The Fix (Carolina Connections #1) (6 page)

Victory!
My weekend playdate!

 
“That sounds great!” I said and we exchanged phone numbers before she and Aiden
went off with a wave.

“Soooo,”
I said, entering the bathroom where a very naked Rocco was splashing in the
tub. “Guess who just scored you a playdate with some cool neighborhood kids and
an X-box?” I crowed. “Me! That’s who.” I may have tried out a couple of my cool
dance moves too.
Why hadn’t I ever taken a hip hop class?

“Just,
no,” Gavin said from his perch on the closed toilet seat.

I
loved most everything about my little house, but even I had to admit the hall
bathroom was a bit small. It had a tub/shower combo, a toilet, and a tiny
pedestal sink. Unfortunately, both the toilet and the sink were pink. I’m a
girl and even I was slightly offended.

“What’s
an X-box?” Rocco’s dark head tilted back and his face got scrunchy.

“Trust
me, kid. You want to play X-box,” said Gavin. “It’s an electronic game you can
play with other kids. It’s awesome – and you can usually kill stuff.” Hopefully
they wouldn’t be playing
those
games – although since it was Aiden’s
game…yeah.

“What
kids?” Rocco still didn’t look sold on the idea. And there was the nose twitch
again.

“Some
of the other kids who live in our neighborhood. I just met one of them – his
name is Aiden and he’s six,” I enthused.

Rocco’s
head tipped back down and he dive-bombed his privates with a plastic shark. I
gave Gavin a side glance.

“Sounds
fun, Rock. You should totally go,” he offered before standing up. “Well, I’m
out.” And he left the over-crowded bathroom.

“Will
I hafta talk to them?” Rocco asked, zooming the shark through the bath water.

“I
guess. I mean, at least a little. Why wouldn’t you want to?”

“Do
I hafta play with them and stuff?” Another damn nose twitch.

“That’s
kind of the whole point, baby.”
Someone please give me the code to my kid’s
brain.

“Oh.”
Still with the shark. “Nah, I don’t wanna go.”

“I’m
gonna be there too,” I kept with the sales pitch. “The other grown-ups and I
are going to be talking about adult stuff but I’ll be right there the whole
time.”

“In
the same room?” I got his eyes again along with another twitch.
What are you
so worried about, little man?

“Probably
in the next room but you can come see me whenever you want.”

“Hmm.”
His tiny lips shifted to the side in thought. “I guess.”

That
was the best I was gonna get so it was time to move on. “Alright, dude, let’s
get this hair washed and then I’ll let you stay in for ten more minutes – but
then you
have
to get out, no arguments.” With the amount of time this
kid liked to spend in the bathtub you’d think he was a beleaguered mother from
a Calgon commercial.

Out
in the hall, I stopped at Gavin’s open door. He was standing barefooted by the
dresser fiddling with his phone, still dressed in his dirty jeans and t-shirt
from work, his shaggy brown hair matted from his hardhat.

“I
don’t get it. What kid doesn’t want to go on a playdate? Didn’t you always want
to hang out and do boy stuff when you were his age? I was always hanging out
with other kids, wasn’t I?” I asked him. Maybe I was having some selective
memory problems.

Without
looking up from his phone he responded, “Sure, I guess.” Ever the skilled
conversationalist.

Rocco’s
voice floated from the bathroom, singing a made-up song about armpits. “Be
honest, Gav. Is Rocco, I don’t know, a bit…
odd
?”

His
head still tilted down to his phone, only his eyes lifted to mine. “Are we both
hearing the same noises coming from the bathroom right now?”

Dear Superman: Your Brother’s a Dick

Laney

Thursday
dawned bright, and I mean
bright
. A person was not meant to get up this
early. I stumbled around my bedroom, having woken up without my little sleep
buddy beside me for the first time since we’d moved.
Oh, sweet progress!
My alarm had gone off early because I wanted to get Rocco and myself ready for
the day and still make it to meet Charlotte at the building site before rushing
to school and work. This was going to be a three Diet Coke morning for sure and
I needed my caffeine fix stat.

Last
night I had spent some time on the internet looking up tics in kids to see if
Rocco’s new nose twitching thing was something to worry about. Turns out yes
and no. It seems that these little tics are really common in young children,
boys especially, and they tend to go away over time. Unfortunately, my research
also revealed that the impetus for these kinds of tics was often a feeling of general
stress. So, in a way, it told me what I already knew.
Ugh.

After
a quick shower and a rush through of my usual hair and make-up routine, I
tucked my straight dark hair behind my ears and called it good. Congratulating
myself for setting out clothes the night before, I slipped on a pair of
charcoal dress pants with a skinny red pinstripe and a V-neck sleeveless blouse
the color of a poppy. I paired this with some very low heeled open-toed shoes
in a matching color. Even Fiona would approve.

I
went to wake Rocco but found his bed empty, firetruck sheets in a rumpled mess
and pillow missing. After a search of the living room and kitchen I checked the
only other possible place.

