Jailbird (12 page)

“Trust me, she won’t let you forget,” Charlie
kissed me lightly on the lips. A shiver ran down my spine. I
wondered if it was possible to ever be bored with his touch. I
hoped not.

“You guys didn’t have to do this,” I hurried
to brush the tears that seemed to come from nowhere.

“We wanted to,” Cara snuggled up next to me
on the bed. “Didn’t your mommy and daddy celebrate your birthday
with you?”

“Cara,” Charlie shushed her.

“It’s okay,” I assured him before turning my
attention back to her. “They did. Every year my mama baked me a
chocolate cake with chocolate icing and my daddy would make me a
special present. Birthdays were very special. But my mommy and
daddy died a long time ago.”

“That’s so sad,” Cara sympathized. “How did
they die?”

“Cara,” Charlie’s exasperation grew.

“I don’t mind you asking, but I’m not sure
your daddy wants me answering that,” my eyes met Charlie’s
helplessly. I didn’t know how to answer her truthfully without
running the risk of scaring her.

“It’s okay,” Charlie replied, his curiosity
getting the better of him.

“My parents owned a cabin on the bayou where
my mama was from; we’d visit there when Conrad and I had breaks
from school. Some bad men broke in one night while Conrad and I
were out with friends.”

“Did they rob you?”

“No, they weren’t after money. We were poor…
it would have been a waste of time to steal from us. They just
didn’t like us very much.”

“Why not?”

“I think it was because my daddy was
Coushatta and my mama wasn’t.”

“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard,”
Cara declared, her delicate brow furrowing in distress.

“People can come up with pretty silly reasons
to hate.”

“Very true,” Charlie leaned down to kiss the
top of my head tenderly.

“They won’t come after you, will they? You’re
Coushatta and Daddy isn’t.” Cara was suddenly frightened.

“No, honey,” I assured her quickly. “Those
bad men are long gone. I want to talk about something happy now.
Can I open the present on my tray?”

“I made it myself,” she smiled proudly and
shoved the present at me.

“It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,”
I declared after unwrapping a pretty little bracelet of wooden
beads. “I’ll always wear it. Thank you, baby girl.”

Conversation stayed light for the rest of
breakfast. Cara got bored before I had even finished my first piece
of toast and went in search of something to do. Afterwards, Charlie
reluctantly informed me that he had to go to Louisiana for the day,
so he’d be back later in the evening.

“If I could have gotten the hearing scheduled
for any other day, I would have.”

“I know.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t need to be. You’re helping my
friend, remember?”

“I’m glad to help her. She deserves a
break.”

“How is she?”

“Hanging in there. She misses you.”

“I miss her, too,” my thoughts drifted to
another place and time.

“I love you,” Charlie brought me back to
now.

“I’ll never know why.”

Charlie took a breath to tell me I shouldn’t
be so hard on myself when another thought crossed his mind. “Are
you sure you feel okay? You look a little pale.”

“Sure, tell the birthday girl she looks bad.
That’s smart.”

“Never mind.”

“You’d better go before you insult me any
more.”

“Cute… look, I’m hoping to be home in time to
celebrate just the two of us.”

“That sounds nice,” I smiled at the thought.
I liked those kinds of celebrations.

“You really do look tired, sweetheart. I’ll
drop Cara at school.”

I opened my mouth to protest then realized I
was still tired. Maybe a morning in bed would be nice. “Sure.
Thanks.”

“Sorry, I’ve got to do this….” Charlie moved
my tray to the floor and swept me into his arms, his lips meeting
mine with a playful sort of passion. I happily sank my fingers into
his hair as we rumpled his suit.

“I pinch myself every day just to be sure I’m
not dreaming. I’ve found heaven. I don’t want to wake up back in
hell.”

“You taste as delicious as you look,” he
murmured against my cheek. “And hear me when I say this… you are
never going back there. This is real. We are real.”

I looked into his eyes. The love there was
completely overwhelming. If I lived to be one hundred, I’d never
understand what I’d done to earn that kind of devotion from him. I
wanted to answer with something witty or even comforting. Instead,
those stupid tears resurfaced. I swore under my breath and wiped my
eyes fiercely with the back of my hand.

