Bunny Brunch, page 5
“Look on the bright side!” I called after him. “You came for the entertainment! You shouldn’t be leaving disappointed!”
Carter stopped. “I wanted to enjoy the entertainment, not become the entertainment!” He kept a tight and rigid stance as he peered back at us. “I want this mess cleaned up before morning or I’ll talk to Sheriff Lee about fines for poor property maintenance.”
“You can’t do that!” Celia objected.
“Not only can I do it, I will do it,” Carter promised.
In an unexpected twist of fate, Celia grabbed the closest thing to her, which happened to be a warm neutral eggshell paint, and not the homemade dye. As soon as she tossed it, Walter screamed, “Duck!”
At that moment, Carter stepped to the left and Farah turned. The splash of paint covered the accused from brow to foot.
Farah screamed. Celia, Ida Belle, Gertie, and I burst out laughing.
It was a nice ending to a highly unusual and tense day. And I couldn’t think of anyone else, other than Farah, who deserved to wear a soft and smooth finish. With any luck, it would dry before Carter could process her.
Chapter Eleven
As predicted, Carter showed up around nine-thirty that evening. Gertie and Ida Belle sipped their coffee as if he’d never entered the room.
He clucked. “Is that the way you’re playing this?”
“Do I look like I’m in the mood to play?” Ida Belle lifted her coffee, pretended like it might take too much energy to drink it, and returned the mug to the table. “What do you want, Carter?”
“I’d like to know why an arm’s dealer sent a female enforcer to Louisiana. I’d also like your opinions about her scout. Seems Landry is considered one of the best thanks to the way he can blend into a community. What can you tell me about these two?”
“You’ll have to ask them, dear,” Gertie said, sighing.
Carter focused more intently on Gertie and Ida Belle. “Something’s off here.” He paced behind the table. “Alright. That’s it. Give it up. What did you do?”
“Do?” Ida Belle balked at that. “Have you forgotten the threat you made before you left Celia’s tonight? Why, we’ve spent most of the night cleaning up that mess.”
“You made the mess,” he reminded them. “Let’s not forget that.”
“We made the mess by ourselves, did we?” Ida Belle placed her flattened palm beside the placemat and tapped three fingers. “We had a lot of help.”
“And I’m sure Celia helped with clean up.”
“She didn’t,” I said. “Gertie, Ida Belle, Ally, and I handled everything.”
“And the paint is still there,” Ida Belle informed him. “I haven’t the faintest idea how to get that wall paint out of grass.”
“I suppose it will stay there until she hires someone to mow,” Gertie said.
“Is a thank you in order?” Carter asked.
I peered up at him and instantly knew it was a trick. “Something more than gratitude?”
“They had a free pass. I should’ve hauled all of you off to jail,” he said. “Speaking of which, I want answers and want them now.”
“An interrogation will have to wait until morning,” Walter said, entering the kitchen. “Gertie isn’t feeling well and Ida Belle is staying with me this week. We have plans. Understand?”
Ida Belle’s look was priceless. Gertie yelped as if she were equally amused. Realizing our laughter could cost us later, I pressed my lips together and tried to focus on anything except Walter’s blushing girlfriend.
“If the four of you expect me to believe that Ida Belle isn’t capable of answering questions because she’s weak in the knees for my uncle, or that Gertie suddenly has a medical emergency, you’ve forgotten one small detail.”
“You’ve heard these stories before?” I asked, hopeful.
“No.” He dragged his hand down his face. “I mean, yes. I’ve heard their excuses many times, but I have a trump card to play this time.”
“What?” I asked.
“Who,” Ida Belle corrected me. “He means you.”
“Exactly,” Carter said. “So the rest of you are excused. I’ll interrogate the one that Farah mentioned numerous times.”
Gertie straightened in her chair. Ida Belle took a big gulp of coffee. Walter pulled up a chair. And I simply shrugged.
“Guessing everyone caught their second wind?” I smiled. “I guess that happens after a pot or two of coffee.”
“No, that’s not it. These three never leave one of their own behind.” He looked pleased with himself. “And I was betting on that.”
“I’m starting to think you and I need some distance.” Ida Belle bumped her hip against Walter’s. “He knows me almost as well as you do. The only way that could happen is if you’ve been giving away our secrets.”
“Don’t blame my uncle,” Carter said firmly. “You and Gertie have a well-established reputation, and Fortune just so happens to land in Sinful right after Marge dies? I want to know what’s going on. Is she under your protection?”
Ida Belle straightened her spine. She was forever proud of her leadership standing.
“Of course she is, dear. All of our friends are. You know that.”
“Wasn’t speaking to you, Gertie,” Carter said, eyeing Ida Belle.
“Rude,” Gertie said, pushing away from the table.
“Answers.” Carter pointed at me. “You. Answer me. Why does an arms dealer want you dead or alive?”