Yep.
There he was, snuggled up next to my brother, firetruck pillow cradling his
head and all of Gavin’s covers bundled around him. My brother lay next to him,
curled in the fetal position with no covers but, thankfully, some boxer briefs
to protect my eyes from the bleach bath they would have needed had things gone
differently.

“Your
son stole my covers,” grumbled Gavin in a sleepy murmur.

I
smiled – only because my kid is cute, not because I enjoy my brother’s pain –
and went over to the bed to get Rocco.

“Hey
buddy.” I rubbed up and down his back. “Time to wake up.” His sleepy eyes
blinked repeatedly as he rolled to his back and stretched his arms above his
head. “Did you decide to hang with Uncle Gavin last night?”

“Yeah,”
he said around a yawn, “but he farts in his sleep.”

Suddenly
wide awake, Gavin interjected, “I do not!”

“Do
too.”

“Do
not! And
you
steal all the covers!”

Again,
why doesn’t my son want to play with other five-year-olds? He clearly lives
with one already so it should be a no-brainer.

“Okay,
okay, let’s get up and leave Uncle Gavin to himself,” I urged Rocco out of bed.

“What
time is it anyway?” Gavin asked.

“It’s
only ten after seven. I had to get up early because I have something to do
before work.” I walked toward his door.

“Crap.
Too early,” he muttered, but I suddenly had an idea.

“Hey,
since you’re already awake, would you mind getting Rocco ready and giving him
some breakfast? What time do you leave for work?”

“I’m
working at the site up the street this morning. I don’t need to be there ‘til
eight. I was
going
to take advantage and sleep in,” he said pointedly. “Why
do you need me to take care of Rock? Where are you going?”

Hmm,
how should I handle this one? I didn’t really want to tell Gavin that I was
going to help some neighbors give his new company a hard time, but I didn’t
want to lie either. “Remember that lady who came by the other day with her kid?
She wanted me to help her out with something this morning. I’ll be back in
plenty of time for you to make it to work.” Vague, let’s stick with that.

“Okay,
I guess. Just give me ten more minutes of snooze time, Rock, and I’ll get you
some breakfast.” Gavin laid his head back on his pillow and covered his eyes
with his arm.

Knowing
that Rocco can’t tell time and Gavin, like me, possesses no internal alarm
clock, I set a buzzer for ten minutes and turned the TV on to cartoons. “When
that buzzer goes off, go get Uncle Gavin and tell him it’s time to wake up. If
he doesn’t get up tell him that I will erase all of his college women’s volleyball
recordings from the DVR,” I told Rocco as he settled in on the couch. I may as
well have been talking to myself. I paused the show and tried to block his
view. “Tell him your clothes are lying on my bed, okay? I just need to run up
the street for a few minutes but I’ll be back in time to take you to school.” I
got a nod but his eyes never left the TV. I un-paused it and hoped for the
best.

Wanting
to stay in Charlotte’s good graces but get this over with as soon as possible,
I grabbed my cell phone and slipped out the side door, heading quickly toward
the sidewalk. As I approached the end of our block where it intersected with Old
Oak Ridge, I spotted Charlotte and Aiden with a couple I didn’t recognize and a
toddler girl who appeared to belong to them. The man also held a sleeping baby
in his arms, wrapped in a pink blanket. Aiden was poking at the ground with what
I hoped was a plastic knife and he had what appeared to be an arsenal of
various other knives tucked into some kind of utility belt looped around his
pants.

Behind
the group I spied two yellow construction vehicles – don’t ask me what they
were called – and a flatbed truck loaded with two more. The truck’s signage read
“
Built by Murphy
” and there were three men huddled in conversation to
the side of the large vehicle – the tallest of whom held a cell phone to his
ear with one hand, the other hand gripping the back of his neck as he
alternately barked into the phone and to the men beside him.
Tense much?

Charlotte
spotted me immediately. “Hey Laney! So glad you made it!” She waved excitedly.

I
couldn’t help but respond to her friendliness with a smile. “Morning, Charlotte!”

“This
is Darcy and Glen. They live across the street from me, and this is their
daughter Haley and this cute little bundle is Mackenzie.” She gestured
enthusiastically to each person in turn. “This is Laney. She just moved into
Missy Greene’s old place. She has a son who’s only a year younger than Aiden.”

After
introductions were made and pleasantries exchanged, Charlotte got down to
business and pointed discreetly to the group of men by the truck. The one who
had been on the phone a moment ago was now scowling and gesturing angrily at a
clipboard held by one of the other men. “Okay, so from what I know, I think one
of those guys is the owner of the construction company. I figured he’d be the
one to talk to.” She looked back down the street toward our houses. “I was
hopin’ we’d have a few more people, but it looks like it’s just us for now.”

Little
Mackenzie chose that moment to awaken and start to fuss. Glen began bobbing up and
down doing the crying-baby-dance in what seemed to be a well-practiced routine.
Charlotte looked at me. “Laney, you mind comin’ over there with me?”

No,
Charlotte, actually I think I’ll just hang here with the baby and these people
I don’t know – you go on ahead – you see, my brother just started working for
this company last week and it’s the first real job he’s ever had since he
ruined his baseball career by being an idiot and I kind of don’t want to mess
it up for him. But I’ll be right here cheering you on. Go team!

