Rescue Me (5 page)

Damn.
Secrets of the Egyptian Pyramids
was on to night. He’d forgotten all about it.

Alex spotted Eli as he entered the club. He caught his brother’s attention and waved him over.

“What’s up, man?” Eli said, patting Alex on his uninjured shoulder. “You want to go upstairs and get a bite to eat?”

The Hard Court’s second level sported a full service bistro that had just received top honors in a local restaurant guide, and had added to the club’s astonishing success.

“Nah, I’m good,” Alex answered. “They’ll bring us an appetizer to the booth down here, right?”

“That’s if we can get a booth,” Eli said, his eyes roaming over the steadily thickening crowd.

“Jonathan said we could have the one over there.” Alex pointed to the corner. “He said he’d join us a little later.” He motioned Eli to follow him. “I’ll signal for one of the waitresses to bring some of those breaded cheese sticks I had the last time I was here.”

“That sounds good,” Eli said. “And I think the correct term is hostess, not waitress.”

The twelve booths that rimmed the interior wall of the Hard Court’s bottom floor were partially curtained, allowing occupants a mea sure of privacy, yet still a view of the dance floor and raised stage where they could take in performances by some of New Orleans’s hottest acts. A hostess came up to their booth less than a minute after they had taken their seats.

“Hi there, Eli,” she said.

“Tamika, how’s it going?” Eli scooted from the booth and stood, giving the hostess a hug and a peck on the cheek.

“Where’s Monica?”

“Work. I dragged my brother here to night instead.”

“Oh, this is your brother?” The woman’s eyes glistened with instant interest, and Alex’s guard went on full alert. “I’d heard there were three of you.” She smiled.

“This is Alex,” Eli introduced him. “He’s the oldest.”

“Hi.”

“Hello.” Alex nodded. “We want some of those cheese sticks. They still serve those?”

“The breaded mozzarella sticks? We sure do.” She inclined her head, still smiling.

“Yeah, and can we have an extra cup of sauce?”

“Mozzarella sticks with an extra side of marinara. Anything else?” she asked, that smile even wider. Alex turned his attention to the glossy card advertising the Hard Court’s upcoming music acts.

“We’ll order drinks a little later,” Eli said. Alex’s head rose at the irritation he heard in his brother’s voice.

The hostess mumbled something into the microphone extending from her headset. “I just put in your order. It should be out in a few minutes.”

“Thanks, Tamika,” Eli said.

“Yeah, thanks,” Alex said.

As soon as she left their table, Eli fired at him, “What in the hell is wrong with you, man?”

“You didn’t want the cheese sticks?” Alex asked.

“Forget the cheese sticks,” Eli spat. “Alex, can’t you tell when a woman is flirting with you?”

“Who?”

“Who?” Eli’s eyes bucked. “Weren’t you sitting right here? You didn’t realize Tamika was flirting with you?”

“She took our order, E, that’s all. Why are you always reading more into stuff than you should?”

“She couldn’t have been more obvious if she’d ripped her clothes off and sat in your lap.”

“She wasn’t flirting,” Alex stated.

“Yes, she was, just like half the other women you meet. And I’m sure there would be a lot more who flirted if you would get rid of that damn ring.”

Alex fingered the simple gold band around the fourth finger on his left hand. He’d contemplated taking it off a couple of times, but as Eli had just pointed out, his wedding ring did a good job of keeping women at bay. Most of the time.

“Forget about her,” Alex said, demanding a subject change. He wasn’t in the mood for this to night. Sure, he’d known the hostess had been coming onto him. He wasn’t
that
blind, despite what his brothers believed. He just had no plans to act on any of the passes women threw at him with insufferable regularity. “Now why don’t you explain why you asked me to come here?”

Still shaking his head, Eli said, “I thought maybe you’d want to get out of the house.”

“That’s it?”

“Honest, man.” Eli raised his hands. “I felt bad for you yesterday, having to sneak away from Mama. You know you were never good at that.”

“Because I didn’t get as much practice as you and Toby,” Alex snorted. “What’s up with you? Yesterday was the first time you’d stopped in at Mama’s since I’ve been out of the hospital.”

“I’ve been working a lot,” Eli answered. “Between the responsibilities that come with the head of OB position and putting in time at the Parenting Center, I’m lucky if I get time to sleep and eat.”

