“You talk to Mike?”
“Yes.”
“It done?”
She was silent.
“Buddy?”
“It’s done,” she whispered.
Fuck.
It cut her up, doing that. Probably cut Haines up too.
He didn’t touch her, he wanted to, but he didn’t. She needed to break it off with a good, steady man to take a risk with another man who treated her like shit twice right after her brother was murdered like she needed someone to drill a hole in her head. But he didn’t touch her because, Cal sensed from her mood, she didn’t want that right now.
But he’d make it up to her, spend his life doing it, if it took that.
Though, knowing Vi, it wouldn’t take that.
He parked on the street four doors down from Frank’s, stopping to let her off at the door so she wouldn’t have to walk it with her foot. She waited for him outside and she limped by his side to the door but she didn’t touch him and he didn’t touch her.
He opened the door for her and they walked in. Elaine, one of the waitresses, turned their way, smiled at Vi, her eyes went to Cal and her face froze.
Vi’d been there with Mike, from the look of Elaine more than once.
Violet took a step back and ran into him.
Cal touched her then, sliding his arm around her waist, he moved to her side, pulled her to his and looked at Elaine.
“Got a booth, Elaine?” he asked.
Elaine looked at the wall of booths, two were open.
She looked back at Cal. “Take your pick, Cal.” Her eyes dropped to Cal’s hand curled around Vi’s waist then up to Vi. “Hey Violet.”
“Hi Elaine.”
“What’s shakin’?” Elaine asked as Cal moved Vi forward.
“World’s upside down,” Violet answered.
Elaine finally grinned. “I can see.”
Cal didn’t catch what Vi did, but whatever it was, Elaine’s grin grew to a smile and Vi walked with him through the restaurant as eyes followed.
He let her go when they hit a booth, the last one against the back wall, more privacy.
She slid in, he slid in beside her.
She looked at him and asked, “Can you sit opposite?”
“No,” he answered.
“Why?”
“I like you at my side.”
Her expression gentled but she said, “I like my space.”
“Say good-bye to that,” Cal advised.
“What?” she whispered.
“Baby, I’m moved in, you got a new dog and, tomorrow, you got Dane sleepin’ on your couch. You like space, you’re f**ked.”
Her face ungentled and grew pale. “You’re moved in?”
“I moved in this morning before you got home.”
“Where?”
“Your room.”
“How?” Her voice was rising.
“How?” Cal repeated.
“Yes, how?”
“Packed some shit, brought it over, unpacked it,” Cal explained unnecessarily.
“Where’d you put it?”
“In your room.”
“Yeah, but where?”
“Jeans and boots in the closet, dumped some tees in a drawer, razor in the bathroom. Done.”
“Holy crap,” she whispered then jumped when Elaine slapped two menus on the table.
“Should I have bothered with those?” she asked a pertinent question, tipping her head to menus no person who’d lived in that town longer than a month hadn’t memorized.
“Not for me,” Vi told her, “I want a reuben.”
“Burger,” Cal said.
“Cheese?” Elaine asked Cal.
“Yep.”
“Cheddar, swiss, or jack?” Elaine went on.
“Surprise me,” Cal told her and Elaine grinned again.
“Drinks?” Elaine continued.
“Diet Coke,” Vi ordered.
“Beer,” Cal said.
“Bud, Coors, Bud Light, Coors Light, Heineken –” Elaine listed.
Cal cut her off. “Bud.”
“Onion rings, fries or both?” Elaine went on.
“Fries,” Vi answered.
“Both,” Cal told her.
“Gotcha.” Elaine shoved her pencil behind her ear and slid the menus back off the table. She’d had her pad in her hand while they ordered but this was either for show or she held it by habit. She hadn’t written a word before she walked away. The order would come to the table as they’d asked for it and the check would come with a total at the bottom, that was it and it would be the right total. That was Elaine. That was Frank’s.
“Joe,” Violet called and he turned to see she was out and out fretting so he turned more fully to her and dipped his head close.
“Relax, buddy,” he said softly.
“This is going really fast.”
“I know.”
“We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Nadia.”
Cal pulled back. “What about her?”
“Who is she?” Vi asked.
Fuck.
He did not want to get into this shit and what was more, she didn’t.
“Vi –” Cal said low.
“No, I don’t want to know. What I want to know is, honest, right here, did you sleep with her while you were sleepin’ with me?”
Cal locked down his temper. “I already told you the answer to that.”
“Okay, then, is she gone?”
Nadia was never gone. Nadia was always a phone call away. He didn’t share that.
“Yeah.”
“Definitely?”
“Vi, not a big fan of askin’ or answerin’ twice.”
“You lied to me.”
“There was a reason.”
“And that was?”
“To save you from me.”
Her torso moved back and her eyes got big.
Cal wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, pulled her close and leaned into her.
“Thought I was savin’ myself from you, but I was savin’ you from me.”
“I –” she started.
He cut her off. “You see these scars on my face?”
Her eyes went to his cheek then back to his. “Yes.”
“Bonnie gave them to me. So high, her head was in the clouds but it wasn’t a good trip. She got pissed at somethin’, I don’t even know what, she came at me. Got me with her nails.”
“Joe,” she whispered, her fingers curling tight around his thigh.
“She got like that a lot. When she was pissed, she’d scream the f**kin’ house down and it wasn’t unusual she came after me. She only marked my face and, you probably don’t know this, buddy, but you gotta come hard and dig deep to make marks like these with your nails.”