At Peace Page 10

  “Hello?” Violet called. “Did you hear me?”

  “That money’s for you,” Kate said to her mother.

  “Yes, and I’m giving it to you,” Violet returned.

  “Granddad gave that money to Uncle Sam for you to use,” Keira put in.

  “He gave it to me to do with what I wanted and I’m doing that,” Violet told her daughter.

  “We already spent our money,” Kate replied firmly.

  “So now, spend more,” Violet responded even more firmly.

  Neither girl responded nor did they move.

  They all looked at each other, locked in silent mother-daughter combat. Cal wondered who’d win but if he had to put money on it, his money would be on Kate and Keira.

  As he watched the silent showdown, he decided he liked Violet’s girls.

  “I know!” Keira suddenly exclaimed, breaking the tense silence. “I’ll be your personal shopper!” She jumped forward, grabbed her Mom’s arm and, yanking on it, turning to Cal and Kate. “You guys, go get coffees. I’m gonna find Momalicious some kick butt Lucky!”

  “Keira –” Violet began but Cal turned to Kate.

  “Let’s go,” he said, jerking his head to the doors of the store and he waited while she glanced at him then headed out.

  Cal followed her then walked beside her as she headed to the coffee place, making a bee-line straight to it. She knew this mall like the back of her hand and she obviously drank coffee.

  She didn’t speak and acted like she was uncomfortable though she wasn’t awkward. Cal was wrong that they didn’t get anything from their mother. They had a hint of her attitude and they had her natural grace.

  When they got to the front of the line, Kate ordered three complicated drinks and then glanced hesitantly up at him.

  “Coffee,” he said.

  “Americano?” the clerk asked.

  “Whatever, just coffee.”

  This seemed to confuse the kid then he rallied and asked, “Room for cream?”

  Cal just stared at him, he grew flustered, bent his head to the cash register and started pressing buttons. Then he grabbed a paper cup and wrote something on it and set it by the big coffee machine with the other three cups.

  He heard Kate laugh softly and he looked at her, seeing he was wrong again. Violet’s daughters weren’t just pretty. With Kate’s face relaxed and smiling, she was more than pretty. She wasn’t a knockout but she was something else and it was all good.

  Kate went for her purse but Cal murmured, “No.”

  She looked up at him and pulled her lips between her teeth as he paid.

  They walked to the other end of the counter, waited for their coffees and nabbed them when they arrived.

  Quietly and politely, Kate told him, “Cream and sugar are over there.”

  “I take it black.”

  “Oh,” she whispered, nodded then turned and led him back the way they came.

  Halfway there, shyly she said, “I’m going out with Dane Gordon.”

  He knew she was. He knew the Gordon kid too. Good-looking boy, kickass tight end. Rumor had it that colleges were already scouting him even though he was a junior. Kate had scored with him, then again, Gordon probably felt the opposite and he wouldn’t be wrong.

  “Yeah?” Cal prompted when she didn’t go on.

  “He, well… he thinks you’re the bomb.”

  Cal didn’t reply. He knew the kids in town thought this and they thought it because he knew a lot of famous people but his job was far from glamorous.

  She went on. “He says he wants to do what you do, after school.”

  “Someone gives him a full ride, he should go to college.”

  She nodded. “He’s thinkin’ he’ll do that too, but, um… maybe do what you do after.”

  “Smart.”

  Her head jerked around and up, she smiled at him and he found he was wrong again. She got her mother’s smile and that locked in his chest too, also not in a bad way.

  “Pays good, girl, I’m not complainin’, but the folks I look after, they’re a pain in the ass,” he told her truthfully.

  “Would you talk to him?” she asked, she was back to shy but she pulled up the courage to ask because she liked this guy.

  This was where he reckoned this was heading and he shouldn’t do what he was going to do. Violet would be pissed and he didn’t even want to do it but he did it anyway.

  “You see my truck in the drive and he’s around, come over.”