“I resemble someone he used to know?” That wasn’t an entire lie. Since arriving in Sinful, I’d begun to think of myself as Sandy-Sue Morrow, the librarian and beauty queen that I was pretending to be.
“Uh-huh.” He shook his head. “Try again.”
“Carter, did you or did you not catch two bad guys today?” Ida Belle asked.
“Both are connected so it’s a two-for-one, but enough! I want answers or you’re all sleeping in a jailcell tonight, right next to those who came here to kill Fortune.”
“Have a seat,” I said reluctantly.
“Might as well go in the living room,” Ida Belle said. “More comfortable there.”
Walter nodded. I shrugged. This move suggested there was a more deliberate plan in motion. Who was I to question it? My cohorts were far more experienced.
“I’m making more coffee. Can I get you something to drink, Carter?” Gertie called out.
“Got a root beer?” he asked.
“On the way,” she said.
I could almost see the smiles on the other side of the kitchen wall as I acknowledged the unfolding opportunity.
A few minutes later, I sat on the couch next to Carter and watched as he downed his beverage. This was way too easy.
Minutes later, he sank into the sofa cushions and stared up at the ceiling. Gertie and Ida Belle stood over him. Walter shook his head as if to say he couldn’t believe he was party to this.
“What’d you put in my drink?” Carter asked, already nodding off.
“It’s not a benzo,” Gertie assured him. “It’s completely safe and you’ll sleep like a baby. Tomorrow morning, we’ll have all the answers you need.”
“Tomorrow morning, I’m... taking you all... to jail.”
“Right,” Walter said, helping his nephew get comfortable.
Once he was out like a light, Walter pointed at Ida Belle. “This is the last time that I help with your capers. From now on, when Carter’s involved, I’ll choose him.”
Ida Belle patted his arm. “Of course you will.”
“You’ve been saying that for a decade or longer,” Gertie said. “And you always choose Ida Belle.”
She blushed as she looked up at him. “It’s nice to be chosen.”
“I know what you mean.” He draped his arm around Ida Belle’s shoulders. “Time to go. Fortune needs her rest. When Carter wakes up, he’ll be full of questions and fury.”
Chapter Twelve
“What the heck!” I scrambled to sit, yanking the earbuds away with one hand and the sleep mask with the other. “What are you doing in my room?”
I had to hand it to him. Carter looked ruggedly handsome first thing in the morning.
“The word you’re looking for is bed. What am I doing in your bed? And, there’s a good explanation, one you should’ve thought about before you poisoned me.”
“I didn’t poison you.”
“Drugged is probably more accurate.” Carter cupped the back of his neck while resting on his left side. “If you’d wanted me to stay the night, all you had to do was ask.”
I felt my nostrils flare. “Was I the one in the kitchen? No. I didn’t want you to spend the night. We just needed time to—”
“It’s too early to try and come up with a lie.” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “But I’ll let you off the hook so you don’t stress about it. I’ve already talked to someone you know.”
“I don’t know anyone other than you, Walter, Ally, Ida Belle, Gertie, and all their friends and enemies.”
“You know more people than you’ve let on.”
“Southern phrase?”
He nodded once. “I knew you moved like someone with military training, but CIA? Didn’t see that coming. Assassin? Still not sure what to make of that one.”
“Harrison?”
He leaned closer and whispered, “And your cover persona’s uncle, Director Morrow.”
I fell against the bed and briefly closed my eyes. “I’m kind of relieved.”
“Yeah?” He kept watching me. I felt his eyes all over me, but it wasn’t a weird thing, oddly enough. In fact, I felt right at home with Deputy Charming in my bed, which couldn’t have been a good thing, especially since I didn’t plan to stay in Sinful forever.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
I turned my head and stared at him. His head now rested on the pillow next to mine.
“It’s really not up to me.” I sucked in a breath, understanding what he must be thinking. “Ida Belle and Gertie figured it out, almost from the very beginning.”
“And you thought it was a good idea for—what was it Harrison called them—the senile snipers to know all about your past, but not me?”
He looked hurt and while I hated that, I was in a vulnerable position. I gathered my thoughts before I said, “Carter, Ahmad is a dangerous man. He’s out for blood because I killed his brother.”
“With a shoe. I heard all about it.”
I smiled. “It wasn’t as cut and dry as it sounds.”
“In love and war, it never is.” His eyes grew heavy. “You can trust me, Fortune. I have high security clearance, but beyond that, I’m a man of my word and want to keep you safe.”
I jiggled my head a little, trying to get comfortable. “This may come as a surprise to you, but I’m pretty resourceful and can keep myself safe most of the time.”
He laughed. “Don’t doubt it for a minute. I’ve seen how imaginative you can be when you don’t have a traditional weapon nearby.” He waited a beat. “By the way, how did you end up with the feather duster and old maid outfit?”
