by Leger, Lori
Only once did she buckle and dial Sam’s number but hung up before it rang. The last thing he needed was her waking his butt up at nearly two in the morning.
The other thing he didn’t need was a girlfriend with a psycho after her. Rob was concerned this was somehow connected to that poor girl in Lafayette. She’d given a surprisingly detailed description of a man she’d never seen. About six foot tall, muscular, straight hair, short—military style cut, fanatically clean because he shaved and showered every day of the three days he kept her hostage, and his voice—unnaturally deep, as though he was trying to mask the sound of his real voice. Funny, but the first time her caller spoke, she’d thought the same thing.
Great. Awesome.
A fitful hour of tossing and turning later, she still worried how to keep her kids as far away from this as possible. She finally managed to doze off, her phone clutched to her chest.
Carrie sipped at her coffee and held the phone away from her ear as Sam let loose with another OSHA Orange streak of cussing. Once he eased off, she brought the phone closer. “Got it out of your system yet?” Silence greeted her for several seconds, and she pictured him pacing the floor.
“I wish you’d called me,” he growled. “The thought of you, lying there alone in that house, scared and not wanting to bother me—it kills me.”
“No sense keeping you awake, as well. Besides, I had some thinking to do. The only way I can think of keeping my kids safe from all this is to separate myself from them, just until this is all over with.”
“How? Where would you go?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’m being backed into a corner by admitting this, but maybe I should think about the place in Kenton.”
“Seriously?”
“It might keep my family safe, but what if it brings danger to you and Nick?”
“I doubt he’d follow you to Kenton.”
Carrie rubbed her burning eyes with one hand. “God, Sam. You don’t know how much I’m hoping you’re right about this.”
“I am, you’ll see. So, does this mean I can give Len a call about the house? When would you want to come see the place and talk to him?”
She inhaled and held the breath, hoping to slow down the frantic beating of her heart. “You think tonight is too soon?”
“I could call him for you.”
“I’d rather speak to him myself if you don’t mind. I need to stand on my own two feet, not lean on you. Just give me his number and I’ll call you back.”
Within ten minutes she’d called Sam back and made plans to meet him at six p.m. She cut it short and dialed her motherin-law’s number. Within seconds, she heard the unmistakable smoker-cough that told her Dave’s mom had answered. “Hey, Ruby, it’s me.”
“Hey, darlin’. Am I going to get to see you for Christmas?”
“I don’t know, Rube. I guess that depends on your son.”
Once she explained the circumstances, her motherin-law’s fury was substantial. “Wait until I get my hands on that boy of mine.”
“I didn’t tell you to get him in trouble. I just didn’t want you to think I was avoiding you.”
“I hope you know me better than that. You know you’ll always be my daughter-in-law, whether you’re divorced from my foolish son or not.”
Carrie squeezed her eyes shut against the tears caused by Ruby’s heartfelt confession. “You know how much I love you, right?”
Ruby was quiet for a moment. “No more than I love you. I know you gave it everything you had.”
Carrie sniffed and cleared her throat. “Are my kids still there?”
“They left about five minutes ago. They should be getting to your mom’s soon.”
“Good. Did, uh, did Arlene and Jerry make it in yet?”
“Yep, they got here about thirty minutes ago and she’s waiting right here to talk to you.”
Carrie drummed her nails on the handset while she heard the phone shuffling from one set of hands to another.
The voice of her old friend—sharp with East Texas twang and demanding—made her jump.
“Where the hell are you?”
“I’m at Christie’s, but I’ll be leaving to go to my mom’s soon. Is Jerry hunting yet?”
Arlene snorted with disgust. “After all these years, you should know better than to ask. I had to drive this morning so he could make sure he didn’t need to stop for more damn shells on the way over here. I told him we could fill up the freezer with chicken, pork, and beef with the money he throws away hunting ducks and geese every year.”
Carrie cut in with a reply honed from years of practice. “Yeah, yeah—thrill of the hunt, sound of the birds flying over—”
“The excitement he gets when the birds respond to his calls and fly right over the duck blind—”
“—showering them with duck doo,” Carrie added her perfectly harmonized voice to her soul sister’s finale. They’d all had to suffer through years of the Jeansonne men’s infamous excuses for spending too much money for a handful of birds every year.
The two women erupted into laughter, but Arlene made a quick recovery. “Just like every year, there’s not a man around, and us gals are working our butts off to get dinner ready. So, what’d Dave do that has Ruby so pissed at him?”
As she described the incidents to her friend, she could sense Arlene waiting patiently to add something.
“Bastard!” Arlene spat, her voice filled of venom. “He’s with a different woman every week and has the nerve to pull that crap.”
“Right? He doesn’t even want me. That’s why this is so frustrating.” Carrie sensed her friend’s wind-up for the next question and braced herself.
“Now, Missy, where were you when he broke into Christie’s? Your ex said something about you being all ‘dolled-up for another man,’” she said, in a perfect imitation of Dave.
“I was on a date.”
Arlene’s voice lowered considerably, as she pummeled Carrie with questions of who, what, and where.
