Jennifer sat bolt upward in the chair. “Oh, now wait just a minute here,” she said aloud.
Just how could she guarantee she wouldn’t end up with a broken heart? She didn’t have a clue as to the answer to that question.
All she could do was make certain she was retaining control of herself.
At the first hint that she might be growing more fond—yes, that was a good word—fond of Jack than was allowed within her emotional safety zone, she’d send him packing and resume her life as it had been before he entered her serene existence.
Her lonely existence.
No, no, now stop it, she admonished herself silently. She was alone, but not lonely. She had Joey, a challenging career, oodles of wonderful friends who were like a family to her.
But…
Yes, all right, sometimes, just once in a while, when Joey was asleep and the night stretched before her, she was a tad lonely. That was perfectly normal.
It didn’t mean that she wanted a serious relationship with a man. And heaven knew she never intended to remarry. No, she just sometimes had the need to feel wanted and womanly.
And Jack was doing that.
Just for a while. Hours stolen out of time. Then he would be leaving town…and that would be that.
There was no way at all she could be hurt by any of this, because she was in control.
And Joey? She would make it perfectly clear to her son that Jack was here on vacation and would soon be leaving. Jack was not a potential suit-and-tie guy who would qualify to be a groom, a daddy bear. But Joey would benefit from another male influence in his life, even for the short term.
“Fine,” she said, getting to her feet. Everything was hunky-dory, and the frosting on the cake was that her house was going to get some much-needed repairs.
She had absolutely nothing to worry about.
“Nap time,” she said cheerfully as she left the kitchen.
Chapter Six
Jack settled onto a bench in the town square, then stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankles. He unbuttoned his jacket to further enjoy the warming sun that was rising higher in the brilliant blue November sky.
He deserved an award, he thought, folding his arms over his chest, for having delivered some of the fastest talking blither ever produced by man. He’d rattled off his rationale to Jennifer without coming up for air, explaining why it was perfectly safe and sound for them to spend time together.
Why had he done that?
He’d been mentally scrambling, had been on the edge of panic that she’d tell him she didn’t want to see him again. For reasons he couldn’t begin to fathom, the idea of her sending him packing had caused a cold fist to tighten in his gut.
So, he’d steamrolled her, laid a bunch of malarkey on her, then hightailed it from her house before she had a chance to figure out what in the heck he’d actually said.
Why had he done that?
Jack sighed, shook his head, then dragged both hands down his face. He slouched lower on the bench and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets.
Actually, he mused, what he had rattled off to Jennifer wasn’t all nonsense.
He did want to know what was happening between them. He didn’t deal well with confusion and unanswered questions.
And no, he didn’t wish, nor intend, to hurt her. If she was as in control of her emotions as she claimed to be, his presence shouldn’t represent any potential harm to her mental health and well-being.
And yes, he really did want to do some repairs on that dynamite house of hers.
So, hey, what he’d said at warp speed had all been true. And to top it off in grand style, he would get to spend more time with neat little Joey.
Jack smiled as he replayed in his mind the earlier conversations with Joey.
“A groom guy,” he said aloud, chuckling. “A daddy bear.”
That kid was something. Cute. Smart. Knew who he was and what he wanted—a father. Well, according to Jennifer, Joey wasn’t going to get one.
Jack narrowed his eyes.
Jennifer’s adamant stance on never remarrying was producing another slew of unanswered questions. There was something off-kilter there.
His assumption that Jennifer was still mourning her deceased husband was beginning to set off warning bells in his mind, indicating that there was a great deal missing from that picture.
Jennifer just wasn’t coming across as a grieving widow. No, she seemed…angry—even close to bitter somehow. Why? What was the true story behind her marriage to Joe Mackane? She’d built strong walls around her heart, had put her femininity—or however she’d described it—to sleep, to be assured that no man would ever get emotionally close to her again. Why?
Why? Why? Why? Now he sounded like Joey.
Little heart-stealer Joey Mackane.
It was sure going to be tough saying goodbye to that nifty kid when it came time to head to California.
And the nifty kid’s mother?
How would he feel when he walked away from Jennifer for the last time?
Sudden images of the kisses shared with Jennifer flashed through Jack’s mental vision. The remembrances of her taste and aroma, of her being nestled against him, rushed over him, causing heat to coil painfully in his body.
“That’s all,” Jack said, getting to his feet. “Go for a walk, MacAllister. Don’t think, just walk.”
Jack spent the remainder of the morning in his room at Hamilton House working on the plans for Andrea and Brandon’s house. He ate lunch with the couple in their apartment on the fifth floor of the hotel so he could show them what he had done and hear more of their ideas regarding their dream home.
“I love the lowered ledge near the ceiling in the kitchen,” Andrea said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“It’s called a pot wall, or sometimes it’s referred to as a plant shelf,” Jack said. “It gives you more of an opportunity to decorate a kitchen than you would normally have to make it uniquely yours.”
