“So be it,” he muttered, sliding a hand along my shoulders and moving me to the door where he stopped and turned back to Tina. “I was you, I’d think about it. You got until tomorrow mornin’ to put a check in Vi’s mailbox. You don’t, it’s on. You get me?”

“I’m callin’ the cops,” Tina returned.

“You think Mike Haines and Alec Colton and the boys who work with ‘em are gonna be fired up to help you?” Joe asked, this finally penetrated and Tina’s face twisted. “Yeah,” Joe murmured as he noticed Tina was realizing maybe she should have made some friends along with all the enemies she created along the way. “Five hundred dollars, Tina, in Vi’s mailbox by nine o’clock tomorrow morning,” he finished then he turned us again and walked us out the door.

When we hit the fence, he picked me up and lifted me over setting me on my feet. Then he jumped it, took my hand and walked us to the dead grass in my yard where the girls were standing.

“It smells of bleach,” Keira informed us, Joe’s mouth got tight, Kate saw it and shoved Keira’s arm.

“All right girls, take the shopping bags in the house,” I ordered, wondering if I’d have time to do anything about my yard before Bea and Gary got there and thinking I wouldn’t considering I only had one day and I’d be working that day.

“Should we –” Kate started and I looked at her.

“House, baby,” I said softly, “we’ll worry about this tomorrow, yeah?”

She nodded, tagged Keira, they went to the Mustang, got the bags and went into the house. Joe stood staring at the word in my lawn.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Hope that check isn’t in your box, buddy,” Joe said to the yard then looked at me. “Be my pleasure to f**k with that bitch.”

I looked at his face and hoped the check was in my box. Tina was indeed a bitch and her writing the same with bleach in my beautiful grass proved it. But I reckoned no one, not even Tina, deserved the fury Joe looked ready to unleash.

“You want a beer?” I asked and Joe stared at me.

Then he shook his head but answered, “Yeah.”

We walked in the house, my arm around his waist, his around my shoulders.

“It’s just grass,” I told him softly.

He stopped us at the front door and curled me into his front. “Yeah, Vi, it’s just grass. And your brother just died. I’d have a lot more patience with her shit if it was two months ago or six months from now. She’s not gonna change but she should be human enough to pick her times. She wasn’t so I hope that check is not in your box. She needs a lesson and I’m in the mood to give her one.”

“Joe –”

His head dipped down and he touched his lips to mine before saying, “Don’t worry, baby, whatever I do won’t blow back on us.”

“But, she’s alone, Cory hasn’t been back for ages and she’s –”

He interrupted me. “A woman who needs a lesson.”

“Joe –”

“Vi, beer.”

I studied him and I knew enough to know Joe had made up his mind.

Therefore, I sighed, walked in my house and got my man a beer.

* * * * *

It was dark, the girls were asleep and I was cuddled into Joe’s side.

“Joe?” I called.

“Yeah, baby,” he answered.

“Scales are even,” I told him on a whisper.

“What?” he asked.

I closed my eyes, pressed closer, opened my eyes and kept whispering. “Missed Tim, missed a lot of things about him. One of those things was knowin’ there was someone who’d look out for me, the girls.” I pressed my lips together and bit them both as I felt his body grow tight then I continued. “Remember that night we met? I had to get out of bed in the middle of the night to ask Kenzie to turn down the music?”

“Baby –”

“Tim would have done that. I wouldn’t have had to put on those boots and go into the cold.”

“Vi –”

“I wouldn’t have had to leave our bed.”

He rolled into me, murmuring again, “Vi –”

“I wouldn’t have had to tromp through the snow, get cold or even get angry.”

His hands started moving on me under his tee as he whispered, “Shut up, buddy.”

“Tim always had our backs, he never let anything like that touch us. Never.”

“Vi, shut it.”

“You won’t either.”

“Shut it, Vi.”

“We had everything. Everything. Tim gave it to us. Having Nicky, you had a lot, Joe, but you never had everything so you can’t know how much it hurts to lose it.”

Joe was silent.

I kept talking. “Having it back, you giving it to us, the scales are balanced.”

He didn’t tell me to shut up again. He kissed me, not hard and greedy and demanding. No, it was long and tender and beautiful.

When he was done, he tucked my face into his throat and held me.

“Love you, Joe,” I whispered to his throat.

“Love you too, buddy. Go to sleep.”

“Okay. ‘Night, honey.”

“’Night, baby.”

It took awhile for me to sleep. It took longer for Joe. I knew this because I fell asleep before him.

It was strange I got to sleep because my mind was focused on wondering what was on his.

But I got to sleep.

And I again slept the night through without the nightmare.

* * * * *

The check was in the box the next morning well before nine.

Tina was a bitch but she was no fool.

Joe looked annoyed. I was relieved.

The girls were both up early. Kate had her last shift noon to four at the Custard Stand before quitting to go back to school on Monday. Keira had a full day of sunbathing and pool frolicking ahead of her at Heather’s, her last hurrah before school started. I’d gotten them up because I needed to give them instructions before I left and they started their days.

“Keirry, baby, can you clean your bathroom before you go to Heather’s?” I asked, though I didn’t expect an answer, I just expected her to complain about it then do it, so to avoid the complaining I hurriedly turned to Kate and went on. “And can you vacuum and dust before you go to work? I’ll mop the kitchen after dinner tonight but I’ll be late because I have to do the big shop for Gramma and Grandpap before I get home.”

Before Kate could agree and Keira could bitch, Joe said, “Make a list, I’ll swing by the store after I deal with the yard.”