Dinner with the Blakemores (The Blakemore Files Book 5) (4 page)

The flight to Dallas was quiet.  Saxton watched his wife closely as she slept on the plane.  Her head lolled from side to side with her jaw growing slack as drool seeped down the side of her face. 
Yep. All that sexy belongs to me
. His eyes came up to find Ryanne watching them as he held his wife’s hand. The glazed look he had seen earlier was gone and a sadness hovered in her eyes. Saxton muttered the words, “Be strong.”  She gave him a weak smile. Strength was really all she had at this point. 

I’m not even wearing a bra
. 
All of my clothes are in that house
. Her life was in Corpus Christie.
I have to start over
.

It was no real surprise to any of them when Ryanne asked in a low voice, “Saxton, Odessa, can I stay with you guys for a few days?”

“Stay as long as you need to, Ryanne,” Saxton told her.  It was actually more perfect than either his wife or sister-in-law knew.

Odessa was a bit tuckered out from the early Saturday morning rising, the excitement, the worry and all of it was crashing down around her.  It was 11:30 am and she was ready to head back to bed. So was Ryanne.

In the kitchen, he watched his wife try to feed her sister, who refused everything she saw in the fridge. Odessa piped up, “I will have you know that I have been taking cooking classes, and everything in there is tasty, well-seasoned, and delicious!”

“I will take your word for it, sis, but I’m not hungry,” Ryanne told her as she cut her eyes sideways at Saxton.

Saxton tossed her an apple as he walked around the table and swooped his wife up into his arms.  “Make yourself at home, Ryanne. I’m putting these two back in bed.”

He carried Odessa up the stairs, sitting her gently on the bed. She was grinning at him as she began to remove her shoes.  “You aren’t slick, Saxton Blakemore.  You’re being all nice because you’re trying to slip in some brunch since you didn’t have any breakfast.”  She shimmied her shoulders as she took off her bra.  Her breasts were growing fuller as each week passed as they prepared themselves to nourish their son in a few months. Saxton loved the changes in her body.  The roundness of her belly, swollen with his son was a major turn on to him.
I did that
.
I planted that seed
.

“I know something else I would like to slip you,” he said as he lay down beside her.

She laughed as she rolled to her side to face him. “I’m game if you are,” she told him as her fingers trailed along his chest.

The crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes crinkled. “I dunno, baby.  The way I’m feeling right now, I may mess around and dent his little head.”

“If I could see my panties, I would take them off and hurl them at you, but you are going to have to help me,” she chuckled as she reached for her hips to grab the soft cotton.

“I have no problem helping you with anything, my sexy wife,” he tugged at her underwear, pulling them down her thighs, over her knees, and down past her ankles.  “My God, you are beautiful.”  His throat seemed to close as he found himself nearly gasping for air.

“Saxton, are you okay?” she asked as she reached for him.

He closed his eyes for a second to get a grip on the surge of emotions threatening to spill from his eyes. “If I’m to die today, Mrs. Blakemore, I want to leave this world remembering you in your finest glory, the beauty of your magnificent form in this light of the day.” His fingers ran across the skin of her belly, their son inside, responding to the touch of his father’s hand.

Odessa eyes misted. “I never get tired of hearing you say that to me, Saxton.”

“I say it because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever … oh hell,” he said as he pulled her in his arms.  “Enough talk,” he said as he smacked her lightly on the ass, signaling that he was ready. He was tired of talking; all morning long there had been talking and he was hungry. Brunch was as good of an idea as breakfast.

After seeing Odessa’s family rally around Ryanne, Saxton had the overwhelming desire to head home and hug his mama. He packed an overnight bag before informing his wife he would only be gone a few days.  It was Thursday.  He would be back on Sunday.  Thanksgiving was next week, and he had a great deal to be thankful for and he needed to let his parents know.

In the kitchen, he stood next to Ryanne. “You can only take this one day at a time.  You talk about it when you’re ready, not a moment before. Okay?”

She nodded, her face still blank. Saxton told his sister-in-law, “I’m heading home for a few days, and I’m glad you’re here. She could use the company.”

