The Debra Dilemma (The Lone Stars Book 4) (17 page)

“You care.” She didn’t mean to do the chin dip thing again, it just happened.

“Stop that. It’s really hard to be mad at you when you look at me like that.” He looked away, but couldn’t seem to stand it so he turned back to her. “Look, I hate that you were with them. I hate that they touched you, but most of all, I want to scrape out their eyeballs because they got to see you naked.” He certainly didn’t sound like the perfectly dressed, civilized Warren that she knew and now realized that she loved.

“I know it’s bad, but there’s a part of me that loves that it ruffles your feathers. I know it’s wrong and that what I did was wrong, but I can’t help it. There is some satisfaction in knowing that I made you as unhappy as I made myself. Again, I know it’s wrong, and I will never do anything like that again.” It said a lot about her as a person that her female pride enjoyed his anger.

The elevator doors rolled open and Warren thrust a hand at the small of her back and plastered a smile on his face. After they stepped into his condo, his hand moved to her shoulders in a very possessive way. He was throwing off a whole lot of this-is-my-woman-other-men-so-don’t-even-breath-in-her-direction.

It was terrible, but she liked it. He was jealous and that was more emotion from him than she’d seen in a very long time.

“There she is.” Laney called from the clump of people standing in the kitchen. “We have something for you, Debra.”

The group was facing away from Warren and Debra, and then they all turned at the same time. Every single person, including Julia and Chord’s kids, were wearing big red-waxed lips.

Laney took hers off and smiled. “As a doctor, I highly recommend you use this as a kissing prophylactic. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Julia took off her lips and looked up at Clint Grayson. “Daddy, what’s a prophoclastic?”

“You’re too young to know.” He reached down and scooped her up and plopped her on his hip. “I’ll tell you when you turn thirty-five.”

She laid her tiny hands on his cheeks. “Promise?”

“Yes ma’am, kiddo.”

She made a face.

“Sorry, yes ma’am, Your Highness.” He bowed his head.

She stuck her lips back on and turned to Debra.

“Julia, there’s something different about you.” Debra put an index finger to her lips. “Don’t tell me…you changed your hair.”

Julia giggled and shook her head. “No, silly, it’s the wax lips.”

“That’s what it is.” Warren nodded vigorously. “How could we have missed it?”

It shouldn’t make a difference that he thought of them as a “we,” but it did.

She loved him and knew they deserved to be together, but that didn’t mean that she was going to make it easy for him. Like he’d said, nothing worthwhile ever came easy and by God, she was worthwhile. Self-esteem might have taken her thirty years to create, but now that she had more than her fair share, she wasn’t settling for anything but happiness.

Warren couldn’t believe his luck. Not only had he spent the morning and day with Debra, but he was getting the evening as well. So what if he’d had a couple of bumps along the way? Debra didn’t seem to mind.

They were sitting on his sofa with plates of food in their laps. Grace had made two different kinds of salads, Summer had baked chocolate chip cookies and garlic bread, and Sweet Louise had whipped up strawberry cake and a chocolate pie. Devon had smoked a truckload of baby backs. As far as Warren was concerned, life was perfect. He had wonderful food and Debra was sitting right next to him.

Sweet Louise sat down on his other side. “Soooo…Christmas at your new condo…what do you think?”

For the last few years they’d all celebrated Christmas together. Everyone took turns hosting and it appeared that this year was his year.

“Okay, I’ll need to get more furniture. There’s plenty of room. I have four bedrooms that are completely empty.” He didn’t have time to furniture shop, but he loved the big family Christmases they’d shared. It looked like he’d be calling on the services of Amil and his Centurion card.

“Debra will help you. I’m sure between the two of you, you can outfit this place.” Sweet Louise placed a dainty bite of salad into her mouth and chewed.

“I’m sorry…what?” Debra’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth.

Sweet Louise took her time chewing and finally said, “Y’all need to outfit this place for Christmas. We all celebrate it together. We come over early on Christmas Eve, drink hot cider, go caroling, eat a huge feast, and wait up for Santa Claus. The next morning we get up, eat another huge feast, see what Santa has brought us and open presents, and then we eat another feast for lunch.”

“That’s a lot of feasting.” Debra leaned over Warren to look at Sweet Louise.

