by KaLyn Cooper
He’d fix that tonight.
* * *
Jillian clicked away at her laptop, adding the new information from her visit to Tulum to her thesis. She was almost finished when Addison stirred from her nap. She rubbed her baby’s back, and the little one returned to a deep sleep. After checking her notes, she added a few more quotes from the Chel manuscripts and clicked the save button.
Done.
As she powered down her computer, her cell phone vibrated beside her. Deep inside her stirred with hope that it was Jack. She’d had seconds of regret off and on all day that she’d shooed him out last night, not allowing him to stay even long enough to have sex. And she really wanted to have sex again with Jack, which she couldn’t deny.
But she needed some space to think. Her mother-in-law was wrong…and right at the same time. Jillian wasn’t a good woman. She was using Jack just for sex. Yet, the woman was right about Jack being one of the good guys. But she was only there temporarily.
The phone buzzed in her hand, and she checked the caller ID.
Smiling, she stepped from the bedroom into the empty quad. Lilly, Mother Girard and the boys were on the beach. She didn’t know, or care, where Levi was sulking, or maybe he was skulking now. Didn’t matter.
“Jaynelle, how was your Christmas?”
“The usual. The older kids played with their toys for all of five minutes before asking if that was it then fought over whose toy it was while the little ones had more fun with the boxes than the toys in them.” Jaynelle was her jaded self, so Jillian knew things were good.
“Sounds eventful to say the least. And loud.” Jillian smiled as she took in the peace and quiet of the Girard compound.
“It’s always a three-ring circus at our house, you know that. So tell me, how was your Christmas?” Jaynelle probed.
What a question. Where to start? “We scattered the ashes—”
“We?” Jaynelle interrupted.
“Yes, Jack took me to a special place—”
“Jack? The hunky brother in the military? Ooooh. Please tell me you’ve seen him without a shirt. He was ripped as a teenager, and I could just imagine those bulging muscles under his camouflage in that picture on your fireplace.”
“Jaynelle. You’re a married woman.” Jillian chuckled. She was well aware of her friend’s fantasies after playing Who Would You Do in the bar after work.
“I’d be dead if I didn’t look. I can’t touch, but please tell me you have.”
Jillian glanced around to be sure no one could hear her. Her pause was indication enough for the woman who knew her best.
Jaynelle squealed. “Oh. My. God.” Each word was enunciated. “You have touched him. Please tell me you did the deed with that fine specimen of manhood.”
Jillian was glad no one was near to see the blush rise from her chest, up her throat, and into her cheeks. Meekly she admitted, “Yes.”
“Silly Jilli, I am so happy for you,” Jaynelle exclaimed. “This is big for you. I’ll bet he was big.”
“Jaynelle.” Jillian’s friend could be so crude sometimes. But Jillian loved her for it. “I refuse to kiss and tell.”
“I wasn’t referring to his tongue, but that’s always been one of my favorites.”
One of Jillian’s, too, and she was sure Jack would be great at that also. The thought of his warm, wet tongue licking her, the heat of his breath on the inside of her thighs— She went wet instantly and reconsidered her no-sex-with-Jack thoughts. “We’re not talking about this.”
Changing the subject, Jillian asked, “Any mail for me yet?”
The other end of the connection went quiet.
“Jaynelle, you there?”
The other woman signed heavily. “Yeah.”
Jillian braced for bad news.
“I didn’t call you earlier because I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas.”
“So my contract for next school year wasn’t renewed?” Jillian had hoped she was still employed through graduation in May. That would give her time to find a new job as Doctor Jillian Girard for the fall semester.
“I’m so sorry, Jillian, but your January classes were cancelled due to budget cuts.” She quickly added, “You weren’t the only one. About ten percent of the associate and adjunct professors were—”
“Fired,” Jillian filled in.
“No, laid off,” Jaynelle said adamantly. “There’s a difference. You can get unemployment, at least for a few months.”
Jillian hadn’t considered that. But she’d be all right. She had a little savings, and with the sale of her mother’s house, she’d be fine until she found another job. That reminded her, she hadn’t checked voice mail at the house. “I’ll be okay.” She knew her voice didn’t sound as confident as it should.
“John and I want to have you over to dinner as soon as you get home.” Jaynelle was so sweet.
Jillian knew exactly what she was doing, feeding her, again. Same as she’d done after Jimmy had been killed. “We’ll do that.”
“I’m sorry those son-a-guns did this.” Jaynelle’s voice was so sincere. “And they waited until everyone left for the holiday before they sent out notices. By the way, you can sign up for unemployment online, and you need to do that immediately. I’ll email you the letter of notification.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that. I half expected it when Cookie Monster wouldn’t look me in the eyes and was always too busy to meet with me.” And she had considered it more than once. Deep within her reservoir of fortitude, she gathered strength. She took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and squared her shoulders.
I can do this. I will survive, and Addison will thrive.
Well, she’d save a lot of money on day care at least. Plus, it would give her that cherished one-on-one time with Addi. Yes. This could work. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to eat oriental noodles to save money on groceries.
