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  Luna took advantage of the slight lull and asked, “Your house?”

  Angie nodded.

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” Oliver huddled in the backseat, gulping back hiccups and tears.

  “Sorry isn’t good enough, son. You’re lucky the other parents didn’t want to press charges.”

  Luna glanced in the rearview mirror. Oliver’s face paled at his mother’s observation. “Charges?” His chin trembled.

  Luna drove as fast as possible. She didn’t want to speed with Oliver and Angie in the car, but she didn’t want to prolong this experience.

  “What am I going to do with you?” Angie’s voice was tired. Luna wanted to comfort her, hold her while she fell asleep.

  “It won’t happen again.”

  “Damn right it won’t. You’ve been suspended for a week while they decide what to do. Do you realize they could kick you out?”

  Luna pulled into Angie’s driveway and killed the engine. She’d made it there in record time. As Oliver exited the car, Luna grasped Angie’s hand, holding her back.

  “Can I come in with you?” She’d already pushed her luck at the school This time she asked before following Angie inside.

  “It’s probably a bad idea.”

  Angie wasn’t rushing to send her away. Luna’s internal cheerleader did a flip in spite of the horrible circumstances.

  “Probably, but I want to anyway.” It was Angie’s night off and Luna wanted to be there to hold her when she cried.

  “Did he tell you what he did?”

  “He showed me his arm.” Luna brushed the backs of her fingers against Angie’s cheek, then worked her hand down to cup the side of Angie’s neck.

  “It looks like yours, doesn’t it?” Angie ran her hand beneath Luna’s sleeve and palmed the angel.

  “Close.” Luna didn’t like where this conversation was going.

  “Did he tell you why he did it?”

  “He said the other boy made fun of him, told him his angel was stupid.”

  Angie pushed the sleeve up and kissed Luna’s tattoo. “It’s not stupid.”

  “No, but forcing someone into a tattoo he doesn’t want? That’s not okay.” Not okay was the understatement of the year for Luna. She was trying not to freak out.

  “Thank God it’s not permanent.”

  “How bad was he hurt?”

  “Not at all.” Angie offered a tired smile.

  Luna was confused. “You said hospital.”

  “I may have exaggerated for dramatic effect. I want Oliver to think about what he’s done.”

  “I believe he is sorry.” Luna wondered how much further this conversation would go before Angie remembered she was talking to Luna, the woman she didn’t want influencing her son. Especially since it was her angel that Oliver had copied. She was afraid if she left now, Angie might never let her back in.

  “Yeah, but is that enough?”

  “I don’t know.” Luna shook her head. She loved Angie’s strength, her commitment to her son. Even more, she loved that Angie was letting her share this moment of difficulty, letting Luna see her struggle. For the first time, Luna wanted to be strong for someone else.

  “I should get inside.” Angie reached for the door handle.

  Back to Luna’s original question. “Can I come with you?”

  “Not this time.” Angie gave Luna a brief kiss. “As much as I’d rather be with you, I need to deal with this.”

  “I wouldn’t interfere.”

  “I know, but I don’t want to drag you into my family drama any deeper than you already are.” Angie exited the car and crossed the yard.

  Luna watched until she disappeared into the house, then started the car and backed out of the driveway. What could she do to make her intentions clearer for Angie?

  Chapter Twelve

  Friday, September 11

  Angie paced the linoleum floor in the kitchen. She was tired of arguing with her father. “Nothing you can say will make this okay, Dad. Nothing.”

  “He’s ten years old, Angie. Boys make mistakes.” Jack sipped his coffee. He was acting like Oliver had done nothing more serious than graffiti a bathroom stall.

  “This wasn’t a mistake. It was assault.” Angie thrust her words out like mental battering rams, hoping they would somehow break through Jack’s stubborn refusal to face reality. “What am I supposed to say to the other boy’s parents?” Angie didn’t want to have that conversation, but she couldn’t avoid it. If their roles were reversed, she’d want answers. They deserved the same.

