“Do you want a coffee or something?” Peggy stood up and walked over to the table in the corner of the room.
“No.” Billie watched her friend slowly walk away from her. It was evident she was still sore from her injuries, but there was something else.
“Why are you looking at me so weird?” Peggy sat next to her and placed her coffee on the table in front of her.
“Is everything okay?” Billie didn’t know what was going on, but something wasn’t right.
“I’m just great. I’m healing from getting the hell beat out of me and living in a shelter and don’t know where I’m going to go after this. I can’t go back to my house. So yeah. I’m wonderful.” Even in sign language, there was no problem seeing the sarcasm.
“You know what I mean.” Billie shook her head.
“I know. I just don’t want to stay here anymore. I feel like I’m in jail and Chloe misses going outside.” Peggy signed.
“I have an extra room. Why don’t you move in with me?” Billie said it before she even considered anything else.
“I can’t impose on you like that.” Peggy smiled and rested her head back against the couch.
“You’re not imposing. It will only be until it’s safe to go back to your house and I have a huge backyard for Chloe.” Billie hated to see her friend so sad.
“I’d have to check with C.P.S., but if you’re sure about this, I’d be so grateful.” The spark of hope in Peggy’s eyes was all Billie needed to see.
“Okay, you talk to them, and we’ll see if we can get you out of here by the weekend. I’ll go by your house and get some things for both of you and put them away at my place.” Billie’s eyes filled with tears when Peggy wrapped her uninjured arm around Billie and sobbed.
Billie drove home humming along to the radio pretty pleased with herself. She still wondered why her brother had told her he would be out of town all week but ended up at the shelter bringing Chloe a pretty pricey present. Something was off with him lately, but he wouldn’t talk about it to anyone.
Since Peggy’s house was on the other side of town, Billie went there first. She piled what she could into her car and get Matt and Philip to help over the weekend. Eventually, Peggy would go back to her house, but until Eugene was no longer a danger, Peggy and Chloe would be safe with Billie.
She’d tried to call Matt and give him the news, but apparently, his phone was off. So Tuesday she left work early and drove the ten minutes to Hopedale. She’d called Stephanie to see if she was home because she wanted to drop by and see her. Billie really liked Stephanie and was thankful that she’d helped Billie’s grandfather when he’d broken his hip.
Luckily, Stephanie had an appointment in the morning and had taken the day off work. She seemed excited to hear from Billie.
Billie had never been to Hopedale before, but as she drove into the town, she glanced around. Like most small towns outside the city, the houses were set back off the narrow roads and surrounded by trees. It was lovely and made her seriously think about moving out of the city.
She followed the directions that Philip gave her to find Matt. He’d called Matt’s boss to find out how to find her brother. When she pulled into the long driveway, she gasped. The large ranch house was white with a deck running right around it. The road ran around in a circle and with enough room to park at least a dozen cars next to the few trucks that were already there.
Matt stomped out of the house as she pulled up to the entrance with a huge smile on her face. That faded when she saw the rage in his eyes.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Matt shouted into the window of her car.
“Nice to see you too, Matthew.” She snapped. “It’s not that long a drive, and I’ve had my license for…”
“I’m not talking about coming out here. I’m talking about the danger you’re putting yourself in by letting Peggy and Chloe move in with you.” He rested his hands on the window opening, and his knuckles turned white.
“Oh for Christ’s sake, Matt. Eugene is not going to come within five feet of my house. Plus he’s in jail, and when he gets out, he has a restraining order to stay away from them.” Billie threw her hands up in the air when he growled at her.
“So what are you going to do when he gets out of jail and comes looking for her. Throw the piece of paper at him.” He snapped.
“Everything okay here.” Billie turned her head to see a very large red-haired man heading toward them.
“Fuck.” Matt closed his eyes and stood up.
“Hey, Keith. Everything’s fine. This is my little sister, Belinda.” Matt stepped back from the car as Billie opened her door to get out.
“Nice to meet you.” Keith held out his large hand, and Billie felt very small when he completely covered her hand with his.
