Chirp(16)

If he had snooped, why hadn’t he said something? What if he thought the money was stolen, and he’d gone to the police? No. If so, they would have already been here. Maybe he was waiting. But for what?

The sound of a car got her attention. She peeked out the window. He was back earlier than expected. She returned to the kitchen and slid the pan from the oven as he came inside. “Supper will be done in about an hour,” she said, picking up a list and shoving it toward him. “Here are the meals I have planned. If there’s anything special you want, tell me so I can get the ingredients.”

Rance barely looked at the sheet. “I need a drink.”

He took whiskey from the cabinet and poured it into a glass already sitting on the counter. Drink in one hand and bottle in the other, he strolled to the back porch. He stayed there until she announced the food was ready.

Rance wandered in, his expression sober. Probably the only thing about him that was, considering the half-empty bottle he held. She joined him at the table and passed the roast his way. He speared a piece, then helped himself to the mashed potatoes. She wanted to tell him she knew he’d been poking around in her room, but his surly mood warned against it. Sitting in silence with someone who clearly hated her made her nervous.

Following the meal, to Blaze’s relief, he left again. With her working days, if he stayed gone at night, their cohabitation should work perfectly.

She cleaned the kitchen, secured the cats, then hiked through the woods to Hanna’s house. Twilight winked through the trees, and as she drew closer to the workshop, a pleasant aroma grew stronger.

Hanna and Tiffany were busy removing and stacking bars. Hanna glanced up when the door opened.

“How do you like this scent?”

Blaze inhaled and smiled. “I like it. It’s new, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I’m adding a men’s line. Sandalwood and vanilla. Cedar and honey. And here’s the biggie—cinnamon. Turns out it’s said to have been used by the Queen of Sheba in her seduction of King Solomon. I’m calling the selection Stud Suds.”

“Holy crapoly! I love it!” Tiffany exclaimed. “The name conjures all sorts of results without any advertising. I mean, if a guy’s already a stud, will it make him more of one? If he’s a nerd, will the soap turn him into a stud hammer?”

Tiffany waved her hands in the air, directing the scent to her nose. “Even if it doesn’t, he’ll smell good enough to eat, or at least lick.”

She stopped the motion with a jerk and widened her eyes. “Oh, which reminds me. My date with Jacob Mason—total disaster. Worst kisser in the universe. Ack.” She gagged and shivered. “I love a good French kiss as much as the next girl, but he did this jerking, flicking thing, and I almost puked. Chasing tamales with tongue—not a good combination.”

Blaze wondered how it felt to have a man’s tongue in your mouth.

Hanna picked up a sheet of paper. “I plan to categorize the soaps. I’ll have Baby Bubbles, with light, airy fragrances, and Sensual Scents for females.”

Tiffany stacked the last of the molds and carried them to a nearby shelf. “If you come up with a bar that mimics the aroma of cash and a Corvette, you’ll have women going wild!”

“Rance got a new truck,” Blaze said.

Tiffany blinked. “Maybe I should change that suggestion to cash and a pickup truck. And don’t leave the older kids out. You can do a line called Teenage Temptations. I bet that’d be a big seller.”

“That or Raging Cravings,” Blaze suggested.

Hanna and Tiffany stared at her, then laughed.

“Holy crapoly! Did you make a joke?”

Blaze shrugged. “I don’t know. Did I?”

Hanna grinned. “You did, and it was a good one. Speaking of Rance, how’s it going with him?”

“He brought a woman home.”

“Really? I didn’t think he’d been in town long enough to meet anybody, but after what you told me, I guess he found one,” Hanna replied.

Tiffany cocked her head. “Told you what?”

“Rance tried to scare Blaze into leaving by telling her he was horny,” Hanna explained, giggling. “I told her to bake him a pie.”

“And I did,” Blaze said. “He ate all of it. He’s been snooping in my room. Should I say something?”

“Is anything missing?” Hanna asked.

“No.”

“Then you shouldn’t bring it up. You’re hanging by a thread getting to stay there. He may have done it to start an argument hoping you’d leave.” Hanna wiped the countertop, raking soap shavings into the trash can. “Remember, after being in prison, he probably doesn’t trust anyone, and since you were a big surprise, you’re at the top of that list.”

“I saw construction plans in his room,” Blaze said. “He’s planning to build onto the house. Yesterday a plumber and an electrician came. I don’t want all those strange people coming and going, and I hope he doesn’t keep finding women.”

Tiffany laughed. “You make it sound like he’s hunting Easter eggs.”

“Like I said, he may be doing this to make you want to leave.” Hanna removed her apron, folded it, and put it away. “Y’all stay as long as you like, but Dylan is picking me up in an hour, so I need to get ready.”