Big Easy (Cowboy Craze) Page 8

  “Oh.”

  Jewel knew the woman didn’t have to be told why. “If this makes him love me again, would that be necessary?”

  Going to her desk, she retrieved a pad of paper and a pen. “Insurance, Willie Mae, insurance.” Plopping the pen and paper in front of the woman, she instructed, “Write a sentence in a circle saying what you want this jar to do for you. Be sure not to lift your hand as you write. The words need to be continuous and without a break. Don’t bother with dotting your i’s or crossing your t’s.”

  “What I want?” She thought a minute. “I want Everett to love me. Desire only me. Care for me.”

  How sad, Jewel thought. Why have a husband if he didn’t love you? Of course, with everything she’d seen, all the palms she’d read – no one knew better than she did how rare a good marriage and a faithful spouse could be.

  Good reason for her to remain single.

  Unbidden, thoughts of Easy Blackhawk came to mind. Stop it! Why was she torturing herself? No matter how attracted to him she might be, he wasn’t the forever kind.

  “Jewel?”

  She blinked. “Sorry. I spaced out for a moment.” She pushed the pen toward Willie’s hand. “Write what you said. In a circle. Don’t stop and don’t break it.”

  “All right.”

  After she’d done as asked, Jewel nodded. “Now fold it and sign the back with your full name and birthday.” When that was done, she placed the note in the bottom of the jar. “Okay, as I speak, add all of these things to the jar. As you place each one inside, think about what you want. For Everett to love you. Cherish you. Only you.”

  Watching Willie fill her jar with the herbs, stones, and other items, Jewel spoke words she’d muttered many times.

  “God and Goddess, Lord and Lady, Mother and Father of all Life, Architects of the Universe, I implore you to hear me today. We thank you for all you have given us. Our lives. Our families. Our health. We humbly come before you to ask a boon, a favor. We call upon the archangels to come to our aid – Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. We call upon the Watchtower of the North, Element of Earth, the Watchtower of the South, Element of Fire, the Watchtower of the West, Element of Water, the Watchtower of the East, Element of Air. We ask these and all that you’ve created and given power to hear our plea. Our cry. We ask the herbs of the field, the flowers, the trees, and the grasses to hear our voice. We ask the rocks of the earth, the stones, the jewels, and the crystals to hear our plea. Even the colors of the rainbow that you have created and given power – hear us. Please make Everett Hill love his wife. Make him cherish her. Desire her. Want to protect her. To do her no harm. No evil. We ask that you make this man’s heart soft to his wife. Sweeten him by this spell to treat her with the utmost kindness. Gentleness. Thank you for listening to us. Hearing our cry. Our petition.” Jewel bowed her head. “Harm to none. My will be done. So, mote it be.”

  Willie Mae shivered. “I do love to hear you talk, Jewel Baptiste. Makes chill bumps run up and down my spine.”

  Jewel nodded. “Let’s finish this.” She rose and found a small silver bee, placing it in the jar. Next, she filled it up with honey, making sure to cover every item. “Let me get you a few candles. Some red ones.” Hurrying to one of the cabinets, she found some tea lights. “Every day, set one of these little candles on the honey jar and light it. While it burns, reinforce what you want to occur.”

  “Will this work? Will he love me?”

  “If he’s capable of love, yes.” Jewel had her doubts.

  From the expression on Willie’s face, she had them also.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  After Willie Mae Hill went on her way, Jewel took a moment to eat some of the casserole she’d baked. The afternoon was winding down and there were still several things on her agenda to do before calling it a day. In the sunroom at the rear of the house, there were jars and jars of tinctures that she needed to pour up into vials. She also needed to prepare a few mojo bags and a couple of voodoo dolls for online customers. Hazel always taught her to go the full mile for these faceless folks who put their faith, not to mention their money, in a person whom they’d never met. Of course, Jewel didn’t use her real name, she couldn’t do that anymore. Not when her real name was mud.

  Tap! Tap!

  Her fork froze in midair. She didn’t have an appointment. Standing up, she glanced toward her rental house. Could this be Easy?

