Forever in Love (11 page)

Damn
,
Blaine
,
jealous of your own brother?

He scowled. Of course not. That would be stupid. He crooked his finger at Sean when their gazes met.

Sean sighed and followed Blaine out to the back. The alley was quiet, well-lit and most important gave them some privacy away from nosy townsfolk.

“Why are you here?” Blaine asked.

Sean shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “I don’t want to be in college anymore.”

“Why not?”

“The shit’s stupid. It’s not like they’re teaching me anything I don’t know.”

“Really?” Blaine gave a short laugh. “And it only took you two years to figure out you’re God’s gift to petroleum engineering?”

“No, it took me that long to figure out how you’re paying for my education. What the hell, man? Why did you take on all those loans? You lied to me. You said I got a shit load of scholarship—free money!”

Blaine swore. He considered denying it for a moment, but gave up. That’d not only be pointless, but disrespectful to his brother. “It was my decision. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Your decision? It’s my education. I should be the one responsible for paying for it.”

“No. You’re going to have an amazing fresh start in life without all that shit hanging over you, got that?”

“But—”

“I never went to college. The best I can do with my life is running this bar and restaurant because that’s all I know. But you can do more. Having that piece of paper is going to open doors for you. Don’t throw it away when you’re more than halfway there.”

“How much do you owe?”

“Not that much.”

“How much?”

Enough to buy a damned nice house. But Sean would never learn that from him. “It’s none of your business. I can handle it.”

“You were so full of crap about all that great scholarship money I got because I was smart and hard-working. And I believed your lying ass.”

“Well, you’re smart enough, anyway. Now shut up, go to the apartment and get some sleep. You’re going back to campus tomorrow.”

“Or what?”

“Or I might just beat some sense into you.”

“Oh yeah, ol’ man?”

“Don’t mess with me. I taught you how to fight, and I can still take you out.”

Sean gave him a hot glare but stomped inside. A moment later a light came on in their upstairs apartment and he heard a door slam. Blaine sighed. His brother wasn’t finished with his tantrum. Did he resent that his father Harry had left the business to Blaine?

Harry and Georgia Love had never married, even though they’d lived together for years. But they might as well have been given how loving they had been to each other. Harry always treated Blaine like his own son, and had taught him the bar and restaurant business. After Georgia Love had died, Harry had changed his will and bequeathed The Line to Blaine before following her two years later. Blaine always thought it’d meant Harry had wanted him to take care of his young son. Blaine hadn’t known a thing about raising a teenage boy, but he’d always done what he could, asking for help from the mothers in town as needed.

When he went back inside, Rick was coming out of the stock room.

“Everything okay?” Rick asked.

“Yeah. Fine.”

“Where’s Sean?”

“Upstairs.”

Rick smirked. “Making him do his homework?”

Blaine snorted a laugh. “Nobody can make that boy do anything. You know that.”

They returned to the bar together. Blaine narrowed his eyes when he saw Mimi seating the familiar bleached yellow-haired woman at one of the smaller tables in the center of the restaurant section. All sixty years of her hard life showed on her lined and powdered face. A bright red coated her thin lips, which were set in a flat, battle-ready line. She wore a brown sweater and brown pants, the color making her drab and dull.

“Damn,” Rick muttered.

Blaine’s gaze swung to the other side of the restaurant and saw Catherine finish the last bite of her salad. He could feel the customers holding their breaths, waiting for the fireworks to start…and suddenly realized that Catherine had no idea what Willie Rae looked like.

“I can’t believe she showed up. I told her she wasn’t welcome here until she made things right with Catherine and stopped stealing stuff.”

“Huh,” Rick said, his jaw working sideways. “Think she already did all that?”

“Nope. But we’ll see.” Blaine went to Willie Rae’s table. “So, you came.”

“Why wouldn’t I? All my friends and neighbors come here.”

“Did you give the purse back to Catherine?” he asked in a low voice. No reason to wound her pride further if she had.

“Now, Blaine, I already told Earl I don’t have her purse.”

“If that’s the way you want to play it.” He stood straight and crossed his arms. “Get out.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Out. Told you not to come back until you did the right thing.” She wasn’t staying after she’d flipped him the figurative bird in his own place of business.

