by Leger, Lori
“Completely gone.” It was amazing, but the total truth.
“I told you it would work.”
“What was in that stuff?”
“Tomato juice, strawberries, banana, orange juice, honey, soy milk, salt, and a dash of nutmeg, all blended up.”
“What did you give me besides aspirin? B12 and C?”
“B complex and C, I would have given you some Cysteine, but I would have had to make a trip across town and I didn’t want to make you wait that long.”
“Is that an old Scottish McAllister remedy, handed down from generation to generation?”
A chuckle rumbled deep in Red’s chest. “Any old Scottish remedies would probably have killed you. The same goes for any old Cajun cures from my family, for that matter. Seriously, every bartender I’ve ever employed swears by it.”
“I’ve only heard the old raw egg in orange juice thing.”
“It won’t hurt, but it won’t rehydrate you like the tomato juice will. Nothing works as well as not allowing it to happen in the first place. You should know better, Doc.”
She sighed and lowered her chin so that it rested on his arm. “I know, but that woman—”
“—was all over me as soon as you walked out. She couldn’t wait for you to leave.”
“Who is she?”
“An old friend—a girlfriend for a short—very short time—Angelique Baptiste. She’s got Creole blood in her, and she’s mean as all hell if she doesn’t like you. It looks like she doesn’t like you.”
“But does she like you?”
“Not anymore. I threw her ass out and banned her from all of my clubs. I can’t have her around upsetting my—clientele.”
“Thank you, Red.”
“You’re welcome.” He raised his arm, looked at his watch, and blew his breath out in a loud puff. “It’s five o’clock.”
“You’re kidding,” she gasped, glancing at her own watch.
“Man, I can barely get five hours of sleep in at night, much less during a nap.”
“I can’t either, and I feel so rested.” She stretched lazily.
“It could be why I can’t feel my right arm,” Red commented.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit up.
Red tried to move his arm and couldn’t get it to budge.
“Is it completely asleep?”
He winced. “Yep.”
“Sorry about that. I never moved, which is strange because I usually toss and turn all night.”
He grabbed his temporarily dead appendage with his left hand and moved it down to his chest, cringing as he flexed his fingers. “No need to apologize.”
She kneeled next to him and began to massage his shoulder joint and upper arm. “That’s going to hurt like hell when the feeling starts to come back, you know.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “It was worth it. I need to show you something, though.”
“Okay,” she said pushing her curls away from her face. “I need to go take a quick shower first, and do something with this hair. It’s a mess, isn’t it?”
He shrugged the one shoulder he could move. “I grew up in a house full of women with curly hair, Tiff. It looks perfectly normal to me. Go take your shower. I’ll be here when you get out.” He grunted as he tried to work his right shoulder and arm. “Most likely still in severe pain, but I’ll be here.”
She grabbed a clean pair of jeans, a long sleeve T-shirt, and some underclothes before padding into her bathroom.
As soon as she stepped into her running shower, her landline rang. “Red, that’s probably Drake. Can you answer that for me, please?”
Red threw his legs over the side of the bed and picked up the telephone.
“Dr. LeBlanc’s residence.”
“Is Tiffany there?”
He immediately recognized the deep, Texas drawl. “Drake?”
“That you, McAllister?”
“Yep.”
“How’s my sister?”
“Better now, she had a hell of a hangover this morning.”
“I figured she would. I didn’t even try to wake her before I left. How long you been there?”
“I came in a little after eleven and made her a hangover cure. Then we both fell asleep. We just woke up a little while ago and she’s taking a shower.”
“Good, I’m glad she’s feeling better. Did you straighten things out with her?”
“I haven’t had a chance to yet. I have footage from a surveillance video that proves my point. I’ll show it to her once she gets out.” As he expected, he heard the unmistakable sound of horrified silence from the opposite end of the line.
Drake finally cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Uh huh. Where do you have this surveillance camera set up?”
“In the hallway by the restrooms and my office.”
“Oh …”
Red chuckled, hearing the relief in Drake’s reply. “But I have others.”
“I never saw any cameras. Wh-where are they?”
“Well, they’re called hidden cameras for a reason, and right about now, I’m thinking you sure would like to know.” Drake’s release of a long, drawn-out sigh, a sound of complete surrender, had Red holding back a laugh. Not surprisingly, Tiffany’s brother detoured from the subject of hidden cameras and the secrets they might reveal.
“So, I guess we’re still invited to your place for Christmas dinner?”
“If I were a betting man, I’d go for it.”
“Good, I’m looking forward to it,” Drake admitted.
“I bet you are,” Red answered smugly.
“Well sheee-it …”
Red couldn’t keep the laughter at bay any longer. “You poor bastard.” He laughed again as Drake released another long sigh.
“Tell Tiff I’m glad she’s feeling better. I’ll be pretty busy for the next month or so.”
“I’ll tell her. Oh, and Drake?”
“Yes,” he drawled, sounding as though he was waiting for the dig.
“Good luck, man. You are so going to need it.” He ended the call with a hearty laugh and placed the cordless phone on Tiffany’s nightstand.