  Was that wishful thinking?

  Dabbing her mouth with a napkin, she went to the door. There was no peephole, Hazel always said one would be bad for business. After all, they were supposed to know who was on the other side of the door. Unfortunately, they didn’t always pick up on that psychic knowledge.

  Opening the door just a crack, she saw a man. A pleasant enough looking man smiling at her. “May I help you?”

  “Yes, I’d like a reading, please. Do you take walk-ins?”

  Well, they used to. “This is so far out. People don’t just happen by.”

  “Are you Hazel?”

  “No, Hazel is my mother. She no longer lives here. So, if you have your heart set on her, I can’t help you.”

  “Oh, you’ll do just fine.”

  Jewel felt conflicting emotions coming off the man in waves. He was clearly vexed about something. Probably why he was there, a person without problems rarely sought out her help. “Yea, sure.” She opened the door wide and invited him in.

  As he passed near to her, she shivered. A niggle of doubt came to her mind. “If you’d have a seat at the table, I’ll be glad to give you a reading. Would you prefer I read cards, your palm, or tea leaves?”

  “According to the sign outside, you advertise yourself as a palm reader. Let’s start with that.”

  “Okay. Please have a seat.” She directed him to the table next to the garden window. Jewel took her own chair opposite him and held out her hand to take his. For a millisecond, he seemed to hesitate. The moment seemed to stretch out in Jewel’s mind as she looked into his eyes. “Do I know you?” He seemed a little familiar. Maybe it was because he resembled a young Kevin Costner.

  “No.” The man’s answer seemed hesitant, like he was holding back.

  Leaning forward, she began to study the lines and mounds of his palm. “You are hard-working. You love your family.” Jewel looked up into his face. “You lost someone you love.”

  The Kevin lookalike’s face grew rigid. “Yes.”

  Jewel continued to stare at his palm, picking up other things as well. “Your mother. You lost your mother.”

  “Right. You’re pretty good.”

  She glanced up, trying to decipher the razor edge to his voice. “Sometimes.” Returning to her concentration, she ran a finger over a break in one line. “She was sick, and you’re consumed with anger. Rage.”

  “Bingo!”

  Suddenly, he stood and flipped the table over, knocking Jewel to the floor. “What? Why?”

  “You’re a psychic! You know why! Your mother bilked my mother out of the last cent she possessed. She trusted your bitch of a mother! Fake! Fraud! She lost her home. Her savings. She couldn’t even afford her supplemental insurance to pay for the treatments she needed. After her money was gone. I started using mine.” He stalked toward Jewel, who was crawling backward to get away from him. “She didn’t want me to use the last dime I had…so she killed herself!”

  “I’m sorry.” Jewel scrambled as he reached for her. “This isn’t my fault.”

  “I don’t give a fuck! Somebody has got to pay!” Making a grab for her, the man snagged Jewel by the hair, jerking her to her feet.

  She cried out, screaming as much out of fear as pain, “Help!” She didn’t know who she was calling for, there was no one about.

  “If the sins of the father are visited down upon their children, so are the sins of the mother. I came here to kill your mother, I guess I’ll just kill you instead!”

  Pulling away from him, she felt a few strands of her hair tear out by the roots. “Hel
p!” Fighting to get to the door, Jewel was very afraid today would be the day she died.

  …Easy snagged a French fry from the fast food to-go bag and munched on it. Hell, what a day. He still couldn’t believe what had happened. After the police arrived, they’d taken over, questioning all three of them until they seemed satisfied their story held up. Turning on to Gentilly Road, he tried in vain to get the dead woman’s image out of his mind. The idea of how she’d died haunted him. He couldn’t imagine the cruelty of a man to assault a woman in such a vile manner.

  By the time the coroner had removed the body and they’d been allowed to go about their business, the work day was over. Now, he was headed home with just one thing in mind.

  Having a drink and forgetting this day ever happened.

