Free To Begin Anew (Blue Jay Romance) by Eliza Gerard Page A

or with his hair dyed pink. Debra wasn’t born yesterday - it took her all of three seconds to understand what Cathy thought was going on. What would take her longer would be to find out why she’d come now, and who told her where to go.
     
    “If you’ll leave nicely, I won’t have to call the police.”
     
    Debra got a good look at Cathy now, the flash from the camera wearing off, and saw that she was dressed in a light sweater/skirt combination, the colors the light hues of painted Easter eggs, and as Debra glared at her she smiled as if the sun rose because she asked it to every morning.
     
    “You go ahead and call the police Miss Brown if you think we’re breaking the law,” Cathy said pleasantly, almost sweetly. Her face was arranged like a bouquet of flowers, with even the upturn to her mouth carefully set into place.
     
    Very calmly, using measured words, Debra said, “The police ain’t for you, they’re for me. I’ll give you ’till the count of five to get your rears off ma’ porch ‘fore I start doing things I have to pray fo’giveness for laytuh.”
     
    Debra knew she was close to losing her temper when her accent started slipping away from her. She’d tried hard to erase the small town out of her speech, but at times when there was a real irk to her ire, she had a strength she didn’t know she possessed.
     
    “You all right over there, Debra?”
     
    Debra recognized the elderly voice of her widowed neighbor, Mr. Lewis, and heard as the front screen to his door closed behind him as he moved at a hobbled pace on his cane to the end of his porch. He had a cordless phone in his hand - a gift from his son that she’d suggested would be easier for him to use - and the expression on his face appeared as if he was moments from putting it to good use.
     
    Cathy looked around her, noticed that there were more people coming out of their homes, their noses twitching at the kind of gossip she made her living off of, and like an animal that senses when a bigger animal is close, she backed off the porch and scurried to her car. Her toadies followed as if they were attached to her by leashes.
     
    Once Cathy’s van was gone and most of her neighbors were back in their homes, Debra sighed her relief. She turned, went back inside and just as soon as she lifted her eyes they caught the concerned eyes of Dr. Nelson. Beneath his concern was a flush of embarrassment followed by a good mix of anger.
     
    Eric heard most of the last bit of the conversation Debra had with the newswoman on her porch and mostly it was because David had the sense to wake him up, his face twisted in concern.
     
    When Eric’s eyes met Debra’s, a mix of emotion ran through him, settling on anger. They had no right to encroach on his private life, to treat him as if they owned him and could publicize everything he did. No matter what he’d seen on the television, or what he knew was flying around about him and his ‘nannies’, there was nothing that was going to keep him from setting things right again. The first step was explaining things to Debra.
     
    “Boys, why don’t you go make your beds for Miss Brown, okay?” Eric doubted highly that without help David and Danny would be able to make their beds with any sort of effectiveness, but that was sort of the point. Once they disappeared down the hall, he gave a slight shrug before he pointed to the kitchen were the coffee pot looked too inviting for words. They’d talk over caffeine.
     
    ~*~*~
     
    Debra sipped her coffee and attempted to listen to Dr. Nelson apologize for something that wasn’t entirely his fault. Sure, there were certain causal effects, that without his presence could have triggered certain other events to happen, but they were not intentional and she wasn’t mad at him for it. If anything, she would have loved to have made good on her promise to Cathy and slugged her a good one - a right hook worthy of a night in jail.
     
    “So you see, if I’d