Burning for You (Blackwater) (18 page)

“Are you cold?” he asks me, pulling
out of me and rolling onto his back to wiggle his jeans back on over his hips.

“Well now that you’re not on me
anymore, yes, I’d say so,” I reply, feeling the air biting against my bare, wet
thighs.  My senses begin to realize the cold stone underneath me.  I follow his
lead and yank my jeans up over my hips.

“Sorry,” he says, turning his head
and smiling.  “I guess the front seat of a car is a better place to do that,
huh?”

I swat at him playfully.  “Or, you
know, a bedroom, now that we’re grown-ups,” I say.  “Or at least one of us is.”

“You’re right,” he replies.  “You
really ought to grow up, Miss Holt.”

After smacking Ash thoroughly, he
and I help each other stand up.  We dust ourselves off, figuring that prior to
meeting my mother for lunch we should try not to look as though we just had a
good roll in the hay…or pyre, as the case may be.  I let Ash kiss me one more
time as we stand in the center of the pyre, both of us keeping our hands warm
in each other’s back pockets.  “I hope that some of the sad memories of coming
here in memory of your father will be replaced with what just happened,” I tell
him as we walk back toward the SUV, arms around each other.  “Do you want to
tell me anything about him?”

Ash shrugs.  “He killed himself
when I was three,” he says.  “Not much I can tell you.”

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“Not as sorry as you’re going to
be,” I hear a voice say, making me jump back in terror from the unexpected
sound of someone else.  I whirl around and see Michael standing by his car,
parked behind Ash’s black SUV.  The feeling of dread fills me. 

“Michael,” I say breathlessly. 
“How long have you been there?”

“Long enough,” he begins, “to know
that you haven’t been a very good girl.”  I glance at Ash nervously, who is
visibly bristling at the sight of my ex.  “No chandeliers this time, Leah, so
what are you going to do?”

“She’s not going to do shit,” Ash
says, stepping in front of me.  “But I’m going to beat the shit out of you
until you wish you were dead.”

The next part is like a cymbal
crash.  The two men explode toward each other and try and grab each other’s
shoulders to throw the other man down first.  Michael is much bigger in girth than
Ash, but Ash has a lot of height over Michael.  I shrink back as the violence
erupts, with Michael throwing a punch first, but missing Ash’s face and grazing
the top of his shoulder instead.  Ash pummels forward, charging Michael like an
angry buffalo.  Michael grunts as Ash’s head collides into his chest, the wind
knocked out of him, and the bulk of him falls down onto the gravel path.  I
hear Michael swear.  Ash falls on top of him and a fury of fists flies into
Michael’s face, a complete blur of rage.  “Ash!” I cry out, hesitant to touch
either one of them, completely frozen, “Stop!  You’ll kill him.”

Ash’s fists stop in midair, and he
calmly stands up from sitting on Michael’s chest and turns away and begins
walking toward me.  “Get in the car,” he says evenly. 

“Ash, let’s go,” I plead.

“Get.  In.  The.  Car.”  My eyes
widen, and he opens my door for me and stands calmly, staring at me.  I step up
into the car and sit down on the seat.  I lean forward, but Ash slams the door
in my face.  Startled, I press my face to the window and watch Ash walk back
toward Michael.  Michael’s face is bloody and swollen, with a gash just under
his eye where Ash’s fist split the skin.  Ash squats down next to Michael and
says something to him, his lips close to his ear.  I see Michael’s eyes open
and then close.  Ash gets up and walks back toward the car, crossing in front
and staring at me the whole time.  He gets in next to me and slams his door
shut.

“How are we getting out?” I ask
him, indicating Michael’s car blocking us in from behind.  Ash says nothing as
he starts the engine and begins driving forward on the beach.  We’re jostled as
the SUV roves over the unstable sand, and Ash drives a bit down the beach in
silence, away from the Gallows.  I hold my breath, wondering what the plan is. 
Finally, he veers off the sand toward a dirt road and we’re driving through
trees down a path I never would have known was there.  When we approach
Sinistro Road, I let a breath go I didn’t know I was holding.  “Say something,”
I demand.

“Something,” Ash replies through
clenched teeth.

“What did you say to him back
there?” I ask.  “You almost killed him.”

Ash shakes his head.  “I told him
to get out of your life, or I’d get him out for you,” he finally says. 

“Christ,” I reply.  “You might as
well have killed him.”

“Would that be so terrible?” he
wants to know.

