Chapter Nineteen
Lily
As soon as they got to Phoenix, Lily sent Declan a quick text so he wouldn’t worry.
Just hit Phoenix. We’ll load up the truck tomorrow and be home in two days.
That done she collapsed on the bed at the hotel she and Emelise were staying at. “What do you say we rest a little then head over to The Kettle?” she asked. The Kettle’s full name was The Kettle Black Kitchen and Pub. It had quickly became her favorite place to eat during the short time she’d lived in Phoenix.
“Sounds good to me,” Emelise replied. “Oh, did I tell you I got a buyer for the house? The realtor sent me an email about it yesterday.”
“No, you didn’t. How do you feel about that?”
“Honestly? I’m okay with it. I put it on the market because I’m not coming back here, and there’s no sense in keeping it if I don’t plan on living in it. Mama wouldn’t want me to cling to the house out of some sense of loyalty to her memory. Besides, I don’t need a house to remember her.”
“True, you don’t.” Lily sighed softly. “You’re lucky you got as much time with your mom as you did, but I know it still hurts that she’s gone, Eme. You don’t have to put on a brave face for me. My mother has been gone over a decade, but it still hurts, especially around her birthday, the holidays, and the anniversary of her death,” she admitted.
“That’s just another thing we have connecting us, huh? Loss of our mamas,” Emelise said after a moment. “I know I don’t have to put on a brave face for you, but if I let myself think about it too much, I’ll start crying and won’t want to stop. I don’t want to do that right now.”
“All right, but when you want to talk, or when you feel like you can finally let yourself grieve the way we both know you haven’t but need to, you know I’m here for you, right?”
“Of course I do, girl.” Eme sat up from where she’d flopped back on the other bed. “Let’s go get some food and then stop in at Inferno for some drinks. I can say hello to my old co-workers.”
“You just want to rub it in that you’re following your dreams,” Lily teased. “Sounds like a plan to me.” She stretched to release tension from her limbs before she finally got up. She and Emelise stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the mirror in the bathroom so they could touch up their makeup and then they headed out.
Emelise
Emelise had mixed feelings about being back in Phoenix. She’d only been gone a few weeks but it felt like a lifetime had passed since she’d left. Her world was already very different: she was making progress on the club, she had a place of her own for the first time in her life, and she’d found the one thing she’d thought she would never find—her mate. So what if she was determined to fight letting the arrogant leopard control her, she still felt that connection between them.
As they drove through the city streets, she couldn’t help thinking about her mother. Having met her grandmother, she wished her mother was still there so they could repair the relationship between them. But that wasn’t an option and wishing for something that could never be wouldn’t get her anywhere. She mentally pushed the thought aside and focused on their destination. “Looks like the Kettle is jumping tonight,” she said as they found a spot to park. It was obvious there was a line waiting to be seated.
“Yeah, here’s hoping we don’t have a hellacious wait,” Lily replied on the way to the front door.
Twenty minutes later they were seated at a table. Emelise opened the menu and scanned it but she already knew what she wanted. “I have got to get their crab cakes and I think I’m going to go with their fish and chips,” she said and debated on dessert.
“Why am I not surprised?” Lily said with a soft laugh. “That’s what you always got whenever we came here.”
“Okay, Missy, what are you getting, huh? Let me guess, the Bavarian Pretzel, Citrus Chicken Salad, and top it off with the salmon?”
Lily stuck her tongue out at her. “Actually, no, I think I am going to be adventurous since the chances are this will be the last time I eat here. I’m going with the steamed mussels, no salad, and the Peppercorn Steak with fries.”
Emelise laughed. “Look at you, trying something different. What do you say we split dessert and get the apple crumble and the Whiskey Crème Anglaise?”
“Perfect,” Lily replied, and when the waitress took their orders, they both went with strawberry lemonade to drink with their meal. “So, do you miss Phoenix at all?” she asked once they had their appetizers.
“No. I’ve wanted to get out of this city for so long, it’s a relief to know that after this trip I don’t have to come back. Mama didn’t want to be buried; she was cremated and I sprinkled some of her ashes at her favorite spot out in the desert so I don’t have to come back to take care of a grave either. I have the urn and that’s enough.”
“I had no idea your mother wanted to be cremated. I used to think I wanted that but now I’m not so sure. I mean, if I ever have children, would they want to fight over who got the urn or would they rather visit my grave every now and then?”
Emelise threw a piece of ice at her. “Damn girl, you are so morbid.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Maybe but it’s the truth. Of course, I guess I could just have my ashes split up between however many kids—let them each have an urn of their own,” she said with a wiggle of her brows that made Emelise laugh.
