The Sassy Belles (19 page)

“Blake, really! It’s not my fault if you can’t keep your
husband happy.”

“Aaaaggggghhhhh!” I screamed and went chasing her out of my
house through the kitchen and out the front door. She ran down the steps with
her pink stilettos in one hand, trying to button her blouse with the other as
she made her way to her car. I slammed the front door behind her and went back
outside to Harry.

When I reached the backyard, I stood there staring at him,
waiting for any kind of reaction. But he just stood there. Finally, he muttered,
“It wasn’t anything, really. Please, Blake.”

I had nothing to say back. I shook my head. “You make me sick.”
I turned and ran out and jumped in my car and went straight to Mother’s. I cried
so hard all the way there, I could barely see to drive. When I pulled in, I saw
Kitty’s car in the driveway. I was still hysterical when I ran in the back door.
I stepped up into the kitchen, and both Meridee and Kitty were sitting at the
yellow table. It was such a relief to see these two women I depended on sitting
there in front of me that I cried even louder.

“What happened, child?” Meridee said.

“Honey, what is it?” Kitty said.

“Sit down, sweetie. Let me get you a Coke and some cookies.”
Meridee jumped up to get the snacks and Kitty got up to hold me and push the
hair back from my eyes. My mascara had run down to my chin. I looked like a
prizefighter stepping out of the ring.

“Harry…” I sobbed. “Dallas…” I was choked up and just couldn’t
seem to get the words out. “…breast…on the patio…” I screamed before falling
into a heap on the kitchen chair Meridee had pulled out for me.

“Oh, my God, I’m going to kill that son-of-a-bitch with my bare
hands!” Kitty started for her purse, but Meridee grabbed her arm.

“Wait, just a minute, now. We don’t need both of those Heart
boys dead or missing or whatever the hell they are. So, Kitty, you just sit your
round butt back down here and, Blake, you listen to me. We will get that
good-for-nothin’ bum, but first things first. You need to stay here and calm
down for a while. You’ll need some things from home so you can stay with me, but
I’m not sending you back there. Now, Kitty, you’ve gotta go get her some clothes
and whatever else she needs—but don’t you dare lay a finger on Harry or Dallas
while you’re there. Focus on Blake and what she needs.”

Kitty nodded, full of purpose, her face blazing with motherly
rage and a fierce protectiveness. She grabbed her keys and purse and was out the
door. Meridee pushed the Coke and Keeblers toward me.

“Okay, Blake. Tell me all about it.”

I had calmed down some and had to talk it out.

“We’ve been having a little trouble,” I said.

“A little?” She wasn’t trying to be sarcastic, but it was true.
A little
was quite the understatement.

“He’s been wrapped up in this campaign all spring, and with
Lewis disappearing and my case on the Brooks Mansion, we have been distant
forever. I just never thought…” I couldn’t finish. And it only made it worse
that it was Dallas.

“Let’s call Vivi,” Meridee suggested. “I think you need
her.”

Before I knew it, Vivi arrived with a bag full of Taco Casa
delicacies. This was my comfort food and she knew it. She had run through the
drive-through of the little Mexican restaurant nearby and grabbed my favorite
things—a combo burrito, some frijoles, some sopapillas and an iced tea with
lemon. She brought enough for all of us and spread it out on the kitchen
table.

“Come on now, sugar,” she said, opening the bags. “This’ll make
you feel better.”

I love living in a place where food can solve almost all the
world’s ills. Vivi held me while I cried some more.

“That bastard,” she said, stroking my hair. “What the hell is
he thinking? Every time somebody runs for office, an affair seems to pop up like
toast. And Dallas! Well, that girl is a giant skank.” Vivi was infuriated.

Kitty returned and we sat together quietly eating and just
being close to each other. I had a good support system. That’s the way us Belles
are. Got your back for life, no matter what.

An hour or so had passed when Vivi heard a car through the
kitchen window. She peered over the sink. It was Harry, finally realizing that
he’d better make his apologies. I was sure he’d just talked the whole thing over
with Dan. A scorned and angry wife would not be very good on the campaign
trail.