I shrug.  “There’d be no love lost,
but I’d rather him just go away.”

Ash rests his head back against the
seat and sighs.  “He’s gone, Leah.”

“Where have you been?” my mother
demands when we walk through the blue door of Heidi and Jack’s house.  “I told
you lunch was an hour ago.”

“We got delayed,” I tell her.  I
leave out the fact that we got delayed first by Gabe, followed by a sexy romp
at the Gallows, then by Michael, and finally by Ash stopping at a gas station
restroom to wash Michael’s blood from his face and hands.  I can see from my
mother’s youthful face that she already knows something about what’s kept us
from arriving on time.  She simply nods and turns toward Ash as he takes her
hands and brings them to his forehead. 

“Mrs. Holt,” Ash says.  “It’s a
pleasure to finally meet you.”

My mother goes so far as to blush
furiously and flutter her eyelashes.  “Please, call me Ursula.  I insist.  It’s
so nice to meet you, Ash.”

I breathe a deep sigh of relief at
the ease of introductions.  “I’m sorry we’re late, Mother.  Did we ruin lunch?”

“Nothing I can’t fix,” says a
familiar voice from the kitchen.  Isabel walks out, wiping her hands on her
tight boot cut jeans with rhinestone piping down the legs.  She embraces me,
stretching to her toes to wrap her arms around my neck.  “Damn that’s a fine
sight,” she whispers in my ear, referring to Ash.  She makes me beam and forget
all the nastiness that occurred less than an hour ago.

“Ash, this is one of our family’s
dearest friends,” I say when Isabel and I break apart.  “Isabel , meet Ash
Lavanne.”

Ash does the formal greeting and
brings Isabel’s hands up to his forehead, stooping down significantly to the
point where my mother and I laugh.  Isabel chides us on making fun of her
stature.  “Where’s Jack?” I ask my mother when we’re finished with hysterics.

“Trying not to starve to death,” I
hear a deep voice say.  Jack comes out of the kitchen, licking his fingers in a
telltale sign that he was unable to wait for Ash and me to show up.  He’s
wearing khakis and a blue button down shirt.  His grey hair is in the same buzz
cut I remember seeing on him in pictures Heidi sent me from their wedding.  His
cerulean blue eyes sparkle with something that likely makes him very
politically popular.  I instantly warm to him.  He comes in and shakes Ash’s
hand diplomatically, and gives me a hug, even though we’re not exactly on
familiar terms.  “Leah, it’s so good to see you back in Blackwater.  I know
Heidi is glad to have her sister so close now, particularly with the new
arrival.  I’m hoping you’re up for some babysitting so we can get some sleep.” 

I laugh, recalling Gabe saying he
was Jack’s best man at Heidi’s wedding.  My impression of Jack is still
unclear, but he seems friendly enough.  “Of course I’ll babysit.  I’m ready to
be an Auntie!” I tell him.  Jack smiles and leads me over to the kitchen with
his hand gently resting on the small of my back.  I catch a look in Ash’s eye, fueled
by the sight of another man’s hand touching me.  I’m not sure if it’s jealousy
or suspicion or something else.  Heidi and Jack’s kitchen table is set for five
and a feast is laid out before us, all cold meats, brioche, a cheese plate,
smoked salmon, various spreads and breads and jellies and a quiche, plus three
chilled bottles of champagne.  Jack begins to pour and pass around glasses.  I
immediately begin to salivate upon seeing the spread, realizing I’m starving.  Our
session in the Gallows has left me famished, though I was too shaken up by our
encounter with Michael to notice until now.  Ash and I sit next to each other
on one side of the table, my mother and Isabel across from us, and Jack at the
head.

“I’d like to say a few quick words
before we eat,” Jack says to my dismay, and my hand reaching for a roll stops
in midair.  “Just informally, Isabel,” he continues, noting the scowl that’s
crossed her face.  I was able to suppress mine.

“I didn’t say anything,” Isabel
grumbles.  “But that quiche isn’t going to reheat any more than it already has
without falling.”

Jack smiles.  “I just want to thank
you all for being here for Heidi and me during this time,” he says.  “Family is
so important, and now that ours is about to increase by another person, I’m so
happy you all could be part of this joyous occasion.”  Wow, he’s really turning
on the politics, I think.  “I won’t delay anyone a minute longer,” he says.  He
raises his glass and we all follow suit.  “To family.”

