La Fleur de Love: The Series: Books 1 - 4

by Leger, Lori

  “Aaannie! Who’s the prick?” Lewis asked.

  Drake shook his head. “I was waiting for that. I hear Red’s to blame.”

  Annie gave him a tight smile, as though she was holding back something more substantial.

  “Oh Re-ed! Where’s Red?” Lewis called.

  “Red’s not here, baby. But Drake is here. Can you say Drake?”

  Drake stepped up closer to the cage. “Hey Lewis, remember me?”

  Lewis turned his head to the left and squawked. “Prick’s on the phone!”

  Annie giggled. “Yeah, he remembers you, alright.”

  Drake held up his hands. “Come on Lewis, I’m a good guy! Can you say ‘Drake’s a good guy’?”

  Lewis flapped his wings. “Stranger danger!”

  “I guess his phrases are pretty limited.”

  Annie smiled smugly. “Actually, he’s got the intellectual capacity of a five year old child. You’ve only heard a tiny bit of what he knows.” She turned to the bird. “Lewis, you ready to show off?”

  “Let’s get it on!”

  For the next fifteen minutes Annie treated Drake to a small show of Lewis’s vocabulary skills. He sang the alphabet song, counted, danced, whistled the theme to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and mimicked several perfectly executed imitations of quotes from movies. The bird’s Terminator impersonations, “I’ll be back” and “Hasta La vista, baby”, had Drake doubled over with laughter.

  “That’s fantastic!” Drake tried to catch his breath. “Do some more.”

  “Lewis, what’s your favorite movie?” Annie asked.

  “Steel Magnolias!”

  “What’s your favorite quote?”

  “Wheeza, you know I love ya more’n my luggage.”

  “Who’s your favorite R&B singer, Lewis?”

  “Ray Charles! Ray Charles!” Then he started swaying his head from side to side in imitation of the famous singer as he sang a line from Georgia on My Mind.

  “Who’s you favorite girl country singer?” she asked him.

  “Shania! Man, I feel like a woman!” the bird sang.

  Annie continued with the line of questioning. “Who’s your favorite guy country singer?”

  “Trace Adkins. Turn it up boys.” He bobbed his head and sang, “Honky Tonk, Badonkadonk—Whoo-ee, shut my mouth, slap your grandma!”

  “That’s amazing. Lewis you are amazing.” Drake gave him a piece of fruit.

  Lewis puffed out his chest at the compliment. “Thank you. Mm Mm good.”

  Annie beamed at her bird. “Take a bow, my man.”

  Lewis bowed several times as Drake applauded. “I’m really impressed—I had no idea parrots had that much capacity for learning.”

  She leaned over to whisper in his ear. “He also knows fart noises—courtesy of my dad, but I’m hoping he’ll forget that one of these days.” Annie smiled at Drakes guffaw of laughter and continued. “African Grey’s are very intelligent. Of the three different kinds of Grey’s, TAG’s have the best temperament, I believe.”

  “TAG’s? What’s a tag?”

  “Timneh African Grey. There are also Congo and Ghana African Grey’s; different sub-species for different areas of the continent.”

  “He’s a handsome bird, and he looks healthy. You must take wonderful care of him. That’s the biggest single bird cage I’ve ever seen.”

  “I bought it when I moved in this place. He was in a two foot by three foot cage before, but I always wanted him to have more room. This one is five by five. It took him awhile to get used to it. He has to ease into changes.”

  “Kind of like his mistress?”

  She turned abruptly away from him. “Don’t start picking on me. I’m not in the mood today.”

  Drake shoved his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  Annie waved him off. “What do you want for supper? I guess the least I can do is feed you.”

  “You don’t even have to do that. I was thinking of ordering a pizza; is there a place here that delivers?”

  Annie opened up a drawer and pulled out a flyer. “The Pizza Palace opened up a couple of months ago and they’re good.”

  “What do you like on yours? My treat tonight,” Drake said.

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can eat something else.”

  “It’s a pizza, Annie. Not a lifetime commitment.”

