My Life With Kate (Jack Ryker Book 3)

by M T Stone

  “To each his own… my routine has always worked for me.”

  “Don’t even bother,” Mom said rolling her eyes. “I’ve been trying to get him to lighten up for thirty years. He paced the floor so many times this morning that Tommy offered to fly him to shore so he could go for his daily walk.”

  After listening to their banter, it became clear where some of my routine oriented behavior had come from. I had never really thought about it, but my obsession with working was very similar to my dad’s health obsession. It was obvious that Dad’s obsessive behavior had been a thorn in Mom’s side over the years and it reinforced my commitment to keep my workaholic tendencies suppressed.

  “We’re going back to Italy after my appointment,” I told them hoping to turn the conversation in a new direction.

  “Oh southern Italy is so beautiful in the spring,” Mom replied enthusiastically.

  “She’s been there one time, so she’s an expert,” Dad added.

  “Where are you planning to stay?” Mom asked completely ignoring Dad’s sarcastic comment.

  “We are going to start out in Tuscany, because that’s where we left the Ferrari. After a week there we are going to visit Rome and Sicily before returning,” I told her.

  “Do you have a habit of leaving quarter million dollar cars in random locations?” Dad asked continuing with the sarcastic tone.

  “Excuse me for a moment, I want to say good morning to Kate,” Mom said as she rose from the table. She obviously wanted to get away from Dad’s foul mood. I couldn’t blame her.

  “Why are you so crabby? I thought you would enjoy a nice break from the crappy weather.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know why I’m so negative. I just don’t feel good,” he replied.

  “I still think you should hang out with us for the next week and visit my cardiologist before you go back to the city.”

  “No, I just need to get back to my routine. You can keep your experimental crap. I’ve read all about that voodoo online. It’s a scam and you should be smart enough to know that.”

  Voodoo? Seriously? “Why do you have to be so harsh? This is honestly why I stopped talking to you several years ago. I don’t want that to happen again.”

  “You know Jack, I’ve been afraid of dying ever since I was forty years old. That’s why I’ve had this restrictive lifestyle as you call it. Then there’s you… You’re damn near fifty and you’re running around like a playboy and marrying someone who hasn’t even graduated from college yet,” he replied venting his frustration.

  “Ok, but how does this affect you?” I asked not seeing his point.

  “It’s not fair. I have had to earn everything the hard way, while you just make a wish and it’s granted. I wish I had a goddamn genie in my back pocket too,” he said as his eyes fell away from mine.

  It instantly became clear that was still jealous, despite the fact that I had given him ten million dollars’ worth of stock. He is so damn aggravating.

  “You should be happy Dad. You are about to retire and you will have complete freedom to do whatever you want.”

  “Alan can’t afford to buy me out, so what am I supposed to do? Just give him a business that I spent the last forty years of my life building? You put in half the time and cashed out with over two billion,” he replied spitefully.

  “We are going to do a lot of business with Alan, so I’ll talk to him and work something out for you. You don’t need the money anymore, so why is it such a big deal?”

  “How would you feel if Brandon had to fund for your retirement?” He countered still seeing red.

  “It wasn’t charity! I gave one percent to each of the ten people who made that business possible. You were one of those ten. So I didn’t give you anything… you earned it!” I replied loud enough for everyone on deck to hear us. That was definitely not my intention.

  “Its fine son, just drop it,” Dad said getting up to leave. “You don’t have to talk to Alan about anything. He can have the goddamn business.”

  About an hour later Mom came to tell me that their bags were packed and they needed to get back to New York. Dad had purchased two coach airline tickets for a thousand dollars and their flight departed at 4pm.

  “Mom, I’ll have Chuck and Tim fly you guys back. You don’t have to fly coach.”

  “Your father is wallowing Jack. There is no way he will let you fly us home. It will be fine. He’s just upset that he hasn’t been able to sell the business. That and he needs to get back in his routine,” she replied rolling her eyes.

  “I’m going to send you an article that I think explains our family history for heart attacks. Please talk to Dad about it after he cools off,” I encouraged her.

  “I’ll try. You see how he reacts when you try to tell him anything.”

  “Yeah, I’m just sorry you guys can’t spend the week with us. It’s going to be a beautiful trip.”

  “I know, I’m sorry we have to leave too. Let’s get together when you guys get back from your honeymoon. He should be cooled off by then,” she joked.

  “Will do. Have a good flight.”

  What I didn’t know at the time was that since Dad booked a 4:40pm flight out of Oranjestad, they were going to have an overnight layover in Charlotte SC. An eight hour flight was going to take them over sixteen hours. If Mom had known this, I’m sure she would’ve forced Dad to take me up on my offer. They were both exhausted by the time they got home at 10:15am the following morning.

  Kate

  While Jack was dealing with his parents, I was having an interesting conversation with Mom and Anthony. Apparently Anthony had escorted Mom to her room a couple of hours before we caught her at the bar making out with Dad. At least that’s what I deducted from the conversation that was going on between them. It wasn’t until after Nancy and Anthony left the table that I had a chance to clear the air with her.

