Whisper (4 page)

She turned toward the sink. “No. Thank you, though. I really do have things to do.”

“Whisper?” Heather asked.

“They have work to finish, Heather. Certainly, they don’t need you underfoot,” Whisper replied, apparently reading her sister’s mind.

“I’d do dishes after they eat.” He took a step toward Whisper and she glanced in his direction. One rough incident wouldn’t be enough to make her keep tabs on exactly how close he’d gotten. Her reactions spoke of conditioning.

“She won’t be in the way. Besides, there’re three other girls in the house. They’ve been running drinks out and helping catch up on laundry. She wouldn’t be alone with a bunch of boys.”

“Please?” Heather asked.

Whisper nodded and Heather grabbed a pie.

“Be home at dark,” Whisper said.

“I will. I promise.” She bolted out the door.

He touched Whisper’s arm with the backs of his fingers. She flinched before straightening her spine and letting go of a long breath. The urge to gentle her and tame obvious misgivings about a man being close, grew stronger. With her reactions, it’d take time, of which his was limited. He wouldn’t leave however, until she understood one basic concept. If bad things happened in the future, there’d be support right across the street. Even if he wasn’t there, Mark, Nomad or even Corey would help in 25

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any way they could.

“Whisper?” When she looked up, he said, “You’re not alone here anymore. If you need something, even a light bulb changed, call the house. If you’re ever worried, or feel threatened, give a yell across the street and someone will help. I promise.” He touched her shoulder very gently and admired her bravery.

She accepted the glide of his fingers without a jerk or cringe. “Are you sure you and Heather are all right?”

“We’ll manage. I appreciate all the offers you made. With work next week, our troubles are over.

Everything else is easy stuff.”

“I’ll see you later then.” He picked up the pie and left.

He mulled things over on the way home. The stove would be replaced next week. She obviously knew how to cook and he’d make it easier for her.

Maybe she’d bake something for the kids every once in a while. Mark or Nomad could get her to and from work. With one of them waiting on her, there wouldn’t be a need for
Johnny
to show up. If the guy was a boyfriend or friend, he wasn’t a dependable one. With the porch mostly constructed, he stepped onto it and took a moment to take in the combination of smells. Warm apple pie and fresh cut lumber. What could be better? The porch stretched the entire length of the house with twice the width as the previous one to meet the overhanging roof.

After dinner, they’d place the railings. The boys could stain it as weather permitted.

Inside, Heather, Christy and the others set the dining room table. The last time they’d eaten there as a family had been Christmas. The food, courtesy of Steve’s Restaurant in the form of take out, had been the closest they’d come to a home cooked meal.

The boys concocted stuff from the freezer every once 26

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in a while, but they all lacked culinary skills.

“Will you stay the whole week?” Billy asked.

Keith took a napkin and wiped the corner of the boy’s mouth. He didn’t mind being idolized by the kid. He actually enjoyed Billy thinking he could fix any problem life threw their way. He hated the fall off the pedestal however, because the landing hurt like hell. It happened with Corey. “Nope. But I’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

“And tomorrow I don’t have a thing to do other than catch a plane. That leaves all morning and some of the afternoon. It’s not supposed to rain so I figured we’d play some football in the park.” That gained the attention of all the kids. Corey’s best friend Jade asked, “Really?”

“Yeah, I need to blow off some steam. You guys would be doing me a favor.”

Kids started yelling about who would be on which team. Billy, of course, would be with him.

They pretty much understood the game would be played with the odds stacked in Billy’s favor. They liked playing, regardless.

The chicken impressed him, never having tasted anything quite like it. Thick and crispy breading surrounded tender, flavorful meat. The rest of the meal was on par with the chicken, which was incredible. They ate fast, anticipating the pies.

After dinner, while dishes were cleared, Heather cut slices of still-warm pie. With a lot of mouths waiting for a taste, she divided them equally and didn’t take a piece for herself.

“You not hungry?” he asked.

“Whisper made some apple dumplings for us.

