Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel) (16 page)

Cassie gasped. “You kissed Jake?” 

“Well, I was standing right next to him, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he’s got these great…eyes,” Sunny said.

“Where was his shirt?”

“Beau nudged his hand, and he spilled his beer on it so he had to take it off.”

“Did he spill beer on his pants too?” Maggie asked.

“No.” Sunny laughed. “His pants stayed on.”

“Dang,” Piper said.

“Look, we just kissed, and then Beau interrupted us. I basically ran out of Walter’s house,” Sunny explained. “I feel guilty for kissing two men in one night.” She looked pointedly at Piper. “I got caught up in the mood with Jeremy, but it’s like Jake has this thing that draws me to him. Like I have a fish hook in my belly, and every time I’m near him, it reels me in closer to him.”

“Real close,” Edna muttered.

“I am attracted to him, but I still feel like he’s dangerous. I know he’s not telling me everything. In fact, he’s told me nothing.”

“Listen, Sunny, I realize Mr. Hotty-Pants is gorgeous,” Edna said. “But I still don’t trust him. I’ve got my eye on that one, and something just isn’t right. What if the guy you kissed is the same guy who killed Walter?”

“I know. I know.” Sunny covered her face with her hands.

“That night, when you were playing dungeons and dragons, I saw Jake bring a black garbage bag out of Walter’s house and lock it in the trunk of his car. Now what kind of trash is so important you lock it into the backend of your car?” Edna asked.

“Maybe Sunny could distract him, and we could sneak out and check the trunk to see what’s in the bag,” Maggie said, a wicked gleam in her eye.

“You won’t find it,” Piper said.

All eyes turned to Piper, and Cassie’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you know about it?”

“Well…” Piper obviously enjoyed the spotlight of having the group’s full attention. “I’ve been waiting all night to tell you.”

Piper regaled the group with her tale of seeing Jake with the aforementioned black garbage bag and Drew’s sly detective skills at ferreting out where Jake had been.

“That was dangerous,” Cassie admonished at the same time Maggie was declaring, “That’s my boy.”  Cassie glared at Maggie, who shrugged.

“Are you sure it was the same bag?” Edna asked.

“How many black garbage bags tied together in a knot do you think Jake has locked in his trunk?” Piper asked in exasperation.

“Touché,” Edna said. “Sunny, I think you need to stay clear of Mr. Sweet-Buns.”

“I’m so confused,” Sunny said. “I can feel there’s something dangerous about Jake, but at times I also feel completely safe with him. Plus, he did rescue me from All-Hands Hank.”

“
I’ll Be Watching You
…”  As if on cue, Sunny’s pocket began the now familiar notes of Hank’s ringtone. She pulled the phone out and pressed the button to ignore the call.

“What’s that about?” Maggie asked.

Sunny had kept most of the details of Hank’s repeated attempts to drag her down matrimony lane from the book club. She knew he was Matt and Cassie’s friend and had wanted to tread lightly with Cassie, so as not to hurt her feelings. “I didn’t want to tell you about this, because I know he’s your friend and all, Cass, but Hank is kind of creeping me out.”

“What do you mean
?
He’s not my friend. Matt knew him in college, but he hasn’t seen him in like, ten years. What’s going on, Sunny?”

Sunny gave in and told the Page Turners about Hank’s frequent phone calls, and his stubborn denial of Sunny’s repeated turn downs.

“I haven’t told anyone this, but I’ve been getting calls in the middle of the night, and when I answer, they don’t say anything. They just listen for a few seconds and then hang up,” Sunny said quietly.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”  Cassie asked and took Sunny’s hand.

“I didn’t want to worry anybody. At first I thought it was a mistake or a wrong number, but now it’s happening more often, and I’m starting to get a little scared.”

“Don’t you have Caller ID?” Maggie asked.

“Yeah, but the number comes up as blocked.”

“It could be Jake, trying to scare you,” Edna said. “He seems like the type to know how to block Caller ID.”

“I don’t think it’s Jake,” Sunny said. “But I don’t know if it’s Hank either. It feels like someone is calling to check and see if I’m home.”

