Bayou Heat (13 page)

“Because of your daughter, this work is the most crucial
I’ve ever done, Mrs. DuBose.”

She sighed and looked him square in the eyes. “We could
stand out here all night splitting hairs and getting nowhere. So I’ll be
direct. My daughter
needs
to see you, Mr. Jackson. She needs the
security you bring her right now. Oh, she won’t admit it to herself or to
anyone else, she’s too stubborn and independent for her own good—but she does.”

“Nate can provide Eris with everything she needs.”

“I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to take care of Eris.”
Mrs. Dubose gave a very knowing smile.

* * * * *

Eris hissed in pain as she lifted her foot onto the rattan
ottoman and looked out across her parents’ backyard from the covered porch. She
really shouldn’t have worn those heels today. If her ankle wasn’t hurting so
badly she’d be out there with her brothers playing football.

“Here, take these.” Rob held out two aspirin and a glass of
water to her.

She was in enough discomfort that she took the pills without
an argument as he sat down beside her on the wicker loveseat. “You should go
out there, the games are always fun.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

Eris played with the condensation on the side of the glass
for a couple of minutes before the strained silence got to her. “You’re still
mad at me for sneaking out last night, aren’t you?”

“Livid.”

“I’m not sorry about doing what I did. I’ll do whatever it
takes to find Orbit’s killer.”

“I know.”

“I’m not going to apologize either.”

“I know.”

Eris rested her head on Rob’s shoulder and watched as Nate
took a wild hit to the kidneys from Zach. “I hope you enjoyed the dinner, it
can get crazy when we’re all together.”

“Dinner was great, especially the mashed potatoes.”

“Thanks, I made those.”

“I know, your mother told me three times.”

“I should have known.” Eris tried to sit up but Rob wrapped
his fingers around her arm, stopping her. When she relaxed back against him,
his hand dropped to her thigh.

“Your mother wanted to make sure I knew you made them.”

“I’m so sorry. She’s usually not quite so blatant about
things.”

Rob’s fingers traced a pattern on her thigh before trailing
upward to toy with the hem of her shorts. “It’s okay.”

Eris watched as Rob’s fingers stilled on her leg and he
stared off into space. They stayed that way for several minutes and she knew he
was lost in his own world. “Where are you, Rob?”

“I was remembering another evening that was similar to this
one.”

“Is it a good memory?”

“Yeah.”

“Then tell me.”

“It’s not important.”

“It is to me. I know some of your not-so-good stories, now I
want to hear a make-me-smile story.”

“Fine, but remember my happy stories aren’t your standard
vanilla.”

Eris moved her hand to where his rested on her leg and
twined their fingers together. “I know your tales are more from the dark side
and that’s perfectly fine with me.”

He turned his head and studied her for so long she began to
wonder if he was going to talk again this evening or not.

Then she heard a deep, resigned sigh. “It was early July,
the summer between fourth and fifth grades, so I guess I was ten. My mother was
going through one of her bad spells, and I was spending most of my time
anywhere other than the apartment where we were currently living. Most days I
hung out down at the docks. Kids weren’t allowed in the area but some of the
dockworkers took pity on me and would often send me on errands, allowing me to
earn a couple of bucks legally. It was there on the docks I met LD. He and I
started hanging out together and getting into trouble.”

“In other words, typical ten-year-olds.”

“LD maybe…me, no. When I was around LD, I tried to be
normal. I didn’t pocket anything that wasn’t paid for. Even at ten LD was
observant, so he wasn’t fooled for long. Anyway, about two weeks after meeting
LD, he talked me into going home with him one evening. If I hadn’t been
half-starved from living off garbage-can leftovers for the last five days, I’d
never have agreed. I remember reaching his back door and freezing.”

“What caused you to stop?”

“Through the screen door, I watched as LD’s mother pulled
cookies from the oven. She stood in her kitchen looking like one of those women
you see on TV with her hair all done up, makeup, jewelry and perfectly dressed.
I was sure she’d never let me into her house. Lord knows I’d been kicked out
and told not to come back from homes that didn’t hold a candle to theirs. I
tried to back away, but LD reached around me, opened the door and shoved me in.
Before I knew what was happening, LD was introducing me to his mother and
shoving cookies into my hands.”