  “Okay then, I like mine loaded. Seeing as I’m stuck with you for a while, I may as well make the best of it,” she said.

  “Me too, except…”

  “Except anchovies,” she added.

  He grinned. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

  She smiled, and added, “But I love jalapenos.”

  He nodded. “I do too, the hotter, the better. Just like my women.” He froze as Annie’s mouth fell open. “I’m sorry. I-uh-really didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

  She snorted then turned away from him.

  “I’ll-I’ll order from back there.” He pointed to the hallway before skulking off to his room.

  Drake placed the pizza box on a small table set with plates and napkins. “Got milk?” he asked, staring into Annie’s fridge.

  “Yes, but milk with pizza? I’ve got tea and water.”

  Drake pulled out a carton of two percent. “I like milk.” He took the glass she offered.

  As soon as they’d seated themselves, Martin, the cat showed up to rub on Annie’s leg, meowing loudly.

  Drake eyed the beast warily. “He acts like he hasn’t eaten in weeks.”

  “Pizza is literally his favorite food.” Annie leaned over and placed a thick slice of the loaded pizza in his food dish on the floor. Martin attacked it hungrily, growling as he chomped and chewed.

  “Jesus, remind never to bother him while he’s eating.” Drake stared at the cat, still somewhat intimidated.

  Annie chuckled as they watched the huge feline gnaw on the pizza. “Fat boy does enjoy his food. He’s on a diet, but he cheats every chance he gets.”

  Drake cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. “How can he cheat? You’re the one that feeds him.”

  She grinned secretively. “You’ll see. By the way, don’t give him anything else for the rest of the night. That’s all he’s allowed, and never leave your plate unattended.”

  When Annie was done eating she put her plate in the dishwasher and put the remaining pizza in a plastic container. Drake got up to get himself another glass of milk to go with his last slice. He turned back to see Martin standing over his plate and chowing down.

  “Oh crap!” He groaned as Annie’s laughter rang out. He turned to face her, grinning sheepishly. “He does cheat. I can’t say you didn’t warn me.”

  “Never leave your plate unattended. He’s fast for a fat boy, aren’t you, Martin?” She took the pizza away from him, grinning as she offered it back to Drake.

  He made a face at her. “No thanks, he can have it.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Nope. It’ll have to go.” She put it down the garbage disposal then shook her finger disapprovingly at Martin. “Bad cat!”

  “Baaad Cat! Martin’s a fat boy!” Lewis cried.

  Drake sipped at his milk while he checked out various items on display in the living room, then ended up at her computer. He noticed the nice set up, and the surround sound wireless speaker system placed strategically around the room.

  “Do you mind if I check out your sound system?”

  She plopped herself down on the sofa and picked up the cable program guide. “Go right ahead.” Martin jumped up on her lap and she began to rub him behind the ears.

  Drake pulled up an extensive list of artists from hard rock to classical and everything in between. He opened up a playlist that was dated a week after Thanksgiving and discovered one of the songs they’d danced to at the top of the list. Actually, it was the song…the one that he’d kissed her to. Interesting, he thought, continuing the search. He foun
d Trace Adkins and grinned as he chose a song. He swiveled around and walked up to Lewis’s bird cage.

  “Here you go Lewis! In your honor.” Drake laughed as the bird immediately started swaying from side to side and bobbing its head to Honkytonk Badonkadonk.

  Drake interacted with the parrot, singing along at parts and shaking his hips to the beat of the music. He heard Annie’s laughter as he and Lewis sang a line or two from the chorus together. At the end of the song, Drake praised the bird and gave him a small piece of apple.

  “Thank you vee-rry much. Mmmm…good!” Lewis told Drake.

  Drake laughed. “You’re such a smart bird.”

  “Sharp as a tack!” Lewis cried.

  “Yes, you certainly are.” Drake gave him a small chunk of mango and watched the bird eat it.

  Lewis looked up at Drake and cocked his head to the side. “No stranger danger. What’s your handle?”

  Drake looked at Annie, who was staring at the bird with a frown on her face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “That’s his way of saying he wants to be friends. He wants to know your name.”

