Calumet, page 15
The familiar landmarks were starting to appear, and Jax
smiled, remembering her theory as a child that paint was a
precious commodity in Louisiana since some people used it
so rarely. She hadn’t cleared the first traffic signal in town
when she saw the flashing blue lights in the rearview mirror.
The light had been green, so it couldn’t be that, but the
deputy believed in using not only the lights but the siren.
The damn thing sounded like it was on some sort of booster
that made people stop and stare. She took a breath,
knowing her appearance wasn’t going to sit well with a
small-town cop. Sometimes small-town also translated to
small-minded.
“Shit.” The grocery parking lot was the safest place to
pull into, and Jax kept cursing until she turned the ignition
off. “Who the hell knew they still made mirrored sunglasses?
Those look like a collector’s item.”
She muttered the question when the deputy used the
radio to warn her not to leave her vehicle, and to show her
hands. “Thanks, baby, I must look like a drug kingpin,
driving this thing.” She lowered her window and waved her
hands out. Officer Professional was still on the radio
announcing her license to whoever happened to be in a five-
mile radius.
The thought of spending her reunion in jail for some
unknown traffic violation might be fate’s way of telling her
this was all a big mistake. She waved her hands to remind
him she was still there in an awkward position. It’d been
years since she’d been here but not long enough to forget it
was never a good idea to get out and make any sudden
movements.
Unless there’d been major changes from her time here,
this crack team of law enforcement officers were still
required to have a high school diploma of some variety. The
other two boxes they had to check were being able to walk
and to fire a gun. Those high standards always explained
the exceptional recruits they armed and turned loose on the
streets. It also explained why it was fairly easy to get away
with pretty much anything if you liked to dabble in illegal
activities.
“Step out of the car.” The people shopping in the grocery
must have heard the command blaring out of the bullhorn
speakers on the cruiser because they’d come out into the
parking lot and stopped to watch. “And keep your hands
where I can see them at all times.”
The blue polyester uniform was stretched to the limit
when the officer stepped out of the car with his hand on the
butt of his pistol. The uniform’s problem wasn’t that he was
overweight, but because he used it as a way to try to seem
fitter than he was. He tried to emphasize that by not putting
his arms down, as if he couldn’t because of the muscles in
his chest. It gave him the appearance of carrying two milk
pails.
With her hands in full view she tensed the muscles in her
face so as not to smile at the caricature he presented and
fought the urge to check her reflection in his ultra-shiny
shoes. She straightened her shoulders when the guy
unsnapped the pepper spray on his utility belt. “What seems
to be the problem, Officer?” The standard question when
you weren’t speeding or breaking any other traffic laws that
she knew of.
“This car’s a rental.”
She was raised to respect law enforcement, and not that
she was pulled over often, but when someone started like
this, all bets were off. “I’m sorry, is that a statement of fact,
or a question?” Jax looked at the guy and tried to place him.
He looked weirdly familiar, and not being able to remember
him was frustrating. Her brain was chasing down memories,
but the guy’s fidgety hands made her concentrate.
“Just give me your license, and stop trying to be such a
smarty-pants.”
It was the use of the term smarty-pants that brought it all
back. If there was a reason not to come back, here he was.
On the other hand, seeing him made the trip worthwhile and
was a big boost to her ego. “This is too good to believe,” Jax
said softly as she slowly reached into her front pocket for
her wallet. “Daniel, how are things?”
Daniel Gravois, or D-Boy as everyone called him in high
school, was the captain of the football and baseball teams.
A Greek god in his day, who, aside from all his athletic
accomplishments, lived to make Jax as miserable as
possible as often as he could. He did that by being as cruel
and obnoxious as his little mind could conjure up. That
explained the tight shirt and sunglasses. A peacock never
changed their peacock ways.
The wonder of the football field never could accept that
Jax ran faster and threw farther. The main thing he took
offense at was that she smoked him in the classroom even
though she was three years younger. All that paled when it
came to one thing. They’d clashed over it again and again
until it had built a mountain of hate between them. She’d
never added to the pile, but Daniel couldn’t let it go. He
wanted Iris Long, and he’d been willing to crush her to get
what he wanted.
Daniel had picked Iris from the first day she’d started
high school, and any other girl probably would’ve creamed
her panties at that distinction. That delightful expression
had been his, not hers, but Iris had made her own choice
that day. His problem was that Iris hadn’t chosen him. That
truth was why he’d hated Jax from the day he’d laid eyes on
her.
