Always for You:Jack(17)

       
           



       

The boy's eyes lit up with interest, but Jack couldn't help but notice  the two women at the table didn't look anywhere near as happy as Ricky  did. Oops, maybe they thought he should be using different examples.

"Remember the roof I was working on those days you helped me? Well, I  used simple geometry to figure out the number of shingles it would take  to cover the area that needed to be repaired. That's just one way we use  math in the construction trade. I'm hoping that once your arm is out of  the cast, you'll come out on jobs with me again. If you do, you'll see  what I'm talking about."

When he glanced in Caitlyn's direction, she gave him a small nod and  smiled. Okay, then. At least that part met with her approval. To change  subjects, he reached for the bag he'd set on the table.

"I didn't get much chance to shop while I was gone, but I did bring back  a few things." He pulled a T-shirt out of the bag and tossed it at  Ricky. The kid held it up and groaned at the corny statement on the  front that declared that all he got was a stupid T-shirt. Even so, he  looked pleased.

"Mom, the airport's gift shop was pretty limited, but I thought you might like this."

He held out a small cookbook on the cuisine of the country-not-to-be-named where he'd been playing babysitter.

She gave him a pleased smile. "Thank you. I'd say you shouldn't have, but you know how I love new cookbooks."

As she flipped through the pages, he took out the last item in the sack.  The other two purchases had been spur-of-the-moment buys, things he'd  snatched off the rack and paid for without a lot of thought. This one  had taken him far longer to pick out.

He leaned across the table to set the small box in front of Caitlyn. "I  saw these and thought you might need a new addition to your menagerie."

She stared first at the small box and then up at him as if unsure how to  react. "Go ahead and open it, Caitlyn. I promise it won't bite."

He realized they had an audience in Ricky and his mother. This could get  awkward if Caitlyn got in her head that it was inappropriate for her to  accept a gift from him. Maybe he should have waited until another time,  one that was more private, to give Caitlyn her present. Finally, she  picked up the box and lifted the lid.

The slow smile that spread across her face was all the thanks he would  ever need. She met his gaze for a second time, but this time there was  nothing but happiness in her expression. "Thank you, Jack. They're  perfect."

"You don't have any like them?"

She lifted the earrings from the box and held them up so everyone could  see them. "I can honestly say that these are my very first gargoyle  earrings. I and my menagerie thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ricky clearly didn't know what to think about the small silver beasts,  while Marlene's expression was a great deal more calculating, never a  good thing. Time to change the subject. He reached for the plate full of  cold cuts. "So, where is all this food I've heard so much about?"

After that, they all got busy building sandwiches and passing around the  chips. Jack was seriously running on empty and quickly devoured his  first sandwich. The food helped restore some of his energy, but he was  going to crash soon. Meanwhile, he fixed another ham sandwich and  listened as his mother and Caitlyn did the heavy lifting in keeping the  conversation going. When he was halfway done with his second sandwich,  his mom disappeared into the kitchen again. When she returned, she was  carrying four bowls of vanilla ice cream along with a variety of  toppings and a plate of brownies.

When she sat a bowl in front of Caitlyn, she stared at it for a few  seconds. "You are an evil woman, Marlene Lukash, but I can't resist the  temptation of ice cream and brownies."

She broke off a piece of her brownie and put it in her mouth. The soft  sound of utter happiness she made sent a high-voltage shock right to a  certain part of Jack's anatomy. Damn, he wanted to ask her if there were  other kinds of temptation that she was especially susceptible to, but  this wasn't the time nor the place for that particular discussion.  Something of what he was thinking must have shown in his expression,  because when he made eye contact with Caitlyn, her eyes widened in  surprise.

After making sure his mother was busy talking to Ricky, he winked at  Caitlyn and grinned. She arched an eyebrow and immediately ate a second  bite of her brownie, chewing it slowly as if savoring every second. When  her tongue darted out to lick the corner of her lips, he almost  groaned. Oh, yeah, she was a wicked, wicked woman all right.

Jack shot her a quick look that promised retribution. Then he realized  Ricky had caught the exchange and didn't much like it. Damn it, even as  tired as Jack was, he should've known better than to flirt with the  kid's teacher. Caitlyn had gone from relaxed to uncomfortable, so she'd  clearly picked up on the boy's displeasure, too.                       
       
           



       

It was time to bail. Jack took another couple bites of his ice cream and  then pushed the bowl away. "I'm sorry to leave such good company, but I  really need to hit the sack."

Caitlyn started to stand up at the same time he did. "And I should be going."

Ricky remained seated but continued to frown as his gaze bounced back  and forth between Jack and Caitlyn. Rather than stand there doing  nothing, Jack picked up his empty dishes. Caitlyn followed suit, which  really didn't help matters, but he couldn't very well order her to park  her butt and let him clear the table.

When they reached the kitchen, she set her bowl and plate beside the sink. "Well, that was awkward."

He huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, it was. Sorry about that. Again, write  my behavior off to being tired. I apologize if I embarrassed you in  front of your student."

"Don't shoulder all the blame, Jack. I was just as guilty."

"I shouldn't have been staring at you." As much as he'd enjoyed it. Her  fresh beauty was a nice respite from the grim week he'd just spent as a  highly paid babysitter in a hellhole of a country.

She grinned up at him. "And now we sound like a pair of grade school kids arguing over who started it."

Damn, he wanted to kiss that sassy mouth to see if she tasted of vanilla  ice cream and fudge brownies. She knew it, too, because she immediately  backed away and shook her head. "Jack."

The single word rebuke was enough to stop him in his tracks. "You're right. Ricky is your student. That takes priority."

He figured he didn't need to point out that the kid wouldn't be her student forever. After that, all bets were off.

"When does school start?"

She blinked at the abrupt change in subject. "The Wednesday after Labor  Day. However, I have to report in before that to get ready for the  school year. I'll probably have to stop all my tutoring before the end  of August."

Jack walked over to the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall and did  some mental calculations. Okay, he could wait that long. Maybe, but then  again maybe not. He suspected he'd be facing a lot of long hours  pounding on the big bag followed by some icy showers. Damn.

He picked up a pen and circled the first day of school and then looked  at Caitlyn with a hint of a grin. She cleared her throat. "Well, um,  maybe I should go help your mom finish clearing the table."

"I'll stay here and load the dishwasher."

Marlene joined them in the kitchen with an armload of dishes. "No, you won't."

Jack leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.  "Won't what? I won't load the dishwasher or Caitlyn won't be clearing  the table?"

"Both. You're dead on your feet, and she's a guest."

His mom set the tray she was carrying on the counter. "Jack, you go get  cleaned up and then sleep. I'll see Caitlyn out and then take care of  the kitchen."

Caitlyn dutifully followed his mom out of the room, stopping in the  doorway long enough to say, "Bye, Jack. I'll keep you posted on Ricky's  progress."

"Thanks."

Contrary to his mother's orders, Jack started rinsing the dishes and  putting them in the dishwasher. When she returned with another load from  the dining room, she sighed. "Stubborn man, you never could take orders  very well. I'm surprised you lasted in the army as long as you did."

Jack just grinned. "Don't forget that a lot of the people giving orders  in the army are carrying weapons. That tends to make you take what they  have to say a little more seriously."

Marlene laughed. "Maybe I should start carrying my rolling pin with me. Perhaps you'd listen better."

She stepped back and watched him work for a few seconds before speaking  again. "Ricky is going to hang out with his friends for a while, but he  promised to be home for dinner."