“At least now I know why you swear like a
sailor,” he smiled gently and kissed each of my eyelids before
tucking me up against his chest. “It’s okay darlin’. You’re allowed
to cry if you need to.”

“I never cry,” I protested.

“Apparently you do on occasion.”

“Shut up.”

“I love you too.”

At that, I cried even harder.

Between the brief make-out session and the
torrent of tears that drenched his coat, Charlie had to change his
suit before he could leave. He’d never say it, but I had the
distinct impression I’d made him late. That made me feel even worse
so I sprang another leak. I spent the rest of the morning drifting
in and out of sleep, nightmares about dark hallways and high fences
peppering my thoughts.

Sometime around noon, Anjelita marched into
my room and yanked the curtains back before turning to stare at me
expectantly.

“Can I help you?” I squinted up at her. I’d
seen C.O.s who intimidated me less than she did at that moment.

“This is the day of the year typically set
aside to celebrate the existence of your life. Why on earth are you
sleeping it away?”

“I’m tired?”

“Get up.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Get out of bed.”

“Why?”

“We’re going out to lunch.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I’m helping Manny get ready for
Christmas.”

“Huh?”

“His woodwork. He has several large orders
for Christmas. There’s no work on the farm right now anyway.”

“That’s wonderful,” I brightened
immediately.

“Thank you,” she softened.

“Can I change in private?”

“Will you just go back to sleep the second I
leave?”

“Nope. Promise.”

“Fine. But if you’re not out in five minutes,
I’m coming in after you.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I’m serious.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

The door closed behind her with a firm click.
Rather than take the chance that I’d doze off again, I hauled
myself out of bed and padded over to my dresser to find some
clothes. I didn’t want to push it on time and risk her barging back
in, but one look at my puffy face told me it was a chance I’d have
to take—I desperately needed a shower.

The steamy water did perk me up a little bit,
but didn’t do much for my complexion. I still looked pasty. Best
way to fix that was to stop looking in a mirror so I ran a brush
through my hair and went to find Anjelita, who gave me a piercing
look when I joined her in the living room.

“How long have you been married now?”

“Six weeks.”

“Mmmm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” she shrugged innocently. “Let’s go
grab some lunch.”

“Good idea. I’m famished.”

I’d just about convinced myself that it was a
good idea to go out when we ran into Elena and her father at the
diner. Conversation screeched to a halt when I walked through the
door.

“Hey Rita,” I nodded at one of the few women
in town I considered a friend. The guilty flush on her cheeks as
she returned the nod confirmed what—or rather, who—had been the
topic of their conversation. I smiled a little and turned my
attention to the table she was standing at. “Sheriff Taylor… Elena.
Good to see you both.”

“You too, Neena. You too. Where’s Charlie
today?”

“Trying a case out of town,” I shrugged.
“It’s a favor for a friend. You know Charlie. Too nice to say no to
anybody.”

“Yep, that’s Charlie alright.”

“And there’s never a shortage of people
willing to take advantage of him,” there was an undercurrent in
Elena’s voice that made my hackles rise.

“Good thing he has me then,” I smiled
angelically at her. “I’m pretty good at sorting out the snakes from
the decent human beings. And I’m not as nice as him, either.”

“I’m sure it was divine providence that
brought you to his life,” Anjelita laughed nervously and steered me
to a booth at the far side of the room.

“I’m sure,” I could feel Elena’s eyes boring
into my back.

“I don’t like her,” I whispered to Anjelita
as we sat down.

“Really? Because I didn’t think you made that
clear enough back there,” Anjelita scowled at me.

“What?” I tried to look innocent but blew it
when a giggle escaped my lips. “Oh come on, you’re the one that
wanted me to have fun on my birthday.”

“It’s your birthday?” Rita approached the
table just as the words left my mouth.

“It is,” Anjelita informed her with a smug
smile when I would have lied to avoid the attention.

“Oh, well happy birthday sweetie. Lunch is on
me today,” Rita patted my shoulder. I was about to breathe a sigh
of relief when Rita turned to the rest of the diner and raised her
voice. “Hey everybody. It’s Neena’s birthday today and Charlie’s
gone and left her alone.”

