Lights Out (12 page)

Not now, she wanted to tell him, and wanted to hold her finger to her lips to tell him to lower his voice.

“Hi, Mr. Marshall,” she said, keeping her voice low, hoping he would follow suit and not alert Joe to her presence. He smiled back, his eyes roaming over her.

“Good to see you, Ms. Knight,” he said, giving her a once-over. Talk about a lack of subtlety.

“If you’re looking for Taylor, she’s not here. This is the computer lab.”

“Yes, I know. It’s okay. I was just leaving. Taylor forgot something at home and I just dropped it off, put it in her locker,” she said softly, hoping to slink away.

Not today. Mr. Marshall’s voice didn’t do soft.

Joe’s head popped out of the door of the classroom. “Piper, Mr. Marshall,” he said in greeting, giving them a smile.

“Oh, hello, Joe. We apologize for disturbing your class. I was on my way to my room when I found Piper standing out here in the hall,” he said.

Joe smiled, gave her an I’m busy working, you’re interrupting look, and closed the door.

“Well,” she said.

“He volunteers to teach sometimes. Computers are his area of expertise,” he said, looking at her, offering an explanation in case she was offended. “Parent volunteers are the lifeblood of the school,” he added.

“Oh, that’s nice. Well, I guess I’d better get going.”

“Sure. Take care,” he said, turning to leave. Piper waited a second, allowing him to leave, listening as he walked away. She wanted one more glance, she told herself, standing on her tiptoes to look into the small square of glass at the top of the door of the computer lab. She found Joe again, bending over the shoulder of a boy, and watched him point to something on the screen as the child’s face lifted into a smile. He moved away. She watched his back, and then lower—it was nicely dressed in slacks, belt, shirt tucked in. She sighed.

She’d lost him. He’d moved out of her range of vision. She continued to peer in. Where was he? Her question was answered a few seconds later when his head popped in front of the window. She jumped back, startled and shaken, and caught his gaze. He made a face and she laughed.

* * *

Her father had taken the girls for the weekend and, lucky her, McKenzie and Pepper went along, too. She’d taken the day off from the shops as soon as she finished grocery shopping for the week. She grabbed her green bags from the back of her car—pulled out her BlackBerry, the source of her grocery list—and headed into the store.

Piper reached for a cart and stopped first in produce. She looked down at her list.

“Joe.”

She heard a little boy’s voice call out from behind her. She knew that voice. It belonged to Shane. She kept her head down and scooted closer to the cucumbers. She wore one of Taylor’s hats on her head this morning. She pulled the bill lower and listened for the sounds as they passed her by, turning over the cucumbers and looking at them but not really seeing them.

They were passing her. She turned to look, slowly moving her head to her left. Yep, it was them. Shane was walking beside a lady who was seated in one of those riding carts with the big wire basket in front. She looked to be in her 70s, maybe even older. Joe was pushing his basket bringing up the rear, a smile on his face, baseball cap on his head, hair behind his ears brushing his shoulders.

God, it wasn’t fair that he should always look good.

“Mrs. Lewis, would you like me to get you some grapes?” she heard Shane’s voice say.

“Yes, thank you, young man,” the older woman said.

Piper watched as Shane lifted a bunch of grapes, placed them in one of those clear plastic bags, and placed it in the older woman’s cart before going back and doing the same for Joe. Joe was adding bananas to both of the carts, smiling and talking to the older lady. Whatever he said caused the woman to smile.

What the hell was going on here? She hung back, watching them as they continued their shopping for the older woman and themselves.

Please don’t let him be helping that older woman. Please don’t let him be a really nice guy, she thought as she continued to hang back, watching as they finished with the produce section and moved on.

Shoot, she said to herself. She was here to shop, too, not to just watch them. She hurriedly gathered the produce she needed.

Where did they go? She quickly glanced down the aisle closest to the produce section, not wanting to get caught snooping but not wanting to lose them, either.

She pushed her cart, feeling like an inept spy, eyes down, glancing out of the corner of her eyes as she passed each aisle. Okay, they were not in the condiment section. Nope, not in the baking aisle, either. Oh, there they were, near the meat. Piper ducked in to an aisle, staying near the edge, peeking out. They were at it again. Joe had a package of pre-cut chicken in his hand, smiling. Who knew he could smile so much. He was talking to the older lady and she laughed and returned Joe’s smile.

He was something else when he laughed, in a whole other category. Shane was standing beside him talking, too, looking between the older woman and Joe, a picture of youthful happiness. What a nice picture they made, Piper thought. Wonder who that was? His grandmother? She didn’t think he had family around here.

The trio turned the corner, and Piper checked her list, gathering the items she needed quickly before checking and making sure the coast was clear. She pulled out into the main aisle, headed toward the meat section herself, on the lookout for them. They were in the milk section. She would have to pass them, but maybe if she walked quickly and kept her head down, they wouldn’t see her.

“Piper!” she heard just as she cleared the aisle.

It was Shane’s voice. She increased her pace, hoping to turn into the next aisle. Maybe he’d only think he’d seen her, but then she heard footsteps running toward her. Crap.

“Piper,” Shane said, catching up to her. “It’s me, Shane,” he said, all smiles.

“Hey, Shane,” she said, returning his smile.

“I told Joe it was you,” he said.

“Oh, he’s here with you?” she asked.

