Redeem

by Janice M. Whiteaker

  “I ain’t got time. He knows that.” The sound of a lighter flicked in the background then a long inhale.

  “He needs to get home.” Beth kept her words to as few as possible hoping this call would at least remain civil.

  “He shoulda thoughta that before he missed the bus.” His mother blew out a long breath. “Because of your nosey ass I got to work all night.”

  “Then who takes care of him while you’re gone?” Beth’s fake smile was long gone and her teeth were clenched so tight it made it difficult to speak. “I’d be happy to call them.”

  “You think babysitters grow on trees Miss Dalton?” She snorted into the phone. “Not everyone is as lucky as you are havin’ their dead husband’s family to save their ass.”

  Bitch.

  Beth glanced at Levi who had shed his jacket and was sitting quietly at his desk working on his homework. How did a kid like that come out of the piece of trash she was on the phone with?

  “What would you like for me to do then?” Beth tried to keep her voice even, measuring every word as it came out of her mouth because the little boy didn’t deserve to have any more fighting in his life.

  “I don’t care.” She laughed. “You’re so worried about what happens to him, why don’t you take him home with you?”

  She didn’t have to ask twice. “I will do that. Thank you.” She hung up before the woman had a chance to change her mind. Not that his mother couldn’t call her back. At the beginning of the year, before she understood the extent of what was happening in Levi’s life, Beth gave his mother her cell number to call her if she needed. Then again, considering her lack of interest in her only child’s life, she probably immediately threw it in the trash.

  Beth unclenched her jaw and let out a breath. Levi looked up from his work. “Is she coming?”

  The fear and dread in his voice cut right through her, making her heart hurt and her stomach sick because at some point he would have to go home. But that point wasn’t right now.

  “She is not.” Beth grabbed her purse and coat from the closet. “She actually suggested you come home with me.”

  “Really?” Levi’s eyes opened almost as wide as his mouth.

  “Yup.” Beth pulled on her coat. “You ready to go get Kate?”

  Levi shoved his homework into his backpack and yanked his coat back on. “Yes.” He jogged to her side, sticking close as she switched off the lights and closed her door. “Are we going to your house?”

  “We have to get Kate, then we have to get Liza at my mother-in-law’s house and then we’ll probably go to my house. But,” she hesitated, not wanting to damper his temporary reprieve. “I’m not sure how long you will get to stay. If your mom calls and wants you home, I will have to take you there.”

  “What happens if you don’t?”

  Beth wanted to tell him if she didn’t it would make it impossible for her to be able to take care of him if the opportunity arose, but she couldn’t. So she had to settle for an alternate truth. “Because I would get in big trouble.”

  He nodded and stayed quiet the rest of the walk to the gym where the after-school program was held. Kate saw them through the door and came running.

  “Levi!” She gave him a tight squeeze. Kate liked to have lunch with Beth at least a couple days a week and so did Levi. On more than a few occasions, both kids showed up in her room on the same day and Levi immediately took Kate under his wing.

  “Has that kid been mean to you anymore?” Levi’s voice was serious and a little stern.

  Kate shook her head. “Nope.” She looked up at Beth, noticing her mother for the first time. “Is Levi coming home with us?”

  “He is, but only if you get your stuff so we can go.” Beth pointed to the pile of discarded items along the far wall that belonged to her daughter.

  Kate ran to the spot where Beth pointed and grabbed her backpack and coat, trying to pull both on as she ran back across the large room. Beth waved to the monitor of the program. “I’ve got Kate.”

  The young woman nodded in acknowledgement and gave her a wave as a swarm of children ran in circles around her legs.

  Kate and Levi talked the whole way to Paul and Nancy’s, covering at least twenty different topics as her daughter’s seven-year-old attention span bounced from idea to idea. Levi kept up with her the whole time, never once getting annoyed or aggravated when she insisted on telling him, in great detail, about her toy horse collection. He was more interested however, when she explained to him how to change a tire, also in great detail.