“Sunny, I had no idea,” Cassie said. “I knew Hank was a little pushy, but I didn’t think he was dangerous. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this.” Her chair scraped loudly as she pushed it back from the table. She squeezed Sunny’s hand, then with a fierce look on her face, strode from the room, yelling, “Matthew Paul Bennett, get in here.”

“Don’t mess with Cassie,” Maggie said. She smiled at Cassie’s retreating back. “Matt’s going to get an earful. Seriously, Sunny, from a legal standpoint, next time he calls, you need to firmly state, ‘Stop calling me’.”

“Jake said the same thing.”

“Jake knows about the calls?”

“Not the calls I’m getting at night, but he knows that Hank has been calling me a lot. He told me to flat out tell him to quit calling me.”

“That’s right,” confirmed Maggie. “If you don’t tell him to quit calling you, then you don’t have a case once the police get involved.”

“The police?” Matt said as he walked into the kitchen, Cassie on his heels. “I’m sure there’s no need to get the police involved. It sounds like Hank just really likes you, Sunny.”

He moved to stand behind Sunny’s chair. “Listen, I’m really sorry Hank’s been bugging you. I haven’t seen the guy in forever, and you’re not hurting my feelings if you don’t want to go out with him. I’m a little worried about your late night hang-ups, but I doubt it’s Hank. Let me talk to him, okay?”

“That would be great, Matt,” Sunny said. “I hope you’re right. Maybe some women like all this attention, but he’s a little over-zealous for me. And, I’m not ready to step in as Mrs. Hank II.”

“I’ll talk to him and make sure he knows you’re not interested in going out with him again.” Matt reached between Sunny and Maggie to snag a cookie from the plate on the table.

“Thanks, Matt.”

“No problem,” he answered around a mouthful of cookie. “The real issue here is when can I get a piece of that cake?”

“I was just about to cut it.” Cassie took the cake knife she had sitting on the counter and sliced into the rich dark chocolate. She sliced several pieces and expertly slid them onto dessert plates as Piper retrieved the coffee pot and commenced refilling half-empty mugs. Matt took the plate with the largest piece and disappeared back into his den, and the women settled back around the table.

“So, what I’m wondering,” Maggie said, licking the thick chocolate icing from the side of her fork, “is if you’re going to go out with Jeremy again?”

“No,” Sunny said. “He did call on Sunday and left me a message to call him so he could explain. He seems like a great guy, but…” 

“But, what?” Cassie asked.

“But a great guy to be friends with. I don’t think we have that chemistry. And then there’s the whole living with his mother thing.”

“Well, I can solve that one.” Edna reached for her purse. “I’ll call Mabel and ask her.” 

She dug through her enormous handbag, piling assorted items on the table as she searched the depths of her purse as if hunting for buried treasure. A crossword puzzle book, a mini-umbrella, a stick of deodorant, a dog-eared romance novel, a can of pepper spray…her pile grew as she mumbled, “I know my ‘sale’ phone is in her
e
somewhere.”

“Edna, it’s called a ‘cell’ phone,” Piper corrected and peered into Edna’s bag, then tilted her head to get a better look at the cover of the romance novel. Flaming red hair spilled down the heroine’s back as her buxom chest heaved forth from a sheer peasant blouse. Her leg wrapped around the waist of a hunk of man-flesh dressed remarkably like a pirate. Evidently Sunny wasn’t the only one with a weakness for a good pirate romance.

Cassie smacked Piper’s hand as she reached for the paperback.

“Well, I call mine a ‘sale’ phone because I got a hundred and fifty dollar phone for nineteen ninety-nine with a new two year activation agreement. Ah-ha!” Edna triumphantly raised the little touch screen phone she had unearthed from the depths of her bag. Oswald whined as he stood on his hind legs and delicately nosed her purse as if she would next pull a delectable doggie treat from the bag.

Always the sucker for brown eyes, Edna gave Oswald the remaining corner of the cookie left on her plate as she scrolled through the contacts and looked for Mabel’s number.