“Sam Langley, he’s a co-worker, and he’s settled, dependable, trustworthy.”
“Hmmm. Maybe he’ll bore you.”
“If boredom means being able to relax and let down my guard, then bring it on. Besides…” She paused, wondering how much to say.
“No flipping way do you get to say something like that and not follow through! Give it up, soul sister. Start with the obvious—what he looks like—then work your way up to how you feel when you’re with him.”
Carrie chuckled into the phone. “I like the way you think, honey.” She settled back on the sofa. “He’s kind of blond, with light-blue eyes, and he’s so funny. God, he makes me laugh.” She sighed. “And when he wraps those long arms around me, I melt.”
“You really like this guy, don’t you?”
Carrie closed her eyes. “I do. But I’m just trying to catch up to how he feels about me.”
“So, you think this Sam thing could be serious?”
“It’s way too soon to tell.”
“Okay, but you always said if you could do it over you’d have chosen someone tall. How tall is he?”
“Nearly six three, and he wears a size thirteen shoe.” She grinned at her friend’s sharp intake of breath.
“Thirteen? I wonder if it’s true what they say—”
“I have no idea, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.” The two women burst into laughter.
“Oh, God, I miss you, girl, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. We all knew someone would come along and show some appreciation for what Dave took for granted all those years. You took that crap a lot longer than I would have.”
“When you don’t think you deserve better, you settle for less. Now I know better. I need to go, hon. My kids are bound to be at Mom’s by now.”
“I want updates on this Sam situation, you hear?”
Carrie promised, ended the call, and locked up before leaving. She hadn’t mentioned the possibility of moving, just in case Dave was
involved. She realized it would only be a matter of time before the caller tracked her down, but if she could have a week, even, of no calls, it would be worth it.
Five minutes later, she pulled up beside Grant’s black Ford pick-up parked in her mother’s driveway. Her son straightened up, his arms loaded with wrapped Christmas gifts. His mouth tightened noticeably when he caught sight of the huge crack in her sedan’s windshield. She got out of the car and gave her son a kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas Eve, Baby Boy.”
“You too, Mom.” He stared at her windshield and gave his head a slow shake. “That looks about ten times worse than what Dad described.”
Carrie shrugged, but kept her silence.
“That’s not right, Mom.”
She opened the gift-filled trunk of her car. “Let’s not talk about this now. Are your sisters inside?”
Grant gave a snort. “Yeah, it only took `em two hours to get ready.”
Carrie placed her hand on his shoulder and laughed. “You’d understand if you were a woman.”
Gretchen bounded out of her Maw Maw Elaine’s house, as excited as a young puppy. “It’s Christmas Eve, Mom!”
Carrie gave her daughter a big hug. “I know, sweetie.”
Lauren rushed out next. “Merry Christmas Eve, Mama.” She returned her mother’s hug.
“You too, sweet girl.”
The twins turned toward the windshield and asked in perfect unison. “What happened to the window?”
The last thing Carrie wanted to do was ruin their holidays. “It was nothing. Come on, grab some things and let’s go on inside to help Maw Maw get lunch ready.”
Grant spoke up. “Mom, you may as well get it over with.” He turned to his sisters. “Dad broke it.”
Gretchen’s jaw dropped. “Why?”
Carrie’s head fell back on her shoulders. “I don’t know why, honey. He was angry.”
“What does he have to be mad about?” Gretchen demanded. “You’re the one who should be mad. He gets to stay in our house.”
Lauren spoke up, her tone icy. “He did it knowing we have to ride in this car, too.”
Carrie grabbed an armload of gifts. “He wasn’t thinking straight at the time. Help me get all this inside and then I want to talk to the three of you about something.”
Once the car was unloaded, she asked her three teenagers to follow her out to her mom’s back deck. There, seated at the large round redwood table, she explained the situation with the house and Sam. She refrained from mentioning the caller or her fears of keeping them safe—they didn’t need to hear the ugly details right now.
The solemn, unreceptive faces of her daughters cued her in on the upcoming struggle.
“So, you’re dating this guy?” Lauren stared at her, wide-eyed.
Carrie nodded and swallowed. “One date last night.”
Gretchen looked up through bangs that needed a good trimming. “What if you get married? Would he want to move over here?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but Lauren’s next comment cut her off.
“I don’t know why you have to date at all. You’re old!”
Grant turned to his sister. “You’re so stupid.”
Lauren glared at him. “Well, she is!”
“No, she’s not,” Gretchen added. “Brittany’s mom is dating again, and she’s a lot older than Mom is.”
Carrie sucked in her breath, picturing the last time she saw Brittany’s mom, sloppy drunk, and dancing on the pool table of the Red Rose in Lake Erin. Any comparison to Mary Ellen Wakely was not good, especially since the woman practically got paid by the men she “dated”.
“Look, when I was your age, I’d have thought I was ancient, too. Believe me, you’ll be here before you can spit and turn around.”
“Ew—that’s a long time from now.” Lauren’s tone held unadulterated horror.
“Not as long as you think. Besides—” She sent Grant a silent plea to understand. “Who I date isn’t the real issue here. You all know how far I have to drive to work.”