  This bought him another smile and she whispered, “Thanks.”

  The minute they hit the store Keira ambushed them, her arms filled with clothes.

  “I’m gonna be your personal shopper too!” she told him, her eyes bright and happy. “I found a bunch of clothes that would look killer on you.” She looked down at the pile in her arms and muttered, “I hope I got the sizes right,” her head tilted back to him again, “the dudes at the counter saw you and guessed.”

  Jesus. He was not going to try on clothes. Everything he owned he bought at the Levi’s store, except his leather jacket which Bonnie bought for him. He went in, got it, didn’t try it on and got the fuck out. He went shopping probably once every three years.

  “Keira, I’m not sure Joe’s into shopping,” Kate wisely shared with her sister.

  “But these clothes are awesome. Some of the shirts will go with his eyes,” Keira replied.

  Cal looked down at the pile of clothes then at Keira.

  “Girl, I wear black and I wear Levi’s.”

  Unlike any other human being on earth who heard the way he spoke, Keira was not deterred. “But Lucky jeans are the best.”

  “I wear Levi’s.”

  “But you haven’t even tried Lucky.”

  “Keira, he said he wears Levi’s,” Kate put in.

  “What’s going on?” Violet asked and they all looked to the side.

  He was wrong again, this time about the clothes. Violet was standing there wearing a skintight, purple, low-cut tank top and a pair of jeans that were so fucking sweet on her, his hands itched again to touch her in order to peel those jeans off her.

  “Oh my God, Momalicious!” Keira screeched. “We have to get you that tank top in every color.”

  She was not wrong.

  “Those jeans are hot, Mawdy,” Kate noted on a happy smile.

  She was not wrong either.

  Violet twisted and looked at a tag then back at them. “I could buy a car for the price of these jeans.”

  “They last forever,” Keira informed her mother.

  “Maybe so, honey, but –” Violet started.

  “You don’t buy that outfit, buddy, I’m buyin’ it for you,” Cal entered the conversation.

  All three females turned to stare at him, Violet with color in her cheeks; Keira with a huge smile on her face (also her mother’s, though Cal had never seen Violet smile that big); and Kate with shock.

  Violet shook off her response first. “Joe –”

  He cut her off. “It looks good.”

  “But –”

  “Get it.”

  “I don’t think –”

  He leaned into her and dropped his voice. “Seriously, buddy, fuckin’ get it. It looks good.”

  He watched as she closed her eyes and, the look on her face, he wished he’d kept his fucking mouth shut.

  When she opened them again, her eyes were blank.

  Her voice was soft when she asked, “Can you try not to say the f-word in front of my daughters?”

  Before he could reply, Kate spoke.

  “It’s okay, Joe, kids at school drop the f-bomb all the time,” Kate assured him and before Violet could say anything, she turned to her mother. “Mom, Joe’s right, you should get that. It looks really great on you.”

  Violet drew in breath and nodded. “All right, baby, I’ll get it.”

  “I’m gonna go get more of those tanks,” Keira said, dumping the clothes she picked for Cal in her sister’s arms even though the
girl was holding two cups of coffee. “Wardrobe staples. Perfect, you can wear them all the time, in the summer, in the winter under tops and cardigans…” her voice trailed off as she took off on her mission to find more tanks.

  “You want me to put these away, Joe?” Kate asked him quietly and he nodded to her.

  Then in an afterthought, he murmured, “Thanks, girl.”

  “No problem,” Kate whispered and took off.

  Violet looked up at him.

  “This is yours,” he told her, handing her a cup.

  She looked down at it, seeming confused for a second then she took the cup from him and muttered, “I’m gonna go change.”

  Then she took off.

  Cal watched her move through the store.

  Then Cal wondered if her husband used to shop with her and his kids. He wondered if the man stood in some store with a coffee waiting for his girls to do what they did. If he got impatient with it because it wasn’t a whole helluva lot of fun except when Violet walked out of a dressing room, looking so fucking sweet she made the whole thing worthwhile.

