Lights Out (10 page)

“No. I live with my uncle. He’s my legal guardian, and I’ve been with him for the last two years, since my mother got sick,” he replied, earnest and sincere.

“I’m sorry. I hope your mother is better now?” she said. Shane’s face shifted and turned cloudy.

“I think so,” he said.

“You’re lucky to have someone care for you. He must be a nice man,” she said.

“He is the best. He should be here soon,” Shane said.

“Can we stay and meet him?” Taylor asked, eyes pleading.

“Sure,” Piper said, still caught in the euphoria of the girls making friends.

“I’ll bring him over when he gets here,” Shane said.

“We’ll be over there,” Taylor said, grabbing Shane’s hand and pulling him along behind her and back toward the corner filled with other children. They were having a good time, occupying themselves while their parents visited with the teacher or looked around the classroom. Ken tagged along, watching her older sister and this new boy with a this is an interesting development look in her eyes.

Piper went back to considering the Halloween carnival. She could volunteer for both of the girls’ classes in one night. She decided to also sign up for the spring trip to the water park and a trip to the humane society.

Having completed that task she looked up, scoping out the other parents. And then she watched Joe walk into the room, looking good enough to eat. She hadn’t seen him in what, a month at least, not since the poetry night. He’d stopped coming by the shop.

He’d come from work, and was dressed professionally in a light blue dress shirt, open at the throat, tucked into nice dress slacks. The whole ensemble appeared expensive.

Did he ever have a bad hair day, a bad anything day? she wondered, continuing to watch him. He was fine. She couldn’t deny that, didn’t even try.

Don’t tell me he has a kid, she thought, looking around for offspring that matched him. Was he married? What a disappointment that would be. She watched him as his eyes scanned the room, meeting up with hers. He was surprised. She could read it in his eyes. He smiled at her and she returned his with one of her own.

“Uncle Joe!” She watched as Shane dashed over to his side. Taylor followed behind, cautious in her approach, recognition in her eyes, too. Piper watched as Joe smiled at Shane, and noted the love reflected in his eyes.

“Uncle Joe, this is my new friend, Taylor,” Shane said, reaching for Taylor’s hand, pulling her to stand next to him. Joe looked over at Taylor, who smiled shyly back at his uncle.

“You’ve been to my sister’s shop,” said Taylor.

“Yes. Lights Out Coffee,” Joe replied.

“So you know her sister Piper, too?” Shane asked.

“I do, actually,” he said, looking at Shane.

Piper walked over to stand behind Taylor and Ken.

“Piper,” Shane said, looking up at her with pride for his uncle displayed in his eyes. “This is my Uncle Joe. Joe Sandborne,” he said.

“Your uncle, imagine that. Hello, Joe. I can see the resemblance.” she said, looking between the two of them, noting the blond hair reaching both their shoulders. Different eye colors, though.

“So Shane’s your nephew?”

“Yes.”

“Joe, can I show Piper and Kennedy my locker? We’ll be right back,” Shane said, looking between the two of them.

“We’ll need to get going soon, so don’t be long,” Joe said.

“I won’t.” Shane turned and pulled her sisters along behind him. Joe and Piper watched the kids move away. She turned to look at him, feeling suddenly nervous.

“So,” she said.

“So,” he replied and smiled.

“How long has he been with you?”

“Two years.”

“What happened to his mother?”

“Long story,” he said. That was clearly the end of that.

Okay, she could take hints.

“How do you like the school?” she asked.

“I love it. It’s been great for Shane. We’ve been very happy here.”

“Good to know.”

It was quiet for a moment.

“How long are you going to have your sisters?”

“It looks like it may be the entire year, or the first half at least.”

“You okay with that?”

“Getting used to it,” she said.

“It gets easier,” he said.

The kids came back over.

“Well, we’d better get going,” he said. “Say goodbye to Taylor. I need to talk to your teacher for a second, and then we’ll leave,” Joe said to Shane.

“Sure, Uncle Joe. See you tomorrow, Taylor, Kennedy. Nice meeting you, Piper,” he said, walking to stand at his uncle’s side.

“See you around. Nice to meet you, too, Shane,” she said to Joe, smiling at Shane before following Taylor and Kennedy out the door.

* * *

“So the two of you like school?” Piper asked, pulling out of the school’s parking lot a few moments later. She listened as Kennedy talked about her first day.

“You like Shane?” Piper asked Taylor after Kennedy quieted.

Taylor looked over at Piper, assessing.

“I like him as a friend,” she said. “Not interested in boys yet. It’s too early for me.”

“Good to know. I’m going to stop by Target and pick up the rest of your school list, and then we’ll head to the coffee shop,” she said. “You guys hungry?”

“Nope.”

Kennedy started telling her about each of the kids in her class, full descriptions, and Piper let her mind drift, happy that the girls were happy, reflecting on her surprise at seeing Joe. He had a kid, his nephew, and like her, he was taking care of his own, choosing family over himself.

She thought back to the last time she’d seen him. She remembered the woman, her expression as she read the poem about him. Piper had seen naked and unguarded want, maybe even love in those eyes. That was a frightening proposition, because she didn’t think he did love; sex, yes—mind blowing, leave your heart in tatters sex—but sex only, not love.

She missed seeing him, missed sparring with him. She liked that he’d pushed back and wasn’t intimidated by her assertiveness. And now, a family-first man. What a surprise.

* * *

“So how long have you known Piper?” Shane asked while Joe drove them home.

“About two or three months,” he said.

“You’ve been to their coffee shop?”

“Yep.”

“You have to take me there sometime,” he said.