Besides, it’s just the right number without me.” Corey couldn’t get her attention back quick enough. For once, he didn’t sound like a disgruntled sixteen-year old. He sounded like Mark. A pretty girl 27

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could do that for a guy—make him mature. When she wasn’t crying or being arrested, Heather was beyond pretty. Keith imagined Whisper would be too, without the extra color all over her skin.

He’d known a few men who’d beaten a woman.

They’d also kick a puppy or shake a baby. When one of them would cross his path, Keith never hesitated giving a first hand demonstration on how it felt to take some punches. He’d never minded educating a man needing a hard lesson.

“Are you glad to be home, Keith?” Billy asked.

He took a second to focus on the question. He’d been mentally tearing some asshole’s head off. “Sure.

Why would you ask me something like that?” Billy glanced at Mark who glared and shook his head.

Keith’s stomach rolled. “Now what the hell was that about?”

Billy’s eyes grew big and damp. Keith drew a breath, held it and let it out slowly. He planned on some trouble during the visit. It always surfaced.

He’d just been surprised Billy had the problem. At ten years old, it couldn’t be too severe. At least, that’s what he hoped. He set his fork down and reached out. Billy flew into his arms. He’d outgrown hugs a few years ago. The kid needing one then didn’t sit well. “What’s going on, Billy?”

“I can’t spell. Mark said not to tell you, but I failed every test. I just can’t do it.”

“I can fix that.”

“Really? How?”

“You get the words on Monday, right?” He patted Billy’s head when he nodded. “You tell me what they are and we nail them down, just like the porch. You’ll know them forward and back. Simple.”

“Every night?”

“Every single night.” He talked to him almost every evening anyhow. Listening to him repeat the 28

Whisper

spelling words would give them more to say. “Wait, I just thought of something. How would I know you weren’t looking at the paper to see how they’re spelled?”

Corey piped up, “I’ll keep an eye on him. He won’t cheat.”

He didn’t question Corey’s sudden change in attitude or the interest in Billy. Corey resented Billy on some level; anything to bridge the gap would be a blessing.

“I’d really appreciate that,” Keith said. “I know it’d take away from your practice time, but it’d give Mark a break.”

Corey looked him in the eye and sort of smiled.

“No problem. I don’t mind.”

Keith believed he didn’t. Maybe Corey made the offer to impress Heather, and then again, maybe not.

Whatever the reason, the long overdue behavior settled a few issues in his mind. He figured with Corey being so sullen, next on the agenda would be some sort of trouble with the police. It’d certainly happened with Mark.

“Better now?” Keith asked Billy.

The weight of the world had apparently been lifted from the kid and he took his seat. His little blond haired, blue-eyed brother seemed less tough than the other Manchesters. He wondered how much genetics influenced a kid’s development. They shared a common mother, but Billy’s father had always been odd. He wondered how he could love Billy so much while hating the man who’d fathered him. Apple pie melted in his mouth and he forgot about a bastard stepfather. Most pies tasted too sweet. This one didn’t. While consuming the slice, he tasted something complex and rich. What did she use? On the last bite, he figured it out.
Honey
. He savored every morsel because his diet consisted 29

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mostly of take-out. Maybe he should consider mouthing off to women more often. If it ever happened again, he knew he’d get a kick in the pants, not a full blown, homemade meal with dessert. Sometimes things worked out.

With the pies finished, he stood and started gathering dirty dishes. If he didn’t move fast, his work crew would be asleep from a food coma. “Let’s move and get the porch done.”

“Task master,” Corey mumbled, reluctantly coming to his feet.

“Slave driver,” Jade said. He stood, stretched and rubbed his stomach.

“Foreman,” Mark added, before laughing.

“Supervisor,” Dusty yelled from the living room.

Chief, manager, commander, general, ruler,
supreme leader, captain,
followed. He finally cut them off. “Just call me
Alpha Manchester
.” They laughed as they carried plates to the kitchen. Heather shooed them away and Christy joined her to do dishes. The kids grumbled as they headed out the door and picked up drills, wood and hammers. They took up where they’d left off.

Through the years, they’d all gotten fairly talented with home repairs. Corey and his friends certainly did grown men’s work for the day.

