Authors: Robin Alexander
“I heard what you’ve had to stay. Now you can get out.”
Blake stood, her heart broken. “I haven’t known Quinn the amount of time that you’ve known her, but already she’s finding her way into my heart. I hope I can love her through the damage you stand to leave behind. She’s certainly worth the effort to me.” Blake walked halfway to the door and turned back to Nelda, who was still facing away. “If you tell her I came here, I will come back and beat your ass. I whipped a chicken, I know I can take you.”
With her head held high, Blake walked out the door and came face-to-face with Mr. Wade. Her scream set off all the pacemakers.
Chapter 30
Blake slept like a dead woman that night. Saturday, she wrote for six hours, then Quinn took her out to practice driving. Sunday they spent at Jacob and Tonya’s where they barbecued and Blake learned to fish. Blake wrote that evening after dinner and climbed into bed with Quinn at eleven. Monday found her at her computer at eight a.m. Blake was on day shift.
She was happily typing away a little after noon when someone knocked on the front door. Blake approached warily and peeked through the blinds. On the porch stood Cassidy, her mother, and Dani. “What is going on?” she asked as she opened it.
“That’s why we’re here,” Cassidy said as Rhonda launched herself on Blake. “We want to know the same thing.”
Rhonda’s hands were all over Blake’s face as she stared into Blake’s eyes. “She doesn’t look like she’s on drugs.”
“I’m not.” Blake backed up, dragging her mother with her as the others walked in.
Cassidy went straight to the computer and began to read what Blake had written. Dani looked around the room and craned her neck to see into the kitchen. “This is a cute place, I love the yard. Who does the dog outside belong to?”
“My neighbors, and that’s Chuck,” Blake said as her mother continued to inspect her and stare deeply into her eyes. “Mom, I’m fine. You should sit down.”
Rhonda shook her head. “No, you tell me what’s going on. Cassidy said she talked to you the other day and didn’t even know who you were. She said you sounded strange and crazy.”
“Thanks, Cass,” Blake said. Cassidy ignored her as she continued to read. Blake grabbed her mother’s hands as they swept over her shoulders. “Sit down. I’ll get you something to drink, and we’ll talk.”
Rhonda didn’t, though. She followed Blake into the kitchen along with Dani and looked over Blake’s shoulder when she opened the refrigerator. “You have food, thank God.”
“She’s obviously eating, she looks great,” Dani said as she went to the back door and looked out. “Wow, what a great yard. Have you been grilling?”
“Quinn has, she’s the woman I’m seeing.”
Dani spun around. “And you’re dating?”
“I’ve been doing all kinds of things.”
Blake made everyone a drink, and they returned to the living room where she told them everything. She took pleasure and pride in the way her sister’s jaw sagged when she told them that she’d been on a ghost hunt and was learning how to drive. But with every word, Rhonda sank deeper into the sofa.
“I won’t deny that I came here expecting to find you strung out on drugs, maybe hiding in a closet.” Dani pounded her fist in the arm of the couch. “You’re living, sis. You’re really out there grabbing a hold of life by the fistfuls. This is what I wanted for you. Doesn’t it feel great?”
“It does.” Blake wanted to match Dani’s enthusiasm, but as she gazed at her mother, whose eyes were downcast, she couldn’t revel in her accomplishment.
Dani noticed, too, and reached over and took their mother’s hand. “You have to let her go and be who she is.”
Rhonda dissolved into tears. Blake sat on the other side of her and wrapped an arm over Rhonda’s shoulders. “Mom, I’m happy. I know you want that for me. I know you’re scared, too.”
The front door opened, and Quinn walked in quickly, her features etched with concern. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she took in the scene.
“Hey, baby,” Blake said with a smile. “You’re early.”
Quinn stared at Rhonda, who continued to cry as she laid her head on Blake’s shoulder. “I thought…we’d have lunch.”
Dani jumped up. “So you’re baby. I’m Danielle, Blake’s sister,” she said as she put out her hand.
“Quinn Scott. What’s wrong?” she asked again as she shook Dani’s hand.
“Blake is happy and doing well. Mom’s overjoyed and a little frightened that she’s lost her forever. The woman at the computer is Cassidy Spencer, Blake’s agent. We just came to check on my sister.”
“Oh,” Quinn said as her shoulders drooped slightly. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Taylor.”
“Rhonda, call me Rhonda,” she blubbered and buried her face in Blake’s chest.
Cassidy whirled around in Blake’s chair. “This is good. I’m totally wrapped up, and this skeleton has a lot of meat on its bones. It’s much more than a draft.” She looked up at Quinn. “Who are you?”
