The Last Breath. Kimberly Belle

a crooked grin, his expression confident and cocky, as if daring the jury to find him guilty, which of course they did.

      And now, according to the flyer, Tanya McNeal and her Pentecostal cronies plan to gather tomorrow morning at ten o’clock sharp on the street in front of the house. They will be armed with posters and banners and righteous indignation. And I predict they will be louder than a monster truck jam.

      “Awesome.” I throw up my hands. “Just awesome.”

      Jake tucks the flyer out of sight under a stack of menus, picks up the dirty plates and disappears into the kitchen. Later, I will thank him for not tolerating Tanya’s propaganda in his restaurant, but for now, I’m too busy making plans. My training has kicked in, and I’m making plans.

      Because if ever there was a disaster, then surely this is it.

      I twist on my bar stool to face Lexi. “Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll call Cal. I don’t think we can stop them from protesting, but maybe we can come up with a technicality. A noise ordinance or loitering violation or something like that. And as soon as I get home, I’ll look up the name for our contact at the police department. Maybe you can work some of your magic on him, get him to help us out somehow.”

      Lexi snaps the compact shut and glances over at me. “Why me?”

      “Because he’s a man, and you’re Sexy Lexi.”

      “So?”

      “So this is crisis mode. We are in crisis mode. A bunch of angry Bible beaters are about to take up residence on our driveway.”

      Her gaze fishes over my shoulder to the dining room behind me, and I know what she’s doing: damage control. Mentally counting the number of tables Tanya managed to reach with her call to arms, checking expressions for pity or displeasure or hostility, taking a moral temperature of the room. And I can tell by the way she’s folding her napkin, smoothing it over and over until it’s a fat but small square, that the damage has already been done.

      “That Cal has somehow guilted you into helping is your business,” she says, her gaze returning to mine, her eyes narrower, sharper, “but I don’t want any part of it. I never gave either of you any indication I’d help. In fact, I think I’ve made it pretty clear to everyone involved I washed my hands of that man long ago. I don’t plan on getting them dirty again.”

      “Our father is coming home to die. To die, Lexi, and from what I understand, a pretty painful death.”

      “Oh, stop acting like such a goddamn martyr. Because I can assure you nobody in this town is going to feel a lick of sympathy for the murderer’s daughter.”

      “Which is exactly what you are.”

      Lexi bristles like a cornered porcupine. “Not anymore, I’m not. The very second that man wrapped saran wrap around Ella Mae’s mouth and nose until she suffocated, I stopped being his daughter, and he gave up any rights to call himself my father. And if there’s any justice in the world, they’ll call me when it comes time to pull the plug.”

      Her words zap me like a Taser, temporarily paralyzing my heart, my lungs, my conviction Lexi would do the right thing. No matter what Ray Andrews did or didn’t do, he’ll always be her father.

      “You can’t possibly mean that,” I say.

      Lexi holds my gaze with unperturbed eyes.

      But bravado can be a real bitch. In order for it to work, you have to be able to sustain it long enough to make your audience swallow it. Lexi’s wavers. She snatches her bag and bolts for the door, and I don’t follow. I don’t even turn my head to watch her go. Better to let Lexi wind herself down and try again later, in a less public venue.

      I slump against the bar, staring with undisguised longing at the bottles lining the back wall. So this is my first night back. Cal deserted me, Bo ignored me, Lexi ditched me. My evening ends alone, in a bar filled with people I don’t know or don’t care to remember. I shrug off a surge of self-pity that threatens to knock me off my bar stool. My life is such a fucking fairy tale.

      A figure steps up across from me with a slice of cake the size of a double-wide. Jake, of course. He wags two forks in the air. “Chocolate always helps.”

      My stomach lurches at the thought of more food, and I wave his offer away. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

      He slides the dessert three seats down, offering it to a bearded man in flannel and denim. “Knock yourself out, Wade. On the house.” And then he turns back to me, leaning across the bar on both forearms. “Bartenders are notoriously good listeners, you know.”

      I know he means well, but right now talking about my problems is the last thing on my mind. The very last thing. Not when a mighty fine distraction is standing right here.

      “How about drinkers? Are y’all good drinkers, too?”

      “I can’t speak for all bartenders,” he says, “but I’ve been known to tie one on when necessary.”

      One corner of his mouth lifts, and I watch for the other to catch up. Here it comes.

      “Oh, it’s necessary. Because I hate to drink alone, and I’m sure as hell not going back to that house sober.”

      And there it is. I free fall into Jake’s extraordinary smile.

       6

      I WAKE UP the next morning in my bed, my tongue superglued to the roof of my mouth and my head clanging.

      No. Not my head. Cal’s iPhone, on the pillow next to me.

      I crack open an eye and squint at the screen. Both eyes fly open at the image of me and Jake, his arm swung over my shoulder, my head thrown back in laughter. I have no idea how it got on my phone. Hell, I have no idea how I got in my bed. On the fourth ring, I pick up.

      “Good morning, sunshine.” Jake’s booming voice sets off a string of explosions in my head.

      “Jesus.” I jerk the phone away from my ear. “What time is it?”

      “Seven-thirty. You made me promise to give you a wake-up call at seven-thirty and not a millisecond later, remember?”

      I trawl through my memories of last night, but things start to get fuzzy after the second cocktail. “Not really.”

      “That bad, huh?”

      I put a finger to my temple and groan. “A responsible bartender would’ve cut me off.”

      He laughs. “I tried. Honestly, I tried. Has anyone ever told you you’re more stubborn than Curtis Cooper’s old mule? But I drew the line when you reached for your car keys.”

      I would wince, but my face hurts. “Probably a good thing.”

      “I thought so, especially after you challenged Sheriff Briggs to a game of quarters. But just for the record, you took off your jeans all by yourself. I had nothing to do with undressing you. And I didn’t peek, I swear.”

      Now, if I was any kind of good girl, I’d be embarrassed and horrified by what Jake just told me. I’d be worried about the wanton impression the drunken me made. But the truth is, I’m not exactly a good girl, and last night wouldn’t be the first time I’ve tossed back one too many cocktails and shucked my jeans for a cute guy. At the risk of sounding like an oversexed trollop, I’ve kind of lost count.

      Still. I really would’ve preferred remembering the experience. A quick check under the covers doesn’t solve the mystery. I’m dressed, but just barely, in last night’s panties and a white tank top. I chew my lip and wonder whether I should be relieved or disappointed I’m not naked.

      Jake’s voice drops an octave. “You just looked under the covers, didn’t you?”

      “Of course