Tahoe Blues

by Lane, Aubree

  Cara opened the creepy eyeball door and smiled at the woman she could almost always count on. As promised, she carried a box which smelled of pumpkin and spice.

  Leah returned her smile and cocked her head out front. “What’s with the swirly metal thing?”

  Cara took the pie out of Leah’s hand and motioned for her to come inside. “Are you referring to the priceless Brett Boden original? Duncan commissioned it from Brett and had him donate it to the gala. Then he outbid everyone else and forced Brett to deliver it here.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes upward. “Duncan actually thought I’d come back to him because of this romantic gesture.”

  “I’m not sure I get the concept of the piece. Why is Chucky being held prisoner inside some sort of curvy loop-d-loop?”

  Cara was grateful the serious part of Leah’s visit had been postponed and happily explained. “That’s Laffin’ Sal, not Chucky.”

  A huge smile broke across Leah’s face and she nodded approvingly. “I get it now! The swirly thing is that big wooden roller coaster down in Santa Cruz, right?”

  Leah never ceased to amaze her. “I think you and Brett are made for each other. I went to the Boardwalk a bunch of times as a kid, but I had no clue what that thing was.”

  Leah walked into the kitchen and put the can of whipped cream in the refrigerator. “I went to college in Santa Cruz, and I had a part-time job on the wharf. Laffin’ Sal and I are close personal friends. That never ending laugh of hers was annoying at first, but you got used to it. They silenced her forever when they took her out of the tower and stuck her behind glass. I understand she still works, but I haven’t heard her in years.” Leah grabbed a beer out of the fridge. “That mechanical freakazoid is a vintage carnival attraction. She was originally at Playland in San Francisco. When it was torn down in the early seventies, some collector stuck her in his private museum for a while before she found her home at the Boardwalk.”

  Cara leaned across the counter and asked seriously, “Are you avoiding the conversation we need to have?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Are you down with that?” Leah grinned sheepishly.

  Cara returned her smile. “I totally am. When was the last time you had homemade minestrone soup?”

  “Is that what smells so good? It’s making me hungry.” Leah lifted the lid to the pot and inhaled deeply. “How about I go out and grab some French bread and a bottle of wine? After we eat, we can talk.”

  Leah’s suggestion sounded good to Cara. Sitting around under the guise of normalcy while eating and drinking would help put the two of them at ease and make their conversation a bit more palatable. She nodded her agreement, and Leah reached out and squeezed her shoulder as she passed by. She picked her purse off the couch and left Cara alone with her thoughts once more.

  Cara and Leah sat at the small round dining room table just off of Cara’s kitchen. The meal had been consumed and they were enjoying the Grignolino light red Italian wine Leah had paired to go with the chunky soup. Cara usually stuck to a good Chardonnay, regardless of what she was eating, but she had to admit, Leah had chosen well.

  Leah killed the bottle by topping off both their glasses and slammed it down on the table top. “It’s time,” she announced.

  Cara drew in a deep breath, picked up her glass, and threw back a big gulp. When her wine glass was back on the table, she looked solemnly at her friend. “I’ve had quite a bit of time to do some soul searching these last couple of days, and I’ve realized that you weren’t wrong.” Cara closed her eyes, but before she could offer an apology Leah chimed in.

  “I wasn’t right either. I’m so sorry for how I spoke to you. I let fear control my mouth, and I wish I could take it all back.”

  Cara shook her head. “No, you don’t. It all needed to be said. I have taken our friendship for granted. I let you do all the work, and I didn’t reciprocate. You held me up, pushed me forward and now you have opened my eyes. You’ve done everything a friend is supposed to do.” She raised her goblet in salute. “You are one hell of a woman, and I am proud to call you my friend.”

  Leah sat up just a little bit straighter and took a sip of wine. “Thank you.” She blew out a huge breath. “And I thought this was going to be difficult.” She leaned back in her chair. “We still have some things to work out. I’m not going to let you off the hook that easily.”

