Annie's Neighborhood (Harlequin Heartwarming)

by Fox, Roz Denny

  Annie patted his knee. “Did you tell her Chief Cordova said he’d work everything out?”

  “Yeah, but she don’t think our kind can trust cops.”

  “What do you mean ‘your kind’?” Annie asked sharply.

  “You know.” He shrugged.

  She didn’t know what he meant for sure, but she could guess. She’d encountered distrust toward all government authority figures among the minority populations she’d worked with in L.A. In some cases they distrusted with good reason. But not this one. “Deshawn, you could be charged with attempted arson. That’s serious. Chief Cordova wants to work out some kind of arrangement to let you off with a warning, but he doesn’t have to. You strike me as a smart kid. I hope you appreciate what we’re doing to help you out of a mess that’s at least partly of your own making. So you need to cooperate where you can. The fact is, you made a bad decision to go along with what those gang members asked you to do.”

  “I know.” The boy slid lower in his chair, his expression glum. He lifted his eyes to the man who’d walked up to them in midconversation. “I swear I wouldn’t have lit no match,” he said, looking straight at Sky. “I was too scared.”

  “I’ll take your word for that, son. Annie, I need to go. I’m leaving Deshawn in the hands of Lieutenant Talmage. I’ll check in later.” He took two steps toward the door, then turned back. For a minute his gaze seemed to center on Annie’s mouth. “Try not to cause any more trouble while I’m gone,” he muttered.

  She raised her chin in a mulish way, but held her tongue.

  Shaking his head, Sky left.

  Koot beckoned to Annie and Deshawn. They hadn’t quite reached the office when three women and a very pretty teenage girl burst through the main door. Two of the women started to wail, but the tallest, an attractive dark-skinned woman of maybe forty, rushed up to Deshawn and gathered him in her arms. “Deshawn, baby, what have you done?”

  He burst into tears and sobbed out his story until Koot put his fingers to his lips, whistled shrilly and said, “Y’all stop this caterwauling.”

  Annie almost smiled because they did stop as if their weeping was turned off by a single switch. Koot ended up taking Deshawn and his mother into the office. Annie sat in the waiting area again and struck up a conversation with Burdette Poole and Chantal Culver, Deshawn’s sister.

  “Ah, so you’d be Gran Ida’s relative from California,” Nina Morino said after introductions were made. “You’re the one who came to town and stirred up the Stingers.”

  Annie’s mouth thinned. “That bunch should’ve been stirred up and sent packing long before they got their hooks into the people of this town.”

  Chantal, who’d said nothing to this point, piped up. “They got their hooks into the good kids by acting all friendly-like. They claimed to have backers who promised to build us a teen center. Instead, they skulked around, figured out who was weak and got them to sell drugs or steal stuff. And they do it by threatening our families.”

  Annie’s ears perked up. She dug her notebook out of her purse and flipped to a clean page. “What do you think a drug- and alcohol-free teen center would have to offer if it’s going to lure kids away from gang activity, Chantal?”

  “Dances, for one thing,” the girl said. “The high school and junior high principals canceled all after-school events ’cause of fights and stuff. Teachers said they don’t get paid enough to police the grounds before or after school. So we don’t have sports, either. It’s not safe to hang out with friends when class lets out,” she said.

  “And the city doesn’t have enough cops to handle all the problems,” Burdette Poole, one of the adults, elaborated. “Parents can’t be in two places at once. Many work more than one job.”

  “Tanya Hall, another of our friends, heard you’ve got big ideas to do stuff Gran Ida used to talk about,” Nina said, eyeing Annie. “Nobody paid attention to her, ’cause we thought Ida was a bit senile. You know...” The Hispanic woman lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

  “Are you aware Ida was my grandmother? She wasn’t as out of touch as you think. It’s a cinch the houses in this town can do with paint and yard cleanup, which is one thing my grandmother wanted, right?”

  “Nina didn’t mean to speak ill of someone who passed on,” Burdette chimed in. “Nor did Tanya. Gran Ida had great ideas. It’s just...none of us have the money or the energy to fix up our homes.”