  “I don’t know, Angie.” Jack pulled a box out of the cupboard above the refrigerator. It was behind an assortment of vases and he had to use a stool to get it. Then he sat at the table and emptied the contents onto the table. It was an elaborate kit for rolling joints. Angie had never seen it before. Jack’s fingers trembled slightly as he worked the paper. Maybe he was more upset than he was letting on.

  “Do you have to do that now?” Angie needed to focus on her son, not her aging father’s lingering Peter Pan complex.

  “Yes, I do.” Jack sparked the joint and sucked in a mouthful of smoke. After a long pause, he exhaled and offered it to Angie. “You probably should, too.”

  “Christ, Dad.” Angie flipped on the exhaust fan over the stove, cracked the window above the sink, and opened the back door. She stood just outside the door and continued with her previous line of thought. “Maybe I should put him in counseling.”

  “Do you really think that’s necessary?”

  Angie didn’t want to, but she couldn’t ignore the seriousness of Oliver’s actions. “It probably doesn’t matter what I think. The school may require it in order for him to go back.”

  “I didn’t think about that.” Jack took another hit, and his body relaxed slightly.

  “You realize it matches Luna’s tattoo?” Angie hated the correlation. She was getting used to having Luna in her life, but if it was hurting Oliver, she would give her up.

  “I figured.”

  “What should I do about that?” She didn’t know why she was asking Jack’s opinion. He made decisions with his libido, or through marijuana-tinted glasses.

  “Why would you do anything?”

  “Would Oliver have done this without her influence?” Angie knew her question was absurd before she’d said it. Luna had spent hardly any time with Oliver, and if he was about to have a violent outburst at school, it would have happened with or without Luna and her angel.

  “This exactly? Probably not.” Jack was staring hard at the burning tip of his joint. “But he might have done something else. Angie, don’t use this as an excuse to deny yourself companionship. You don’t deserve to be punished. It isn’t your fault.”

  “Then whose fault is it?” Of course it was her fault.

  “Oliver is growing up. He’s trying to figure out what to do with all that extra energy and confusion rolling around inside him.” Jack shrugged, apparently back to trying to convince Angie it was no big deal.

  “I need to spend more time with him. Maybe I could switch to mornings?”

  “Can you afford that?” They’d had this conversation too many times in the past. Jack knew tips were better at dinnertime.

  “Probably not.” Angie slumped against the door frame, feeling helpless. “Maybe I should pull him out of baseball.”

  “What would that solve?”

  “I don’t know.” Angie loved that Oliver played baseball, possibly more than Oliver. Still, he was excited when his coach proposed a special program that continued play long after the regular season ended. “But he needs to know that his behavior has consequences.”

  “And having his mom called to the principal’s office isn’t a consequence?” Jack held out his joint to Angie. She’d never accepted his offer and didn’t know why he kept trying. Perhaps he thought she was really missing out, or maybe it was force of habit from years of getting stoned with friends.

  “Is it enough?” Angie rubbed her temples and wish
ed she were with Luna and her magic bottle of massage oil. That would be far better than trying to determine the right way to curb Oliver’s aggressive tendencies.

  “Have you talked to him, Angie?”

  “No, but Luna did.”

  “Really? Where were you?”

  “Inside the assistant principal’s office. It was worse than being called there as a student.”

  “I bet.” Jack chuckled. “Did he say why he did it?”

  “The boy called his angel stupid.” Angie couldn’t quite follow Oliver’s progression. How did a disagreement over a fake tattoo escalate to Oliver’s friend Josh pinning a smaller boy while Oliver drew on his arm? Mr. Payton said no one was seriously injured, but the boy’s shirt was ripped. Angie would have to replace that.

  “So he was defending something he knew was precious to Luna,” Jack surmised.

  “But that doesn’t make sense. He’s only seen it a couple of times, and beyond saying that she did it herself and that it hurt, she’s never said anything about it being important to her.”

  “She touches it anytime someone mentions her mother.”

