At Peace (63 page)

So I asked Joe questions.

He didn’t hesitate with any of his responses.
Including the scary ones, such as him getting the scar on his belly
a long time ago when he was a bouncer and some drunk guy slashed
him with a knife.

At my indrawn breath, Joe murmured in a
gentle voice, “It wasn’t deep, baby, didn’t cause any harm.”

I didn’t point out that it did, seeing as it
left a scar. I just asked about the other one.

That one was scarier, seeing as it was a scar
from a bullet wound Joe got while bodyguarding. He didn’t say who
he was guarding, apparently this was secret information and if he
told me, he’d have to kill me (though Joe didn’t explain it that
way, he just said. “Can’t tell you, Vi, so don’t ask.”).

What he did say was, “After that, focused on
the systems. Dyin’ young to protect assholes I didn’t like fucked
with my plan for retirement.”

This was funny, Joe cracking another joke,
and I laughed but I also leaned to the side, putting my head on
Joe’s shoulder and dropping my legs so they rested against his. In
return, Joe slid an arm along my shoulders and pulled me closer.
The chair handle bit into my side but I didn’t care. Bobbie had
some lawn furniture that almost matched mine and there was a
loveseat-style piece so I decided, since I didn’t have to pay a
mortgage anymore, and since I liked sitting outside with Joe, our
knees cocked, feet to the railing, I was going to buy it.

While we did this, I thought that it was good
Joe was wise and he had a plan for retirement. If he’d been gung ho
macho, taking these jobs just for the money and the thrill and not
thinking about his future, he might not be there, on my deck,
drinking beer with me at his side and my girls in the house.

And I liked him there.

But I’d like it better once I bought that
loveseat.

After the scary portion of the evening’s
conversation was over, Joe got up and got himself another beer,
refilled my wine and he came back. Then we made plans to ask Lindy
to come to dinner so the girls and I could meet her and we talked
about the upcoming visit from my in-laws, something Joe didn’t seem
all that concerned about.

“They’re people Vi, they got two choices,
they like me or they don’t. I deal either way. They’re good people,
even if they don’t, they won’t make it your problem or the
girls’.”

He was right, they had two choices and,
knowing Bea and Gary, they wouldn’t make it my problem or the
girls’ if they didn’t like Joe.

The girls came out and said goodnight, first
Keira who patted Joe on the arm but gave me her usual kiss. Then
Kate who gave me a kiss but didn’t touch Joe, she just said,
“’Night, Joe,” to which he muttered, “Sweet dreams, girl,” which
made her look at me in that startled way the girls looked whenever
Joe did something affectionate but, startled or not, one day I
figured they too would get used to being around an affectionate
Joe.

Joe and I sat quiet for awhile and this would
have been nice if my mind didn’t wander to Mike wondering what he
was doing, wondering if he was okay. I was also thinking how much
it sucked that our situation wasn’t one where we could shift to
friends and I could call him, just to talk. I liked talking to him
(amongst other things) and I didn’t like that I no longer could do
it. He didn’t say that wasn’t cool but I knew in my heart it
wasn’t. I was happy with my decision and I knew I’d made the right
one. But that didn’t mean I didn’t miss Mike.

However, I didn’t share this with Joe.

Then Joe and I went to bed and I figured,
both of us being in a mellow mood, having a good night, he’d feel
in the mood to make love and I was looking forward to it.

He wasn’t. He was in the mood to fuck me,
rough and hard, both of us on our knees, Joe behind me, his fingers
between my legs, the fingers of his other hand working my nipple. I
was mostly up, bent slightly, my hand holding onto the headboard,
my other hand covering his at my breast and I was trying not to be
too loud when he made me come. By some miracle, I managed this and
luckily Joe had my neck to stifle his groan when he climaxed.

After, Joe kept me where I was and stayed
buried inside me.

“You got the sweetest cunt I’ve ever had,
buddy,” he whispered in my ear, sliding out and gliding back
in.

It wasn’t the most flowery compliment in the
history of man but, from Joe, who stayed planted and was filling me
with his big cock, it worked really well.

“I like your cock too,” I whispered back and
I felt him smile against my neck.

