Say No To Joe?

by Lori Foster

  Luna smiled. “I’m sorry.”

  “You do not look one damn bit sorry, Luna, so don’t patronize me.” His chest expanded, and once again, he took a visual survey of her body. “God Almighty. You being in here isn’t helping, babe.”

  It made no sense to Luna. She had to look a wreck with her wild hair and lack of makeup and sloppy clothes.

  As if he’d read her mind, he said, “You look like a woman who spent a sleepless night in bed.”

  She nodded. “I did.”

  Joe swallowed. “Me, too.”

  Shaking herself, Luna tried to smooth her hair. “I’ve got terrible bed head.”

  Several seconds passed, then Joe dropped his arms and drew a deep breath. He tugged at his ear, pressing the small earring there. “Since I suppose we’re going to find ourselves in this situation more than once, I’ll promise to ignore your hair if you’ll ignore my morning wood.”

  She slanted a look at his lap. “I don’t know. That’s pretty hard to ignore.”

  “Don’t.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “If you talk about it, it’ll come back.”

  Laughing, Luna back-stepped for the door. “All right. I’ll give you five more minutes to do … whatever you do in the morning, then you can join us in the kitchen.”

  He glanced at her face, noting the touch of whisker burn, thanks to him. “Make it ten, and I’ll shave.”

  “Deal.”

  Luna reentered the kitchen to find both kids sitting like silent angels at the table. She paused. “What’s this?”

  Austin fidgeted in his seat. “Want me to set the table or somethin’?”

  “I can help cook,” Willow offered. “Or we could just have cereal like we usually do so you won’t have to bother.”

  Luna looked from one solemn, sincere face to the next. “All right.” She put her hands on her hips and tapped one bare foot. “What’s going on?”

  Willow shrugged. “Nothing.”

  But Austin wasn’t one to remain quiet for long. “Willow said you and Joe were arguing cuz of us and we don’t want you to get mad and go away so we promise to be good and help out around the place and I won’t even drink Coke in the morning or make faces when you and Joe are smooching or argue with Willow—if she doesn’t try to tell me what to do—and I won’t sneak out at night anymore.” He drew a long, starved breath after all that.

  Luna stared. “That was a pretty impressive speech, Austin.”

  He beamed.

  “But I’m not going anywhere.” Absently, she replayed Austin’s whole diatribe through her mind. Her eyes widened. “Sneak out at night? What in the world are you talking about?”

  Willow scowled and reached over to punch her brother in the arm. He winced, and his face scrunched up as he concentrated on not rubbing it.

  Luna felt like pulling out her hair. “Willow, please don’t hit your brother.”

  “He’s got a big mouth.”

  “He’s nine years old, honey. He says what’s on his mind, and that’s good. But, Austin, what’s this about sneaking out?”

  Joe’s door opened, and he walked into the kitchen, a little stiff legged and still wearing his whiskers. “I was going to talk to you about that.”

  While Joe poured himself a cup of coffee, Luna waited. “Tell me about what?”

  He sat beside Austin. “Houdini’s antics.”

  “Who’s Houdini?” Austin asked.

  “Someone who was better at escaping than you,” Willow informed him, which prompted Austin to stick his tongue out at her.

  “Joe, what’s going on?”

  Joe stretched out his legs, took his time sipping his coffee, then sighed. “I caught Austin trying to slip out of his room last night.”

  “To go where?”

  Joe raised a brow at Austin, who flushed, looked down at the table and mumbled, “Just out.”

  “He goes to the lake,” Willow told them. “When I hear him, I follow him. But he’s good at being quiet.”

  “Not good enough,” Joe told her. “I caught him three times last night.”

  The monumental task ahead of her finally sunk in. Luna swallowed, looked at both kids, and wondered how in the world she’d ever handle them. She knew nothing of children, of what motivated them or how they thought. And these two weren’t your everyday carefree kids. She stared at Austin, trying to think what to say to reach him.

  His small shoulders stiffened and his face colored, not with embarrassment but with determination. Luna knew she had to do or say something, right now.