“Blake’s girlfriend,” Dani supplied. “Quinn Scott.”
“Oh, you haven’t cashed your paychecks. I mailed them to your sister since I didn’t have your address. Thanks for taking care of Blake,” Cassidy said as she whirled back around.
Dani’s face went blank. “What check…for what?”
“She wanted to pay me for showing Blake around. That’s how we met.”
“Why didn’t you cash it?” Blake asked.
“That’s not something I want to explain right now, but you know the answer,” Quinn said as though Blake should’ve gotten the point before she asked.
“No, I think that’s something you should explain,” Dani persisted. “You’re being paid to be with Blake?”
Quinn’s famous temper suddenly flared. “No one can pay me to care for her and don’t cop an attitude with me. You locked her in a box. There’s a tool shed out back that I’m thinking about stuffing your ass in right now.”
Blake jumped to her feet. “Quinn, wait. We were kids, and she’s apologized for that.”
“Which is precisely why right now she’s not in the shed.”
Cassidy whirled around again. “What’s going on?”
“They’re about to fight. You’d know that if your head wasn’t buried in that computer,” Rhonda spat out. “You don’t care about Blake, just her books.”
Blake rubbed her forehead as she stepped between Quinn and Dani. “Fighting the chicken was easier than this. Now, everybody, wait just a damn minute,” she yelled. “I am fine with all of this. It’s y’all that need to get a grip.”
Cassidy smacked her lips as everyone fell silent. “Do you realize you just said y’all?”
*******
Blake could tell that Quinn was still a long way from fine with Dani, but she was doing her best to be friendly. Blake stood near the kitchen window as she watched them at the grill while Quinn cooked dinner. Chuck sat nearby with a hopeful look on his furry face. She turned and stared at her mother, who sat at the kitchen table; Rhonda had at least stopped crying and was trying to pull herself together as she peeled potatoes. Cassidy, who’d been satisfied with what she’d seen of Blake’s writing and was convinced that Blake had not completely lost her mind, was on her way to New Orleans with hopes of catching a late flight.
Blake returned to the table and resumed slicing vegetables for salad. “What do you think of Quinn?”
“She’s tall.” Rhonda dropped another potato into a bowl.
“And?”
“I’ve been seeing a therapist.” Rhonda picked up another potato and began peeling. “She basically says nearly the same things your father and Danielle have been saying. It just sounds different coming from her. We were always moving to a new and strange place, and I never felt normalcy. That was especially difficult with two little girls. I never knew the people around us. I had no idea if there were predators nearby.” Rhonda shook her head as the peels and slices of potato flew. “Basically, I was too overprotective, and that chipped away at your self-esteem.”
Blake put a hand on Rhonda’s arm. “Mom, you’ve made potato chips. Get another one, and this time, just take off the peel.”
“Right,” she said with a sigh and grabbed another potato. “Dani was always so rebellious and headstrong. It got to a point that I knew if I told her not to do something, she was going to do it, but not you. You obeyed everything I said.” Rhonda’s red and puffy eyes slowly rose to meet Blake’s. “You were a good kid, and I messed you up. After you broke your arm, you were so needy. It was just so much easier to keep you safe if you were afraid. That’s where our journey into the quagmire began.”
“I’m responsible for a lot of it, too. I suppose it served me well in one way. I developed a love for books, and that turned into a wonderful career. But I realized that I was only living vicariously through what I wrote, and it was a dark place. I’m beginning to live in the light now. I feel good about myself, and I’ve met someone who challenges me, who lifts me up when it’s hard to stand on my own.” Blake set her knife aside for a moment. “And what’s so amazing is that I want to do that for her. I don’t want to just take, I want to give.”
Rhonda smiled. “That sounds like a relationship.”
Blake nodded. “It is, or it’s the beginning of one, a real one. I know that’s scary for you for a number of reasons. I’m sure you wonder what kind of woman she is and if she’ll treat me well. But I also think you fear that she’s going to replace you in some way.”
Rhonda’s lip quivered as she focused her attention on the potato again. “She will, she’s supposed to, and I’m supposed to be happy about that. You’ll lean on her when times get tough. She’ll be the one you run to when you’re afraid. The difference between us, my love, is that you grew tired of living the way you did, I never have. My desire will always be to protect you, but I’m going to have to learn that I can’t do that now. I’m trying really hard, but the instinct is still there. You’re going to have to push me away sometimes.”
