Good Woman Blues (16 page)

“I see.”

“Don’t worry. I haven’t been convicted for
embezzling. I was, I am a top accountant,” Erikka went on
defensively. She searched his expression for any sign that he was
judging her.

“Don’t worry, I never thought otherwise
despite the talk about you,” Gabriel replied mildly.

“Yes, I—Wait a damn minute. You heard gossip
about me?” Erikka put her empty mug down with a thump.

“My Aunt Therese is a twenty-four-hour news
bureau all by herself.”

“So much for keeping my business out of the
street, at least around here!” Erikka grimaced. She would feel
naked now each time she set foot outside Darlene’s house.

“Bother you?” Gabriel said quietly.

She glanced at him then forced a grin. “Nah,
not really. I don’t care what these country folk think.”

“Right.”

“Maybe a little. In New Orleans you can keep
a low profile among the millions. Here you sneeze and five people
show up with a box of tissues within seconds.”

Gabriel’s laugh flowed out as rich as the
Colombian brew he’d made. Erikka liked the sound just as much. His
baritone voice generated just as much heat and twice the zing, too.
He crossed in front of her on his way to the coffee pot. She
inhaled the subtle scent of sandalwood aftershave lotion.

“Welcome to your new goldfish bowl life,
Erikka. I had to get used to it again when I came home.” Gabriel
filled his mug.

“You moved away?” Erikka settled in a
chair.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t get the full
story.” Gabriel’s eyes sparkled over the rim of the mug as he
sipped coffee.

“Apparently not.”

“Neither did I. Aunt Therese didn’t know
about the, what did you call it? Trip to the psycho ward?” Gabriel
tilted his head to one side.

Erikka suddenly regretted her leap into
self-disclosure. She squirmed beneath the gaze, and then looked
away. “Yeah, something like that. As you’ve probably guessed, the
accident is how I got these.” She pointed to her left cheek before
turning away.

“Got what? I don’t understand” Gabriel
said.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to.” Erikka’s
throat tightened. Pity from him would cut too deep. She got up to
leave.

He followed her. “I’m sorry if I said
something wrong.”

“The scars.” Erikka faced him. Might as well
get it over with now.

“I saw them even with the makeup. I also saw
a bright, funny, and pretty lady underneath that makeup,” Gabriel
said in a muted voice. He looked at Erikka until she got busy
gathering papers.

“Thanks. Anyway, I’m out in the swamps to
clear the cobwebs and let the heat cool off,” she quipped.

Gabriel sat on the windowsill and drank more
coffee. He seemed to put distance between them so she could be at
ease. “I see. I came home after six years of cooling off time, for
me and everybody else around here. I grew up almost overnight back
then.”

Erikka felt a kinship with him. She’d been
poked and probed enough in the last few months by doctors, social
workers, the judge, and more. She looked through a glass window in
one wall of the office that gave a view of Gabriel’s workshop. He’d
built beautiful things and fashioned a world where he felt
comfortable. Erikka did not want to disturb the serene atmosphere.
Somehow she felt they’d both said enough for now.

‘To maturity.” Erikka lifted her mug. “About
damn time. I’m speaking for myself, of course.”

Gabriel laughed and lifted his mug. “Me,
too.”

Erikka gave him a playful grin. Gabriel’s
lips curved up only a little. She stared at his mouth a full minute
before her gaze went to his golden brown eyes. He not only
understood, but he cared. The promise in them left her bewildered.
And afraid. She was in danger of reading too much into his
kindness. Paradise found could lead to paradise lost.

Erikka swung the chair around to face the
computer. “Hey, you better crack the whip on me. I’ll goof off on
your time all afternoon if you let me. This software is good, but
it won’t put in the numbers all by itself.”

“Right. More numbers, more spreadsheets. Tell
me this will get easier. Please.”

“You’ll be absolutely amazed at how easy it
will be.” Erikka glanced at him over her shoulder.

“In other words the software is idiot-proof,”
Gabriel teased.

“Let’s just say this application is designed
for people without an accounting background. In other words, it’s
not full of the mumbo jumbo we use to impress our clients,” Erikka
joked back.

“Exactly what I suspected. Accountants are
like lawyers—you like to keep us normal folks confused.” Gabriel
stretched out his long legs and watched Erikka work.