Laid off. No job. The low in the roller coaster of emotion took her by surprise, and her stomach roiled. She had it figured out, but her body had a delayed reaction.
“Thanks, Jaynelle.” She looked around then her eyes fell on her bedroom. “Hey, Addi’s waking up. I’ll call you later, when I get home.” It was a lie, but Jillian needed to hang up. She needed to think everything through.
“You’d better,” Jaynelle warned. “Go find comfort in those big biceps. Sex works too, you know, as a great way to escape from the real world.”
“Sounds like the voice of experience.” Jillian tried a little laugh. It didn’t work.
“You bet. Take care, Silly Jilli. I miss you.”
“I will. And what you really miss is your after-class beer buddy.”
“You got that right. We’ll talk soon.”
“Soon.” Jillian pressed the End button.
No job.
She wished so much that Jack was there. She could use his arms around her right now and a little escapism.
She quickly checked on Addi, who was still sound asleep. Thank goodness. She called her home phone and dialed in for messages.
“Mrs. Girard, this is Nancy Beal with the realty company that has your mother’s house listed.” At least she sounds chipper. “The buyers have qualified for their loan”—Thank God—“but because of the type of loan they are getting, we had to have a home inspector go through the place.” The woman’s voice changed. “Unfortunately, he found a few things that need to be repaired before their loan can go through.”
Jillian sat down hard on the chaise. She wanted to cry. What else could go wrong today?
Don’t tempt fate.
The message continued, “Now, I know you are out of the country, so I had a good contractor I know go through the list. He can do the work and start in two to three weeks.” She named the price.
Jillian was sure she would burst into tears at any second. It would wipe out all her savings. What would she live on? Unemployment? Would it be enough to pay the rent, utilities, and still leave her enough to eat? Maybe she cou
ld get a local job. She’d waited tables before Addi was born. No, that would affect her unemployment. She could pick up a repair book at the library and maybe do some of the work herself. She’d learned to be pretty handy over the years, but the list the realtor had rattled off sounded way beyond her skill set.
The realtor ended with, “Call me so I can get your name in the queue for the contractor. He stays pretty busy, and the buyers’ loan guarantee is only good for thirty days.”
Thirty days and the clock was already ticking. No job to return to. File for unemployment. Fix the house. Find a new job. Defend her dissertation.
It was too much.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat on the chaise before she heard her name.
“Jillian. Look at me.” Jack’s urgent voice indicated he’d said it more than once. He sat on his heels in front of her, his face mere inches from hers. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”
Her jaw quivered so she bit her lower lip in an attempt to stop it and gain control.
The instant Jack’s hand touched her arm and his warmth spread throughout her body, she launched herself at him. He caught her and enveloped her in the hug she needed to the depths of her soul. She was bone-weary of holding it all in, grappling to keep her world upright. She needed to lean on someone stronger than she was, for a little while at least.
Jack stroked her back as she sobbed uncontrollably. “You’re safe, darling.” He kissed her temple. “Tell me what happened. Addi’s fine. I just checked on her. Now, tell me what’s wrong.”
For long minutes she kneeled on the warm tiles of the quad, nestled between his powerful legs, emptying her eyes into his shoulder. Guarded by his strength, she poured out her weakness, knowing he’d protect her. His mother was so right. Jack was a good man. A very good man.
She finally regained a semblance of control and evened out her breathing.
Jack picked her up and placed her on the padded lounge, where he’d admitted to sleeping way too often. He crawled next to her and aligned her body with his.
He rolled to his side and brushed the hair from her face.
Oh, dear. She didn’t cry pretty. She knew her face was red and blotchy. Darn those blonde genes. Her nose was running, and she was sure she looked like hell, a word she seldom used but was sure it was appropriate at this moment.
Jack didn’t seem to care about that. He used his thumb to wipe away the tears from her cheeks.
“Ready to talk?”
She nodded, unsure of her voice. He rolled to the table and grabbed napkins from the drawer and handed them to her. She looked away to blow her nose, but he was staring at her when she turned back.
“I’m here for you. What happened?”
Between sniffs, she was able to tell him about both phone calls without falling apart. She’d reached the point of embarrassment. She didn’t fall apart. Never. She was the strong one who held everyone and everything else together. Jack had that effect on her though. She felt as if she could tell him anything. Now she’d gone and totally lost it with him. He was going to think she was one of those weak twits who cried at every little thing. That wasn’t her.
She sat upright. “Thank you for listening.” She started to move off the bed-style lounge. Jack grabbed her, pulled her back to the mattress and tucked her in beside him.
“You are not leaving until we’ve figured all this out.”
“Jack, this isn’t your problem. It’s mine.” She tried to pull away but couldn’t move an inch within the confines of his arms.
Ignoring her protestations, Jack said, “Let’s start with your job. Go ahead and apply for unemployment. You needed to look for a new job anyway, if I heard you right. There was no position for Doctor Jillian Girard at that place, so it was inevitable you’d be looking for a new job.”
“Well, yes, but—”
He steamrolled over her. “We’ll come back to your apartment in a minute. As for your mother’s house, when your vacation here is over, we’ll go there, and I’ll do the repairs. I have a SEAL buddy in St. Louis who is flipping houses, and he’ll meet us there.”
