Jack: Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 2

by Cat Johnson

“Yeah, sure. Anyway the problem is this is a direct order from higher up and there is no way around it. Go home, Jack. It’s a couple of hours drive to your hometown, right?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Then go. Enjoy your mama’s sweet-potato pie you’re always bragging about. Spend time with Jimmy. Get away from your friend Williams, his girl and her damn bar. I think it will do you good.”

  Jack tried not to let his surprise show. Were his feelings that transparent? He’d have to work on that. “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  “And, Jack…”

  He paused at the door and looked back toward the commander.

  “It wouldn’t have mattered if I had put you undercover with her in Kosovo. I saw them together. She was already half in love with him before they left for the mission.”

  The commander wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t blind. In fact, Jack was starting to wonder if he was psychic, or maybe just eavesdropped on their communications implants when they didn’t know. In any event, what the commander said about Carly and Trey was true.

  Jack blew out a breath and embraced what he’d known for a while now. “Yes, sir. I know.”

  Chapter Two

  Driving into the city limits of his hometown after being away for a while was bound to be a strange experience. The wind in his face glanced off the sunglasses he wore as he slowed to the local speed limit and took it all in.

  Jack supposed it was to be expected, but a wave of nostalgia hit him hard as he passed the high school. Good memories there. He’d been MVP of the football team the year he graduated.

  He slowed down cautiously at the hairpin turn where he’d lost control of his truck and wrecked it just two weeks after getting his driver’s license. He smiled when he saw the parking area by the river where he’d lost something else with Mary Sue Barton.

  But mingled with the usual hometown sense of belonging was the realization that he was a totally different person from the boy he had been when he’d left years before. He’d seen and done so much since that time when this little town had seemed like the center of the universe to him.

  Maybe the commander had been right. This little furlough trip home would be good. There were no memories of Carly or Trey here like at the base, and it had been much too long since he’d seen his mama. There was an underlying homesickness living deep inside him he hadn’t been aware of. It reared its ugly head just as he drove down the magnolia-lined drive to the house he’d been born in. He was so happy to see it that his eyes got a little misty.

  Damn, when had he become such an emotional sissy boy? He pushed aside the thought that his emotional instability had begun just about when he’d fallen hard for Carly, which happened to be the same time his brother had been missing in Kosovo. Well, both of those things were over now. Time to move on. Perhaps two weeks mental-health leave would put everything in perspective and his emotions back on track.

  Jack parked his convertible out by the barns, and then put up the roof before he turned off the engine. It could go from sunny to pouring rain in just minutes in the South. He’d learned the hard way not to leave his convertible top down. Not even to just run into the diner for a quick bite.

  He grabbed his duffle bag out of the trunk and turned in the direction of the house, but a new colt running after its mother in the paddock just off the breeding stable caught his attention. Jack paused to admire it. That was one thing he missed about home besides his mama. The horses.

  The mare came to the fence where Jack stood watching her. She was probably hoping for an apple or carrot. He had neither, so he rubbed her nose gently. He didn’t recognize her, which made him realize he had been away too long. There was a time when he knew every horse on this property. That time had passed.

  “I don’t take too kindly to strangers handling my stock.”

  Jack spun around at the sound of his younger brother’s voice and smiled. “Jared. Damn, little brother. Did you get bigger?”

  All dimples, Jared grinned back. “Nah, I think you just shrunk some. Whatever you do all day at that super secret spy job of yours can’t build muscles the way unloading and stacking two hundred bales of hay can.”

  “I told you, I’m not a spy.” Jack dumped his duffle on the ground and hugged his younger brother hard.

  “Whatever.” Jared slapped him on the back before pulling away. He visually sized Jack up. “And I’m only three years younger than you, so get off the ‘little’ thing, will ya.”

  Jack had first left for the service when Jared still seemed like a boy, but before him now was a man. They’d been eye level for years, but now Jared seemed as wide and broad as the barn they were standing next to.

