Always for You:Jack(15)

Considering Caitlyn's earlier conversation with her own mother, she  supposed it was a subject that was frequently on a mother's mind.

"I'd love to see some of your quilts sometime."

Even if she had no interest in seeing the one Marlene had planned for  Jack's future bride. "Right now, I'd better get Ricky started."

-

He looked up when she sat down at the table. "I finished the last of the algebra over the weekend."

"Great! Did you have any questions or anything you needed help with?"

"No, I don't think so. It was mostly review, anyway."

She took the algebra text from him and exchanged it for a grammar  textbook. "Let's get started on this next. We're going to be moving  through the material pretty quickly, but I think you'll be able to keep  up. If not, we'll slow down."

He grimaced, but at least he opened to the first page. After giving him a  little time to look it over, she began at the top and went through the  first three lessons with him, answering his questions as they went. When  they reached the end, she gave him some worksheets to complete.

"These cover the material we just went over. Do you want to work on them  now or do them on your own so we can start on the geometry book I  brought?"

He immediately set the papers aside. "I'll start these later and finish them before you come back on Wednesday."

She hid her smile as she dug the new math book out of her pack. "Okay, then. Let's get started on the geometry."

As he began looking through the geometry text, she wondered if anyone  had made any progress in tracking down his family or at least his school  records. She'd have to ask Jack when he got back from his mysterious  trip.

"Hey, Earth to Caitlyn!"

She blinked and realized that Ricky was waving his hand in front of her  face to get her attention. "Sorry about that, kiddo. I must have zoned  out there for a minute."

"You think? I'd already said your name twice." His grin was a bit wicked. "Gotta hot date tonight or something?"

"Ricky!" Caitlyn's face flushed hot, and she did her best to look stern. "That's not an appropriate question to ask me."

"Sorry." Although the twinkle in his eye made it clear he enjoyed seeing her flustered.

"Apology accepted. Now, we should both get back on task. What was your question?"

He pointed to the page. "Can you go through this one with me? I've read  through the problem twice, and it's still not making any sense."

She turned the book so she could read over the problem and the  explanation offered in the text. Then she reached for the small  whiteboard she kept handy for just such situations. "Let's break the  problem down into its component parts and see where that gets us."

The rest of their time flew by. As she packed up her supplies, she smiled at her student. "You did a great job today, Ricky."

Marlene appeared in the doorway to the kitchen with a container full of  cookies in her hand. "I didn't want you to think I forgot about the  cookies."

Caitlyn stared at the size of the package. "Tell me those freeze well, because I can't eat that many in a short time."

The other woman smiled. "They freeze fine. In fact, I used to keep  several batches in the freezer all the time in case company dropped by."

She glanced at Ricky. "Lately, though, they disappear as fast as I bake them."

He shook his head and tried to look sad. "Yeah, it's no surprise Jack  has to spend so much time working out considering how he chows down on  her cookies. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to fit through the door.  He barely does as it is."

The image of Jack with his shirt off and muscles straining as he pumped  iron filled Caitlyn's mind. Whoa, had the room suddenly gotten warm or  was it just her?                       
       
           



       

Meanwhile, Ricky was still talking. "The only reason there's any left now is because he's gone."

Marlene crossed the room to hand Caitlyn the container. Then she ruffled  Ricky's shaggy hair with her fingers. "So you're saying that he not  only singlehandedly emptied the freezer but somehow ate half a dozen of  the ones I made this morning even though he's not here?"

The teenager ducked away from Marlene and then shrugged. "What can I  say? The man is sneaky that way. Must be all those Special Forces ninja  skills he has."

Marlene laughed. "Must be. Now go get yourself a snack."

Before he reached the door, she added, "And make it something healthy, Ricky. You've had enough cookies for one day."

"Okay, fine."

When he disappeared, the two women smiled at each other. Caitlyn nodded  in the direction of the kitchen. "He didn't seem to mind having to eat  something good for him."

Marlene hesitated slightly before finally responding. "He's actually  pretty good about it. If Jack was right about him having been on the  streets for some time, then Ricky probably appreciates having a steady  food supply of any kind."

Caitlyn hurt for the boy. "He's lucky you took him in."

"It wasn't me. That was all Jack."

And that in a nutshell was why Caitlyn had had a hard time maintaining  her distance from him. She picked up her things. "Well, I'd better get  going. I'll be back on Wednesday at the same time."

Marlene sighed. "I knew there was something I was supposed to tell you.  Ricky has a doctor's appointment that day. Is there another time you  could come or should we just skip that session?"

Caitlyn checked her appointment book. "We can do our regular session on  Friday, and then I can come back again on Saturday if that works for the  two of you."

"Oh, I'd hate for you to mess up your weekend for us."

"No, it's fine. I've already got another student scheduled for that  morning at nine, so I can be here at ten thirty. Since he's another  Wednesday student, that will give me an afternoon off to take care of a  few things I can't do on the weekend."

"Well, if you're sure you don't mind, I'll let Ricky know."

"Sounds good, and thanks again for the cookies. And despite the change  in schedule, I'll write up my weekly report ending with Friday as usual.  I can leave it with you to give to Jack when I'm here on Saturday."

"You might be able to give it to him yourself. He was hoping to be back by then."

Ignoring the sudden flutter in her pulse, Caitlyn smiled one last time  as she walked out of the house. "That would be great. See you on  Friday!"

As she got into the car, she thought back to the conversation she'd had  with her mother. If just the mention of Jack's name affected her so  strongly, maybe it was time she dipped her toe in the dating pool again.  It was a scary thought, but only a fool would let one man ruin any  future chance for happiness. And if Caitlyn knew anything at all, it was  that she was nobody's fool. Not anymore.





Chapter 7


Damn, Jack was tired. That slam-dunk job had turned out to be a little  more involved than Gabe had indicated it would be, not that it was his  fault. They both knew that it was often the client's behavior that  determined how easy or hard it was to keep him safe. On paper, this one  had appeared to be an experienced traveler who would listen to reason.

In practice, he'd been anything but sensible. After completing each  day's business, he'd insisted on hitting the nightclub scene until the  wee hours of the morning. Jack had been hired to keep the man safe from  possible kidnappers. As it turned out, he'd spent most of the time  protecting the fool from his own poor judgment.

Still, the point had been to make sure the idiot got back home in one  piece. By that definition, the trip had been a success. The client, his  employer, and Gabe were all happy, which meant Jack's bank balance now  looked decidedly healthier.

It was all good, even if he felt like hell right now.

His red-eye flight from the East Coast had been canceled due to stormy  weather, and he'd ended up sitting on his ass in the airport for an  extra seven hours before they could get him on another flight. Even  then, the only available spot on the longest leg of the route was a  center seat in a row all the way in the back right by the engines. He'd  felt like an oversized sardine crammed into an undersized tin can. At  least he was finally on the home stretch. As soon as he reached the  house, he'd check in with his mom and Ricky, take a badly needed shower,  and then crawl into bed for a few hours.                       
       
           



       

As he turned the last corner, he spotted a familiar car parked in front  of the house. Even as tired as he was, Jack was reasonably sure that it  was Saturday here in the Pacific Northwest. Just to make sure, he  checked both his watch and his cellphone. Okay, he had that much right.  So what was Caitlyn Curtis doing at his house today?