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Without waiting for him to come on to her again, Pixie sped out the door and down the hall, happy to see two teachers lingering in the hallway, talking. Thank God. Their presence would discourage Peter from coming after her. The man was proving to be tenacious.
“Good night, Pam, Lynn,” Pixie waved at the pair and scurried off to the nearest exit where she parked her car; always close to the building and within range of the outdoor surveillance cameras. Caution was her byword.
Once she was safely inside, buckled in and backing out, she finally let out the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. She’d never had a problem navigating would-be suiters before, but she had a feeling Peter might become a problem. That sucked because she didn’t want any confrontations. She didn’t want to have to report him and go through all the resulting protocol. She just wanted to be left alone.
Unless Doug…
No.That ship had sailed. She needed to get her head out of her ass and settle back into her normal, boring life. She had her class assignments to work on, she had plenty of books toread, she had a family who loved her, and the “bestest” friend, ever; Julie who buoyed her up when she felt down. That was so much more than a lot of people had. She should consider herself fortunate.
Her phone rang on her car’s Bluetooth, and she saw it was Talia. Just the person to get her out of her funk.
“Hey, Tallie,” she greeted. “What’s up?”
“I need a favor.” Her sister didn’t prevaricate.
“Ask,” Pixie replied, also not hesitating.
“Fleet has a gig in DC this weekend, and wants me to come with him. We’re leaving Friday night, and won’t be back until late Sunday. I was wondering if you could come stay with May?”
May was Talia’s cat, Majorca, a sweet bundle of furry fatness that Pixie adored. But normally if Talia was going away, she’d bring May to their parents’ house for babysitting. “Why not bring her to Mom and Dad’s?” Pixie questioned.
There was a long-suffering sigh from Talia. “She got out by accident the other day, and some critter bit her pretty badly on her back leg. She’s got a bunch of stitches and is on some serious pain meds, so I don’t think it’s smart to move her while she’s healing.”
“Oh, no! Is she going to be okay?” Pixie was horrified.
“The vet said she’s going to be fine, but she needs a little extra TLC right now.”
“Totally understandable,” Pixie agreed, calming herself down. “I can cat-sit.” Then… She bit her lip, thinking. She’d never been to Talia’s place and stayed all by herself. Tallie was always there. Could she really pull off a solo visit?
“I can hear your brain working overtime from here, Pix.”
Damn.Talia knew her so well.
“I’m just…” Pixie trailed off.
“No worries,” Talia assured her. “I’ve got you, Pix. I’ve asked a couple fellow officers on alternate shifts if they’ll do drive-bys while I’m gone to make you feel comfortable. They have no problem with that.”
Pixie wondered how Tallie had explained her paranoid sister to her coworkers, but didn’t ask. It was one thing to be neurotic, and another to hear it put into words. She’d pass on that.
“Then it’s a plan,” she spit out before she could change her mind. It might mean she wouldn’t get a lick of sleep all weekend, but she’d attempt anything for her sister.
“Thanks, Pix. You’re a life-saver. Fleet will be over the moon.”
“Tell him he owes me,” Pixie came back with a snort. “I expect a visit from him to my classroom sometime in the near future to show-and-tell the kids all about recording studios.”
Talia laughed. “Just say the word. My man loves nothing better than talking about his vocation, as you well know.”
Pixie laughed.Yeah.Being around Fleet, you couldn’t help but pick up a few recording hints by osmosis. The man oozed his craft.
“So what time do you want me?” Pixie asked.
“Our plane leaves at eight, so I was hoping you could get here by four. Doable?”
“Oh, damn,” she gave a little laugh and answered tongue-in-cheek. “I just remembered. I’ll have to skip the big pep rally for the soccer game on Saturday, but for you, I’ll make the sacrifice.”
“You’re so full of shit, Pix. If I know you, you were already scheming ways to ditch that event.”
“Caught,” Pixie answered without taking offense. Talia had her number. “Listen, I’m just pulling up to the house, so my Bluetooth is going to lose you. Tell May I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll bring her a new catnip mouse.”