  Where Jack had followed in his older brother Jimmy’s footsteps and joined the service, Jared had stayed to run the breeding stables with Mama. If he hadn’t, there was no way Jack could have left the farm. As much as Jack loved the horses, Jared lived and breathed them. He had since before he could walk. It had been a chore just getting Jared to go to school most days. He hadn’t wanted to leave the stables. He’d sleep there too if a mare was close to foaling. It was because of Jared’s dedication that Jack didn’t feel guilty being away so much. Still, he should try and get home more often. It was obvious from the tightness in his chest he missed the place more than he realized.

  Jack pushed the serious thoughts aside and hooked a boot heel on the bottom rail of the white painted fence. “This new mare’s a beauty and the colt looks like a real winner.”

  Leaning on the fence, Jared mirrored Jack’s pose. “Yeah. Good stock, this one. Not that you know winners. If I remember right, you always bet the underdog.”

  Jack smiled. Always betting the underdog had won him a few sizeable payoffs. He didn’t tend to remember all the times he lost.

  “So what brings you home?” Jared turned and picked up Jack’s duffle for him. As Jack followed, Jared carried it toward the house.

  “The big guys got the bright idea that we all need two weeks off to recharge or something. But I’ve been wanting to check up on Jimmy anyway. How is he?”

  “Miserable. Old Doc Jackson won’t let him do much of anything, which is killing him. I keep finding him sneaking down here when Mama’s not looking.”

  Jack laughed. “That sounds like Jimmy.”

  Jared nodded. “Of course, his sudden interest in the horses might have something to do with the new hand I just hired. She’s enough to heal any man. Quiet though, and real secretive. Can’t get anything out of her, including where she’s from. But believe me, she doesn’t need to talk. Her looks do it for her. And she’s real good with the horses. That’s all that matters to me.”

  His brother’s description of this new hire raised Jack’s suspicions immediately. He’d have to meet this girl and figure out what she was hiding. He nearly tripped over his own feet as that thought made him realize a few things. First off, he’d been in special ops too long if he was suspicious of everyone, even a girl he’d never met. Second, he obviously wasn’t over Carly enough yet if all he could think about was getting some information out of this supposedly sizzling hot girl instead of thinking about getting her to put out.

  Jack followed Jared to the back kitchen door and sighed. Time, that’s all it would take to move on. Just time. Then he caught a whiff of something incredible baking. Maybe time and some of his mama’s pie.

  Speaking of Mama… She screamed when she saw him and flung her arms around his neck. Then she pulled back and slapped him hard on his arm.

  “Why didn’t you call and say you were coming?” Then she hugged him again. “Sit down. The pie is just out of the oven.”

  He laughed. That was Mama. Not that she was really angry with him for not calling first. And even if she had been, she still would have fed him pie.

  “Thanks, Mama. I’ve been dreaming of that pie all the way here. Where you got Jimmy stashed? I’m sure he’s drooling by now. It would be just plain cruel not to share with him.”

  “Jimmy can fend
for himself, thank you.”

  Jack looked around to see his older brother standing in the doorway, smiling and speaking of himself in the third person. His face still showed the yellow tinge of healing bruises, but he looked good. Way better than he had the last time Jack had seen him, half-dead on a backboard being strapped into a military transport heading for the hospital in Germany.

  Jack hugged him hard. Too hard, he realized when Jimmy’s breath whooshed out.

  “Broken ribs.” Jimmy winced but then tried to dismiss the obvious pain with a crooked grin.

  Jack’s eyes opened wide. “Jeez, Jimmy. I’m sorry.”

  Slapping Jack hard on the back, Jimmy proved he was okay. “No problem. Bones heal, little brother. We both know that. Now where’s that pie I’ve been smelling for the last half hour?”

  Jared had already grabbed forks and plates for them all and was sitting waiting for their mother to cut the pie. Jimmy walked with a slight limp to the table. He pulled out a chair and sat gingerly. Maybe he was still hurting more than he let on. But Jimmy was home and safe and that was good enough for now.