“You too.” Billie smiled nervously. Matt’s boss was incredibly sexy with his beard, black T-shirt pulled tight across his chest, and the way he wore his jeans should be illegal.
“He’s engaged, sis,” Matt whispered and chuckled.
“Shut up.” She elbowed her brother.
“I just dropped over to check on things.” Keith scanned the house.
“We found some water damage in the master bath, but the guys are tearing that out now. The HVAC guys were in and checked out the air quality and gave us the go ahead. I was surprised because it’s an older house.”
While Matt chatted with his boss, Billie looked around the property. Pine trees surrounded it on three sides, and a line of them practically hid the house from the road. The house appeared in good shape considering it looked at least fifty years old. Since she’d been working with Abbie, she’d come to appreciate the beauty of real estate.
“Are you selling this?” Billie blurted out.
“No. My brother bought it. He’s tired of living in the city, so he hired us to renovate.” Keith explained. “Gave the ass a good deal too.”
Billie laughed. It seemed Keith had the same type of relationship with his brother as she had with hers.
“Aren’t younger siblings a pain in the ass.” Matt hitched his thumb over his shoulder toward Billie.
“I don’t know. If my younger brothers were as cute as her, I think I’d deal with it.” Keith winked at her.
“Hey, dude. You’re engaged.” Matt pointed his finger at Keith.
“Engaged, not blind.” Keith pointed back. “I bet he terrorizes you doesn’t he?”
“So much that I’m thinking about seeking therapy.” Billie exaggerated a sigh.
“I don’t have sisters, but I have four female cousins that are like the sisters we didn’t want, and now I have three sister-in-laws. So including my fiance, the women are starting to outnumber the men.” Keith laughed.
“That’s right. Stephanie’s your sister-in-law.” Billie remembered Matt telling her.
“You know Steph?” Keith asked.
“Remember I told you she was Pop’s physiotherapist.” Matt pulled a hammer out of his tool belt.
“Oh yeah.” Keith nodded.
“I’m going to go see her after I talked to Matt.” Billie got back in her car.
“Easy as pie to find the house. Turn left at the end of the driveway and drive to the end of Knob Lane. You’ll be on Hart Street. Turn right and drive straight down to the beach. Turn right, and they are the last house across from the beach.” Keith told her.
“Thanks.” Billie started her car. “I’ll talk to you later, Matt.”
“I’ll call you when I get back to Keith’s place,” Matt shouted as she pulled out of the driveway.
Keith’s directions were right on the money. Not that it would have been hard to find the house because it wasn’t like the town was huge. Billie pulled her car into the side of the road and looked up toward the house. The front door opened and Stephanie stepped out followed by a man. He wrapped his arms around Stephanie and kissed her cheek. Billie smiled. Stephanie had raved about her husband the few times they’d had coffee. When the man started do
wn the steps Billie’s heart felt like it stopped.
Mike.
“Oh my God.” Billie yanked her gearshift into drive and sped away from the side of the road. She didn’t look back to see if they’d noticed, but she was sure they must have because her tires spun on the rocks. She didn’t care.
“That fucking asshole said his name was Mike.” Billie quickly made her way through the town and didn’t ease her grip on the steering wheel until she was on the highway back to town.
The man she made out with and been fantasizing about was Stephanie’s husband. The bastard cheated on Stephanie and lied about his name. Even his friends were in on it. They probably didn’t give their real names either. He was good. He’d come to her rescue and told her everything a woman wanted to hear.
Billie had a dilemma now. Should she tell Stephanie what her husband did? Stephanie was a sweet person and the poor woman thought the sun shined out of his ass and he was downtown picking up women.
What was she going to do?
Chapter 5
“Thanks so much for watching Olivia, Mike.” Stephanie opened the front door and walked out.
“Hey, anytime I get to spend with my niece is a pleasure. Plus, I had the day off and what a better way to spend it than chasing a three-year-old around.” Mike chuckled as he stepped out behind her.
