Chapter and Verse (21 page)

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Okay...”

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Once he does, smile sweetly and tell him you understand and you’ll get right on it.  Whatever you do, do not erase the current book’s file.  He’ll eventually want to go back to this as the final copy.”

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Why do you say that?”

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Because YOU are gonna start interviewing the girls he dated in high school.”

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Oh my sweet baby Jesus.  You, Anton Sloan, are evil.”

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Good evil or bad evil?”

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You’re on my side so you’re good evil.  How do I find these women and were there a lot of them?”

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Dor’.  He’s Deacon.  How many names do you need?”

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There were that many?”

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He’s Deacon.  How many?”

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Four or five should be enough I’d think.”

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Sure you don’t want twenty or thirty?  Just in case?”

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I’ll ignore that for now, the questions attached are mind boggling.  I’ll call you back when I need the names.”

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I’ll pull them together for you and see if I can find them so that you don’t have to dig too deep.”

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I’d appreciate that and I have to ask, Anton.  What’s in this for you?  You’ve been awfully helpful to me... why?”

He chuckled again before he answered.

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Because my brother the lothario has fallen in love and she’s not taking his shit.  He’s finally met his match and I want in on the fun.  Plain and simple.”

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Thank god my sister isn’t in on this.  She’s as bad as you are.”

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I love your sister.  Your sister is awesome Dorothy.”

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That’s another conversation for another time.  I gotta go and find out why it’s so quiet.  I need to put operation Hard-To-Get into play.  Thanks Anton.  For everything.”

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You bet.  If you need anything else, call me.”

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Will do.  Bye.”

I hung up the phone with a new lease on life.  I didn’t feel like what I was about to do was devious in any way.  I loved Deacon.  He’d meant the world to me and if what he professed to feel was true, I’d be over the moon.  I’d never felt about anyone the way I felt about Deacon, but I had to be sure he wasn’t going through a phase.  This seemed logical to me.  Anton would know, right?  He seemed to understand Deacon and how I should handle this.  I had to trust Anton.  And so I did.

Anton sat back on his plush leather sofa and grinned at no one.  His life had been boring lately, but with one phone call, he’d set that to rights.  The wheel had been set in motion and he hadn’t had to do anything but tickle the hamster.  Deacon was about to go insane and all he had to do was watch and give prompts.  He needed allies though, and he happened to have them on speed dial.  Why should he have all the fun?  That hardly seemed fair.

He called Pierce first.  He and Pierce had spent many nights in the last few weeks, trying to figure out a way to get Dorothy and Deacon back together so that their lives would smooth out.  Deacon was a demon when things weren’t going his way and things hadn’t gone his way in almost a month.  They were close to calling an intervention on his ass, but now it looked like that would no longer be necessary.

He explained the situation to Pierce who was thrilled to help.  Well not exactly thrilled, but he said he’d be there if Anton needed him.  Pierce the Peacemaker was in the house.  It didn’t matter.  His next call would jump on board and offer to help him row.

His foot was tapping in excitement when he dialed the number.

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You have reached the cell phone of Melody Lincoln.  I am unavailable to take your call, but if you’d please your number after the tone, I’ll get...”

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Mel’, that doesn’t even sound real.  If you’re screening my calls, why not let it go to actual voice mail?”

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Because the damn box is full and I can’t be asked to listen to every bleeding message in order to delete them.  Anton, why are you bothering me?”

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Bothering you?  How do you know this isn’t important?”

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Is it?”

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Yes.  As a matter of fact it’s of vital importance.  Are you busy?”

Melody weighed the option of a lie over the truth.  Anton was a good time, but she was still pouting over her sister deserting her.  Plus, Anton was a player and she wasn't in the mood to be played.

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I guess not, but make it snappy.  I have a hot date tonight.”

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Liar.  And if you’re not lying, then cancel it.  This is more important.  You and I have to strategize.”

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Strategize?  What would we have to strategize about?”

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Your sister and my brother.  Are you interested?”

Melody settled into her sofa and tucked her feet up underneath her.  Anton knew where Dorothy was?  How?  It had to involve Deacon.  And if it involved Deacon, then Dorothy and Deacon must be together somewhere.  Now she had to get involved out of principle.  It was completely unfair that Anton was in on it but she wasn’t.  How was he more trustworthy than her?  It rankled something inside of her and she narrowed her eyes.

