At Peace (55 page)

“I’m not sure that’s helpin’,” Feb noted,
watching me closely and she was right.

“Am I gonna be running into Joe’s lovers
everywhere I go?” I asked.

“Yep,” Jessie answered and Mimi giggled.

“Great,” I muttered.

“
Happened to me with Colt,” Feb told me.
“Not everywhere I go but a few of his conquests come into the bar.
I even spent time around him and Melanie when they were married.”
She leaned into me. “What doesn’t kill us makes us
stronger.”

“I’m guessin’ she’s learned that,” Cheryl
mumbled.

“We all have,” Jackie stated.

“I’m scared,” I blurted.

“
Of course you are,” Feb said, folded her
legs and leaned into me. “Remember you told me when you were
worried about gettin’ Keira that dog,” she nodded to Mooch in her
Mom’s lap, “how you had a dog and lost her and didn’t want to put
Keira through that?”

“Yeah,” I answered.

“
You’re doin’ it again, babe,” Feb told me,
“protectin’ yourself against hurt. You lost Tim and Cal hasn’t made
this easy on you, now you’re gun-shy. But, honey, he’s out buyin’ a
dog bed. Ask yourself, he’s doin’ that, why are you so
scared?”

“It hurt when he turned,” I whispered.

“He’ll hurt you again, men fuck up all the
time. Tim golden the whole way through?” Feb asked.

“No,” I answered honestly.

“You fight?”

“Of course.”

“He piss you off?”

“Yeah.”

“He hurt you by doin’ stupid shit?”

“Not often but, yeah.”

“Cal’s a man, Violet. He’s gonna fuck up. You
are too. Honey, you know how that is, you lived with it with Tim.
You also know, what you had with Tim, it’s worth it and you gotta
take the risk.”

“Why?” I asked.

“You don’t, what’re you teachin’ your
daughters?” Cheryl, in an about face, joined our conversation. “To
be scared, to wrap themselves in cotton, or to face life and fight
for somethin’ good?”

“I thought you didn’t like Joe,” I said to
her.

She threw up her hand. “I forgot about the
dog bed.”

Jessie snorted but Dee and Mimi laughed
straight out.

I reached out, put my hands to baby Jack and
asked my question to Feb with my eyes. She answered by turning Jack
to me, I took him and cuddled him close. He grabbed onto my blouse
and hair and his face went to my neck, his wet, soft baby lips
hitting me there, his tongue working at the chain of a necklace I
was wearing.

“
Like his Dad,” Feb mumbled, watching Jack,
“he loves necklaces.”

“Colt loves necklaces?” Mimi asked.

“This I gotta hear,” Jessie leaned
forward.

“Shit,” Feb whispered.

“Are we done with Vi’s thing?” Dee asked.

“I don’t know, Vi, are we?” Jackie looked at
me.

I bent my head and kissed Jack’s
shoulder.

We were done.

I knew. I knew even before they asked me.
Joe was right. I knew when I crawled into my bed with him after the
girls. Hell, I knew the first time he kissed me.

And now I knew because he was buying a dog
bed for the dog he bought for my daughter.

And coming home with beer.

Then I whispered against little Jack,
“Yeah.”

“Good, so, what’s this about Colt and your
necklaces?” Jessie demanded to know and I looked at her.

But Mimi spoke to me. “Feb doesn’t kiss and
tell, it sucks.”

“I know. I told her about Jimbo and –” Jessie
started.

“Don’t repeat it!” Feb cried suddenly, hand
up.

“What? It isn’t weird,” Jessie defended.

“Yes, Jessie, it is,” Feb returned.

“It’s just suckin’ my toes. Does Cal suck
your toes?” Jessie asked me.

I tried not to let my lip curl as I answered,
“Um… no.”

“Feels good,” Jessie mumbled.

“Gross,” Mimi was mumbling too.

“Do you have any beer?” Cheryl asked,
standing up.

“No, Joe’s picking some up on his way
home.”

Cheryl stared at me a second then she grinned
and I realized what I said and how it sounded.

It sounded like it was.

Shit.

I rolled my eyes at her then said, “I have
wine.”

“Time for wine,” Cheryl decreed, moving
toward the kitchen.

“It isn’t even four in the afternoon,” Mimi
told her.