  “You think Oliver made that connection?”

  “Maybe, maybe not. But the way she guards it, covering it with her hand? That would have registered. Perhaps not consciously, but enough to make him want to protect it the way she does.”

  Her chest tightened. “Now I’m back to not seeing Luna again.”

  “Don’t be silly, Angie. She’s a good woman, despite your efforts to paint her otherwise. Let her help you instead of pushing her away.”

  “I don’t want her to hurt Oliver.”

  “She won’t.”

  “She might.”

  Jack took another hit. “What are you afraid of?”

  Angie debated telling Jack the truth. Did she really want to reveal her concerns to him? “She reminds me too much of your girlfriends. I don’t want to be with someone like that.”

  “She reminds you…” After Jack’s voice tapered off, it came back stronger than ever. “Angie, you’re an idiot if you think she’s anything like the women I date.”

  “She’s completely wild and untamed.” The thought made Angie’s breath catch in her throat. She pictured Luna naked and lying above her, hair cascading over her in loose tangles, a sheen of sweat covering her body, her eyes inviting and dangerous. She banished the image and continued ticking off the similarities Luna shared with her father’s line of women. “She does tattoos for a living, looks like a porn star, and owns more cow hide than a dairy farm. That’s not All-American wholesome. Not to mention, the longest relationship she’s ever been in was based solely on sex, and she has a reputation for being promiscuous.”

  “That’s ridiculous. What’s the longest relationship you’ve been in, Angie? The last few months with Luna is the only one I can think of past high school, so you’re just as bad with demonstrated commitment. And you want to talk about promiscuous? You had Oliver when you were seventeen. Immaculate conception, while a popular subject amongst the Christians, is impossible. She owns her own business, which she is expanding. By all accounts, that makes her successful.” Jack stubbed out his joint and tossed it into the garbage disposal, then crossed the room and grasped Angie by the shoulders. “All that leaves is the leather pants. Are you really going to throw away the chance to be happy with a woman who adores you based on clothing?”

  Angie sighed. When put that way, her fears seemed damn silly. Silly or not, she still wasn’t ready to fully embrace her growing feelings for Luna, let alone examine the possibility of love.

  *

  Saturday, September 12

  “You know you have appointments this afternoon?” Perez tapped the appointment book.

  “I’ll be back in time.” Luna couldn’t believe Angie was allowing Oliver the trip to Oaks Park, given his recent altercation at school. She was doubly surprised that she was still invited. Absolutely no way would she cancel now. She might have to cut the day shorter than she’d like to make it to work on time, but that was no reason to skip it altogether. Angie would understand. Hopefully Oliver would as well.

  “The first one is at four.”

  “I know.” One more reminder and Luna might roll up the appointment book and smack Perez on the nose with it.

  “Okay. I just don’t want to be the one sitting here when Clarissa walks in and you’re still out on your play date.”

  Clarissa Waters, one of Luna’s regular clients, had an endless desire for ink and a similarly endless supply of funds to fuel her obsession. She was also a royal pain in the ass. Her temper was perpetually at 99.9 degrees Celsius and the tiniest thing made her boil over. Once Luna offered her a register receipt, rather than a handwritten one with the description of the work done, and Clarissa threw a massive temper tantrum. She didn’t calm until Ruby stormed down the stairs and out-hissy-fitted her. Trust-fund babies spoke a language all their own, one that Luna would never understand.

  “Perez, do not make me say it again. I’ll be here.” Luna ground her teeth.

  “Okay.” Perez closed the appointment book.

  “Okay.”

  “Are you picking them up?” Perez asked.

  Luna looked at the clock. “Yep, in about twenty minutes.”

  “You excited?”

  “Nervous. I can’t believe she agreed to let me come.” Luna shook her head slightly. Apparently, Jack had some sort of magic ability to change Angie’s mind. Luna needed to learn his secrets.

  “What about tomorrow?” Perez dragged the stack of files from the bottom desk drawer.