As the sun set, they cleaned up tools and debris from the yard. He stood back and looked at the finished project. The old porch lay in pieces in the rented dumpster, ready to be hauled away.

Corey came up to stand next to him. “Did we do all right?”

Keith ruffled his brothers long brown hair before patting his shoulder. “You did better than that. Once it’s stained, it’ll be the best in town. You guys did first rate work today.”

“Thanks.”

Before Corey left, Keith cleared his throat.

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“Mark said you guys blew out one of the old amplifiers.”

“Blew it up is more like it. We hacked it back together though. Why?”

“Then I don’t suppose you could use that new seven-thousand series amp you’ve been drooling over.”

His eyes rounded and he looked confused. “Do you know how much that costs?”

“Yeah, well, the labor today was free, so I figured we could choke something up.”

“No way!” he said.

“Sure, but don’t expect payment for every little thing. You live here too, so you help when I need it.

Get me?”

“Oh, hell yeah! Holy shit!”

“Language, Corey,” Keith scolded.

“Sorry, but, holy shit! Sorry.” Keith laughed and Corey immediately loudly told the guys what they’d earned. They’d done plenty and Keith knew they fixed what they could around the house in his absence. For kids, they weren’t the worst in the world and should get rewarded every once in a while. Besides, they’d need the extravagance so the crypt wouldn’t catch fire again.

Thank God he’d installed extinguishers.

Heather emerged from the house. “Thanks for everything.”

“Honey, you brought the food and did dishes.”

“I really had fun.” She twisted long strands of hair between her thumb and index finger.

He squeezed her shoulder before walking toward the house. “Then make sure you’re not a stranger.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Corey race to catch her. He called out, “I’ll walk her home.”
You do that. Walk her all the way.
He laughed, knowing he’d given Corey the excuse through years of lectures.
Never let a kid younger than you get
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home alone in the dark. Never let a girl do it either. If
they were at our house, they get home safe.
Maybe Corey did more listening than he imagined. Maybe his younger brother didn’t hate him as much as he’d come to believe.

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Whisper couldn’t ever remember being happier.

For once, her efforts actually did some good and she could see the fruits of her labor. The five-bedroom, three bath, large older home sparkled. Chores were kept current. She loved cooking and the Manchesters appreciated it. As she washed dinner dishes, she smiled. She’d never been involved in such an organized catastrophe. With the house clean, laundry done and the kids doing homework, she felt as if she belonged to a family. After a few months of the pleasant routine, she almost never thought about her past.

A few hours from then, she could go to work, blank out what happened, and return to get Heather. Mark chaperoned Heather and Corey without complaint. He’d told her one more kid hanging around wasn’t a burden at all. She believed him. Billy wandered into the kitchen with a forlorn expression. Whisper wiped her hands on the dish towel and squatted in front of him. “Well, little man, what’s that long face all about?”

“Keith didn’t call last night,” he replied.

“I bet I know what happened to him.”

“You do?”

“Sure I do. He worked so hard the night before, he fell asleep after having a big meal and woke up late.” She gave her most reassuring smile. In a strange way, she felt she knew Keith through the children.

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Billy shook his head. “He doesn’t sleep late, and he always calls me.”

Mark stood in the doorway with a similar worried expression. She held Mark’s gaze and took Billy into her arms as she knelt in front of him.

Stroking his soft, long blond hair, she said, “Hush now, little one, your brother’s just fine. Even a big man like him can get real bone tired.” Billy slumped against her and gave a too tight embrace. He was like a Great Dane puppy, all clumsiness and unknowing of his strength. “He could’ve got into an accident. It’s snowing and he could’ve slipped off the road into a ditch. Could be trapped and starving.”

“Oh, honey,” she stroked his back, grateful he loosened his hold, “there’s no snow where he’s at.”

“You sure?”

“Well sure, I’m sure. He’s not too far off from where I grew up.”

Mark’s eyebrows rose. She’d been careful not to relay much of a personal nature, not even simple things. She’d cautioned Heather and believed she hadn’t told Corey about their background. A lot rode on their past staying out of their futures.