Do Not Disturb

by Lisa Ballenger

  Brett smiled, following her out the door. “Nicest invitation I’ve talked myself into in quite a while.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Allison tugged a white cotton shirt over her head and tucked it into the waistband of her olive green shorts. She brushed her hair off her face and used a coated rubber band to hold it in a low ponytail at the base of her neck. Shoving cosmetics around in her drawer, she located foundation and mascara.

  Why did she invite Brett to dinner? She dabbed on some perfume. Of course, he did help her move furniture. And he’s all alone tonight.

  "I wish Caroline were coming with Mr. Tyler, Mom."

  She slipped her feet into sandals and followed her daughter out of the doorway into the hall. "I know, sweetie. You'd have more fun."

  Kelly shook her head. "No. I mean for Caroline's sake. She hates to visit her mother."

  Allison stopped, her hand on the refrigerator door. Surely the ex-wife wasn’t mean? "Did she say why?"

  "Her mom's remarried to this really snobby guy who doesn't want Caroline around.” Kelly hopped on a bar stool and rested her head in her palms. “I feel sorry for her."

  Poor Caroline. How did Brett end up with this woman? They didn’t sound anything alike. She pulled the door open slowly. Hold on, Allison. You can’t judge what other people’ve done. You were with James.

  "I think people should only marry someone who likes their kids."

  Allison's stomach took a lunge. What was Kelly thinking about Brett coming over alone? He’s always been with Caroline.

  Kelly smiled sweetly. "You wouldn't do that. You'd only marry someone who liked me."

  Allison removed hamburger from the refrigerator and set it on the counter across from Kelly. "Well, you don't have to worry about that. I'm not planning on getting married."

  Kelly sat up, her face serious. "But you should think about it."

  "I should?" Allison's hands stilled on the meat.

  "I won't be around here forever you know. And when I go away to college, you'll be all alone." Kelly jumped off the stool and plopped down on the floor in front of the television. "You need to think about that."

  Allison was stunned. She’d always thought Kelly preferred it being just the two of them. And now...was she really worried about Allison being alone?

  "You know Daddy's going on another trip."

  "Another one already?"

  "Yeah. For two years this time.” Kelly continued, not taking her eyes off the television. “To a foreign country to help the poor. It sounds great."

  The doorbell rang with Allison's hands stuck in the hamburger.

  Kelly leapt up. "I'll get it."

  James leaving for two years? Anger gripped her. How could he leave his child for two years? He didn’t see her enough now.

  "Look what Mr. Tyler brought, Mom." Kelly bound into the room, a bag in her hand. "Cookies for dessert."

  Allison's eyes followed Kelly as she lay the bag down and ran back to the television.

  "What's wrong, Allison?" Brett whispered in her ear.

  She lifted wide eyes to his face, her mouth open. She was sure all the color had drained from her face.

  "Come with me."

  “Wait.” She held up her greasy hands.

  He pumped soft soap into her outstretched hands and shoved them under the water. “Wash.”

  She rubbed her palms together slowly. He jerked several paper towels off the roll, turned off the water and wrapped her dripping hands.

  After slinging the wet towels on the counter, he ushered her out of the kitchen through the open sliding glass door and onto the back porch off the family room. He shut the door, sealing off Kelly from his voice, then towed her around the corner, out of Kelly's eyesight.

  "What happened?"

  She swallowed the lump of fury and whispered, "Kelly said her father's leaving the country for two years."

  "Why are you so upset?” Brett frowned as his grip on her arms tightened. “Do you still love him?"

  The question drew her out of her trance. "Oh my god no." She shook her head rapidly. "I haven't loved James since...I...way before we..."

  She tore away and walked to the far end of the porch, Brett following. She crossed her arms, feeling chilled even in the heat of September.

  "How can he be so selfish?" She shivered. "Poor Kelly. She won't see him for two years."

  He drew her back against his chest. "Did Kelly say she was worried about this? She didn't seem upset."

  No.” A warmth encased her body as Brett wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on hers. "She thinks it’s exciting."