  When he pulled into the drive of the rental house, he noticed a vehicle at Jewel’s. A car. Another customer. She certainly kept busy. “At least it’s not Romeo from the night before.” Different vehicle.

  “Watch it, Blackhawk,” he cautioned himself. Anyone else would think he was jealous – but he wasn’t. He couldn’t be. “I don’t let myself get involved.”

  Shutting off the engine, he gathered his food, and opened the door – and that was when he heard it.

  “Help!”

  Jewel was screaming.

  Throwing down what he held in his hands, Easy took off to help her. No hesitation. With legs pumping, he covered the ground quickly, taking the steps two at a time. When he topped the steep stairs, he saw this guy manhandling Jewel, choking her – his hands around her neck. Squeezing.

  “Fuck off, asshole!” Grabbing the jerk by his collar, he also fisted a handful of dark, greasy hair. Yanking hard, he moved the man back far enough that he could slam an arm down to break his hold on Jewel, then he hit the imbecile with an uppercut hard enough to loosen his teeth. Before the creep could hit the floor, Easy whirled to check on Jewel. “Honey, are you all right?”

  She was coughing. Gasping for breath. He bent to help her up, then went to his knees when he was hit in the head hard by a large glass lamp. “Fuck!” Ignoring the blinding pain, he lunged for Jewel’s assailant, just as the idiot began running down the stairs to get away.

  Horrified, Jewel moved to find the handset for the landline to call 9-1-1. “I need help. I’ve been attacked.” She gave the address, then explained the situation.

  After jumping the man from the back, Easy tumbled down the stairs. Rolling with the attacker from step to step before landing on the ground. “Hold still, you’re not going anywhere!”

  “Back off, redbone! I’m owed this. Revenge is mine saith the Lord!” Lifting a leg, he kicked Easy in the chest. To his disappointment, Ezekiel Blackhawk didn’t budge.

  Holding the man down, he glared into his face. “The last time I looked, you weren’t God, you pansy-ass bastard. And I’m not a redbone, I’m an Apache!” He put his hands around the guy’s throat as he’d seen him doing to Jewel. “We take scalps and we’ve been known to carve a man’s hide from his body!”

  “The cops are on their way, Easy.”

  Hearing Jewel’s voice caused him to ease up, letting the shithead take a breath. “Good. I’ll just hold him here until they arrive.”

  Thankfully, a few minutes later they heard sirens. Easy was a little surprised to be recognized by Sheriff Hill.

  “Mr. Blackhawk, twice in one day. You do get around, son.”

  Easy dusted himself off. “Right places. Right times, I guess.”

  As soon as one squad car hauled off the prisoner, they took turns answering questions about the incident. Easy kept stealing glances at Jewel. She’d refused to go with the EMT’s. They’d examined her, but agreed she was only bruised. Watching her, it was hard to pay attention to the lawman trying to take down his story. A couple of times, he missed hearing a question and had to be asked twice. And once, Easy caught Jewel watching him.

  From what Easy gathered, the incident had something to do with Jewel’s mother. He didn’t really understand what, but apparently this was some ongoing issue people were having with her. Apparently, the sheriff wasn’t surprised by the attack. He referenced a couple of other occurrences and mentioned that he wouldn’t doubt if there were several more.

  By the time, the cops left, Easy was feeling pretty wound up. They were sitting on the top step of Jewel’s porch. “I heard a lot of talk, but I wasn’t able to put two and two together. Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

  Jewel fists were so tightly clenched, she was digging her fingernails into her palms.

  When he spoke to her – she just lost it. Turning, she clasped him around the neck and pulled his head to hers.

  As soon as her lips met Easy’s, she understood the main reason for their existence.

  Despite her previous reservations, once she started kissing him – she couldn’t stop.

  With a growl deep in his chest, he pulled her even closer, draping her over his arm, returning her kiss with absolute hunger. As she clung to him, Jewel felt things she’d never experienced before. His lips were heaven as they moved over hers, his tongue blatantly claiming complete sexual ownership of her mouth. Mastering it.

  Truly, this man would ruin her for any other kiss by any other man for the rest of her life.