“Gertie thought it was close enough to a French maid costume. She had the plunger, skirt, and shoes in her trunk.”
“She probably keeps the former and latter in her car in case your foot gets stuck in a toilet again.”
“How’d you know?”
“She can be resourceful, too.”
“So you aren’t too upset?”
“Why? Should I be?”
“Didn’t want to bruise your ego,” I admitted.
He stared at my lips as if he were thinking about kissing me. Instead of leaning in, he pulled back and stared down the slender bridge of his nose. “My ego is the last thing you should worry about. Besides, I was starting to think you were just someone to avoid, a weird girl from the city. Now, I know there’s a method to your madness.”
I shook my head. “No methods here.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.” He grinned. “We’d probably be in real trouble if you had time to plan.”
“Sorry about the drugged root beer.”
“Don’t be sorry. You kept me here. Now, you can decide what to do with me.”
I mentally dismissed the first idea that came to mind. Then, I tossed aside the comforter and hopped out of bed.
“You can look now!” I called out.
“Honey, I’ve been looking this whole time. I just didn’t whistle.”
I peered around the door and narrowed my eyes. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Deputy LeBlanc.”
“No shame here,” he said, giving me a heated look. “But I figure I owe you a breakfast. I pried into your life. The least I can do is pick up the tab at Francine’s.”
“Meet me there?” I asked, not wanting to give the locals anything more to talk about.
He rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling. “Not on your life, Agent Redding. I’m walking in that diner with you on my arm.” When he looked at me again, his expression softened. “Now that I know why assassins are looking for you, you’ll play hell getting rid of me.”
“Who says I want rid of you?” I shot him a wink. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
As much as I hated to admit it, I kind of liked that imagery. Carter LeBlanc waiting for me in bed?
Yes, I could eventually get used to that.
Author Note
Thank you for reading Bunny Brunch, a standalone novella set in the Miss Fortune universe.
If you’d like to stay updated on new and forthcoming releases, please send an email to rileyblakeauthor@gmail.com and request to be added to my mailing list. In the meantime, if you enjoyed this story, would you please consider leaving a review for other readers?
If you haven’t read the Bayou Cozy Romantic Thrills series, please look for the novellas and short stories at your favorite retailer. I’m currently working on the next two which will follow Bayou Christmastime. An excerpt follows below from Bayou Easter, which is one of the stories.
Additionally, please search your favorite retailers for other new works. New novels and novellas are coming soon, including an 80s Church Lady mini-series.
Thank you again for reading my work!
~Riley
Bayou Easter Excerpt
I marched in my kitchen and deliberately ignored Gertie and Ida Belle.
Ally was on the phone, but busy whipping up a cake. I peered over her shoulder and gave her a thumbs-up before I sat next to Ida Belle and across from Gertie.
“I know you’re probably upset,” Gertie said reasonably.
“Just say, ‘You’re upset’ and that’ll suffice.”
“Welcome to my hell. At least now I’m not a ‘party’ of one.” Ida Belle sipped her coffee. “Every woman is entitled to her relationship secrets.”
“Don’t even,” I said, shifting my gaze between the pair. “Just because the locals support IdaWalt, doesn’t mean everyone else is trying to find a perfect love like yours.”
“You mean an imperfect one, dear. No one in their right mind would want what Ida Belle and Walter have...or don’t have.”
Ally burst out laughing. “What’s IdaWalt?”
Gertie propped her arm on the chair’s back and looked up at Ally. “Shipper language. Don’t you twit?”
“Tweet, Gertie,” Ally said, placing her phone on the counter.
“She knows.” Ida Belle grunted. “And the last thing I want is a man’s name attached to mine.”
“You’ll be a Mrs. before I leave the bayou.”
“Ha! About like you’ll take Deputy Charming’s name. At least in your case, it has a more suitable ring to it. Doesn’t it, Hebert?”
“We weren’t talking about me. We’re talking about you,” I said.
“And Walter,” Ally added, putting the cake in the oven.
“Enough about Walter,” Ida Belle said sternly. “Carter will be here shortly and we need a game plan.”
The front door slammed and we all jumped.
“Too late,” I muttered, acknowledging Carter with a nod.
“Hi, honey, I’m home,” he teased, kissing my cheek.
I wanted to slug him.
Gertie said, “Oh. It’s you. What are you doing here?”
“I see someone is still pouting at me.”
“I don’t pout,” Gertie said. “Retribution has a better ring to it.”
“Far more satisfying,” Ida Belle agreed.
“You two never quit!” Ally said, shaking her head.
“Surely you wouldn’t threaten an officer of the law,” Carter drawled.
“Maybe,” Gertie said. “But full disclosure...I haven’t seen one in recent weeks.”
Riley Blake, Bunny Brunch
