Our Song Read online

  She shooed the kids inside, and set down the groceries before stepping to the front porch and easing the door closed behind her. “You live there?” She pointed to the condos just behind her house.

  “Yeah, we just moved in.”

  He shook his head as if he didn’t know what to say, and she realized for the first time that he was younger than she had first taken him for, maybe mid-twenties. He looked nervous there with his hands shoved into the pockets of the jeans she now saw were a bit worn. His sneakers, too, had seen better days. He smiled and nodded, “Well, I’ll let you get to your dinner. Thanks again for all your help.”

  With that, he headed back to the condos and missed the vague, overly-polite smile that passed across her face.

  For a moment Kelsey tried to remember the last time she’d had a real smile.

  Chapter 2

  Kelsey sat to one side of the table, with papers spread out across the blue plaid cloth. Two dirty Curious George placemats held place at the opposite end, but her work didn’t migrate that far. She had a headset perched over her ears.

  She let a sigh slip out as she punched the ‘Off’ button on the phone. She’d worked her butt off, but finally got a second appraiser to come in another ten thousand higher on the house. That meant her latest clients could close out their re-finance at a lower rate, because the equity in their house was now at twenty percent.

  She was glad the kids were out today. Their babysitter was going to be a high-school senior this coming fall, and was a gift from the angels. When Bethany went off to college, Kelsey had no idea where she’d turn. Bethany had taken the kids out of the house all day today, and after fighting for that estimate Kelsey was supremely thankful.

  She stood, stretching out her shoulders and rolling her neck. It was all coming together, and that was a good feeling. It meant an infusion of cash into her account soon. They could use it—they always could. She almost had enough saved up for a week at the beach.

  “Andie!” The angry, male voice punched through her senses. Though her brain registered that it wasn’t her own father yelling, it didn’t take the snap out of her spine.

  Out the window she saw little Andie from Target go running by, her long dark hair trailing behind her like a banner.

  Kelsey almost laughed out loud that she was still so programmed to jump when she heard that name. But she was on her feet and halfway to the sidewalk before she saw JD go running past, yelling Andie’s name again, his lean body in perfect form as his feet ate up pavement.

  “Wait!” She caught up to him, grabbing his arm and stopping his mad flight.

  “What?” He was breathing heavily, and clearly angry judging from the look on his face. But to his credit it slid behind a curtain of sheer fatigue. “She won’t brush her hair.”

  Just then, he noticed that Andie was nowhere in sight. His first response was to panic, but Kelsey’s fingers tightened around his arm, stopping him by her calm demeanor. Because it certainly wasn’t her strength that kept him there. “Don’t. She’ll just run further. She’s pretty safe here.”

  He still looked worried, so she tried again. “I saw her duck into the Hendersons’ yard. The worst that can happen is the yorkie will bark and Mrs. Henderson will feed her too many cookies.”

  “Okay.” His breath came in great gulps as he lowered himself to the curb. He planted his feet and let his arms rest across his knees. Only then did she realize that he was clenching a hairbrush hard enough to turn the knuckles of his left hand a vibrant white.

  For a moment Kelsey almost feared for little Andie’s safety. The words just fell out of her mouth. “Do I need to do a background check on you?”

  He gave a bark of laughter. “No.” But his head didn’t come up until a minute later when he asked if there was any way she could watch Andie for an hour or so while he went out.

  She didn’t mind, but . . . “Are you coming back?”

  He gave another long pause, scaring Kelsey. But when he finally answered, it wasn’t what she’d expected. “I’ll come back. I have to. But I could really use enough time to get shit-faced drunk and then sober up.” He gave a wan smile, letting her know this wasn’t his usual afternoon activity. Still Kelsey wondered what the hell she had gotten herself into.

  Before she could say anything, two little pairs of feet came pounding up to where she and JD sat on the edge of the sidewalk.

  “Mommy!” Allie’s voice broke the layer of despair that JD had brought with him and Kelsey looked up in time to see Daniel put an arm out, blocking his sister from running to Mom with the latest news of a day with Bethany.

  “Hey, Kelsey! They were great.” Bethany knew that the first thing Kelsey wanted was a report. “They both ate a good lunch.”

  “Is there any chance you can keep them a few hours longer?” Kelsey stood up and brushed off the backside of her jeans, looking at JD where his broad back still showed strength even through the cloak of exhaustion.

  Kelsey knew Bethany was saving to go to cheerleading camp over spring break, and that was a powerful incentive. But Kelsey had to be completely honest. “Let me tell you what you’re getting into first. You see the little girl peeking out from the hedge down there?”

  Bethany nodded, looking a little warier, and Kelsey thought that was a smart expression.

  “You’ll have her, too.” She turned to JD, “That is, if you want some company and to tell me the whole story.”

  “That sounds good.” His chocolate gaze shifted to Bethany, landing first on her sneakers and traveling up her longs legs and finally settling on her face, looking young and fresh and all the things Kelsey didn’t feel. His voice was calm but strong, “Let me warn you, she can be a handful.”

  Bethany looked back and forth between the two of them until she came to some kind of decision. “I’ll call my mom.”

