"Could've fooled me," she said and then kissed the slight dimple in his chin to let him know that she wasn't unhappy about the situation.
Jack shoved his hands into his hip pockets and stepped back. "We'd better start walking again before the last of my good intentions go down in flames. My control is usually better than this, but it's definitely been a day filled with challenges."
Caitlyn looped her arm through his. "That it has."
"Speaking of which, I want to thank you for your help with Ricky. Calm was definitely the way to go with him."
They'd reached her car, but Jack didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. "Poor kid, while I was explaining everything he'd done wrong, I counted off his major offenses like they were strikes without thinking anything about it. But then I stupidly said, ‘Strike three, you're out!' Ricky immediately took that to mean I no longer wanted him living with us."
"What did you do?"
"I told him to sit back down and listen. Then I explained that wasn't what I meant at all, but that he had to do something to atone for his mistakes. You know, things like washing cars and vacuuming the annex. I sure as hell didn't mean to scare him like that."
Jack stared off into the distance. "What kind of people make kids like him feel like they're disposable?"
Caitlyn ached for the boy and maybe a little for the man, too. "I hate that for him. Sometimes the world makes no sense to me. Why is it people like his family are so careless with the gift of a kid like Ricky? Don't they realize there are others who'd give anything to have a son like him and won't ever get the chance?"
And there she was babbling about a subject that she never, ever talked about. Luckily, Jack was still too focused on Ricky and his problems to pick up on her personal pain. It was definitely time to leave.
"I'd better go, Jack."
He opened the car door for her before swooping in to give her one last quick kiss. "Lock your doors and drive carefully."
Then he laughed. "God, I can't believe I'm channeling my mother."
"There are worse people to be channeling, Jack."
She meant that as a joke, but his smile immediately disappeared. "Yeah, I know."
When he took a long step back, it seemed as if he was putting far more than that short distance between them. Okay, it must be the night for treading on sensitive subjects. She climbed in the car and closed the door. After starting the engine, she rolled her window down and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you when I see you."
He nodded. "I've got jobs the next few days, so I probably won't be around when you're here to work with Ricky."
Which was probably a good thing. The man was quickly becoming a major distraction for her. "Okay, then. Tell him I'll expect him to have done a stellar job on the assignment I laid out for him on the dining room table."
Then she put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway, her headlights bathing Jack in their bright glow. He waved one last time before heading back down the driveway toward the garage.
Her cellphone pinged before she'd reached the end of the block. A quick glance at the screen revealed a text message from Jack. It was short and to the point: Dinner Saturday night?
She should think about it long and hard before answering. There were definite reasons why it wasn't a real good idea. There was the fact that Ricky was still her student, not to mention that made Jack her employer, at least temporarily. It had been just last Saturday that the teenager had made it clear he didn't like Jack flirting with her. Hadn't she and Jack agreed that getting involved would be a bad idea right now?
Granted, today he hadn't acted upset when Jack kissed her on the cheek in front of him or when Jack had announced he was going to walk her out to her car. However, as volatile as Ricky was these days, his feelings on the subject could change at any minute.
No, the smart thing would be to say thanks, but no thanks.
With all of that in mind, she stopped at the next intersection long enough to type in her response. When she was done, she studied it for a few seconds and then hit Send. Jack must have been waiting for her to answer, because her phone pinged a second time before she'd made it down the block.
Great! I'll pick you up at seven. And, btw, wear your dancing shoes!
Chapter 11
Saturday morning Ricky made his escape after telling Marlene he'd be back by lunchtime. It had been days since Ricky had last ventured out on his own. Although he hoped to avoid Toby, there were some friends he hadn't seen since he'd moved in with Jack. It used to be that the four of them had always had one another's backs, and he wanted to make sure they were doing all right. He also had some cash to share with them. Jack had insisted on giving Ricky some money even though he'd promised to let him work off the cost of his clothes, picking up trash and stuff on the job site.
Jack had admitted that was their agreement, but then he'd gone on to say that didn't mean he couldn't give Ricky an allowance. Something about how a guy ought to have some money in his pocket when he went out. While Ricky hadn't known Jack all that long, he knew him well enough to know that there was no arguing with the man when he had his mind set about something.
At least this way he could help out a couple of his friends who were going through hard times. The truth was he felt a little guilty having it so good right now when so many others weren't so lucky. He'd even considered bagging up some of the clothes Jack had bought him to hand out. However, that would only bring up questions he didn't want to answer. His friends would want to know how he'd scored such a deal. On the other hand, while Jack might not immediately notice the missing clothes, Marlene would since she still did most of his laundry.
He reached the park and was relieved to see that Justin, Casey, and Shelley were all there. Unlike him, they were all over eighteen and legally on their own. When he'd first taken to the streets to get away from Lawrence, they had been the first people he'd run into. He would always be grateful that they'd taken him under their wings and taught him how to survive the daily struggle to keep warm and fill his stomach.
After one last look around to make sure neither Toby nor Lawrence was around, he headed straight to where the trio sat on a bench talking. As usual, the two guys flanked Shelley. From what he'd learned about their past, Justin and Shelley had been a couple for several years now and were inseparable. Casey had teamed up with the pair at some point because there was safety in numbers.
Shelley spotted Ricky first and pointed him out to the others. Then they were all three up and heading straight for him.
"Kid, you're back!"
He appreciated the hugs and slaps on the back, but the scent of unwashed bodies and dirty clothes hit him hard. They couldn't help it, and he didn't hold it against them. It was more of a reminder of where he'd been only a short time ago, watching over his shoulder constantly as the four of them scrambled for every scrap of food they ate.
Despite Jack's promises, Ricky didn't hold out much hope that he'd never end up back on the streets again. So far, he'd treated Ricky okay, but it had been these three people who'd made sure he'd survived those first hard days and nights after he'd left home.
Home. That was a laugh. He hadn't had a real home since he'd lost both of his parents. Although his dad was the only one who'd actually died, in a lot of ways he'd also lost his mother that same night. Ricky had tried his best to be there for her, but nothing he'd ever done to help had been enough.
He realized that Justin was talking to him. "Sorry, man, I must have zoned out. What did you say?"
"I was asking where you've been. We were worried until Toby told us he'd seen you the other day. Something about you scoring a good gig somewhere."
How much did he want to share? Not a lot. While the trio had been good to him, they did hang out with Toby. Considering they'd known him longer than they had Ricky, he wasn't sure if he could trust them to keep anything he told them to themselves. He settled for a partial truth.
Holding up his broken arm, he said, "I ended up in the hospital when this happened. The cops called CPS, so they got their hooks in me and parked me with some old lady and her jerk of a son. I'm only hanging out there until I get the cast off."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he felt guilty. Marlene wasn't just some old lady, and Jack wasn't a jerk. At least not most of the time.