  “I would expect nothing less from you.” Cara got up and made her way to the oven where the pumpkin pie was warming. “I’m ready for dessert, and I think this pie is at just the right temperature.”

  Leah joined Cara in the kitchen, but veered off towards the coffeemaker. “Leave it for a few more minutes until the coffee is ready. Do you have any decaf?”

  “In the fridge.” Wanting to simply warm the pie and not cook it, Cara flipped off the oven and left the pie inside to maintain its internal temperature.

  While Leah was busy making coffee the doorbell rang. Cara peeked out the window and saw a uniformed officer standing on her doorstep. Her heart began to race and she wondered what it was about this time. She really didn’t want to spend another night in jail.

  “Who’s at the door?” Leah called out as she scooped some ground Columbian into the filter.

  Cara turned the doorknob. “It’s the police, again.” She pulled the door open and smiled. “What can I do for you tonight, officer?”

  The police man removed his hat and grinned. “I’m Officer Waters ma’am, and I’m here to issue you your one and only warning, Ms. Greene.” He handed Cara a document.

  “What’s this?” she asked confused.

  “A copy of your ankle monitor agreement. I believe you have been drinking this fine evening.”

  Cara stepped back horrified. “This thing monitors my alcohol consumption, too?”

  “Yes, it does. May I come in?”

  Cara stepped aside and allowed the Officer to enter. “We were about to have some pumpkin pie and coffee. Would you care to join us?”

  He placed his hat on the table and eyed the remnants of their meal longingly. “I had to skip dinner, if you have any of that soup left, I would be forever in your debt.”

  Leah looked towards the living room and gasped. Officer Waters was one hot monitoring piece of blue shield. She quickly smoothed her hair into place and said, “I didn’t think that was allowed while you were on duty.”

  The man in blue looked up at her, and Leah swore she saw his eyes heat up. “Drinking on the job isn’t, eating is.”

  “Then sit down. We have plenty left.” Leah fought the urge to wink and hurried to get the officer, some food.

  Cara stepped in and pulled out a chair. “What is all this about, Officer?”

  “If you are going to feed me, please call me Nate.” He sat down and continued, “This is a courtesy call. It’s quite common for the perpetrator not to fully understand the conditions of house arrest. Depending on the seriousness of the violation and if it happens within the first week of monitoring, we find it’s much more cost effective to simply go over all the stipulations again in the privacy of their own home.”

  Leah held her breath and waited for Cara to go ballistic because the cop had just referred to her as a perpetrator. She watched Cara’s head jerk back and her shoulders square defensively, but her friend held her tongue and began spouting the terms of her monitor as she knew them.

  “I am under the two plan. I am only allowed to leave the premises on Tuesday, at two in the afternoon, for only two hours in order to shop and run errands, and I am not allowed to leave a two mile radius. I don’t believe I was told anything about not being allowed to drink alcohol.”

  Nate Waters glanced over to see how Leah was coming along with his food. “That is another reason for my visit tonight, Ms. Greene. You’ve been charged with a crime, but not convicted. You were given the standard form to sign, but the alcohol clause doesn’t apply to your circumstance. Your attorney should be able to have it amended. It’s a simple cut and dry process.�
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  Leah placed a bowl of steaming minestrone in front of his uniformly fit figure and peeked down to see if he was wearing a wedding band, when she saw that Officer Waters was not spoken for she asked, “Are you always so nice to your perps?”

  Nate reached out and took the spoon out of Leah’s fingers. “I try to be. The majority of times a monitor goes off it’s a false alarm, besides you catch more flies with honey. I find people tend to get a little defensive when you bust into their home with your gun drawn.” He shoveled a spoonful of soup in his mouth, as he chewed on the thick noodles he looked up at Leah and winked.

  That was all it took, Leah was hooked. She plopped down into the chair beside him and continued with her line of questioning. “How’s the soup?” Her chin rested in her hand, and her eyes never left his jawline as he relished the hearty cuisine.

  Nate nodded his head appreciatively. “This is really good. Did you make it?” He gazed into Leah’s eyes, and she felt the heat of a blush rise up on her cheeks. He smiled, obviously pleased by her reaction.

