Tied - Part Three (The Tied Series) (9 page)

Patrick cursed under his breath. “Then tell him soon. My offer still stands.”

“I’m really sorry. That’s a really nice offer and I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” The train’s headlights appeared in the distance. “I’ve got to go.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “Get home safe. And call me this week, okay? Call me as soon as you tell him.”

“I will.”

CHAPTER 9

“I can’t believe the school year is almost over.”

“Believe it.” Lisa brushed Amber’s hair in the bathroom mirror while I watched from the doorway. It was the day of her talent show and she was visibly bouncing with excitement. The kids in her class had a half day of school so they could rush home to prepare for their performances that evening. Amber had begged me to come over while she got ready so that we could practice, and of course I’d agreed.

“I guess you won’t need me very much over the summer?” I asked tentatively. I’d been afraid to broach the subject but time was getting away from us.

Lisa’s lips tightened in the mirror. “Afraid not,” she said, “Money’s been really tight. We’ll call you up for a little babysitting but sadly we can’t continue the twice-a-week thing.”

Amber pouted. “But I like it when Katherine comes over.”

“We’ll still see each other, sweetie,” I said, “You’re gonna visit your uncle over the summer, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, though she pouted.

“With him off his feet, I don’t know if we’ll even be able to afford that weekend getaway we were hoping for, either,” Lisa said.

“No?”

“He was helping us out,” she said, “With a little fighting money, a little cash from his other gigs. Nothing major, but enough that we could cover a few extras.” She blinked in the mirror. “You didn’t know?”

“No,” I said. “What kind of extras?”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.” She shook her head.

“Lisa…”

“You,” she said, “He was helping us cover you. Plus a few other things for the kids. He was planning on helping us send them to a summer camp for a couple of weeks, but now…”

“Now he can’t work,” I said, my mind in a whirlwind. He’d basically been paying me to tutor his niece and nephew. And I’d had no idea.

“What about you? Did you find any gigs for the summer?”

“Yeah, a camp,” I said, looking down at my hands. “They’re associated with the school, actually. One of the teachers recommended me. She said it would look good on my resume when they’re considering applicants for September.” I was rambling because my mind was wandering.

Lisa finished brushing Amber’s hair and tied it up in a ribbon on top of her head. “How’s that?” she asked.

“It’s okay,” she sighed, turning her head to check it out from all angles.

“Never happy, these kids,” Lisa said, dropping the brush onto the counter. “Let’s hit the road.”

We took the train to my place, first. I was finally beginning to think of it as part mine instead of simply the place where I lived. “Home” still felt like Connecticut, most of the time, but I didn’t feel quite as out of place anymore.

Amber danced up the sidewalk once we were aboveground again. I hoped that Lockett was in a better mood. When I’d left that morning he was brooding again. In fact, ever since I’d gotten back from visiting my mother, he’d been more and more withdrawn, falling back into his pre-surgery pattern of staring blankly at nothing, of not looking at me, not looking at or listening to
anyone
. It was disheartening. And scary. And I didn’t know what to do.

“Tell me what’s bothering you,” I’d said, fighting the urge to help him as he struggled to cross the living room.

“Nothing,” he’d grunted, but Mal cut in, “Braddock’s getting signed.”
Dammit.
That explained the mood. Braddock was one of Lockett’s training partners and competitors. I knew for a fact that he didn’t particularly like the guy. I didn’t, either. And now he was getting signed, probably stealing all of Lockett’s former fans, his good luck girls…
not that I’ll miss them
. I didn’t think he’d miss them either, but it was the principal of the thing. Braddock was getting everything that Lockett had worked so hard for.

“It’s not a sure thing, yet,” Lockett said. “Saw it online. The girls are making a bigger deal of it than it is.”

“Yeah, but it’s gonna happen. If not this month then the next time that Philadelphia guy comes around.”

I shot Mal a look - he didn’t need to rub it in. “I’m sorry,” I said. “It sucks. I thought that guy was a jerk, too. He doesn’t deserve it.”
You did. You do.

“Doesn’t matter.”

It did matter to him. It was all over his face. “We’ll talk more later,” I’d said, kissing him softly and getting no response. “You still want me to stop by with Amber this afternoon, right?”

He shrugged.

I went ahead with the plan, hoping that maybe Amber would cheer him up where I’d failed.

“Uncle Rob!” She charged inside the apartment and flung herself onto the couch next to him. His stony face cracked into a smile. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “My show’s tonight,” she said, “But I wanted to sing you my song, first. Before anyone else hears it!”

“I can’t wait to hear it,” he said, lifting her from his lap. Her little knees were digging into his cast. Carefully, he planted her back on her feet. “I hear you’ve been practicing a lot.”

“Every day!”

I plugged my phone into the set of speakers that sat below the television. “Let me know when you’re ready,” I said as she straightened and adjusted the skirt of her dress.

She cleared her throat.

I smiled encouragement at her as she began the song she’d finally chosen after much back-and-forth - the newest Taylor Swift song which, luckily, had a karaoke version on the internet.

Her young voice was high and sweet, and gave the song a different note than the original - a truer innocence. One that came with being eight-years-old and having few cares in the world that weren’t centered around school and friends.

Lockett played the good audience member, bobbing along with the beat and applauding loudly once she was finished.

