“He, well… he thinks you’re the bomb.”

Cal didn’t reply. He knew the kids in town thought this and they thought it because he knew a lot of famous people but his job was far from glamorous.

She went on. “He says he wants to do what you do, after school.”

“Someone gives him a full ride, he should go to college.”

She nodded. “He’s thinkin’ he’ll do that too, but, um… maybe do what you do after.”

“Smart.”

Her head jerked around and up, she smiled at him and he found he was wrong again. She got her mother’s smile and that locked in his chest too, also not in a bad way.

“Pays good, girl, I’m not complainin’, but the folks I look after, they’re a pain in the ass,” he told her truthfully.

“Would you talk to him?” she asked, she was back to shy but she pulled up the courage to ask because she liked this guy.

This was where he reckoned this was heading and he shouldn’t do what he was going to do. Violet would be pissed and he didn’t even want to do it but he did it anyway.

“You see my truck in the drive and he’s around, come over.”

This bought him another smile and she whispered, “Thanks.”

The minute they hit the store Keira ambushed them, her arms filled with clothes.

“I’m gonna be your personal shopper too!” she told him, her eyes bright and happy. “I found a bunch of clothes that would look killer on you.” She looked down at the pile in her arms and muttered, “I hope I got the sizes right,” her head tilted back to him again, “the dudes at the counter saw you and guessed.”

Jesus. He was not going to try on clothes. Everything he owned he bought at the Levi’s store, except his leather jacket which Bonnie bought for him. He went in, got it, didn’t try it on and got the f**k out. He went shopping probably once every three years.

“Keira, I’m not sure Joe’s into shopping,” Kate wisely shared with her sister.

“But these clothes are awesome. Some of the shirts will go with his eyes,” Keira replied.

Cal looked down at the pile of clothes then at Keira.

“Girl, I wear black and I wear Levi’s.”

Unlike any other human being on earth who heard the way he spoke, Keira was not deterred. “But Lucky jeans are the best.”

“I wear Levi’s.”

“But you haven’t even tried Lucky.”

“Keira, he said he wears Levi’s,” Kate put in.

“What’s going on?” Violet asked and they all looked to the side.

He was wrong again, this time about the clothes. Violet was standing there wearing a skintight, purple, low-cut tank top and a pair of jeans that were so f**king sweet on her, his hands itched again to touch her in order to peel those jeans off her.

“Oh my God, Momalicious!” Keira screeched. “We have to get you that tank top in every color.”

She was not wrong.

“Those jeans are hot, Mawdy,” Kate noted on a happy smile.

She was not wrong either.

Violet twisted and looked at a tag then back at them. “I could buy a car for the price of these jeans.”

“They last forever,” Keira informed her mother.

“Maybe so, honey, but –” Violet started.

“You don’t buy that outfit, buddy, I’m buyin’ it for you,” Cal entered the conversation.

All three females turned to stare at him, Violet with color in her cheeks; Keira with a huge smile on her face (also her mother’s, though Cal had never seen Violet smile that big); and Kate with shock.

Violet shook off her response first. “Joe –”

He cut her off. “It looks good.”

“But –”

“Get it.”

“I don’t think –”

He leaned into her and dropped his voice. “Seriously, buddy, f**kin’ get it. It looks good.”

He watched as she closed her eyes and, the look on her face, he wished he’d kept his f**king mouth shut.

When she opened them again, her eyes were blank.

Her voice was soft when she asked, “Can you try not to say the f-word in front of my daughters?”

Before he could reply, Kate spoke.

“It’s okay, Joe, kids at school drop the f-bomb all the time,” Kate assured him and before Violet could say anything, she turned to her mother. “Mom, Joe’s right, you should get that. It looks really great on you.”

Violet drew in breath and nodded. “All right, baby, I’ll get it.”

“I’m gonna go get more of those tanks,” Keira said, dumping the clothes she picked for Cal in her sister’s arms even though the girl was holding two cups of coffee. “Wardrobe staples. Perfect, you can wear them all the time, in the summer, in the winter under tops and cardigans…” her voice trailed off as she took off on her mission to find more tanks.

“You want me to put these away, Joe?” Kate asked him quietly and he nodded to her.

Then in an afterthought, he murmured, “Thanks, girl.”

“No problem,” Kate whispered and took off.

Violet looked up at him.

“This is yours,” he told her, handing her a cup.

She looked down at it, seeming confused for a second then she took the cup from him and muttered, “I’m gonna go change.”

Then she took off.

Cal watched her move through the store.

Then Cal wondered if her husband used to shop with her and his kids. He wondered if the man stood in some store with a coffee waiting for his girls to do what they did. If he got impatient with it because it wasn’t a whole helluva lot of fun except when Violet walked out of a dressing room, looking so f**king sweet she made the whole thing worthwhile.

Then Cal wondered if someone told him that he’d eventually be whacked if her husband would ever get impatient waiting for his girls to do what they did. Cal figured, unless her husband was an ass**le, he wouldn’t. He’d take his girls shopping, to dinner and to the movies every f**king night.

Cal walked to the counter and leaned into it to wait for Violet and her daughters. The kids manning it scattered, something that happened a lot with Cal because he was big and because he was how he was. This didn’t bother him. It was a bonus with his profession.

He took a sip of coffee and he tagged where both girls were in the store and Violet’s feet under the dressing room door. He kept them tagged, though mostly with his ears, listening for their voices, pinpointing the sounds they made as he scanned the store and the mall beyond.