“Honey, you’re going to have to get used to it. We’re all feeders and we show love through food. You’ll learn.” Sweet Louise waved like it was nothing.

“Just think, we could carol up and down Congress and take a carriage ride through downtown.” Summer’s eyes lit up. “It would be so much fun.”

“I can stay for some of the feasting, but I have to work on Christmas Eve. It’s one of the busiest days of the year at Safe Place. On holidays, our attendance spikes.” Debra bit into the garlic bread and nodded at Summer. “This is wonderful.”

Summer grinned. “How about some company on Christmas Eve? I’d be happy to volunteer at Safe Place.”

“Me too.” Summer’s husband Clint, reached over to Summer’s plate, scooped up a hunk of meat, and plopped it on top of his garlic bread.

“Did you just Helen Keller my meat?” Summer turned huge questioning eyes on him. “That is so not cool.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He held the meat-topped bread up inspecting it. “Voila. Barbeque sandwich.”

He held the sandwich up for Summer to bite. “Thanks for the meat donation.”

She took a big bite. “That’s good.”

“I could stand watching you do that again.” Clint’s eyes were on his wife’s lips.

One corner of Summer’s mouth went up and she swallowed her bite and took another one.

“That mouth.” Clint growled low. “God, I love that mouth.”

Warren loved watching how his friends interacted with their wives. These couples loved without reservation and that had always reminded him of Debra. All those years ago, they’d loved each other without reservation. He wanted that again.

He cut his eyes toward Debra. She also smiled as she watched the interaction between Clint and Summer. Did she miss how she’d been with Warren as much as he missed it?

“Sorry, only ladies at Safe Place. Men make our guests uncomfortable.” She lowered her eyes.

Was she remembering how easy and loving they’d once been?

“I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes sense.” Grace sat down next to Summer. “I think our families can hold down the fort on Christmas Eve while we go help people who are not having a Merry Christmas.”

“We should bring food.” Sweet Louise chimed in. “Something comforting…like soup and cupcakes.”

“Y’all really do express love through food.” Debra nodded. “It’s nice. We would love the help and the food on Christmas Eve.”

“I’ll make my Aunt Lura’s hot rolls.” Grace looked like she was making mental notes.

“I’ll bring paper plates or chips or a jug of iced tea from Chick-fil-A,” Laney called from the kitchen island, where she was loading up not one, but two plates of food. Debra had seen how that woman could eat. It was hilarious watching her out eat giant football players. “I don’t cook, but I’m a pro at ordering takeout.”

“I’ll smoke chickens and maybe some ribs.” Devon added more food to Laney’s plates. It appeared that he was a feeder just like his mother.

“I can make my famous homemade pancakes.” Clint took a bit of his sandwich.

Everyone turned to him.

“What? It’s the only thing I know how to cook. When Summer’s gone, we eat lots of pancakes.” He put his plate on the coffee table and held his hands out for Julia, who’d been playing with Cart and HW Robbins.

“Chocolate chip pancakes with syrup and whipped cream.” Julia squealed as Clint picked her up and tossed her into the air.

“Chocolate chips, syrup and whipped cream? No wonder she’s bouncing off the walls when I get home.” Summer shook her head. “You look so grown up and responsible on the outside—”

“You know you love me.” Clint blew her a kiss.

She grinned. “I’m confiscating your chocolate chips.”

He pulled Julia in for a kiss. “Blabbermouth.”

She gave him a big smacking kiss on the mouth. “Love, love, love you.”

“Back at you kiddo.” Clint settled her on his lap.

One day Warren wanted a little girl just like Julia, and if Debra was willing, he’d really like a couple of children or maybe three. Was it too soon to discuss it? He watched her…yeah, too soon.

“So, I need to bring up something that is going to maybe hurt both of you.” Summer bit her top lip as she looked from Warren to Debra and then back at Warren.

“Okay.” He liked that Summer never shied away from difficult things.

“Sure, what’s on your mind?” Debra stiffened. Gently, he massaged her thin shoulder. Heck, his hand was already around her shoulders, he might as well put the darned thing to good use.

“Julia told me that she saw AJ.” Summer let out a long, slow breath. “She does that.”

