At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(95)

He was full of it, he might not know but he had an opinion.

“You never know what’s right with kids, you just wing it so what do you think? Should I tell the girls?” I pressed.

He sighed and his hands slid from my jaw to my neck and down my back so he was holding me loosely in his arms.

“They’re smart, they’re aware of the situation, they love you. Think they’d be pissed, buddy, you didn’t clue them in.”

I nodded. He was right, even though I wasn’t certain I’d do it seeing as I was a Mom and didn’t want to freak them out more than they already were.

“What was in the box?” I asked.

“Didn’t open it, Colt’s comin’ to get it. You got a restraining order against him; he shouldn’t be sendin’ you gifts. You got the RO in Illinois, I need to check with Colt to see if the RO is in effect in the State of Indiana, likely is. We’ll be havin’ a conversation about that later and they’re gonna go over the box, maybe they can lift a print, lean on him for breaking the RO.”

“Hart wouldn’t make that mistake with the prints.”

Joe sighed, his arms gave me a gentle squeeze then he said, “I know.”

I stood in his arms, feeling both pissed that this had started again and it just never seemed to freaking go away and feeling scared because this was back, it was here, in this safe little town and it just never seemed to freaking go away.

“I’ll be over for your seafood, buddy,” he said.

I focused on Joe and blinked.

“What?”

“Your brother and his woman, you’re making your seafood shit, I’ll be here.”

Was he inviting himself over for a family dinner?

“Um…” I mumbled.

“I get to know him at dinner, we have a nice night, move it to J&J’s. I ask him to play a game of pool, have a word.”

Oh. He wasn’t wanting to be part of the family dinner, he was thinking about doing the favor I asked him to do.

This was both nice and disappointing.

“Okay, we’ll be doing that Saturday.”

“I’ll be here.”

I nodded again and told him, “Tina Blackstone saw me coming out of your house this morning.”

He stared at me a second then he muttered, “Great.”

I tilted my head to the side and asked, “Thought you didn’t care?”

His eyes locked with mine and he said, “Don’t, but you do and that means I gotta walk over to that bitch’s house and lay it out for her. Don’t like her, don’t wanna walk over there and lay it out for her.”

“Lay it out for her?”

“Tell her she keeps her mouth shut or it’ll piss me off. Lay it out for her,” he explained.

I stared at him, feeling his hard, warm chest under his tee where my hands were resting thinking that it was a miracle how he could be so detached and so involved at the same time. Protecting me and the girls in a variety of ways, taking care of us in other ways and yet, at the same time, in a weird way, holding himself apart and not really being there.

Suddenly he asked, “Your walls thin?”

“What?” I asked back, confused at his strange question.

He tipped his head to the wall that connected my room to the rest of the house. “At my place, buddy, the walls are paper thin. Same here?”

I looked over my shoulder at the wall.

My room had been built as an extension so the side wall used to be the back wall of the house. The rest of the house the walls were paper thin. If I was in the kitchen or living room, I could hear the girls in their rooms. If I was in my room, nothing, as evidenced when Kenzie Elise rang the doorbell.

“This is an extension,” I told him.

“Know that, Vi,” he told me.

“That wall is pretty solid.”

He looked at the wall then back at me and he nodded.

“Why?”

“Don’t want your girls to hear me comin’ in. Really don’t want them to hear me f**kin’ you.”

I felt my breath catch.

Then I whispered, “What?”

“He’s playin’ his games with you, first, you aren’t gonna wanna leave your girls here alone, second, I don’t want them here alone. So, I gotta come to you.”

And there it was again, detached but involved.

A miracle.

“Joe –”

“What time do they go to sleep?”

“Joe –”

His loose arms tightened. “What time, buddy?”

He wasn’t going to let it go so I answered, “Ten, but they aren’t out until eleven. I mean, Keira is. She likes her sleep and drops off immediately. Kate texts Dane for awhile and listens to music but she’s usually out by eleven.”

“I’ll wait until after eleven.”

“Joe –”

“You want me to stay away?” he asked and I didn’t, I knew I didn’t, which was totally f**ked up.

“No.”

“You got a key to the sliding glass door?”

“I did but I’ve lost it.”

“Find it,” he ordered.

“Okay,” I whispered, throwing my bid for Mother of the Year in the garbage.