“So do Uncle Cullen and Dad,” Lauren added.
“They also earn triple my starting salary, sweetie. I can’t afford to have fuel costs eating up that much of my take-home pay.”
Gretchen picked at a dried leaf on the table’s surface. “But you went to college and got a degree. That’s not fair.”
Carrie cocked her head and gave her daughter a lopsided grin. “Welcome to my world, Gretch. Life doesn’t always guarantee you’ll be treated fairly.” She placed a hand on her daughter’s cheek. “But sometimes it hands you opportunities to help balance things out. I think this is one of those times.” Carrie cleared her throat. “I saw a place in Kenton last night for half of what I’d have to pay for the place we’re supposed to take in January. It’s larger, completely remodeled, in a quiet neighborhood, and I’d be able to move in right away. I’ve thought about this all night long, but I wanted to talk to all of you first. It’s possible I may have to take it.” She examined her daughters’ expressions.
“I’m not moving to Kenton,” Gretchen proclaimed.
“Me either. All my friends are here,” Lauren agreed.
Carrie nodded slowly. “I know that, and I wouldn’t ask any of you to move now, but I thought maybe when—” She paused, wondering how to finish the statement. When what? When I don’t have a psycho jerking off on the phone while he talks to me? She took a deep breath and continued. “Maybe sometime in the future you might want to give it a try.”
Carrie crossed her arms tightly against the defiance on her daughters’ faces and turned to stare out at the back pasture. When had life turned into one major stress-fest? She gazed out at the tall grass, longing for the carefree days when she’d used that patch of land to explore and play all day long. She wiped away a tear forming at the corner of one eye and took a calming breath. She had no other choice. “Nothing has to be decided now, but if the time comes when all this—when everything is settled, I’ll expect the both of you to move in with me.”
Her twins exchanged silent gazes steeped in stubbornness, and Lauren turned to add her two cents. “We already have a home. You remember. It’s the place you helped build with Dad. If you’d just move back there, we c—”
Carrie jumped in to cut her off. “Look, I will always be thankful that I met your dad. Without him, I wouldn’t have the three of you.” She focused on Lauren as she continued. “But he and I are finished. You have to accept it, so we can all go on with our lives.” When Lauren’s face crumbled, Carrie pulled her daughter close for a hug. She smoothed a hand over tawny curls, tangled from the brisk, December wind. “Life is all about growing, changing, and having different people come into our lives at times to help us adapt to those changes. Your lives will be full of new people and new experiences. You’ll make new friends, but family will always be our constant. You are my children, and I’ll want you with me. All of you, if that’s possible.”
Lauren pulled away from her mother. “What if we go live with you and those Yankees don’t like us?”
Carrie burst out in unexpected laughter. “Yankees?”
“Last year I heard you say how anyone north of I-10 was a Yankee and how they talk funny.”
“That was a joke, hon. I’ll admit that some people there talk with a twang like your cousins from Lake Coburn, but it’s still in Louisiana, even if it is a different Parish. To people from Kenton, we’ll be the ones with the accents.”
“You see?” Lauren cried. “I don’t want to be different. I want to be the same as everyone else.”
“You don’t know what it’s like to leave your friends,” Gretchen accused.
Carrie’s brow lifted. Surely she’d told them about her childhood before. “I don’t? My dad moved us from Gardiner to a small town in East Texas when I was in the third grade. I made new friends. Four years later we moved to central Texas. I made new friends. I still have friends I stay in contact with from both places. Besides, we have family ties in Gard
iner, so you’ll see your friends often.”
Gretchen groaned. “What if they don’t like us?”
Carrie placed a hand on her daughter’s cheek. “They’ll love you, sweetie.” She realized when the time came, she would have to push the issue. Now wasn’t the time. Forcing her daughters to move would lead to more complications. Carrie pictured them planting their stubborn size sevens firmly in Dave’s camp and blaming her for everything bad happening to them from now until forever.
She stood and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Come on, let’s go back inside.”
She followed them into her mom’s dining room through the patio door, wearing her heaviness of spirit like a bulky overcoat. Her discussion with her children had been eye opening. She knew that any permanent change of location or future relationship with Sam, depended on whether or not her children would be willing to give change a chance.
Carrie stared out of her mother’s front door, sipping a cup of coffee. When Christie pulled up into the driveway, she set the cup on her mom’s entertainment center and went to help her sister unload the car. “Hey, roomie, I didn’t realize you and Max would be back this early.”
Christie unbuckled Max from his car seat and set him on the ground. The toddler promptly ran to the front door of his Maw Maw Elaine’s and banged on it until someone let him inside.
Carrie watched her nephew’s progress, then turned to grab some packages out of her sister’s open trunk.
“You want to tell me why the screen on my back door is cut?” Christie asked.
“Dave,” she answered, then gave her the abbreviated version of everything that happened.
Christie glared at the windshield. “That son of a bitch!”
“I know, and as bad as that seems, it’s not the worst that’s happened. She explained about the call and the fact that he’d been watching Christie’s house. “I’m considering a move to Kenton instead of the place in Gardiner. I’m going to check it out tonight.”