“I’ll put her on speaker.” Edna touched the appropriate squares on her phone. Piper giggled as they listened to Mabel’s ringback tone of “
I’m Bringing Sexy Back,
” then Mabel’s cigarette-hardened scratchy voice stating, “This is Mabel and I could die any day now so if you’re bothering to leave a message, it better be important.”

“Hey, you old bat,” Edna said loudly into the phone. “You couldn’t bring sexy back even if Justin Timberlake personally delivered you on a silver platter. Call me.”

“Sorry, gals.” Edna touched the little screen to disconnect the call and lock the phone. She dropped the phone into her purse and scooped the piles from the table back into the bag. “I’ll let you know when I hear back from her.”

“So, I guess I have a free weekend,” Sunny said, happily.

“Not so fast,” Piper said. “I’ve got your next date set up for this Saturday.”

“You’re kidding?” Sunny asked, a bite of cake halfway to her mouth.

“I am not. Keep the day open on Saturday because you are going horse-back riding with a hot cowboy,” Piper instructed.

“First of all, how do you know a hot cowboy, and how did you get him to agree to a blind date?” Sunny asked incredulously. They had included Piper in the original plan, but Sunny didn’t really think she would come up with a thirty-something blind date for her.

“Just how hot is he?” Maggie asked.

“Oh, he’s hot all right,” Cassie said and wiggled her eyebrows at Maggie. “Let’s just say boots, tight Wranglers, and a cowboy hat, and leave it at that.”

“Let’s not leave it at that,” Sunny said. “Who is this guy, and since when do you know any cowboys, hot or otherwise?”  She looked expectantly at Cassie.

“He’s my riding instructor,” Piper explained. “I told him all about you, and he said he’s ‘intrigued’, so he wants to take you riding on Saturday.”

“Oh, great. You told him I was intriguing
?
How am I gonna pull that off?” Sunny slumped back in her chair. “I’m the least intriguing person you know.”

“Look, I checked him out at Piper’s last riding lesson,” Cassie said.

Maggie laughed. “I bet you did.”

“Not like that.” Cassie tossed cake crumbs across the table at Maggie. Oswald jumped up and licked the floor where the crumbs had fallen, his tail wagging in a cake-induced frenzy. “Well, okay, a little like that.” She giggled.

“Well, I
am
intriguing,” Edna said, “and I love horses and hot cowboys. Can I come with you on this one, Sunny?”

“You want to come
with
me on my blind date?” Sunny asked.

“He’s not like a stalker cowboy,” Piper said. “He’s cool.”

“I’ll be your back up,” Edna said. “I don’t know that you’re the best judge of character lately. I can be your voice of reason.”

The table was silent for a moment as the women all looked at each other before breaking into hysterical laughter.

“What?” Edna asked. She was the only one not laughing.

“Why not?” Sunny said. “You can come along as my chaperone so I don’t get all crazy and jump the hot cowboy. What’s his name anyway?”

“Levi.”

“Of course it is,” Sunny said with a smile. She reached across the table and took Piper’s hand. “Thanks honey, I think a day spent learning to ride a horse sounds fun. I mean really, how hard can it be?”

14

The warm water sloshed as Sunny stepped from the tub and a lone pool of soapy bubbles meandered down her wet leg as she reached for a towel. Sunny smiled as she thought of the fun they had had earlier in the evening at Cassie’s, talking about books and boys, and eating chocolate. The bathroom clock read ten-thirty, and the worries of the book club, stalkers, and blind dates seemed to swirl down the drain with the diminishing bathwater. Beau stood up from where he had been curled in front of the door sleeping as she had soaked in the tub. He stretched, then padded over to lick the scented moisture droplets from her lower leg as she toweled dry.

“Go on, Beau.” She shooed him and reached for one of the assorted bottles of lotion piled in a basket on the back of the toilet tank.

Sunny smoothed layers of moisturizer into her arms and legs and breathed in the scent of ‘Moonlight Path’. She smeared Oil of Olay onto her face and dabbed a thick ivory wrinkle-reducing cream around her eyes.

She pulled on her robe and felt the smooth satin adhere to the drops of moisture she had missed on her back. Reaching for the door, she heard her cell phone ring out the familiar strains of Beethoven’s Fleur de Lis.