“Do you really want to navigate workman’s
comp, benefits packages, and the IRS on your own?” Erikka set up a
simple method for him to calculate his self-employment tax using
the software.

“God no.” Gabriel put a palm over his heart
in mock terror.

“Then show some respect, dude, or you’re on
your own.”

“Yes, ma’am. Deepest apologies.”

Erikka switched to another screen. “I set up
templates of forms for one employee. Just fill in the blanks. The
calculations are based on what you said you would pay.”

“One set for full-time and one for
part-time.” Gabriel leaned over her shoulder.

She relaxed into the warmth from his chest
only inches away. Something in the way he moved nearer sent waves
of calm through Erikka. Although his presence made her feel secure,
she also felt power from his muscular body. Gabriel still had a
kind of restless tension beneath the surface. Looks could be
deceiving. He might be trouble wrapped up all neat and pretty like
a bomb in a gift box. Erikka wanted to believe otherwise, and that
was the problem. She couldn’t afford to see only what she wanted to
see.

“Here, I’ll move out of the way so you can
see.” Erikka pushed her chair sideways to allow him to roll his up
to the desk.

“I’m good.” Still, he moved in closer to the
computer, which put him closer to her as well. “You’ve been a big
help. But I’m not sure your work is done.”

Erikka gazed at the hint of stubble along his
jaw line. The effect made him look even more like a rugged yet
sensitive artist. As though reading her mind, Gabriel rubbed one
cheek. The soft scratchy sound made her shiver. Erikka wanted to
feel the prickly sensation, and then breathe in the smell of his
skin. To clear her head, she stood up.

“Oh?”

Gabriel looked at her. His eyes reflected
puzzlement for a moment, and then cleared. “Like you said, I don’t
want to tackle red tape alone. I’d like to keep you on
retainer.”

“Sure,” Erikka said without hesitation,
forgetting that she should be observing caution signs.

“Great. Say three hours twice a month? Since
I’m now so well trained.” Gabriel’s smile opened up and let more
sunshine into the room. Dimples appeared in his cheeks. The effect
made him look like a cross between a charming boy and a stunning
man.

“I agree. You can always call me in between,”
she put in impulsively. “Extra fee for consultations, of
course.”

“Of course.” Gabriel nodded. He seemed to
relax as though he’d cleared some hurdle.

Erikka felt they’d crossed some boundary as
well. She smiled at him. “What next?”

“Lunch,” he said suddenly. “You’ve been here
longer than we agreed. I can at least treat you.”

“There’s a restaurant near here?” Erikka
suddenly felt her stomach rumble just at the mention of food.

“No. I’ll fix us something.” Gabriel stood.
He watched her expectantly, waiting for her reaction.

Erikka blinked rapidly as the implications of
his suggestion sank in. “At your house you mean. We go over to your
place.”

“Yes.”

“Right. Sure.”

Erikka rubbed her now moist palms against the
thighs of her cotton slacks. She went through the door when he
opened it and motioned for her to go first. As they walked she
grabbed her small shoulder purse and portfolio. They crossed the
twenty or so yards to the deck behind his home. The view was
lovely. A bateau tied to a long wooden dock rocked gently in the
shallow water. Farther down a larger bass boat was anchored.

“You like to fish?” Gabriel asked as he
unlocked his back door.

“Before I became too mature and sophisticated
I loved it. My paw paw would take us down to the river, and we’d
fish from the bank. None of that fancy rod and reel stuff.

We used long cane poles with those little red
stoppers that bobbed when the fish took the bait.”

Erikka chattered on brightly to cover her
nervousness. She followed him down a short hall. They went past a
small laundry room to the right. The kitchen opened up with an
expanse of windows looking out into the bayou. An oak butcher’s
block center isle contained an array of spices. The cabinets
wrapped around the airy kitchen. Stainless-steel appliances
gleamed.

“Wow.” Erikka walked around, touching
appliances she had only dreamed of owning.

“I took a few cooking classes. Someone I knew
helped outfit this place. Don’t think I picked out this stuff. But
I do enjoy it.”

“You bake bread?” Erikka wanted to kiss the
bread maker. She’d drooled over it when she’d seen it in an upscale
home magazine.