“Is that how your mama taught you to speak to your elders?”

He ground his teeth. “She taught me not to look the other way when I see a wrongdoing. You stole from Catherine, just like you’ve been taking people’s stuff for years. I told you to make it right and stop stealing or you’ll never be welcome back here.” He sensed Catherine approaching them. “You remember this lady?” He gestured at her. “You took her purse the day she got here.”

“I did not!” By now everyone had turned in their seats to watch the spectacle, and Willie Rae’s face grew blotchy under the powder. “Blaine Davis, I demand an apology!”

Blaine shook his head. Who was she trying to fool? Everyone in Cooter’s Bluff and Greensville knew she had a problem, but nobody had spoken out against her. The townsfolk generally stuck up for their own, and Willie Rae was probably counting on that, given how Catherine was an outsider. Would they side with the old bat? A lot of people felt bad about the fact that she was a widow who’d lost her only child in combat. That was the primary reason why she’d been allowed to get away with her behavior for so long. They felt they owed at least that much to the mother of a soldier who’d sacrificed his life for the country.

Catherine stopped next to Blaine. “Why don’t we do this outside? There’s—”

“I’m not leaving!” Willie Rae screeched. “I’m staying put until I get my dinner and drink. I’ve always been fair to everyone, and I deserve better. I deserve some respect!”

“Let’s not make a scene,” Catherine said with a brittle smile.

“I’m not making any scene. It’s you and Blaine,” Willie Rae said, playing to the gallery. “I already told Earl. I even gave him the things I found so he could return them to the owner.” She turned her defiant glare back to Catherine. “Did he tell you I have your purse?”

“He really didn’t have to tell me anything.” Catherine shrugged. “You had my car fob, keys and phone, and I always keep them in my purse.”

“Musta fell out.”

“All three items?” Catherine looked around with an “I ask you” expression on her face. Blaine thought that if it came to playing the crowd, she was going to win. “All right; if you found them here, why didn’t you leave them with Rick? Why did you take them?”

A murmur went through the crowd.

“Enough.” Blaine stepped closer to the older woman’s table. “Until Catherine gets her purse back—
and
an apology—you aren’t welcome here, Willie Rae. Now get on out before I call Earl.”

“Fine. Go ahead and treat your neighbors like this. See how long this place lasts.” She snatched a bag from the seat next to her and rose.

Catherine gasped. “
That’s my purse!
”

“No, it’s not!” Willie Rae hugged it. “It’s mine.”

“Are you telling me you have four thousand dollars to spend on a purse?” Catherine demanded.

Willie Rae’s face slackened. So did a lot of other people’s.

Catherine seized the moment and snatched the bag and opened it. “Oh for god’s sake.” She yanked out a black leather wallet and started thumbing through it, finally pulling out a Texas driver’s license with her photo on it. She held it up and turned so that the entire bar could see it.

Willie Rae flushed. “You set me up! You put that in there.”

“Just stop,” Blaine said, physically putting himself between the two women. Willie Rae was a scrapper, and he didn’t want her launching herself at Catherine. “I can’t believe you brought that bag in here.” But of course she had, because she’d thought she could get away with it. The townsfolk letting it go had emboldened her. Even Earl had looked the other way. Of course she felt confident and cocky enough to bring Catherine’s bag into his bar.

“I got nothing to be ashamed of. I will
not
be humiliated.”

He let out an impatient sigh. “You had a chance to take care of it privately. You chose to come to my bar and restaurant when I asked you not to. You even flaunted the purse you took. What did you expect?”

“I don’t have to hear this!”

“Then leave,” Blaine said.

Her gaze swung to the crowd around them. “You just gonna sit and watch? Let some damn Yankee” —she pointed at Catherine— “ruin one of your own’s reputation?”

“Yankee? I’m from Houston!” Catherine said.

“Because she’s young and pretty, you think it’s okay for her to bully me?” Willie Rae continued.

“Give it up, Willie Rae,” one of the women said. “If you were really bullied, we woulda stood up for you, but you stole her bag and wallet. That ain’t right.”