  "Then why are you worrying? I wouldn’t be away from Caroline for two years, but you said James was different.” He lay his cheek on the side of her head. “We can't always understand other people’s choices."

  She hesitated, then spoke softly. "Like, why your ex-wife married a man that doesn't like Caroline?"

  He stiffened. "How did you know that?"

  "Caroline told Kelly."

  She turned in his arms. His face was stern. "Brett?" She hesitated only a second, he looked so miserable, before reaching up to trace the lines on his forehead.

  "It's true. Her step-father is not...” he stopped, then continued through clenched teeth. “He's not a warm person."

  "And?" She ran her finger lightly down his face, unable to stop touching him, wanting to sooth him.

  "He suits her mother. She's not a warm person either."

  "Oh. I'm sorry, Brett."

  He held her hand to his face, flattening her palm against his rough cheek, "It's OK. Caroline accepts her mother the way she is," then dragged her finger down to his lips, kissing the tips, closing his eyes briefly. “Even if I can’t.”

  “Sometimes children are more forgiving.” She thought of how Kelly had accepted James throughout the years. And her. Kelly never complained about her work, her school, her hours.

  "Yeah.” He placed her hand on his shoulder, his face tensing. “Caroline doesn’t know this, but her mother never wanted children."

  "You mean Caroline was..." She stopped herself. How could she have asked that?

  But Brett just nodded, unconcerned with her prying. "Her mother had trouble with birth control and was actually talking about having an operation, but found out she was already pregnant when she went to the doctor to discuss the options."

  "But surely after she got pregnant she changed her mind."

  "No.” His thumbs rubbed up and down her shirt, his hands resting on her waist. “She hated everything about it. How it ruined her figure. The childbirth classes." He rolled his eyes. "And the birth. You'd think she was the only woman who'd ever done that."

  Wrapping her other hand around his neck, she gently massaged his knotted muscles.

  "I took care of Caroline when I was home - at nights, on the weekends."

  So that’s why they were so close. It sounded like he’d been almost raising Caroline alone, even when he was still married.

  "Did her mother work? Was she gone a lot?"

  Brett laughed. "Work? Never. She played tennis. She belonged to clubs. She ate lunch with her friends." His jaw became firm. "A baby interfered with all her plans, so as soon Caroline was born she hired a nanny for when I wasn't home."

  Allison raised her eyebrows at the harshness of his comment. "I've always worked. Kelly had a nanny when she was a baby."

  He drew his face back to hers, his eyes softening. "But you love Kelly. It's obvious when you're with her. She can feel it." He ran a finger over Allison's mouth. "Her mother never wanted to spend any time with her."

  "That's awful.” How could a mother be like that? Especially with such a sweet child like Caroline? “Then why is she with her mother this weekend?"

  "Because I insist they spend time together.” Dragging her hair over her shoulder, he twirled it in his fingers. “Even if I don't approve of her mother, I don't want Caroline to grow up not knowing her. When she's older, she can decide for herself th
e type of relationship she wants with her mother."

  Allison let his words sink in. They’d made the same decision about their exes. She’d finally realized she couldn’t control James, although she still tried to influence him. And slowly she was accepting the need for Kelly to create her own relationship with her father.

  Maybe she and Brett were alike in some ways.

  "Mom."

  Allison jumped back out of Brett's arms at the sound of Kelly's voice. Leaning around him, she saw her daughter come around the corner of the porch.

  "Grandma wants to talk to you." Kelly handed Allison the phone.

  "Thanks sweetie." She watched Kelly's eyes drop to her waist where Brett's hand still rested. Before Allison could move, Kelly smiled and bounced back into the house.

  Brett squeezed her hip, "I'll go inside."

  When Allison returned to the kitchen, they were making hamburger patties, Kelly following Brett’s detailed instructions on how to create the perfect burger. Music blasted from the small speakers in a cabinet that housed an antiquated stereo system and old CD player.

