“I didn’t do that.” She wouldn’t admit it for money.
He cocked an eyebrow. “The hell you say. And while we’re at it, let me tell you, sweetheart, you really dialed my number.”
“I don’t know what that means.” At least he didn’t say she wasn’t adequate.
“Oh, you get my meaning, all right. You asked why I did it. Now, you know.”
“Y’all want coffee or something else?” Opal asked them. “You’re acting so serious over here.”
“Coffee,” Luther said.
“A dry martini,” Ruby said, although she’d never drunk one in her life. “Or maybe you have some champagne?” she asked, hoping to tantalize Luther. Apparently she managed. His large brown eyes rounded, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Don’t you drink champagne, Luther?” she asked him, relying on her sweetest, most affected childlike voice to ring his bell.
But he didn’t back down. “Drink all the champagne you want, Ruby. I’ll take good care of you. You know that.”
Her blood heated her face.
Opal returned with the martini. “Here you are, but I wouldn’t drink too many of those, Ruby. D’marcus makes ’em strong.”
Ruby looked from her sister’s departing back to Luther, whose grin became a laugh that he enjoyed more and more. “You’re nuts if you drink that,” he said. “And next time, don’t try to show how clever you can be.” He was no longer laughing. “You can’t drive home if you drink that stuff. It’s lethal.”
She wished he weren’t right, and she wished she had the guts to drink it down straight. And while she didn’t mind waking up in his bed a second time, she didn’t like the prospect of his ignoring her afterward again.
She handed the drink to Luther. “Here. Try it. You may like it.”
He looked hard at her. “You couldn’t ruin my foot, so now you want me to get behind the wheel of my car and break my neck. You’re a cruel woman.” His gaze roamed from her feet to the top of her head and back. Very slowly, as if cataloguing her assets and enjoying the view. She shifted from one foot to the other, getting warmer by the second. “And that’s not all you are,” he said, more to himself than to her.
After ignoring her for days, Luther was noticing her again. But he wasn’t quite the old Luther. She wasn’t sure she liked it. As long as he put a wall between them, there was a chance that he’d ignored her because he was hurt and maybe felt something for her. But this happy not-quite-buddy-as-usual Luther was not the man she wanted to see.
“What happened to that shot of fire?” Opal asked Ruby, carrying a tray of hot biscuits and ham. “You look like you drank it.”
“I didn’t drink a drop of it,” she said. “I gave it to Luther.”
Opal’s eyebrows shot up. “Luther didn’t drink that, and if you didn’t, why are you so flustered?
Oops! None of my business.” She passed the tray to Luther, her eyes flashing mischief, and headed back to the kitchen.
I’ll be damned if they’re not trying to hook me up with Ruby.
Luther said good-night and excused himself, claming a busy day tomorrow.
What on earth had happened to give the impression that he and Ruby had more than a sister and brother relationship? Well, if the family thought it possible, why not? He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he knew that if he tried he’d give it everything he had. He parked in his garage and entered his house through the kitchen door. If she could love him, he’d be king of the world. But he knew it wouldn’t happen.
He got to his parents’ home around one-thirty Sunday afternoon, minutes after they arrived from church. He never did see why that preacher thought he had to repeat things a dozen times. Maybe the man thought you weren’t a Baptist unless you spent two and a half hours in church every Sunday morning.
He helped his mother with lunch, which was always the same, chicken that she fried the night before and heated in the oven, string beans, macaroni and cheese, stewed collard greens, apple pie and coffee. His mother didn’t cook on Sunday. She always said it was her day of rest. He warmed up the food while she set the table.
“How’s Charles getting on?” he asked her.
“All right as far as I know. Lord, I got my fingers crossed till he finishes. I want all my children to graduate from college, and Charles has so many other priorities that I’m afraid he won’t make it.”
“He’ll finish, Mom. Charles wants a soft job, and he knows that means a college degree at the least. Hard work is not in his DNA.”
