Say No To Joe? (14 page)
Authors: Lori Foster
“But,” Willow interjected, “you're not man enough to attack him every time he says something ugly to me.”
“I'll find a big stick next time. Or maybe a rock. Or . . .”
Willow huffed in exasperation. To Luna, she said, “I walk to town every day and one way or another, the guys find me, even when I try to cut through the woods like I did today. They like to nettle me because Austin always gets so riled.”
“They pester you cuz you're pretty and they want to do nasty things to you.” Austin turned his shrewd gaze on Joe for confirmation. “Ain't she pretty?”
Joe's expression softened, and he gave a slight nod. “Very.”
Satisfied, Austin turned back to Luna. “Willow looks like our mom.”
Solemn, Joe said, “Then your mom must have been very pretty.”
Both children became subdued, so Luna tried to move the conversation forward. “Why are you walking to town?” She no sooner asked the question than Willow got evasive and looked away. “Willow?”
“She takes piano lessons,” Austin offered.
“Really?” Why did she act so secretive about it? Luna wondered. “So you're a musician? I'm impressed.” No reaction. Luna sighed. “Why are you walking, Willow? Especially when you know there's likely to be trouble?”
“Because no one'll drive her.”
Willow appeared ready to choke her brother. “I have a mouth, rodent, so quit speaking for me.”
Austin turned to Joe. “Rodent is a good insult, too, huh?”
“Sure, according to how you use it. Your sister says it to you with affection, but if you say it to some bully, then it'd sound hateful enough.”
Austin chewed that over. “Okay.” His brow scrunched up with suspicion. “But I don't think Willow meant it nice, either.”
“No, I didn't.” She reached for her brother's arm and gave him a shake. “Those boys are all too big for you to mess with.”
Austin's small chin jutted forward. “I kicked his ass . . .” He glanced at Joe. “I mean butt.”
“You kicked and then ran. But not fast enough.” Willow tapped a finger against his bruised cheekbone beneath his eye, making him flinch.
Joe gently separated sister and brother. “How old are these boys?”
Willow retreated back into her seat. “Sixteen.”
Luna watched Joe go on the alert, then saw outrage stiffen his spine. “The hell you say!” He was out of his seat in a heartbeat.
Austin raised his brows. “You're bein' disrespectful.”
“What?”
With great accusation, Austin explained, “You said hell.”
“Oh.” Joe ran a hand through his dark hair, his expression sheepish. “Right. Sorry.”
“That's okay. I don't mind.” In fact, Austin looked faintly approving.
Joe looked to the ceiling for inspiration, but got no help there. “Where can I meet these young men?”
Willow eyed him, came to some silent decision, and rolled one shoulder in a show of unconcern. “They usually show up here not long after I get home. They always complain to my Aunt Patricia about Austin fighting with them, and she always grounds him.”
It was Luna's turn to go rigid. “She does what?”
“Doesn't do her any good.” Austin puffed up with pride. “I just sneak out anyways. I'm good at sneakin' out.”
“God help us.” Joe scowled, then pulled Austin out of his seat to face him. He kept his hands on the boy's bony shoulders, and while his tone was grave, it wasn't mean. “Here are some new rules, okay? First, your sister won't be walking into town anymore. Luna or I will drive her.” He glanced up at Luna. “Right?”
“Absolutely.” It made her stomach dip to think of Willow alone that way, with or without Austin trailing her. Luna had been on her own long enough to understand the perils that could fall on a young beautiful girl. She swallowed down her worry and addressed Austin. “If you ride along, fine, but you won't be making the trip alone either.”
“How come?”
How come?
Luna wondered if the children had had any supervision at all since their mother's death. “It isn't safe.”
Luna wondered if the children had had any supervision at all since their mother's death. “It isn't safe.”
“I'm not afraid of those ass . . . uh, bullies.”
“We know you're not.” Joe squeezed his shoulders. “But there are other dangers, and neither Luna nor I could bear to see either of you hurt.”
Willow's expression was carefully masked, her voice hollow, almost cold. “You don't even know us.”
“That doesn't matter,” Luna rushed out. “Adults are meant to protect children, and that's what we intend to do.”
Willow turned away. Without saying a word, she made her skepticism clear.
Luna wished there were magic words she could say to ease the pain. She wished she really were a psychic so she could know Willow's thoughts. She reached for the girl's shoulder. “Willow, we do know you a little now, and we like you both.”
“Right.”
Luna's heart twisted at the sarcastic comment. “I'll have you know, I'm very good at reading people.”
“That's a fact.”
Joe's quick agreement made her smile. “We already know that your brother is honorable enough to want to defend and protect you, even against guys older and bigger than him. And we know you're mature enough to want to make sure he doesn't get hurt while he's doing that. You're both very brave and considerate and loyal. Those are exceptional qualities, especially in someone so young. I know an awful lot of adults who don't possess them.”
“Like Aunt Patricia.”
Luna wanted to agree with Willow, but she wasn't sure if that'd be the right thing to do or not. Reaffirming to a child that her relative hadn't cared enough about her seemed counterproductive. “I don't think Patricia is cut out to be a guardian. We are what we are. I'm sure she did her best.”
Austin peered at Luna. He looked hopeful and a touch scared. “Are you cut out to be a guardian?”
Luna's heart expanded. “I've never been responsible for anyone but myself. But I'm the type of stubborn person who refuses to fail at things. If I decide to do it, then by God, I do my very best. But I'm not perfect, Austin. When I make mistakes, I expect you and Willow to tell me, and we'll discuss them and see if we can't find a solution that pleases everyone. Okay?”