“Happy birthday Neena!” Sheriff Taylor called
happily, seemingly either haven forgiven me or oblivious to the
insult I’d tossed at his daughter.

“Happy birthday young lady,” the old man who
always played checkers looked up to smile at me. A few others
called their well wishes and I tried to smile and thank them all
when what I really wanted to do was crawl under the table to
hide.

I didn’t remember ordering, but a
cheeseburger the size of Rhode Island was placed in front of me a
few moments later. My stomach did a little flip-flop when the smell
of grease hit my nostrils. Angelita watched me intently, a little
smile playing on her lips as I nibbled hesitantly on a French
fry.

“Are you sure there isn’t something you want
to tell me?”

“Thank you?” I guessed.

“No, that’s not it. Isn’t there anything else
going on that you want to share?”

“I just sold out of my first batch of
jewelry.”

“Really, Neena. You’re being impossible
today.”

“What? What do you think I want to tell
you?”

“You and Charlie are having a baby, aren’t
you?” her eyes danced merrily.

“What?” I practically shrieked, earning a few
curious glances. “Shhh. Someone might hear you.”

“So it’s true? When were you going to tell
me?”

“No, it’s not true. The last thing I need is
more rumor-fodder. That viper Elena has been watching my waistline
for weeks. She’s told everyone in town I trapped Charlie into a
shotgun wedding.”

“She didn’t,” Anjelita gasped.

“She did. That’s not even the worst one.
Look, don’t tell Charlie. It’ll blow over. But not if I gave them
something to fuel the fire… why on earth would you even say
that?”

“I don’t know… you’re tired all the time,
emotional, nauseous, pale….”

“Oh,” realization hit me smack between the
eyes. I muttered a curse word under my breath, then a quick apology
to soften the glare I’d earned from Anjelita. How had I missed that
one? I did the math in my head before letting loose a whole string
of mental curse words. Really, how on earth had I missed that
one?

“Neena?” Anjelita placed a hand over mine.
“If you are, that’s a good thing, right?”

“We don’t know that I am,” I shoved my plate
away miserably. “Can we not say anything to anyone?”

“Anyone?” she arched an eyebrow.

“Anyone,” I met her gaze sternly.

“You can’t lie to him. I can’t lie to him.
Why would you?”

“It’s not a lie. I’m just not telling him
anything until I’m certain.”

“But once you’re certain….”

“Sure, sure. I’ll tell him then.”

Chapter Twelve

Once back in college, I’d gone to an
amusement park with some friends. After an entire day of
harassment, they finally convinced me to go on a roller coaster
with them. The Ragin Cajun—I still shudder at the name. The second
the steel bar clamped down on my lap, I’d known it was a bad idea.
But then the coaster lurched forward and it was too late to do
anything but hang on for dear life and pray like I never had
before.

As I stared at the little pink lines on the
stick in my trembling hand, I realized the steel bar had just come
down for a whole new kind of ride.

It had been Saturday before I’d managed to
convince Charlie to drive me to the neighboring town to check on my
jewelry stock in the little shop that carried my things. Of course,
while he and Cara were having lunch, I snuck over to the
five-and-dime to buy a pregnancy test. Which I used in the employee
restroom. Where I was currently sitting on the dirty linoleum
floor, trying not to have a nervous breakdown.

That stupid little stick shook so badly, I
almost convinced myself I was just seeing double. When the
sixteen-year-old kid who manned the front counter started knocking
impatiently on the door, I wrapped the offending device in a paper
towel and shoved it to the bottom of the trash can.

“Coming. Sorry,” I called as I hurriedly
washed my hands.

“You don’t look so good,” she informed me
warily as I darted passed her. “Are you okay?”

“Sure, fine. Thanks,” I didn’t even turn as I
waved. “I’ll be back next week with Andrea’s order.”

“Okay. See ya Neena.”

My mind was reeling. I couldn’t begin to
process the ramifications of it all. Could I stand having another
child ripped out of my arms? Was it fair to Gabrielle to have
another child when she had never even met me? And wouldn’t the
rumor mill have a field day with this one? I really could be an
idiot sometimes. Conrad. What would Conrad say?