  Kelly had inherited a musical talent from her father that he had ignored, along with most everything else in his life. His single-minded focus on his career dreams that had once drawn Allison to James, now made him seem one dimensional and shallow.

  Allison encouraged Kelly’s musical quest, and so far they’d been through a flute, the drums, and piano lessons. This year it was guitar. And the amazing part was that she was good at each instrument, just not enamored enough to stick with any of them. Until the guitar. She might have finally found true love.

  The two cooks smiled as Allison slipped onto a bar stool across the counter. "I think I'll just watch this lovely site and relax."

  "Why don't you start the grill, Mom?” Brett flipped his burger in rhythm with the pounding base vibrating through the room. “We're almost ready here."

  "Me?” She pointed her finger at her chest. “But you two have everything under control. I was just going to open a beer and rest."

  Brett poked Kelly with his elbow, "we don't need her do we Kelly? Let her rest," then lowered his head to her ear. "She'll need extra energy to clean up after we eat."

  Allison jumped down from the stool and ran out the door. "I'm starting the grill."

  She heard Kelly laughing as she opened the porch door to the back yard. Lifting the top off the grill, she regulated the gas flames and stepped back.

  "Ready for that beer now?"

  Brett reached around her holding a bottle in each hand, pressing his front against her back. She tried to move forward, but he had her body clinched against his with his upper arms around her shoulders.

  "Relax. Kelly's watching television again." He placed one of the beers in her hand. "Besides, what's wrong with her seeing me touch you?"

  She sipped the beer, thinking.

  "It's just..." What would Kelly think about Brett showing affection? She wasn’t so sure now, after the conversation about her getting married so she wouldn’t be alone. And having a real relationship with Brett certainly included...

  "Kelly's never seen a man touch me...you know...like..."

  Lowering his mouth, he kissed the side of her hair. "What about Kelly's father?"

  "No,” she said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t press for more details on her history with James.

  He slid around to her front, dragging his free hand along her back, resting it on her waist as he stood close.

  But he had a different path in mind.

  "And in all that time you've never?"

  She looked down at the top of Brett's feet. This was so embarrassing. "Never," she whispered.

  "That's an awfully long time, isn’t it?"

  "I know." She focused on his tan boat shoes. If he only knew how long. “I’ve gone out a few times, but nothing ever seemed to click and...” she let the words drift off.

  He slipped his hand up her back and pulled her to his body. Using his other arm he pressed her head close against his chest. "Maybe it's time to change that."

  She stood still. It felt wonderful in his arms. Her pulse raced as his heart pounded beneath her cheek.

  "But..."

  "Shhh. Just enjoy, darling. Don't analyze."

  The endearment slipped in and wrapped around her lonely heart.

  Putting his leg on the bottom step behind her, he fit her body between his thighs. The bulge beneath his thin cotton shorts strained against her lower body.

  He wanted her.

  A tingle began in her stomach and moved lower. A feeling that was becoming familiar and stronger each time she was with him.

  "Kelly..." she protested weakly.

  "We're only hugging. Besides, it's good for Kelly to see that someone cares about her mother." He moved his head back just far enough to see her eyes. "It feels good to you too, doesn't it?"

  "Yes. That's what scares me."

  His lips curved. "I was hoping I wasn't the only one getting excited here."

  She smiled at his honesty and relaxed against his chest.

  No, he definitely was not the only one excited.

  "Mother, Dad, what are you doing here? I thought you were out dancing." Allison's parents followed her into the den where Brett and Kelly watched a movie.

  "The caller got sick half-way through and..." Her mother stopped as Brett stood. She glanced back at Allison with a gleam in her eye.

  Allison cast her mother a quick ‘calm down’ look. "This is Brett Tyler. He's helping me with the Halloween Carnival this year,” then turned toward Brett. “These are my parents, Ruth and J.T."

  “So nice to meet you, Brett,” her mother said enthusiastically, pumping his hand and grinning.

  "Nice to meet you, too." Brett moved aside, allowing them access to the couch.