  Jack sat between his two brothers at the same oak kitchen table he’d eaten at since he was born. While his mama served him her famous sweet-potato pie on his grandma’s china plates, he decided the commander had been right. This might be just the thing he needed.

  Nicki leaned against the fence, watching the newborn in the corral with his mother. She sighed and tried to pinpoint what she was feeling. Contentment, she decided. She finally felt semi-safe for the first time in a month of being on the run. Although she feared she would never be truly safe again. Not as long as the man she was hiding from still lived and breathed. At least she could allow herself to relax just a little bit here at the farm.

  She was about as far from New York as she could get. Who would think to look for her buried away here in the Deep South on a small horse-breeding farm? Certainly not the thick-necked imbecile she’d run from. As long as the Gordon family accepted her without question, and continued to pay her in cash and give her a place to live, she was set. She could drop off the radar indefinitely.

  The colt walked slowly up to the fence and nuzzled her hand. She ran her hand over him. “You are such a sweetie.”

  “Why thank you, darlin’.”

  The deep voice caused Nicki to startle. She let out a squeak of fear, spooking the colt. He took off running for his mother.

  She turned to look at the stranger, heart pounding until she saw his face. He was so much like the other two Gordon brothers, right down to the way he stood and talked, she knew who he was immediately. Relieved and feeling a little silly for thinking her enemies could find her all the way out here, she smiled in greeting. “You must be Jack.”

  He raised a brow. “I must be. You know me, but who might you be, darlin’?”

  Mmm, mmm. How she loved the way southern men sounded. So much nicer than the horrid accents she’d grown up around in New York. The accents from the five boroughs of New York City and Long Island made her cringe. But a southern man could practically make a girl’s panties fall right off just by talking to her.

  She nearly shook herself to regain her senses. This was no time to be thinking about romance, or sex, or whatever this feeling was that Jack caused. She was in hiding. Besides that, this particular Gordon man was only here temporarily from what she’d heard. Good thing too. He was much too yummy and tempting to have around for very long. She sure did like the way he called her darlin’ though.

  “I’m Nicki.” She offered him her hand.

  His handshake was warm and slow. But then, everything in the south seemed warm and slow. She imagined what else might be warm and slow with him…

  “Nicki…?” He apparently wanted her to elaborate.

  “Camp. Nicki Camp.” The guilt of the lie hit her hard. Did it show as obviously on her face as it felt on her tongue? If it did sound like a lie to him, the expression on Jack’s face didn’t show it.

  He was still holding her hand in his big, strong one when he crooned, “Nice to meet you, Nicki Camp.”

  Slightly shaky, she pulled her hand back and then glanced up at his face again. His hair was a bit more golden brown than his brothers’, and his hazel eyes had flecks of green and gold in them. Stop it, Niccolina. She was in no position to be checking this guy out. No matter how cute and charming he was.

  “So what brings you here to Pigeon Hollow, Miss Nicki Camp? You don’t sound like a local girl.”

  Nicki considered her answer carefully. She didn’t think she had a New York accent. As a teenager, she’d worked damn hard to make sure of that. It had been important to her then because she’d wanted to sound more sophisticated. It was even more important now. It was a matter of life and death that no one knew where she was from. But Jack was right. She didn’t sound like a native southerner. She didn’t think she could pull that off no matter how many times she watched Gone with the Wind.

  “Oh, you know. Just seeing the country.” Yeah, that didn’t sound too lame.

  He took one step closer, and she resisted the urge to take a step back as he towered over her.

  “Well, I sure am glad you decided to settle here for a bit.” He smiled as his eyes twinkled.

  Another few minutes of this onslaught of charm and Nicki didn’t know what she’d do. Thank goodness, Jared chose that moment to interrupt them. Otherwise, she may have swooned like in all those old movies where southern men made the belle of the ball faint.

  “Steer clear of my help before you scare her away.” Jared shot Jack a stern look, and then smiled and winked in her direction.