“I’m doing better than you are right now, but nice effort
trying to be my friend. It ain’t gonna get you out of a ticket
today.”
There was no doubt she was getting a ticket today, so
there was no reason not to poke the bear a little. It’d be
worth the couple hundred bucks this was going to cost her.
“How’s Iris?”
He frowned a little, looking at her like he was trying to
place her. “Ah, you know the old ball and chain too, huh?
Oh, I get it. You’re here for the reunion, and you think that’s
giving you a free pass. That’s not happening. We got speed
limits for a reason.” He laughed, and that same
condescending smirk she remembered hadn’t changed at
all. “Hand over your license, and let’s see who you are,
hotshot.”
Jax thought of Margot’s reaction should the phrase ball
and chain slip from her lips for any reason, referring to her
or any other woman. Margot never confessed to knowing
any kind of combat moves, but saying that would give her
an up-close demonstration of how to maim someone using
just your hands.
Daniel held the license at arm’s length, and his squinting
meant he still couldn’t make out the small letters. He
exchanged his sunglasses for the half-moon readers in his
shirt pocket and still held the license out at arm’s length.
She smiled at the sour look that overtook his face when he
was able to decipher the name.
“Jaxon Lavigne,” he said. “I didn’t think you’d have the
guts to come back. Now that I look at you, you haven’t
changed all that much.”
It’s so comforting to know you’re blind but choose to
wear those nifty shades instead of the glasses that’ll allow
you to actually see the world around you. D-Boy, you must
make a fabulous cop. Jax tried not to laugh out loud as she
tried to figure out if he was getting tired holding his arms
away from his chest like that.
“True, I’m just a teacher and nowhere near the success
you’ve made of yourself, Deputy D-Boy, but I get by. Why
don’t you start writing, so I can get on my way? I’d like to
check into the B and B and start on all the fun. Do you need
help with anything?”
“It’s Officer Gravois to you, asswipe—get that part
committed to memory.” Daniel glared at her before throwing
her license on the ground at her feet, then shifted his utility
belt as he puffed out his chest even more. Without another
word he got back in his cruiser and drove away.
“I can’t believe they gave that idiot a gun, and here I
thought it would’ve been Wilber who plugged me full of
holes,” Jax mumbled to herself as she got back in the car.
“Welcome home, Jaxon Lavigne,” she said her name the
way Daniel had.
She had to remind herself why she’d done this. People
like Daniel were like sharp rocks you banged up against at
times that inflicted pain. That was their whole purpose, and
they didn’t care what damage they left behind. If all the
abuse he’d heaped on her when they were in school had left
scars, she’d be covered in them, but like Margot said, she
carried them under her skin. Being back on familiar ground,
all those scars had become raw again.
* * *
The large old Acadian home at one end of town had been
converted into a B and B a few years ago by some young
people who’d graduated from the culinary school that was
now world renowned. Tully had told her about it, so Margot
had changed her reservation from the Marriott two towns
over. It was Margot’s way of keeping her close to the action
and not sitting somewhere avoiding everyone.
“Welcome to The Oaks,” a young woman said, standing
on the front stairs. “Do you need help with your bags, or a
drink maybe?”
What an interesting thing to say. “Do I look like I need a
drink?” she asked, laughing.
“Maybe I’m projecting,” the young woman said and
smiled. “Sorry, I hope I didn’t insult you.”
“You’re actually a mind reader, and if you can point me to
the front desk, then the bar, I’ll be in your debt.” She
shouldered her bag and took the overnight duffel off the
back seat. “A word to the wise, don’t let anyone talk you
into going to a class reunion.”
“And now I know why you need a drink.” The jokester
handed her a valet ticket and walked her inside. “Enjoy your
stay, and let Meg know what you like to drink. She’s working
the bar today and pours a mean Sazerac.”
“I’ll have to eat something before I attempt one of
those.” She wasn’t thrilled to be here, but it was hard not to
like this kid.
“You’ve come to the right place. We’re not huge, but the
kitchen here is first rate. Is there anything else?”
“That’ll do it, thank you.” She handed over a tip and
accepted a key from the front desk attendant. Her room was
on the second floor and had a good view of the cane fields
on the other side of the bayou that seemed to run all the
way to Bayou Lafourche. The crop had a few months to go,
but it was tall enough to blow in the wind, and she found the
sight comforting. It used to relax her at night when she
watched a small patch outside her bedroom window.