  “How did you learn to change a tire?” Levi sounded as impressed as Beth was by her daughter’s thorough description.

  “Mister Don taught me and Liza.”

  “Who is Mister Don?” Levi looked up at Beth, clearly puzzled in her rearview mirror.

  She glanced back his way, giving him a smile she hoped would reassure him. There was only one conclusion a kid like Levi would come to in this situation. “He’s my friend.”

  Levi’s face lost a little color and he looked at Kate beside him in her booster seat, then back at Beth’s eyes in the mirror. She waited. Finally he spoke, his voice quiet.

  “Is he nice?”

  Beth was ready to answer, but she didn’t get the chance.

  “Uh-huh. He’s my friend too. He likes to watch movies and lasagna is his favorite and he helps my Uncle Tom on the farm.”

  “He’s nice to you?” The disbelief in Levi’s voice was a sad reminder of the kind of life he’d had.

  Kate nodded and scratched at the hat covering her head. “Yup. Maybe you can meet him someday and he can show you how to change a tire too.”

  “That would be cool.” Levi looked out the window, his face unreadable. Beth could only imagine what was running through his mind. Would it make him hopeful to know there were nice men out there, or sad because the ones he’d been dealt were such pieces of shit?

  Beth pulled into Paul and Nancy’s driveway and parked. The kids jumped out and ran, Levi trailing behind Kate, across the exposed concrete. It was finally cleared of the compacted snow and resulting ice that made it hazardous for anyone who didn’t park in the garage, which was everyone but Nancy. It would probably still be that way if it wasn’t for—

  “Who is this handsome young man?” Hazel met them at the door, barely leaning on her walker for support. As always she was dressed to the nines. Maybe even the tens in a pair of acid washed skinny jeans and a loose green and yellow plaid flannel shirt over a matching green t-shirt. She wore a Timberland boot on one foot and a medical booty on the other.

  “This is my friend Levi. He got to come home with us.” Kate gave Hazel a smile. “You look pretty.”

  Hazel batted the fake eyelashes, glued haphazardly to her wrinkled lids. “Well thank you. I’ve been watching the computer and seeing how the women do make-up these days.” She looked at Beth. “Did you know how easy the internet is to work?”

  “I did. Fun isn’t it?” Beth snagged Kate’s coat just before it fell from her arms and onto the floor, and hung it on the coat rack beside hers. Levi watched her closely.

  “You want to take your coat off honey?” She smiled at him, hoping to put him at ease in what must certainly be a strange environment for him.

  He nodded and unzipped his jacket, eyes moving all around the great room as he pulled his arms free. “Whose house is this?”

  Beth took his coat and hung it beside hers, trying to ignore the sad state of the garment. “This is where my mother-in-law and her boyfriend Paul live.” She leaned in as Nancy came into the room, keeping her voice low enough, only Levi could hear. “He is also nice.”

  Levi gave her a small nod and straightened his shoulders.

  “Is this the famous Levi?” Nancy stopped at Beth’s side and gave the little boy her biggest and warmest smile. “Are you as smart and hard-working as I’ve heard?”

  Levi’s complexion pinkened and he dropped his head, but the smile Nancy’s comment brought to his face was
still easy to see.

  “He’s a handsome one too.” Hazel maneuvered her walker around Liza’s legs that were sprawled out across the hardwood as she colored in her coloring book. She pinched his arm as she passed. “Big muscles too.”

  “Hazel, why don’t you sit down and get that foot up?” Nancy pulled the empty drywall bucket topped with a pillow Paul set up for Hazel to use as a lightweight foot stool next to one of the leather armchairs. “You’re going to be sore tomorrow if you keep pacing around the house.”

  Hazel rolled her eyes as she flopped into the chair Nancy set up. “Gettin’ old is hell Beth, I don’t recommend it.” She carefully set the foot she’d had a bunion removed from onto the pillowed bucket.

  Nancy raised an eyebrow at her. “You didn’t have to have the surgery.”

  Hazel made a frown and straightened in her seat. “It hurt to wear my fancy shoes.”