  "Brett." J.T. nodded, gave Brett a quick handshake and sank down next to his wife, stretching a long deeply tanned and arm along her shoulders.

  "Hello, honey. Come give your grandma a kiss." Ruth smoothed her square dance skirt over her knees, then tapped her pale, freckled cheek with her finger.

  Kelly ran over to her grandmother, snuggling close.

  "Sit down, Brett." Allison pointed to the chair next to the sofa. Moving the matching footstool by the chair, she sat on the floor, her back against the cloth-covered furniture.

  "Yes. There we were dancing away and suddenly." Ruth clutched her chest, her gray curls bouncing as she shook her head. "Calvin fell over. You remember Calvin, Allison. Donny's father."

  "Sure, Mother. I remember him." She shot her eyes toward Brett, rolling them slightly. "Is he OK?"

  "Lord knows. Probably had a heart attack. You know he eats like a horse. That man." Ruth slapped her husband's leg. "He's your age isn't he J.T.?"

  "Sure is Ruth." J.T. grinned, deep lines forming in the leathery skin on his forehead. "But he's been smoking and drinking all his life." He winked at Allison. "He didn't have someone like your mother here to keep him in line."

  "Stop that, J.T." Ruth swatted his arm. "Allison's friend here'll think you're crazy."

  "No ma'am.” Brett smiled at the older couple. “He’s probably just thanking you for making sure he didn't have a heart attack tonight, too."

  "That's right, Ruth.” He patted his flat stomach. “You listen to the boy."

  "All right, Mother, Dad. You can stop now."

  "So what do you do, Brett?" J.T. nodded his head in Brett's direction.

  Would he answer? Allison looked up expectantly.

  "My daughter and I moved here in June from Arlington, Virginia. You know, the Washington, DC area. And we're still getting settled."

  That’s not what he asked, Brett. Allison narrowed her eyes slightly. Answer the question.

  Linking his hands together, Brett leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "But I've started a little business at home."

  Allison's eyes opened with interest. Now we’re getting somewhere.

  Brett nodded
to J.T. "What kind of business are you in, Mr. Hill?"

  Drat. He did it again. Smoothly switching subjects to avoid talking about his work. She glanced over to her eager to explain father.

  "J.T. Call me J.T." He rubbed his palms down the tops of his faded jeans. "My four sons and I have an auto repair shop. Yeah, I've been a mechanic ever since I got out of the army back in ‘58."

  "What kind of cars do you work on?” Brett slipped to the edge of his chair. “Domestic? Foreign?"

  "Domestic mostly. Not much into those foreign jobs." J.T. rubbed his narrow chin. "But my boys think we should expand. Why I was just saying the other day..."

  "Dad, I'm sure Brett's not interested in your plans for the shop."

  Brett lay a hand on her shoulder. "Actually I'm very interested." He looked back at her dad. "I've been restoring a 1957 Thunderbird convertible and I could use some expert help."

  "Fine car there, Brett.” J.T. bobbed his head up and down. “Fine car. I'd be glad to help you out. You need some parts? Body work?"

  "A little of everything. This is my first effort at a restoration."

  Allison stared at Brett. His face grew animated as he talked. More tidbits, she thought, but still not the whole story on this man. Her mind re-focused when she realized everyone had stopped talking and they were staring at her.

  "What?" She looked from Brett to her parents.

  "You'll give Brett here directions to the shop won't you?" Ruth repeated.

  "Sure. Of course." She turned to face Brett. "You're going to the shop?"

  "Absolutely." Brett rubbed his hands together. "Your father's expertise is just what I need."

  "Well you come on out anytime."

  Her mother pushed herself off the sofa and held a hand out to her husband. "Let’s go J.T. We've still got a bit of a drive ahead of us."

  "But you just got here." Allison untangled her long legs and stood. Her mother was up to something, they never dropped in for just a few minutes.

  "We just stopped in to say hello." Ruth followed her husband out the room. "We were down near MacDill Air Force base and this was on our way home." She motioned to Brett. "Don't you get up now. We'll see you soon."