“What? There’re rules?” Cheryl asked.

“Yeah,” Mimi answered.

“Fuck rules, I’m gettin’ wine,” Cheryl
retorted. “Anyone want one?”

“Yeah,” Jessie said.

“Sure,” Dee called.

“
Shit,” Mimi mumbled, “all
right.”

“Small one for me,” Feb told her.

“I’m in,” Jackie said, I looked at her and
she smiled at me and when she did I let that soft warmth invade my
belly and for the first time didn’t fight it.

Feb was lucky, not because of Colt (who was
awesome) or Jack (who was adorable) but because she had a great
Mom.

I handed Jack off to Feb, got up and called
to Cheryl, “I’ll get the glasses,” then I announced to the women,
“I got another problem.”

“Seriously?” Dee asked.

I went to the kitchen, pulled open my
cupboards with the wine glasses and then looked over the bar into
the living room to see they were all looking my way.

Then I said, “I need help exactin’
retribution against Tina Blackstone.”

Without even asking what she did, Feb stated,
“I’m in.”

“Me too,” that was Jessie (not
surprising).

“Absolutely,” Dee added.

“This’ll be fun!” Mimi clapped her hands.

“I’m all over that,” Cheryl said from beside
me.

“Oh shit,” Jackie muttered and I laughed.

My friends laughed with me.

* * * * *

I sat on Mike’s stoop and watched the Chevy
pull into the drive.

I didn’t move as he parked in the drive not
the garage, got out and, eyes on me, he walked to me.

I didn’t speak and he didn’t either as he sat
down on the stoop close to me, our hips pressed together as were
the sides of our thighs. But his hands didn’t come to me. He leaned
forward with his elbows to his legs.

I leaned forward too.

I looked to my left and whispered, “Mike
–”

“
Cal visited me at the Station.”

I closed my eyes. His hand curled around the
back of my neck and I still didn’t open them.

“Sweetheart, it doesn’t work, he jacks you
around, you know where I live.”

He’d made his decision and, as usual with
Mike, it was the right one.

My eyes opened and looked into his.

“
I jacked
you
around,” I whispered.

“I knew what I was gettin’ into.”

“Mike –”

“Honey, a shot at you, it was worth it.”

“Don’t be nice.”

“You want me to get pissed? Be a dick?”

“I think it’d be easier,” I said
truthfully.

“Can’t do that, Vi.” His hand gave me a
squeeze and he let me go, leaning back into his legs but looking at
me the entire time. “You were in deep with him, he was with you.
Signals were all there and you told me as straight as you could.
Before I even took you on our first date, I knew it by the way he
looked at me the night I met you at J&J’s. I still took my
shot.” He grinned. “Do it again, just for last night.”

I shook my head and felt my mouth curve
softly.

Then I felt my small smile die and I lifted
my feet up to the step and bent into my legs, my cheek to my hand,
my neck twisted to look at him.

“I liked bein’ with you,” I whispered and I
felt the tears hit my eyes.

His hand came back to me, pulling my hair
from the side of my face and then staying wrapped around my
head.

“I liked bein’ with you,” he returned.

The wetness fell, I felt it slide over the
bridge of my nose, along my temple and I whispered “I liked it a
lot, Mike.”

His hand tensed in my hair and he whispered
back, “Sweetheart, you’re killin’ me.”

“I wish –” I began.

“Don’t, honey,” he cut me off.

“Okay,” I whispered.

He squeezed my head gently again then his
hand went away. He got up and took my hand. I lifted up my torso
and he pulled me off the step, walking me through his lawn to my
Mustang. He stood with me at the door and his hands came to my
jaws, pulling me up to my toes so he could touch his mouth to
mine.

He kept his hands at my jaws when he told me,
“He promised me, I stand down, he’d give you everything.”

My heart flipped over.

“He did?”

“Yeah,” Mike nodded then his hands tightened
on my jaws. “He doesn’t, Vi, you come to me and I’ll give it to
you.”

I closed my eyes and nodded but I knew, that
happened, someone would have Mike. He wouldn’t be available for
long. This was my only shot.

His thumb slid through the wetness on my
cheek, the tears still sliding silently from my eyes.