Her joyful laughter gave him a good feeling as it always did. “Yeah,” she said, “and studying beats working. By the way, how’s Ruby? We don’t see her at all these days. I used to think you and Ruby would get together. She was always…well, kind of crazy about you.”
Now, where did that come from? “Mom, I was her knight in shining armor when she was three years old.”
“And when she was twenty-three,” Irma Biggens said. “Tell your father the food’s ready.”
I wish these people would get off my case. Don’t they know it takes two? If they started that at Pearl’s house that evening, he’d be leaving early. It was bad enough that he was always by himself. If he wanted women, he’d have a few, but he wasn’t willing to pay the price.
He went to find his father.
“How’d you like what I did with the showroom, Dad? I hope to do the same at the other three shops.”
“You keep calling them shops. No shop was ever that big. It’s a wonder we didn’t think of it earlier. The showroom reminds me now of a living room. Gives the place elegance. I liked it a lot. Wasn’t it expensive?”
“It could have been, but I did most of the work myself. I had a builder put up the wall and install the restroom. I wanted a place where women would be comfortable.”
“Well, it’s as nice as any lounge anywhere. Did Ruby help you pick out the carpets and furniture?”
Ruby. Always Ruby. “I don’t think she even knows I’ve done it. Give me credit for having some taste, Dad.” He draped his arm across his father’s shoulder. “I learned a lot right here at home.”
“I guess you did.”
Luther took a deep breath. If he was lucky, neither of his parents would bring up the subject of Ruby for the remainder of his visit.
However, when he reached Wade and Pearl’s house, the first thing he saw was Ruby’s car in the driveway.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said to Ruby when she answered the door. “Anybody else home?”
“Try to control your sarcasm,” she said. “Wade’s out back firing up the grill, and Pearl’s in the kitchen. If I’d known you’d be a smart aleck, I would have let you wait out there in the freezing cold.”
He took the liberty of tweaking her nose, which beat keeping his hands off her altogether. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Must be all of six degrees out there,” he said and headed for the kitchen. He didn’t need to be alone in close quarters with Ruby Lockhart. As it was, she heated him up from across the room with no effort. She managed to breeze by him, her hips swaying as she preceded him down the long hall, the scent of her seductive perfume trailing in her wake. Liquid began to accumulate in his mouth. If he thought she did that deliberately, he’d make her pay for it.
“What kind of perfume are you wearing?” he asked her when he entered the kitchen, where she sat on a high stool with her long, mind-blowing legs swinging. Fearing that he’d have an erection, he turned and faced the big clock that hung above the refrigerator.
“Fendi. I just started wearing it. I decided I needed a new perfume to go with my new hairstyle.”
“And your short dresses and four-inch heels.” He decided to let her have it. “Oh, yes, and high-fashion makeup. I suppose all that calls for new perfume. Nice scent.”
“Now, don’t you two start,” Pearl said. “Friday night, you were acting so civil that I thought you’d made up. I sure wish somebody would tell me what’s going on. All my life, I could depend on the two of you sticking t
ogether like two peas in a pod, and all of a sudden, you’re like the Hatfields and the McCoys. It’s making me nervous.”
He turned around, but Ruby’s legs hadn’t stopped swinging, and all he could think of was the way those long shapely legs had hooked around his hips while he drove into her. Why in the name of kings did he come here? He should have gone home.
“Could I have a glass of water, Pearl?”
“Sure.” She got a glass from the cabinet above the sink and handed it to him. “There’s a bottle of water on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.”
He gulped down a glassful and handed the glass back to Pearl. “Thanks.”
“Wade’ll be inside in a minute. He’s grilling the roast. It doesn’t take long on that rotisserie. I gotta run downstairs to the basement, but I’m scared to leave you two up here by yourselves.”
“What do you think we’d do in your absence?” he asked her, struggling to keep the grin off his face and the humor out of his voice.
“Only the Lord knows,” she said.