“I’m not seeing him,” I announced. I promptly left the table
and locked myself in the bathroom down the hall. I have to say, Harry was brave,
coming over there to face me and my reinforcements. He knew he might, literally,
get the living hell beaten out of him.

Harry came rushing in as if from a fire. He didn’t even have
the sense to knock.

“Where’s Blake?” he asked, out of breath.

“Young man, you sit your cheatin’ ass down right now,” Meridee
ordered. “You aren’t gonna talk to Blake, you’re gonna talk to me.”

“And me, too.” Vivi stepped into the kitchen from the darkened
hallway like a member of the mafia. Harry was forced into the chair and grilled
for thirty minutes, his phone ringing incessantly the entire time—no doubt Dan
was trying to figure out what the damage was.

By the time my girls were through with him, Harry was bawling
like a baby. Mr. Perfect had fallen off his self-made pedestal.

“It was one time! I’ve never been unfaithful! Dallas and I were
just talking about her search for Lewis…Blake and I haven’t gotten along in
months. Ever since the investigation started, she’s been so distant.”

Vivi broke in to the monologue.

“Blah, blah, blah, and that gives you permission to go bang
somebody else?” Vivi did have a point. And a way of getting it across.

“We were only kissing,” he said, defensively. I don’t think he
had any idea how absolutely ridiculous that sounded, but he continued anyway.
“Dallas called me this afternoon to see if we could go over the call list for
her Search for Lewis campaign. She thought that since Lewis is my brother, I
might be better able to tell which were real possibilities and which were was
just crazy calls. I told her I would help her. I had to run home to grab some
flyers for Dan and she said she’d swing by for a minute. I was supposed to meet
Dan at the office to go to the meet-and-greet this evening.” He was breathing
fast, like he had been running. It seemed like he was desperate to be
believed.

“Well, I guess you missed the campaign thing with Dan. Now it’s
obvious where your priorities are. In your pants. Typical politician.” Vivi was
disgusted and she had no skills to ever hide her feelings.

Harry went on. “Anyway, when she walked in, she mentioned she
was stressing because this search had turned into such an overwhelming project.
I offered her a drink and before we knew it, both of us had had a few bourbons.
She went to the bathroom and when she came out, she had taken off her jacket. It
was a warm day and both of us had had a little too much to drink. I swear, I
never meant to…uhh…” He stopped, realizing no one was going to be on his side in
that
house. His usually composed, stoic face
said it all.

“I don’t think you can see Blake tonight,” Vivi announced. “I
don’t think she wants to see you! Blake?” she yelled down the hall to me. “Wanna
see Harry?”

“Hell,
no!
” I yelled from behind
the bathroom door.

“See?” she said back to Harry. “Now go home and think about
what you did, you sorry bastard.”

He answered his phone as he made his way to the front door. Dan
the man was calling again. He would be earning his money big-time for next
little while, working to keep this “dinnertime spread” out of the media.

* * *

Later that night, I was still at Meridee’s. Vivi and I
had decided to spend the night in the bedroom that had two twin beds. We had
grown up together in that room. Meridee and Kitty were in the other two
bedrooms. It felt like it used to when I was growing up, everybody under one
roof as if it were Christmas. Even though Harry was a jerk and I hated him
tonight, something about being here with all of us girls together felt nice. And
there had finally been a break in the elephant in the room that had become my
marriage. Now that I had settled down, I realized that this episode might be a
blessing in disguise.

Around ten forty-five my cell phone rang. I promised myself
that if it was Harry, I wouldn’t answer. But it was Sonny.

“Blake, I need to see you and Harry. Bonita got some
information on that spotting of Lewis in Birmingham. Can I swing by?”

I wasn’t sure I was up to it but it would sure be nice to see
him tonight. “Sonny, hey. Sure you can, but I’m not home. I’m at Mother’s
tonight.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

I hung up and got out of bed, and then went to wash my face.
Vivi followed me into the bathroom.
Here it comes. I knew
it.

“Sweetie, be careful. You’re very vulnerable tonight. Don’t be
vengeful. You don’t want to wake up tomorrow full of regret.”