  She looked so disheartened, Annie reached over and squeezed the woman’s plump arm, smiled and said, “Painting may not be that costly, Burdette. Drive down Gran’s street. Two neighbors and I painted three of the Victorians. I got a fantastic deal on paint if you’re interested. Other people on our block pitched in yesterday, so we’re painting their homes next. I hope to keep going with this project.”

  “Why would you do that?” Nina asked suspiciously.

  “To carry out my grandmother’s dream,” Annie said softly, and the women nodded as if they suddenly understood.

  Davena Culver and Deshawn rejoined the others. Mrs. Culver leaned down and impulsively hugged Annie. “Lieutenant Talmage said I owe you a heap of thanks for listening to my boy. And you fed him, too,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “If I can do anything in return, you only have to ask.”

  “As a matter of fact, I wondered if you sewed that cute dress Chantal’s wearing.”

  The woman looked startled. “Yes, I did. I love to sew. I don’t have the time for it like I used to, or the money for material. Oh, I hope you don’t want me to make you a dress.” Her face fell.

  “I don’t need a dress, but I’m hoping to find a couple of women to sew drapes. The lieutenant’s wife’s going to help after her arm heals. What I have in mind isn’t a one-time job, but something ongoing.”

  “I’m sorry, but I already have two jobs. Well, I did have. One’s gone.”

  Annie glanced at Deshawn. “I understood that if you came to the station you’d lose your main job. Mrs. Culver, I think I can match what you made in hotel housekeeping. And sewing would let you work at home. So you could be there when your kids get back from school? I’m also considering setting up a teen center, a place free of riffraff.”

  Davena Culver clasped a hand over her heart, but still seemed unsure.

  “Listen, I realize you don’t know me. I grew up here. Gran Ida raised me, and I owe her more than I can ever repay. It may seem too little, too late, but I intend to live up to the faith she had in me. Part of which was her staunch belief that I have what it takes to return Briar Run to the town it used to be.”

  “Won’t be easy,” Burdette murmured. “Impossible,” Koot predicted from behind them. “And Sky’s not going to be happy about your teen center idea. You’d better wait on that until he gets back.”

  Annie looked defiant. “Ladies, and Deshawn, if we’re all squared away here, I suggest we go someplace where we can nail down our plans.” Annie herded them all toward the exit, ignoring Koot’s admonitions.

  * * *

  ABOUT THREE THAT afternoon, Sky stopped his cruiser on the street in front of Rita and Homer Gonzales’s home. The faint beginnings of a headache that had started in the noisy chimpanzee section of the zoo began to throb in the back of his head as he sat watching Annie paint siding. She stood high on a too-tall ladder. The house, which yesterday was a dingy white, now appeared fresh in a new coat of pale cream. Three women wielded rollers and brushes. None were as far up as Annie.

  Sky didn’t know how to get her attention. Once again, she kept the world at bay as she worked, listening to songs streaming into her earphones.

  Rita Gonzales noticed Sky’s approach and beamed at him. “Chief Cordova. Isn’t this the greatest improvement?” She waved a dripping brush.

  “Mmm,” he grunted. “Is there any way to have a word with your foreman?” He stabbed a finger toward Annie.

/>   “Daddy, Daddy,” exclaimed a boy who ran up and tugged on Sky’s pant leg, “That looks funner. I wanna paint. Can I? Can I, huh?”

  Sky glanced down in surprise. “Zachary, how did you get out of your booster seat? Didn’t I ask you to stay in the car?” Sky massaged the back of his head where the drumbeat had grown more insistent.

  “Booster seats are for babies. I’m five.” The boy held up his hand, fingers splayed. “I won’t get paint on my shirt, I promise. In day care we hafta wear big men’s shirts. Mama makes me wear Papa Archibald’s shirt, but it smells yucky.” The little boy wrinkled his nose.

  Those words had Sky swallowing his next lecture. He knew he shouldn’t be glad that his son thought his stepdad’s shirt smelled yucky, but he was tempted. He got darned tired of hearing about Saint Archibald Fleming from Corrine.

  While Sky was occupied with his son, Rita went over to Annie’s ladder and gave it a couple of hard shakes.