“Luther’s a gentleman,” Ruby said. “He’d never do anything a woman didn’t want him to do, would you Luther?” His head jerked up, and Pearl stumbled, nearly dropping the meat that she was taking to the freezer in the basement.
“I’d sure like to know why that sounded like sarcasm,” Pearl said.
“So would I,” Luther grumbled.
“Sarcasm? I’ve never been more serious in my life.”
Pearl headed down the stairs, and he managed to retrieve his breath and calm himself. “So what I did to you the night of Opal’s wedding was what you wanted?”
She uncrossed her knees and cupped them with the palms of her hands. “Absolutely. Didn’t I act like it?”
He’d never lost his temper with her, but he knew he was on the verge of it. “Don’t play with me, Ruby. I’m not your toy. And your recent metamorphosis doesn’t cut any ice with me. I never thought you’d be a woman who enjoyed playing with a man’s feelings. Get a hold of yourself.” He opened the back door and joined Wade on the porch. If they’d been alone in that house, he didn’t doubt that he’d have made her eat her brazen words.
He inhaled the aroma of pork roasting in what must have been a marinade of herbs and garlic. “Smells great, man,” he said calmly to Wade, as if Ruby hadn’t irritated him almost beyond measure only minutes earlier. “I have a feeling I’d like to have one of those,” he said, admiring the stainless steel grill. “It looks pretty handy.”
“Yeah, man. Except for the lack of a sink, it’s a little kitchen. My parishioners gave it to us for a wedding gift.” He checked the pork.
“Say, I’m glad you came out here. Pearl was teasing Ruby about you earlier, which is fine, but Ruby didn’t confirm or deny a relationship between the two of you. I think it would be wonderful if you two got together.”
“Ruby and I have always had a special relationship, since we were kids, in fact. So I don’t understand this sudden speculation about us. True, it’s the season of Lockhart marriages, but don’t waste your mind on it, Wade.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t if you two hadn’t started behaving differently toward each other. But I’d be the last one to make a friend uncomfortable.”
“Thanks. So Pearl’s about to begin a recording career. I knew she could sing, but I never dreamed she was so good,” Luther said, steering the conversation away from Ruby and himself.
“She’s got a glorious voice, and I’m thankful that she wants to sing gospel songs. I’m a Baptist minister, you know, and the church frowns on blues and such.” He stopped basting the pork and looked Luther in the eye. “If you love her, man, go after her. There’s nothing on this earth that equals coming home at night and walking into the arms of the woman you love.”
What could he say to that? He hated lying, so he said nothing. That was one hope he could not afford. He had lived that dream for one fleeting hour, and then she awakened him with a shock that he’d never forget. No thank you.
He appeared to take added interest in the fragrant roast. “Hmm. Man, that baby must be pretty close to done. The smell is making me hungry.”
Wade speared the edge of the roast and handed Luther a sliver. “Taste this. It’s hot, now.”
“Mmm-mmm!” Luther almost groaned, the meat was so good. “You wouldn’t give me the recipe for that rub would you?”
“Nothing to it. Mix up some rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika in olive oil. Rub it in and let it stay in the refrigerator overnight. Everybody’ll think you’re a genius. Ask Pearl for a platter, would you? I’ll grill up these veggies, and we’ll eat.”
Luther took the opportunity to ask Wade a question that plagued him. “How did you know that Pearl loved you?”
“It wasn’t anything in particular. I felt it. She…gave herself over to me. I don’t mean sex, that’s important, but it’s not all. One day I realized that she trusted in my love for her, and that it made her happy, that I was necessary to her. She needed me. And the way she responded to me made me feel like the king of her world.”
Luther went into the kitchen to ask Pearl for a platter and his gaze landed on Ruby standing at the sink peeling a red onion while tears streamed from her eyes. “Let me do that,” he said to her. “I never cry when I peel onions.”
She handed him the paring knife. “Why not?”
He plugged the sink and half filled it with water. “I don’t cry because I peel the onions under water.”
