Justine stepped away, then came back as I turned toward the hallway. “I got a sofa at my place you can stay on you ever want to get away for the weekend. I got two kids and my man, J.D., there, but I’ll see they don’t bother you.”
I smiled at her invitation, thinking that was the last way I would want to spend a weekend, but I said, “Well, I thank you, Justine, but really—”
“Just let me know,” she said, ending the conversation and walking away.
I tried to figure Justine out. She was gruff and unfriendly, yet she had extended this invitation to me. I wasn’t about to accept it, but I thought on it, and as my free weekend approached, I thought on it more and more. Thursday night made up my mind for me when there was a soft knock on the door and Rowland Tomlinson called quietly, “Cassie, may I come in? I need to get a file.” I said nothing. I was already in bed. The lights were out. I held my breath, listening as the doorknob turned. There was nothing more from him. I heard him walk away. I left the chair in place. The next day I rose early, tended to the chores I was to do on Saturday, and told Mrs. Tomlinson I would be away for the weekend.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
After work on Friday I went with Justine to her apartment. Outside stairs led to the apartment on the second floor. The apartment was cramped and not in the best order. Clothes and papers were scattered around the living room. Dirty dishes were on the kitchen table and pots from previous cooking were on the stove. Justine made no excuses for the mess, except to say she had two children and a man. She implied that cleaning the apartment was their responsibility. There were two bedrooms in the apartment. Her children, a girl, twelve, and a boy, five, shared one of the rooms and she and her man slept in the other. Her man, J.D., was in the apartment when we arrived. He was a scrawny-looking man and had little to say. The children were not there. They were staying with a friend of Justine’s for the weekend. Justine showed me to their room. The room had twin beds. Justine gave me some sheets, then announced that she and J.D were going out for the evening. She didn’t invite me to go with them. Justine said there was food in the refrigerator I could cook. After she and J.D. left, I realized that maybe staying at Justine’s was not the best idea, but I had committed to the weekend so I figured to make the best of it. I put the clean sheets on the bed, then went to the kitchen and got started on the dishes. I thought that was the least I could do to show my appreciation to Justine for her hospitality.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
“My brother’s here,” Justine announced. “You, Cassie, you get the door.”
I had already showered and dressed and was planning to spend the day reading in the bedroom, away from Justine and her boyfriend. I had only come into the living room on the way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. I stopped and stared at Justine.
“Well, go ’head!” she ordered. “Don’t keep him waiting out there all day!”
Her order rankled me, but it was her place and I was only a guest in it. Though not happy about it, I went to the door and opened it. I was not prepared for the man on the other side. He looked nothing like I expected; he looked nothing like Justine. “You must be my sister’s houseguest,” he said, smiling, and his smile was like sunshine.
I nodded, feeling suddenly light-headed.
“Well, I’m Flynn. I hope Justine told you I was coming.”
“Well, let him in, why don’t cha, Cassie!” hollered Justine. “He won’t bite!”
I unlocked the screen door and pushed it forward. The man with the golden smile stepped inside and, unexpectedly, he bent his head toward mine and whispered in my ear. “Don’t let my sister get to you. She’ll bite, but I won’t let her bite you.”
I looked into dark eyes and was silent. “What you gawking at, boy?” Justine demanded to know. “Like you ain’t never seen a pretty girl before?”
Flynn kept his smile. “Don’t embarrass us, Justine.”
“What you mean? Ain’t embarrassing nobody! I see the electricity! Well, what I tell you, Cassie? Ain’t my baby brother fine?”
“You know what?” said Flynn, and to my surprise he took my hand. Also to my surprise, I let him. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “My sister’s impossible when she figures she’s done something right.” He pushed the screen door open and I followed him out without a word spoken.
“All right! Be that way!” Justine hollered after us. “But be sure you name your firstborn after me!”
Flynn closed the door on her and led me down the steps. He never let go of my hand. When we reached the street he leaned against a foreign-looking car, silver-gray, parked there and I said, “I think we’re safe now.”
“She speaks,” he said, and fixed his eyes on me and again he smiled.
I felt the sensation of his look, then glanced down at our hands. “You can let go now,” I said.
“You sure you want me to?” he asked. His voice was evocative.His eyes were piercing.
I pulled my hand from his, hoping he had not felt how my body was trembling, but I could tell from his smile that he had. I felt my face growing hot. Trying to recover, I turned from him, then leaned against the apartment fencing, putting the sidewalk between us. “We weren’t introduced,” I said. “I’m Cassie Logan.”
“Yes,” he acknowledged, his face solemn now. “And I’m Flynn de Baca, and I must say you’re even prettier than Justine said you were.”
I glanced away, not sure how to respond to that, then turned back to him. “I’m surprised Justine told you that. I didn’t even think she liked me.”
He laughed. “Well, obviously she does. She’s been after me for weeks to meet you.”
“Really?” Now I laughed. “She’s been after me to meet you too.”
His laughter settled into a smile. “My sister, the matchmaker.”
There was silence between us for a moment, then I said, “De Baca, you said? I was thinking of you as Curry, but, of course, that’s Justine’s married name.”
“No,” he said. “She’s always been a Curry. I’ve always been De Baca.” I just looked at him. He shrugged. “Different fathers” was all he said.
“Oh.” I was feeling nervous. I changed the subject. “I don’t know what Justine told you about me, but I’m staying with her just for the weekend. I actually am living with my boss and his family. I was feeling a bit like I was in the way, so Justine invited me to stay with her over the weekend.”
“Yes, she told me.”
“Well . . .” I cleared my throat. “I don’t know what else she told you, but I’m not from Los Angeles. I’m originally from Mississippi.” I rattled on about my move to Ohio and how I had come to California with my brothers, been offered a job, and decided to stay. When there was nothing more for me to say, I finally grew quiet. I had never been one lost for words, but I was now. I took a deep breath and just let the quiet settle in. This man’s gaze was still upon me so I finally met his eyes and took him in fully for the first time. The man was gorgeous. He was tall and lanky and his skin had a reddish-golden tint. His dark hair was coarse like mine, clipped close to his head, his cheekbones were high, and his lips were tantalizing, once again ready for a smile. When the smile came, I knew at that moment this man was about to change my life.