“Mom said spaghetti will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Joe said when he returned. He sat on the couch next to her and pulled her, blankets and all, onto his lap. “You’re a magnet for trouble, aren’t you?” He rubbed her back.
“Mmm,” she said. This was nice. Really nice. “Only since I met you.”
They both chuckled. Then silence reigned as they watched the fire.
“Joe, I assume you have TV trays from your bachelor days?” Hannah looked around the living room. Joe nodded toward a corner and she pulled two from a cart.
“Mom, I’ll do that. You’ve done enough for us already. Thanks so much for dinner.”
Tori let them argue lovingly about dinner and Hannah’s ability to walk home alone. She nodded when Hannah said she’d call Tori tomorrow.
A few minutes later, Joe let go of her long enough to bring them each a steaming plate of pasta.
“Think we can turn on the TV?” Tori asked. “My thoughts are too loud right now.”
They ate and watched a sit-com in companionable silence.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly in the middle of it.
Joe leaned back against the couch and reached over to brush her hair away from her cheek. “For what?”
Tori shrugged and left her gaze on the TV. Why had so many weird things happened to her so suddenly? Weird scary things. She didn’t understand it, but she wondered if somehow she was to blame.
Joe grunted and pulled her closer. “If you mean you haven’t enjoyed being involved in three felonies in two weeks, I think you can be forgiven.”
Tori snuggled closer to him.
“You just might be one of the strongest women I know,” Joe said, his lips near her hair.
Tori grunted. “By being a magnet for trouble?”
Joe chuckled. “Well, the best magnets are the strongest. Maybe you’ve discovered a latent talent.”
Tori froze. Was this the opening she was looking for? He knew about superheroes. He didn’t seem to think they were weird. Would he be okay with a superhero wife though?
Joe laughed at something on the TV. The horrible evening was turning out okay. She relaxed in his arms. His voice and his touch continued to build a comforting hedge around her soul, protecting her from the evil outside. Maybe she shouldn’t make things worse. She’d find a way to tell him tomorrow.
Please, God, don’t let this destroy my marriage.
JOE held Tori as she fell asleep in his arms watching TV. He should tell her. If tonight wasn’t an invitation on a silver platter…
But he didn’t want to make a bad night worse. She needed a good night’s sleep to deal with the craziness of finding out she’d married a superhero.
His thoughts turned to the last few hours. This afternoon he’d gotten the feeling he should get out on patrol. He checked out the park where there had been a rash of muggings lately. Nothing. Then he heard that voice again. Protect her.
He didn’t know how he knew to come home, but when he ran up the alley and saw Tori being attacked, it was all he could do not to rip the arms off the guy and paint his name with the mugger’s blood. The only reason he let him go was to get Tori safely locked into the house.
What would’ve happened if he’d given chase instead? Would the man still be alive? Who or what would he have found at the end of the alley? The dead man was the only one down there by the time Joe arrived.
The crushed face, the broken limbs at wrong angles, the blood. He shook his head and tried to put it out of his mind. This was the worst part of his job, but he had to deal with it.
Thank you, God, for protecting Tori. Thank you for…is that voice you? Are you the one helping me to know when and where to be? I guess I know the answer to that, don’t I?
Joe prayed for peace, for distance from the images of dead people. He focused on the sci-fi movie and tried to lose himself on another planet. An hour later, when he felt himself nod and his eyes close, he turned off the TV and picked up his wife. He tucked her into bed, leaving her in her sweats only because it was a cold night and she was more asleep than awake. He looked forward to the summer when they could sleep together naked.
As Joe brushed his teeth, he thought about the three crimes Tori had been involved in. They must be coincidental. But he didn’t believe in so much coincidence. Normally. Nothing had been normal in his life since he’d met Tori.
So how did she fit into this picture? Could someone be after her? Who? Why? She was a temp – where else had she worked? At the orphanage? Joe’s mind churned with possibilities, coming up with possible links and discarding them, looking for loose threads to follow. He worked the puzzle from every angle his tired brain could come up with. No ideas enlightened him.