Julia had seen AJ? Had she met him? What was he like? Warren wanted to know, but didn’t want to ask. It would hurt Debra to talk about him. He’d have to ask Julia when they were alone.

“Yes, she mentioned him.” Debra grinned. “As I remember it, she yelled at him for not holding hands when she told him to.”

Devon took one of Laney’s plates so she could sit down and then he handed it back to her. “She yells at my father all of the time when she comes over to my house. Apparently, even in the afterlife, he still cheats at checkers.”

Sweet Louise set her plate on the coffee table and placed a hand on Warren’s knee. “I wish we could tell you that she makes it up, but you’ve seen her talking to your little sister, Leah.”

“Last week, when Julia was at my office, she played ring around the roses with a patient of mine who’d passed. Her name was Lara.” Tears gathered in Laney’s eyes and then two fat ones rolled down her cheek. “It was lovely.”

Clint leaned forward. “I just wanted you to know that if it bothers you, we can ask her not to talk about it.”

“Are you kidding, it’s wonderful.” Debra’s voice quavered. “I’ve thought I felt him with me sometimes, but I wasn’t sure it was possible …it’s…nice…to know that he really is with me.”

Debra sniffled and Warren pulled her in tighter to him and then stroked her hair.

“I’m so glad that she has that special gift and I hope she doesn’t grow out of it.” Sweet Louise used her napkin to dap her own wet eyes. “It makes me laugh that my husband still cheats at checkers.”

Warren noticed that she’d called him her husband. She’d had several boyfriends, but never committed to them because she still loved her husband. It was both sweet and sad.

He guessed that he fell into that sweet and sad category too. He’d had more than his fair share of girlfriends and he’d tried to love them, but he’d been in love with Debra the whole time.

“I wish Julia would introduce me to AJ.” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

All eyes turned to Julia.

She pointed to the space right over Debra’s right shoulder. “He’s right there. He’s mad at you because you make her sad.”

AJ could join the club because Warren wasn’t exactly feeling all warm and fuzzy about himself these days.

Everyone looked over Debra’s right shoulder, but just like the numerous times Julia had played with Leah, there was nothing there.

Debra stared at the space over her right shoulder. “I wish I could see him.”

So did Warren.

“At first…when she first started talking to people we couldn’t see…we just blew it off. She was just learning to speak and we thought she had an imaginary friend. When she was old enough to call people by name and called her imaginary friend Papa Henry—my grandfather—it was spooky. We took her to a therapist who told us to ignore it and it would go away. One night it was storming outside and she was calmly sitting in her bed holding a one-sided conversation. When I asked who she was talking to, she told me that she was talking to Papa Henry and he was telling her the bear story. It was story that he used to tell me. I knew right then that she wasn’t making it up. I’d never told her about my grandfather or the bear story.” Summer smoothed down her daughter’s gold ringlets. “It freaks some people out.”

“She talks to my Aunt Shirley all of the time. I hope Julia doesn’t grow out of it before she’s old enough to write. I really need Aunt Shirley’s chocolate sheet cake recipe.” Grace nodded. “I miss her sheet cake, and, well…her too.”

Warren grinned. “Leave it to Grace to have a practical reason for talking to the dead.”

Everyone laughed.

“Thank you. I pride myself on practicality.” She hunched her shoulders. “That and Superhero Sunday.”

Debra’s brows bounced off her hairline. “What’s Superhero Sunday?”

“Once a month, Grace calls Superhero Sunday and we all have to dress up as our own made-up Superhero and then we have a competition to see who is the best.” It was HW, Chord’s son. “I won last week.”

“You did an outstanding job as Opera Man.” Grace Robbins winked at her stepson.

“I think we’re going to have to invite Debra so she can experience it at least once in her lifetime.” Chord put his hand on his wife’s knee. “Everyone should have to come up with their own inner Superhero.”

“So.…” Sweet Louise leaned back, crossed her legs at the ankle and stared down Warren. “What’s your plan to win back Debra?”

All eyes turned to him.

“Um.…” He really didn’t have a plan so much as tenacity and a dream.

“Grace, Sweet Louise, Laney, and I have put our heads together and as the Debra’s best friends, we have a few items that we think you need to do in order to win her back. Summer reached into her back jeans pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of white printer paper. She unfolded it, and what looked like one page turned into three—single-spaced.