  Beth sat on the wide arm of Hazel’s chair. “As long as you have your priorities in order.”

  Now it was her turn to be pinched. She jumped at the strong sting on her backside. Hazel giggled. “How am I gonna land me a man if I can’t wear pumps? Men like a woman in pumps. Make’s your legs look thinner.”

  The thought of Hazel’s legs looking any thinner was enough to have Beth laughing along with the tiny old woman, but her laughter was cut short at the sound of a familiar deep voice that made the hair on the back of her neck stand at attention. She suppressed a shiver as awareness snaked down her spine, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

  “I’d wear pumps till my feet fell off for that one.” Hazel shook her head and stared at the man in the doorway. “The things I would let him do to me.”

  As disturbing as that thought was, it was one Beth understood completely. She followed Hazel’s blatant stare and found that damn irresistible man was staring back at her, his gaze almost as obvious as Hazel’s. Beth glanced around the room to see if anyone noticed but everyone else was oblivious. Paul was chatting with Liza about the picture she colored, Nancy was still making over Levi, and Kate was stretched out on the couch with a book.

  A poke in Beth’s side nearly made her fall off the chair.

  “He’s lookin’ at me isn’t he?” Hazel smiled and batted her long, black fake eyelashes. “I knew these things would help.” She shifted in her seat, leaning into the other arm in what the old woman must intend to be a sultry pose. “He’s coming over here.” Hazel’s voice was almost an octave higher.

  Don nodded at the older woman. “Hi Hazel. You look like you’re feeling better.”

  Hazel’s hand went to her chest and her eyes continued to bat at a ridiculous pace. One of the lash strips managed to break free at one end and was now flapping around with each blink. “Thank you for noticing.”

  Don stepped close to Beth’s side. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” He glanced in Hazel’s direction. The woman was no longer leaning seductively on the opposite arm but was now as close as she could get to Beth, straining to sit as tall as her five foot frame could manage. He looked back at Beth and lowered his voice. “Privately?”

  Beth stood up, and glanced at Levi who was now happily coloring with Liza on the floor. “Sure.”

  Don must have sensed her hesitation at leaving the little boy in an unfamiliar place. “It will be real quick.”

  She followed him through the kitchen and into the hall that connected to the garage, expecting him to stop there. Instead he opened the door to Paul’s garage and stepped through, holding it open for her to follow. The room was heated, not as well as the house, but was still warmer than most garages.

  Don shut the door behind her. As soon as the handle latch clicked into place, she found her back pressed against the six panel slab of oak, and her front pressed against an equally hard but much more enticing form.

  Don’s mouth was on hers, hot and demanding making her knees go weak and her head swimmy. His tongue pushed between her parted lips as his hands tangled in her hair. He pushed against her, his weight the only thing holding Beth up as her legs threatened to give out, a symptom of the horrible case of shock and instant arousal she was suffering from.

  Nothing like this had ever happened to her before, not in real life anyway.

  It had happened however, many times in her mind as she watched Don working in fields over the summer. Hot, sweaty and shirtless, he was the perfect man to play opposite her sultry self in all Beth’s naughty fantasies.

  But now that it was happening in real life, Beth was struggling to remember what she’d done in those clandestine imaginings. Hopefully it was more impressive than what she was doing now, which was a whole lot of nothing besides trying to melt into a pool on the floor.

  Don pulled back, his hands still holding her face, body still pushed so tightly against hers she could feel that he was suffering from at least one of the same afflictions she was. Beth pushed back against his rigid erection and his already ragged breath caught.

  “Beth.” He breathed her name against the sensitive patch of skin just beneath her ear before nipping at the flesh.

  She let her head fall back against the door and struggled to catch her own breath. “Yes?”

  Then his eyes were on hers, the piercing blue barely a scrap of a circle, overtaken by wide, black pupils. He brushed a soft kiss over her lips.

  “I missed you.”

  FIFTEEN

  “I am so jealous.” Autumn shook her head over the cup of coffee clenched in her hand. “I wish I could say it was because I’ve been married so long, but Jerry’s never been like that.” She gave a loud sigh.

