Always for You:Jack(22)

Her eyes were shining a bit too brightly. He hated that this situation had upset her so badly. "Aw, honey, don't cry."

When words didn't work, he did the only thing he could think of to  distract her, something he'd wanted to do since the day they'd first  met.

He kissed her.

It started off slowly, an offer of comfort, something they both badly  needed. Caitlyn's lips were every bit as soft as he'd always suspected,  every bit as sweet as he'd hoped. When her hands swept up his chest to  settle on his shoulders, he wrapped her in his arms tightly enough to  let her know that holding her close mattered.

She immediately leaned in closer so that there wasn't room for even a  breath of air between them, only a shimmer of heat that would soon reach  critical mass. He lifted her and carried her the few steps to the side  of the building and pressed her back against the smooth surface of the  bricks. He was breathing hard and wishing like hell they were somewhere a  lot more private than this alley.

"Damn, woman, you taste like temptation."

Caitlyn smiled, clearly pleased with his assessment. She cupped his face  with her hands and pulled him down for another kiss. This time there  wasn't anything sweet about it. It was all tongues and teasing, not to  mention torment, because they couldn't take it any further. Not in this  public place and not with Ricky waiting for them.

She knew it, too, because she was already slowing things down. The heat  in her eyes dimmed and then faded away. "We need to go find Ricky."

"Yeah, we do."

He brushed a stray tear from her cheek. "But for the record, I don't regret this."

Her answering smile was all he could have hoped for. "Me, either."

He prayed that was true and would stay that way. At least she didn't  protest when he put his arm around her shoulders on their way back to  her car.

As he drove the short distance to the beach, she said, "I know you're  relieved he called, but you can't be happy about how he acted. It would  help me to know how best to support you in this if I knew what your plan  was."

His laugh wasn't a happy one. "It would help me, too, if I actually had a  plan. I hate to admit it, but I'm pretty much flying by the seat of my  pants here. It's not like I've ever raised a kid before."

Caitlyn gave him a hard look. "Don't shortchange yourself, Jack.  Children don't come with an owner's manual, and I suspect most parents  are winging it most of the time."

"We're almost there. Any words of wisdom you'd care to share after your years of working with kids?"

They rode in silence for a short time. He liked that she was giving the  matter some serious thought before offering her opinion. Finally, she  said, "I'd say that you should be very clear that you are holding him  responsible for what he did. Remind him that his actions caused a lot of  worry for you, me, and most likely your mother if she's seen the note I  left her. His taking off like this pulled you off the job and also  forced me to cancel my next appointment."

Great. He'd been so focused on Ricky that it hadn't even occurred to him  that she might have other obligations. "Is that going to cause you any  problems?"

"No, I already called and rescheduled for tomorrow."

That was a relief. "Anything else?"

"I know it's tempting to yell at him, but I wouldn't. Instead, let him  see that even though you're upset and disappointed in him, you're still  calm and in control of your actions. From what you suspect about his  background, that might make more of an impression on him. You want him  to toe the line but without fearing for his life."                       
       
           



       

Jack poked and prodded that idea and finally decided that it sounded right. "Good thinking."

Suddenly, Caitlyn pointed toward the beach. "There he is! He's just sitting down at that farthest table."

Jack parked the car, and the two of them headed straight for one guilty-looking teenage boy.





Chapter 10


Ricky chose a picnic table that was some distance from the others in the  area. If he was going to get his ass kicked for running off and then  not answering the phone when Jack called, he'd rather have a little  privacy. He sat on the side that let him watch the parking lot while he  sipped his iced tea. It didn't do much to soothe his dry throat, which  felt as if he'd been chewing on cotton balls.

Making that call to Jack had been one of the hardest things he'd ever  done. He'd been half convinced the man wouldn't answer and almost as  afraid that he would. Ricky still couldn't believe that not only had  Jack answered after just one ring but that his first words made it sound  like he was more worried than mad. Ricky wasn't sure what to make of  that. He was also surprised that Caitlyn was with Jack.

Well, maybe not. There was something going on between those two even  though they tried to hide it around him. It was no big deal. It wasn't  as if Ricky had any special claim on Caitlyn. She was his teacher,  that's all.

Even so, while he hadn't liked it much Saturday when the two of them  were eyeing each other, he'd gotten over it. Well, sort of. He wasn't  used to having three different adults all looking out for him, and he  didn't like sharing the attention even if it was stupid to feel that  way.

What was taking them so long? The fish-and-chips place wasn't all that  far from Jack's house. Then he realized they were already there and  headed straight for him. He'd been watching for the truck or the SUV.  They must have come in Caitlyn's sedan.

Bracing himself for the worst, he stood up. Jack came around to his side  of the table and put his heavy hand on Ricky's shoulder. "Sit and eat. I  hate cold fries. We'll talk afterward."

Caitlyn sat down across from them both. "Thanks for the fish-and-chips, Ricky."

That cotton was clogging up his throat again, so Ricky settled for  bobbing his head as he sank back down on the bench. Jack's broad  shoulders took up most of the available space, but Ricky didn't feel  crowded. Not much, anyway.

All three of them dug into the fish and fries. Ricky supposed they  tasted good, but he couldn't have said one way or the other. He was  pretty sure Jack would've let him know if there was a problem with them.  The man wasn't shy about expressing his opinions.

Finally, they finished up the last of their food. Jack gathered up all  their trash and shoved it back in the paper bags it had come in. He set  them in front of Ricky. "Get rid of it. We'll be waiting right here when  you get back."

The trash cans weren't nearly far enough away for Ricky's comfort, and  all too quickly he was right back beside Jack and waiting for the  yelling to begin.

"Start by telling me what you did wrong, Ricky."

What the heck? Jack's order was quietly spoken and not the full roar  Ricky had been expecting. Not only that, the man sat there looking as if  he had all the time in the world to wait for Ricky to answer.

So he did. "I took off without letting Caitlyn know where I was going or  leaving your mom a note. I didn't call you, and I didn't answer when  you phoned me."

Jack leaned forward with his arms crossed on the table and looked down  over his shoulder at Ricky. "That about sums it up. Now, was there  anything you did that was right?"

Wow, he wasn't expecting that question. Where was Jack going with this?  When Caitlyn gave Ricky an encouraging nod, he decided he should try to  come up with some kind of answer. "When I cooled off, I called you  back."

Jack nodded. "And what else?"

"Seriously, I have no idea."

"You came here, a public place where you'd be safe until I got here."  Jack leaned in close to bump Ricky's shoulder with his. "That was good  thinking."

As much as he'd like to take credit for being that smart, he couldn't. "To be honest, I don't think that even crossed my mind."

Caitlyn joined the conversation. "Maybe not on a conscious level, but  you did head for a place that was familiar to both of you."

Maybe. For sure this wasn't playing out the way he'd thought it would.  Neither of them was acting all that upset about what he'd done. Maybe  he'd been wrong, and they didn't care. No, that didn't feel right. If  they weren't concerned about him, they wouldn't have come running the  minute he called.                       
       
           



       

Caitlyn stood up. "I think you two have a few things to discuss and  don't really need an audience. I'm going to go do some work on my laptop  in the car, so I'll be fine. No need to rush on my account."

Jack abandoned his seat next to Ricky to walk around to where Caitlyn  stood. He kissed her on the cheek. "We'll be along presently."