Blake put one hand on her mother’s arm and took the peeler away with the other. She held Rhonda’s hands until her mother met her gaze. “I will push, but I will never love you any less. We made some mistakes, but I have always known that you loved me with all your heart. Now tell me what you think of Quinn.”
Rhonda sniffed but smiled. “She’s tall.”
“Mom.”
“She’s pretty. When she came in today, I could tell she was very worried about you. She cares, and I can see in your eyes that she makes you happy.”
“She does.”
Ronda’s smile wavered. “Does this mean you won’t be coming back to New York?”
“I don’t know, we’ll just have to see.”
*******
“You have a temper, Quinn Scott, and you hold a grudge.” Blake traced Quinn’s face with her fingertips.
Quinn licked her lips. “When I got here and Dani introduced herself, the story of the box rushed to the forefront of my mind…no, that’s not the truth. I knew who she was when I walked in. You look a lot alike. I was afraid that they’d come to take you home. I wanted to put them all in the shed and lock the door.”
Blake laughed softly as she smoothed Quinn’s hair from her face. “That’s sweet. Slightly deranged but sweet. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere without you. That’s why I’m in your bed, and they’re at my house.”
“I’m very happy about that,” Quinn said with a smile. She wanted to ask if Blake would always stay, but Blake’s kiss made it clear that all verbal conversation was over, except maybe for a few utterances here and there.
Chapter 31
Quinn was putting the finishing touches on a kitchen faucet that she’d just installed in a newly renovated home when her phone rang. “Scott’s Plumbing,” she said as she looked in her bag for a pen, certain she was about to take another job.
“I’d like you to come over. We need to talk.”
The pen fell from Quinn’s grasp. “What’s wrong?”
“I just need to talk to you.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“See you then.”
Quinn pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it, heart pounding. “Jacob?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice sounding muffled.
Quinn walked down the hall and leaned against the bathroom door where he worked. “Did you talk to Mom?”
He stared up at her from where he sat on the floor next to a new toilet. “No, why?”
“She just called me and asked me to come over, she wants to talk,” Quinn said as Jacob continued to stare at her. “Her bathroom’s probably a mess. That’s what it is, I’m sure.”
“Are you going?”
Quinn sighed and looked at her phone. “Yes. I’ll probably be back in about twenty minutes,” she said as she walked out.
“I hope not,” Jacob whispered.
*******
“That was fast.”
“I’m sure you realized when you came in that New Orleans isn’t that far away,” Blake said to her mother as she watched Dani sign a rental agreement for the car parked in her driveway. “Are you sure you want to drive home?”
“Danielle and I talked about it last night. The trip will be a good opportunity for us to bond. As much as I love the boys, I don’t get to spend much time alone with her. Besides, we’d like to see where you’re living right now. I’m looking forward to the tour.”
“There’s not much to see, but we can ride out to Oak Alley, the plantation home Quinn took me to when I first arrived, if that’s something you’d be interested in. I understand they have a nice restaurant. We could have lunch there and make a day of it.”
“That sounds so funny coming out of your mouth,” Rhonda said with a slight laugh.
Blake smiled. “You’re gonna hear more crazy stuff like that in the future.”
Dani pushed through the door with a key fob dangling from her fingers. “Ladies, we have wheels.”
*******
“…and most of the sidewalks on this street are new because they were broken by the trees when Katrina toppled them,” Blake said.
“It’s such a pretty, quiet place. Lucas and Tyler would love the bayou and climbing some of the trees. I bet it’s a great place to raise kids. How’re the schools here?” Dani asked.
“No, don’t you start, Danielle. It’s hard enough having Blake so far away. I need to adjust to all of this before you begin talking about moving.”
Dani smiled into the rearview mirror. “My wife isn’t going to leave Connecticut, Mom.” She looked over at Blake. “I take it you and Quinn haven’t discussed living arrangements yet.”
“No, this is all still new.”
“Right.”
Blake cocked her head. “What’s with the smug grin?”
“I think you know.” Dani looked into the rearview mirror again. “Mom, I think I’ve seen enough of Cypress Glade. Are you ready to go to the plantation?”
“Yes,” Rhonda said with a long sigh.
Dani pushed a few buttons on the GPS mounted on the dash. “Blake, you want to drive?”
“Yes!”
“No!” Rhonda said. “She doesn’t have a license.”
“Yet,” Blake said with a big smile.
*******
“She’s not answering her phone, and she didn’t come back to work,” Jacob said worriedly. “Her truck wasn’t at the nursing home, her house, or Blake’s. I have no idea what happened or where she is.”