  “Austin—”

  He twisted toward Joe and pointed an accusing finger. “He was listenin’ in on you and Willow last night.”

  That drew Luna up. Swamped in confusion, she looked to Joe. “What?”

  Austin inhaled to continue, but Joe held up a hand, silencing him. His gaze locked on Luna’s like a laser, watchful, intent, as if he somehow wanted to convey some silent message to her. “I heard Austin moving around last night and went up to investigate.” He searched her face, and his brows drew down in an expression of conviction. “You were in Willow’s room chatting. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I didn’t announce myself.”

  “He listened!”

  Words, images, flashed through Luna’s mind. Her chest tightened, and mortified heat rushed to her face.

  “I did,” Joe confirmed, still watching her too closely. “First, because I was worried about Willow. Then I found Austin and I put him back to bed, only he didn’t stay there. I ended up putting him back to bed a few more times. This morning, I think he should be punished.”

  Deflated, a little desperate to redirect the attention, Austin turned to Luna. “Aren’t you mad that Joe was listenin’ in?”

  Luna felt stiff. Mad? She was humiliated, wounded. He’d heard all her nonsense about him being a heartbreaker. Oh, God. She couldn’t even remember all the awful things she’d confided in her efforts to share with Willow and to get her to open up in return.

  Her face burned with the memory of it. But with both children peering at her and Joe gauging her every reaction, she swallowed her hurt and addressed the most important problem. “Even if I was mad at him, Austin, that wouldn’t change what you did. After I’ve gone to bed, you can’t leave the house for any reason.”

  “But I—” A knock sounded on the front door. Both children jumped, turning to each other as if expecting the hounds of hell to enter.

  Joe took in their curious reactions. “I’ll get it.”

  “I’m going to my room,” Austin blurted and started to push back his chair.

  “You,” Joe told him, “are staying put until we’re done discussing this.”

  Austin slowly sank back into his seat. His eyes were huge and fretful, and Luna couldn’t bear it. Was he that worried about being punished? She moved behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. “It’ll be all right, Austin. We’ll figure everything out.”

  But a minute later when Joe came into the kitchen with a deputy, she had her doubts.

  “Coffee?” Joe offered the man.

  “Thanks.” He held out a broad, work-rough hand to Luna. “Deputy Scott Royal, ma’am. I’m sorry to disturb your morning.”

  “Deputy.” Luna shook his hand—and noticed how he gave each child a familiar, censuring glance. “I’m Luna Clark.”

  “The new guardian, I know, Joe explained already. Nice to meet you, Ms. Clark.”

  “Please call me Luna.” She gestured at the table. “Make yourself comfortable, Deputy.”

  Joe handed Scott his coffee. “Luna, you remember me telling you that I knew some of the law officers in Welcome County? Well, Scott’s the one who invited me back to visit after I returned their guy.”

  Scott pulled out a chair and sat. He removed his hat and put it on his knee. Luna liked him on sight. He had sandy brown hair, gentle blue eyes, and a quirky smile. “We were this close,” Scott said, holding up his finger and thumb to indicate less than an inch, “to catching that rascal a dozen t
imes, but he always slipped away from us. I’d about given up hope, when one day Joe calls and says, ‘Hey, you guys missing someone down there?’ He was so cavalier about it, I almost didn’t believe him at first.”

  Austin stared wide-eyed at Joe. “You caught a criminal?”

  Scott nodded. “He caught a bunch of them. Joe’s one of the best bounty hunters in the country.”

  “Not anymore,” Joe corrected. “I gave it up.”

  It was Luna’s turn to blink. “I knew he’d been a bounty hunter, but I didn’t know …”

  “That he was so good? Yes, ma’am. Damn good. Had a reputation a mile long, both with the law and with the criminals, though I dare say they didn’t share the same sentiments about him.”

  Austin opened his mouth to reprimand the deputy on swearing, but Joe said, “Austin,” and he relented, slumping down in his seat.

  Scott turned to the boy. “So, Joe tells me you were in all night last night.”

  “Yeah.” Austin said it cautiously, as if unwilling to commit himself until he knew why Scott had asked.

