by Sharon Sala
“I know you fined Melvin Wells, the only taxi driver in Blessings, for driving with a cracked windshield. That hardly compares with your wife’s infraction. She parked in front of a fire hydrant, which is not only illegal, but could have resulted in the harm of others. She parked there only because it was closer to the door, when there were plenty of other parking places available.”
There was a long moment of silence, and then Wesley cleared his throat again. “Can we be honest with each other?” he asked.
“I am honest,” Lon said.
Wesley sighed. “What the fuck did the three of them do to get on your bad side?”
“What three?” Lon asked.
“Damn it, Lon. Angel and her two running buddies—that’s what three.”
“I only heard it secondhand so I won’t comment. If you want to hear the ugly truth, talk to Ruby Dye or Peanut Butterman.”
“Oh my God! Why?” Wesley asked.
“They witnessed it. Ruby told me. You ask her.”
Wesley groaned. “Ruby Dye? Peanut Butterman? Are you serious?”
“Are you going to doubt their honor?”
“No, of course not, and I—”
“Good. I’ll be in court next Tuesday. Just in case you need my testimony when they appear at your bench.”
“Yes, well, of course,” Wesley mumbled. “Thank you for your time.”
“Certainly, Judge. Thank you for understanding the seriousness of this incident. Lives have been ruined by gossip and lies of this severity.”
Wesley cursed beneath his breath as he hung up.
Lon disconnected, then turned back to his computer. He stared at the screen for what felt like forever, then saved what he’d been working on and logged out. He got his coat and his keys and headed up front. “Avery, I’ll be out the rest of the afternoon. If you or Larry need me, you can reach me by cell phone.”
“Okay, Chief. Have a nice night.”
“You too,” Lon said, and put on his coat as he headed for the back exit.
Chapter 15
Wesley Herd was sick to his stomach. Ruby Dye cut his hair and colored Angel’s. Gossip ran rampant in the Curl Up and Dye. He knew because he heard plenty of it during his appointments. As for Butterman, it would be damn humiliating to talk to him about this. As judge, he needed to maintain his elevated status in court, and that would be difficult knowing the lawyer on the other side of the bench knew his wife was a bitch.
So Ruby it was. He’d call her, humble himself, and hope for the best. He made the call before he chickened out and then listened to it ringing several times before someone finally answered.
“Curl Up and Dye. This is Ruby.”
“Hello, Ruby. This is Judge Herd. I wonder if I might have a word with you?”
Ruby grimaced. She knew exactly what that word was going to be about. “I have exactly five minutes before my next appointment so you’ll have to make this quick.”
“Are you alone? If you’re not, I would ask that you take the call in private, so you feel comfortable speaking freely.”
“If you’re referring to the ass Angel made of herself in Granny’s this afternoon, half the town already knows. I wasn’t the only one to witness it. I’m just the only one who told Chief Pittman why his friend suddenly disappeared when he came looking for her. So, what do you want to know?”
Wesley groaned. “Just tell me what happened. Please.”
“Happy to,” Ruby said. “Do you know who Mercy Dane is?”
“No, I don’t believe I do,” Wesley said.
“She’s the woman who rode a Harley from Savannah to Blessings on Christmas Day to donate blood to Hope Talbot so she wouldn’t die.”
Wesley’s stomach roiled. Everyone in Blessings knew about that miracle ride, and that the woman had turned out to be Hope’s long-lost sister. He just hadn’t remembered her name. “Okay. I know who you’re talking about now. What does she have to do with them?”
“Chief Pittman was having coffee with her this afternoon at Granny’s when your wife and her two friends came in. I heard the chief introducing them to Mercy, which was a kind thing to do, since she’s new in town. But instead of welcoming her, the moment the chief went outside to take a call, they insulted her beyond explanation. I can only assume they did it because they could.”
“Well, hell, what did they say that was so bad it—”
“That they heard she belonged to a biker gang, that she was going to ruin Chief Pittman’s reputation, that she’d come to stay with Hope and Jack Talbot for her own gain, and that she was dangerous.”
All Ruby heard was a gasp and then total silence. “Are you still breathing?” she asked.
“Barely,” Wesley mumbled.
“So that’s what they did, and you can tell them from me that unless I hear they’ve done a complete about-face and made an apology that Mercy Dane has accepted, the three of them can find someone else to do their hair. They’re not going to be welcome in my shop anymore.”
“What about me?” Wesley asked.
“Unless you fine the lot of them to the extent of the law, including your wife, you can go find yourself another barber.”
“But you’re the only one in town,” Wesley said.
“That has become your problem, not mine,” Ruby said, and hung up.
Wesley blinked. No one hung up on him. He was a judge. Then he sighed. And he was going to be the judge who had to drive to Savannah for a damn haircut, thanks to Angel and her two cohorts. This was an appalling situation for sure. What they’d said was horrible. He’d never understood how women ticked.
He dropped his cell phone in his pocket and exited his office. He was going to have to go home for lunch and resist the urge to shake the shit out of his wife for causing so much trouble. She was nowhere close to an angel, despite the name.
