At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(32)

Violet shook off her response first. “Joe –”

He cut her off. “It looks good.”

“But –”

“Get it.”

“I don’t think –”

He leaned into her and dropped his voice. “Seriously, buddy, f**kin’ get it. It looks good.”

He watched as she closed her eyes and, the look on her face, he wished he’d kept his f**king mouth shut.

When she opened them again, her eyes were blank.

Her voice was soft when she asked, “Can you try not to say the f-word in front of my daughters?”

Before he could reply, Kate spoke.

“It’s okay, Joe, kids at school drop the f-bomb all the time,” Kate assured him and before Violet could say anything, she turned to her mother. “Mom, Joe’s right, you should get that. It looks really great on you.”

Violet drew in breath and nodded. “All right, baby, I’ll get it.”

“I’m gonna go get more of those tanks,” Keira said, dumping the clothes she picked for Cal in her sister’s arms even though the girl was holding two cups of coffee. “Wardrobe staples. Perfect, you can wear them all the time, in the summer, in the winter under tops and cardigans…” her voice trailed off as she took off on her mission to find more tanks.

“You want me to put these away, Joe?” Kate asked him quietly and he nodded to her.

Then in an afterthought, he murmured, “Thanks, girl.”

“No problem,” Kate whispered and took off.

Violet looked up at him.

“This is yours,” he told her, handing her a cup.

She looked down at it, seeming confused for a second then she took the cup from him and muttered, “I’m gonna go change.”

Then she took off.

Cal watched her move through the store.

Then Cal wondered if her husband used to shop with her and his kids. He wondered if the man stood in some store with a coffee waiting for his girls to do what they did. If he got impatient with it because it wasn’t a whole helluva lot of fun except when Violet walked out of a dressing room, looking so f**king sweet she made the whole thing worthwhile.

Then Cal wondered if someone told him that he’d eventually be whacked if her husband would ever get impatient waiting for his girls to do what they did. Cal figured, unless her husband was an ass**le, he wouldn’t. He’d take his girls shopping, to dinner and to the movies every f**king night.

Cal walked to the counter and leaned into it to wait for Violet and her daughters. The kids manning it scattered, something that happened a lot with Cal because he was big and because he was how he was. This didn’t bother him. It was a bonus with his profession.

He took a sip of coffee and he tagged where both girls were in the store and Violet’s feet under the dressing room door. He kept them tagged, though mostly with his ears, listening for their voices, pinpointing the sounds they made as he scanned the store and the mall beyond.

No threat, he would feel it, he’d had a lot of practice.

Then he found them with his eyes again and waited impatiently, because it wasn’t a whole helluva lot of fun, for them to do what they did.

* * * * *

Cal pulled Violet’s Mustang into her drive.

It was after she’d bought her jeans, another short skirt Keira made her try on (and it was sweet too, though nowhere near as good as the jeans) and four of the same tank tops in different colors.

It was after her daughters dragged them to a shoe shop which was torture compared to the jeans store considering Violet tried on at least twelve pairs of shoes. She eventually bought a pair of high-heeled sandals she swore she’d never wear but both her daughters declared she had to have. Again, her daughters weren’t wrong. They were sexy as all hell.

It was after dinner which was the only glitch they had after his conversation with Violet in the parking lot considering he paid and she made it clear she didn’t want him to. She made this clear by having what could only be described as a quiet tantrum right in front of her daughters and the waiter. Keira, who should pursue a career as a diplomat, waded in and suggested her Mom pay for Cal’s movie and popcorn to even things out. Violet gave in and Cal allowed this but only because he had no intention of eating popcorn.

And it was after a f**king boring romantic comedy that both girls declared was the best movie they’d ever seen. This was mostly because they liked Nicole Bolton’s clothes and they thought the actor who played her love interest was gorgeous. Cal and Violet had both stayed silent on the subject, then again, they didn’t need to speak, even Kate went on about it so there were no openings to get a word in.

Cal parked, switched off the ignition, opened his door, unfolded his body from the Mustang and pulled the seat forward for Keira.

“Thanks Joe!” she hopped out and tipped her head back to look at him. “And thanks for dinner.”

Cal didn’t reply verbally, just dipped his chin.

She leaned into him and whispered conspiratorially, “Told you it would be fun.”

Cal couldn’t say it was fun but he could say it was far from boring, except the movie.

Keira didn’t wait for him to respond, she turned and bolted to the side door.

Kate followed her, carrying her mother’s shopping bags and calling, “Thanks for dinner, Joe.”