I grabbed my makeup bag and looked in the mirror, pretending I
hadn’t heard her.

“Blake Elizabeth, you listen to me.” She had obviously put her
“Mother” hat on. “I know how you are with Sonny. Your guard is down tonight. You
want to hurt Harry and I understand that. Believe you me, I wanna hurt him, too.
But you really don’t want the regrets, sweetie. Really. Stop a minute and
think.”

But when I did think, I got excited. Okay, maybe it was wrong.
Maybe I’d been waiting for an excuse to take things to the next level with Sonny
for a while now. What I knew for sure was that these feelings were genuine
.
And the urge was stronger than anything I had felt
in years. He would be at Meridee’s in just a few minutes. I brushed my hair and
rinsed my mouth with mouthwash and decided I would think about this later. Right
now, all I knew is how much I wanted to see him.

18

S
onny arrived around eleven and
the house was totally dark. When he knocked at the door, Vivi gave me the
“You’ll be sorry” look and hugged me and closed her door. I opened the front
door and slipped out onto the screened front porch.

The moonlight draped us in heavy shadows. Sonny’s face was lit
from the side.

“What is it?” Sonny asked, whispering.

“Everyone’s asleep, I don’t want to wake them,” I said. He had
no idea about me and Harry, but he knew something was up. We sat down on the
glider.

“Bonita has found over twenty calls from different people, all
saying that Lewis was seen at a Birmingham bank within two hours of Vivi
reporting him missing.”

“It only takes about an hour to get to Birmingham,” I said.

“Exactly. And with twenty different reports confirming the same
sighting, she decided to subpoena the bank records and they came in
tonight.”

“What did they say?” I asked. I was anxious already but this
was sending me over the top.

“They showed it was him. And that he took out a large sum of
cash.”

“Oh, my God,” I said.

“They even sent us the video and we know he was alive and at
that bank in Birmingham
after
he was with Vivi. It’s
the biggest break we’ve had so far.”

“Oh, Sonny, that’s wonderful.”

“It is wonderful. Except… Well, he’s still missing. We don’t
know why he disappeared, whether it was his own doing or whether he was forced
to leave. We don’t know where he went or who he gave the money to, but we do
know he was alive at the time and that’s huge. I expect we will have more news
tomorrow on this.” He stopped and looked at me to gauge my reaction.

“That is such good news! Thank you!” I said, trying to hold my
smile. I was so happy about this turn of events, but so much more played through
my mind that night.

“I called Harry and couldn’t get him,” Sonny added. “Come to
think of it, why are you here? It’s so late. Shouldn’t you be home?”

I hugged him. “Thanks for coming here and letting me know.” I
started to tear up before I knew it.

Sonny was holding me in his arms and I had my head on his broad
chest. “Blake, baby, what’s wrong?”

“Sonny, it’s too much right now. I don’t think I can talk about
it. Just hold me.” And he did.

The glider swing swayed back and forth, rocking us gently in
the shadows. The moon was full and so bright that night. Sonny stroked my hair
and kissed my forehead.

“Is this something about you and Harry?” he asked softly.
“C’mon, Blake, you can talk to me.”

“Yes,” I admitted. “It was a really bad fight.” I didn’t want
to tell him about Dallas. I certainly didn’t want him to think that my being
here with him was just to get even with Harry. No matter how it looked on the
outside, in my heart I knew that wasn’t the reason. But I’ll admit it was a damn
good excuse to explore things. Harry and I had been headed down the road to this
mess for ages. And this moment with Sonny had been brewing ever since we kissed
in the kitchen that night.

I snuggled into his neck and he squeezed me tighter into
him.

“It will be okay, Blake,” he assured me. “It will all get fixed
up in the morning.”

“No, Sonny. It won’t. It was worse than you can imagine.”

He smelled so good and I felt protected. I pressed my face into
his neck and breathed on his skin. He pulled away. He looked down at me and
studied my gaze. The next thing I remember was his mouth so gently resting on
mine. His lips were so warm.

“Oh, Blake, I don’t want to make things worse. I’m sorry,” he
said. But he spoke in a whisper. He wasn’t that sorry. I looked up into his
sweet brown eyes.