“Not me. Like I said—”

“Your girlfriend, right?” Erikka had to
admire the woman’s taste in kitchen equipment.

“Former.” Gabriel turned to the refrigerator.
“We can have sandwiches or something more substantial. Roast beef
po-boys with melted Swiss cheese, curly fries, and cream sodas or
shrimp stew over rice.”

Erikka joined him. “You got a restaurant in
there?”

Gabriel laughed easily. “My mother stocks up
this place like I’m living in the desert. I try to stop her, but
she shows up with groceries every few weeks.”

‘Takes a big man to admit he can’t control
his mother. I feel ya on that one.” Erikka patted his shoulder.

He faced her while her hand still rested on
the olive green cotton shirt. “Women are still something of a
mystery to me.”

Erikka looked at his shoulder for a few
seconds, and then moved away. She wanted to kiss him. Not seduce
him, just barely brush her lips against his wide, full mouth.
Erikka wanted physical contact to feel pretty again, to feel
desirable. Rejection, or worse pity, would be more painful than the
glass they’d scraped from her skin. Instead, she made a joke.

“What do we want? Pretty simple. It changes
from day to day. Just be prepared to give in,” Erikka said with a
grin.

“I had suspected as much,” Gabriel replied.
“Sandwiches would be lighter and fast.”

Erikka pretended interest in the scenery
outside his kitchen window. “Yeah. I do have another appointment
today.”

She let out a long breath, walked to the
table, and sat down. Gabriel worked on the sandwiches and talked
about his balance sheets. He was apparently too busy to look at
her. Erikka offered token responses as she watched him. No one
could be that intense about applying mayo and mustard, she mused.
She had either embarrassed him, scared him, or both. He appeared to
have recovered by the time he joined her at the table.

“Here we go. Hope you like com chips. My
nephew ate everything else. This is the only kind he doesn’t like.”
Gabriel put both plates down, then went back and got the glasses of
soda.

“Hey, I’m eating for free. I won’t complain.”
Erikka munched on a couple of chips.

Gabriel glanced at her with a shy smile.
“Thanks again for everything, the advice and computer lessons.”

“You’re welcome. But you are paying me.”

“You went above and beyond. You earned way
more in New Orleans for the same amount of advice.”

‘True. Until I screwed up, that is. So, I
guess my crash and bum was God’s plan to send you help.” Erikka
shrugged.

Gabriel laughed out loud. “The great cosmic
plan.”

“Something like that,” Erikka said. “I don’t
hate being here nearly as much as I thought I would.”

“Well, that’s nice,” he deadpanned.

“My friends back in New Orleans feel sorry
for me. To them there is no meaningful existence in the rest of
Louisiana.” Erikka laughed.

“What do you think now?” Gabriel propped an
elbow on the table.

“I miss the city. I miss the music, all the
places to go for a great time.” Erikka plucked at the comer of her
paper napkin.

“Sounds exciting.” Gabriel gazed at her. He
hadn’t touched his food.

“Yeah. Guess I had too much excitement for
one woman. So, here I am.” Erikka had lost her appetite. She put
down the chip she was about to eat. “Listen, I’d better get
moving.”

“I’ll wrap up your lunch to go.” Gabriel
stood and went to a wide pantry.

She watched him put the sandwich and chips in
a plastic baggie. “Thanks. You must have worked at a fast-food
place back in the day.”

‘Tasty Sandwich Shop. I was there every day
after school and for three summers until I could buy my own
motorcycle. My parents refused to pay for one.” Gabriel handed her
a paper bag with the lunch in it.

“A determined man even then,” Erikka
said.

“Not the spoiled frat boy you took me for,
right?” Gabriel grinned.

“You’re very different all right,” Erikka
replied. Then felt self-conscious. “Thanks again for lunch.”
“You’re welcome.”

Erikka picked up her belongings. “See you
later.”

‘Two weeks?” Gabriel folded his arms.

“Sure. I think you’ll survive without me for
that long.”

“Crossing my fingers. You did say I couldn’t
totally destroy all you set up, right?” Gabriel followed her to the
door.

‘Trust me; I took good care of you.” Erikka
faced him, and then blushed at her own words.

“Yes, you did.” He opened the door for
her.