It was also his hope that giving Ryanne something else to focus on would help her healing. There was plenty to get done.  New orders had come in and needed to get boxed up and shipped to the customers.  Odessa had taken off for almost two weeks to get everything caught up, but she spent more time napping than anything. He took a few extra minutes to make sure everything was settled before heading to the airstrip to catch a ride home with the pilot.  Both the pilot and the stewardess had taken a brief layover to rest before refueling and heading back to Houston. Walking through the front door of the Busy B Ranch was going to really be a surprise to his parents.

Another surprise occurred when Odessa awoke.  Ryanne had pan seared some chicken breasts and made a Southwest Cobb salad for them to eat.  She had also gone into the office of Blakemore Imports & Collectibles and began expediting orders. All of which was completed in her tattered nightgown.

“How long have I been asleep?” Odessa asked.

“Almost three hours,” Ryanne mumbled.

Odessa pulled her sister into a sideways hug, her belly preventing any head on contact. “After I totally inhale this salad, why don’t you and I head out to buy you some clothes?”

“I have some stuff at the house,” she said softly.

Since they both had homes of their own, they often referred to their parents place as
the house
.  Odessa was certain that most of the items there were dated, smelled like mothballs, and were behind a wall that was covered with their parent’s questions. Odessa had a mouthful of chicken when she asked, “Yes, that may be, but are you ready to answer questions from Mom and Dad?”

“Good point.  Is there something here I can put on?  I mean really,” Ryanne said as she turned and lifted the back of her nightgown to show Odessa her naked ass. She opened the robe to show she didn’t have on a bra. “I feel like I was on some episode of cops, dragged out of my house in my housecoat.  All I’m missing are three curlers and a beer can!”

Odessa was grinning through teeth full of Romaine. “Yeah, you are missing the ‘he won’t hit me no damned mo!’ line that accompanies the swig from the beer can.” They both grinned for minute, sharing almost a private secret.

Ryanne bent quickly and wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck. “Thank you.”  She kissed her cheek briefly and headed towards the guest bedroom. “I hope you have a pack of new panties, I am not wearing an old pair of yours!”

“If you are going to get all picky, you can go commando for all I care,” Odessa yelled down the hall at her.

It was the guitar strapped across his back that Ryanne noticed first.  The second thing she noticed were all the women who were watching him, flirting and trying to get his attention. The last thing she noticed was that he was truly a good looking man with a lot of self-confidence. His sexuality was oozing from his pores and smacking her in the face to get her attention.  He had it. The sexy guitarist was not looking at anyone but her.  Odessa had disappeared to the baby section of the store as Ryanne pulled a few bras and packs of cotton undies from the shelf.

The sexy man walked over to her. “Are you sure you want to buy
those
.  They don’t seem like something you would wear for a spicy evening,” he said to her.

Ryanne eyes were down, as if she were refusing to look at him. “A spicy evening?  Thanks but I don’t need any help.”

He reached for her arm but pulled his hand away. The bruises on her face had his focus. “I only said something because you have a sadness in your eyes. Even if he is no longer in your life, you still have to plan for the future. 
Those
are for planning a future as a nun.” 

She looked in her basket at the 8 pack of white cotton undies. They were horrific underwear.
Maybe I could buy something with a little color
. Ryanne looked up at him. “Why do you care?”

“You seem like a smart lady who is sad.  I dig smart women, and I don’t want to see you so unhappy,” he said to her. He was surprised that there was a great deal of truth in his words.

A young woman in short shorts and a halter top walked up to him. She asked, “Are you like famous or something?”

He was polite as he dismissed the girl.  He swung the guitar from his back and flipped it over and began to strum a few notes, singing a tune about a sad woman who did not smile.  Ryanne was momentarily transfixed. The stranger finished the song and smiled at her as if they, too, were sharing a secret.

“You do know the best way to get over a man is to get under a new one,” he said with dark eyes that almost smoldered.

“And you are mighty forward.  A few strums of a couple of chords will not get me out of my panties nor under you,” she said.  She pointed to the pack of tidy whities. “Not even wearing
those
.”