He got under the covers with his wife, her head near his shoulder. She looked peaceful for the first time in hours. He brushed his hand over her hair. Nice. Curly and soft. He did it again. She sighed.
Leaning closer, Joe kissed the top of her head. She smelled warm and wonderful. Sleepily, he wondered if he’d made the wrong decision about getting married. Maybe he was the reason she was in danger. He couldn’t think of why, though. Too tired.
He snapped off the light and relaxed in the darkness. He’d tell her tomorrow. They’d get it all out in the light of day and deal with it. Somehow, they’d work it out.
Tomorrow.
CHAPTER 10
TORI woke up slowly. She’d been waking up and falling back asleep for a while now. She figured it must be about time to actually get up. Something warm pressed against her back. She smiled and leaned toward it. “Morning, Joe.”
Meow. The warmth moved. Snickers.
Tori twisted under the covers to face the cat. “Morning, Snickers. Where’s Joe?”
Snickers purred and curled up close to Tori’s face.
“You don’t know, huh?” Tori moved the covers just enough to scratch Joe’s cat behind the ears, then she pulled her hand back in. She loved waking up warm and toasty under a ton of blankets on a cold winter’s morning. She yawned and stretched. Actually, it didn’t feel that cold. Joe must’ve already turned the heat up.
She moved her head to check the alarm clock: 9:27. Holy cow! She’d never slept so late. No wonder Joe was already up. She should get up, too. They weren’t getting a lot of “just the two of us” time, and she didn’t want to waste any.
Snickers put his paw on Tori’s nose. Tori giggled. It was soft and it tickled. She’d never had a pet before. Snickers was so cuddly and sweet, she realized she’d been missing out. She petted the cat and talked to him for a few more minutes, stretched again, and decided she really should get up.
Then she remembered. She’d promised herself she’d talk to Joe today. She sighed.
“I can do this,” she mumbled to herself as she went to the bathroom. “It’ll be fine. He won’t mind. He might even think it’s kind of cool.” She remembered what he said about her being a magnet for trouble. She wondered if that could actually be true. A question she’d have to ask Superhero X. If you had a super power, did you just “find” problem situations to help with? How else had Superhero X found her last night?
Wait, so did she find Evan for a reason? But he was already dead. Was there something she could’ve done? And how would she have known what to do?
Tori was so focused on her thoughts that she didn’t notice the note until she was drying her hands. She pulled it from the mirror and read the message. Her shoulders sagged. Joe was out on some emergency with work. He hoped he’d be home tonight, but he might be gone through tomorrow. Lots of love.
She sighed again. No point being angry, but she didn’t remember him being gone all the time when they were dating. Maybe his company didn’t have that many jobs in November and December.
Well, since he wasn’t here… She grabbed the paperback she was reading from her nightstand and curled back into the still-warm bed. Snickers continued to purr. Tori grinned and joined him. “Purrrr, Snickers. Purrr.” She laughed. Snickers thrust his
left ear under Tori’s fingers and purred louder. Tori laughed again. There were worse things than a Saturday morning with nothing to do but read in bed with a friendly cat.
By Sunday morning, Tori had finished her book, baked some cookies for Joe and his co-workers, and done a couple loads of laundry. She called Lexie to see if she wanted to walk to church together.
“We’re skipping today. I have homework I need to do,” Lexie said.
Tori tried to decide if Lex was still irritated with her. “Want to drive to lunch together?” They went to their parents’ house twice a month after church for a family meal. They drove together unless one of them had some other errand to run.
“I’ll meet you there. I don’t know what time I’m leaving. Depends on how my homework goes.”
Yeah, she’s still mad. Totally lame excuse.
Tori tried not to sound miffed as she agreed and hung up. If anyone needed a nice sermon about controlling their tongue and their bad attitude today, it was her. She was cranky from hormones, cranky from Joe being gone with only the briefest phone call last night to say he wouldn’t be home till tonight, and cranky because her cranky sister was still upset about Tori seeing Kane.
