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“Thanks, man,” Blaze said. “So, you’ll help me find her?”
“On it,” Dell agreed. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tried Blair, putting the call on speaker. It went right to voicemail and Blaze cursed. “I have another idea.” He called someone else, putting the call on speaker. A woman answered the call and Dell cringed.
“Hey, Mom,” he whispered.
“Dell, it’s not a holiday or my birthday. Why are you calling me?” his mother asked.
“Good to hear from you too, mom. You do know that the phone works both ways, right? You can chastise me for not calling, but you also haven’t reached out to me.”
“So, you called just to fight with me then?” his mother asked.
“No, I’m calling to see if you have heard from Blair. She hasn’t been home for two nights now, and I’m worried about her.” He left out the part about Blaze trying to track her down, and maybe that was for the best. If Blair knew that Dell was calling on his behalf, she might take off again.
“Yeah, she’s here. You want to talk to her?” his mother asked.
“Um, sure,” Dell agreed.
“I’ll talk to you on Mother’s Day,” his mother said before handing the phone off to Blair.
“Dell, are you okay?” Blair asked. Blaze felt as though his heart was going to beat out of his damn chest, hearing her voice. She was okay, and that was his first concern. Dell shook his head at him and held a finger to his lips, letting Blaze know that it wasn’t a good idea to let her know that he was at her place.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just worried that you haven’t checked in for two nights,” Dell said.
“Shoot, I forgot to tell you that I was heading out of town for a few days. I’m sorry that I didn’t let you know,” she said. “I just needed to talk to Mom.” Blaze wondered if her running to her mom’s was a good or bad sign.
“It’s not a big deal,” Dell lied. “Will you be home for my next doctor’s appointment, or should I find another ride?” he asked.
“I’ll try to be home,” she said. “I just have some things to figure out. Has anyone been by my place?” she asked.
“No,” Dell lied, “were you expecting someone?”
“I guess not,” Blair mumbled. “I’ll be in touch soon. I just need a little bit more time.”
“You sure that you’re okay, sis?” he asked.
“Yeah, I will be,” she breathed.
“Have fun with mom,” he teased.
“Gee, thanks,” she grumbled, “you know when she saw that it was you on her caller ID, her eyes lit up. Maybe you should call more often or come see her yourself. She misses you, Dell.”
“I’ll think about it,” he said. Blaze felt as though he was intruding on a personal conversation that he shouldn’t be a part of. He turned to leave, and Dell put his hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping him. “Got to go, sis. Talk soon,” he said, ending the call. “You need to go after her. If she’s gone to our mother’s place, she’s considering your marriage proposal.”
“How the hell did you get that from your phone call?” Blaze asked.
“Listen, I’m not sure how much she’s told you about our mother, but life with her wasn’t a cakewalk. Our parents weren’t good together. They didn’t set the marriage bar very high, and Blair and I were always left to fend for ourselves,” Dell said.
“I know that she’s not close to your mom, but that’s about it,” Blaze admitted.
“Yeah, that’s an understatement. Our father was an alcoholic, and he treated our mother like shit. He stole from her, and she worked her ass off to take care of Blair and me. She’d kick him out when things got really bad, but she’d always take him back when he showed up on our doorstep.”
“That kind of back and forth had to be hard for you and Blair,” Blaze said.
“It was,” Dell agreed, “but, the worst of it was seeing that our mother really wanted him to change and that never happening. She was dependent on him in so many ways, and Blair vowed never to be like her. I’m afraid that my sister has some crazy notion that if she accepts your offer to move in with you—or now, to marry you, she’ll turn out like our mom.”
“That’s crazy,” Blaze said. “Your sister is one of the strongest women that I’ve ever known. There is no way that she’ll ever be dependent on me or any other man. It’s just not in her nature.”
“No, it’s not, but sometimes, the truth isn’t easy to see when you’re in the thick of things,” Dell said.
