“And that’s what I want as payback, I told you, straight out. I also told you, I do somethin’ for you, we talk payback. I’m doin’ somethin’ for you so that’s what I did. You didn’t like that idea, it made you uncomfortable, all you gotta do is say.”

“So every time you do something for me, it’ll require payback?”

“Buddy, that’s life. You always work to balance the scales. You don’t wanna owe someone something, even if it’s only in your head that you owe ‘em and they don’t give a shit. It’ll fuck with you. So you give back to balance the scales.”

He knew he had her with the way her face changed, not that she nodded in understanding, instead she looked more irritated because he was right.

“That said,” he went on, “I’d buy this and install it for nothin’, you need to take care of your car and Kate doesn’t need to be scrapin’ ice off hers either. I thought you’d let me do that and know those scales stayed balanced, I wouldn’t have said shit. But you wouldn’t let me do that, I know because you asked how much the fuckin’ thing cost.”

She glared at him, even more irritated because he was again right.

Then she changed the subject and he knew she was trying to piss him off further too.

“If I’m not a booty call, what am I?”

He looked over her shoulder to see Keira skipping across the yard, swinging her bags, going to the front door of the house.

Then he looked at Vi and muttered, “Jesus, Vi.”

“No, I wanna know, what is it that we’ve got?”

“What it isn’t is a booty call.”

“You said that already.”

Cal glared at her and she took it, waiting, silently demanding an answer.

So he answered, “I enjoy you, you enjoy me, for as long as it’s good.”

“That’s it?” she asked, her face carefully controlled, her body tense, fighting to hide her reaction to his words and, in doing so, not succeeding in hiding the fact that he’d gotten under her skin too.

Shit.

He should have never fucking started this again.

He forced his voice to soft when he replied, “I thought we had an understanding, buddy.”

She held his eyes a moment then she stepped away, murmuring, “Yeah, we did.”

The side door opened and Kate called out, “Here’s your Coke, Joe.”

Cal looked from Vi to Kate and saw Kate also got her mother’s walk, cool, calm, unconsciously moving her hips, swaying her ass, in possession of her body in a way that no teenage girl should be. Dane probably saw her walking down the hall and knew he’d go for it.

Or he’d seen her smile.

First chance he got, he was having a conversation with Dane.

She made it to him and handed him the Coke.

“Thanks girl,” Cal muttered.

“You want a sandwich?” she asked. “We got turkey and roast beef.”

Vi’s kids were polite. Cal wasn’t surprised.

“I’m good.”

“You want one, just call,” she said, looked at her Mom, gave her a small smile and then she walked away.

“I’ve got shit to do,” Vi mumbled but Cal reached out a hand and grabbed her arm.

When she turned back to him he said, “We’re not done, buddy.”

She looked at him and replied, “I don’t think I’m comin’ over tonight, Joe. I got things to think about.”

He knew what she’d be thinking about, she’d be thinking about ending it. He also knew she should and, she didn’t, he knew he should but he wasn’t ready.

“Vi.”

Carefully, she pulled her arm from his hand and asked, “You gonna be in town awhile?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll talk later,” she said quietly and moved away.

He let her. He let her because Colt was now with Feb and Myrtle across the street and he’d taken Jack from Feb. He had the baby held close to his front, both arms wrapped around the boy but his eyes were on Cal. So were Feb’s. Myrtle didn’t notice, she was busy gabbing.

Cal opened the Coke, took a drink and set it aside.

Then he went back to the ladder.

Fifteen minutes later, he was standing in front of the garage door testing the remotes when a dark blue Chevrolet Equinox pulled up to the curb and Mike Haines jumped down.

Cal watched him, his mouth getting tight, seeing Mike’s eyes on him as he walked up Vi’s drive and noting Mike’s mouth was set tight too.

“Cal,” Mike greeted.

“Mike.”

Vi came out the side door, her eyes jumping between them, uncomfortable and unprepared for this scene.

Mike turned to Vi, watched her walk up to them and said softly, “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hi,” she replied and Cal felt his gut get tight.

“Got plans tonight?” Mike asked Vi and Cal watched Vi’s eyes remain glued to Mike.

“No, why?” she asked back.

“Thought we’d reschedule dinner for tonight,” Mike answered and Cal knew the asshole was making a point, doing this with him standing right, fucking, there.

“Um…”

“My place, six o’clock,” Mike said firmly, not waiting for her to reply. “You still got my address?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Mike said, again talking soft then he lifted a hand to her jaw. “You have troubles findin’ it, you give me a call, yeah?” She nodded, he leaned in and touched his mouth to hers.

Cal locked his body to steel against the heat burning in his chest.

When Mike’s head came up, Vi’s eyes slid to Cal, she pressed her lips together and looked back to Mike. “Um… Mike –”

“Six o’clock.”

“Um –”

He dropped his hand and cut her off. “See you then,” he turned, nodded to Cal, Cal nodded back and Mike moved to his SUV.

Vi watched Cal.

Cal went back to testing the remotes and the door slid up.

Then he heard her shout, “Mike!”

Cal looked at Vi then at Mike who was standing at the back of his car.

“Yeah?” Mike called back.

“Do you need me to bring anything?” Vi asked, making her point too and that burning in his chest grew hotter as Mike smiled.

“Just you, sweetheart.”

“Okay, see you later.”

“Later.”

Mike got in his SUV and drove away.

Vi watched the street.

Cal closed the garage door.

Then Cal said to her, “Buddy, your remotes.”

She looked up at him and asked, straight out, “You don’t even care, do you?”

Oh he cared, too fucking much.

“We’re not that,” he reminded her.