By the time he got home, he was in a seething rage. He greeted their middle-aged housekeeper with a nod. “Hello, Lisa. Where’s my wife?”
“I believe she and her friends are in the game room. I took some snacks and drinks to them about thirty minutes ago. I made beef stew. Just let me know when you’re ready to eat.”
“Thank you. Sounds good. Give me about fifteen minutes, and then serve it in the breakfast nook. I have a full afternoon of court so I can’t linger.”
“Yes, sir. Fifteen minutes,” Lisa Cyrus said, and went toward the laundry as her boss walked down the hall.
Wesley heard the women talking before he got to the door. They weren’t watching any movie, which was good. He’d have their full attention at once and braced himself for the war he was about to launch. He stormed into the room, intentionally letting the door slam against the wall before swinging shut on its own with a bang.
Angel screamed, and then saw it was Wesley, and started railing on him, her hand pressed against her heart as if he’d caused her mortal harm. “Good lord, Wesley! That is no way to enter a room. What’s the matter with you?”
He gave each one of them a hard, angry stare, and in his loudest judgmental voice, lit into them without mincing words. “There have been many times when I’ve been irked at the three of you, but today absolutely takes the cake.”
“Now see here, Wesley Herd. You’re not my husband, and you don’t talk to me like—”
“Shut up, Tina, and Molly, keep your mouth shut too, and hear me out. You three verbally attacked a woman today in Granny’s with no compunction and no reason other than to be the total bitches that the three of you are. You are all the subject of today’s gossip. I called Chief Pittman to inquire about the ticket my wife received and found out that having you stand before me in court is far from the least of my worries. When I asked what was really wrong, he advised me to call eyewitnesses, because his information was secondhand. So I find out, among others, Ruby Dye and Peanut Butterman witnessed all of it.
Imagine my humiliation! Butterman is a man I deal with almost every day in my courtroom, and now to face him knowing what an embarrassing shit my wife is? I couldn’t do it, so I called Ruby Dye. I should have called Butterman because Ruby was livid. She said what happened is all over town, and she has informed me that until you three make a proper and public apology to Mercy Dane, she’s not taking appointments from any of us, and that includes me.”
Angel’s hand went straight to her hair. “She can’t do that!”
“She can, and she has. You three make me sick.”
Tina moaned. “I was getting a new color this week.”
Molly was silent, too shocked to respond.
“I will be seeing all three of you in court on Tuesday. You’re going to be fined to the limit of the law. Angel, consider the trip to Aruba canceled. I’m going to eat lunch. I don’t want company. Sit here and figure out how you’re going to make up for what you said. You shamed her in public. You will apologize the same way. And just for the record, you three disgust me.”
He made his exit as loud and abrupt as his entrance had been. He ate lunch without tasting it and went back to work, still upset enough that he sat through one whole court case fantasizing about divorce.
* * *
It was closing in on five o’clock when Lon drove out of Blessings with a bouquet of flowers on the seat beside him and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He’d told Mercy he’d call her tomorrow, but he knew he’d never get a wink of sleep tonight until he talked to her in person.
The sun was already behind the mountains. It would be dark within the hour, and from the looks of the clouds, a starless, moonless night, which pretty much fit the mood he was in.
He drove with an eye on the roadsides, knowing deer would be on the move after grazing and looking for a place to bed down for the night. He was just turning up the drive to the Talbot farm when his cell rang.
He cursed the timing and answered as he drove. “Chief Pittman.”
“Chief, this is Larry. I’m sorry to bother you, but I got here to clock in for the night shift and found Avery asleep in one of the cells. He’s burning up with fever, I think. What should I do?”
“Call an ambulance and have them take him to the ER, then call his ex-wife Georgia. Her number is his emergency call number.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Keep me updated,” Lon said. “I heard the flu is still going around.”
“Will do,” Larry said, and disconnected.
Lon frowned. Now he was going to spend the night trying to find another dispatcher to cover the day shift at the station. But in the meantime, Mercy came first.
He tapped the brakes as he turned and spooked a rabbit on the drive as it hopped into the brush, then kept on going. When he reached the house, the lights from downstairs were a warm and inviting sight against a darkening sky. He parked, grabbed the flowers, and headed toward the house, his heart pounding with every step.
* * *
Duke was in the office on the phone. Jack was in the bedroom talking to Hope. Mercy was in the kitchen taking a cast-iron skillet of corn bread from the oven when she heard a knock at the door.
She set the bread aside and headed to the living room. The television was on but muted, and it was already dark outside. She turned on the porch light as she opened the door and then froze.
“Please don’t shut the door,” Lon said, and held out the flowers.
Mercy’s heart was hammering, and she couldn’t think of a single word that would fit the circumstances, except embarrassed. She gestured for him to come in, then shut the door.
“These are for you,” Lon said, and then laid them on the table by the door.
When she still didn’t speak, he began to panic. Whatever he did in the next few seconds would either heal the chasm between them, or the relationship he wanted with her would be over before it actually began. “I am so sorry.”
Mercy’s eyes welled.