“Yes, we are here with my neighbor. You have to meet her.”

“No, I wouldn’t want to interrupt. I bet you guys just want to shop.”

“No, she’s a really nice lady, like you. We shop here all the time. She used to watch me for my uncle sometimes. Come on, please,” he said.

“Sure.”

Always a sucker to please, she followed Shane back to his uncle and the little older woman. Joe was putting coffee creamer into her basket.

He looked up and caught her eyes. She wanted to laugh. He seemed so uncomfortable, like he’d been caught with his pants down. No, scratch that—that probably wasn’t something he’d be embarrassed about.

“Hi, Piper,” he said, back to cool-as-ever. The uncomfortable face had been put away.

“Hi, Joe,” she replied.

“This is my neighbor, Mrs. Lewis,” Shane said. “Mrs. Lewis, this is the lady with the coffee shop, the one with the two sisters,” he added.

“Hello, dear,” Mrs. Lewis said, smiling, her eyes twinkling.

“Hello,” Piper said, smiling back. “Don’t let me interrupt your shopping.”

“No, you’re not interrupting at all. I like company, the more the merrier. Joe and Shane are kind enough to take an interest in an old woman. They shop with me once a month. My grandchildren live in Dallas and I don’t get around like I used to,” she said.

“That’s nice of them,” Piper said, eyes flickering to Joe, who was studying a milk carton like he personally knew the missing person listed on its container.

“It was nice meeting you.”

“Taylor’s coming home tomorrow?” Shane asked her.

“That’s right.”

“Well, goodbye,” she said, smiling at Shane and Mrs. Lewis before braving another glance at Joe. He looked back at her, his face back to that unreadable mask again.

“Bye, Joe,” she said.

He gave her a nod, and watched as she turned and walked away.

* * *

Third week in September

Joe entered his home. It was seven-thirty, and he was home early. He was very proud of himself. He pulled up short at the sight of his newest sitter with a girl on his lap, lips locked. They broke apart when they heard his foot hit the floor. He had done that intentionally.

“Sorry, Joe,” Jim, the new sitter, said. “My girlfriend stopped by,” he added for clarification.

Joe nodded. He could see that.

“Where’s Shane?” Joe asked.

“He’s in his room.”

Joe watched as the two stood up from the sofa, the girl putting her clothes to rights while Jim adjusted himself.

“Will you need me next week?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think so. You might as well leave me the key,” Joe said, his hand out to Jim. The younger man dug into his pocket, pulled out a set of keys, and removed Joe’s from his ring. Joe watched as they gathered their bags and left. He sighed.

He walked down the hall to Shane’s room. The door was open and Shane lay on the bed, reading. He looked up and smiled.

“Hey, Joe.”

“Hey, buddy. How was school?”

“Fine,” he said, watching his uncle walk into his room and take a seat next to him.

“Tired?” Shane asked.

“Yep,” he said, looking around the room. “You cleaned your room?”

“Yeah, well, I got done with my homework, and since Jim’s girlfriend was here, I stayed in my room. Got tired of playing video games.”

“How long was she here?” Joe asked.

“Since after school.”

Joe nodded.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Well, let’s see what we can scrounge up to eat,” he said, standing up from the bed, stretching his arms above his head. He let out another yawn. “Did you tell me your homework was done?”

“Yep.”

“Good. Give me ten for dinner,” he said, walking out of Shane’s door.

“Sure,” Shane said, watching his Uncle Joe leave. A few minutes later he heard Joe moving around in the kitchen. It was probably going to be an omelet night, his uncle’s standby when he had to come up with something quick. Good thing he liked omelets. They had a lot of them lately. He was lucky to have his uncle, and he knew that. Life with his mother had taught him that. He still missed her, though. But he didn’t tell Joe that.

He missed her holding him, the way she smelled, the way she smiled and sang to him before things got bad. It hadn’t always been bad. He didn’t talk about that with his uncle, either; it was a kind of sore subject. He sat up and put his book away, deciding to go help his uncle in the kitchen.

* * *

Shit. Joe looked at his watch. He was going to be late picking up Shane. He had gotten tied up in a meeting, one that he couldn’t leave. He checked his time again. It was four o’clock and he was in San Antonio, at least an hour and a half drive on a good day, not rush hour traffic. He would never make the six o’clock deadline at the school.

Fuck, he thought, trying to figure a way out. He could call Reye, but he hated to do that. She was absolutely on his last-ditch list. Who could he call?

Piper popped into his mind. He could call her. She’d offered, but he wanted to stay clear of her if he could. She was too much of a pull for him, especially after their run-ins at school and the grocery store. He’d caught that you’re much more than I thought look in her eye.

He looked at his watch again, gritting his teeth, and made the decision to call her. He stood and quietly left the room. Maybe he could reach her at the shop before she left to get her sisters. He found the number to her coffee shop on his BlackBerry, hoping she was at this one and not the other location. He was a lucky dog; he heard her voice after the first ring.

“Lights Out Coffee.” She sounded all perky and bright.

“Piper. This is Joe, Shane’s uncle.”

“Hi, Joe,” she said. He could tell she was surprised.

“I’ve got a huge favor to ask of you. I’m tied up here in San Antonio and there’s no way I can get back there before six to grab Shane, not with traffic getting out of here. Not sure when I’ll be leaving, actually. Could you grab him, and I’ll pick him up from your shop?”