  It was only after she’d shoved the phone back in her pocket, saying everything was fine, she could stay as late as she was needed, that Kelsey realized Bethany thought this was going to be a date.

  Kelsey shoved down the laugh trying to burble up. It was a date to find out if this man had kidnapped this little girl, and what the hell was going on. Kelsey didn’t remember what a real ‘date’ was, but she didn’t tell Bethany.

  JD was content to let Bethany and the now ecstatic Daniel and Allie go fetch little Andie. He handed over a few bills to cover the kids’ dinner and agreed to wait while Kelsey changed out of her T-shirt. After slinging on a light button-down blouse she followed him back to his place.

  They walked past her closed garage door and around the cinderblock wall that was just barely higher than the top of her head. His unit was on the end, and she followed him up the back stairs calling herself all kinds of fool as she did it. What if he was one of those incredibly handsome men who turned out to be a murderer or worse? While she didn’t believe it, what she’d seen led her to believe that things weren’t right.

  He pushed the back door open without bothering with a key, and only then did Kelsey remember that he had come bolting by after Andie, he probably hadn’t stopped to lock up. Sure enough, he still held the powder pink hairbrush in his grip.

  The house looked spotless. And nearly empty. An old blue couch sat on one side of the room opposite a large black TV. Every room she could see was done in décor she and her friends had always referred to as ‘early college’. He stopped in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips, as if challenging her to find faults. “We can order pizza or go out. Your choice.”

  She tilted her head, trying to read him. He truly seemed too tired to be dangerous. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “If you promise to help me until they take her back.”

  “Take her back?” That sent a shiver through her like bad lightning.

  He looked worse for wear than he had even a few minutes before, although Kelsey wouldn’t have thought that was possible. So she took a deep breath and didn’t say anything.

  Without a wo
rd—he didn’t look like he could really form one—JD wandered into the kitchen and opened the fridge to offer her a drink. But the fridge lit up like a bright beacon, illuminating the single bottle of beer and leftover McDonald’s boxes.

  Her voice cut through the darkness that existed inside the house even though it was bright day outside. “Oh, no. We’re going out. You look like you could use a decent meal.”

  “Okay.” He didn’t argue, just trudged upstairs saying something about changing. Kelsey looked around, feeling like such a mom. Here she was with a good-looking man and she was worried about his eating habits. Oh well, she had to be older than he was, and she couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been a mom in some way. Maybe that’s why she had never become a wife.

  Just a few minutes later JD trotted back down the stairs looking much more presentable in khakis and a ribbed shirt. He had even traded up the dead Converse sneakers for Doc Martens. A half grin crinkled the corners of his eyes, “Yes, I do own clothing other than sneakers and jeans.”

  It added a handful of years to her estimate of his age. “Just how old are you?”

  Well, that just fell out of her mouth. Words and phrases and odd questions were coming out of her with no control lately. Every time they did, her spine stiffened just a little, waiting for the yell or the snap.

  But JD did neither. “I’ll be twenty-nine next month.”

  It was like her subconscious was searching for his break point and the words just fell out again, “The real twenty-nine or are you holding there?”

  He laughed. “The real twenty-nine. I promise next year I’ll turn thirty.”

  The laugh was the first sound of true enjoyment she had heard from him. His face lit up, his smile transforming him from simply good-looking to heart-breaking. It was certainly unexpected given the hangdog expression he had been wearing before.

  Just then the doorbell rang, immediately followed by a pounding noise, then a muffled yell. “JD! Open up!”

  Kelsey’s eyebrows rose right about the same time JD said, “Shit!” He turned to her. “What day is it?”

  “Tuesday.” She shied back a few feet.

  He threw open the door to reveal three guys who were the lifestyle brothers of the earlier JD. They all wore faded jeans, one with intricate tribal markings in black across the nearly white denim. Hair was in eyes and t-shirts ranged from old to mildly vulgar to muscle-baring.

  JD’s voice stopped her musings, “Guys, no practice tonight. But come in.” He held the door wide and ushered the now disgruntled looking band inside.

  And that, Kelsey realized, was exactly what they were: a band. She hadn’t noticed before, but there were guitars and cases slung over shoulders and hauled in tight fists.

  “You’re ditching practice for a chick?” The blond with the lip ring and tribalized jeans looked pissed. And, on him, pissed was a whole other level, Kelsey thought.

  JD shook his head. “The homeowner’s association called after last week. I told you we wouldn’t be able to practice here. We have to find somewhere new.”

  There was a chorus of “damn” and a few other choice words, followed by, “That kid has screwed with all our lives. Makes me want to keep it in my pants.”

  “I appreciate your support.” JD was getting angry, “But you don’t know the half of it.”

  “You’re leaving the band, aren’t you?” This from a blue-eyed younger version of JD; the guy had to be his brother.

  Not a one of them apologized to her for their language or even tried to introduce themselves, but she didn’t care. None of them was swearing at her, and polite introductions existed in a world her family had been forced to abandon a long time ago.

  “JD can’t leave the band. None of us can. We’re screwed without all four of us.” That was the blonde with the lip ring again.