“Damn them to hell,” he whispered, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. Please don’t shut me out. I want you in my life.”
His words were the medicine she needed to let go of the pain. She shuddered as his arms tightened around her. Safe. He made her feel safe. He wanted her. She relaxed within his arms and slowly hugged him back.
It was exactly what Lon had been waiting for. He pulled back enough that he could cup her face, and before she could bolt, he kissed her. When she kissed him back, it was like oxygen to a drowning man.
The sound of footsteps at the far end of the hall ended their kiss, but it didn’t cool the heat between them. Mercy stood beneath his gaze, reading every emotion on his face. “Are we okay?” he asked.
“Yes. We’re okay.”
“Thank God,” he muttered as he ran a finger down the curve of her cheek. “I have never been as angry in my life as I was today. And if it makes you sleep better tonight, you might like to know they suffered their own set of consequences after you left.”
Mercy’s eyes widened. “What did you do?”
“It was what else they did when they parked at Granny’s that left them open for me. Parking in a handicapped zone. Parking in front of a fire hydrant. Driving with an expired license.”
She almost smiled, imagining those haughty women brought down by their own mistakes. “You gave them tickets?”
“Just doing my job. They all have to appear in traffic court on Tuesday…and Angel’s husband, Judge Herd, is presiding,” Lon said.
Mercy sighed. He had stood up for her. His steadfast gaze and the twist of anger on his lips cooled the ugly burn of the slanderous words that had been heaped upon her head. “I want you in my life too,” she whispered.
“Thank you, Lord,” Lon said as Duke entered the room.
He frowned when he saw the flowers but said nothing about them. “Why, hello there, Chief. Are you here for supper?”
“I didn’t come to eat,” Lon said.
Jack and Hope came into the room behind him. “Hi, Lon. You’re just in time for supper!” Jack said. “I’ll set another place at the table.”
“I didn’t come to eat,” Lon repeated.
Hope slid an arm around Mercy’s waist. She saw the joy on her face and the glint in Lon’s eyes and felt like dancing. “I know why you came. And now, you’re invited to our table. It’s just beans and corn bread, and fresh cookies for dessert. Mercy made everything. I think you should at least taste her cooking.”
Mercy rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake, Hope.”
Lon glanced at Mercy. “Beans and corn bread?”
She sighed. “Yes. Would you like to stay for supper?”
“I thought you would never ask,” he said.
Mercy grinned, but she was a little ill at ease as she turned to face the rest of the family. They watched her for a reaction, which made her nervous. She picked up the flowers. “I need to put these in water. Follow the crowd. We’re all going to the same place.”
Lon left his coat on the sofa and followed her.
Duke was the only one displeased with the company. He glanced at the flowers Mercy was putting in a vase, and this time didn’t hold his tongue. “Is it someone’s birthday?”
Lon wasn’t talking. It wasn’t his story to tell.
Neither Jack nor Hope wanted to bring down the mood by repeating the story.
Mercy kept putting flowers in water.
“Fine!” Duke said. “I only live here.”
Mercy turned. “They’re trying to spare me embarrassment. Three women in town called me every bad name in the book while I was in Granny’s this afternoon. They waited until Lon had left, and it hurt my feelings. I cried all the way home. The flowers are a sweet gesture of trying to make me feel better. Would you please get the hot sauce out of the cabinet and the
butter from the fridge? Supper is ready.”
Duke was so shocked he couldn’t think what to say, and quickly turned to get the things she asked for. He put them on the table and then helped her fill the bowls with beans and ham and set one at each place setting. When he went back for the last two, she was plating the corn bread.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
Mercy nodded. “Thank you. We’re good. Don’t worry about it again.”
Duke smiled. “Thank you for being so generous. I continue to say the wrong things to you, and you continue to forgive me.”
“Family, right?” Mercy said.
Duke sighed. If she had him categorized as family, then he wasn’t ever going to move past that in her eyes. “Yes, we’re family,” he said, and they carried the last of the food to the table and sat down.
“This looks and smells so good,” Lon said.
“She’s a really good cook,” Hope said. “She puts all of us to shame.”
Mercy wanted them to stop. “Well, you all look well-fed and healthy to me, so whoever was doing the cooking before had to be turning out some good stuff.” And then she looked at Duke and grinned. “Although, the Talbots don’t run to fat.”
When they all laughed at what she’d said, Lon guessed it was an inside joke. He was delighted Mercy had become comfortable enough to tease them.
Then Hope dropped a bomb that wiped the smile from Mercy’s face. “Jack is taking us to Blessings tomorrow. I have a post-surgery checkup, and then Mercy and I will go to the Curl Up and Dye. Jack has a cattleman’s meeting in town, and we’re going to redeem our free shampoo and style, compliments of Ruby Dye.”
Mercy didn’t want to go back to Blessings and chance running into those women, or more like them, and didn’t hesitate to say so. “I’d rather stay here.”
“No. We’re going together. I already called her so she could work us into her schedule,” Hope said. “I can’t wait for you to meet the girls at the salon. Ruby has the coolest people working there. You’ll see what I mean.”