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It was then he walked to me, put his hands to my neck and gently pulled me toward him until our bodies were touching. He looked down at me and his eyes changed. The warm, tender look was there but so was something else. Something I couldn’t read.
“Because you make a fucking great chocolate sheet cake.”
THIRTEEN
OUT, COFFEE AND BREAKFAST
Iwoke up alone in Eddie’s bed.
I pulled myself up and looked at his side of the bed. He’d gone to bed with me, held me full frontal, his arms tight around me until I fell asleep. Now he was gone. The only thing on his side was a note on the pillow, next to it, a new toothbrush in its wrapper.
I grabbed the note.
Out, coffee and breakfast,was all it said.
I got out of bed and went to Eddie’s bathroom. It had a claw-footed tub, a pedestal sink and new tile, but needed to be painted. I searched in the medicine cabinet and found his toothpaste, brushed my teeth and washed away the scary remnants of my makeup with hand soap. My face immediately cried out for moisturizer. It was going to have to wait.
I went into the kitchen to grab my phone and call Mom and heard my phone beeping inside my bag. I dragged my cell out of my purse and saw I had three texts and four phone messages.
I stared at the phone. I’d never been that popular.
Text one was Indy:Text back, let me know you’re okay.
Text two, Tod and Stevie:This is Tod and Stevie, thanks for an exciting evening. Come over for cocktails, leave all gunmen behind, kisses.
Text three, Ally:Next time don’t go alone. Remember, we got your back.
Tears filled my eyes after reading Ally’s text, but I practiced deep breathing and forced them down.
Next, I took on the phone messages.
First message was Tex: “What the fuck, Loopy Loo! I thought I told you I was designated bodyguard! I mess up once and I’m out of the loop?” Disconnect.
In an abrupt change of mood, Tex’s message made me a laugh out loud.
Second message was Daisy: “Indy gave me your number. She thought it’d be okay. I’m not tellin’ Marcus, sugar, ’cause you asked me not to, but I think we need to talk. We girls need to stick together. Call me,” and she left her number.
Thoughtful and sweet, but still scary.
Third message was Indy: “Lee told me Eddie’s taking care of you. Call me, honey. I want to know you’re okay.”
Fourth message was Duke. He was already talking before the beep so I missed the first couple of words: “…this kind of shit, girl. Dolores says to bring your mom and stay with us in Evergreen. We live remote and Tex can set some booby traps. Think about it.” Disconnect, again.
I leaned my hip against the kitchen counter. That weird warmth I kept feeling didn’t feel so weird anymore. I knew it was those hands that Eddie said people were holding out to me.
I took a deep breath because I was about to take an entirely different kind of serious plunge and programmed some new numbers into my phone. Then I texted a generalI’m okayto Indy, Ally, Daisy, Tod and Stevie (and yes, even Daisy). Neither Duke nor Tex had cell phones.
The back door opened and Eddie came in. He was wearing a tight, gray, long-sleeved tee, seriously faded jeans, no belt this time and running shoes instead of cowboy boots.
It was the first time I’d seen him without cowboy boots and it affected me in a strange way, as if he’d taken off some kind of mask and was showing me a different Eddie, an Eddie no one else saw.
He was carrying two coffees and a white bag. Before either of us could say a word, my phone rang.
It was Indy.
Eddie’s brows came up and I said, “Indy,” then flipped open my phone.
“Hey,” I said.
