QUEENIE BABY: On Assignment (25 page)

“Darn!” he said. “If I’d have just been a few seconds earlier.” He started moving towards me.
 

I held up my hand to ward him off. “Not so fast,” I said firmly. “I have to be at work at ten and you need to go. Last night was not pretty. Jesus, Rick, my neighbor threatened to shoot you.”

Rick hung his head. “So all that actually happened, huh?” he asked, sitting down on my bed. “I was hoping it was just a bad dream that ended with us in this bed together.” He looked up hopefully.

“Not a chance,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Diana,” Rick said letting out a deep breath. “I got some news yesterday, and even though I was expecting it, I still got blindsided. I came here thinking that if I could see you and touch you it would make everything all right.” He shook his head. “Then you weren’t here when I got here and my mind went wild with all kinds of scenarios. It was an unfortunate time to find myself alone with time on my hands and a bottle of Jack.”

“Yeah, the Jack you were planning to use on me,” I said, but with less heat.
 

He smiled. “Well, the Jack and the CD kind of back-fired on me. So I guess I got what was coming to me for ditching my ‘take the long view’ plan. Did that song really play over and over again? Or did I dream it?” he asked.

I nodded. “It played until I disconnected your battery. And you’d be sitting in jail right now if Mrs. Kester hadn’t been afraid of calling the police again.”

“She’s a mean one. Can’t believe she turned the hose on us,” he said in amusement.

“Well, it’s not funny to me. I have to live here, remember?” I said putting my hands on my hips.

“I love it when you get fired up,” he said and tried to pull me between his knees.
 

I jumped back. “No!” I said. “That’s not happening. And there’s no point in having a ‘long view’. We aren’t meant to be together, Rick. I’m seeing Mark exclusively and I don’t want you thinking of me like this anymore.” There, it was out. I thought I would feel instant relief, but I only felt sad as Rick lowered his head to his hands. As I reached the door, I turned and asked, “What was your news, Rick? What made you come all the way over here to see me?”

He lifted his head up and held my eye. “My divorce is final. Found the papers in the mailbox,” he said softly.

“I’m sorry,” I said ineffectually. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

I left the room, so he could get dressed. I went into the kitchen and made coffee. Max looked at his empty bowl and at the door. I could almost hear his snooty dog voice saying, “Late again you slacker.” Rick came out and grabbed his keys and wallet off the table. “Do you want some coffee?” I asked. “It’ll be ready in a couple of minutes.”

He looked at me and smiled. “I’m not sure my stomach can handle your witch’s brew.”

“Hey,” I said indignantly, “my coffee is good.”

“Didn’t used to be,” he said with a grimace.

“I was a teenager and that was twelve years ago, Rick. I can make a decent cup of coffee now,” I said.
 

“I’ll try your coffee,” he said. “I like to think people can change.”

I saw where he was going with this, but didn’t say anything. “Want me to take your dog out for you?” he asked.
 

Max looked from him to me.

“Sure,” I said.
 

I scooped up my purse and grabbed my phone off the charger. Uh-oh. I had missed two texts.
 

Mark: Just found out they left. Going to Puerto Rico. Getting on a flight at midnight. Call you in the morning.
 

Mark: I miss you.
 

Before I could process anything, my phone rang. Not Mark, was my first thought. I didn’t recognize the number, but I decided to answer it.
 

“Diana? It’s Mark,” he said, sounding happy to talk to me.
 

Oh, no! Maybe if I just hung up. “Hi, Mark,” I replied like an idiot. “Where are you calling from?” I asked.
 

“A phone in the lobby of the hotel I am staying at. My phone is dead and I forgot my charger. I’m on my way to get one now, but I had to call you,” he said with excitement.

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” I said trying to hurry him off the phone, “but I really need to get to work. Can I call you back at one?” I heard footsteps on the stairs.

“No,” he said with a laugh, “I’m not calling to be sweet. I’m calling because something bizarre just happened.”
 

The door was opening. Max bounded into the kitchen looking for his food. I heard Rick say something about ‘finally getting that damned CD out’. “What about Charles and David?” I asked to cover the noise.
 

“No word. Nothing. All I know is they arrived about nine hours ahead of me. I figure I’m here for a couple of days at least. But what I called to tell you was that I just heard your song.”

Rick walked in and hung up Max’s leash. I held up my hand. “What did you say?” I asked.
 

“I said I heard your song. Here—in Puerto Rico on a radio station,” he said.
 

“You heard my song? On the radio?” I said loudly causing Rick to look up.

“Yes,” he said, “
The Rum Song
. A man was singing it, but I recognized it as soon as I heard it. Any idea what’s going on?” he asked.

“They stole my song,” I shrieked. “Those bastards stole my song.”
 

Rick came up behind me. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

There was a pause at the other end. “Is that Rick?” Mark asked incredulously.
 

I thought about making buzzing noises to fake static, but I guess I waited too long, because Mark said, “Don’t act like you can’t hear me and don’t hang up on me either,” he barked. “What the hell, Diana? What about the whole ‘exclusivity’ thing? Did you just throw that out the window?”

