you’d be too late to make the carpool. Anything you want to talk about?”
She opened her compact and groaned at her reflection. “I threw on a little war paint during the drive over here, but Max Factor is a poor substitution for sleep.” She snapped the compact closed and dropped it in her purse before turning back toward Sam. The smile he gave her made her stomach flip in nervous anticipation. Jesus, what was it about the man that made her feel like a gawky, inexperienced teenager?
She forced her thoughts away from her cuter-all-the-time co-worker and back to the source of her exhaustion. “That caller whispered my name.” She stopped Sam from asking the obvious question. “I couldn’t tell who it was.” She shivered as a frisson of dread caught her. “At least the dogs didn’t go nuts afterwards. I think I’d have had a stroke.”
Carrie made her way to the snack machine for a breakfast bar, then the kitchen, where the aroma of freshly brewed coffee called to her.
Sam followed her and leaned his long form against the door jamb. “Anything else you can remember about the call?”
Carrie prepared her coffee and propped herself against the cabinet. “It’s always creepy, but this time it felt creepier. Damn, this would be so much easier if it was Dave, but he’s obviously moved on.”
“Can I say one more time what a fool your ex was?”
She grinned up at him, marveling at how one line from him could totally lift her spirits. “I appreciate that, Sam. You know, when I think back on the person I used to be before I met him, and remember how I was when I was with him, I can’t figure out when the old me disappeared. I don’t believe my children have ever met her.”
“Maybe it’s time to introduce them.”
She took another sip of coffee and nodded. “I will, as soon as I find her again.” They both turned toward the door as J.C. walked into the kitchen, fairly growling.
“What’s going on in here?”
“Sam’s letting me vent,” Carrie told him.
J.C. raised one eyebrow. “Is your ex still dropping by unannounced?”
She gave him a half-hearted shrug and nodded. “Not as often. He just wants me out of the house. Staying at his mom’s must be putting a serious cramp in his single life.”
J.C.’s eyes glittered with excitement. “You want me to whip his ass for you?”
Carrie laughed at her friend. “Don’t offer if you’re not willing to follow through.”
“Yeah, don’t let your mouth write checks your ass ain’t willing to cash,” Sam told him.
J.C. chuckled as he refilled his coffee cup. “He’s about my height, isn’t he?”
Carrie grinned at her friend. “Yeah, but I think you could take him. You’re probably one of those Crazy Cajuns who jumps into canals and marshes to wrestle alligators with a knife.”
J.C. gave her a disgruntled look. “I do not. You’d have to be an idiot to do something that stupid.” He pointed a finger at his chest and put on a thicker than normal Cajun accent. “ Mais chere , I went to college too, yeah.”
Carrie laughed and came back with her own home grown accent. “ Mais , I’m sorry if you got da wrong imprassion . I wouldn’t do dat , no, me bein ’ from dat petit, tiny town of Gardiner. You know, we can parlez de Cajun purty damn good over dere , too, yeah.”
J.C’s. chest rumbled with laughter. “And can I jus say dat you do it justice, my fran .”
“Merci beau coup, Monsieur Carter.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, before leaving the room with his mug full of wake-him-up.
Sam shifted and cleared his throat. “So, once you move to Gardiner how much farther will it be from work?”
“About ten miles, and twice a day—”
“Times five is a hundred miles a week, four hundred miles a month, and about five thousand miles a year...I know. That’s what I save by car-pooling.”
“And that’s in addition to the two thousand miles I drive every month. My paycheck’s already stretched too
She opened her compact and groaned at her reflection. “I threw on a little war paint during the drive over here, but Max Factor is a poor substitution for sleep.” She snapped the compact closed and dropped it in her purse before turning back toward Sam. The smile he gave her made her stomach flip in nervous anticipation. Jesus, what was it about the man that made her feel like a gawky, inexperienced teenager?
She forced her thoughts away from her cuter-all-the-time co-worker and back to the source of her exhaustion. “That caller whispered my name.” She stopped Sam from asking the obvious question. “I couldn’t tell who it was.” She shivered as a frisson of dread caught her. “At least the dogs didn’t go nuts afterwards. I think I’d have had a stroke.”
Carrie made her way to the snack machine for a breakfast bar, then the kitchen, where the aroma of freshly brewed coffee called to her.
Sam followed her and leaned his long form against the door jamb. “Anything else you can remember about the call?”
Carrie prepared her coffee and propped herself against the cabinet. “It’s always creepy, but this time it felt creepier. Damn, this would be so much easier if it was Dave, but he’s obviously moved on.”
“Can I say one more time what a fool your ex was?”
She grinned up at him, marveling at how one line from him could totally lift her spirits. “I appreciate that, Sam. You know, when I think back on the person I used to be before I met him, and remember how I was when I was with him, I can’t figure out when the old me disappeared. I don’t believe my children have ever met her.”
“Maybe it’s time to introduce them.”
She took another sip of coffee and nodded. “I will, as soon as I find her again.” They both turned toward the door as J.C. walked into the kitchen, fairly growling.
“What’s going on in here?”
“Sam’s letting me vent,” Carrie told him.
J.C. raised one eyebrow. “Is your ex still dropping by unannounced?”
She gave him a half-hearted shrug and nodded. “Not as often. He just wants me out of the house. Staying at his mom’s must be putting a serious cramp in his single life.”
J.C.’s eyes glittered with excitement. “You want me to whip his ass for you?”
Carrie laughed at her friend. “Don’t offer if you’re not willing to follow through.”
“Yeah, don’t let your mouth write checks your ass ain’t willing to cash,” Sam told him.
J.C. chuckled as he refilled his coffee cup. “He’s about my height, isn’t he?”
Carrie grinned at her friend. “Yeah, but I think you could take him. You’re probably one of those Crazy Cajuns who jumps into canals and marshes to wrestle alligators with a knife.”
J.C. gave her a disgruntled look. “I do not. You’d have to be an idiot to do something that stupid.” He pointed a finger at his chest and put on a thicker than normal Cajun accent. “ Mais chere , I went to college too, yeah.”
Carrie laughed and came back with her own home grown accent. “ Mais , I’m sorry if you got da wrong imprassion . I wouldn’t do dat , no, me bein ’ from dat petit, tiny town of Gardiner. You know, we can parlez de Cajun purty damn good over dere , too, yeah.”
J.C’s. chest rumbled with laughter. “And can I jus say dat you do it justice, my fran .”
“Merci beau coup, Monsieur Carter.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, before leaving the room with his mug full of wake-him-up.
Sam shifted and cleared his throat. “So, once you move to Gardiner how much farther will it be from work?”
“About ten miles, and twice a day—”
“Times five is a hundred miles a week, four hundred miles a month, and about five thousand miles a year...I know. That’s what I save by car-pooling.”
“And that’s in addition to the two thousand miles I drive every month. My paycheck’s already stretched too
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