with weddings.”

  “I’ve only done a couple and didn’t want to do this one. Wedding planners are expensive, and, as you know, Lizzie has one to handle the official ceremony in the park. Lizzie couldn’t afford to hire that person for the rehearsal dinner and the reception too,” she said, “though that’s hardly any reason for me to step in.”

  “Two weddings, two maniacal temperaments to go with it,” Blyth said. “So no more weddings.”

  “I’m totally okay with that,” Camilla said, “but somehow I have to get out of it when another friend decides to get married.”

  “Just say no,” Blyth stated. “Have a couple referrals on hand to offer your friends instead.”

  Camilla nodded absentmindedly and took a deep breath. “We didn’t even eat.”

  “We won’t be eating for the next hour either. You’re my best diet program ever,” Blyth said in that ever-cheerful voice.

  Camilla shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it was so late. We should have been done here hours ago.”

  “If it was anything but a wedding with its related events, we would be. Now let’s get the rest of this done so, when the flowers arrive, we can put them out.”

  “We’re only supposed to be getting some tonight, right?” Camilla knew the answer, but, since she’d lost track of time already, she didn’t want to lose track of anything else.

  “Yes, they wanted some of the flowers, and we’re supposed to return them to the florist to keep them safe for Sunday.” Blyth added, “I don’t even know why you have flowers for a rehearsal.”
>
  “You don’t, but apparently this time we do because …” she said, “this bride wants it.”

  Just then she got a phone call from Lizzie, the bride in question. “I’m so excited. Is everything ready?”

  “Well, it will be in an hour,” Camilla said, rolling her eyes at Blyth.

  “We’re coming a little early,” Lizzie said. “We want to make sure everything’s set up just the way we want it.” And with that, she hung up, still squealing with joy.

  Camilla sagged even farther in the chair. “Lizzie’s coming early,” she said in a voice of doom.

  “Oh, God,” Blyth said. “Let’s hurry.”

  Panicked, they finished the last of the mock setup here—because the wedding was at another site—and packed up their boxes, carrying them out of sight into the back room. She needed to invest in a truck or van for hauling items for her events. So far, being a smaller community delivery was included in the fees she paid, but it might be simpler to just buy a second vehicle. It was her frugal nature that was holding her back. Only sometimes that also got her into trouble. Up until now Blyth’s old van had been a huge help when they got stuck. But that only worked for so long.

  As they moved outside to await the florist’s delivery and to not delay her any further, Wanda pulled up with the flowers. “I agreed to meet you back at the shop when this is over at ten p.m. to take possession of these flowers again, but this is the only time I’m doing this.”

  “I appreciate you doing that much,” Camilla said. “But Lizzie wanted the flowers for tonight and Sunday, so short of having to order double the flowers …”

  Wanda nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything more stressful than weddings. Better you than me for this one.”

  Camilla groaned, and they carried out the flowers.

  They’d just gotten the last arrangement in position, Wanda gone already, when Lizzie pulled up with three other vehicles.

  Her friend threw her arms around Camilla and hugged her. “I’m so excited,” Lizzie said. “Can I go in? Can I go in?”