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I’m in.  Give me the details.”

Anton spent thirty minutes telling her everything he knew - including the advice he’d given Dorothy.  Melody laughed several times and got quiet when it was appropriate.

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Are you telling me she’s actually gonna try playing hard to get?”

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Yep.  I told her she could do everything but sleep with him.”

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That’s gonna drive them both inside.  She hasn’t been laid in three years.”

Anton muttered, “I knew it”.

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Pardon?”

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Nothing.  It’ll make Deacon crazy too because he hasn’t been laid in at least a month that I know of, maybe longer.”

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A month?  Poor baby.”

Her voice dripped sarcasm, but she didn’t know his brother.

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Make fun if you want Mel’, but that’s quite a dry spell for Deacon and it looks like he’s getting ready to cross the Sahara.  All you have to do is keep her on track.  I can handle Deke, but I don’t know if I can juggle both.”

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I’ve got Dor’, don’t worry about it.  Is Pierce in on it?”

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He knows about it, but he’ll stay out unless we need him.  He doesn’t know how to have a good time.”

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Evidently not.  Do you know what your first move is?”

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Since I’m not there with them, I’ve got nothin’ until they get back.”

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Well I’ve got something and it’s huge.”

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Girl, I love your mind.”

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I’ve heard that one before but in this case, it applies.  My folks are going away on business.  Dorothy has agreed to accept an award for my Dad a week from Saturday night.  It’s a black tie thing at the Hyatt.”

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Is it that Stamp Out Hungry Children thing?”

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Oh my god Anton, you don’t stamp out hungry children.  What the hell is the matter with you?  It’s a fundraiser to benefit hungry children.”

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What’s the difference?”

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If you don’t know, then don’t attend.  Is Deacon going?”

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If he’s invited he’ll go.  He hasn’t mentioned whether or not he’s been invited.  Why?”

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Because Dorothy doesn’t have a date.”

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You want them to go together?  How is that helping our fun?”

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I don’t want them to go together, I’m gonna find Dorothy a date.  And I know just the lucky bachelor.”

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Do I know him?”

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Do you know Hamm Greenlee?”

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Who?”

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Henry Hamilton Greenlee, the third.”

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Are you shittin’ me?  There’s someone actually named that out there?  Did his parents hate him?”

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His parents are filthy rich and he comes from a long line of Henry Hamiltons...”

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He comes from at least four anyway.”

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Whatever.  Listen up.  He’s Dorothy’s ex.  They were together in college and he actually proposed.  She turned him down, but he’s still carrying a torch.  I saw him the other day and the first thing he did was ask about her.  His mom is on the charity’s committee.  I could wrangle this date in my sleep.”

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Maybe so, but what if Deacon invites her first?”

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Then she has to choose doesn’t she?  If nothing else, it’ll confuse the hell out of her.”

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You sister said I was evil, but I’ve got nothin’ on you.  Call this Green Hamm guy and see what he says.”

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It’s Hamm Greenlee.”

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Whatever.  Call him and see if he’s going.  I’ll check Deacon’s calendar and see if he’s been invited yet.”

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On it.  Oh - and thanks for letting me in on it.  This is going to be an awesome diversion!”

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I knew we’d be good together.  Didn’t I tell you we’d be good together?”

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Yes you did but I knew what you were talking about Anton, and it wasn’t this.  Call me when you find out something.”

She hung up and called her mother.  She had to be subtle or her mother would alert Dorothy and spoil everything.  Once she had Hamm’s number, she hung up and began to plan Dorothy’s dress.  It had to be conservative enough to accept an award in, but sexy enough to bring Deacon to his knees.  This should be a breeze.

Now I knew how Tom Cruise felt in all of those Mission Impossible movies.  I crept down the stairs like a cat burglar goin’ after the Hope Diamond until I got to the doorway of the kitchen.  That’s when it dawned on me that if everyone was in the house, I’d be hearing voices.  If just one of them was inside, I’d look like a fool.  Besides, I was supposed to be hard to get, not hard to catch.  I was gonna need practice.

