Lights Out (13 page)

“Sure,” she said.

“Okay.” That was easy. “Thank you. The single most challenging thing about Shane is the child care issue, at least until he’s old enough for me to leave him alone,” Joe said.

“I understand. It’s no problem. You’ll probably need to call the school so that they can let him leave with me.”

“Sure, sure. I’ll call now. Thanks.”

“Hey, before you go, let me give you my cell number,” she said.

“Right,” he said, surprised he’d forgotten to ask. He waited as she gave him her number.

“See you later,” she said.

“Yeah, and thanks,” he said, disconnecting, relieved at finding an answer to his dilemma but bothered by the realization that he was pleased with the possibility of seeing her, too.

* * *

“In 1.7 miles, turn left onto Saddleback Street,” said the lovely British-accented voice on Joe’s navigation system. He’d plugged in Piper’s address before leaving San Antonio; he was running later than even he’d expected. She’d called to let him know that she was taking the kids to her home and that he could pick Shane up from there.

Saddleback Street was only about five minutes away from his house. He turned onto her street, which ended in a cul-de-sac with Piper’s home smack dab in the middle of it. It was lit up like a Christmas tree. Every window was lit. It was a large home, larger than what he’d thought one person would need. This could hold a family of four or five easily. Maybe she was planning on a large family someday. Her drive was empty. He pulled in and parked.

He got out and walked to her front door. He could hear music coming from inside, the faint strains of zydeco. Not surprised by that. He rang the doorbell and waited. No answer. He waited a second and rang it again, pressing the bell longer this time.

Piper was upstairs and someone was at the door. She hadn’t heard the doorbell, but she didn’t need to. McKenzie and Pepper were doorbell hounds. One ring sent them into a frenzy of barking, and then headed toward the front door in search of prey. It was enough to send any burglar scurrying away, and fast. Must be Joe. She’d waited at the shop for him an extra thirty minutes before calling to let him know she was going home.

She walked down the stairs and over to the door. “You two have to move for me to see who this is,” she said to her two guard dogs, who were barking away. They kept right on barking. She took her foot, gingerly pushed them to the side, and opened the door.

“I see you found us,” she said, stepping back to let Joe enter.

“Yes. Sorry I ran late. I’m not usually this late,” he said, stepping into her home. The two dogs, barking furiously as he entered, stopped for a second and stepped over to give him a sniff. He watched them. One sniffed and moved on, the other stood there and looked up at him as if to say, You better watch yourself around here, dude. After getting its point across, it turned and followed its friend upstairs.

“Pepper and McKenzie, brother and sister,” she said, watching them head back upstairs where their favorites resided. “Let me put this up and I’ll be right back,” she said, walking away from him. He watched her shorts-clad hips move, her ponytail resting at the very top of her head, puffy, bouncing along to the same tune as her butt. He looked around, taking in her home, which was cozy but cluttered.

He stood at the base of the stairs, his back to her front door, and looked straight ahead to what must be the kitchen, where Piper had disappeared. He could see parts of the counter and table; a small vase of flowers stood in the middle of the table. Her dad’s money, he thought. This was a very large space for one woman.

To his left was a large, open living room. He walked over to it, taking in a large sectional couch, carpet on the floor. Someone was into pictures. They were everywhere. Tennis shoes of all sizes lay near the coffee table, Shane’s included.

“Sorry about the mess. It’s a permanent fixture for me, it seems. I can keep the shop spotless, but not home. But hey, home is where you should be comfortable, don’t you think?”

“Yep,” he said, turning to her, eyes roaming over her head to toe as she came to stand in front of him, toenails painted pink with yellow flowers on them. She followed his eyes.

“Ken’s idea,” she said. “She is going to make a beauty out of me yet.” He smiled.

“I bet you’re ready for Shane,” she said, noting his silence at her comment. “He’s a great kid, by the way, and that’s a compliment to you since you’ve had a hand in raising him.”

“Thanks.”

“Let me go get him. You can come up if you want,” she said, turning and taking the stairs, two at a time. He followed, working hard not to notice the size of her cheeks now that he was up close and personal with them. Yep, they were a nice size, small enough for one to fit nicely in each hand.

He turned away, glancing at the pictures on the wall leading up to the second floor. There were pictures of family, and of her father in his boxing gear, and with his arms around women Joe didn’t recognize.

“Shane, your Uncle Joe is here,” Piper said as she entered the room located just off the top of the stairs. The kids were sitting on a small sofa, locked in mortal combat.

“Shane, take him out!” Taylor shouted, moving her body as if she had a gun in her hands instead of a controller.

“I did. Yeah, you’re dead. We’re almost to level five. Can I have a minute more?” Shane asked, looking quickly over his shoulder at his uncle.

“Nope, save it for later. Thank Taylor, Kennedy, and Piper for taking care of you, and let’s go,” Joe said as he entered the door of some type of game room, maybe more like library. He looked around, taking in the bookshelves on all but one wall, which held a flat screen and a small fireplace. Video games were shelved with DVDs and a huge CD collection. They vied for room on the shelves with some books.

“You’ve got school tomorrow, and so do they,” he said, looking around at the room, searching for Shane’s gear.

“Thanks, Piper, I had fun. Can I come back tomorrow?” Shane said, setting his controller down before standing up.

“Let’s give Piper time to rest between visits,” Joe said before she could answer. He picked up Shane’s backpack from the small sofa.

