Nether Regions by Nat Burns Page A

to know. “We’ll be okay. Things may be tight for a while, but it’ll be okay. At least we’ll be together.”
    “I love you, Stephen, you know I do.”
    “I know.” Stephen was going to cry outright. He glanced around the office to see who would see even as tears escaped and moistened his cheeks.
    “Okay.” Righteous seemed to sense Stephen’s emotional fragility and seemed at a loss for words himself. “I guess I’ll see you tonight then. I’ll come home as early as I can.”
    “Yes, tonight,” Stephen said softly.
    “All right. Be safe.”
    Stephen replaced the handset into the cradle of the telephone and cupped his face in both hands as a silent sob slipped from him. He was touched because he knew that Righteous was trying. He did want to be with Stephen and was making his choice. Leaving Redstar and Goshen would get him away from the profligate life he’d fallen into. Maybe if he could escape that life he could find his way back to faithfulness with Stephen and that was all Stephen wanted.
    Filled with a new joy and a feeling of new perspective, Stephen mopped his cheek with his shirtsleeve and straightened his desk.
    “So, how’s the Whitley piece coming?”
    Conrad Ramsey stood in the doorway, his body spread wide, a palm pressed to each doorjamb. The body beneath his oxford shirt and tight khakis appeared to be a work of Michelangelo perfection.
    “Done,” Stephen responded, looking away. “It’s in your queue.”
    Conrad moved into the room and lifted a letter opener that was resting on Stephen’s desk. He moved it back and forth slowly, from one hand to the next. “Are you okay? You look like you might be upset.”
    Stephen knew Conrad wanted him to meet his gaze, but his emotions were too raw. “I’m fine, Conrad. Thanks.”
    “We’re moving,” he finally said. “Away. Down south.”
    Conrad drew back to study Stephen’s face. “What do you mean?”
    “He just called me. As soon as we can get everything set up, we’re out of here.”
    “Damn.” Conrad stood and moved to the door. “Well, what do you know.”
    He moved through the door into the hallway, then turned back to give Stephen an encouraging smile. “Good. That’s good, Stephen. Good.”

Chapter Fifteen
    Morning brought routine into Sophie’s day. She preferred this to the restless nights that had been bothering her lately. Usually her sleep was beneficial, but lately the grinding loneliness she’d been feeling had crept into the netherworld of her slumber.
    She rose from her tangled bed and drank coffee at the kitchen door as the sun meandered slowly into Bayou Lisse. Swarms of insects greeted the sun’s warmth by busying themselves with their own daily chores. Papa Gator growled about a half mile away. It was late in the season for him to be looking for a girlfriend so he was probably warning off a trespassing male.
    Sophie sighed and stepped outside. Her bare feet recoiled from the roughness of the wooden floorboards of the porch, but she moved on, coffee mug warming her cupped palms. Just off the porch, on the right, stretched the ancient herb garden Grandam had nurtured since Sophie’s mother was a child. One of Sophie’s greatest pleasures was the garden, and she walked toward it through the dry, prickly grass. She loved to stroll through the herbs, her hands caressing the various plants and releasing each unique fragrance. Even after all these years, it never failed to delight her.
    Today she noted the seven-year love was coming along, almost a foot high, just now showing the growth of the heavy head that would bob at her in the late summer weeks. There was five-finger grass, low and lush green, garderobe, filling the air with spice, and a huge bush of herba Louisa already scenting her hands with lemon oil. The elf leaf encircled the entire garden, truly the only formal touch, but Sophie never trimmed them into shrub shape, just letting the little purple flowers trail where they may. She liked it better