“I wonder how long it’ll take the gossip mill to reach my
mother?” She spoke softly, knowing that Margot was right. It
was time to put the past to rest.
CHAPTER TEN
The front door slammed open, hitting the wall behind it. Iris
was tired of repairing the drywall when the knob went
through it. Before she could say anything the door slammed
closed, and Danny was on the stairs. “No running!” Iris
yelled but it was as if she was talking to the new hole in her
wall. The next door to slam was on Danny’s bedroom. “For
the love of God, no door slamming!” The cursing she kept in
her head, but it was tiring to repeat herself constantly.
The only response was the loud music that started, and it
made her shake her head. “Was I this obnoxious when I was
a teenager?” She kept picking up clothes off the floor of
Sean’s room so she could start the laundry. She’d already
picked up in Danny’s room, and she stopped briefly by his
door, contemplating asking him for the clothes he was
wearing. “No loud music, do your homework, kiss your
mother hello,” she said, ticking off the list she’d started
when he was six. “And would it kill you to show that cute
face around the house other than when you demand food?”
She stopped in the kids’ bathroom to pick up all the
towels hanging off the counter and lying on the floor to add
to her growing pile in the laundry basket. As she glanced
around the room again to make sure there wasn’t any
underwear hiding in the shower, she had to sigh. When had
she become the maid service?
She walked down the hall shaking her head. “I wonder if
it’d be okay for me to run away from home. Jesus, I’ve
turned into my mother.” The memory of her mother saying
that on a daily basis came to mind as she went down to the
washer.
“Nah, your mother never had an ass like this.” Daniel
snuck up on her and slapped her on the butt before kissing
her hello.
“Keep telling me things like that, and you won’t be able
to afford the therapy bills. I didn’t know you made a habit of
checking out my mother’s ass.”
“It’s hard to miss, sugar.” He put his gun and utility belt
in the cabinet she’d cleaned out for him in the kitchen. That
he reached for a beer next meant he was off duty. “What’d
you do today?”
With the wash going she checked on the chicken stew
she’d started when she got home from school. “The same
thing I do every day, Daniel. I went to work as a secretary at
the same high school we went to, then came home to pick
up after you and the kids, then I cooked dinner. My life is so
full.” She threw her hands up, already aggravated with this
day. “You’d think one of you would know what a towel bar is
used for.”
“That over-the-top sarcasm is something you definitely
got from your mother.” He took a sip of his beer and wiped
his mouth with the back of his hand. “I bet I could tell you
something that would brighten up your obviously horrible
life.”
She turned after he stopped talking and pointed to his
feet on the table. “Come on, Daniel, I don’t need Danny
following your lead on this too.”
He was complaining about her sarcasm, but that’s
exactly how he talked to her lately, and she was getting
tired of that too. His passive aggressiveness meant he was
waiting for her to beg. She’d only fallen for that once, so he
should’ve learned by now that he’d be waiting until that
beer can welded to his hand before she did it ever again.
When he didn’t move, she couldn’t help but take one more
shot.
“Is your big news that you’re going to call someone to fix
the toilet that keeps running?” She changed her tone to
syrupy sweet, and that seemed to bug him more than her
being flippant.
“I already fixed that.” He put his can down with a bit too
much force.
“I’m sorry, let me be more specific. I realize you fixed it,”
she said making air quotes. It was something else he loved
about her. “Now, when are you going to call someone to
come and do it right? The water bill is going to be a doozy,
and we need to start thinking of Sean’s college expenses.”
“Keep ragging me like that, and I’m not going to tell you
what you want to know.” He pointed at her and smiled as if
he held the answer to all her problems.
She turned and stirred their meal again, stopping to taste
it to see if it had the proper amount of seasoning. “Either
spit it out or wait until later. I have laundry to do.”
“Lover girl is back in town, and she even asked about
you. I stopped her ass out by the Piggly Wiggly and was
generous enough not to give her a ticket. Just for old time’s
sake, you understand, and because I’m such a generous
guy.”
It was a good thing she still had her back to him, so he
couldn’t see when she closed her eyes and balled her hand
into a fist. There was no need for him to elaborate on who
he was talking about. Jaxon was close now, closer than
she’d been in sixteen years, but right now she had to let
that go. Denying her feelings would maybe avoid the fight
that had started on the day Sean was born. Over the years,
it had been the only real point of contention between them.