  “That’s a good thing, Austin, since I have a few people complaining that you vandalized their property last night.”

  Austin perked right up. “I didn’t! Joe wouldn’t let me leave. I tried, but he kept sneakin’ up on me and grumbling and making me go back to bed.” He turned excitedly to Joe. “Ain’t that right?”

  Scott almost laughed, but he pulled together a frown instead. “Glad to hear it. If I’d caught you again, I’m afraid I’d have had to haul you in.”

  Again? Now Luna understood why the kids had looked so alarmed by the early morning caller. Was a visit from the local deputy routine? Luna felt sicker by the moment. “What happened?”

  Scott pulled out his notes. “A lot of stuff. Flowerbeds trampled, car windows broken, dog doo-doo on the front steps.” He slanted his gaze on Austin. “All the earmarks of an Austin operation.”

  “Wasn’t me.”

  Scott closed his notes. “Because I’ve caught you myself a few times, Austin, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to take your word for it. That’s the bad thing about getting into trouble. Once you do it, it’s tough to prove you’re not doing it again. But I know Joe, and I do trust him. He tells me you were in bed, so I believe him.”

  Austin seemed to go boneless in relief. Watching him, Joe reached over and put a big hand on his shoulder.

  But Willow’s voice was cold when she spoke. “Like you said, Deputy Royal. It had all the earmarks of an Austin operation.”

  Scott nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  “That means someone was trying to make it look like Austin did it.”

  Luna hadn’t considered that, but she saw that both Joe and Scott had already come to that conclusion.

  “It’s possible,” Scott said. “But those things are typical pranks that we see from time to time.”

  Joe glanced meaningfully at Luna. She knew he wanted to pass some silent message, but she didn’t quite understand. He cleared his throat. “I think I’ll put up some motion lights and detectors, maybe a security camera, and the house definitely needs new locks.”

  “Not a bad idea.” Scott sipped his coffee while looking at each person in turn. “It’ll ensure that everyone stays in who should stay in, and everyone stays out who should stay out, so you can get a little sleep.” He raised his coffee cup to Joe in a salute. “I don’t mind telling you, you look like hell.”

  Joe laughed. “Yeah, no kidding. It’s been a rough couple of weeks.”

  “Maybe we can get together one night and you can tell me about it.” Scott propped both elbows on the table and leaned forward. “But first I have to go pacify a bunch of people who were more than ready to let Austin pay for repairs. They won’t be happy to know he didn’t do it. That’s if I can convince them.”

  “I’m sure they’ll want the real culprit caught,” Luna insisted, feeling sorry for Austin with his long face.

  Scott looked skeptical over that, but only shrugged. “You’ll need to drive into the city to get the stuff you need. I can give you the address of a good place. It’s two hours away, but worth the trip.”

  “Thanks.”

  “The rest of you should be more careful, just in case it was a setup. And, Austin, I hope you see how serious this is. If you hadn’t had Joe for an alibi, you’d be in the back of my car right now.”

  Luna wasn’t certain if that was true or if Scott only wanted to impress upon Austin the importance of staying in at night. Because he did look impressed, she could have kissed the deputy’s feet for his well-timed intervention. “Thank you, Deputy.”

  “Call me Scott. Any friend of Joe’s and all that.” He finished off his coffee and stood to leave.

  With another long, meaningful look, Joe gave Luna’s hand a squeeze, then walked Scott to the door. The children were subdued in his absence, and that bothered Luna. She was faced with the monumental task of reprimanding Austin for his own good and reassuring him at the same time.

  She put the bacon in the frying pan, all the while thinking. Finally she leaned back against the counter and considered him. “Why do you leave the house, Austin?”

  His head dropped forward, and she heard the shrug in his tone. “Just to walk and think about stuff.”

  Luna recalled being nine once herself, and like Austin, she’d taken walks to think. Her parents were forever arguing, saying vicious, cruel things to each other. Getting away from them had made her feel better.