I rounded the corner and... nothing.  Since I had to pass through the living room to get to the kitchen, they obviously weren’t in there either.  I realized there were more rooms in the house, but the place wasn’t huge.  They must be outside.  I opened the back door and saw Bree with a butter churn and a portable radio.  It was tuned to an oldies station and Aretha was demanding Respect.  I knew exactly how she felt.

She looked up and smiled at my approach and motioned to the rocker next to her, much as Grant had on my first visit.  I eyed the churn speculatively and she raised her eyebrows.

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You wanna give it a try?”

My face must have lit up because she moved it in front of me between my legs and let go of the pole she was holding.  I grabbed the pole and looked at her.

“
Okay Dor’, this isn’t nuclear fusion.  The churn has cream in it.  You keep a continuous up and down action with the pole.  The pole does two things.  It pulls air into the cream and it separates the milk fat from the cream.  The milk fat clumps together and falls to the bottom because it’s heavier.  As all the fat clumps together, it forms butter.  The liquid that’s left is buttermilk.  I hate the stuff, but Grant can drink it by the gallon.  I never understood that, but oh well.  Anyway, once we churn out all the butter, we drain the buttermilk, squeeze the butter through cheesecloth to get out the excess liquid and then press the butter into molds.  You can add salt if you want before you do that.  I usually do half salted, half unsalted.  It’s a preference thing.  You ready?”

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It’s that simple?”

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The concept is simple.  The work will put blisters on your hands and your back will be screaming by the time your done, but women didn’t have gyms and personal trainers back when they did this regularly.  It keeps your arms incredibly toned.  You’ll see.  Start churning.  I’ll go get us some lemonade.”

I started churning and Bree disappeared, only to return a few minutes later with a tray that contained a large pitcher of lemonade and two tumblers full of ice.

I think she thought I’d be done before she got back, but I’d been working out.  The churning felt good and once my muscles heated up, I was in for the duration.  We started making small talk and then we got around to the heart of the matter.

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Where are they?”

She didn’t even flinch.

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Grant’s in the garage tinkering with his truck.  Deacon’s still upstairs sleeping I imagine.”

For a second, I panicked.  What if he’d heard my conversation with Anton?

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When did he lay down?”

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We gave him a solid talking to, so I imagine about thirty minutes after you.  I’m surprised you didn’t pass him coming down.”

Dodged that bullet by a breath.

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Why did you give him a talking to?  He didn’t do anything.”

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Defending him?  You’re gonna have to watch that if you don’t wanna give him the wrong idea.”

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Wrong idea?  He didn’t do anything wrong though.”

She looked at me and cocked her head.  I kept on churning and acted distracted by the process.

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Didn’t he?  He sent you mixed messages Dor’ and that’s never acceptable.  He ignored you for a  month and then tried to kiss your brains out in the kitchen.  Since when is that acceptable behavior?”

Uh-oh.  Mom mode.

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Bree, I didn’t exactly push him away...”

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And that’s another thing young lady.  You had us convinced that there would be no more chances for him and there you were lip-locked in our kitchen!  Care to explain yourself?  What exactly is going on here?”

She deserved an explanation.  She was right.  My behavior was inexcusable and I felt like I owed her an apology, but something snapped.  It seemed to me like I’d been spending an awful lot of time apologizing to everyone lately and I was about done with that.  I wouldn’t be disrespectful, but I wouldn’t apologize either.  I enjoyed kissing Deacon.  It beat the shit out of fighting with him, that’s for sure, so I’d start with that.  Sort of.

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He took my hand as we walked inside and one thing led to another.  What’s going on?  I have no idea.  You’ll have to ask him that.”

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Don’t think we haven’t.”

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What did he say?”

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He said that he was making up for lost time and that we’d better get used to the two of you as a couple because that’s the way it would be from now on.  He also asked if we’d mind if he moved your things into his room.”

My pole faltered for a minute.

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He asked what?”

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You hadn’t discussed it?”

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Hell no we hadn’t discussed it!  What kind of a girl do you think I am?”

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I know exactly what kind of girl you are Dorothy Lincoln, and that’s why I told him no.  You will not be sleeping together under my roof until he puts a ring on your finger.”