“Harry and I have been having problems for a while. I need to
put some space between us. It’s okay, Sonny.”

I placed my fingertips on his face and pulled him into me. I
kissed him softly and he opened his mouth. He kissed me back much more deeply,
rolling his tongue over mine and pulling me into his body. His lips trailed all
around my mouth and down my neck. He was starving for closeness.

A heat had crept over my entire body, and it flared as I felt
his lips glide down to my breasts. He looked up at me playfully, full of
mischief. “Cleavage and cavity search, ma’am. All part of the job.”

He winked at me and I laughed—amazed by the man who could
incite passion and protectiveness and warmth and humor in one moment, never
missing a beat. He began unbuttoning my shirt and smiled as he got to my pale
pink, lacy camisole hanging loosely over my breasts. Gazing at me, he slowly
began kissing my chest, dropping down below the lace and dragging his tongue
over the tender flesh that was aching for his attention.

He stopped suddenly. “Blake. Are you sure about this?”

I looked at him and lay back on the glider, closing my eyes and
giving him the unspoken permission he needed. Without another word Sonny moved
on top of me.

I felt his body relax over me, picking up where he left off,
opening my blouse slowly, one button, one kiss, another button, another kiss,
slipping my spaghetti straps over until I felt them fall off my shoulders.

I was mesmerized by him and his slow attention to detail. He
pulled off his shirt, and the sight of his gorgeous, big shoulders stirred
something deep inside me. I felt his mouth at the top of my pants. I felt the
button open and the zipper slip down. He continued teasing me as he slipped my
pants off. His mouth and tongue moved south over my pelvis and to my pink lace
panties, and soon I felt those, too, being removed, sliding down my bare legs,
slipping off and dropping to the floor of the front porch.

There was nothing now between Sonny and me. He had removed his
pants and all had fallen to a heap on the concrete. He was a gentle and careful
lover. Slow and deliberate, devouring me for hours, just like I needed. Sonny
looked at me and smiled as we discovered each other again. It had been a long
time since high school. And we never took our clothes off back then.

It was such a comfortable place, beneath him. We had managed to
slip off the day’s armor and melt into each other, flesh into flesh, under
cotton blankets that had draped the back of the glider. I had always been the
good girl. My experience with a lover was limited to Harry. I had never been
devoured and connected to someone like this. To be physical and emotional and
understood all at the same time was new to me and I loved every second. It was
as if we moved as one, writhing in the passion we had held back for so many
years, our bodies fell into a comfortable pulse.

I felt his hand slide under my back, lifting me up to him,
pressing my thighs and pelvis into his. I wrapped myself around him. His fingers
were soft and tender, and I loved feeling them wander down my backside, slipping
over my hips and down my thighs. His mouth wandered over my breasts, tasting me,
touching me. He seemed to have a map to me. Understanding every inch of my skin,
every strand of hair, he knew just what I needed, and he breathed me into him.
He caressed my hair, pushing it away from my face.

Brushing his fingertips across my face, he whispered, “You are
so beautiful.” He was looking right into my eyes, dropping his mouth under my
cheek and rolling his tongue around my neck, gently kissing the top of my
shoulder and sliding his lips and tongue softly down the side of my breast. I
had never been taken like this. His fingertips slipped inside my thighs and he
gently touched me. His muscular body was hard but so tender and I slipped my
hand down his inner thigh, caressing him softly. I ran my fingers up his back
and dragged them across his perfect broad shoulders.

I was sure I had never been this free with Harry. The pressure
for perfection shut me down in some ways. But Sonny just made me feel like I was
the only woman in the world. His woman. And that feeling set me free in ways I
had never felt before. I would never be the same. I couldn’t go back now. I had
become connected to someone on all levels and it was the most amazing thing I
had ever felt. I smiled at him, looking into those brown eyes I had first fallen
in love with so many years ago. It felt good to see my past in his eyes, the boy
I knew, now a man. And to have him as a woman. Finally.

“I can’t believe we never did this in high school,” Sonny said
when we were both sated and exhausted.