“How
is
the parenting center? It sounds like you’re spending just as much time there as you spend at the hospital.”

“Feels like it, too. Monica has taken ownership over the
center. That’s where she spends all her free time, so naturally, that’s where I’m spending mine.”

Alex laughed, shaking his head. “I never thought I’d see the day when a woman ran your life the way Monica does.”

“She doesn’t run my life,” Eli protested. He glanced up at Alex and they both laughed. “Yeah, okay, fine. She runs my life. But I’ve never been happier.”

“She’s a good woman.”

“I thank God for her every hour of the day,” his younger brother admitted.

“You should, it’s rare to find someone who makes you happy.”

“Rare, but not impossible,” Eli said. He shifted in the booth. “All right, enough of this relationship crap. I feel like I’m in the middle of a movie on the Lifetime Network.”

Alex tried not to take offense. Sometimes, when he couldn’t find anything interesting on the History Channel, he switched to Lifetime. Those movies were pretty good.

Eli signaled for another hostess. “How did things go at the school?”

“You don’t want to know”

The hostess stepped up to the booth to take their drink order, and Alex had to stop himself from asking her to add a little vodka to his standard cranberry juice on the rocks. Once she’d left with their order, Eli returned to his question.

“Okay, what’s going on with Jazzy?”

Alex gave his brother the abbreviated version of the meeting he’d had with Jasmine’s teacher and the school principal earlier in the day. Eli was just as shocked at the name calling and other behavior that was so out of character.

“Does she have detention?” Eli asked.

“They don’t put first graders in detention.”

“Since when?”

“That’s what I wanted to know,” Alex answered. “Anyway,
she had a session with the school psychologist earlier this afternoon.”

“And?”

Alex took a gulp of the juice the hostess had just placed on the table, seriously regretting the lack of alcohol.

“Let’s just say Jazzy’s having some issues,” he grunted. Alex pounded the table with his good hand. “Damn it, E. I’ve been trying so hard to do the right thing with her.”

“C’mon, man. Don’t do this to yourself,” Eli said after sipping his drink. “It’s the biggest double standard in the world, but it’s the truth. Single fathers have a harder time raising children on their own, and you have a daughter. That’s tough, Alex. The job you’ve done with Jazz over the past two years has been amazing. Hell, over the past six years. It’s not as if Chantal was the most stellar mother figure when she was alive.”

Alex tended to defend his dead wife when his brothers tried to discredit her, but he wasn’t up to it to night. More than ever, he was pissed at Chantal for the pain she was causing Jasmine.

“So what did the psychologist say?” Eli asked.

“He thinks Jasmine still isn’t over Chantal’s death.”

“It’s only been two years. Of course it’s going to take her longer than that to get over losing her mother, if she ever gets over it. You didn’t need some psychologist to tell you that.”

“I know, but he also has a theory as to why she’s been acting up in class lately.” Eli looked at him expectantly. “Her bad behavior started the day after I got hurt,” Alex said.

Eli’s eyes widened with understanding. “I’ll be damned.”

Tamika arrived with their mozzarella sticks, but her smile had dimmed. Good, at least she’d taken the hint. Alex placed three of the fried cheese sticks on one of the saucers she’d left on the table and drenched them in red sauce.

“According to the psychologist, Jazzy is convinced I’m going to be killed, and she’ll be without both parents.”

“That didn’t even occur to me. She must have been scared
out of her mind when she heard about your accident,” Eli said, cutting one of the cheese sticks with a fork. He pointed at Alex with the fork, a line of mozzarella stretching from the plate. “Now that I think about it, that’s probably why she didn’t want to see you when you were in the hospital. Mama tried to get her to come along, but she never wanted to. I can’t believe we didn’t consider this,” he said around a mouthful of mozzarella.

“Probably because she hasn’t been acting all that differently at home,” Alex rationalized.

“What does the psychologist suggest we do about it?”

Relief settled over Alex at the effortless way Eli automatically included himself in on whatever had to be done to help Jasmine. Alex accepted his role as a single father, but he was never totally alone in his task. His entire family had a hand in raising his daughter.