He gave her a smile so soft and lascivious that Ryanne took a step backwards. His words were caressing her like a lover in a darkened room. “I’m progressive.  I’m okay with being under
you
.  I am willing relinquish control over to you….”

Is this how it feels to be Odessa
? She sure as hell was channeling her sister as she took his card.  The sexy man told her he was on a modified tour of Texas, in Dallas tonight, then on to Austin, San Antonio, and then Houston.

“May I see your phone?” he asked her.

She handed it to him as he swiped the screen, found the camera, and stood behind her. The guitar was poking her in the butt.
Thank God it’s just his guitar
. His arm came around her neck as he posed and took a selfie with her.

“So you can think of me tonight,” he said, grinning as he started to walk away.
“I don’t even know your name,” she said as she looked at the card that only held an image of his guitar and a phone number.

“I am Eduardo, but, when you ring me tonight, I prefer you to call me Eddie.”

Ryanne was uncomfortable as the top button of his shirt slipped open. He had some sort of tattoo. She pointed to it.  “What is that, a tattoo of something?”

Eddie stood still as he moved the guitar around to his back, the strap hanging about his neck. He opened three buttons of his shirt as several women stood close by watching. Using both hands, his fingers caressing the material, he pulled back the plain front of the shirt to show his chest.

Ryanne was squinting at the detail of the image etched into his skin. “What is that- a cobra?”

He was smiling at her. “No, my lovely smart lady, it is the head of a serpent.” 

Saxton walked into the front door of his childhood home feeling a sense of exhilaration.  He still had keys to the front door, but as excited as he was to see his parents, he was more excited to ride his horse, Longshot. Lately, thoughts of moving back to Houston had been in the back of his mind, but Odessa’s parents were also getting up in age.  At least his brother and sister were here and interacted with Lucy & Bobby Ray on a daily basis.  He only wished he could do the same.

“Mom, I’m home.  Are you here?” he called into the cavernous living room.  When he received no answer, he pressed one of the intercom buttons, which connected to every room in the house, including the lanai. “Mom, I’m home.”

It was two in the afternoon and he knew his father would be heading home from the office soon. Since handing the reins of Blakemore Oil over to Connard, Bobby Ray, his father, seldom worked a whole day. Twice this year, they had been to Dallas to visit him and Odessa.  The second time they came back, his mother, Lucy, had brought along the cook, Ralph. Odessa’s cooking was improving, but his parents were not going to take any chances on being hungry from pushing food around on the plates of Odessa’s very healthy meals.  To her credit, the food was seasoned so much better, but there was still some panache missing. He had lost a few pounds, so he didn’t complain.

“Saxie, is that you?” Grandma Patsy asked as she made her way down the hall. Saxton dropped his overnight bag and he moved quickly to embrace his grandmother.  He enveloped her in his arms and lifted her from the floor.

“Oh, Saxie, be careful.  You know I just turned 80.  You will mess around and snap one of my damned hips!” she told him.

“I would never hurt you, Grammy,” he said as he sat her down. He kissed her leathery cheek. “Besides, you’re tougher than I am and I ain’t even close to breaking a tough bird like you.”

Lucille Blakemore came into the kitchen, a highball in one hand and a feather duster in the other. Saxton didn’t know which one to look at first, his mother drinking in the middle of the afternoon or his mother with a cleaning apparatus in her hand.  Lucy, as everyone called her, did not partake in any activity that remotely suggested anything domestic.

“Are you cleaning something, Mama?” he asked.

“In this lifetime, darling, no I am not,” she told her eldest son as she pulled him into her arms. “What are you doing home?  Is everything all right?”

She looked around him and so did Grandma Patsy.  They were looking for Odessa.  He grinned at them both. “She’s at home. Everything is just fine.  Can’t a guy come home to see his two favorite girls?”  He disengaged from his mother’s arms and headed straight for the fridge.

Lucy sipped at her drink. “Saxton, you ain’t fooling nobody. You came all the way to Houston to get a decent damned meal!”

She was looking at her mother over the rim of the highball glass, whispering to Patsy, “Lord knows that girl is as sweet and loving as the day is long, Mama, but she can’t cook worth a flip.”