  “I don’t think there are many men like him.” If there were, Beth hadn’t managed to come across them over the past thirty odd years. While it was unbelievably hot to be treated like a wickedly desirable woman, the garage kiss she’d just confessed to Autumn wasn’t the sexiest thing Don did last night at dinner.

  “Oh God you’re smiling. I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking about.” Autumn stood up from her kitchen table, then immediately sat back down. “I lied. I do actually want to know what you’re thinking about.”

  Autumn stared at her, waiting.

  “Nothing actually.” Beth shrugged her shoulders. The memory of Don helping Levi with his math between dinner and dessert probably wasn’t the juicy tidbit Autumn was expecting but the sight of him being so attentive and patient with Levi easily overshadowed their clandestine kissing. When she saw Don slip the little boy a familiar looking piece of paper, the feel of his mouth on hers was almost forgotten.

  Almost.

  Knowing that now Levi had not just her to call if he needed help made Beth want to grab Don right there in front of God and everybody and show him just how much she appreciated him. With her lips of course.

  “Liar.” Autumn looked over her shoulder then back at Beth. She leaned across the table and whispered. “Is he hung? He looks like he’d be hung.”

  Yeah. Autumn would definitely be disappointed with her actual thoughts at the moment.

  “I can’t tell you that.” Beth shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. Nope, she’d been dreaming about this man for too long. Telling Autumn about the garage kiss was one thing, but she wasn’t sharing anything more interesting than that. All those secrets would stay hers.

  Plus she didn’t actually know.

  Yet.

  Autumn leaned back in her seat. “Why not?”

  Beth decided to show her why not. “What about Jerry? Impressive?”

  It backfired. Autumn shrugged and held her hand out, palm down, rocking it side to side. “Eh.”

  “Ew.” Beth wrinkled her nose as a disturbing mental image of Jerry crept into her brain.

  Autumn raised one shoulder. “You asked.”

  “I take it back.”

  Keys jingled in the lock on the back door and Autumn leaned back in her chair, looking into the mud room off the kitchen. “Speak of the devil.”

  Beth felt her face heat as Jerry walked into th
e room smiling. “Hey Beth, you here for girl talk time?”

  Oh God. If he only knew that two seconds ago her mind assaulted her with an unwanted composite of his average appendage. Beth forced her lips to smile even though she wanted to cringe at the awkwardness only she was feeling. “Just came so the kids could play.” She stood up and rushed from the room to give herself time to recover. “I should probably check on them.”

  Jerry followed her, stopping her in the dining room, out of ear reach of the kids.

  “How’s Levi doing?”

  Those few words helped Beth forget all about Autumn’s unexpected disclosure and the heat prickling her face was no longer from embarrassment.

  “The other day he missed the bus and his mother refused to come get him.” Beth’s shoulder began to tighten and the muscles of her neck started to bunch together as she thought about that vile woman and the disgusting way she treated her child.

  “She told me if I was so worried about him I could just take him with me. So I did.” Levi had what was probably the first family dinner of his life. Luckily it was cooked by Nancy making it more likely his memories of the occasion would be happy ones.

  Or they would have until his mother called just as he was finishing his first piece of homemade apple pie complete with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream, and the woman was ready to pick a fight.

  Jerry’s brows went up in surprise. “Is he still with you?”

  “No. She called a few hours later and started screaming at me, threatening to call the police and tell them I kidnapped him.” Of course that was after she called Beth a C U Next Tuesday and a whore.

  The last part actually made Beth laugh which only pissed his mother off more.

  “I didn’t hear anything about her calling in.” Jerry was on his phone, probably texting everything she was saying to another police officer.

  “She wasn’t really going to call. The last thing she wants is people poking around because they would likely find something she didn’t want found.” There was no doubt in Beth’s mind the woman was still using. Unfortunately she couldn’t prove it, so she was left waiting, doing her best to help Levi as much as she could.