Almost immediately, he heard the impatient ringing of Doc’s doorbell. He walked to the door, hoping like hell it was her ex. He wasn’t disappointed. He felt like crowing as the smug smile faded from Tanner’s face. He settled for a grin and a bright greeting.
“Tanner! Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better.”
“What the hell are you doing here, McAllister?”
Red stepped into the doorway, filling it with his bulk. “Replacing you. As it happens, it’s not that difficult.”
Tanner’s face turned a shade darker. “She’s been screwing around with you for months, hasn’t she?”
“You would think that.” Red gave his head a slow shake. “No, Tiffany has a lot more class than you do. It astounds me that you think you even have the right to ask after what you’ve done to her.”
“Maybe you need to shut the hell up.” Tanner’s tone was tight with anger.
“Care to make me?” He jerked open the door, laughing as Tanner flinched from the nearness of the screen to his face. “You might want to get the hell out of here before you get that precious nose of yours broken—again.”
Tanner didn’t attempt to disguise his glare of seething hatred. “This is far from over, McAllister.”
Red smiled broadly at him. “Oh, I think it is. You’ve had five years to make her happy, Collins. Now back the hell off and I’ll show you how a real man gets it done.”
Red had just closed the door on Tiffany’s past when she joined him. He grinned at her attire: comfy jeans and a long sleeved tee with her freshly shampooed hair wrapped in a towel. “I swear, Doc, I still say without make-up you could pass for a fresh-faced teenager.”
Tiffany shrugged as she dropped to her overstuffed couch, curling a leg under her. “Some women can’t leave the house without make-up, but I hate wearing it. I always felt l
ike I had to before. The hair, the make-up—had to look the part, you know.”
“You’re beautiful either way. I say make yourself happy.”
“Thanks, Red. I plan to. Was that the doorbell I heard?”
“Yeah, it was your ex. It pays to go to church on Sunday. It kind of made my day to have him find me here.”
She smiled. “It kind of made my day to find you here, too.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I sort of threw it in his face. I couldn’t help myself.”
“I’m sure he said something to deserve it. But, you need to know that his father is a powerful man. He’s always saying that his dad can ‘make things happen’ to ruin people’s lives. I’d hate to see your life in turmoil just because Tanner can’t stand to lose.”
“Don’t worry about me, Doc. I can take care of myself.”
Tiffany picked up the note from the table and smiled as she read it. She folded it into a neat square and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. “Who was on the phone earlier?”
“Drake called to see how you were. He said he’d be busy for the next month, but he’d be here for Christmas.”
She nodded and stood up suddenly. “I’m starving and I feel like cooking. How do you feel about spaghetti?”
“I love it. Is that an invitation?”
“Sure is.”
“Tell me what I can do to help.”
Tiffany cooked down a pound of ground sirloin and added a jar of spaghetti sauce and some seasonings, while Red got the water boiling for the pasta.
Once the noodles were cooking and the sauce was simmering on the burners, Red pulled his flash drive from his pocket. “I’d like to show you something on here. Can I use your laptop?”
Tiffany logged in for him and he pulled up the video files. Her eyes flashed with anger as she saw Angelique’s self-satisfied expression upon leaving the ladies room. “She obviously thinks you’re worth it.”
“I guess,” he said. He reached for the flash drive then paused, giving her a curious glance.
“What?” she asked.
“I’m just debating on whether to show you something else.”
“You don’t use this thing to spy on people, do you?”
“I use it to protect myself, my clubs, and my customers. I only check it out when there’s trouble, but I rarely have any trouble.”
“Well, you have my curiosity peaked. Is it more video of that Angelique woman?”
“It’s better than that. You know how Drake said he thought he’d seen Annie?”
“Yes.”
“He did more than see her, and I’ve got it on video.”
She turned and grabbed his arm. “Ooh, I want to see.”
He looked down at her and kissed the tip of her nose. “Now how can I say no to anything when you look at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes?” He turned back to the computer. “You have to promise to keep this to yourself.”
Tiffany held up three fingers. “I swear, scout’s honor.”
“You were never a Girl Scout,” he snorted.
Tiffany gave him an eye roll then stood at attention, her right hand raised in the three fingered salute. She repeated the Girl Scout Promise, word for word.
He gave her a crooked grin. “That’s quite impressive.”
“Yeah, yeah, now show me this mysterious footage you have of my brother and your sister.”
Within seconds, Red had the video at the spot where she and Drake entered the club. He watched her reaction as their siblings collided in the hallway.
“Is that it?” Her voice fell in disappointment.
“Nope. Keep watching,” he said, satisfied at her next reaction.
“Oh, is he waiting for her?”
“Uh huh. Watch this.” He fast forwarded the video.
“They danced.”
He scanned quickly through the first dance and partially through the second one.
She inhaled sharply. “Look at how attracted they are to each other.”
“You think? Keep watching,” he said, grinning at her expected reaction to the footage.
“Oh my God! That is so not like Drake. I have never seen him lose his composure like that before.”