“Sure.”

There
was absolutely no reason for these guys to think I even knew Gavin. I’d just keep
my mouth shut and let Charlotte do all the talking. Piece of cake.

I
followed Charlotte as she waved her hand in the air and walked toward the men,
her auburn hair swinging and her hips sashaying in workout pants and a bright
yellow fitted t-shirt. “Yoo-hoo. Gentlemen!” she called. I didn’t know there
were actual people who used the expression “yoo-hoo”. I was loving this chick.

All
three men turned in unison to the Southern firecracker that was Charlotte. The
man on the left held the clipboard to his forehead in order to shield his eyes
from the sun, and his handsome face broke into a wide grin at the sight of my
neighbor.

Oh,
I knew this guy. Well, not this particular guy, but his type was unmistakable.
He was the guy at every party, every gym, every concert with the cock-sure
smile who stood a bit too close and made allusions to his cock size within your
first conversation. He was also the guy who found any and every excuse to take
his shirt off –
oh, is it hot in here or is it just me?
Gag.

My
eyes moved on and I have no idea how the man on the right reacted to us because
as my eyes moved from cocky guy they caught on angry cell phone guy in the
middle of the group and chose to stay there for a nice long rest. “
Thank you
very much,”
said my lady bits.  

This
guy was tall, he was built, he had a square jaw that could cut you, and despite
the sunglasses that hid his eyes and the scowl that said “don’t even think
about talking to me,” he had my belly dropping to the ground in an instant. His
almost black hair was in need of a cut and it looked like he’d been running his
hand through it for a week. There was just the right amount of stubble covering
his perfect jaw – enough so he looked sexy and a bit rough but not sloppy. My
knees felt a little wobbly.

Paging
Superman
, I think I found your long lost, scruffier, sexier,
and more broody twin. It was at this point I patted myself on the back for not
wearing high heels because if I had, I definitely would be kissing the dirt
right about now.

Charlotte,
seemingly right at home in the presence of hot, broody superheroes, kept right
on going without pause, “Hello there. My name is Charlotte Baker. I live just
up the street.” She was already upon them and I scurried a bit to catch up.
Charlotte looked back toward me. “This is another neighbor, Laney Mon–”

“Laney!”
I interrupted loudly and thrust my hand out toward cocky guy, “Just Laney is
fine.” I avoided Charlotte’s quizzical look.
No last names needed here, guys
– let’s keep it casual
.

“Well,
Laney,” I got the smile and nod as cocky guy shook my hand. “Charlotte.” He
switched to hers, handsome smile ready to charm our panties off. “I’m Mark.
It’s a pleasure to meet you both. This here is Doug.” Mark indicated the man on
the right whom I hadn’t had a chance yet to assess. Doug appeared to be in his
late forties with blondish hair and the beginnings of a paunch. Face
unreadable, he nodded in greeting but didn’t offer his hand. “And this is Nate.
He runs the show around here.” Mark turned his thumb toward the man giving me
high blood pressure. Nate, face
completely
readable, turned his scowl on
Mark, not pleased to be thrown under the bus. Un-phased, Mark continued, “What
can we help you ladies with today?”

“Well,”
Charlotte began with her charming smile returning his, “I’m assumin’ you’re the
company puttin’ up the new property?” When that got no response she continued,
“Yes, well, we have some questions we wanted to ask if that’s alright.”

Mark,
still the only one of the three to speak, moved closer (
see? I told you
)
and said, “Sure. Happy to help.” At this point I think it was safe to assume he
was envisioning Charlotte naked.

“We’ve
been tryin’ to find out exactly what kind of business is goin’ to be movin’ in
to the new property. Can you tell us that by any chance?”

“Well,
Charlotte,” Mark began, “we won’t really know that until the property is
completed and the spaces are rented out, but I can tell you that there will be
a total of three rental spaces. There are a variety of businesses that could
make use of the spaces, but until rental agreements are signed, I’m afraid I
can’t be more specific than that. Wouldn’t you say, Nate?” he passed the issue
off, his eyes still glued to my neighbor.

“Yes
Mark, I would say,” the hottie ground out in displeasure, his voice low and a
bit gravelly, perfectly matching the whole sexy, scruffy thing he had going on
there. “Let’s cut to the chase, girls, what is it
precisely
that you’re
concerned about?” His eyes moved to us, his impatience unmistakable. Somebody had
a crap sandwich for breakfast this morning.

“Um,”
Charlotte was beginning to hesitate, “you see, we all have kids and we don’t
want to see any…
unsavory
types comin’ around the neighborhood. And, um,
increased traffic might be an issue too…”

“I
see,” Nate snapped. “So you don’t want us bringing creepy assholes around your
kids and the tenants should stay off your street. Got it. Can we get back to
work now? We’ve got a crew showing up in twenty and long list of shit to get
done. You can head back to your little mommy-and-me troop.” He tilted his chin toward
Darcy, Glen and the kids. “We’ll take it from here.”