  “Really?” He turned back toward Lewis. After only five more minutes of working with him, Lewis was saying his name like he’d known him for years.

  Annie shook her head, amazed and feeling more than a little betrayed that Drake had befriended her bird in such a short period of time. She wasn’t about to tell him that no one, not even she, had won Lewis over this quickly. It had taken a week or more for Lewis to warm up to her when she first got him.

  Drake walked over to the computer again. “I’m really impressed with him.”

  “Yeah, he’s something, all right,” Annie murmured as she thumbed through the program guide. Damn traitor bird.

  Drake chose a country station to play from her computer and Jimmy Wayne’s I Will blasted from the speakers. He walked over to Annie and held his hand out to her. “Dance with me, Annie?”

  She looked at his hand and for a moment considered taking it, but then looked up into his intense brown eyes and couldn’t make herself move. With her heart pounding in her chest, she tore her gaze away, pretending to be interested in her magazine.

  Drake’s voice lowered to a seductive growl. “Come on Annie, I don’t bite.”

  She purposely avoided looking in his direction. “But I do, and I’m beginning to wonder if any of this is really necessary.”

  He withdrew his hand. “We just went over this at Red’s; this is how it’s got to be for a while, so you’d just as soon get used to it.”

  She looked at him accusingly. “Then don’t try anything stupid with me, like try to get me to dance with you.”

  Drake dropped down beside her on the couch. “Is there anything good on the tube tonight?”

  She jumped to her feet and practically slapped him with the magazine. “Here, check it out for yourself. I’ve got bills to pay online.” Seating herself at her computer, she stopped the music to scan her mail when the phone rang. She answered the phone, then turned toward Drake. “Yes, Captain Woodard, this is Annie McAllister. Do you have any more information on the man who attacked me?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I do, and I’m afraid it’s not good news.”

  “Captain, Drake LeBlanc is here also, and I’m going to put you on the speaker phone so he can hear this, too.” She pressed the button and cradled the handset.

  “It seems you were right about him being from Arkansas, although just barely. His name is James Bradley Montgomery and he’s from some little nowhere town in Columbia County, just north of the Louisiana state line. The Columbia Sheriff’s department has a warrant out for his arrest.”

  “What for?” Drake asked.

  “He’s a suspect in the murder of a young woman in Magnolia, Arkansas, also in Columbia County. It wasn’t pretty, from what they told me. She was beaten and raped repeatedly. The sheriff said she put up a fight, but it didn’t do her any good. She was strangled, and thrown in a lake.”

  Drake kept his watchful eye on Annie. “Do they have DNA evidence from the rape?”

  “Yes, but her body wasn’t found until after he’d skipped town, and that was after they’d impounded his truck to check it for evidence, and they found plenty. Someone called in with an anonymous tip that they saw him man-handling the woman earlier. The caller worried that if J.B.—that’s what they call him over there—found out it was him who tipped off the law, he’d kill him for sure. They still don’t know who called it in.”

  Annie turned away to keep Drake from seeing how upset she was. She flinched and twisted away from the touch of his hand on her shoulder.

  “Thank you Captain,” Drake said. “Is there anything else we should know?”

  “Only that Miss McAllister needs to be very careful. She got a good look at him, and she’s the one who can testify about what he said and what he was planning to do. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. He doesn’t know who she is or where to find her, but I’d say she shouldn’t go back to that same club until we catch him.”

  “Uh, captain, Annie remembered something later that we think may make the situation even more dangerous for her. She told him the club owner was her brother in the hopes that he’d leave her alone.”

  “Oh.” Several seconds passed before he spoke again. “Miss McAllister, are you there?”

  “Y-yes Captain,” she stammered.

  “Is there a place you could go until this blows over? Somewhere he wouldn’t be able to track you?”

  Annie dropped her face in both her hands. “That’s really not an option for me right now, Captain Woodard.”

  Drake cleared his throat. “Sir, we’ve come up with a solution to secure her safety. I’ve temporarily moved in with her. I’ll drive her to her office in the mornings and pick her up in the afternoons when it’s time for her to leave.”