“Still, I appreciate it.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he kissed her cheek.
“I’m heading up to Ian’s…” Mike stopped when he heard rocks flicking as a car sped up the road. “Fucking idiot.”
“Don’t worry about it. Teenagers are always speeding up and down Beach Street.” Stephanie reached down and grabbed Olivia as she tried to run down over the front steps.
“Unca Mike.” Olivia squealed as she squirmed to get away from her mother.
“Uncle Mike has to go to work.” Stephanie rested the little girl on her hip, but Mike didn’t know how his sister-in-law could comfortably hold her with her pregnant belly starting to show.
“I’ll come back this weekend, and we’ll go to the beach and get mommy some more rocks, Livy,” Mike called her by the nickname his other nieces called her.
“Promise?” The little girl stuck out her lip and stared at him with the same green eyes her mom had.
“That kid is good.” Mike chuckled. “Yes, baby. I’ll see you in four sleeps.”
“Four sleeps.” She clapped her hands and squealed again.
Before he headed to Ian’s place, Mike wanted to check out the work on his home. They’d only started the day before, but Keith said his guys were excellent and fast. Mike was excited to move into his own house.
Sure, it was big, but he didn’t plan to move ever again. Besides if he wanted he could rent out the extra four rooms and make money on his investment. That wouldn’t be what his mother wanted. She was so excited that she asked to meet the woman he was seeing. Mike felt a little guilty to tell her there was nobody special in his life. Not that he didn’t want that. Over the last couple of months, he hadn’t met anyone he even wanted to see a second time. Well, except Billie. The woman spoiled him for any other woman.
“You’re a fucking idiot.” Mike shook his head as he pulled into the driveway of his future house.
He walked up on the deck and scanned the length of it. There were a lot of boards broken and torn out, but there were piles of lumber stacked against the house. He figured it was to fix the broken and missing pieces. He stepped inside and stopped when he heard someone shouting.
“Hey, buddy. You can’t go in there.” The man stomped around from the back of the house holding a hammer and a yellow hard hat on his head.
“It’s okay. This is my place.” Mike hadn’t met any of the workers yet.
“I don’t care. You can’t go into a construction site without a hard hat.” He stepped in front of Mike to keep him from entering.
“Listen, this is my house.” Mike narrowed his eyes, and the man did the same.
“Don’t care. Regulations.” He propped his shoulder against the door jamb and shoved the hammer back in his tool belt.
Mike stepped back and pulled out his phone. Grumbling as he punched Keith’s number. He wanted to hit the guy but didn’t think that would be a good option since the man looked like he could bench press a truck. Not that Mike couldn’t hold his own in a fight but as his uncle always told them, talk if they will, walk if you can, run if you must. If all else fails, defend yourself but never use your fists in anger. It was one of the many things he’d learned when his uncle taught he and his brothers Karate.
“Yo,” Keith answered the phone.
“Yeah, I’m trying to get a look at my house but this guy won’t….” Mike heard the click and looked at his phone. Keith had hung up on him.
“What’s wrong? Did your big brother hang up on you?” The asshole grinned.
“Service out here is not always great.” Mike walked down to the bottom of the steps and punched Keith’s number again.
When his brother didn’t answer on the fifth ring, Mike started to head up the steps again. The jerk was still slouched in the doorway looking at his nails.
“Look, I just want…” Mike started, but he put his hand up.
“I want to be a millionaire but don’t look like that’s gonna happen.” He shifted and leaned against the other side of the doorway.
“I’ve had about….” Mike was losing his patience and quickly.
“Asshat,” When Mike turned, Keith jogged up the front steps.
“Hey, Keith.” The jerk grinned.
“Hey, Matt.” Keith turned to Mike and frowned.
“He won’t let me inside,” Mike complained.
“Yes, you aren’t wearing a hat.” Keith knocked on the top of Mike’s head.
“I’m not going to work in there. I just want to see what they've done so far.” Mike snapped.
