Family Ties (15 page)

Sliding his mouth down her neck and across her chest, Gray wanted to suckle. He needed to feel her nipple inside his mouth. Now.

Gradually he felt her pulling away from him. Heard her whimper, “Gray, no.”

He took a deep breath. Tried to clear his head. “What’s the matter?” He slid his hand over her breast trying to bring her back.

“Gray, we can’t.” She pushed his hand away and pulled her shirt into place.

He took another breath, let his eyes open. He quickly checked her over. Eyes heavy-lidded, skin flushed, nipples at full attention and she wanted to quit. He’d never have that kind of control with her in his arms. Never.

She smoothed her hair. “Bonnie will be home soon and the boys are still awake. Besides, the neighbors might be watching.”

He took a deep breath and willed his body to relax, then leaned his forehead against hers. “The neighbors aren’t a problem – I’ve been watching.” A groan tore out of him. “Tell me, do you think we’re ever going to have more than a moment’s privacy?”

Straightening away from her, he stabbed his fingers through his hair, then rearranged himself so it didn’t hurt. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get carried away. Again.”

“As I recall it was a mutual taste test.” Her smile wasn’t happy. “I want you in ways I don’t understand Gray.” She laid a hand on his arm. “I’ve never forgotten myself like this.”

“Never?”

She shook her head.

Somehow her admission eased how he was feeling. Barely.

They sat and talked for awhile until he had to go home. Alone. Not exactly how he’d hoped for the day to end, but he’d survive. He’d been doing it for a lot of years.

Dreams pulled at him.

He was sitting at the dining room table, surrounded by people. Kids mostly. They were arguing over a baseball game. But he was quiet. They’d put him in the field where he could chase the home runs so the ball didn’t get lost.

His mom was laughing at something his dad said. When he leaned over and kissed her she told him he shouldn’t do it in front of the kids. But his dad just laughed and kissed her again.

His mom got up and went to the kitchen. A few minutes later his dad shut off the lights and everyone started to sing.

‘
Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Greggie

Happy birthday to you.’

His cake was shaped like a dinosaur and it had one big candle on it shaped like a seven. It was white, trimmed with blue and he blew it out in one breath. Everybody clapped and then his dad pulled a package from around the corner.

He ripped into it, shredding the wrapping. He always got the best presents. This time he’d asked for a Lego set – he wanted to build a city and he needed a zillion more pieces to make it big enough.

He tore off the last piece of paper. Inside the box was a pair of jeans and a shirt and a model. He dug deeper, sure the Lego was in there somewhere. His mom never forgot. Never.

Where is it? What did you do with it? I want my ....

Gray came awake and sat up all in one motion. He wanted his.... Damn what had he wanted? He had to remember. What had he wanted?

As he lay back down he realized he didn’t know the people in the dream. Not even the little boy who’d been celebrating his birthday. They’d only seemed familiar.

***

“Are you going to tell me what happened after I left?”

“Nothing.” Dina, Bonnie and Andie were walking through the local mall.

“That’s not true.”

“Bonnie.”

“How do you know?” Dina asked Bonnie, then took Andie’s arm. “Are you holding out on me?”

“I think so.” Bonnie smirked.

“You could get grounded for the summer, young lady.”

“Nah, you won’t do that – it would cramp your style too much.”

“What style? Will somebody please tell me what happened the other night?” Dina hated not being in the know. Always had, even as a little girl.

“Do you know whose lips were swollen when I got home?” Bonnie’s grin was full of the devil. “Or who had an itty bitty whisker burn on her neck?”

“No way.” Dina’s eyes were big with surprise.

“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.” Andie ran her fingers and palm over the small stain on her neck. She hadn’t noticed Gray’s evening shadow last night.

“You have to admit he was a big help with the police.”

It was a compliment, but Andie knew her sister was actually digging for details.

“And you repaid him by feeding him dinner.”

“What choice did I have? The man slaved in the hot sun all day.” She stopped to look at some shorts for Chloe in a bin outside a children’s wear store. “I think I’m going to check for some shirts to match these shorts.” She went inside, hoping they’d find something else to talk about while she was shopping.

She came back outside, a plastic bag bearing the store’s logo in her hand. “Was that why you two were necking on the deck?”

How had Bonnie figured that out?

“Necking? My sister and a man were necking and she didn’t tell me?” Dina snapped her fingers. “I want details. Now.”

Big sisters and teenage daughters could be a miserable combination at times.

“Changing the subject, you got home awfully early from work last night. Did you get a ride with someone?”

Something crossed her daughter’s face, but quickly disappeared. “Yeah, Sean drove me home.”

“How’s your mom?”

Bonnie shrugged. “About the same. She quit her job cleaning the mall. Sean said it was too hard for her.”

Since Bonnie’s mother was a serious addict, Andie didn’t doubt the work was too hard – especially if she needed a fix. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Bonnie shrugged. “Yeah, well, nothing we can do about that, is there?” She fingered some blouses hanging on a rack on the sidewalk. “Trying to talk about me or them isn’t going to get you off the hook, you know. We want to hear what happened last night.”

“And I want to know more about your sexy neighbor.”

“What more could there be to tell with four kids in the house?” Andie knew Dina was only asking because she cared. But enough was enough. “Jamie likes him.”

“So do you.” Bonnie’s teasing was wearing thin.

“He’s a nice guy.”

The traitor turned to her nosy sister. “So she says but he’s got a bod to die for, a great butt and a smile that warms your heart.”

“Divorced?”