“Know that, Vi. Every time I fuck you, you
act like it’s been years since I’ve been inside you.”

I twisted my neck to look at him and his head
came up.

“You don’t have to be conceited about
it.”

He pressed in deeper, heard my soft gasp and
chuckled. “Baby, you don’t want me to be conceited, maybe you
should stop doin’ shit like that.”

I sighed, too mellow to have a tiff, even a
light-hearted one.

Joe kissed my neck and then he pulled out. We
settled in our usual position, the one with my head in his chest,
and his fingertips roamed my ass and hip while I listened to his
heartbeat and fell asleep.

* * * * *

I didn’t have the nightmare that night
either.

* * * * *

Thursday I got home from work and barely got
inside the door before Joe and the girls hustled me right back
out.

Back to school shopping.

I didn’t ask why Joe came with us, I was just
glad he did.

We had dinner at a restaurant outside the
mall then we went inside the mall and the girls bought some new
outfits for school; they bought Joe his new shirt (which he didn’t
try on but luckily it fit him); and I bought gifts for Bea and
Gary, some new frames to replace the ones I broke and a few little
nothings to send up to Mel in an effort to brighten her day.

Joe didn’t pay for the shirt or the gifts for
Bea, Gary and Mel but he paid for some of the girls’ clothes and
the frames even though I tried to pay. We had words right in front
of the clerks in four different stores. Each time my fearless Keira
waded in, twice taking my credit card and handing it to the clerk,
twice taking Joe’s. Neither Joe nor I could protest because this
was Keira, what could we say?

While we were walking to the car, Joe used
his arm around my shoulders to pull me close as he said in my ear.
“Keirry’s a natural diplomat.”

He sounded proud, so proud I couldn’t stop
myself from turning my head and kissing his neck. He gave me a
squeeze in return.

When we got home, inexplicably, Joe slowed as
we drove in front of the house then he stopped on the street.

I looked at him and his head was turned
toward the house.

“Joe, what –”

I stopped when I looked at the house too,
saw my yard and gasped in outrage. In now dead grass, the word
“bitch” could clearly be seen. I hadn’t driven in front of the
house that day or the day before for that matter and obviously Joe
nor the girls had seen it.

Then Joe exploded, “That fuckin’
cunt!
”

Both girls gasped, I jumped and Joe
accelerated the Mustang off the street and into our drive so fast I
knew he was beyond pissed and it probably wasn’t the time to inform
him that the c-word in front of the girls was an absolute
forbidden.

Joe stopped the car, killed the ignition,
opened his door and surged out of the car, stalking straight to
Tina’s.

I realized at this juncture that I should
probably have taken her some cupcakes.

I turned to the girls and ordered, “Go into
the house.”

“Mom –” Keira started.

“House!” I demanded and then opened my door,
got out and ran to Tina’s, hoping my girls would obey (Kate would,
Keira, it was a crapshoot).

As I jumped the fence, Joe stopped pounding
on the door, turned to look at Tina’s sporty, red Corvette in the
drive then he turned away and stalked down her steps.

As he got close to me, I assured him, “I’ll
talk to her.”

Joe didn’t look at me, he kept walking and I
watched as he put a hand to the fence, threw his legs over it,
landed on the other side, walked straight to his house, around it
and then he disappeared, going to his garage.

I didn’t know what Joe had in his garage,
except his
Bullitt
car, the
hood of which I knew intimately. But I didn’t figure Joe going
there was a good sign.

I also saw my girls didn’t obey, not even
Kate. They were standing in the yard. Kate was staring at the
grass, looking pissed. Keira was staring after Joe, looking
worried.

I jogged to Tina’s door and knocked,
shouting, “Tina, really, you need to open up, we need to talk
before Joe gets back.”

She didn’t open the door. I knocked and
called again. She still didn’t open the door. I was knocking again
when Joe was suddenly there.

He pushed me to the side and went into a
squat. Then he did something with little tools at her lock, the
door opened, he straightened and strode right in.

I stood in stupefied silence not only
because my boyfriend knew how to pick a lock but would and
did
until I heard Tina screech,
“What the fuck? You can’t just walk into my house! I’m callin’ the
cops!”