Eris noticed how Rob ran his free hand up and down his
thigh. It was the first nervous gesture she’d seen him perform. “You must have
been terrified.”

“I was so scared my knees were knocking. I was filthy, I
smelled and all I had on was a pair of ragged cutoff shorts. I figured I was
going to be told to leave; instead she invited me to dinner. We had fried
chicken, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. It was the best meal I’d ever
eaten in my life. Later she suggested I spend the night. To this day I still
find it hard to believe that Linda didn’t kick me back out that door.”

Her voice caught in her throat for the young, scared boy he
must have once been. With her free hand, she turned his face toward her. “She
looked into your eyes and saw the good person within. Linda Carmouche is a
smart woman, she knows better than to judge a person by what’s on the outside.”

And that’s the man I see
. Those words never made it
out as her lips touched his.

Eris moved and her sprained ankle collided with Rob’s leg
and she pulled back, breaking the kiss. She reached down and rubbed her throbbing
ankle. It was better but it wasn’t healed.

“How’s the ankle?” Rob’s words were still rough from the
kiss and she liked that sound more than she should have.

“Not bad for the way I abused it today.”

He patted his leg. “Prop it up here and let me have a look.”

She considered protesting but figured the ensuing battle
wasn’t worth fighting. It would be obvious once she tried to walk exactly how
bad her ankle was. Ever-so gently she lifted her foot and rested it on his
thigh.

His fingers probed the tender, swollen flesh until she
couldn’t stand it any longer. “Please stop. It hurts. It really, really hurts.”

He removed his hand and leaned back. “I don’t like the look
of that ankle at all. We should have gotten you to a doctor today. Tomorrow,
first thing, we’re going to a doctor.”

“I don’t need a doctor, just some crutches so I can hobble
around.”

“You might have torn tendons or broken a bone. It needs to
be looked at.”

“I know, but we have too much going on right now. I was
hoping to get back to the alley in the morning to see if I could pick up any
traces.”

“Eris…”

She ignored the edginess that was developing in his voice.
“The longer we wait, the weaker the aura becomes and we didn’t make it back
today.”

“Your ankle is more important than the investigation right
now.”

“To hell with my ankle. I can have surgery done on it later
if need be.”

“Be reasonable, princess. If you aren’t at one hundred
percent then you can’t give the same to this investigation. That makes you a
liability.”

“Excuse me! I’ve never in my entire life been a burden to
anyone. I am financially independent, self-sufficient and I don’t require
another person to take care of me. You should be glad I don’t have two good
feet, because if I did, I’d be kicking you right out the door.”

“You are going to the doctor in the morning, even if I have
to hogtie you and drag you there myself!”

“Give me a call in the morning if it looks like that’s going
to happen,” a new voice spoke up. “Zane, Caleb, Trever and I would pay to see
it.”

Eris looked over to see Lance leaning against a porch
post—looking fierce and mean as usual.

“Doubt I’d have to, you’ll hear the shrieking,” Rob answered
as the two men chuckled.

She glared at them. “That’s not funny.”

“Yeah it is,” Lance stated as he continued to lean against
the post.

“I didn’t think you were going to be able to make it to the
party.”

“Zane called me about your ankle after he spoke with you
this morning and asked that I come take care of it.” Lance directed the answer
to her but turned his gaze to Rob.

Having four brothers, Eris understood Lance was letting Rob
know she wasn’t a toy to be played with. Brothers. What a pain, she thought as
she opened her mouth to tell Lance to mind his own business.

The words died on her lips as Rob placed a large, warm hand
on her leg. He caressed her, but she could feel the tension building in him.

“I’ve already told Caleb I would take care of Eris. There’s
no need for the family to worry about her.”

Warmth unfurled in the pit of her stomach and slowly spread
through her. Before the feeling of splendor could blur her vision and make her
start thinking in terms of “us” and “we”, she reminded herself that this
relationship, if that’s what she and Rob had going, wasn’t long-term.

