Luther was still sobbing, his little hands fisted in the tangles of her hair when she felt another hand on her shoulder. She turned around and then her heart skipped a beat.
Johnny Pine.
She hadn’t seen him this close in probably three years, certainly not since he’d graduated. She couldn’t imagine what he wanted or even how he came to be here.
“Do you have a place to go?” he asked.
Fresh tears welled and rolled down her cheeks. He was the first to ask, and Luther was still screaming.
Johnny cupped the back of the baby’s head and rubbed his fingers up and down the back of Luther’s neck, then pointed at his car across the street and the two little heads peering over the dash.
“I know we live on the wrong side of town, but my brothers and I would be honored to offer you shelter until you figure out what you need to do.”
Dori’s heart skipped a beat. They barely knew each other, but it was the only offer she’d had, and she had to think of Luther first. She looked down at the baby and started to sob.
“I don’t know what’s wrong. He won’t stop crying. He might cry all night.”
“Give him to me,” Johnny said softly, then scooped the baby out of her arms.
It took Luther a few seconds to realize he was no longer in his mama’s arms, and he actually paused in mid-scream to stare at the stranger who was holding him.
“You’re gonna be okay, little man,” Johnny said.
The baby’s gaze was fixed on Johnny’s face. He was used to being carried by a man and seemed to like the sound of Johnny’s deep voice.
Dori stared at her baby and took it as a sign. She picked up the diaper bag and their blankets.
“You are letting yourself in for an awful lot,” she said.
Before he thought, Johnny wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“We’ve lived through worse,” he said softly. “Come on, Dori. We don’t live in a fancy house, but it’s clean and I can promise you’ll be safe.”
She stared for a few moments longer, and when Luther Joe suddenly dropped his head on Johnny Pine’s shoulder and closed his eyes, exhausted and too worn out to utter another sob, she took it as another sign.
“Granddaddy’s dead,” she whispered. “I don’t have anyone but Luther.”
Johnny sighed. “I know the feeling. Grab my arm, girl. It’s chilly and it’s late.”
Dori’s last line of resistance was gone. He’d promised safety and shelter, and Luther Joe was asleep. Grief would come later. She glanced over her shoulder one last time at the fiery remnants of home and then slipped a hand beneath his elbow and followed him to the car.
* * *
Pansy Jones had felt guilty for not offering shelter and was still watching from her living room window. Bart, her husband, had been adamant, warning her before she’d even left their property that he wasn’t having some squalling baby in their house, and after twenty-seven years of marriage, she knew better than to argue. She never won an argument.
When she saw the Pine boy cross the street, curiosity raised its ugly head. And when she saw them talking, then watched Johnny Pine soothe the crying baby like it was his own, she immediately wondered if it was. No one knew the father’s identity. Maybe it was him!
Watching Dori go with him to their car and drive away conveniently absolved her of guilt. Johnny must be the mysterious father. It was a ridiculous stab in the dark, but believing he’d heard about the fire and came to their rescue made everything better for her.
Chapter 7
Johnny handed the sleeping baby off to Dori and then shut the car door. She jumped at the sound, but Luther seemed oblivious. The quiet inside the car after all the sirens made the air feel heavy. She could still smell smoke and looked across the street at the firemen still spraying water on the blaze. She wondered where they’d taken Granddaddy. It occurred to her that there were no clothes left to bury him in, and then she bit her lip to keep from bursting into a fresh set of tears.
His phone and the charger cord were in the pocket of her sweatpants. Officer Pittman had given them to her after they’d taken him away. She’d have to call Lovey at the restaurant and tell her she wasn’t coming to work and then shivered.
She was aware of the two boys in the backseat but too numb to think what to say. They were quiet—so quiet. She could hear their breathing within the silence and then the slight rustle of clothing against the leather seats.
Luther snubbed softly in his sleep then thrust his thumb into his mouth and began to suck.
“Sorry your house burned up,” Beep said.
“Yeah, really sorry,” Marshall added.
Dori nodded and then leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes as Johnny opened the door and got in.