Ruby wiped her teary eyes. “Do you have any more clever tricks like that?”
“You bet I do, and I’ll be glad to show them to you.”
Pearl entered the kitchen, wiping her hands on a paper towel.
Wouldn’t she walk in just as he had Ruby in a corner. With only the two of them present, she would have been forced to answer. He took the platter to Wade and went back into the kitchen.
Pearl called out to him. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Luther. Do you know a good pianist? I need a new one for the recording session.”
“One of my former navy SEAL buddies is a fine pianist and he loves gospel music. He’s…uh…disabled, but he can still sit at a piano and play.” He cast a side glance at Ruby for her reaction. She stood with her back against the counter and her arms folded, and he couldn’t read her facial expression.
“You could try him,” he said to Pearl. “He’s a gentleman. If you weren’t satisfied, you wouldn’t be obligated.”
“Thanks. You’re a good musician yourself, so you should be a good judge. Call him and see what he says.” She seemed to muse over something. Then, she said, “You know, Luther, you always come through for us. I can’t imagine you not being a part of my life.”
He wasn’t sure how he felt about that statement or what it implied. “Oh, you’d get along just fine without me. All of you would.”
Wade walked in with the results of his labor perfuming the kitchen and went directly to the dining room. “Come on,” he called over his shoulder. “Dish up the greens,” he called to Pearl, who brought a bowl of stewed turnip greens, and sat down to eat.
“Let’s hold hands and bow our heads,” Wade said. “Lord, we thank thee for this food. Bless each of us with its nourishment, and bless our love for each other. Amen.”
Ruby’s soft hand remained locked in his. He looked at her, but she was staring down at her plate. He wanted to hold it indefinitely, but seeing the looks that passed between Wade and Pearl, he released her hand. Something did not add up.
The next day when he telephoned Roger Perkins and asked if he would consider working as Pearl’s accompanist, he couldn’t know that that call would change his life.
Chapter 5
Luther hesitated before dialing Roger Perkins’s telephone number. He hadn’t seen the man since he’d left the hospital, and he didn’t know Roger’s mental condition after losing part of his leg. Like him, Roger had been single and in love with life when a land mine had altered the course of his future. By twenty-t
hree, he’d become an accomplished pianist and he’d joined the navy hoping to save money to attend Julliard School of Music. Luther doubted that that part of Roger’s dream would ever come true. But the man showed brilliance when he sat before a piano, and Pearl deserved the best. He lifted the receiver and dialed.
Roger knew him at once.
“Luther! This is a real surprise. How are you, man?”
“Great. You sound prosperous. How’s it going?” Luther asked him.
“Not as prosperous as I’d like to be,” Roger said, “but considering what I’ve come through, I wouldn’t dare complain. I’m alive, man.”
“I know what you mean. This life takes some getting used to. Look. If you’re not too busy, I have a dear friend, a gospel singer, who needs an accompanist. She has a recording contract and the most beautiful, smoky and sultry voice you want to hear. Can you spare the time? She lives right here in Detroit.”
“Spare the time? How permanent is this position? I get a gig here and there, but that’s barely enough to keep me going. I haven’t been able to get work with a music group. Maybe they think I can’t run to catch planes.”
“If the two of you gel, I suppose it’s as permanent as you want it to be. She’s just starting, but the label is paying you.”
“I’m in. Say, why don’t you come to the club sometime? It isn’t gloomy, and a lot of your guys are here and would love to see you. We shoot pool, play cards. And this is one place where nobody gazes at you with a long face feeling sorry for you.”
“I think I’ll drop by there tomorrow evening. I wouldn’t mind seeing some of my old buddies.”
Luther walked into the officers’ club lounge the next night and looked around at the fifteen or twenty men, some in uniform and some in civilian clothes, who sat reading, drinking coffee, playing cards or participating in other sedentary activities. He saw a man approaching with the aid of two forearm crutches.
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