“To family,” we all echo and
toast.  Ash winks at me as we clink our glasses together and I feel his hand
squeeze my leg under the table.  I stop it from traveling any higher, knowing
that the smallest touch of his will turn me beet red in front of everyone.

It’s an amicable brunch, mostly
consisting of Jack making small talk with me about Chicago, my job over there
and my job at the hospital.  He indicates that he’s considering running for
mayor, and my mother drops her fork loudly against her plate, but feigns a lack
of concern.  I know she gets nervous about anyone in the family becoming a
public figure, considering my dad was police chief before he left.  I pile my
plate full of food, filling up on fruits and cheese and meat, scarfing down
bread, and likely polishing off a half a bottle of champagne.  Soon I’m stuffed
to the gills and satisfied in every way possible.  When I settle back from
gorging myself, Ash takes my hand and smiles softly at me.  No one comments on
the gesture, though I wonder what everyone could be thinking.  After lunch, my
mother and I help Isabel clear the table and my mother yanks me aside.  “What
happened today?”

“What do you mean?” I ask her,
blushing when I remember what Ash and I did at the Gallows.  “You’ll have to be
more specific.”

“Michael,” my mother says.  “He’s
not gone?”  I shake my head.  “I’m sorry, Leah.  It’s not too late, you know,”
she says lowering her voice.  “You could still go back to Chicago with him. 
Ash will understand.”

“No he won’t, Mother,” I snap. 
“Look at you, living without Dad all these years.  Everyone knows you died the
day he left.  Don’t you think the same thing would happen to Ash and me?”

She nods, her eyes welling up with
tears.  “I know it,” she whispers.  “But I want you safe.  Your father left to
make sure we were safe.  Ash will understand.”

“I still don’t understand why I’m
not safe,” I hiss back.  “If I go with Michael, I’m certainly not safe at all. 
With Ash at least I feel protected.”

“There’s so much you don’t know,
Leah,” she goes on to say.  “I can’t even begin to tell you-“ She stops and
grabs my arm, her ice blue eyes clouding over in alarm.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” I ask her. 
Isabel shuts the water off from the sink and comes up to my mother.  She puts a
hand on my mother’s shoulder and gasps.  “What’s going on?” I demand to know,
looking from one woman to the other.  Startled blue and green eyes turn to look
up into my own.  “Will one of you please tell me what the problem is?”

“Eleanor,” my mother whispers, and
Isabel nods.  “Leah, have Ash take you to Eleanor, now.”

“But, why?” I ask.  “What’s going
on?”  I watch my mother turn away and shake her head.

Isabel comes up to me.  “Leah, we
can’t know what’s wrong, but something happened to Eleanor, and you should go
to the hospital and find out right now.  Do you understand?”  I nod, looking at
Isabel’s terrified face and my mother’s teary one and feeling the dread each of
them conveys.  My heart is pounding as I make my way over to the table where
Ash and Jack are having a casual discussion.  Something about the property
taxes in Blackwater.

I lean over to whisper to Ash, “We
need to go now.”   I straighten up and smile at Jack, coming over to him and
putting a hand on his shoulder.  “Jack,” I begin, “Thank you for hosting
brunch, even though it was more like between lunch and dinner.  That was my
fault.  I apologize.”

“Linner,” Jack says, grinning.  “It’s
no problem.  Thank you for your help with the crib, Leah.  I do appreciate it.”

“The delivery should be later
today, they told me,” I remind him.  “And I guess you have a car seat coming to
you from Gabe Locke.”

“Car seat?” Jack says.  “Heidi
mentioned she was going to get one.  She can’t bring the baby home without a
car seat.  It’s illegal.”

“Oh,” I say, shrugging.  “Maybe
you’ll have two now.  You do have two cars.”

Jack shrugs.  “I’m so new at this,
I don’t know how it all works, but you’re right, it’s probably easier to have
two car seats than to switch them every time we want to take a different car.”

I smile at Jack, amused by his
new-parent-jitters.  “It will all be fine, Jack.  And do take me up on
babysitting.  I’ll come over and relieve you and Heidi any time you need me.”

Once Ash and I are outside, he
wants to know why we’ve left so abruptly.  “Get in the car and drive to
Blackwater Memorial,” I say quietly.

“Shit,” he says, starting the car
and throwing the gearshift into reverse.  “That can’t be good.”

“My mom said Eleanor’s name,” I
say, my hands writhing nervously.  “Why would she say Eleanor’s name?”