  Then Cal wondered if someone told him that he’d eventually be whacked if her husband would ever get impatient waiting for his girls to do what they did. Cal figured, unless her husband was an asshole, he wouldn’t. He’d take his girls shopping, to dinner and to the movies every fucking night.

  Cal walked to the counter and leaned into it to wait for Violet and her daughters. The kids manning it scattered, something that happened a lot with Cal because he was big and because he was how he was. This didn’t bother him. It was a bonus with his profession.

  He took a sip of coffee and he tagged where both girls were in the store and Violet’s feet under the dressing room door. He kept them tagged, though mostly with his ears, listening for their voices, pinpointing the sounds they made as he scanned the store and the mall beyond.

  No threat, he would feel it, he’d had a lot of practice.

  Then he found them with his eyes again and waited impatiently, because it wasn’t a whole helluva lot of fun, for them to do what they did.

  * * * * *

  Cal pulled Violet’s Mustang into her drive.

  It was after she’d bought her jeans, another short skirt Keira made her try on (and it was sweet too, though nowhere near as good as the jeans) and four of the same tank tops in different colors.

  It was after her daughters dragged them to a shoe shop which was torture compared to the jeans store considering Violet tried on at least twelve pairs of shoes. She eventually bought a pair of high-heeled sandals she swore she’d never wear but both her daughters declared she had to have. Again, her daughters weren’t wrong. They were sexy as all hell.

  It was after dinner which was the only glitch they had after his conversation with Violet in the parking lot considering he paid and she made it clear she didn’t want him to. She made this clear by having what could only be described as a quiet tantrum right in front of her daughters and the waiter. Keira, who should pursue a career as a diplomat, waded in and suggested her Mom pay for Cal’s movie and popcorn to even things out. Violet gave in and Cal allowed this but only because he had no intention of eating popcorn.

  And it was after a fucking boring romantic comedy that both girls declared was the best movie they’d ever seen. This was mostly because they liked Nicole Bolton’s clothes and they thought the actor who played her love interest was gorgeous. Cal and Violet had both stayed silent on the subject, then again, they didn’t need to speak, even Kate went on about it so there were no openings to get a word in.

  Cal parked, switched off the ignition, opened his door, unfolded his body from the Mustang and pulled the seat forward for Keira.

  “Thanks Joe!” she hopped out and tipped her head back to look at him. “And thanks for dinner.”

  Cal didn’t reply verbally, just dipped his chin.

  She leaned into him and whispered conspiratorially, “Told you it would be fun.”

  Cal couldn’t say it was fun but he could say it was far from boring, except the movie.

  Keira didn’t wait for him to respond, she turned and bolted to the side door.

  Kate followed her, carrying her mother’s shopping bags and calling, “Thanks for dinner, Joe.”

  Cal lifted his chin to her, she waved then jogged to the side door and disappeared through it behind her sister.

  Violet came to stand in front of him.

  She lifted her hand, palm up. “My keys.”

  Cal didn’t give them to her.

  Instead, he looked her in the eyes and told her, “What I’m gonna say is gonna piss you off.”

  He watched her press her lips together as she braced her body then she asked, “What?”

  He didn’t delay. “Colt’s gonna talk to you about your security system. Man named Chip, good guy, is gonna update it. Chip can’t do what I designed for your system, I’m gonna do it.”

  Her lips parted and she stared at him.

  Then she leaned forward and hissed, “You are not.”

  “Buddy, I am.”

  “No, you are not.”

  “You can stand there and snap at me all you want. It’s gonna happen.”

  “I can’t afford a new security system.”

  “No one said you’re payin’ for it.”

  Her mouth clamped shut and she took a step back on her foot like he’d shoved her.

  Then she came back in close, tilting her head way back, her eyes narrow. She was, as he suspected, seriously pissed.

  “You’re not payin’ for a new system for me.”

  “I am.”