“I’m not questioning your ability to protect my sister. If I
had any doubts you’d already have been tossed out the front door by Caleb.”

If standing quickly wouldn’t have caused Eris pain, Rob
would have been on his feet and tossing the brash young man off the porch.
Instead he gently lifted Eris’ foot from his thigh and placed it back on the
stool. He then stood to his full height and stared the younger man in the eyes.
“If you’re here to toss out idle threats, your brothers have already beaten you
to it.”

Lance gave a slight shrug of the shoulders but never broke
eye contact with Rob as they stood facing each other. “I figured they had.”

Rob couldn’t help but be impressed by the man’s physical
presence. He was tall, wide-shouldered and slender built. He was obviously
athletic, the type of person the FBI would love to get a hold of. “Then why are
you here, because I’m guessing you didn’t come over for a friendly
conversation?”

“I’ve come to take a look at my sister’s ankle to see if I
can help her.”

“You’re a doctor?”

Lance gave a slightly bitter laugh. “Not in the traditional
sense.”

“I’m afraid to ask what that means, but knowing your family,
I’m sure I’m about to find out.”

Lance cocked one eyebrow at him. “Afraid you’re about to be
disappointed, old man. I left my chicken bones and shrunken heads at home.”

Rob was ready to let Lance know that age and experience
counted for a lot more than youthfulness alone when suddenly Lance yelped and
jumped back.

Lance rubbed the outside of his denim-clad thigh and glared
at his sister. “What is it with you and Mom and the pinching? I think you took
a hunk out of my leg!”

“It gets your attention. Now if you don’t behave, I’ll
remove a matching piece from the other side. Tell me, is there something in the
air making my brothers act like overbearing jackasses?”

Lance backed away from his sister and rolled his shoulders.
“Sorry, it’s him.”

“Rob?”

Rob was glad Eris vocalized his question because the males
in her family were getting a little hard to tolerate.

“Spill the beans, Lance, what gives?”

Eris’ tone was hard and unyielding, causing the younger
sibling to squirm. It took a great deal of effort on Rob’s part not to visibly
show his delight in Lance’s discomfort.

Lance lifted his head and looked at Rob then turned to his
sister. “For years we’ve…and now he’s here…Dad told us to drop it but…”

“What in the world are you talking about, Lance?”

The pained look on Lance’s face was enough that Rob stepped
in to help out. “I think your brothers are having a hard time dealing with the
fact you don’t need them anymore. You’ve got someone else to watch out for
you.”

Eris gave a slight shake of her head. “First of all, I can
take care of myself. Secondly, think about it. Rob’s presence is only
temporary. Once this case is solved, he’ll be gone. Then things will be back to
normal.”

“That’s not what Caleb—” Lance clamped his mouth closed.

Eris frowned at her brother and attempted to stand. Rob
immediately wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close for added
support then loosened his hold when he realized how tight he was holding her.
Her assessment of their relationship was the same as his, for once they agreed
on something. And it bothered him beyond reason that she could be so flippant
about it.

“What exactly did Caleb say?”

Good question, Rob thought as he waited for the answer.
Lance glared at Rob.

“He told me he was overbearing and overprotective and
extremely territorial.”

“Is that all?” Eris questioned her brother.

“Yeah, that’s all.”

Eris snorted her disbelief but Lance didn’t blink at her
reaction. The man had a great poker face, Rob thought as he helped Eris across
the small patio and into the house.

* * * * *

Two hours later, Rob watched in amazement as Eris slowly
walked around the living room of her apartment with only a slight limp. If he
hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it. Of course, he
wasn’t sure he understood it anyway.

“How does it feel?” Lance’s words didn’t hold the sharp edge
they had earlier at the DuBose house.

Eris stopped, propped her foot on the coffee table and
traced the area below her ankle. “This part is still tender.”

“Come here and I’ll work on it some more.” Rob watched as
Lance pushed himself to a seated position on the couch.