Bonnie shrugged. “I haven’t heard.” She turned innocent eyes to Andie.

“It hasn’t come up.”

“You were necking with a man in a house full of kids and you don’t know if he’s been married?” Dina threw a pointed glance at Bonnie. “This is serious.”

“Told you.”

There was no point trying to duck the inquisition. When her sister got a hint of gossip, she wouldn’t give up until she had every juicy morsel.

After they settled into Dina’s car, Andie explained. “I saw him the day we moved in. A couple of days later, Chloe decided to go visiting, so she walked into his house.”

“I can see her doing that.”

“So can Gray. More importantly, when I went to find her, Jamie pulled away from me and picked up a model Gray has on his coffee table.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No way. Who’d have guessed he liked models? So I bought him one and then Gray bought him an easier one and he stayed for dinner.”

“That wasn’t last night?”

“No. What she’s not admitting is that he’s been to dinner twice and they’ve visited back and forth.”

Giggling teenagers were definitely irritating.

“Oh?”

So were big sisters.

“I invited him to stay because he was helping Jamie with his model. And after he worked all day cleaning the mess on my house, I couldn’t send him home without dinner.”

“She’s being a good neighbor.” Bonnie pressed her lips together and nodded tightly.

“Right.” Dina rubbed her chin. “I think I’m getting the picture.” She held Bonnie’s gaze for a moment then burst into laughter.

“I’d have been lost without him yesterday.”

Instantly the mood sobered. “I know. Have you heard anything from the police?” Dina might be the world’s biggest snoop but it was only because she cared.

“Not really. They called after lunch to say there was nothing special about the paint. I kind of figured as much, since those spray cans are available everywhere.”

“And?”

“Nothing. They don’t really have anything to go on. They’re going to do extra drive-bys, but given the size of the city and so on, yada yada yada. Basically I’m on my own.”

“That’s pretty scary. They’re going to leave you and the kids here alone?”

“Uh huh.” She shrugged. “What choice do they have?” With drive-by shootings and mass murders, there’s way too much serious crime in the city to worry about a little vandalism to one citizen.”

“They don’t know if this vandal has a personal agenda. Do they think it’s tied into the petition?”

“Nobody’s saying anything, but they did talk to my neighbors.” She shook her head and shrugged. “Who knows?” There wasn’t anything she could do about either, even if they were connected.

Since her moment of terror yesterday, she’d gotten hold of herself. Nobody was going to scare her and the kids out of their home. She wasn’t breaking any laws and the kids weren’t a problem. She looked up and down the street as she stood in the living room. The neighbors would have to adapt.

“So what are you going to do?” Depend on Dina to get down to brass tacks.

“Nothing. I live here. I’m going to carry on normally.” She looked at Jamie working on a model out on the deck. “I don’t have a choice.”

Silence prevailed for a few moments, while Dina and Bonnie digested the facts.

“I still don’t like the idea of you and the kids here alone. Anybody could do anything.”

“That’s true anywhere, sis. Nobody’s really safe anymore. Not if the headlines are true.” She pointed to the Calgary Journal which carried a scary headline about a clerk murdered in a small town convenience store a hundred miles south of the city.

“Calgary’s a safe city to live in, but everything’s relative, isn’t it?”

“For sure.”

“I have an idea.” Bonnie’s tone warned Andie. “We could ask Gray to stay over.”

“We will not.”

“That might work.”

The sisters looked at each other. Dina shrugged. “At least I’d know you’re safe.”

“Wait just one minute.”

What on earth were they thinking? She couldn’t ask Gray to stay at her house. First of all he had his own life to live. Second, he might object to them taking it over. Lastly, but probably most important, they weren’t married which might raise concerns with child protection services.

“I am not asking the man to move in with me.”

“You need somebody – preferably a big strong man around the house.”

“Dina, you’re getting carried away. Nothing has really happened.”

“You call a broken window nothing? Especially one that big?” She tipped her head toward a pane of glass in the front room. “It’s a miracle nobody was hurt.”

“It was too early for anybody to be up. Whoever threw the brick knew the odds of anything more than property damage were minimal.

Andie wanted to soothe her sister and get her off this kick. “It was probably teenagers using the tension in the neighborhood to act out.” Seeing disbelief flash across her sister’s face, she added. “It happens.”

“So do lots of things. Read the newspaper.”

“That’s serious. This isn’t.”

“Not yet.”

Andie was glad Bonnie had refrained from putting in her two cents worth. She didn’t need more pressure, not with Dina on a roll.

“Sis, I appreciate your concern. Really I do.” She put up her hand to quiet her sister’s comments. “Honest. But I’m not going to ask Gray to stay with us for who knows how long. For all we know, there won’t be another incident.” Andie shot both of them a stern look. “It’s done. I’m not asking him.” She took a deep breath.

“I would have to explain to social services and who knows how that might be construed? I don’t want to raise any flags with them right now. Since the last scandal, en that baby dies in the custody of his grandfather, wthey’re so fussy it’d be funny if it wasn’t for the risk they’re trying to avert.”

Dina looked like she was going to argue but thought better of it.

“Okay, I’ll give you this one, if you promise me you’ll get some protection, if anything else happens. If not your neighbor then a professional.”

“Don’t worry. I can’t imagine anything else happening.

***

Gray figured there was a maximum of two or three hours of solid dark left. Most of the houses he could see were completely black. His was too, even though he’d decided to keep an eye on Andie’s place for a few nights. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach that more trouble would find her. Until the niggling left, he planned to watch from his darkened house and keep his eyes and ears open.