She’d tried to tell her that it was a polite dinner to say thanks, but no thanks. At least that’s how Tori had now decided to look at it. The fact that Lexie might be right about Tori originally wanting to get to know Kane, well, that didn’t matter because she didn’t want to get to know him anymore. He was kind of weird.
She cuddled Snickers for a few minutes – someone loved her – and then walked to church. Another funny thing about her new life, Joe’s dad Owen was the pastor of a little church a few blocks over. Tori and Lexie had said several times over the last couple years that they should give it a try. But with their hectic lives and multiple jobs and a-baby-becoming-a-toddler, they never made the time.
After Tori met Joe, she started going with him and really liked it. The people were friendly, and many were neighbors she didn’t know, plus one or two she did. Lexie and Ben started coming a few weeks ago, too, which made the experience feel all the more like a big family.
In a city this size, it was kind of funny that Tori and Lexie lived just a few blocks from each other, and Joe and his parents lived just a few blocks from each other, all in the same neighborhood. Seemed like everyone else she knew was fairly scattered. She liked the community feel of her neighborhood, despite its less-than-appealing first impression.
The walk over in the cold, fresh air made Tori feel better. When she arrived, Hannah and Owen both gave her big hugs. Tori sat with Hannah and Joe’s sister Melissa, a high school senior, same age as Tori’s little sister Samantha. Owen’s sermon wasn’t on controlling your bad attitude, but it was good. The music was wonderful as always. Afterward, Hannah asked her over for lunch, but Tori told her she had plans with her family.
“Good,” Hannah said. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t spending the day alone.” She gave Tori a penetrating, motherly stare. “Are you feeling all right after Friday?”
Tori assured her mother-in-law that she was fine, not sure if she was lying or not, and hugged her goodbye. As she walked home, she waved to a few neighbors, some of whom were also walking home from church. Like her, many people hadn’t buttoned up their coats. The midday air was significantly warmer, maybe even the high 40s today. She sighed and smiled. “Thanks for a good day, God.”
Driving through her old neighborhood to her parents’ house made the differences in the communities even more apparent. Not only were the streets cleaner where her parents lived, but the snow was cleaner, too. As if you could keep dirt from appearing if you had enough money. The houses were farther apart, the streets less crowded, the cars newer. And hardly anyone walked anywhere. Tori had known three of her neighbors when she lived there. Three. In six years. There was something wrong with that.
She parked in the driveway, next to Kevin’s ten-year-old Chevy. Lexie would have to park in the street. Tori clamped down on her uncharitable thoughts and apologized to God. Hardly out of church an hour. For goodness’ sake.
She took a deep breath, knocked, and walked in. She hoped everyone here was in a good mood today. Yells rather than people welcomed her.
“Are you blind?”
“What an idiot!”
Tori peeked in the living room and relaxed. The football team Kevin and Dad were rooting for obviously wasn’t doing well. Even with the Super Bowl a couple weeks away, Tori really, truly, honestly couldn’t care less. She liked the party food; otherwise, it was just another reality TV show.
Samantha peeked out of the kitchen. “Hey, Tori! It’s Tori.”
“Hey, Samantha,” Tori called as she hung up her coat and pulled off her boots. “Hi, Mom!”
“Dinner’s almost ready. Is Lexie with you?” asked Samantha.
Tori shook her head. “Driving separately.”
“I think she just pulled up,” Kevin yelled from the living room.
Dixie organized her family into washing up and sitting down on her timetable like a general commanding her troops. It didn’t matter what was happening on TV, or who was bleeding, Dixie made sure meals were served hot. Now Tori only had to keep Evan and the mugger a secret for another couple of hours and the afternoon would be a success.
“I don’t understand why you and Joe don’t move to another neighborhood,” Dixie said as she passed the salad. “Will you pass me the potatoes, dear?” she said to Danny. “He knows you were mugged there a few months ago. And I’ve heard stories about drug dealers down there now. At least Lexie is working at getting out.”
Calm. Just stay calm or it’ll get a whole lot worse before this meal is through. She wished Joe were here. He was so good at light-hearted dinner conversation.