“Are you boys buckled up?” he asked as he started the engine.
“Yes,” they echoed.
Johnny glanced at Dori. Her eyes were closed, but there were tears running down her face. He put the car in gear and drove away, wondering what in hell he had gotten himself into. He wouldn’t change what he’d done, but this was a whole new set of problems he didn’t really need. Still, all they could do was take it one day at a time, and right now, Dori Grant needed a friend.
“Where’s she gonna sleep?” Beep asked.
“In Mama’s room,” Johnny said.
“No one goes in Mama’s room,” Marshall said.
“They will now. We have an extra bed and they need one, don’t they?”
Marshall leaned against the door for a better look at the woman in the seat beside Johnny. Her hair looked wet and he wondered if she was cold.
Beep was quiet, too quiet, and Johnny knew why. Beep was the baby, the one who’d been unaware of most of their mother’s flaws. He was probably bothered by someone sleeping in her bed, but it couldn’t matter.
Dori heard them talking but had tuned out what was being said. She kept seeing Granddaddy’s face twisted in pain and then watching him crumple to the ground.
Had
that
really
happened? Please God let this be a bad dream.
A few minutes later, they began to slow down.
“We’re here,” Johnny said as he turned into their drive and pulled up to the house.
Dori opened her eyes.
The streetlights were few and far between, but cast just enough light for her to see the simple frame house and the slices of lights showing through the blinds. There was a single light burning on the wide, covered porch, and she thought she could see a porch swing.
“Stay seated a minute and I’ll help you out. Don’t want you to stumble in the dark,” Johnny said.
Dori waited, watching as he ushered the boys into the house. His steps were sure as he walked through the dimly lit yard, and it hit her that most of his life he’d been taking steps in the dark. Suddenly she realized how easy her life had been before this. Even with a baby she hadn’t planned on, she’d still had a good home and her Granddaddy. Johnny had no one but himself to keep his little family intact.
She looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms, grateful that he’d finally fallen asleep. She didn’t think she could handle another round of screams.
Then she watched Johnny come out of the house and lope across the yard toward the car. He opened the door and leaned in, shouldered her diaper bag and purse, and then steadied her as she slid out of the seat.
“You hold the baby. I’ll hold on to you,” Johnny said.
“Thank you,” she said.
He paused in the shadows to look at her.
“This is a terrible thing that’s happened, but I speak from experience when I tell you that you will survive it because you have to, and you will be all the stronger for it. Now, come inside. You must be exhausted.”
His words were ringing in her ears as she let him lead her inside. The house was warm and smelled like chili—Granddaddy’s favorite meal. And then breath caught in the back of her throat. She’d never cook for her grandfather again.
She staggered and Johnny caught her.
“This way,” he said and led her down the hall to the extra room. “You heard us talking in the car. The extra room was my mother’s room. She’s dead. It’s clean.”
Dori shuddered, wondering if she’d ever be that matter-of-fact about life.
Johnny turned on the light and paused. He hadn’t been in here in weeks.
“It looks a little dusty. I’m sorry. I’ll clean it tomorrow, but the sheets are clean and—”
She interrupted. “Don’t apologize for your kindness.”
He allowed himself a quick glance and saw a muscle twitching at the side of her eye. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and promise she’d never hurt like this again, but that wasn’t true. No one knew what life had in store. Instead, he led her to the rocking chair near the window.
“Sit here while I turn back the bed.”
She didn’t argue, taking comfort from the warm little body in her arms. She still had Luther, and he needed her. She would find a way to make it. She had to.
Johnny came back to the chair and knelt in front of her, speaking softly so as not to wake the baby. “I shoved the bed against the wall. If you sleep on the outside to keep him from rolling off the bed, you should both be fine.”
She’d never been this close to him before and kept staring at his face. She’d always thought him good-looking but what she saw now was the kindness in his eyes.
“Dori?”
She blinked. “I’m sorry. Yes, that will be fine. Luther can sleep next to the wall.” Then she looked down at her clothes. “I’m dirty and wet.”