“Definitely fucking morbid.” A man seated at a table near them gave Emelise a look and she arched a brow. “What’s the matter, never heard a woman say a dirty word before? You’ve lived a sheltered life,” she said and turned her attention to her crab cakes. They were spicy and exactly what she needed. Food-wise anyway. She wasn’t even going to think about something else that was spicy that she needed, or wanted. Nope, not going there.
By the time they got to their desserts and split them between them she was almost full. “I’m going to regret eating this but it’s too damn good to pass up,” she said, taking a bite of the apple crumble.
“I know what you mean. Good thing we have higher metabolisms. It might add to my curves but not as badly as it would without the higher metabolism,” Lily said with a laugh.
“True that, girl, true that.” Eme ate what she could then set her fork down. “I’m stuffed. Add a few drinks and I’ll sleep like a baby.”
Lily laughed and motioned to the waitress for their check. “My treat—you can pay for the drinks,” she said when Emelise tried to pay for half of their meal.
“You’ve got a deal. I think I’m getting the cheaper end of it though.”
“Maybe, but you’re also paying for the gas for this trip so that evens things out,” Lily pointed out. She added the tip to the bill, paid with her card, and they headed to The Inferno, the jazz club Emelise used to work at.
Lily
Lily watched Emelise’s face as they entered the club. This was where her friend really found her love of jazz, and her calling, and she noticed the way Eme’s face lit up as soon as they stepped inside. “It’s so cool to see how just hearing jazz affects you. You light up. I think opening your own club is probably the best idea you’ve ever had.”
Emelise flashed a grin. “I agree,” she said, then laughed. “Come on, drinks are on me. We might have to leave the car here and come back for it in the morning though.”
Lily shrugged. “I already figured that. No worries. I know it won’t be towed as long as I tell them I’ll be back in the morning for it.” She remembered the policy the club had about patrons leaving their vehicles instead of risking drinking and driving.
“Then let the fun begin,” Emelise said with a grin as they headed to a table.
The last time Lily was there she’d still been so nervous about being found by her old pack that she’d not let herself drink much. She’d been too afraid of letting her guard down. Now that wasn’t an issue. She thought about the last time she’d had a bit too much to drink and warmth flooded her. Why was it everything led back to thoughts of Declan? She shook her head to push the thought away because tonight was about two friends having fun; dragging her mixed up emotions into it wasn’t acceptable.
“Emelise? Is that you? Oh, girl, you are looking good. That southern air suits you.”
Lily and Emelise turned to the person who spoke. Venus was a drag queen who sang at the club, and tonight she was in full glitz and glamour mode, complete with sequined dress, glitter dusting her skin, and her wig piled up in an intricate up-do.
“Venus, oh my gods, look at you. You are looking fine in that dress, honey,” Emelise said with a hug. “Girl, are you doing your Aretha Franklin or Ethel Wells impression tonight?”
“You know it’s Aretha night. You haven’t been gone that long that you could have forgotten that.”
Emelise laughed. “Oh yeah, it is, isn’t it? Lily, you’re in for a treat. Venus, this is my bestest friend in the world, Lily, Lil, this is Venus, the awesomest drag queen in Phoenix and one hell of an Aretha Franklin impersonator,” she said, introducing them.
“Charmed, honey. Any friend of Emelise’s is a friend of mine,” Venus said when she and Lily shook hands. “We have to catch up when my set’s done, so don’t you go disappearing on me, Eme.” She wagged a finger at Emelise and sauntered toward the stage.
Lily laughed. “She’s quite the character.”
“Yeah, she is. When she’s not in drag queen mode, she goes by her male name and prefers male pronouns. It can be confusing to some people. I’m actually hoping to entice Venus to come to New Orleans once the club is open, even if it’s just for a visit.”
“She’d be well-received in New Orleans.” When Venus started belting out some of Aretha’s greatest songs, Lily sat there in awe. “Wow, she really is good.”
“I know, right?”
By the time Venus’s set was over, Lily and Emelise’d had several drinks. “You girls started without me; how rude,” Venus teased as she lowered herself into a chair at their table. “So, what did you think, darling?” she asked Lily. She pronounced ‘darling’ like ‘dahling’.
“I think you’re great; you have such a powerful voice.”
“Thanks. I’ve been singing since I was a kid. I started out in the boy’s choir, but by the time I was in high school, I knew gospel wasn’t where I wanted to focus. My folks aren’t exactly pleased with the choices I’ve made but I’m happy and that’s what counts, right?”
“Absolutely. I know how you feel about making choices your parents don’t agree with,” Lily said.
Venus arched a brow. “Oh? Do tell? You’ve piqued my curiosity, puppy,” she said with a wink. Venus’s given name was Malcolm Savage and he was a lion shifter. ‘
“Puppy? Well, I guess, next to a lion, I probably would look like a puppy,” Lily replied with a laugh. “Once upon a time—yes, I am using a fairy tale beginning,” she said at the arched look she got, “my father gave me an ultimatum. He’s the Alpha of the pack—I’m his only child—and he decided it was my duty to settle down and have babies, but only with a male of his choosing. I made a totally different choice and took off. I know he wasn’t happy with me for that and it took six years for him to track me down.”