  Leah didn’t look away. She loved how he made her body quake, and she wanted to get to know Nate Waters better, but she avoided his question. “The coffee should be ready. Would you like a cup?”

  Cara stood back and watched the exchange. Neither one of them would notice if she slipped out, at least not until Officer Waters was notified that her monitor had gone off again. She was shocked to see Leah acting all domestic and even more surprised to see her graciously serving the nice, polite officer dinner and offering him a beverage. She wondered what would happen when he found out dinner at Leah’s usually consisted of a grilled cheese sandwich and a bottle of beer.

  Cara also surmised by all the flirty interaction going on at her dining table that she had been wrong about a relationship growing between Brett and Leah. That realization made Cara a little sad. She truly felt they were made for each other.

  As the two continued to make goo-goo eyes at each other, Cara went into the kitchen and grabbed three mugs out of the cabinet. She found a trivet and took the pot of freshly brewed coffee and placed it in front of Leah. When she went to retrieve the sugar and cream, she pulled the pie out of the oven and placed it on the counter to cool.

  A moment later there was a knock on the door, and Cara had a feeling Mrs. Grimes could no longer contain her curiosity, and had come to find out why a strange car was parked out front. She opened the door and found her tool-man, Tanner Reed, looking every ounce like the hard working maintenance man who first caught her eye. Despite the grungy white t-shirt and muddy jeans, he still looked awfully attractive. “Hey there,” she said warmly. “Would you like some dinner?”

  Tanner ignored her question and kicked his head towards the policeman. “Is everything okay?”

  Cara grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. “Yes, I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to drink alcohol while wearing my new accessory. My monitor went off. Officer Waters came to investigate.” She leaned in and whispered, “He’s letting me off with a warning.”

  Nate turned around. When he saw Tanner, he smiled and walked towards him with his hand extended. “Let me shake the hand of the man who was able to shut Duncan Alexander up.”

  Tanner laughed and held up his bruised knuckles. “Thanks, it felt pretty good until just after I connected.”

  They fell into an easy going guy exchange, as they discussed the finer points of punching someone without hurting yourself. The two men sat at the table and allowed Cara and Leah to wait on them.

  Cara brought Tanner a bowl of soup.

  Leah shared what was left of the French bread.

  Cara handed Tanner a beer while Leah refilled Nate’s coffee mug.

  Cara cut the pumpkin pie into four pieces as Leah came around the counter and stood beside her.

  Leah glared at the men and sighed, “Let the romance end and the bro-mance begin.” She turned and focused a glare on Cara. “I can’t compete with knocking Duncan’s lights out. Why did you have to let him in? I was getting ready to turn on my best moves.”

  Cara dug into her pocket and handed Nate Waters’ card to Leah. On the front was all his professional information and on the back was his personal cell phone number. “He asked me to give this to you.”

  Leah twirled the card between her fingers and grinned like the Cheshire Cat. She picked up two plates of pie. “You realize this is probably the one and only time I’m going to serve the dude.”

  “Oh, I know it, girlfriend. I know it very well.”

  Leah made sure Officer Nate Waters saw her holding his card when she reached in front of him and placed his slice of pie on the table.

  Nate looked up into her shining eyes and winked. “I hope you put that card in a safe place. I would hate for you to lose it.”

  Leah held his gaze as she undid a couple of buttons and exposed just a hint of her lacy black bra, then she slipped the card securely over her heart.

  Tanner rose from his seat and guided the mesmerized Leah into the chair he had just vacated.

  As Nate Waters and Leah Bailey got to know each other better, Tanner slid up beside Cara and took a plate of pie from her hand. “It’s getting hot in there. Let’s have our pie out back,” he suggested.

  Cara frowned. She shook the can of whipped cream and squirted a generous helping over her dessert. “The door has a sensor and it will go off if I step over the threshold.” She shook the can a bit more vigorously and sprayed the cream into her mouth. She swallowed it down and licked her lips. “I don’t want to interrupt Officer Sexy and Leah Lust with another monitor alert, so we’re stuck in the kitchen.”