“Hmm” was all Tonya could say, her insides all jittery.
“If it was bad, she’d talk to me first, not Dawn, right?”
“I’m sure.” Tonya kept her back to Jacob while she cooked. She listened as Jacob called Dawn.
“Hey, are you home? Have you seen Quinn? No, nothing’s wrong, I just need to ask her something. No, I said nothing’s… Mom called Quinn and said she wanted to talk to her, I haven’t seen her since,” Jacob blurted out. “I don’t want to call Mom, you do it…she won’t tell me anything. She never talks to me about Quinn. What if Mom said something horrible to her? No one is home at Blake’s, and I don’t know her number…okay, call me back.”
Tonya was so nervous she dropped a container of salt into the soup and had to fish it out.
“If Mom did something to further hurt Quinn…I’m just gonna be done with her. She’s my mother and I love her, but what she’s doing isn’t right. I’m gonna tell her that,” Jacob said, his voice high. “I’m gonna tell her right now.”
Tonya whirled around and grabbed the phone from his hand. “Honey, wait until you hear back from Dawn.”
Jacob looked as though he was going to cry. “I should’ve said something before now. I should’ve been a man,” he screeched on the verge of hysteria.
“You are a man in every sense of the word.”
Jacob grabbed a paper towel and blotted his eyes. “You look so pretty today. Fall colors look so good on you. I love how you color coordinated the scarf to match the shoes. Would you listen to me?” he yelled. “Men don’t say stuff like that.”
Tonya answered Jacob’s phone when it rang. “She wouldn’t tell me anything. Mom said what she and Quinn discussed was between them,” Dawn said flatly. “So I called Blake. She hasn’t heard from her, either, and now she’s all freaked out.”
“What did…Blake say?” Tonya turned her back to Jacob. He moved around in front of her, and she twirled again.
“She just started babbling incoherently something about an old man grabbing her breasts, and it was her fault.”
Jacob pulled the phone away from Tonya. “Is she with Quinn?”
“No, but, Jacob, you need to calm down. You know how Quinn is. She has to digest something before she can talk about it. She’s probably off somewhere thinking.”
“What did Mom say?”
“She told me to mind my own business.”
“That’s it, I’m gonna do something about this!”
Tonya wrestled him for the phone, but he ran through the house holding it over his head screaming at octaves she was certain were going to break all the glass around them. She crashed into Jacob when he stopped suddenly and said, “Is that her truck?”
Tonya stared out the window in the distance near the pond and noticed Quinn’s red truck. Jack splashed in the water.
*******
“Have you been crying?” Quinn asked as Jacob walked toward her with a beer in each hand.
He held one out to her. “You have. Drink this. It’s what men drink when they need to chill. Frankly, I hate the taste. I don’t see what anyone finds appealing about it.”
Quinn twisted the top and lifted the bottle to her lips. She grimaced as she swallowed. “Thanks.”
“Just give it to me straight. Tell me what Mom said, then don’t try to hold me back when I walk away. I don’t care if she’s dying. I’m gonna say my piece, and that is it.”
“Sit down.” Quinn patted the tailgate beside her.
Jacob did and released a little whimper when the lid to his beer bruised his palm as he tried to open it. She reached for it, but he held it away. “I can do it. Tell me what happened.”
“She apologized.” Quinn watched Jack as he walked along the edges of the pond looking for his ball. “She explained a little about how she felt when everyone thought my being gay was her fault. She said she was proud of me and she loved me, and things would be different from now on.”
Jacob released a deep sigh as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Quinn patted his knee. “I’m okay, I just had to think about it for a while and get myself back together.”
“I’m gay, too—well, kind of. I’m a straight man trapped in a gay man’s body…or maybe I’m a lesbian in a man’s body. I love my wife, and I’m very sexually attracted to her.” He looked at Quinn. “I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone.”
She squeezed his knee. “Thanks.
Jacob wiped his face on his sleeve. “Did she hug you?”
“Yeah, and she kissed my face a few times. You know, like she used to do.”
“Little kisses on the brow,” Jacob said with a nod. “Will you be able to put it all behind you like you did with Dad?”
“That didn’t happen in a day, but I will certainly try.”
“I will, too. Tonya’s cooking soup, want to join us for dinner, or do you have to rush home to Blake?”
“I love you, Jacob, but what do you think?” she asked with a smile as she hopped off the tailgate.
He held out the beer. “Take this and pour out yours. They’re probably bad. I bought them a few years ago when I was trying to fit in with the guys. After dinner, I’m going to make a beautiful wreath for your front door like a real man.”