“Damn, you let him go that long thinking something might have happened to you? That’s harsh.”
Lily shrugged. “I had to. If he’d known where I was before I really got settled in somewhere, it would have been harder to stand up to his demand that I return. By the time he found out where I was and sent someone after me I’d made a life for myself in New Orleans, and I refuse to give it up.”
“Get this, you’ll love this, Venus. The wolf her pop sent after her? Turns out he’s her mate, but because he’s like fifteen years older than her, they didn’t know it because she was practically a baby when he left the pack to join some secret government operation,” Emelise put in.
“Why do I get the feeling you made him work for it?” Venus asked with a chuckle.
“Am I that easy to read?” Lily wondered.
“Nah, but with a stubborn streak that led you to not only run away but stay hidden for six years, it makes sense. Okay, give me ten minutes and I’ll be back. I want to get out of this dress,” Venus said. She blew Emelise a kiss and headed into the back of the club where the dressing rooms were.
“I see why you like Venus; she’s a character,” Lily said.
“Yeah, but Mal is just as much fun to hang around with. After you left, Mal was pretty much the only other shifter I really got along with here. The first time I saw him as Venus I was totally blown away.”
“I have to ask, and if it’s none of my business or you’d rather let him tell me, say so, but…is he gay?” Lily asked curiously.
Emelise rolled her eyes then laughed. “As if I’d be all snooty with you just because you wonder if Mal is straight or gay.” She tossed a napkin at her. “To answer your question, he’s as gay as a three-dollar bill.”
Lily laughed. “Just making sure I don’t embarrass myself.”
A little over ten minutes later a broad-shouldered man with sandy-blond hair, that brushed his shoulders, approached their table and took the seat Venus had previously occupied. “This is much better. I don’t know how women wear those sequined dresses all the time. After a couple of hours, tops, I’m ready to rip mine to shreds.”
Lily blinked. “Wow, the change is… I never would have guessed you were Venus,” she finally said to him.
Mal laughed. “Malcolm Savage, Mal to my friends, at your service,” he said and offered his hand. “I’ll take that as one hell of a compliment, babe. Let me know if that offends you; I know not every woman is cool with a man calling her ‘babe’ unless they’re an item. I tend to call every woman I know that; I don’t mean anything by it.”
Lily waved it away. “I live in New Orleans where I’m called ‘cher’ all the time; I think I can handle ‘babe’,” she assured him.
Mal chuckled. “I like you. I see why you and Emelise are besties.” He ordered a glass of scotch and settled back in his seat. “What brings you back to Phoenix, Eme?”
“Just here to get my shit out of storage. We’ll be heading back day after tomorrow. Hey. Listen, I’ve got a proposition for you, Mal. I’m opening a jazz and blues club in New Orleans, soon. It’s in the recovery phase right now; I bought an old bar that’s been vacant for a few years. What would you say to coming down and doing a show once it’s open? I know you’ve been itching to get out of Phoenix.”
Mal considered it for several minutes while he sipped his scotch. “I just might do that, babe. Send me the info when you’re ready to open the doors. I haven’t been to New Orleans in years. Is it still controlled by leopards?”
“You know what group controls the city?” Lily and Emelise said together.
“Ladies, I went to Mardi Gras before it was legal for me to get wasted—yeah, I know who controls New Orleans. They’d just had a change in leadership and things were unsettled so I steered clear of them. It seems Mardi Gras is the one time of the year they don’t push the territorial bullshit.”
“The Alpha’s name is Caine Bordeaux, and he is by far the most arrogant male I have ever fucking met,” Emelise growled.
Mal stared at her, then laughed. “Aw shit, Eme’s found the one thing that would ruffle her fur: a controlling male who happens to be her mate. Let me guess, he tried to order you to not drive out here?”
“She didn’t even tell him we were coming,” Lily said before Emelise could reply.
Eme glared at her and then turned the glare on Mal when he laughed even harder. “Laugh it up,” she grumbled. “He doesn’t own me; I can do whatever I damn well want to, and if he doesn’t fucking like it, he can kiss my ass.”
Mal leaned over and patted her hand. “You know I’m teasing you, babe. Make him work for it; that’ll prove he’s worthy of you.”
They shared several rounds of drinks before exhaustion finally set in, and both Lily and Emelise were struggling to stay awake. “We’ve got to head back to the hotel to get some shut-eye before we both pass out right here,” Lily said as she set her empty glass down.
“Give me a shout in the morning; I’ll come help load the truck,” Mal told them. There were hugs all around before he made sure they were safely settled in a cab and on their way to their hotel.