  She’d go around the block to an empty baseball field, and she’d circle it, taking her time, feeling the sun on her back, the dust in her face. She didn’t think about her problems when she took her long walks. Instead, she tried to imagine what a normal, happy family might be like.

  Could it be the same for Austin? While she had enjoyed the sun, perhaps he enjoyed the moon. Luna broke three eggs atop the pancake mixture, added some milk, and offered impulsively, “You know, Austin, if you ever feel that way, maybe you could wake me up and we could walk together?”

  Joe stepped back into the room. “No one is walking outside at night.”

  Luna rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I would never risk Austin that way.”

  “Then take your walks during the day.”

  Joe’s autocratic tone had her bristling. “Austin doesn’t want to walk during the day, now does he?”

  Austin said, “No. I like it at night.”

  Hands on his hips, Joe stared down at Austin. “Why?”

  “It’s quiet. Everyone else is asleep. There ain’t anyone to yell at me.”

  It was an amazing thing to watch Joe Winston soften. Luna smiled. “Joe’s right that it isn’t safe to be outside at night. Especially not right now while someone is pulling pranks. But maybe we could just walk around the house. We could talk and I could keep you company. Or if you want, I could just be quiet and you wouldn’t even know I was there. What do you think?”

  Austin’s brown eyes regarded her for several heartbeats. “Yeah. Maybe.”

  There was that suspicion again. Luna knew it’d take time for him to trust her, to relax with her. But when she thought of all he’d been through, it hurt and made her impatient to help put his worries behind him. “Great. Then that’s what we’ll do.”

  Willow propped her elbows on the table. “So you used to be a bounty hunter?”

  With both kids watching, Joe casually kissed the side of Luna’s neck. She stiffened, but he patted her back, whispered, “It’ll be all right,” and then went to the table. “I gave it up a year or so ago.”

  “How come?”

  “Lots of reasons, but mostly because I got tired of traveling so much. Bounty hunters run anywhere from five to fifteen cases at a time, which meant I was always on the road.”

  “Tracking?” Austin asked with wide eyes.

  “That’s right. And when you’re working, you don’t have any set hours. Because you can’t turn your phone or pager off, you get calls—tips—in the middle
of the night. When a tip is good, you follow up on it, even if that means crawling out of bed after only two hours of sleep. I got to where I wanted some personal time to myself. So I quit.”

  Luna poured perfect circles of batter onto a hot griddle while listening. So Joe wanted personal time? Alone? And here she’d dragged him to Visitation with her, right into the middle of two troubled kids and mass chaos. Worse, he was still injured and not up to snuff. She’d been incredibly selfish, and it made her stomach churn.

  “What do you do now?” Willow asked.

  “I was acting as a bodyguard. Luckily I’d finished a job before I got beat up, and then your cousin showed up at my door and invited me along to meet you two, so here I am, hanging out in Visitation.”

  “Do bodyguards carry guns?” Austin asked.

  “They do. But only to protect the person they’re working for. I’m good with my hands,” Joe bragged, holding them up and flexing his fingers. His fists were enormous, his arms bulging with strength. Austin’s eyes widened even more.

  “Make a muscle,” Austin insisted, and Joe, with a grin, did just that. Austin used both hands and still couldn’t encircle Joe’s biceps. “Wow.”

  Luna’s reaction was different, more feminine. She remembered how Joe had tackled that intruder in his apartment, the ease with which he’d gained the upper hand, and she sighed in awe. Joe Winston was all superior male, and as a woman, she couldn’t remain immune to him.

  “Strong and in shape is important,” Joe said, “because whenever possible, I use nonlethal force.”

  “Meaning you don’t shoot people?”

  “Meaning I don’t even like to hurt people if I can help it. Other times …” He shrugged. “My last case was to protect a young woman who was turning evidence on her husband.”

  Willow tipped her head. “Turning evidence. What does that mean?”

  “It means her husband was a really bad man who mistreated her and other people.” Luna heard a distinct edge in Joe’s tone now. She glanced at him—and found him watching her with too much intensity.

  “In order to put him in jail, she had to testify in court against him. He didn’t want her to do that, so he tried to intimidate her.”