Always for You:Jack(25)

"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.