Lights Out (17 page)

Piper had spotted him, tall and fine, walking toward the back of the shop, toward Shane and Taylor. She didn’t know how she’d missed his entrance; she had been on the lookout for him. Piper started toward the back, too, wanting to say hello, kind of eager to see him. They arrived at the kids’ area at the same time.

“Hey, Joe, glad you could you make it,” she said, giving him a smile, her eyes roaming and cataloging his body, which was packaged splendidly tonight.

“Me, too,” he said, his eyes smoky, doing a little up close roaming of his own, hoping she might need some help in her storage room again.

Shane and Taylor walked over and stood in front of them.

“Taylor, you know where the food is if you get hungry. Just show Shane, and keep an eye out for your sister, okay?” she said.

“Where’s Ken?” Shane asked, scanning the room for signs of her.

“In the office playing on the computer,” Piper answered, ruffling his hair and giving him a wink. “Have a good time, Joe. I’ll see you later,” she said with much invitation in her eyes.

So far, so good, he thought.

Joe walked over and found a table near the counter, close, where he could watch her. He felt someone near his arm and looked up to find Sondra—off-and-on Sondra, the appeasement of late-night-appetites Sondra—staring at him with a knowing smile in place. She was dressed in a red figure-hugging dress. She slid in the booth beside him, a lot closer than was his preference. He scooted over to make space.

“Hey, stranger, you’ve haven’t called me lately.”

“Been busy,” he said, wondering what to do now.

“That’s okay. I’m here now,” she said, scooting closer. “How long do you have your sitter? We could go back to my place.”

“Actually, my nephew’s here with me tonight, so I can’t.”

“That’s okay, too. We can enjoy each other here, or maybe sneak out back later.”

He smiled. “No, I’d better stick close,” he said.

“Okay, we can do that, too,” she said, smiling, slipping her arms through his.

He groaned. His night had turned sour. Fuck me, he thought, meeting Piper’s eyes across the room. She gave him a small smile, her eyes no longer twinkling. He sighed and sat back. He wanted to tell her that Sondra didn’t mean anything, she was just a hookup, not like what he’d wanted from Piper…which was, okay, another hookup, but different somehow.

Right, Joe.

* * *

Later on that night, Taylor stood in front of Piper.

“It’s okay, really, Piper. Shane has already asked his Uncle Joe. His uncle says if it’s okay with you, it’s okay with him,” Taylor said in earnest, a pleading look on her face—a staple of life with kids, Piper had learned. They were always pleading for something.

“Can Shane come home with us tonight?” Taylor asked again.

Piper had been busy tonight, and hadn’t had much time to look up, much less keep an eye out for Shane’s uncle, who was holed up with the redhead anyway. Piper recognized her from before; probably just another hookup, not like she herself would have been. She laughed out loud at that. She’d caught his expression from time to time, but it was unreadable.

“Sure,” she said absentmindedly. She focused her attention on serving a beer to the woman standing in front of her. A few minutes later she looked up into Joe’s eyes.

“What can I get for you?” she asked, smiling, putting everything she had into that smile. She refused to let him know she was bothered.

“One Shiner Bock and one glass of wine,” he said, digging into his pocket for money. “So Shane is going home with you tonight?” he asked, handing money over to her, waiting for her to look at him.

“I believe so,” she said, taking his money, and pulling change out of the drawer, not making eye contact.

“He didn’t bring anything with him. Do you mind stopping by our house? Or I could bring something over.”

“I don’t know when we’ll be leaving, so let me just drive by. Write down your address,” she said, bending to retrieve a bottle of wine and a wine glass. She started pouring.

“Shane has a key and I’ll be home,” he said, taking the glass of wine from her hand.

“Okay,” she said, handing him his bottle of beer. “Thanks for bringing him tonight. Taylor is having a great time. It helps that she has a friend. And you have yourself a good evening.” She smiled winsomely, clearly startling him with her attitude.

“Thanks,” he said, turning and walking back to his table.

He walked away, not sure what Piper was feeling. He could have kicked Sondra and her timing. He had tried everything in his arsenal tonight to get rid of her, and she hadn’t budged.

* * *

Two hours later Joe stood in Shane’s room, packing a bag for him to take over to Piper’s. He was aggravated and disappointed. He’d finally gotten rid of Sondra. His last-ditch effort had been to just leave, way earlier than he’d wanted to. It was okay. He could pack up for Shane, and maybe he could convince Piper to come in if it wasn’t too late.

The doorbell rang. He walked toward it, a smile on his face at the prospect of seeing Piper. He opened the door.

“Hey, I’d made it all the way home after leaving Lights Out and was sitting on my couch thinking of you being here alone. Heard you tell that woman at the counter that Shane was going home with her, so I thought you might be lonesome and we couldn’t have that,” Sondra said as she squeezed between him and the door and entered his home.

His heart sank. Fuck me, he thought again for the second time tonight.

* * *

Piper pulled up in front of Shane’s home a little after midnight and saw Joe standing at the door. So this was his home. It was nice and neat in appearance. It was dark out so she couldn’t see it all that well. Joe stepped out on the porch. He must have been waiting for them. He waved, and she waved back.

“It will only take a second,” Shane said, hopping out of the car and heading to the front door at a dead run.

“Maybe I should go in and help,” Taylor said.

“Nope, he’ll be back in a second. We don’t want to bother Joe too much.”

Probably keeping him from something other than sleep, Piper thought, taking in the second car parked in his drive with the round pink breast cancer awareness sticker on the back window.
Feel your boobies,
it read. She assumed the car belonged to that woman, Sondra.