“Call ‘em, I’ll wait,” Joe replied and I
rushed in to see Tina at the mouth of her hall, Joe standing in the
living room in his scary as shit, sinister, arms-crossed-on-chest,
badass, alpha male stance.

“You broke in!” Tina shrieked.

“Yep,” Joe agreed.

“What the fuck!” Tina repeated.

“Okay, everyone just –” I started.

Joe cut me off by ordering Tina, “Write a
check. Five hundred dollars. Made out to Violet Winters and do it
now.”

“
You’re fuckin’
crazy?
” Tina screeched.

“You do it, this is done, no more,” Joe
stated. “You don’t, I’m in this war and, trust me woman, you do not
want me in this war. I’m done with you, you’ll move to the next
fuckin’ county.”

“Are you threatening me?” Tina snapped,
leaning forward, clearly having a death wish.

“Yep,” Joe replied, calm as could be.

“You can’t break in my house and threaten
me!” Tina yelled.

Joe looked around then back at Tina. “Pay
attention, bitch, I just did.”

Oh Lord.

I walked across the room and got close to
Joe, wrapping my hands around his bicep which was usually firm but
now it was flexed and it felt like steel.

“Joe, honey, go home. I’ll talk with
Tina.”

He twisted his neck and looked down at me.
“Gave you that chance, buddy. I told you she fucks with your yard,
we got problems.”

“But, Joe –”

“She fucked with your yard, we got
problems.”

“
She
toilet papered
my
yard!” Tina shouted. “It took me hours to clean that shit
up.”

Joe looked back at Tina and I could only
see his profile and it scared me. She got the full face and shrank
back.

“She didn’t do that to your yard, woman, she
was in bed with me. You shit where you live, pissin’ people off,
you gotta expect retribution. And you make a habit of shittin’
where you live. Who fuckin’ knows who did that to your yard? All I
know is, it wasn’t Vi. You retaliated against the wrong person that
person is my woman and your retaliation crossed a line. She can’t
clean that shit up without it costin’ her and you’re gonna fuckin’
pay for it.”

“Fuck you!” Tina shouted and Joe shrugged,
dropped his arms and turned away.

“So be it,” he muttered, sliding a hand along
my shoulders and moving me to the door where he stopped and turned
back to Tina. “I was you, I’d think about it. You got until
tomorrow mornin’ to put a check in Vi’s mailbox. You don’t, it’s
on. You get me?”

“I’m callin’ the cops,” Tina returned.

“You think Mike Haines and Alec Colton and
the boys who work with ‘em are gonna be fired up to help you?” Joe
asked, this finally penetrated and Tina’s face twisted. “Yeah,” Joe
murmured as he noticed Tina was realizing maybe she should have
made some friends along with all the enemies she created along the
way. “Five hundred dollars, Tina, in Vi’s mailbox by nine o’clock
tomorrow morning,” he finished then he turned us again and walked
us out the door.

When we hit the fence, he picked me up and
lifted me over setting me on my feet. Then he jumped it, took my
hand and walked us to the dead grass in my yard where the girls
were standing.

“It smells of bleach,” Keira informed us,
Joe’s mouth got tight, Kate saw it and shoved Keira’s arm.

“All right girls, take the shopping bags in
the house,” I ordered, wondering if I’d have time to do anything
about my yard before Bea and Gary got there and thinking I wouldn’t
considering I only had one day and I’d be working that day.

“Should we –” Kate started and I looked at
her.

“
House, baby,” I said softly, “we’ll worry
about this tomorrow, yeah?”

She nodded, tagged Keira, they went to the
Mustang, got the bags and went into the house. Joe stood staring at
the word in my lawn.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Hope that check isn’t in your box, buddy,”
Joe said to the yard then looked at me. “Be my pleasure to fuck
with that bitch.”

I looked at his face and hoped the check was
in my box. Tina was indeed a bitch and her writing the same with
bleach in my beautiful grass proved it. But I reckoned no one, not
even Tina, deserved the fury Joe looked ready to unleash.

“
You want a beer?” I asked and Joe stared
at me.

Then he shook his head but answered,
“Yeah.”