“Nothing happened. Rick was on my doorstep when I came back from dinner. He just got his divorce papers and he was looking for a shoulder to cry on. That was it,” I said quickly. I motioned to Rick to come over. He had a big smile on his face. I covered the phone. “Don’t you do this!” I whispered furiously at him. “You tell the truth!”

“That doesn’t explain what he’s still doing at your place,” Mark said between clenched teeth. “I can’t take this right now, Diana. I’m chasing a nut around who may or may not have hired thugs hunting for him. I don’t speak Spanish and these people drive like New York cab drivers. How much more can I take?” I was pretty sure his eyes were bulging out of their sockets on the other end of the phone.

“He was drunk when I got here. I slept on the couch and this morning I told him that you and I are exclusive,” I waved to Rick encouragingly, “Tell him Rick.”
 

He stared at me a second and then shook his head like he couldn’t believe he was doing this. “She’s all yours, man,” he said loudly. “Treat her good.”

“Great,” Mark said sarcastically, “the guy you spent the night with—for the second time this week, I might add—says you’re all mine. I have warm fuzzies.”

“Mark,” I said trying again, “I am sorry. I know this looks bad.” Rick motioned for me to hand him the phone. I made a face. He waved again. I shook my head in defeat and handed him the phone.

“Mark. Just listen, man,” Rick said calmly. “I know you’re hot under the collar about being thousands of miles away while your sexy, new girlfriend is having sleepovers with her old boyfriend.”

“Not helping!” I growled.

“Anyway,” Rick continued, “this is simple. The question is this: do you really think if I just spent last night in bed with Diana, who happens to be the one true love of my life, that I would be having this conversation? I’m a tolerant man, but that ain’t going to happen.”
 

I motioned for the phone back. Rick waved me away. “Why? Because I’m not the same guy I used to be and I want her to know that,” Rick said and then paused listening to Mark. “Well, you got me on that one,” Rick said with a laugh. He handed me back the phone. “Smart guy,” he said. “Said, ‘yeah, and you’re earning brownie points for when I fuck this up.’”

“There are no brownie points!” I said and grabbed the phone back. “I’m sorry about all this, Mark. It has all been a fantastic comedy of errors.”

“I’m pretty sure most of your life is a ‘fantastic comedy of errors,'” he said wryly. “But if it hadn’t been for all the craziness, we would’ve never met. So I guess I just have to get used to it. Rick seems like a good guy. Too bad he’s trying to steal you away from me. I think we could have been friends otherwise. Maybe I should fix him up with my sister.”

“So . . . “ I prodded. “Are we okay?”

“I think we could be more than okay,” he said.

“Yeah? How?” I asked watching Rick pour himself a cup of coffee.

“Grab your bikini and get on a plane. We’ll chase bad guys, figure out who stole your song, and get naked. But definitely not in that order,” he said like the pied piper luring me away.

A million ‘I can’ts’ filled my head. Max. Work. Gigs. “Okay,” I said suddenly. “I’ll go.”

Rick rolled his eyes and took a swig of coffee. I said goodbye to Mark and promised to call at lunch when I had a chance to work out the details.
 

Rick watched me closely as I flitted around the room getting ready to leave for work. “Puerto Rico, huh?” he asked shaking his head. “That guy
so
owes me.”

“Thank you so much,” I said earnestly. “And about what you said to Mark. You’re right you’re not the guy you used to be.”

“But still not the right guy for you,” he said with a sigh.
 

I looked up at him sadly and shook my head no.
 

He took another sip of coffee and grimaced. “Some things don’t change. Your coffee still sucks.”

Okay so maybe my coffee did still suck. But I felt like I had changed in the last week. A new love to explore. An old love resolved. A trip to Puerto Rico on the horizon. Life was looking up.

“Hey,” Rick yelled, banging angrily on my window. “What’s that crazy old lady rubbing all over my truck!”
 

I glanced out the window. Yuck. “Did Max poop when you took him out?” I asked.
 

“Yeah, so?” he answered banging on the window again. Mrs. Kester turned around and gave him the finger.

“You didn’t use a baggy, did you?” I asked. Rick cursed.
 

Maybe I needed a real estate agent, too.

<<<<>>>>

WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED LAST SUMMER?

I hope you enjoyed following Diana’s adventures as much as I enjoyed writing about them! If you would like to find out more about Diana’s brush with fame last summer, and the kooky characters she met along the way, just click below and I will send you the FREE short story prelude QUEENIE BABY: On Location. Stop in at my website for additional QUEENIE BABY-related freebies and for updates on the June 2013 release of Book 2 QUEENIE BABY: Out of Office
caburke.com
.

CLICK HERE FOR FREE SHORT STORY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Burke wrote her first novel more than twenty years ago. Life and career took over until she found her way back to fiction writing through the unlikely avenue of metastatic breast cancer. Among other business and education credentials, she holds a Doctorate in Business Administration. Christina, her husband, Jim, and their two children live in Dover, Delaware with the family sidekick, Max the Wonder Dog. Visit her at
caburke.com
.

ABOUT THE MUSIC

The original music performed by our heroine, Diana Hudson, is based on the real-life songs of singer/songwriter Tad Jones. You can find Tad and his music at
tadjonesmusic.com
.
 

Download my favorite Tad Jones’ song
Do They Have Rum
(a.k.a,
The Rum Song
) on
iTunes
!