Patsy’s grey head wobbled to and fro.  “Is that why you took the cook the last time you went?”

“Yes, and thank the Lord.  I was not going to spend one more day eating a sautéed bean sprout, crunchy baked leaves of grass or a tofu anything,” Lucy exclaimed.

Saxton pulled his head from the fridge with a rib covered in Bobby Ray’s sauce shoved in his mouth. “Those were kale chips and I have never been healthier, Mama.”

“Well goody-goody gum drops for you and your grass shitting colon, but I would swim to Hell and back for a piece of fried chicken, some duck fat potatoes, and anything slathered in whipped cream,” Lucy said as she teetered into the dining room.  Saxton and Patsy followed behind her, trying to see what she was doing with the feather duster.

The dining room was buzzing as the staff was pulling out silver to polish, counting place settings, and prepping for Thanksgiving next week.  Lucy turned suddenly, looking at Saxton. “I just had the most brilliant idea!”

Patsy was mumbling under her breath, “I don’t know how, with as much as you drink …”

“I heard that, Mama,” she said as she turned her back to her mother, ignoring the jibe. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you and Odessa came home for Thanksgiving?  We could give her a baby shower here next week.”  Her eyes and mouth were wide like she had just found a real life use for algebra.

The look on Saxton’s face spit on her enthusiasm like a drunk man peeing on your leg in the subway. Lucy’s mouth was downturned as she waved one of the young housekeepers over and handed her the glass to refill. “And why can’t you come to Thanksgiving
this year
, Saxton?”

He was feeling bad about it because she was right – he had not been home for the holidays in almost five years. “We were planning to have some friends over for dinner this year, Mama … and then there are her parents….”

“And what about
your
damn parents?  She is carrying my grandchild, too, you know,” Lucy said with some resentment in her words.  As her fresh drink arrived so did a fresher idea. “Why don’t we send one of our planes up and pick up her, the parents, and whoever else you were planning to invite to your house.  We will just invite them here.  Lord knows we have enough room.”

Patsy started to sputter. “You are inviting
all
of them
here
?”

Lucy was having no part of her mother’s antics today. It was a 10,000 square foot house that was empty most of the time.  Besides she was just on her second drink and it wasn’t even five o’clock yet. “Good Lord, Mama, stop being ridiculous. The girl’s family is just black, it’s not like they are a bunch of Episcopalians.”

“Ralph,” Lucy yelled into the intercom.  The cook came out of the pantry. “We are going to have a Thanksgiving feast. I need the largest bird you can get your hands on, I want a suckling pig, and I want some lamb roasted on a spit …” she stopped and looked at Saxton.  “How many people are we talking here, sweetheart?”

Saxton didn’t know. He started to think it out loud.

Big Sarge.

Dora.

Kevin, Jr.

Agent Roget.

Ryanne.

He wasn’t sure if Kevin, Jr. was going to bring Mary Jean.

Odessa had invited Victorío and Antoinette.

Of course me and Odessa, which makes
…

“I would say add ten, Mama,” he said.

She threw back her drink, sat the glass on the table and clapped her hands three times. “Okay, everyone, we have a slight change.  We are now serving twenty for Thanksgiving dinner, which means we also have twenty heads to feed brunch and breakfast the next morning.”

Saxton watched in amazement as she started calling out orders to the small staff to open the extra guest rooms and get fresh linens on the beds.  She looked at Patsy. “Mama, let’s make a list of all the people we want to have over for the shower. This is my first grandchild and I want the good shit for that baby, so leave those old cheap, dusty women from the missionary society out of this one.”

Lucy stopped mid-stride and turned to look at her son. “Saxton, why are you home? You never did say.”

He gave her a barbecue-sauce-covered kiss. “Because I missed you.”

“That’s sweet, honey.  Mama missed you, too,” she said as she went back to issuing orders.

It was amazing.  When Lucy Blakemore had something to accomplish, a drink never touched her lips.  It was another reason why he had considered moving back, so she would have someone to fuss over besides her mother, who spent more time fussing over her. Either way, it was going to be an interesting couple of days as all of those different types of people all sauntered through the front doors of the Busy B Ranch for dinner with the Blakemores.