Tori spooned some salad onto her plate and passed it to her brother. It wasn’t very often Lexie got to play “the good daughter.” Even though she wasn’t aware of any immediate plans her sister had to move, Tori should let Lexie enjoy the moment. “Joe’s house is perfectly safe, Mom. There are three locks on the front door and two on the back. Plus an alarm system.” That she kept forgetting to use.
Tori glanced at her dad as she took the potatoes from Dixie. He met her eyes and looked away, not saying anything. That meant he wished she’d move, too.
“Someone died at her work, too.” Lexie stabbed a piece of meat from the platter without looking at Tori.
If looks could kill, Tori would be at the center of yet another murder investigation. What was Lexie thinking? Mom was such a worrywart, she’d never forget this. Of course, since Lexie was mad at her, that just might be the point.
“Really? Do the police have any clues yet?” Kevin asked. “Did they find fingerprints on your desk? Or run a toxicology test on the body? Maybe they should find out if he had a mistress.”
Tori tried not to smile at him and mouthed shut up. Kevin was on his way to being a doctor, but he could be a real clown. He’d get her laughing about disgusting forensic stuff and then Mom would be mad, thinking they were mocking the dead or something. At twenty-one, he was a junior at the University of Northern Michigan, pre-med and making his parents incredibly happy. Under other circumstances, this might make a girl hate her little brother. But Tori and Kevin had been close since he was born. And they had the same tastes in TV. They’d been known to spend twelve hour days watching CSI and Law and Order marathons.
“Kevin, you’re so gross.” Samantha filled her plate with salad and passed the potatoes without taking any. She planned to go to UNM in the fall, but as a fashion design major. She was the most girly-girl of anyone Tori knew. Slightly annoying, but still her little sister, so she loved her anyway.
“Yes, Kevin, you are,” Dixie said, passing Tori the salmon. “Take some fish, Sam. You need some protein.”
“Mo-om,” Samantha moaned and rolled her eyes. Trademark move. As the baby of the family, she’d figured out in utero how to manipulate her mother, which meant she coul
d manipulate everyone else as well.
“I’m sorry. Samantha, take some fish,” Dixie repeated.
Sam had been a perfectly fine name until she’d become friends with a girl named Mercedes, also planning to major in fashion design, and suddenly Samantha was born. Tori hoped she wouldn’t try to be one of those single-name super stars. If she did, Tori decided she’d have to start calling her Sam in public, just to keep her grounded.
“Do the police know anything yet?” Danny asked.
Tori hated to see her dad worry. She took a big bite of potatoes so she couldn’t talk. She shrugged her shoulders at him and shook her head.
“Po-leee!” Ben screamed in delight. “Woo-ooo, woo-ooo!”
“Yes, that’s right,” Lexie crooned. “That’s the sound a police car makes. Eat some fish, baby.”
“Fish,” he said, using his fingers to push some onto his spoon. “I waw un teatrhuh cackuh.” He brought the spoon up, dropped half of the contents into his bib, and chewed seriously as he looked around the table.
“He wants cheese and crackers? What?” Kevin laughed.
“Guess who Tori met this week?” Lexie asked her mother.
Tori choked on her food and grabbed for her water glass. “Lexie!” she gasped. Really? Enough was enough!
Dixie looked from one daughter to the other, a vigilant mama bear ready to attack at the slightest provocation. The whole family stopped for a moment, watchful and quiet. Even Ben stopped babbling and stared at his grandma.
“Tell her, Tori,” Lexie goaded. “You said it’s not a big deal. So tell her.”
“Tell me what?” Dixie demanded.
Tori glared at her sister. How could she do this? Their mother would go ballistic and Lexie knew it. Tori closed her eyes briefly and leaned back in her chair. She studied her sister. This was her way of making sure Tori never saw Kane again – to have their mother make sure of it. She shook her head. It wouldn’t work. She was a big girl now. She wasn’t letting Mom run her life any more.
To prove it, she turned to Dixie and said, “I saw our father.”
Unexpected Superhero (Adventures of Lewis and Clarke Book 1) Page 15