“You took my scarf that one time,” another voice said.

Willie Rae’s face turned bright red. “You people always remember the most unchristian things, bless your hearts. I
found
it and gave it back to you.”

“Yeah, after the winter was over.” There was general laughter.

Others who had been her victims started to grumble. Willie Rae looked around, her face getting paler, then finally stormed out. The customers slowly went back to their meals and drinks. From the way their voices buzzed, news of what had happened would spread faster than pollen in the spring.

“Well, well,” came Earl’s resonant voice. “I see you decided to take matters into your own hands.” He stepped into the bar looking casual and relaxed in a gray sweater and jeans. The hat was still on his head.

“About time somebody put a stop to it,” Blaine said with a shrug. “I can’t have my customers getting robbed.”

“It didn’t have to be so public.”

“She made it public.”

Earl’s moustache bristled but he said nothing more. Instead he turned to Catherine. “What are you gonna do, ma’am? Press charges?”

The sheriff’s question stunned Blaine. He hadn’t thought about Catherine wanting to prosecute Willie Rae, but now that Earl mentioned it, it was a possibility. Aw, man. Blaine didn’t want the older woman tossed in jail. He didn’t think the sheriff did either.

Catherine rummaged through her bag, then shook her head. “I have everything in here. What’s the point?”

Earl frowned. “I guess the point would be that she has to answer for the crime.”

“She doesn’t think she did anything wrong. Getting fined or spending some time in jail won’t change her mind. Besides, she’s been outed, so…” She shrugged. “Hopefully she’ll stop now.”

“If you say so. Ma’am.” Earl nodded to her and grabbed a bottle of beer before heading to the pool table.

Catherine tugged at Blaine’s sleeve. “Thank you,” she said in a low voice. “This is why you had to leave so suddenly this afternoon, wasn’t it? You wanted to see Willie Rae.”

“Yeah.” Blaine barely kept himself from shuffling on his feet. She was looking up at him like he was some kind of a goddamn hero. But he was just a guy who finally put an end to something that should’ve been stopped a long time back. Dead son or not, Willie Rae had never had the right to take other people’s things.

He didn’t deserve the look in Catherine’s eyes, even as a part of him craved it and wanted to be a man worthy of it.

“Why don’t you come by after you close?” she whispered.

“Love to, but…you know people are going to see me going to your place, right? It’ll be all over town by tomorrow morning.”

“So? They’re going to talk no matter what. Why not give them something juicy to gossip about? ‘Local business owner gets involved with drug cartel hit woman.’ That should satisfy everyone for a while.”

Blaine chuckled. He still needed to have a chat with Sean, but there was no way he was turning down the soft invitation in her eyes. “Okay.”

Blaine drove straight to the Blue House the second he closed The Line. If Sean was waiting to get chewed out, well, he would just have to endure a few more hours of suspense.

Despite the hour, Blaine was certain somebody would see him parking in front of Catherine’s place. That was the thing about Cooter’s Bluff. Everyone was close and friendly, but everyone was also all up in everyone else’s business. There was no such a thing as a secret among the townsfolk.

The second he cut the engine and trotted to her porch, the door opened. The warm light inside limned Catherine’s gorgeous body wrapped in a thin silken robe. She moved sideways in silent invitation.

Once he was inside, she shut the door and kissed him, her hands warm and soft against his cheek. He briefly regretted not shaving before coming over. His five o’clock shadow had to feel rough against her skin.

She didn’t seem to mind all that much as she pulled him closer for a deeper kiss. One hand wrapped around his neck, while she pushed aside his coat with the other.

“Easy, baby, easy,” he murmured.

“Do you have any idea how much I wanted you back there?” she asked, breathless. “It was like you were my champion or something.”

“It’s just a purse.”

“No. It’s more than that.”

His heart ached at the radiant look she was giving him. Of course it had felt like more than that to her. She hadn’t had anybody in her corner for a long time. It sounded like her bigamist husband also had been a total dick to her, and had done some real damage. He didn’t think she’d ever been beaten—she’d never hinted at it and she didn’t have the look of a physically abused woman—but that didn’t mean there were no scars.