  “It isn’t gonna happen.”

  “It is.” She opened her mouth to speak but Cal angled his head so his face was in hers and he got there first. “Be pissed at me ‘cause I fucked you over, that’s cool, you got a right, I fucked you over and it was a shit thing to do. But you got two girls to look after and neighbors who’re willin’ to wade in to help. It’s not that you’d be a fool not to take the help. It’s that you’d be a shit Mom if you didn’t do all you could to keep yourself, and them, safe. What happened with us happened. It’s over. Now I’m bein’ neighborly, Colt and me are willin’ to help keep you and those girls safe, and, buddy, you got no choice but to accept that and you know it.”

  She stood there, not moving, not blinking, just staring straight into his eyes.

  Then she whispered, “What happened with us happened?”

  “Violet –”

  “You’re right,” she said quickly and softly. “You’re security to the stars and if you’re willin’ to help, I should take it. But I’m gonna tell you even though I figure you know, I think you’re an asshole. I don’t only not like you, I hate you. I hate how you played me. I hate that I was so fucking stupid, I let myself get played. I hate that you know about this because I hate that you know anything about me. And I hate that I have to accept help from you.” After she dealt her lethal succession of blows, she finished with, “But I’ll do it… for my girls.”

  And before he could speak, she reached in, yanked her keys out of his hand, turned on her sandal and walked swiftly away.

  Cal watched her go, listened to her side door slam and dropped his head to study his boots.

  Then he walked to his house, let himself in and went directly to the fridge to get a beer. He twisted off the cap, flicked it into the trash bin, lifted the bottle to his lips and took a healthy pull.

  Then he held the bottle in front of him, studying the label without seeing it.

  Then he threw the bottle through the doorway of the kitchen. It flew into the living room and smashed against the wall.

  Chapter Five

  Daniel Hart

  I was running late and that sucked.

  Chip hadn’t been able to install the full system that Joe had designed and Joe hadn’t been able to get to it before he had to leave so now that it was a week later and Joe was back, he was coming over to see to it.

  Feb and Colt were ha
ving a barbeque and I’d promised Feb I’d go over and help before everyone showed up. I was supposed to be over there fifteen minutes ago which was fifteen minutes before Joe was supposed to show.

  The girls were off as usual. Keira was coming back with her friend Heather to go to the barbeque. Kate was at work at Fulsham’s Frozen Custard Stand. Dane who, regardless of the fact that Kate had a car, took her to work and picked her up, was going to go and get her and they both were also coming to the barbeque later. I’d told Colt to tell Joe I’d leave the side door open for him and Colt had obviously done this because now I heard the side door open.

  I ignored this and finished gunking my hair up with the goo that made it look so good and then rinsed my hands. Then I walked from my bathroom into the bedroom to put on my jewelry, stacking on the silver bangles, putting in my silver hoop earrings, clasping on my silver watch. I spritzed with perfume and turned to the bedroom door.

  Joe was leaning in the frame watching me.

  At the sight of him, my stomach tied into an instant knot.

  I had no idea why he was standing there watching me. I felt all that needed to be said was said so I glanced into his eyes briefly and headed his way expecting, since I said all that needed to be said and I was pretty honest about it, he’d move out of mine.

  He didn’t.

  I stopped and looked up at him.

  His rumbly voice was low when he said, “We should talk, buddy.”

  I didn’t want to talk so I replied, “Please move.”

  “Violet –”

  “Move.”

  “We live next door to each other, woman,” he pointed out.

  “Yes and you get this done, that’s all there is,” I returned.

  He straightened from the frame but stayed in my way and his voice was soft when he said, “It was good.”

  I felt my mouth fill with saliva and my sinuses tingle with tears and I swallowed them both down.

  “Get out of my way, Joe.”

  “We both know we couldn’t take it there.”

  I didn’t know that. I didn’t know anything about him. It was only him that knew that.

  I didn’t tell him that, I said, “Out of my way.”