She stared at him and he saw it in the backs of her eyes. Disappointment, even pain, and he nearly lifted his hand to touch her but he didn’t have the time.

She stepped back and whispered, “Right.”

He was a dick, Christ he was a dick, he should cut her loose.

For the life of him, he just fucking couldn’t.

She started to turn but he called to her, “Vi,” her eyes lifted to his and he held out the remotes, “door’s workin’, these’re you’re remotes, one for you, one for Kate.”

She stared down at the remotes in his hand as if she had no idea what they were but whatever they were scared the shit out of her.

Then taking the remotes, her voice flat, she whispered, “Thanks.”

“Buddy –”

“See you later,” she said quickly.

“Vi.”

He could say no more, she walked away, cool, calm, her hips moving, her ass swaying and he watched her until her side door closed.

Then he looked at her garage door.

Then he walked to his house.

* * *

Cal was sitting outside on his deck at dusk, his feet up on the railing, knees cocked, looking at his yard without seeing it, his second beer in hand.

Vi’s Mustang was gone, she was at Mike’s.

He took a pull from his beer then looked to the side hearing it and waited finally seeing Colt round the house.

“Hey,” Colt called.

“Yo,” Cal replied.

“Mind company?” Colt asked, coming up the steps.

Cal did. He didn’t want company. He also didn’t want to talk about whatever Colt was over to talk about. But he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts, thoughts of Vi at Mike’s, thoughts of Mike’s mouth on Vi, his hands, thoughts that were fucking with Cal’s head.

“Nope,” he said to Colt. “Beer’s in the fridge,” he offered, “bring me one.”

“Gotcha,” Colt muttered, sliding the door open and stepping inside.

Cal looked at his yard then he looked at Vi’s.

He paid a service to mow his in the summer, that’s it. It was green because this was Indiana and they’d been having regular night rains and random day thunderstorms but it was nowhere near as healthy as Vi’s.

Vi couldn’t afford to pay a service. But you could see in the small ditch that delineated their property where her lawn stopped and his started. Hers was greener, no weeds, thick. Her deck had fancy garden furniture with an umbrella, not white, plastic chairs, like his. She had little and big pots of flowers all around, bright colors, vibrant, alive.

The Williamses who’d lived there for as long as Cal could remember were house proud. They took care of their place, built on the extension in the back, put in the deck, updated the bathroom and kitchen, installed the alarm. When old Dec Williams died, his wife Martha moved to Bloomington to be close to her kids and grandkids, selling the house she’d lived in for fifty years to Vi.

Even as well as Dec and Martha took care of their house, Vi did it better.

Colt came back, scraped another plastic chair next to Cal’s and handed Cal his beer. Cal took it, downed the dregs of the last one and set the bottle on the deck as Colt sat down and put his feet up on the railing, knees cocked, like Cal’s.

“Weather’s good,” Colt remarked.

Cal didn’t answer. It was a warm evening but no humidity, the day had been sunny, no clouds, a fair breeze. There was no need to answer.

“You comin’ to the wedding?” Colt asked.

“Yeah,” Cal replied though he wanted to go to a wedding like he wanted someone to drill a hole in his head. He liked Colt and Feb enough to go, though. They wanted him there, he’d be there.

“I’ll tell Feb, she’s livin’ and breathin’ this wedding, you show without RSVPing, her head might explode.”

Feb, as far as Cal could tell, was pretty laid-back. He showed and didn’t let her know he was coming, she wouldn’t have cared less.

“You know Audrey?” Colt asked and, in the middle of taking a pull off his beer, Cal’s eyes went to his friend.

He swallowed and lowered the beer.

“Who?”

“Audrey Haines.”

There it was. Fuck.

“Nope,” Cal answered.

“Total bitch,” Colt noted, “lazy bitch. Mike ran himself ragged for years, used to do side work, security for awhile then he made detective and started doin’ without, even havin’ to make his kids do without so she could sit on her ass in a designer track suit and watch soaps in that huge fuckin’ house. He gave up; divorce was final two months ago. The whole department celebrated. Good man like that doesn’t need to go home to that shit.”

Cal didn’t reply.

“He’s into Vi,” Colt went on.

Cal took a pull of his beer. That didn’t need a response either. Cal knew Mike was into Vi, he knew why, not to mention, Mike had made a point of making that fact clear to Cal.

Colt fell silent and contemplated Cal’s yard while they both drank beer.

Eventually Colt continued. “You knew Melanie.”

Cal did, he’d lived across the street from her since Colt and she moved in. Colt’s ex-wife Melanie was pretty, shy, sweet but shit scared of life. Cal never knew why they broke it off, didn’t ask but he figured it was because it’d get old, dealing with that shit, no matter how pretty she was.

“Yep, how’s she doin’?” Cal asked, since Melanie had been caught up in that scene with Feb and Colt, Denny Lowe kidnapping Melanie and holding her, Feb and Susie Shepherd hostage.

It didn’t say much for him but Cal was glad Susie’d been caught up in it. He’d fucked her, they had one night, she was good but he was done and she’d almost acted like Kenzie when he didn’t want seconds. Difference was, Susie wasn’t annoying when she wanted something, she was a total bitch. How she thought she’d get what she wanted acting like that, he had no idea. Likely because her Daddy spoiled the bitch rotten. He thought that maybe she’d take a look at her life when some psycho, serial killer shot her. Susie didn’t. She was still a bitch, therefore, as far as he knew, she was still alone.

“Don’t know,” Colt answered his question. “Took awhile but she pulled her shit together though I haven’t heard from her for months. Don’t think I will, what with Jack bein’ born and the wedding comin’ up.”