“Sweetheart,” Mike called and I opened my
eyes. “You won’t be comin’ to me. Man I talked to today would move
heaven and earth to give everything to you.”

“Mike –”

“Didn’t think that, no fuckin’ way I’d stand
down.”

“Mike –”

His lips touched mine again and when his head
lifted, he whispered, “Be happy, honey.”

I nodded and whispered back, “You too,
Mike.”

He smiled and it was the first time he smiled
at me in the hundreds he’d given me that it didn’t reach his
eyes.

“Yeah,” he said and he let me go.

I got in my car, started it up and drove
away.

Stupidly, I looked back in my rearview
mirror.

He was pulling his car into his garage.

Life goes on.

Shit.

* * * * *

Cal was putting the beer in the fridge when
he heard Violet turn in the drive.

He pulled one free of the cardboard, closed
the fridge, twisted off the cap and turned to flick the cap in her
trash but he saw her trash had a lid. He got close to it, his hand
moving toward it, a sensor caught the movement and the lid lifted
open. He stared at it then tossed his cap in. Sensing he was done,
the trash bin closed.

“Fuck,” he whispered, grinning.

Living with Vi was going to be an
experience.

Then he realized she hadn’t come in even
though he’d heard her cut her engine.

He turned and looked out the window to see
her standing in her open door, immobile, staring at his truck in
her drive.

He decided to give her time. If she didn’t
come unstuck in twenty, thirty minutes, he’d go out and get
her.

He moved to the counter opposite the sink,
pulled himself up on it and took a drink of his beer, watching her
staring at his truck.

She finally moved out of the car door, closed
it and turned to the house. Mooch greeted her at the door. She
dumped her purse on the counter with a glance at Cal, bent to pick
up the dog and brought him up in her arms, close to her face so the
dog licked her jaw as he squirmed in her arms and she tried to give
him scratches.

She limped into the kitchen and asked, “You
let him out?”

“Yeah.”

“He do any business?”

“No.”

“I’ll let him out.”

Then she limped out of the kitchen and to the
back sliding glass door.

Cal sat on the counter and took another pull
of beer. While he drank, he heard her shouting at Mooch mostly just
teasing and playful then calling him encouragingly which meant she
wanted to come in and then dog and woman came back into the house.
The sliding glass door closed and Cal saw Mooch first because the
dog came bouncing into the kitchen then tried to jump up Cal’s
legs.

Vi strolled in seconds later and walked
straight to the fridge without looking at him, opened it and gazed
inside.

“You have dinner?” she asked the fridge.

“Thought we’d go out.”

Her body jolted and only her head turned to
him.

“What?” she breathed.

“Out. To Frank’s. Or get a pizza from
Reggie’s.”

“Frank’s,” she said.

“You hungry?” he asked.

She nodded.

He jumped off the counter. “Let’s go.”

She closed the fridge, muttering, “I’ll put
Mooch in his box.”

Cal dropped his beer hand after taking a pull
and said, “Got ‘im.”

Then he put the beer on the counter, walked
out of the kitchen, put the dog in the box and she was standing at
the door with the alarm remote and her keys in her hands when he
got back.

He took them both out of her hands, opened
the door, put a hand to her hip, shoved her out the door, locked it
and then guided her to his truck, arming the alarm with the remote
as they moved.

They both got in and were on their way when
he spoke.

“You talk to Mike?”

“Yes.”

“It done?”

She was silent.

“Buddy?”

“It’s done,” she whispered.

Fuck.

It cut her up, doing that. Probably cut
Haines up too.

He didn’t touch her, he wanted to, but he
didn’t. She needed to break it off with a good, steady man to take
a risk with another man who treated her like shit twice right after
her brother was murdered like she needed someone to drill a hole in
her head. But he didn’t touch her because, Cal sensed from her
mood, she didn’t want that right now.

But he’d make it up to her, spend his life
doing it, if it took that.

Though, knowing Vi, it wouldn’t take
that.

He parked on the street four doors down from
Frank’s, stopping to let her off at the door so she wouldn’t have
to walk it with her foot. She waited for him outside and she limped
by his side to the door but she didn’t touch him and he didn’t
touch her.

He opened the door for her and they walked
in. Elaine, one of the waitresses, turned their way, smiled at Vi,
her eyes went to Cal and her face froze.