  “What the hell were you doing last night? Anthony brought you to your room and then you snuck back to the bar to make out with Dad?”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Mom replied defensively.

  “Explain it then.”

  “I drank too much wine and I started feeling sorry for him,” she confessed. “I’ve always felt bad that your father never became successful.”

  “Well, you know he has always caused his own messes!”

  “I know. I know. I’m going to stop drinking completely,” she said firmly.

  “Yeah right. You’ve had a wine glass in your hand for as long as I remember.”

  “Well I’m done. At least until I get my life on track. Anthony is the first guy I’ve met in years that I could have a good relationship with and I would feel horrible if he ever found out.”

  “Don’t worry. Neither Jack or me will say a word.”

  “I’m not worried about you. Once again it’s your father who can burst my balloon,” she said dropping her face into her hands.

  “I’ll have Jack talk to him. He’ll make sure he doesn’t say a word,” I assured her.

  “My gut still wants to protect him for some reason. I must be totally sadistic,” she said while shaking her head in disbelief. “Yes, tell Jack to take care of it. I don’t want to hurt Anthony over something so stupid.”

  “Consider it done. Now relax and enjoy yourself.”

  Jack

  With all the fuss surrounding Mom and Dad followed immediately by the drama concerning Cynthia, it wasn’t until nearly 2:00pm that I started to wonder about Jayne. I honestly hadn’t talked to her since about the time Coldplay started playing their last set the night before. I hope she’s ok.

  “Is everything alright?” Kate asked as I tried to reach Jayne by phone.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen Jayne since early last night. I’m going to go check on her.”

  “Do you want me to go with?”

  “No, that’s fine. I’ll be back in a bit.” If Jayne wasn’t feeling good, she probably wouldn’t appreciate both of us intruding on her privacy. />
  After knocking a couple of times with no response, I nervously opened the door not really knowing what to expect. “Jayne, is everything ok?” There was no response, but I did hear the toilet flush in the bathroom. That’s a relief.

  “Are you ok?” I asked through the bathroom door after waiting a few more seconds.

  “No… I’m dying,” she said in a miserable sounding voice.

  I cracked open the door to find her lying on the floor next to the toilet. The scene brought back memories of my first Sprint 8 workout.

  “How long have you been in here?” I asked after seeing she was still wearing the same clothes as the night before.

  “Since about 9:30 last night when I started feeling really queasy.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I don’t even know where my phone is at. I started getting sick and just bolted to my room. My purse is still sitting somewhere out by the bar.”

  “You poor baby,” I said as I crouched down to help her up.

  “Don’t move me please! Every time I move my head I get sick again and puke my brains out,” she said with a glazed over look in her eyes.

  “You’ve been throwing up this whole time?”

  “Only when I try to move.”

  “Well, we have to get you off this ship. You obviously have a combination of morning sickness and motion sickness. I’ll call Carla quick to see if she has anything to help your nausea.”

  “Is she a nurse or something?”

  “No, she’s a massage therapist and herbalist. She’s helped me out a lot with which supplements I should be taking.”

  “Anything is worth a shot at this point. I’m definitely tired of this bathroom.”

  “I’m just sorry I didn’t check on your right away this morning.”

  “That’s ok, how would you have known there was anything wrong?” she asked still trying not to move her head.

  “Well, you probably come by this through heredity. Your mother got really sick during her first trimester when she was pregnant with you. I remember she looked about as miserable as you do right now.”

  “I look that miserable huh? Thanks for helping me feel better,” she replied narrowing her eyes.

  “I’ll go call Carla.”

  After a soothing concoction of slippery elm and chamomile tea Jayne stabilized enough to get her back to the mainland. Carla instructed her to have another cup every three hours until she was back in New York. The bathroom on the yacht was comfortable and roomy compared to the one on the jet, so I warned her to follow Carla’s instructions.

  I gave Brandon a call apparently rousting him out of bed in the middle of the afternoon. I don’t even want to know what those three have been up to. The girls had to be back on location Monday morning, so he agreed to escort Jayne back to the city. I wasn’t comfortable with her being alone in the cabin. If Dad hadn’t been so damn stubborn I would’ve asked them to fly back with her as well, but instead they spent the night in the Charlotte airport.

  ~~~

  Kate

  One by one Jack’s family departed back to the city, so the only ones left by late afternoon were my mom, Belinda and Anthony. Jack and Tommy took Anthony for a helicopter ride, so the three of us just relaxed in the sun next to the pool.

  “You’ve really got it made little girl,” Mom said after Lewis refreshed our drinks. She limited herself to several glasses of iced tea.

  “I know. Jack doesn’t understand but it’s actually been a little overwhelming.”

  “I’ll trade in a heartbeat,” Belinda piped up.

  “It’s not that don’t want all this stuff, but I guess it’s hard to feel like I deserve to be waited on and pampered all the time,” I tried to explain.

  “That’s what your father always dreamed about. The day when we could just sit back and have our staff wait on us. All I ever wanted was to be comfortable and not worrying about money all the time,” Mom said shaking her head.

  “That’s totally me too. We’ve been having dinner with all the different staff members, because I don’t want them to feel like they are servants or something.”

  “That’s good. You have to stick to your core values, otherwise you will never be truly happy,” Mom said giving me a warm smile.

  “Like I said, if it gets to be too much for you, I’ll switch in a heartbeat,” Belinda said before pushing her ear buds into her ears.

  Mom shook her head and started to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” I inquired. Not really sure if I wanted to know.

  “Maybe after she turns eighteen next month Jack can work out an arrangement with both of you. It seems to be working for Brandon,” she said barely able to contain herself.

  “You are sick,” I said shaking my head as Belinda pulled out one ear bud to see what was so funny.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know,” I assured her.

  “You guys are sick,” she replied not having a clue just how sick Mom’s comment had actually been. I found it interesting that she used the word arrangement. What a flashback.