A few moments later, he and Shane led the way back down the stairs, Taylor and Piper bringing up the rear, the dogs running from behind the crowd to the front of the line, reaching the door before all of them, managing not to trip anybody. The dogs were giving a final sniff to Joe’s shoes while Shane grabbed his from the shoe pile.

“Thanks again for bringing him home with you, especially given the short notice,” he said.

“Don’t worry, we enjoyed having him,” Piper said, opening the door, watching as Joe and Shane walked through. She and Taylor stood there and watched them get into their car and drive away, giving them a final wave.

“Shane’s my best friend,” Taylor said.

“You don’t want a girl for a best friend?”

“Nope. Girls are work,” she said. “Like you one minute and the next minute they don’t. Too much trouble. Shane always likes me.”

Piper locked the door, set the alarm, and couldn’t argue with her sister’s logic.

“Well I’m glad you have a friend. Shane is a nice kid. It’s always nice to have a good friend.”

“Did you have friends growing up?”

“Yeah, like you, they were more male than female. Plus I had your older sisters, Blair and Samantha, for company when they weren’t getting on my nerves,” she said, walking to turn off the lights in the living room, Taylor trailing along behind her.

“I don’t know them that well,” she said.

“We’ll have to fix that,” Piper responded, reminding herself to check with Margarite again. “They are nice, and fun. You would like them.” Piper headed toward the kitchen to lock up in there.

“Where are they now?”

“Samantha, the oldest, is in her first year of college at Rice University. Blair is a junior in high school.”

“I wish I were around them more. I like being here with you. Sometimes I feel different, not like I belong. You know, being from two different parents. It would be nice to know my sisters, though, since they are kind of like me.”

Piper was surprised, but maybe she shouldn’t have been. It was hard trying to find where you fit in, even when it was clear who you were. She couldn’t imagine having to make a choice.

“I know. I’ll see if I can get us together, soon, I promise,” she said, pulling Taylor to her side, walking out the now dark kitchen headed back to the stairs.

“We’d better get ready for school tomorrow.”

A week later, Joe walked into Home Away From Home on his lunch hour. He hadn’t been by since school started. But today he wanted to ask Reye’s opinion about something as well as bring her up to date on Shane. He could have called, but he liked seeing her in person. He considered her a good friend, one of the few people who he felt truly cared about him and Shane. He didn’t talk about himself much, and she knew more than most, which wasn’t a lot. She wasn’t pushy. That was one of his favorite traits in anyone.

He’d been feeling out of sorts lately, the upheaval in finding a permanent sitter for Shane, he guessed, and maybe this uncompromising desire to have Piper in a purely sexual way pitted against this fierce need to protect his heart, although it usually hadn’t been this much of a struggle.

He rapped his knuckles on the side of the door in warning before he opened the screen door and strolled in. She was heading to him, a smile on her face. She was almost as tall as him, spiky locks on the top of a heart-shaped, beautiful face. Her smile widened.

“Hey, stranger,” she said, walking over to give him a hug.

“Hey,” he answered, returning her hug, letting himself be comforted, surprised that he’d needed it. He pulled out of her embrace.

“So what brings you by?” she said.

“Nothing. Just wanted to let you know Shane was doing well. No problems with school, fitting right in so far.”

“That’s great. He’s a great kid. You’ve done a lot for him,” she said.

He brushed it aside, his habit to always underplay his commitment to his nephew.

“So how are the sitters?” she asked, walking to the couch placed in the room that held her computers.

She sat, and so did he.

“Not much luck,” he said. “I came to the end of your list three weeks ago. I’ve been using the lady next door, Mrs. Lewis. She has grandkids of her own and felt sorry for me, but it’s getting old. She’s getting old.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Who knew it would be so hard to find competent help,” he said, looking out the front door. “How is Stephen?”

“Fine. Busy at work,” she said.

“So he was a good decision for you, a good mate for you?” he asked, looking ahead.

“That came from nowhere, but yes, he is,” she said. “Why?”

“No reason, just making sure,” he said, his eyes moving around the room. “There is a woman I know. She’s taking care of her two younger sisters while their parents work out their lives. Not formal custody like me, but acting as their parent now. They attend Shane’s school.

“She watched Shane for me once. I couldn’t get away from work in time to pick him up from the school’s aftercare program. He loves being with her and her sisters, and is always asking to go home with them. One of the girls is in Shane’s class, the older one, who is actually turning into a good friend to him,” he added, looking at Reye now. “I’ve been thinking about hiring her to pick him up for me, you know, on the days I’m working late or get tied up.”

“Sounds like a reasonable plan to me. She must be nice if you are considering her.” Reye’s tone was tentative, almost inquiring.

“She is, actually, owns the two Lights Out Coffee shops. You’re familiar with them?”

“I’ve not been there. But I’ve heard of them, good things, too,” she said, masking her curiosity.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“You should ask her. Sounds like the perfect plan for you and Shane.”

“I wouldn’t need her every day, just a couple of times a week,” he said, pausing. “And maybe someone to call in case of emergencies. You know, if I get hit by a truck, someone he could stay with.”

“If you get hit by a truck, I would take him,” Reye said.

“I know, but I wouldn’t impose, and you have a husband now.”

“Stephen doesn’t mind. He likes Shane as much as I do,” she said.

“It would be perfect, her taking care of him,” he said. “Her shops are located close to school and close to her home. Shane is in her sister’s class. They are good buddies, so why not encourage it? You know, it can’t hurt for Shane to have one good friend. Everyone needs that, right?” He was rushing through his words now. “She’s taken in her sisters, manages two shops.” He was sitting forward on the couch now, arms on his thighs, as he explained the benefits of his plan.