“Let me have the baby,” he said softly, lifting Luther out of her arms and laying him down. “The bathroom is across the hall. There are clean towels and washcloths in the cabinet. You shower, and I’ll put some clean clothes just outside the door and make sure the boys are in bed.”
He stood and then laid a hand on the crown of her head.
“My room is the first one on your right. The boys’ room is directly across from mine. If you need me, all you have to do is knock, okay?”
She grabbed his hand, her voice shaking. “You are a good man, Johnny Pine.”
He felt the calluses on her hands and remembered what she did for a living. Like him, she had stepped into adulthood long before she should have.
“Go get clean and warm while your baby is still asleep.”
When she glanced at the bed, he guessed at what was worrying her.
“As soon as I get your clothes, I’ll come back and stay with him, okay?”
“Yes and thank you.”
He watched her leave and then hurried into the boys’ room to make sure they were in bed. Luckily, they’d gone right back to sleep as promised, so he went to look for something Dori could wear. After digging through his clothes, he found a long-sleeved T-shirt that had shrunk in the wash and a pair of gym shorts with a drawstring tie. They’d be long on her, but they were clean and dry and that’s what mattered. He laid them outside the bathroom door and then went back into his mother’s room and pulled the rocker up by the bed.
The baby hadn’t moved.
He saw her cell phone and the charger cord and plugged it in for the night, then turned the overhead light off, turned the lamp on near the bed, and sat down to wait.
* * *
Dori stripped where she stood, stepped into the tub, then turned on the water, standing beneath the stream of water coming out of the shower jets without care if it was hot or cold. Except for the sound of running water, the silence engulfed her. Before she knew it, she was sobbing and she couldn’t seem to stop.
Johnny heard her crying and closed his eyes against her despair. He knew. He remembered. He glanced at the baby sleeping soundly, his arms flung over his head in limp abandon. He was a cute little guy with a head of brown curls and a slight double chin. A well-fed baby. He could remember the times when he and the boys hadn’t had enough to eat and was thankful those times were past.
He leaned back in the rocker and pushed off with his toe. The chair creaked a little on the downswing, but nothing loud and the baby didn’t seem to notice. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat in this chair. He was listening to the water running across the hall when he fell asleep.
* * *
Dori cried until the water ran cold before she got out, numb and shaking. She dried without thinking and then remembered she had no clothes. However, when she peeked out in the hall, she saw the clothes and grabbed them quickly as she shut the door. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t get the T-shirt over her head, which made her cry a little more. Then she caught a glimpse of her face in the steamed-over mirror and stared, unable to recognize herself for the tear-swollen eyes and puffy lips. She turned away and finished dressing.
The shorts went past her knees but they stayed up, and the T-shirt was long, but warm and clean as she towel-dried her hair. She paused long enough to clean up behind herself and hang up the wet towels. She picked up her dirty clothes and turned the lights out behind her as she left.
The overhead light was off in the bedroom, but the lamplight cast a soft yellow glow on the sleeping baby in the bed and the man sleeping in the chair.
Dori stopped, struck by the complete abandon of Luther’s position and the innocence on Johnny Pine’s face. He looked much younger in repose, and she remembered he couldn’t be more than nineteen, maybe twenty.
She dropped the dirty clothes by the door then took a deep breath as she approached the rocker and gently shook his shoulder.
Johnny woke instantly, momentarily startled by the sight of a girl in their house, and then remembered why she was there.
“You can go to bed now, and thank you,” Dori whispered.
He got up and moved the rocker back by the window.
“Remember, if you need anything, wake me.”
“I will.”
She looked like a kid in his oversized clothes and the grief on her face hurt his heart.
“I’m so sorry,” he added.
Her chin quivered, but she didn’t cry.
“So am I.”
Johnny went to bed but couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about the situation she was in and how scared she must be.
She couldn’t go back to work until she’d sorted out where life had dumped her. He had no idea what her situation was regarding money but was guessing her grandfather had most likely made some kind of provision for her. It would just take time to find out where she stood. In the meantime, his job would be to find out what kind of diapers and baby food she needed. The rest would take care of itself.