  She decided to make a joke of her own and get the hell out of there before Jack wedged her any farther between him and the fence. “Not much scares me, except my boss finding me loafing around not doing my job. I better get back to it.”

  Jared laughed. “Yeah, I’m such a tough boss. But actually, one of the boys just told me old Bucky is laying down in the pasture and won’t get up. He said he saw Bucky limping for the last few days. I was just on my way out there if you want to come with me.”

  “Old Bucky” was the right name for the animal. The horse had to be thirty-five if he was a day, but he was sweet. Nicki hated the thought that anything might be wrong with him. She could see by the look of concern on Jack’s face that he loved the horse as much as his brother did.

  “I learned how to ride on Bucky.” Jack followed them as they started walking.

  “We all did, even Jimmy. But he’s old now, Jack. We have to face the fact it may be time…” Jared let the sentence trail off. No one needed to be told what it may be time for. “I haven’t called the vet yet. I want to check him out for myself first.”

  They reached the pasture and found Bucky lying right out in the middle under the hot sun. Nicki approached slowly, speaking softly to him. She saw him watching her out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t make a move to get up.

  She leaned down and stroked his neck. “What’s wrong, old guy?”

  The whites of his eyes were showing. He wasn’t happy about the three of them hovering over him, but he wasn’t getting up either. Nicki dropped to her knees and laid her head on his belly. She noticed the two men were hanging back, just watching her. Well, if they were testing her to see if she knew what she was doing she had nothing to worry about. Her daddy had raised racehorses on a farm on Long Island. She’d spent every weekend and every summer in his barns or at the stalls at the racetrack. She didn’t know much about a lot of things, but she knew horses.

  Nicki pressed her ear against Bucky’s side. She listened and then straightened up. “I’m hearing plenty of belly noises. It’s not colic or an obstruction. Jared, you said the guys saw him limping?”

  Jared nodded. Nicki started running her hands down each of Bucky’s four legs, all the while under the watchful eyes of the three males: the two Gordon men and Bucky. She got to the last foot and stopped. She drew in a breath of relief. “His hoof has a hot
spot. I’m betting it’s an abscess. It hurts him to stand. That’s why he’s laying down and it would explain why he’s lame.”

  She stood and brushed the dirt from the knees of her jeans. Jared walked over, bent and felt the hoof for himself. He shook his head. “I thought that new blacksmith cut his hooves too short.” He patted Bucky’s neck affectionately.

  “Yeah, I didn’t like the way he handled the horses either. The infection will have to work its way out, but at least you won’t have to call the vet to put Bucky down.”

  Jared stood and smiled at her. “You’re right about that, and you just earned yourself the rest of the day off.”

  Nicki felt herself blush at the attention. “Thanks, Jared. That’s really not necessary.” What would she do with a day off? It’s not like she had friends around here. “I would like to see if we could get him up and in a stall though. He’ll be more comfortable lying down out of the hot sun.”

  Nicki was trying to ignore the fact that Jack was standing just off to the side, watching her very closely. This Gordon was a bit too observant for her liking, cute or not.

  As if he knew what she was thinking, he wandered closer. “You know your stuff. Where’d a northerner like you learn so much about horses?”

  Shit.

  “First of all, who said I was a northerner? Second, that was spoken like a true southerner. There are horses in other parts of the country, you know.” With that, she went to try to coax Bucky into getting up.

  It took all three of them, along with lots of shouting and butt slapping—Bucky’s butt, not hers—to get him up and moving slowly toward the barn. Once they settled him in the stall, he lay down on the fresh wood shavings.

  Jared made one more offer for her to take the remainder of the day off, and this time she agreed. She needed to get away from Jack and his probing stare. She borrowed a truck and headed into town with the excuse that she had errands to run. Her main errand was to avoid Jack.

  Jack watched thoughtfully as Nicki sped out of the drive in a Gordon Equine truck. She was a cute one, just like Jared had said, and she was also lying.