“Shouldn’t you call him first before you go committing your friends to fixing my problems?” she suggested.
“No need. I saved his ass in a third-world African country, and he owes me. He’ll be there.”
“But—” Jillian’s lips were covered by his before she could get out the next word. The kiss was firm, but too short.
“No buts.” His huge palm smacked her bottom lightly, then he squeezed. “Except this one.”
He dove in for quick kiss before he continued, “As for the money to fix her place up, I’ll float you a loan.” His eyes turned smoky as he gazed down at her. “I can think of so many ways for you to work it off.”
“I’ll pay you back with the proceeds from the sale.” And she would. If she agreed to this plan of his. He had taken over, and she hadn’t asked him to do anything beyond holding her while she bawled her eyes out.
“My way is a lot more fun.”
Oh, yes. Jack’s way would be more fun. For both of them.
“We’ll see.” She wasn’t going to agree to anything right now.
“As for a place to stay, why don’t you let the apartment go? I’m sure in a college town you can find someone to sublet until your lease is up. We can move you out, put all your stuff in storage, and you two can live here.”
“Jack, I can’t live here.” What was the man thinking? This was the family compound where…where Jack lived in the bedroom next to hers.
“And why not? Wouldn’t you rather be in warm sunshine than under gray clouds that spit snow at you for the next three months?”
“That’s my home.” How could she make him understand? All her belongings were there.
“That’s your apartment, and before you moved in, it was someone else’s apartment. Home is wherever you and Addison are together. You’ll just be together here.” Then he corrected himself. “After we go to your mother’s house and get it fixed and sold.”
She saw Jack in a whole new way. He’d identified the situation and immediately decided on a solution. Even if she and Addison left Cancun, he’d show up at her mother’s house with his buddy, and he’d do whatever needed to be done. He’d make it right for her whether she asked him to or not.
No one had ever done anything like that for her in her whole life. No man had ever been there for her, except Jimmy. Their time together had been so short, and they both had been so wrapped up in completing their education that they had never reached this point in their relationship.
Jillian fell in love with Jack, just a little, right then and there, on the lounge he often called a bed. Seemed to be the appropriate place for it to happen.
She leaned up and kissed him. That also felt right. As his tongue slipped into her mouth, she tangled it with her own, the way their lives were becoming more and more intertwined.
“So it’s settled.” He didn’t ask it as a question. It was a statement.
“Jack, I can’t ask you to do all that for me. It’s too much.”
“You didn’t ask. I told you how we’re going to handle it. Done deal.” He smiled at her then leaped from the lounge. “Come here. I need to show you something, and then I’ll tell you what I found today.”
Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jack quickly found the stack of pictures of underwater sites he had explored as a teenager under the direction of Gramps. As he looked at the poor quality photos, he smiled inwardly at the memories. His grandfather had labeled each with a letter and a number on the back.
Importance hit Jack like finding a long lost favorite toy as a child. He snatched the map where he’d marked the cenotes on Christmas Eve. Sure enough, the pictures coincided with dive sites marked on the map.
“Today, this tourist was telling her husband that the Virgin Mary looked like she was pointing, not holding a baby or praying,” Jack explained. �
��So I dove in and, sure enough, she looks like she’s pointing, to the south.” Jack laid the first picture on the coffee table next to the century-old map his grandfather had used.
Jack instantly realized the problem.
“Darling, will you pull the notes on dives while I grab a chart from my office?” Jack’s business was boats, and he knew the bottom of the Caribbean Sea in this area as well as any captain, but he needed to be sure. The ocean maps Gramps had used were out of date after several hurricanes had plowed through, changing not only land features but those underwater as well.
In his office, he glanced at the neglected paperwork piling up on the corner of his desk. This was more important. It would have to wait another day. He pulled out a current piloting chart of the Mexican coast from Cancun to Cozumel, showing the channel, every sand bar and water hazard, plus designating depths.
When he returned to Jillian’s sitting area, a stack of papers lay beside Gramps’ maps, and she was changing Addison.
“I think that’s all of them, but somebody decided to wake up.” She nuzzled the baby’s bare belly. Addison’s giggles filled the bedroom, and Jack’s heart overflowed at the sight of the two of them.
They were staying. There. With him. When everyone else left to return to the frigid winds, sleet, and snow of Chicago’s winter, he and his two girls would be right here. After he fixed her mother’s house. And moved Jillian’s stuff into storage.
Damn. His life was filling up fast. Is that really what he wanted? He considered it for a minute then decided he was okay with that. More than okay, he was good with it, especially if it meant that the two giggling blondes were going to be with him. Yeah. Life was good.
“She’s hungry, and I could use a bite to eat, too.” Jillian picked up Addi, who immediately reached for Jack. “Guess I know where her affections lie.” She handed the baby over to him.
Jack checked his watch then dialed the kitchen from the bedroom phone. “Mateo, I have a little girl attached to my hip who is hungry after a long nap.” He kissed the baby’s soft curls. “When’s supper?”