  Wide-eyed Tanner watched her display. “Do you have any idea what you did to me just then?” He took the whipped cream from her hand and spurted the airy remnants of the empty can onto his pie. “Do you have any more of this stuff?” He cocked his head and raised his brows suggestively. “We could always take the dessert into the bedroom.”

  With a grin on her face, Cara reached over and patted his hand. “I think we should wait until those two leave. If I know Leah, that will be any second now.”

  As if on cue, the newly formed couple rose from their chairs.

  “Cara, I’m taking off. Thanks for dinner.” Leah called out.

  Cara shook her head negatively. “Don’t we have a conversation we need to finish?”

  Leah waved her off. “We’re all good. I’ll let you know if you step out of line again.”

  Nate Waters gently took hold of Leah’s elbow while his gaze lingered on his card tucked at her breast. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.” He looked over at Cara and Tanner. “Thank you for the lovely meal, Ms. Greene. Talk to your lawyer and read over the monitor agreement one more time. My superiors won’t like it if I have to come out here again.”

  Cara nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll be good.”

  Nate looked at Tanner. “Take care of that hand. You never know when you might need it again.”

  Tanner slept peacefully beside Cara. With every fiber of her being she wanted to reach out and touch him, but she held back. She awakened in the middle of the night with a horrible thought, what if Tanner was the person responsible for planting those incriminating documents? What if he and Barbie Blue, Bug-Assed, Disaster were working in tandem to send her up the river? Why else would he hire a woman Cara could never trust? Was punching Duncan just a ruse to divert suspicion away from himself?

  If any part of this new theory was correct, Cara couldn’t see Duncan being a part of it. Duncan felt he still possessed her. She knew he would never agree to, or come up with, any plan which included Cara having sex with anyone other than him.

  She ran different scenarios through her brain. More and more she felt she could dismiss this insane notion, but that small lingering doubt refused to be silenced.

  She sank deeper into the bedding and pulled the comforter up under her chin. She felt insecure and helpless, and she didn’t like it one bit. With the ankle bracelet limiting her movement
s, she didn’t have a chance in hell of discovering new information on her own, and there was no one she could turn to for help. Mrs. Grimes knew Tanner better than anyone on the planet, but she was fiercely loyal and loved him like a son. Cara didn’t feel it would be appropriate to ask her to spy on him.

  Leah remembered him as a high school heart throb. She would be biased and would probably think Cara lost her mind at the mere mention of her doubts. Brett Boden was still maintaining radio silence, and Cara increasingly felt she had lost his friendship forever. The only other person who had any contact with Tanner was his little sister. She and Erin had never spoken and had barely exchanged a nod of acknowledgement towards each other. Cara couldn’t imagine that she would be able to turn her into a double agent against her own brother.

  Cara rubbed her temples. The day was just dawning, and she already had a raging headache. She didn’t know who to trust, and she increasingly felt lost. The forced inactivity and tedium of her house arrest was more wearing than working a fulltime job or running a half-marathon.

  She knew she should cut off all contact with this luscious man lying beside her. Tanner made her feel like a desirable woman again. She hated feeling so insecure and wobbly. She wanted her life back. She wanted to trust Tanner and Mrs. Grimes. She wanted the bad guys to be Duncan and his Blackjack paramour, but uncertainty lurked everywhere.

  Cara knew it would be hard. Tanner and Mrs. Grimes had become such an intricate part of her life, but she was in an impossible situation. She had to force herself to do the unthinkable.

  Tanner stirred, his dark hair fell across his closed eyes, and Cara gave into her longing. She gently brushed his sable locks back into place. His eyes opened and a sleepy smile crossed his face. He clasped her hand and pressed it to his lips. In moments like this, Cara believed he was worthy of her trust, but when she was alone she understood very clearly how it would behoove her to err on the side of caution.

  Hurting Tanner and Mrs. Grimes was the last thing she wanted to do, but it was necessary.