  One Mississippi. Two Mississippi.

  She had to stop. This was crazy.

  But God, it felt so good. She was inhaling him like she’d never need air again.

  When alarm bells began to go off in her head – either from her built-in warning system or from oxygen deprivation – she put a hand to his chest and pushed.

  As her mouth pulled away, Easy followed. He couldn’t comprehend willingly stopping something so fucking incredible. This woman kissed like a dream, a dream he had no desire to see end.

  Holding him at bay, Jewel held his gaze. “Thank you for saving me.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, kiss me some more.” He attempted to bring her back into his embrace.

  “Not a good idea.” Jewel evaded him by hiding her face on her knees. “We’re just letting our adrenaline rush get out of hand.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Easy rubbed her back, absolutely incapable of not touching her somewhere at this amazing moment. “The gratitude and the adrenaline are excuses for a mutual attraction of epic proportions.”

  Jewel choked on a giggle. “Epic proportions?”

  “Right.” Easy chuckled as he stretched one leg out to adjust his jeans, giving himself a little more room for his package. “No brag. Just fact.”

  Raising her head, she rested her forearms on her thighs and stared at the ground below. “Like I said before, thanks for saving me. I was stupid to put myself into such a position. He didn’t have an appointment. When I opened the door, I could sense something wasn’t right.”

  “Every woman needs to take steps to protect themselves, especially a beautiful woman like you.” He needed to understand what she was facing. “What did the sheriff mean when he said he wouldn’t doubt this could happen again. Was the guy some type of religious nut or something?”

  Jewel trembled, more from his touch than any residual effect from the attack. “No, I don’t think so. He blamed Hazel – and me – for his mother’s suicide. He was lashing out.” Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “I think he would’ve killed me if you hadn’t come home when you did.”

  Easy would be forever grateful he’d happened along at the right moment. “Why does he blame the two of you? A bad reading?”

  She didn’t try to evade his touch, if anything she leaned into it. “It’s more than that.” Jewel sighed with resignation. “My mother is very gifted. Much more so than I am. Her reputation as being the real thing, being genuine – was unparalleled in the magical community.” She gave a small laugh of incredulity. “All of that changed a couple of years ago when this corporation came down from Atlanta and offered her a large sum of money for the use of her name.”

  Easy could tell this was hard for he
r. He eased his hand up under her hair to massage the nape of her neck. “What happened?”

  “She was overwhelmed by the offer and the seemingly validating attention. Without consulting anyone, she signed over the use of her name, image, and the right to police what the company did.”

  “What did they do, honey?”

  Jewel found herself soaking up his affectionate attention. “They established a website, ran television commercials, sent mail-outs – everything in Hazel’s name with promises of answers to all questions and concerns. The only problem was that Hazel never saw any of these letters or posts. People sent their money in good faith, then received computer generated answers.”

  “Techno fortune cookie answers?”

  “Exactly. Because Hazel’s name and face were associated with it, countless people followed poor advice and many of them suffered. This man…” She waved her hand in the air. “He lost his mother to suicide. She made some foolish investment using recommendations she thought came from Hazel…”

  Her words trailed off and Easy pulled her in for a hug. “I understand. Everybody blamed her and by default, you, for something this company did.”

  “Right.” She wiped dampness from her cheeks. “Hazel was foolish for trusting the company. She used all of the money she’d received to hire lawyers to try and get out of the deal. I’m not sure how many people sued her, but there were more than a few. The local people took it hard. They trusted her and they felt like she’d betrayed their trust.”

  “So, she moved away.”

  “Yea, she’s using her maiden now. Living with her sister. Trying to blend in to the eclectic community of Sarasota, Florida.”

  “Why didn’t you go with her?” In front of his eyes, she seemed to get smaller, crossing her arms over her chest. With an ounce of encouragement, he’d have hugged the stuffing out of her.

  Shrugging, she kept her eyes averted and cast down. “This is my home. I have my garden. The bayou. I live in my dad’s house and I feel close to him here.”