  “You’re staying in her home?”

  “Yes sir, I am. We all thought that was the best possible solution for now. Are you going to notify the Kenton P.D. to make sure they’re on the lookout for this guy?”

  “We already have, since we knew she was a resident of Kenton. I’ve spoken to the chief about sending regular patrols by her place. Miss McAllister?”

  “Yes sir?” Her voice sounded shaky, even to her own ears.

  “It’s important that you don’t give this guy the opportunity to catch you unprotected—do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Annie nodded then remembered he couldn’t see her. “I understand. Thank you, Captain Woodard.”

  “Keep your chin up, Miss McAllister, we’ll get him. Just be aware that he may alter his appearance by letting his hair and facial hair grow. The picture we’re broadcasting shows both his head and face clean shaven.”

  Annie squeezed her eyes shut, thinking the phrase ‘clean shaven’ was a deceptive description for a filthy animal like that. She held herself tightly as the Captain told them he’d let them know if they learned anything else. Once he’d disconnected, she stood listening to the hum of the dial tone over the speaker phone, nearly deafening in the otherwise stillness and silence of the room. Even Lewis had ceased making any of his usual noises.

  Drake hit the speaker button to stop the buzz of the dial tone, filling the room with an eerie silence. He placed both hands on Annie’s shoulders, turning her gently to face him. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.” She didn’t meet his gaze, but pulled away, retreating behind her bedroom door.

  Drake lowered himself onto the overstuffed rocker near the bird cage. When Martin approached to sit at his feet, man and beast stared silently at each other, and Drake got the strangest feeling they’d established a mutual truce for Annie’s sake. He snapped his fingers over his thighs. Surprisingly, Martin jumped heavily onto his lap, then settled down with loud purring. Drake rubbed behind his ears while Lewis the bird looked on in silence.

  “Okay, guys, we need to do whatever we can to protect our Annie girl, because all three of us have
one thing in common.” He released a heavy sigh as he spoke. “We all love her.”

  January 4th

  Drake was on his third cup of coffee when Annie dragged-ass into the kitchen at six-thirty the next morning. He took one look at her pale, drawn face and grimaced. “Didn’t get much sleep, huh?”

  She bypassed all the pretty coffee cups to grab her oversized LSU mug and half-filled it with the strong coffee. After topping it off with cold milk, Annie stood staring outside the window over her sink as she gulped the mug’s contents. She finished and refilled the mug with coffee, this time adding a little creamer. She sat at the table to sip it slowly. Looking dazed and exhausted, she finally faced her houseguest.

  He sent her a sympathetic smile. “Sometimes you need it too quick to allow for cooling.”

  “If there was a way I could inject it intravenously, I would.” She stifled a yawn, and looked at the open paper on the table. “Were you able to rescue the paper before the neighbor’s dog peed on it?”

  Drake nodded and grinned at her. “He was just lifting his leg when I opened the door. I scared him so bad he peed all the way back to his yard, but at least he missed the paper.”

  Annie attempted a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She rolled her head, rubbing the back of her neck.

  “Did you wake up with a crick this morning?”

  “Yep. Just what I needed to top off this perfect week.”

  He rose to put his plate in the dishwasher. “I would have cooked you some breakfast, but you’re out of eggs and bacon. You want toast?”

  “I can do it.”

  “Hey, I’m up already.” He reached for the bread under the cabinet. “Two slices?”

  She nodded, and thanked him.

  While waiting for the bread to toast, he walked over to where she was slumped over with her head resting on the table surface. She flinched at his initial touch to her shoulders, but stilled when he began to knead the tension from her tight muscles. She emitted a low moan of obvious approval.

  Drake smiled as he continued the gentle manipulations. “Feels good, huh?”

  “Heavenly. You may prove your worth around here after all,” she said, her voice muffled.

  “I’ve been told I’m very good with my hands. Maybe one day I’ll get to show you some other tricks I’ve become quite accomplished at over the years.”