“Doesn’t matter. If you go in there and something happens, it costs my company. I love ya bro, but I’m not paying out a ton of money because you’re an idiot.” Keith tossed him a yellow hat similar to the one Matt was wearing.
“Now you can come in all you want.” Matt stepped out of the way.
“By the way, this is Matt Carter.” Keith slapped Matt on the back. “Matt this is the brother that owns this place, Mike but I guess you figured that out.”
“I’d say it was a pleasure, but I don’t think we got off on the right foot.” Matt held out his hand. “Let’s start over. I’m Matt, and I’m the foreman. You got any questions, and Keith’s not around. Just ask.”
For a moment Mike considered slapping the guy’s hand away, but if this guy was going to be working on his house, he should keep a civil relationship.
“Glad to meet one of the guys who’s going to put this place back together.” Mike shook Matt’s hand.
“Keith, hard hat.” Matt tapped the top of his head before disappearing around the back of the house.
“That guy is a hard nose for the regulations.” Keith chuckled as he placed a white hard hat on his head. “Come on I’ll show you the plans and what we’re doing inside.”
A little less than an hour later Mike walked back out of his house. Keith’s guys were good at what they did. It hadn’t been more than a day, and they already had most of the place stripped down to the beams. It looked horrible, but Keith assured him that it would look a hell of a lot better in a few weeks.
“I’ll leave this hat on the front step,” Mike shouted to Matt.
“If you want to keep coming and checking up on us you should just keep it in your car.” Matt chuckled, but something told Mike the guy wasn’t joking.
“Great idea. Terrific job so far.” Mike forced a smile as he made his way to his car.
Matt rubbed him the wrong way, but maybe they just got off on the wrong foot. Either way, he couldn’t see ever having a beer with the guy. He certainly wasn’t like the men who worked for Keith’s security firm. Those guys were like brothers.
As
he pulled into Ian’s driveway, he heard a loud squeal coming from inside the house. Mike walked up the front steps and opened the door in time to see Sandy chasing a very naked Grace down into the kitchen.
“Gracie, you have to put your clothes back on.” Sandy seemed to be at her wit's end.
“No, no, no.” almost three-year-old Grace squealed as she ran away from Sandy. “Yes, yes, yes.” Sandy stepped to the side and scooped Grace up in her arms.
“No, Mama.” Gracie giggled when Sandy sat on the floor and pinned the little girl down to put on her clothes.
“Listen here, little girl. You may be making it to the potty most of the time, but I’m not taking any chances of you pooping on the floor.” Sandy managed to get Grace half dressed before the little girl wiggled out of her mother’s grasp and ran right into Mike.
“Gotcha,” Mike caught her and tossed her in the air. “You’re a little nudist, aren’t you?”
“Mitey,” For some reason, Grace had trouble saying Mike and had dubbed him ‘Mitey.' He didn’t care. It was cute and who could not be charmed by the blue-eyed baby doll.
“Gracie, are you giving mommy a hard time.” He rested her on one arm as he tickled her belly.
Sandy wasn’t Grace’s biological mother, but she was the only one the little girl knew. Her mom died. Grace and her big sister Lily came to live with Ian when their mother died. It was such a tangle of betrayal and lies that it was a wonder Ian, Sandy, and the kids were dealing with it so well.
“Hey, good catch.” Sandy took Grace out of Mike’s arms and motioned him to follow her upstairs to her office.
“You’ve got your hands full with that one.” Mike chuckled.
“Since we’ve been potty training her all she wants is to run around naked.” Sandy laughed. “Now little girl it’s nap time for you.”
Mike walked into Sandy’s office which was also the master bedroom. Baby Alex was kicking and babbling in his crib. Mike picked him up and held the baby over his head. Damn his brothers, and their wives made the cutest kids.
“How’s the big man of the house.” Mike twirled the baby around in a small circle.
“Don’t shake him up he just….” Sandy didn’t get a chance to finish when Alex spit up all over Mike’s face and shirt. “Ate.”
Dangerous Silence Page 5