  Sky saw the ladder sway. “Rita, her ladder isn’t on a solid footing,” he called. “Stop, before you make Annie fall.”

  The rocking of her ladder did gain Annie’s attention. Looking down, she peered at Rita, who jerked a thumb over one shoulder. Turning farther, Annie saw Sky. She pushed her goggles up into her hair, shut off her music and laid her brush across a paint can perched on an aluminum tray jutting out from the ladder. Then she descended step by careful step. The minute she noticed that Sky had grabbed hold of the lower sides of her ladder to steady it, Annie sent him a grateful smile.

  She jumped the last three rungs and landed with a thud between Sky’s arms. Laughing, she turned around―until they stood chest to chest. Their thighs brushed, and Sky’s blue eyes went dark and smoky.

  “Daddy, are you gonna ask that lady if I can paint?”

  Annie was the first to break free, dispelling the tension between them. “Oh, hello, you must be Zachary,” she said, ducking beneath Sky’s muscled arm. “I’m Annie.” Bending, she smiled and stretched out her hand.

  Taking it, the boy said, “I like your name. I like to paint. Can I help you?”

  Annie straightened. “That’s up to your dad. I have grungy paint clothes on, and you guys are dressed for the zoo.”

  The boy squinted up at her. “How did you know we went to the zoo?”

  Annie debated saying she’d just guessed, because Sky was frowning. She knew how kids blabbed, how they tended to say whatever came into their heads. She wasn’t sure if Sky’s displeasure was at her for barging in and introducing herself to his son. “I think your dad mentioned it,” she said as the boy clearly expected an answer.

  “I like animals,” he said. “We saw the giraffes, two big elephants and polar bears.... Daddy, what were their names?”

  “Qannik and Siku,” Sky said, coming over to set a hand on his son’s tawny curls.

  “Yeah, that’s them. And we saw tigers and snakes and frogs and a big white alligator, huh, Daddy?”

  Sky’s earlier frown dissolved in an instant, and his blue eyes, so like his son’s, crinkled at the corners with his smile.

  Annie saw the family resemblance in their eyes and in the shape of their faces. Except that Sky had stronger cheekbones, and his hair was more brown than gold like Zack’s. His son might grow up to be slighter of build. Something Annie really liked about Sky’s looks was that for a tall man he was wide across the chest and not too narrow in the hips. He was built solidly—a man who could handle any emergency. Maybe Zack would fill out as he got older. Hard to tell at this age. “So can I help Miz Annie paint, Daddy?”

  “Maybe another time. I stopped by to have an official word with Miz Annie. Son, I need you to go buckle yourself back in your seat.”

  “Aw!” Pouting, the boy kicked at a pile of trim that had been removed from around the house windows.

  Annie felt for the child. She took a piece of light sandpaper from a pouch in the carpenter’s belt she wore. “Zack, maybe your dad will let you sand that top piece of trim while he and I talk. They need a light going over before Mrs. Gonzales paints them.”

  Zachary’s eyes lit up.

  Sky darted another frown at Annie.

  “He wants to help, Sky, and that’s admirable. The boards have already been cleaned of old paint. At the most you’ll have to dust off his shirt and pants.”

  “Okay, sure, Zachary. Let me show you how to sand,” he said, plucking the sandpaper from Annie’s hand.

  She stood aside and surveyed the work already accomplished on the Gonzales home and thought it looked good. Engrossed, she gave a start when Sky latched his hand around her upper arm and moved her some distance away from where his son was now busily sanding.

  “I talked to Koot half an hour ago. He said you stuck your nose into what’s sure to be another hornet’s nest.”

  “And that would be?”

  “A teen center. I can’t think of many things likely to cause my department bigger headaches than gathering a bunch of teenagers together at a single location in a town understaffed by police. A town you know darned well is rife with gang activity. Honestly, what are you thinking?”

  She yanked on the bill of her Dodgers cap. “The truth is, as I talked to Chantal Culver, her mom and the others, it struck me that this town’s been held hostage for too long. Kids shouldn’t be afraid to meet their friends after school or do things outside their homes. I haven’t worked out the details yet. Maybe I could hire a couple of handymen once I find a place. I’d hoped you could steer me toward a cheap, empty building not too far from the high school. Ideally it needs property out back big enough to fence and set up a basketball court.”

