Always for You:Jack(37)

Two pairs of eyes zeroed in on him. Before the two brothers could call  him on the obvious lie, he held up a hand. "Okay, okay. I wanted to know  if I could use your punching bag or lift weights or something."

"Sure, go ahead." Jack gave him a long look. "Everything okay?"

There was no good answer to that question. On the other hand, hanging  out with Jack and Tino had already improved his mood. "It is now."

"Start off with some weights first. It's better to warm your muscles a little before hammering on the bag."

"Will do."

Ricky made his escape into the other room before Jack got around to the  questions the man really wanted to ask. There was a good chance he'd  follow him into the gym and ask them anyway, although he might cut Ricky  some slack since Tino was there.

He picked up a weight and started counting off a series of reps. It  still felt awkward to do everything one-handed, but the day was quickly  approaching when the cast would come off. From the beginning, he'd been  telling himself he was only going to stay with Jack and Marlene until  his arm healed up. Now, he wasn't so sure he wanted to rush into  leaving. They both treated him okay, and it was nice to sleep behind a  locked door every night. He didn't know who he was keeping out, but he  slept better than even when he still lived with his mother back before  Lawrence had butted his way into their lives.

The sound of laughter drifted in from the kitchen where the two brothers  were still hassling each other about some stupid thing. It was hard not  to be jealous of their relationship, but at least they'd included him  in the games they played with each other. It might not last forever, but  as long as it did, he would take great pleasure in giving them as much  grief as they gave him.

-

Jack listened to Ricky quietly counting in the other room. It went  silent in there for a second, and then the music came on. It wasn't  anything Jack would normally listen to, but it was okay as long as it  made Ricky happy. As good as Tino's pancakes had been, right now they  weren't settling very well. Damn that kid. Something had to have  happened to send Ricky over here to the gym needing to punch  something … or someone. "I wish he would just tell me what the hell was  going on."

Tino had been clearing the table, but he stopped to stare at the wall  that separated the kitchen from the gym. "It's scary how much he reminds  me of us at that age. Especially you."

Jack didn't bother denying it. "Yeah, I see it, too. We still don't know  the specifics, but I'm guessing he's had it pretty rough."

"Are the cops having any luck tracking down the asshole who broke his arm?"                       
       
           



       

Jack got up to top off his coffee and then Tino's. "No, and the kid  pretends he doesn't remember anything. I figure he's trying to protect  someone by not ratting the guy out."

Tino nodded. "Most likely some family member. A sibling or maybe his mother?"

"That's the most likely answer. I'm leaning toward it being his mother  or another adult. Neither of us had any brothers or sisters, but I can't  imagine we would have abandoned them to the hells we escaped from. My  gut says Ricky wouldn't either."

"Do you think he plans on staying with you and Mom after the cast comes off his arm?"

Leave it to Tino to ask the hard questions, the ones that kept Jack  awake nights worrying about his young charge. "I don't know. I hope so,  but the one time he really lost it was when Caitlyn mentioned him being  able to stay at one school for an entire year. If that hit a nerve, he  must not be planning on sticking around that long."

His brother put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "All we can do is show him  that he's got it good with us, Jack, and that we like having him here.  We were smart enough to figure it out for ourselves when we were his  age. Who knows, maybe he will be, too."

Tino was one person Jack could share his real concerns with. "It's not  like I have any experience taking care of a kid. What if I'm going about  it all wrong?"

Instead of offering sympathy, his brother laughed. "Seriously, Jack,  don't be an idiot. First of all, Mom would be the first to let you know  if you were screwing up. Second, like we just said, you were a kid like  Ricky. Who better to understand what he's going through?"

Then his smile faded away. "He might not realize it, but that kid  already trusts you, Jack. That's half the battle when it comes to  getting him to accept the chance for a better life that you're offering  him."

"Maybe." God, he hoped so.

Tino sat back down at the table. "So, when do I get to meet the lady who kept you out until the sun was coming up?"

It took Jack's sleep-deprived brain a couple of seconds to catch up with  the abrupt change in subjects. "As far as I'm concerned, never would be  too soon."

"What's the matter? Afraid she'll be overwhelmed by my good looks and charm?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. The woman is smarter than that."

"If she's so smart, what's she doing with you?"

He knew Tino was just yanking his chain, but the comment still rankled.  Probably because the thought had crossed Jack's own mind a time or two.  "First of all, she likes to dance. Our first date was at that place you  and Mikhail mentioned, the one with live music and a big dance floor."

That had Tino's jaw dropping in shock. "Seriously? I mean, yeah, Mikhail  and I both like to go clubbing downtown, but it's not the kind of place  I've ever pictured you having a good time. A bar out in the boonies has  always been more your style."

Again, another truth, not that he'd admit it. "We had a great time that night."

"And last night?"

Jack didn't respond, but last evening had started off good and ended up  great. He suspected his smile gave away more than he meant for it to,  because Tino had just pulled out his cell. "What time zone is Mikhail in  right now?"

Why would he want to know that? "As far as I know, he's still on East Coast time."

All of Tino's attention was focused on his cellphone, his thumbs a blur  as he keyed in a text message. "What are you telling him?"

"I'm letting Mikhail know that you've gone down for the count."

Jack made a grab for the phone, but Tino snatched it back out of reach. "Don't be a jerk."

"Sorry, but that's what brothers are for." He made a production out of  hitting the Send button. "And it wouldn't be fair of me to deny the baby  of the family the chance to give you grief, too."

As if Jack didn't have enough on his plate right now. The last thing he  needed was Mikhail and Tino ganging up on him. "Jackass."

"Yeah, well, I learned from the best."

"Just remember that I will get even, and you won't see it coming."

His brother wasn't impressed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. You've got all  those snazzy Special Forces skills. I've heard it all before. Not  impressed. I've put a lot tougher guys than you behind bars."

Jack pulled out the big guns. "Okay, then I'll just tell Mom you and  Mikhail are picking on me. I'm guessing she'll quit shipping goody boxes  to you for a while. Yep, one word from me, and she'll cut both of you  off cold turkey."                       
       
           



       

"No, she wouldn't do that."

Although Tino didn't look so sure about that, Jack poured it on. "I  won't even have to pound on you. Mikhail will do that for me when he  quits getting his chocolate chip cookie fix from Mom."

His brother was back to texting, no doubt warning their younger brother  to lay off of Jack about Caitlyn. His mission accomplished, Jack headed  into the gym to check on Ricky. The teenager had moved on from the  weights to the big bag.

"Hey, kid, what did I tell you about your footwork?"

"Sorry, Jack, I forgot." Ricky froze mid-motion and adjusted his stance.

"That's better. I know it's hard when you can only use one hand, but you  don't want to get into bad habits you'll only have to break later when  the cast comes off."

Jack picked up the jump rope and started warming up. A few seconds later, Tino joined them. "Ricky, toss me your phone."

"Why?" There was a world of suspicion packed into that one word.

"I want to give you my number in case you ever need good advice,  especially when it comes to the important stuff like clothes. Jack means  well, but he seriously sucks in that department."

Ricky handed over his phone, but he didn't look all that happy about it.  Tino keyed in his number and asked Ricky for his, the whole time acting  like it was no big deal. But it was. Tino had just accomplished  something that Jack had been trying to figure out how to do ever since  he'd bought Ricky that phone-he'd just gotten a good look at the kid's  list of contacts.