“You like it?” she asked, clapping her hands together, “I hope everyone else will like it. I practiced a lot.”

“A lot,” Lisa said emphatically.

“It was perfect,” Lockett said, “You’re a star. In fact, if Katherine doesn’t mind grabbing something out of my room? I might have something for you.”

I found a small bouquet of roses waiting on his bed, trimmed short so they’d be easy for her to carry. I handed them to Lockett, and he presented them to her with a flourishing hand-wave.

“Knock them dead,” he said.

“Thanks, Uncle Rob!” She clutched them to her chest and buried her nose in the bright red petals.

“My little celebrity,” Lisa said, smiling down at her daughter.

“Where’s the boys?” Lockett asked her.

“Finn’s at soccer, so he’ll be at the school when we get there. Josh said he’ll try to make it.”

“He
said
he’d be there,” Amber said.

“I know, honey, but you know he needs to work, too.”

Darkness settled over Lockett’s face. “Sorry, sweetie,” he said absently, patting her shoulder. “Maybe Katherine can take a video with her phone so he can see it.”

“Then you can see it, too!”

“Sounds perfect.” But he wasn’t smiling. Not anymore.

Lisa noticed the change, too. “That cast is coming off eventually,” she said. “This is temporary. You’ll make her next show. God knows there’s plenty in her future.”

“I’m gonna be a singer like Katherine,” Amber said.

“The cast coming off doesn’t mean I’m fixed,” he said, “I’ll still be crippled. That’s not changing.”

“Don’t say that,” I said, leaning against the back of the couch and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. “You’re not crippled.”

“What am I?” I had no answer for that. “Can’t walk, can’t fight, can’t be even a halfway decent uncle…”

Lisa scowled. “The kids love you, Rob. You don’t need to be able to roughhouse with them to be a good uncle.”

“You’re still my favorite,” Amber said softly.

“Thanks, kiddo,” he said. He aimed a playful punch at her jaw and made a loud clack with his tongue as he brushed her face. She giggled. “I can’t be much use to anyone else, but I’ll be your audience anytime.”

“We’re going to have a talk about this pity party later,” Lisa warned.

“Whatever you say, sis.”

Amber came around and tapped my shoulder. “We’re gonna be late,” she said, pointing at the time on the cable box. She looked to her mother. “Mom?”

“Yeah,” Lisa said, still frowning at her brother-in-law, “Time to go. Give your uncle a hug.”

I exchanged a worried look with Lisa as Amber said her goodbyes. His mood seemed to change on a dime, sometimes. I could understand it but it broke my heart to witness. Worse still, there was very little I could do for him. I couldn’t fix his leg, I couldn’t turn back time.

All the more reason not to spill my secret too soon.

○●○●○●○●○

Much to our surprise, Mallet and Alexa joined Lisa, Finn, and I in the audience before the show started. They settled next to me in the row of metal folding chairs just in time for the lights to dim.

“Lockett asked us to come,” Alexa said, squeezing me in a quick hug. We all clapped as the first kid stepped onto the brightly-lit stage and began a complicated-looking dance.

“Did you pick up those roses for him?” I asked.

“Yeah. That was super sweet of him,” Alexa said, “I’ll bet Amber was excited.”

“Oh, yeah. You should have seen her.”

She elbowed me, then glanced over her shoulder to make sure Mal wasn’t listening. “I’m guessing you haven’t told him yet.”

“You see how he’s been, how could I?”

Her lips pursed in disapproval but she bit her tongue.

“Let’s have a big round of applause for Amber Lockett!” We all stood and cheered for her when she stepped out onto the stage, twirling her foot and tugging the hem of her dress nervously as she stopped in front of the microphone.

Though she looked nervous, she sang flawlessly, her little voice filling the auditorium with its sweet sound.

The kids and parents around us were buzzing with conversation through the first act, but they fell into silence now. Amber definitely had a talent. Everyone was utterly charmed by her.

The crowd erupted when she finished the song. I could see her blush even from where I was seated when we all jumped up to applaud her performance.

When I saw Lisa wiping her eyes, I suddenly had to duck my head and hide tears of my own. Seeing her so proud of her daughter, it touched me like no Hallmark commercial or Lifetime movie ever had. Was it hormones already? Was it a glimpse of my future? I clutched my sister’s hand.

“Is it bad if I’m a little bit excited?” I asked.

She searched my watery eyes. “Of course not! Situation aside, it’s something you’ve always wanted. Even I know that.”

“I feel like this is something I could maybe be good at. Better than Mom. I can do things right the way she never did.” Tears wet my cheeks, and I brushed them away with my shoulder. I didn’t mean to sound bitter but I meant it. I could right her wrongs, write a new chapter in our family’s future - a better one.
And maybe I can redeem myself. I can make up for all of my mistakes if I do right by this baby.

“I know you’ll be amazing,” Alexa said, her own eyes beginning to glisten. “I have no doubt.”

“I’m a little excited,” I laughed through the tears. The audience began to settle down around us to wait for the next act, so I lowered my voice as we sank back to our chairs. “I’m just so afraid of losing Lockett. I’m afraid to tell him.”

“We can do it together,” she offered. “Mal doesn’t know but I’ll give him a heads-up on the way home.”