I didn’t know what to say. Her question was nosy and rude and more than a little psycho, considering Joe had made it perfectly clear in a way that couldn’t possibly be ignored that this kind of information was none of her business.
And why was she there, considering Joe had made it perfectly clear in a way that couldn’t possibly be ignored that her infiltration into his life was not welcome?
And anyway, I had kids in the house. Was she nuts?
I looked back at the house and through the sliding glass doors. The kids didn’t have their faces pressed to the glass which was good and I hoped they couldn’t hear.
“You’re fucking him,” Kenzie went on and I looked at her again.
“Would you mind telling me why you’re here?” I asked.
She had one arm crossed at her ribs, her other elbow resting on her wrist and her cigarette hand in the air. She swung her hand to her face, took a drag then swung her hand out as she exhaled the smoke.
Then she looked me top to toe.
“What’s his deal?” she asked though I didn’t think she was asking me even if I was the only one there and I found I was right when she went on. “You’re fat.”
I felt my body go solid.
I was not fat. Okay, so, I wasn’t thin nor was I rail thin and emaciated like her but I couldn’t be described as fat.
“I’m not fat,” I stated.
She sneered and took another drag off her cigarette.
I’d had enough. In fact, I should have slammed the door in her face.
“Listen, if I can’t help you with something, maybe you’d like to –”
“Vi?”
I twisted around and saw Colt standing at the end of my deck looking at us.
“Hey Colt,” I called.
His eyes moved to Kenzie, I saw his face register recognition but that was it then his eyes came straight back to me.
“You okay?” he asked, walking down the deck toward the steps and I saw he had his badge on the belt of his jeans.
“I’m fine,” I told him as he jogged up the steps. “I just –”
“Hi there,” Kenzie breathed and I swung my head around to look at her to see she was gazing at Colt like he was a hot fudge sundae with tons of whipped cream, nuts and a cherry.
“Hey,” he replied, barely glancing at her and his eyes came to me. “Cal called, said the girls were screamin’?”
Joe had called Colt for me. My stomach did a little flip.
“Um… they were a little excited about a movie star bein’ at the door.”
Colt’s eyes sliced through Kenzie again then they came back to me.
“You better call Cal. He’s worried it was somethin’ to do with your thing,” Colt told me.
He was worried about me. My stomach did another little flip.
“I’m Kenzie Elise,” Kenzie butted in and I looked at her again.
“I know who you are, found out about ten minutes ago you keep callin’ Vi’s house,” Colt said to her, my mouth dropped open at this news and I stared at Kenzie realizing she was nuts. “Gonna have to ask you to stop doin’ that,” Colt went on.
“You have my number?” I asked but she ignored me, her eyes glued to Colt.
“I’m looking for Cal,” Kenzie told Colt.
“How did you get my number?” I asked but she didn’t answer because Colt spoke.
“You want to talk to him, you call his girl. You don’t call Vi’s house and hang up.”
His girl? What girl? Joe had a girl?
I forgot about finding out how Kenzie got my number, the more pressing matter at hand was Joe having a “girl”.
“Lindy won’t give him my messages,” Kenzie said to Colt.
“I’ll let Cal know his secretary is fallin’ down on the job.”
Joe had a secretary?
Joe stayed in hotels with valet parking and had a secretary?
“Now unless you have some business with Violet, might be a good idea you move along,” Colt ordered but did it in a way that sounded like a suggestion except it was a suggestion you couldn’t exactly deny. Kenzie denied it. “It’s important I speak to him.”
Colt stared at her for several long seconds like he didn’t know what to make of her but what he was coming up with wasn’t much. Then he reached into his back jeans pocket, pulled out his phone, flipped it open and hit some buttons.
Then he put it to his ear, his eyes on the deck while it rang then he said, “Yeah, Cal, Colt. Everything’s cool except Kenzie Elise is standing on Vi’s deck. She wants to talk to you.” A second passed and then Colt grinned at the deck and said, “Yeah, I’ll put her on,” then he offered Kenzie his phone.
Kenzie didn’t look at either of us before she took the phone and put it to her ear.
“You let her call you Joe?” she snapped into it without saying hello which, personally, I thought was a mistake.
I watched as she paused, listened, her face grew even paler than her normal pale (there it was, proof her snapping at Joe was a mistake) then it twisted before she said, “I have another situation and only you can help me out,” again she paused then, “I don’t want him, I want you.”