  ~~~

  Chapter 21

  Friday March 23, 2012

  Jack

  We spent the week with Anthony and Kate’s family as we gradually made our way back to Freeport. After everyone else flew back to the city, I received my last batch of stem cells for the year and had a minor orthoscopic procedure. By the end of the week, we were both ready to begin our honeymoon in Italy. Kate was excited to return to the villa in Tuscany. She couldn’t wait to meet Alessandria and spend more time in the infinity pool that overlooked wine country. I on the other hand was looking forward to tearing up the countryside in my new Ferrari. After spending nearly fifty years in the city, those winding Italian freeways felt like a slice of heaven.

  “You need to hurry and heal up, so we can have some fun,” Kate said softly placing her hand on my tender groin.

  “The doc said it normally only takes a 5 or 6 days and it’s already been two. It’s actually a good thing; it will give us time to build up some sexual tension. I got my testosterone refilled too, so you better rest up.”

  “You and your hormone supplements… what am I going to do with you?” She’s so cute when she gives me that look and shakes her head.

  “I’ll show you in a few days.”

  I like that look even better.

  Kate

  The week started out a little on the mellow side, but that was just fine with me. It gave us lots of time to talk and enjoy each other’s company which was nice. I got to spend the first two afternoons with my all-time favorite designer, so that was also fantastic. Everyone else just left us alone, since they knew we were on our honeymoon. Jack seemed to be completely free from distractions and had begun to tame his nervous energy. Our favorite place to sit was in a glider that we pulled up to the edge of the infinity pool. We could sit there in the evenings and watch the sun set over the valley below. It was a view I will never forget.

  I also mastered the art of making homemade pizza dough, while Jack mastered baking it in the brick oven. He had grown so used to being waited on and eating in five star restaurants that I’ll bet he never thought that he would be stoking a fire and baking pizza outdoors. He wouldn’t admit it, but I know he enjoyed the whole process. Best of all, the pizza was fantastic. I hope to get back to nature and enjoy more of life’s simple pleasures.

  “Now I just have to learn how to brew beer,” Jack joked as he finished off a bottle of BB10.

  “Yeah, we could open up a restaurant serving craft beer and wood-fire pizza.”

  “That sounds like too much work to me. I think you better stick with designing clothes,” he laughed.

  “That reminds me. When are we going to start production?”

  “Next Monday,” Jack replied pulling up the calendar on his phone. “They are fine tuning the machinery for the first line right now. If all goes well, everything will be ready by Friday.”

  “It’s going to be so exciting
to see my designs coming to life!”

  “It will be even more exciting once you start seeing them in stores or people wearing them on the street. I can’t wait for you to experience that,” he replied wrapping his arm around me.

  That will be amazing.

  ~~~

  Over the next few days we thoroughly enjoyed the finest wines, best restaurants and most spectacular scenery that Tuscany had to offer. There were so many beautiful castles, buildings and vineyards sprinkled throughout the rolling countryside that we never ran out of new things to explore. Jack didn’t mind touring the entire area because that meant lots of road time in his new toy. Late in the week we had two uncharacteristically warm days, so we spent both of them out by the pool. Jack was feeling better by that time, so there were no limitations. It was pure bliss!

  At the end of our week in Tuscany we drove south to Rome. We only spent two days and one night there, but it gave me enough time to see the Coliseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pantheon and of course the Sistine Chapel. I had always wanted to see Michelangelo’s work ever since learning about him in junior high. His work was more amazing in person than I had ever imagined. It was hard to believe that he had done those paintings nearly 550 years ago. It was hard to comprehend how many people had walked through those corridors during that incredible span of time to see his work.

  After touring the sights, we had a wonderful dinner at Imàgo where we watched the sunset over the ancient city. Our waiter told us that famous Americans such as JFK, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn had eaten at the restaurant over the years. Everywhere we went there was so much history and such deep heritage that it made me sad that I didn’t know more about my own ancestors.

  “At least your ancestors lived past their forties,” Jack scoffed after hearing my concerns. “With all my ancestors dying so young, no one had time to leave behind any type of legacy.”

  “What’s going to be your legacy?” I asked him.