“I know,” I said. “You should have definitely been my first.” I
was looking up at him still lying over me. I liked feeling his weight on me.

“Well, I sure tried to be,” he said. “No, I think I may have
begged. But you were the good girl. I always respected that.”

“What about now?” I asked.

“I really respect you now.” We both laughed.

“I don’t regret this,” I said. And I really didn’t.

“I sure as hell don’t,” he said. “I feel bad for Harry, though.
I mean, I’ve been working with him for weeks, but I can’t help it if something
is wrong with him and he can’t realize what he’s got here and take better care
of it.”

Sonny was so right. It felt good to be physical with someone
that I had such an emotional and mental bond with. I knew he understood me and I
understood him. We get each other in a way that was different than what I had
ever experienced with anyone. I was finally in his arms, one with him, after all
these years of waiting. I breathed in deeply, just living in this moment, quiet
and still. Sonny continued to kiss me.

I was filled with conflicting emotions. I wanted this, yet I
was sad, too. Elated and sad. I wanted to lie in Sonny’s arms a little longer,
he made me so happy. And I knew my marriage with Harry was ending, which still
hurt to accept.

The Southern night air grew damp and we played until dew-drops
began to shimmer on the rose petals. I could see them outside the screened porch
over his naked, big shoulders.

“Want some coffee?” I said, looking at the watch still on
Sonny’s wrist. It was 5:00 a.m.

“Won’t Harry be looking for you?”

“He knows better than to come here, Sonny.” I wasn’t sure if I
should tell him about Dallas, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Sonny,” I said.

“What, beautiful?”

“I caught Harry with Dallas.” There it was. I’d said it. It was
out there, ruining the moment. “They were half-naked on my backyard patio
and I sorta stumbled onto them.”

“What?” He sat up. The blanket fell off his body and draped
over his lap. “What was he thinking? Why? Why her?”

“I don’t know, Sonny. But really, it’s been a mess lately. It’s
been ending for a while, actually.”

“Just the thought of them…”

“I know. But I’m dealing with it.”

Then he looked up at me with hurt feelings in his sweet brown
eyes. “Was this revenge sex?” He suddenly looked like a young boy again.

“Aw, no, baby.” I kissed him softly. “No way. This has been
coming since I was fourteen. The timing was just never on our side until now. I
feel so good with you.” Sonny pulled me into him.

“I have never been like this with any woman, Blake. You were
worth the wait,” he said, placing his hands on either side of my face, his
fingertips sliding over my cheeks. “No other woman I have ever known has ever
made me feel the way you do, Blake. No woman can glance at me from across a room
and get my heart pumping. You still do that to me. And you see the best in me,
too. That makes a man feel real good. My marriage never stood a chance. That
poor girl could never even live up to the memory of you.” Sonny leaned in and
kissed my eyelids softly and then my nose and then each cheek, finally resting
on my mouth.

As he talked, I was lost in his words, and then lost in his
kisses. I needed to hear this. The good girl inside kept taunting me, though.
Oh, my, Blake O’Hara Heart, you ought to be ashamed,
you unfaithful heifer. You’re just as bad as Harry.
But then the
stronger, braver Blake would think,
Harry, my big ass! That
sorry pig! He just went for a Dumpster dive with your ex-stepsister and
number one enemy on this planet!

“Sonny,” I said, half laughing, “being a good girl is
so
overrated.”

He smiled and kissed my forehead. “Blake, I will never regret
this. I hope you won’t.”

“Never, Sonny. You were the first boy that stole my heart.
There’s always been an easiness about us.”

“There’s something about your softness,” he added. “I can rest
my head against you and the world goes away. A man needs that. And God knows, no
body excites this body like you do…always did.” He exhaled and I felt his breath
on my shoulder. “Blake, I’m okay with whatever you want now. You just need to
tell me what that is.”

“I know, Sonny. I’ve just got so much on my mind. So much to
decipher. Let’s just sit with this awhile.”

“That’s okay, beautiful. I will never, ever be done with you.
I’ll sit as long as you want.”

He kissed me on the nose, then pressed his lips on mine and got
up from the glider. I watched him get dressed in the light of the sunrise.