  JD shook his head. “I’m not leaving the band. At least I don’t think I am.” That was met with groans and a few, ‘yeah, right’s. “I’m not practicing tonight because I am about two minutes from total meltdown. And because we don’t have anywhere to practice. Find a place for next week and I’ll find a way to be there.”

  At least now they looked disgruntled, which was a full phase better than pissed off. The counselors had always said disgruntled was very much in the realm of acceptable.

  Now that the group was generally calm, JD turned back to her. “Gentlemen, this is my neighbor Kelsey. She’s going to help me figure out how to deal with Andie.”

  Hadn’t she heard that phrase before? And wasn’t she always the best at ‘dealing with Andy’?

  His voice broke her thoughts. “This is Craig. He’s our bass, and one of our songwriters.” The blonde simply nodded at her, clearly still scoping out the situation and wondering if she was going to break up the band. Kelsey almost laughed out loud.

  “Alex, our drums.”

  Alex shook her hand and withheld judgment, just as he had withheld any words during the exchange.

  “And my little brother TJ. Lead vocals.”

  TJ smiled like a charm-shark, “Kelsey, nice to meet you. What are you doing with my brother here?”

  She started to reply, ‘feeding him’ but JD glared. “She’s my neighbor, so back off TJ.”

  Kelsey mentally inserted her own little cat growl into the conversation, then stifled a laugh.

  Inside a minute, he had them all ushered back out the door, and he turned to her as though trying to read her. Not that she thought that was going to happen anytime soon. He asked, “So, where are we going?”

  She pulled her keys out of her purse, “Somewhere with vegetables.”

  He winced, reminding her of the kid he was.

  “I promise I won’t feed you just squash for dinner.” She pulled his back door open, figuring to lead the way, “How does Italian sound?”

  “Actually, that sounds really good. I was afraid you were going to go vegan on me.”

  There wasn’t any conversation as she led him back around the cinderblock wall and to her garage door. He stepped in front of her and lifted the handle, swinging the door high without any of the effort it usually cost her. He even held her car door, which she added to his list of good qualities. Now if she could just figure out what was up with his daughter . . .

  He bounced a little in the passenger seat. “It’s comfier than I expected. What made you get a mini-van?”

  “Family of five to haul around.”

  He nodded absently and asked a little too casually, “Your husband willing to drive this?”

  She almost laughed, at him and at the question. “There’s no husband.”

  He smiled. “Good, you just never know what a guy might think if his wife was out in the mini-van with another man.”

  This time she did laugh. For the briefest of moments, she wondered why it felt so strange, then she realized it was because she hadn’t done that in over a year. She should thank JD, but then she’d have to explain, and she still wasn’t up to that. “Okay, dinner, and then you’re going to explain about your daughter.”

  He nodded. “And you’re going to tell me what you did the other day to get her to function. I really need help.”

  “I can see that.” She took a corner and waited at a light. All the while staying silent, hoping he would fill in the space.

  Finally, he did, but with another question of his own. “So, I only saw a family of three. Where are the other two?”

  It was casual enough that she knew he didn’t understand what he was asking. So she gave an honest response but told none of the real issues. “They aren’t here anymore.”

  She pulled up in front of the restaurant just as he commented. “Oh, but I’m supposed to spill my guts.”

  “If you want help with Andie.” She popped out of her side of the car and bee-lined for the front doors, not certain why that made her so upset. But it did.

  She’d have to be a good girl and examine those thoughts later, but right now she owed JD an apology. Stopping on a d
ime, she spun around to see him approaching with something akin to irritation on his face, although she couldn’t quite place the feeling she was reading. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I just can’t talk about it yet. When I can, I’ll tell you.”

  “Fair enough.” He reached behind her then and pulled the door open, letting the cool air blast over her, and she turned to go inside.

  They were seated and before she had time to think, the server was setting down a rum and coke for JD and a tea for her. JD questioned her about what she liked then chose an appetizer.

  He took a drink of the rum and coke, and, to Kelsey’s surprise, when he set it back down it was empty.

  He eyed her. “Don’t worry, I’ll stop at two. Okay three. I do have a designated driver, right?”

  “Yes, you do.”

  He motioned to the server to get him another one, and turned back to her. “I’m worried all the time. About Andie, about money, about me.”

  “Well,” she tried her best to be soothing. “You don’t have to worry about Andie right now. Bethany’s great.”

  “Of course Andie’s fine.” He gave a harsh laugh, “Now it’s Bethany I’m worried about.” And before she could ask, he filled in the blank. “Andie can be a devil child.”

  Kelsey just shook her head. Didn’t she know that one from her own Andy?

  “Bethany will be fine. It seems Andie just has some issues.”

  “Some issues?” He almost snorted as he picked up the fresh drink the server had just quietly set down. “Andy is issues. That seems to be all that exists in her. And with good reason.”

  He drained the glass and motioned for a third.

  Her face must have told the story, because he immediately reassured her that he was slowing down now.

  Kelsey rested her elbow on the table and tucked her chin into her hand. She had been raised with all sorts of manners, but they had been abandoned as a way of life a long time ago. “So, explain all this to me.”