“Jasmine and I are long overdue for this conversation,” Alex admitted. “If I can’t get her to open up, the psychologist suggested I seek outside help. It’s not that he thinks she’s crazy,” Alex added quickly. “He just thinks it would be a good idea to have her talk about what she’s feeling.”

“Seeing a mental health professional doesn’t automatically mean you’re crazy,” Eli said. “She’s been through a lot for a six year old. I can’t believe none of us thought about how your accident would affect her.”

“The school psychologist also said it would be beneficial if I spent a little extra time with Jazzy, sort of like a reassurance that I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve decided to volunteer at her school.”

A surprised smile drew across Eli’s face. “That’s cool, Alex.”

“It’s something I’ve been meaning to do, but never could find the time. I’ve got the time now.” Alex smothered another cheese stick in marinara sauce. “Besides, it’ll get Mama out of my hair.”

“Mama’s got you ready to climb the walls, huh?” Eli laughed. “I knew she would eat this up, having somebody to take care of again.”

“It’s worse than I ever imagined it would be. That’s one of the reasons I moved back into my house earlier this afternoon.”

Eli’s brow converged in an arrow of concern. “You think that’s wise, Alex? You really should lay off the arm as much as possible,” his brother warned.

“I’ll be fine,” Alex said. “Even though the school doesn’t believe in punishing first graders, I do. Jazz is not getting away with what she did. It’s time for her to learn that she can’t go around acting this way and not face any consequences.”

“And if you leave her around Mama, she’ll get whatever she wants.” Eli nodded his understanding.

“Exactly. No more spoiling her. From now on, she has to earn every present she gets.”

“That’s going to be a shock to her system. Hell, it’s going to be a shock to mine. I pick something up for her every time I go to the store.”

“Not anymore,” Alex stated firmly. “I’m sorry I went so over the top with her birthday party. If I had known about this a few weeks ago, I never would have called in that favor with the guy at Audubon Zoo.”

“There’s Jonathan,” Eli said. They both stood to greet the owner of the Hard Court, who had also become a good friend to both Alex and Eli.

“What’s up, E?” Jonathan shook Eli’s hand. “I didn’t get a chance to ask earlier how the arm was healing,” he said to Alex as he took a seat and motioned for the hostess. She arrived minutes later with refills for both Alex and Eli, and something clear in a highball glass that she placed in front of Jonathan.

“My shoulder’s fine,” Alex answered. “It looks like things haven’t stopped hopping here since your opening.”

“It’s been pretty steady ever since Aria put my club on the map.”

“You should be able to quit the law practice soon with all the money this place must be pulling in,” Eli said.

“Ivana would love that,” Jonathan answered, speaking of his fiancée, Sienna’s sister, Ivana Culpepper. “I have been spending less time at the office. In a few years, depending on how the club fares, I may do just pro bono work at the law practice.”

“Ivana’s altruism is rubbing off on you already,” Eli joked.

Jonathan laughed. “She is a force of nature. It’s hard not to just fall in line.”

“Ivana’s a good woman, if a little scary,” Eli said.

“She’s a lot scary, but I like that,” Jonathan said. “Hey, I need to finish making my rounds. You guys feel like a little pool when I’m done?”

Alex shook his head. “Of course, I could beat the both of you even with only one good arm.”

“Whatever, man,” Jonathan said with a laugh.

“We’ll probably be out of here in a few, anyway,” Eli said. “I’ve got to be at the Parenting Center early tomorrow morning.”

“And I have to get ready to go back to school,” Alex said.

Jonathan gave him a confused look.

“Don’t ask,” Eli said.

“I’ll catch the two of you later,” Jonathan said.

Alex pulled out his wallet and dropped two twenties on the table.

“I got this,” Eli said. “I’m the one who invited you, remember?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Alex said.

“Come on, Alex. Use the money to buy Jazzy—” Eli stopped short. He shook his head, a contrite grin at the edge of his lips. “It’s going to be hard breaking that habit, won’t it? I don’t want to be around when you lay down the law,” Eli said. “I hate to see my Jazzy cry.”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “This is definitely one of the not so fun parts of this parenthood thing.”

Alex sat at his kitchen table, leaning against the high backed chair’s wooden slates, his thumb rolling the gold wedding band around his finger. Wisps of steam swirled from the mug of hot chocolate he’d made in an attempt to lull himself to sleep.