“It’s the same with Annie. She’s said for years that she would never fall for a guy because it would screw up her plans. She’s about to remember that—right—about—now.” They watched until she left the club, with Drake in pursuit of her. Red shut off the video after he skipped to Drake re-entering the club, alone.
She turned her beautiful brown eyes on him. “What do you think happened?”
“I think it scared the hell out of her and she ran.”
Tiffany frowned at him. “But they know each other now, I’m confused.”
“Well, my guess is you’re only half right. When Drake met the other girls, he must have noticed the resemblance. That’s when he asked what Annie had been wearing, remember? Obviously they didn’t exchange names.”
“But they shook hands, remember? They must have exchanged names.”
“Maybe they didn’t give each other their full names—or their correct names.”
“It sounds like you’re saying he knows who she is, but she has no idea he’s my brother.”
“Uh huh,” he said grinning down at her. “You know what that means don’t you?”
Tiffany responded with her own impish grin. “Oh, God, I can’t wait for Christmas.”
They joked their way through cooking the meal, then eating the spaghetti. Afterwards, they cleaned the kitchen and sat down to watch some television. They’d slept through most of the Saints game, but satisfied their craving for football by watching their mutual second favorite NFL team, the Texans, instead.
He sat on her couch, his feet crossed at the ankles and resting on a rattan trunk. Tiffany sat beside him, her head resting on his chest as he curled one arm around her shoulders.
Red played with a silky loop of her hair. “You comfortable?” It’d been a long time since he was this relaxed with a woman.
“Yep. I’ve got the best spot in the house,” she said, splaying her hand on his chest next to her face.
He tightened his hold around her shoulders, urging her stay where she was as he answered his vibrating cell phone.
“McAllister here.”
He felt the color drain from his face as he listened to the call. “How bad is the fire?” He lifted his arm. Tiffany sat up, her eyes wide and alert as tension filled his body.
He sat up. “So, as far as you know there are no injuries, right?” He chanced a glance in Tiffany’s direction, mouthed the word ‘fire’. “Yes sir, I’m on my way. Thanks for the call.” He ended the call and stood up. “That was someone with the Lafayette Fire Department. I need to go, Doc. My club is on fire.”
“Oh no.”
“Yes, as we speak. I need to find out what the hell happened. Hopefully they can put it out before it causes too much damage.”
Tiffany placed her hand gently on his arm. “I’ll never forgive myself if Tanner had anything to do with this.”
“You’d have nothing to blame yourself for, but if he did, I’ll damn sure find out. I have my own ways of tracking down information.” He turned toward the door.
“Wait, Red. I’m going with you.”
He turned back in time to see her grab her purse and coat. “You have an early surgery tomorrow morning?”
“Yes,” she groaned, dropping her purse on the sofa.
“It’s gonna be a hell of a long night for me, but it means a lot that you offered.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss then turned to leave.
“Red.”
He pivoted one last time to gaze into eyes filled with concern.
She wrapped her arms around him to give him a tight hug. “Be careful, McAllister.”
“I will.” He hugged her tightly. Tiffany took a step back then pulled him down to kiss him fully on the lips. The kiss deepened as he responded, wrapping her in a tight embrace. He
finally pulled away to rest his forehead on hers. “Damn, Doc. You sure make it difficult for a guy to walk away.”
She laughed, using one hand to push him gently back. “Just wanted you to know that I’ll be here waiting for you, Red, and I won’t be able to relax until I hear from you, so call me back as soon as it’s convenient.”
“I will.” He kissed her again then sighed. “I have to go.”
She nodded and stepped away from him with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Red.”
He smiled sadly and nodded as he walked out the door.
Red called Tiffany an hour and a half after he left her house. “Hey Doc.” He attempted to sound more upbeat than he felt.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, but the club’s gone. Nothing is salvageable.”
“Aw Red. Your beautiful club. Do they know what happened yet?”
“No, the Fire Marshal will have to go in and investigate to see what started it. I’ve already spoken to him and the police but if they suspect arson I’ll have to go in and give an official statement tomorrow.”
“Why you?”
“In cases of arson, the owner is always the first suspect, whether they come out and say it or not. I guess the insurance money would be tempting if the business was losing money.”
“But it was doing well, wasn’t it?”
“It was, but they’ll still have to clear me before they can start looking for other suspects.”
“If it’s arson, will you need me to give you an alibi?”
He sighed loudly. “I guess I would. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, you were with me the entire time. Will they take a statement over the phone or would I have to go in?”
“I imagine they’ll call you and let you know. I’ll have to give them your phone number if they ask for it. You want me to give them your landline number or your cell?”
“Give them both numbers, along with the clinic and the hospital numbers. Let me give them to you.”
“They’re all on your card, aren’t they?”
“You have my card?”
“One of my sisters left it on the island for Thanksgiving and I took it.”
“I’m in the book, you know,” she said, laughing.
“I know, but—well, hell—I just wanted something of yours.” She was silent for several seconds and he pictured her smiling at his confession.