  He threw both hands up in the air. “Are you bull―uh, kidding me?”

  “I’m dead serious. Oh, I hired Mrs. Culver to make drapes for the front windows of the homes we’ve painted. It was dumb luck that she and I stumbled across the most fantastic sale of perfect fabrics. I know it’ll be a while before Sadie Talmage is healed enough to sew, and Davena needs work.... Anyway, I think Sadie’s design expertise can be put to better use decorating the teen center.”

  “You’re certifiable!”

  “I don’t agree. People are getting involved. By the way, I plan to paint homes on your street next, starting with Davena Culver’s place at the end of your cul-de-sac.” Turning aside, Annie opened a cooler sitting near the porch and removed two bottles of water. She handed Sky one, and smiled over the lip of hers as he rolled his cold bottle across his forehead. “Would it be okay to give Zack an orange pop as a treat for sanding?” she asked.

  He checked his watch. “Sure, why not mess up my whole day? I’m going to get yelled at, anyway, for bringing him home late, all because Koot mistakenly thought I could drop by here and talk some sense into you. So, when Corrine takes a strip off me for ruining Zack’s dinner with a soft drink, it’s a mere ripple in my life.”

  He dug out the bottle of orange soda buried under ice in the cooler. “Zack,” he called. “Give Miz Annie her sandpaper and come get a drink. We need to head out to the farm. We’re already late. You can drink this on the way.”

  The boy trotted over and gave Annie the crumpled square of sandpaper. “Did you ask Mama if it’s okay?” he said, querying his dad. “Papa Archibald doesn’t let his kids or me drink soda, ’cause he says it rots your teeth.”

  Sky wrenched off the bottle cap. “I drink the occasional soda. My teeth are fine. Please try not to spill on your white shirt.” Under his breath in an aside to Annie he muttered, “Who sends a boy to the zoo in a white dress shirt?”

  “I’m in enough trouble with you, Sky. I won’t be stepping into that trap.”

  “Mmm.” He opened his water and took a long drink. “The main problem is...I’m worried about you, Annie. Worried about the lengths Stinger leaders will go to maintain a grip on their turf.”

  Annie’s h
eart caved, just a bit. “I, ah, thought I’d annoyed you.”

  “There is that.” His slow smile was lopsided.

  “Daddy, you said we were gonna be late. Can we come back another time and help paint?” The boy turned his eager face up to Annie.

  Sky answered for her. “Zack, let’s see how our next visit coincides with Annie’s schedule to paint my house.”

  “She’s gonna paint your house? What color? I like red.”

  “It won’t be red.”

  “Why?” Zack juggled his drink as he gazed at his dad. Already the boy had orange staining his lips and chin.

  “Have you seen any red houses?” Sky asked.

  Zack skipped backward a few steps. “Nope, but Grover says it’s okay to be different from everybody else.”

  “Grover who?” Sky had started walking toward the street where his car sat, but he stopped to question his son.

  “You know, Grover on TV.”

  Annie, trailing a few steps behind the pair, said, “I think he means Grover from Sesame Street.”

  Zack nodded vigorously and his soda did slop onto his white dress shirt.

  Sky glanced at Annie as he straightened the bottle Zack held. “How do you know so much about a kids’ TV show?”

  “We had a TV going 24/7 in the waiting room of our counseling offices. Believe it or not, the characters on that program dispense a lot of sage advice.”

  “Maybe, but all the same, don’t you be painting my house red.”

  Annie smothered a laugh. “I’d never do that. You get to choose your own colors. I gave Davena Culver the folder of exterior colors I picked up before I painted my house. She’ll pass it along to the residents on your street. If you stop to check on Deshawn, his mom can tell you who has it. Once you’ve seen it, you can phone me with your color choices.”

  “How have you organized such a big operation in one day? You’ve hired a seamstress, circulated a color chart and you’ve added some painters, I see.”

  They’d progressed to where Sky’s car was parked on the street. Zack’s head continued to swivel between the two adults as he gulped his orange drink.