Always for You:Jack(10)

He shook off her hand. "I'm fine."

No, he clearly wasn't, but she was reluctant to push any harder. They  hadn't worked together all that long, and she certainly didn't want to  damage their still-fragile relationship. Could this have anything to do  with why Jack wanted to speak with her privately?

"Okay, Ricky. But as I said, if you need to talk, I'll listen."

That's all she could do for him right now. Well, maybe there was one  more thing. She pulled out one of her business cards. "Here's my email  address and cellphone number. You know, in case you have any questions  about your assignment or anything at all. I'm going to be in and out  this weekend, but I will get back to you as soon as I can."                       
       
           



       

He took the card, stuck it in his hip pocket, and jerked his head in a  quick nod to acknowledge her real offer. "See you next week."

She wasn't at all surprised when he immediately took off, abandoning all  of his papers and books on the table, or that Jack joined her as soon  as Ricky disappeared. He stared in the direction that his young friend  had gone for several long seconds before turning his attention to her.

"Was there a problem?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "Not exactly. He was doing fine as long as we were  working on his math. When I mentioned that we'd be moving on to language  arts and reading next week, he pretty much shut down. If you remember, I  told you that language arts and writing were the areas where he tested  below grade level."

"Does he have a learning disability of some kind?"

Jack's expression was hard to decipher, leaving her wondering exactly  what he was thinking. "No, I don't think so, at least not anything  significant. We'd have to do more intensive testing to know for sure.  However, he doesn't seem to have any problem following directions or  reading the explanations in his math book, so that's encouraging."

But maybe it was time to take this conversation outside. She tipped her  head toward the kitchen where she suspected Ricky was helping himself to  a snack. "I need to get going."

Jack took the hint. "If you don't mind, I'll walk out with you. I was on my way to pick up the mail."

When he held out his hand to take her laptop case, she hesitated before  handing it over. No doubt helping her carry some of her things was  another piece in his attempt to disguise the real reason he was walking  her out to her car. He opened the front door and allowed her to go out  first, another example that someone had taught Jack good manners. She  bet that someone had been Mr. Lukash.

When they were both outside with the door closed and separating them  from Ricky, Jack cleared his throat as if whatever he wanted to say  wasn't easy for him. Maybe she could help with that.

"You're worried about Ricky and want to know if he's said anything to me about his past."

Jack stopped and stared down at her, his eyebrows riding low over his eyes. "Yeah. Exactly."

"The short answer would be no, he hasn't. I did tell him if he needed to  talk … you know, about anything at all … he could reach out to me. He has  my email address and my cell number."

"If he does get in touch with you, you will share the information with me."

It was time to lay down some ground rules. "I can't make an unqualified  promise like that, Mr. McShane. If it relates purely to his academic  progress, then of course I'll share. But if he shares something personal  and asks me to keep it to myself, I will."

Jack set her computer on the hood of her car with exaggerated care when  he obviously would rather have thrown it down or maybe kicked it down  the street. When he turned to face her, he stepped close enough that she  knew he was deliberately crowding her.

"That boy's welfare is my responsibility, Ms. Curtis, not yours. I can't  help him if he won't tell me what or who he's running scared from. If  he does tell you something and you don't share the information with me  or at least the police, you could be putting him in even more danger."

Her own temper heated up. She'd learned the hard way how important it  was to hold her ground when confronting an aggressive male. She glared  right back at him even though she had to tip her head back to an  uncomfortable angle to make solid eye contact. "I am quite aware of  that, Mr. McShane. You can rest assured I will keep that fact in mind if  and when he does tell me something about his past. If I can't tell you,  I will contact either his caseworker or the police. Now, back off."

He blinked and then his mouth slowly curved up in a small grin as he  retreated half a step back. "Message received and acknowledged,  Caitlyn."

As apologies went, that one sucked. "You know, all things considered, I  think it would be better if you call me Ms. Curtis. And now I need to be  going."

"What things would that be?" Then his smile disappeared far faster than it had come. "You're not married, are you?"

Her headache was making a return appearance. "I was, Mr. McShane. I'm  divorced, even though that's not really any of your business."

"For Pete's sake, call me Jack. Mr. McShane makes it sound as if I'm older than dirt."

"Fine, Jack. Since your mother and Ricky both already call me Caitlyn, there's no reason you shouldn't as well."                       
       
           



       

That was a lie. She really should cling to the small amount of distance  that their more formal names gave her. While she always got attached on  some level with her students, even the most difficult ones, she  preferred to maintain a professional relationship with their parents or  guardians. Experience had taught her that it was easier to advocate on  the child's behalf if the parents saw her the same as they did their  son's or daughter's regular schoolteacher. She'd found they took her  recommendations more seriously when they viewed her as an outsider  rather than as a friend.

When it came to Jack and his mother, though, it was apparently already  too late to draw that particular line, although she really ought to try.  "If you don't have any more questions, Mr. McShane, I really do need to  leave."

"Jack." That devastating grin was back. "Come on. It's not hard to say."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes as she punched the button on her  key to unlock the car. "Fine, Jack. I'll be back on Monday."

Her nemesis got to the car door first and opened it for her. "I do  appreciate everything you're doing for Ricky. Beginning at a new school  is hard enough for a kid his age without the added problem of starting  off behind in everything."

That comment reminded her of something she could share. "I don't have  any concrete proof of what I'm about to say, only my experience of  working with at-risk kids. My gut feeling is that Ricky is behind  academically primarily because of poor attendance. As I said, he reads  and understands written directions with no problem. With some help, I'm  betting if he catches up on what he's missed, he could do really well in  his classes. Unfortunately, if foster kids get bounced around from one  placement to another, it really interferes with their chances to succeed  in school."

Jack stared past her toward the house. "Believe me, I'm well aware of  that fact. I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen."

Oddly enough, she believed him. "Ricky is blessed to have you and your  mother on his side. He's a teenage boy and might not always remember to  act grateful. Even so, I'm guessing he does know how lucky he is."

"I don't want his gratitude. I just want him safe."

Then Jack turned back to look directly at her, and she felt the impact  all the way down to her toes. What was it about him that made her want  to toss her usual reticence around big men to the wind? It was obvious  that somehow he'd slipped past her guard, most likely because of their  common goal of helping Ricky. For whatever the reason, when the boy had  badly needed someone, Jack had been the one to step up to bat, and her  heart told her that he would protect that boy with everything he had.  She wanted Ricky to succeed academically, but all things considered, his  safety came first.

When Jack's gaze dropped just enough to stare at her mouth, her face  flushed hot. Was he thinking about kissing her? She should hope not, but  temptation was definitely dancing along her skin. Then he shook his  head and retreated to a safer distance. Caitlyn told herself it was  relief and not disappointment she was feeling as she got into her car  and started the engine. Jack patted the fender and then walked away  toward the mailbox at the end of the driveway, presumably to make good  on his excuse for having come outside with her.