Joe nodded, but knew he wouldn’t if he could avoid it. What a surprise to see Piper again, although it shouldn’t have been. It made sense. The school was in close proximity to her shops, and her dad could probably afford it, but he hadn’t thought the girls would be with her on a permanent basis.

And he was back to being impressed with her and aroused, as sick as that sounded, all over again. He’d actually missed seeing her in the mornings, a little foreplay with his coffee. He thought she was easy to be around, funny and welcoming to her customers, to people in general. She seemed to take life as it came, just went with the flow, made the best of it, and there was something very sexy in that, especially for him.

Her physical presence was another pull, and probably always would be. She’d looked good today outfitted in a dress that clung to her figure. It had been an enticement from the beginning. He didn’t think her beautiful, and still didn’t. But she’d gotten his attention tonight, attractive in her own way, her hair curly around her head, freckles dusting the top of her cheeks, lips full and shiny. When she smiled she was pretty, or maybe he thought so because he admired the person underneath the skin.

“So, are there any new kids besides Taylor?” he asked, letting Shane take him into the world of the fifth-grader, content to think of something other than Piper.

Piper sat in the living room of her home. It was Sunday evening, and she’d sat through two half-hour programs with Kennedy on a few of the children’s channels. Kennedy had taken off, needing to prepare for school.

She’d remained behind, flipping through channels, feet up, thinking of Joe. He was officially taking up space in her mind now. He’d chosen to raise his nephew, and that made quite the impression on her. In fact, it was responsible for moving him to her eligible-for-more-than-just-sex category.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. It was Margarite, her dad’s first wife.

“Hello, stepmother number one,” Piper said playfully. She loved her dad’s first wife. Their relationship hadn’t started out great but, over time, Margarite had hung in there with her and helped her navigate through her teen years. Piper now appreciated the patience that Margarite had shown her.

She and Margarite made it a point to talk at least once a week. She communicated with her first set of sisters on Facebook weekly.

“So, how are you and the girls?” Margarite asked.

“Fine. School’s rocking along. No scarring of children on my watch,” she answered.

“I’m sure you’re doing fine with your sisters.”

“Let’s just say that I’m not doing too bad. Plus, they’re easy, not like me growing up, fighting with you all the time.”

“You were fine, once we got to know each other.”

“You don’t have to pretend with me, I was there,” Piper said, laughing.

“So how are the shops? Keeping you busy, along with the girls?”

“Not too much. I’ve done some extra hiring to cover for me. I wanted to have two people on the clock, and one of those used to be me, but Daddy Warbucks of the deep pockets is helping out financially, so I’m free to some extent. I’m at the shop while the girls are at school and some evenings and weekends, but not too much.”

“And how are the parents?” she asked.

“Christina and Mac?” Piper responded. “Who knows. She’s at least talking to him on the phone now, but he’s not in the sharing mood with me. Really tight-lipped about what’s going on between them. I do know that her mother is not getting any better. They don’t expect her to live past six months, but you never know. I think Christina wanted to bring her back to the states, but her mother’s refused.”

“I’m sorry,” Margarite said.

“Yeah. Me, too.” It was silent for a second. “So what are you up to? How’s Freddy?” Piper asked. Freddy was Margarite’s second husband, and a keeper.

“Fine. Busy at work. If he’s not there, he’s holed up in his garage tinkering with his old cars. Told him I needed to change my body type to a ’67 Chevy and maybe he’d notice me more,” she said, laughing.

“How about you? Are there any new men in your life?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Well, you’re still young. There is still hope. I may see some grandchildren out of you yet.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Piper said, laughing again. “I’m changing the subject now. I realize it’s way early, but what are you and the girls’ plans for Thanksgiving?” Piper asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll check. Why?”

“If Taylor and Kennedy are still with me, and I think they will be, I’ll probably be going to visit Nanny and Pa. And since I’m making a trek your way, I thought Blair and Samantha could meet me in Raywood for a day. Nanny would like to see them, see how much they’ve grown, and they could hang out with Kennedy and Taylor, spend some time getting to know them,” she said.

“I’ll talk to them about it,” Margarite said. “Listen, Freddy just walked in. He had to work late today. I’ll chat with them and call you next week. You take care,” she said, hanging up.

Piper hoped Blair and Samantha could make it; she wanted them to meet Ken and Taylor. She hoped that all five of them could hang out. She felt proprietary toward her four sisters. Being the oldest, she had been around when Blair and Samantha were born and grew up with them. She wanted that for Ken and Taylor.

She may have teased Margarite about being her stepmother, but she had been more like a mother to her than the one who’d given birth to her had ever been. Her Nanny had been there for her in the beginning, and Margarite had taken over after age twelve.

She’d raised Piper, suffered through her teenage antics and angst, and saw her off to college. What could have been a difficult time for her, with her dad remarrying and producing two new siblings, Margarite had transformed into a family where Piper had felt vitally needed and loved.

* * *

Second week in September

Piper stood along the wall outside of Ken’s classroom waiting for her to be dismissed for the day.

“Hey, Ken. How was school?” she said, reaching for her sister’s lunchbox.

“Good. We are going to the zoo tomorrow. We are supposed to remind our parents,” she said. “Are you coming, Piper?”

“No, didn’t sign up to drive for that one,” she answered. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go wait for your sister.”

Taylor preferred to come to them, instead of them coming for her. She was in fifth grade, soon to be middle school, and didn’t need her sisters meeting her at the door. So Piper and Ken found two chairs near the office to sit and wait. They didn’t have to wait long. Five minutes later, Taylor approached them with Shane two steps behind.