She watched as Shane disappeared inside. A few seconds later, Joe and Shane walked over to her car. She lowered her window.

“Thanks for making the stop.”

“No problem. Got company?” she said, her eyes moving to the car parked next to her.

“Yep, didn’t expect her. She was just about to leave.”

“No explanation needed,” she said, cutting him off. “Well, see you tomorrow. I’ll drop him off in the afternoon. Will that work?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, see you then,” she said, pushing the button to close her window.

He stepped away and started back to his front door. He was wearing sweats, and a t-shirt. He was delectable, but not for her. Someone else would be dining on him tonight. She didn’t believe that BS he’d given her about the woman leaving for a minute.

“You guys ready? Seat belts on?” she asked, glancing over at Shane, who was busy checking his bag, and then into Taylor’s eyes, which reflected something else. She’d been watching her sister and Joe for a while.

“Yes, seat belts on,” Kennedy said from the back.

“Thanks, Piper, for letting me sleep over,” Shane said.

“No problem. We like having you around. Hope we didn’t bother your uncle too much.”

“No, he has a friend over tonight, too,” he said.

Well good for him, Piper thought. They arrived at her home about ten minutes later, parked in the garage, and entered the door. Fifteen minutes later they were all tucked in bed, and she lay in hers trying to talk to herself again about Joe. Seeing Joe with that Sondra had startled her, making her rethink the whole hookup question. Yes, her feelings had gotten themselves twisted tonight, and she hadn’t even done anything yet. She reminded herself of the hazards of hooking up, which was her reason for stopping this in the first place. Now what to do? She punched her pillow and closed her eyes.

* * *

October

Piper was finished putting away groceries for the week. Her dad was in town and had stopped by yesterday, Saturday night, and picked up her sisters. He was taking them with him to his apartment, spending more time with them. She approved. He was trying to change. Go figure.

Kids loved their parents in spite of most things; she knew that first-hand. She still loved her mom, and was reconciled to her flaws. Mac was bringing them back today, Sunday, hopefully not too late since they had school tomorrow. The dogs took off toward the front door, a clear sign of company coming to call, barking loudly.

“Hey, McKenzie and Pepper,” Piper heard Kennedy say. Then she and Taylor called out to her, both on their way up to the second floor, dogs bounding up with them. Piper heard their feet on the steps, then above her head. A set of feet were headed toward her kitchen, heavy footfalls. Her dad came into view, as always a commanding presence.

“Hey, Pops,” she said.

“Hey, Renee,” he said, walking over to kiss her.

“Have a good time?” she asked.

“Yes. We went to the movies today.”

“Homework?” she asked.

“Done,” he said, a smile on his lips. “This isn’t my first time in the ring.”

“I know, but usually you have a wife around to help. I’m just checking. It’s a new habit of mine,” she said, adding water to her pot for coffee. “Want some pie? I made it myself.”

“What kind?” he asked, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.

“Apple. Your favorite,” she said, pulling out two plates, “So…. how is Christina?”

“I’m thinking about going to see her.”

“Going to see her where? In Vietnam?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Seriously? Huh. Okay, does she know about this?”

“We’ve been talking—well, she has—and I’ve been listening.”

Piper lifted her eyebrows at that. He smiled.

“She doesn’t think I love her. Thinks I want other women. I don’t.”

He frowned at Piper’s expression of disbelief.

“I know my past, but I’ve been faithful to Christina,” he said.

She was surprised at that, too.

“I’m getting old, Renee. Old enough to know a good woman when I have one,” he said, taking the plate with his slice of pie from her. She handed him a cup of coffee and sat down in the chair in front of him.

“I’m surprised. Have you told Christina?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“And…”

“And she wants to start a career when she returns. That’s the other reason why she left. Wants me to play house-husband and let her lead for a while. I’m not the type,” he said, placing a forkful of pie into his mouth.

“Is that so bad?” she asked.

He sighed and didn’t respond for a few seconds as he chewed. “I’m getting old, too old. Can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” he said.

“Don’t know if that response will work for you,” Piper said.

He looked at her. “I know, I know, but, believe it or not, I’m giving it some thought. Not the complete house-husband thing, but maybe being around here more, giving her some room to figure out what she wants to do, helping out more with the girls. I’m willing to try, and hopefully going back will also help her see that I want to try. I do realize that I married her young, didn’t know, and hadn’t thought that she might miss her mother. The self-centeredness thing again,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I love her in my own way. Never been or going to be demonstrative, just not, but I can maybe find a way to do enough for her to realize that I want her here, that we can work through the rest.”

“That’s a start,” Piper said and reached for her dad’s hand.

“It’s always been me at the center of my universe. Boxing, winning, building a business empire required huge amounts of confidence and time,” he said, a little hint of a smile on his lips, “so I’m going back to get her, to meet her mother, to hopefully show her that I care, if it’s not too late.”

“Don’t know about the empire-building part,” she said, smiling. Then she laughed. He gave her a mock glare, squeezing her hand, hers small in his larger one.

“So if you go, how long will you be gone? What about the girls? The holidays are coming up. What do you need me to do?” she asked.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Renee,” he said. “Do you know that?”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I mean it. It’s not just looks that makes a woman beautiful. You know that, although I think you’re beautiful in that way, too. I would be crazy if you hadn’t been here to help me,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

“So, let’s see. You’ll have your sisters through Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

“Yes.”