  Luna cringed. She didn’t want to look at applications for apprentices. “She said yes. You bringing Tori?” If Perez had invited Tori to Nan and Vi’s anniversary party it wouldn’t be so boring for Angie.

  “Yep.” Perez flipped open the top file. “She’s pissed that I waited until the last minute, but she’s coming.”

  “Good.” Luna scrambled to distract Perez from the applications. “Did you make the appointment with the realtor?”

  “I tried. Called the realtor about fifty times. Kept getting kicked to voice mail.”

  “Fifty? You’re kidding.” Luna knew Perez was obsessive, but that many calls in a day landed her squarely in stalkerville. “You’ll end up with a restraining order, not an appointment.”

  “No, I won’t.” Perez stared hard at Luna. “We’ve looked at this place, it’s perfect. I don’t want to miss out because our realtor is spending the day at the beach. Literally or metaphorically.”

  “That makes no sense.” Luna let Perez’s exaggeration pass. Yes, they’d looked at the exterior of the building, even peered through the windows to check out the basic layout. So far, it did appear perfect, but they hadn’t actually looked at it, not with any amount of critical objectivity. Perez had been so excited to find a place that met all their criteria, at least on paper, and Luna was in serious denial about moving. Neither of them was able to evaluate the actual pros and cons of the location. “One message is enough to get your point across. Now she’ll think we’re crazy.”

  “Luna, you’re not allowed to talk yourself out of this.”

  Luna didn’t answer. The idea of moving Coraggio still gave her twinges of guilt. Intellectually she knew it was the right thing, but emotionally, she was clinging to their current location.

  “You find an apprentice?” Luna asked. Discussing would-be tattoo artists would be her penance for frustrating Perez over the real estate.

  “I’ve narrowed it to four.” She laid out the sample sheets of art work. “And I need to know when you want to talk to them.”

  Luna checked the clock again. Ten minutes until Angie expected her. “Just schedule them in the book. Any time, I don’t care.” She grabbed her jacket. “I gotta run. Wish me luck.” She waved to Perez on her way out the door.

  When Luna pulled up in front of Angie’s house, she froze, unsure what to do next. Should she wait in the car? Should she go to the door? Should sh
e have bought flowers? She was nervous as hell. Angie would never forgive her if she fucked this up. For that matter, Luna would never forgive herself.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and opened the door. As she was climbing out of the car, her elbow bumped the steering wheel. The horn sounded louder than she ever remembered, and she jumped, victim of jangled nerves and embarrassment. She sprinted to the door. God forbid Angie thought she was the kind of asshole that honked the horn and waited in the driveway.

  Oliver burst through the front door and stopped, close enough that Luna braced for impact. She thought Oliver intended to jump on her and was surprised when he held back. He vibrated with excitement.

  “Hi, Luna,” Oliver said with an enormous smile.

  “Hey.” Luna indulged the urge to ruffle his hair. Surprisingly, he didn’t resist. “Your mom inside?”

  “Yeah, along with my friend Josh. Mom said he could go, too. If it’s okay with you.” Oliver bounced in place. “Is it? Is it okay?”

  Oliver’s energy level was giving Luna a slight headache. Having his friend along would either double the intensity of her pain or provide Oliver with another outlet for his enthusiasm. She was about to find out. “That’s okay by me.”

  “Yes.” Oliver jumped into the air and pumped his fist.

  Luna looked over to see Angie standing on the front porch. Wearing a loose white button-down shirt, faded jeans with a hole in one knee, and the sweetest smile Luna had ever seen, Angie took her breath away.

  Everything would be okay.

  *

  “Are you sure this is okay?” Angie held Luna’s hand, letting their arms swing in unison between them as they walked toward the entrance of Oaks Park. The family-centric amusement park probably wasn’t the best venue for lesbian displays of affection, but Angie liked the way Luna’s palm felt against hers. If she intended to have a full relationship with Luna, it was time to stop holding back. She gripped Luna’s hand a little tighter.