Joe nodded. “Same with me.”
Luna blinked at him. What the heck was he promising? He wouldn't be around that long.
But Joe didn't seem concerned with that fact. “If anyone insults your sister in any way, or does anything to insult you, I want to know about it.”
“Why?”
Luna hadn't realized that kids asked so many questions. Every time she or Joe said something, they questioned it three ways to Sunday. She waited to see what Joe would say.
Unlike Luna, he didn't seem the least unsure of his response. “Because I'm good at handling this sort of thing.”
Willow fretted with the edge of her shorts. “How would you handle it?”
Luna was rather curious about that herself. If the offenders were grown men, Luna knew Joe would have no trouble dealing with them. But Joe couldn't physically intimidate a bunch of minors. As he'd just said, adults protected children. Sixteen-year-olds were on the verge of adulthood, but also young enough to be forgiven many faults. So what could Joe do?
“I'll have a long talk with the boys first, and if that doesn't work, I'll take it up with their fathers.”
Ah, Luna thought, bypass the minors by going to the adults. That made sense. After all, it was the fathers' duty to see that their sons behaved. “Joe can be very intimidating.” Which was why she'd brought him along.
Deflated by Joe's answer, Austin stared down at his feet and rubbed his dirty toes across the floor. “Their parents don't care none. They don't like us either.”
Joe tipped Austin's chin back up. “And why is that?”
Austin shrugged. “Don't know.”
“Liar.” Looking far too old for her age, Willow sighed. “Austin's had a few scrapes here and there.”
“Yeah? What kind of scrapes?”
Willow counted off the transgressions on her fingers. “He put dog doo-doo in the principal's chair, broke the librarian's car window with a rock, trampled the grocer's prized rose bushes . . .”
Luna stared at Austin in disbelief. Good God, how could a child who looked so sweet and innocent get into so much mischief?
Ready to defend himself, Austin propped his tight little fists on his hips and spoke to each person in turn. “I threw a rock at the car because the librarian's son spit on me when he drove past. I thought it was his car, not his mom's.” And in a mumble, “I was hopin' it might make him come back so I could kick his ass . . . er, butt. But he just kept driving away, the big chicken.”
Joe's eyebrows shot up. “He
spit
on you?”
spit
on you?”
Pleased with Joe's reaction, Austin gave a firm nod. “That's right. A big ol' glob. Hit me right in the side of the head. He needed his butt kicked, huh?”
Joe looked to Luna for guidance, but she only shrugged. If someone had spit on her, she would have done more than throw a rock. Seeing she'd be no help, Joe asked, “Did you tell Patricia?”
“She don't care. She'd have grounded me. That's what she did when I accidentally stepped on the stupid flowers.”
“Accidentally?”
“Yeah. I was just tryin' to see in the window.”
Luna almost hated to ask. “Why did you want to look in the window?”
When Austin didn't reply, Willow took his hand. She'd called him a liar moments before, but now she gave him her support. “They were having a party. All the kids were invited, except Austin.”
“I didn't want to go to their stupid party anyway!”
The venomous words couldn't hide the hurt in his eyes. Dear God, this was getting worse and worse. Poor Austin. That must have crushed his feelings, but she couldn't condone his actions. This was exactly the type of situation she dreaded, because it made her feel helpless and ignorant. She finally decided the best thing to do was to get everything out in the open and decide how to handle it later. “And the stuff you put in the principal's chair?”
Trying to hide his wicked grin, Austin rubbed his nose, his ear. “He sat in it. It squished all the way through his pants to his underdrawers.” A snicker escaped his pursed mouth. “You shoulda heard him howlin'. And the stink . . . It stuck to him all day.”
Joe smirked, but quieted when Luna glared at him. She didn't know a lot about kids, but she did know that if Austin realized they were amused by his antics, there'd be no stopping him. “Let's hear it, Austin. Why did you do it?”
Both Austin and Willow pinched their mouths shut.
Julie stepped back into the room, dusting her hands off, indicating that they'd gotten rid of Patricia. “I can answer that.” She came forward as if invited and reseated herself. “I've only been in town a few weeks. I teach throughout the school year at a rather prestigious, private school an hour east, but when I saw they needed summer school teachers here, I signed up.”
“That's very generous of you.”
She scoffed at Joe's comment, surprising Luna. “No, it's just that this is why I became a teacher, to relate to children, not to baby-sit the rich.” She folded her hands together on the tabletop. “Besides, I needed some time away from my fiancé.”
At that artless disclosure, Joe and Luna looked at each other in helpless confusion. Julie Rose, engaged ? She'd sort of struck Luna as the spinsterish type. Perhaps Julie had hidden depths.
“I'm sorry if you're having problems . . .”
Julie waved away Luna's concern. “My fiancé is a real stick in the mud, but never mind that. My point is that it took me less than three days to find out that Clay Owen is a very misguided young man. In his own fashion, he works rather hard at getting Willow's attention.”
“He called her a whore! He said nasty things about her.”
Julie tilted her head at Austin, not the least put off by his language. “Yes, I know, Austin, and that's inexcusable, of course. But, unfortunately he hasn't been taught any better. If he misbehaves, his stepfather just covers it up and makes excuses for him.”
“So he's the same young man who gave you the black eye?” Luna asked.
“He's a creep,” Austin claimed. “He used to be Willow's friend. They played together all the time when Mom was still here. But now he makes her cry.”
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