“Perfect,” she said.
“I’d like the back patio bigger,” Brandon said. “We want room for the kids to play, plus be able to barbecue and eat out there.”
“Got it,” Jack said, nodding.
“Kids?” Andrea said, smiling at Brandon. “As in more than one?”
“Well, sure,” Brandon said, matching her smile. “We’d spoil an only child rotten. Besides, she’d be lonely without a sibling to play and squabble with.”
“Makes sense to me,” Andrea said.
“At least she’ll have a mother and a father,” Jack said quietly.
“Why the serious expression?” Brandon said. “You grew up with a mother and father, Jack.”
“I wasn’t referring to me, Brandon,” he said. “I was thinking about Joey Mackane. Do you know what he said? He likes doing ‘men’ things with his uncles, but it’s not the same as having a father because…well, because he has to give the uncles back.”
“Oh-h-h,” Andrea said. “I’m going to cry. That is so sweet, but so sad. Poor Joey. He’s obviously reached the age where he really misses having a father.”
“A daddy bear,” Jack said, “to go along with the baby and mommy bears. He wants the whole nine yards, like his best friend Sammy has.”
Brandon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sounds to me like you’ve spent quite a bit of time with Joey,” he said.
“And, therefore, with Jennifer,” Andrea said. “They are, after all, a package deal.”
“Don’t get in a roar,” Jack said, raising both hands. “I stopped by their house to return the Winnie-the-Pooh blanket, and took some cinnamon rolls with me for their breakfast. It’s no big deal.”
“Pooh blanket?” Andrea said.
“Oh, well, Jennifer loaned it to me because when I walked her home last night I wasn’t wearing my jacket and it was a tad chilly.”
“You walked Jennifer home last night?” Andrea said.
Jack frowned. “
You’re starting to sound like a parrot, Andrea, echoing everything I’m saying.”
“Just gathering the facts, sir,” she said, smiling brightly.
“Right,” Jack said dryly, giving her a dark look. He shifted his gaze to Brandon. “What do you know about this Joe Mackane who Jennifer was married to?”
Brandon lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Nothing. Jennifer and Joe were married somewhere in Colorado. A year or so later, Jennifer moved back to Prescott with a newborn Joey, after Joe was killed in a construction accident. None of us ever met Joe Mackane.”
“It’s such a tragic story,” Andrea said. “I can’t imagine the horror of losing my husband, much less a week before our baby was born…I don’t believe that Jennifer has ever really gotten over it. She refuses to even go out on casual dates, let alone remarry and give Joey the father he wants. She must have had a very special, very wonderful relationship with her husband.”
“Or a really lousy one,” Jack said.
“What?” Brandon said, frowning.
“Think about it,” Jack said. “You’re all assuming that Jennifer’s marriage was a match made in heaven. What if it was just the opposite? What if it was such a living hell that she has vowed never to get into a serious relationship with a man again?”
“You’re forgetting something, Jack,” Brandon said. “Jennifer named Joey after his father. A mother wouldn’t do that if the guy was a louse.”
“She might do it as a smoke screen,” Jack said, “to provide evidence that she had a happy existence with the man, when the truth might be the flip side of the coin. Does Jennifer talk about Joe? Relate stories about the terrific things they did together, shared as a couple?”
“No,” Brandon said slowly, shaking his head. “She doesn’t. She never mentions him, and changes the subject if someone brings up the topic of her marriage. We all assumed that it’s too painful for her to discuss Joe.”
“After five years?” Jack said, his voice rising. “Come on, Brandon, get real. It doesn’t add up. Jennifer is too strong to be living that much in the past. It doesn’t fit who she is.”
“You feel you know her that well to make that statement?” Andrea said, raising her eyebrows.
Jack shifted his gaze to the pencil he was holding, fiddling with it as though it were the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen.
“Yeah, I know her that well,” he said quietly. “And I also know that something doesn’t click here. Jennifer is definitely being influenced today by events that transpired in the past, but they’re not necessarily memories of sweet bliss with Joe Mackane. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just don’t think so.”
“Interesting,” Brandon said, staring into space.
“It’s also upsetting,” Andrea said. “The circumstances, the timing, of Joe’s death were bad enough. It’s even worse to entertain the idea that Jennifer’s life with the man was a nightmare. Think of the pain she has bottled up inside her, if what you’re saying is true, Jack. It’s really heartbreaking.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Brandon said. “Jennifer has terrific parents, plus Ben, Taylor and I are like brothers to her. Andrea, Aunt Charity and Aunt Pru love her, too. Jennifer could have come to any of us and shared the truth about…No, I think you’re out in left field on this, Jack.”
“Maybe Jennifer did confide in her parents,” Andrea said.
“No,” Brandon said, “she didn’t. Not with a negative story, anyway. Her father told me several years ago that it was obvious from Jennifer’s behavior that no man would ever begin to be able to take Joe Mackane’s place in her heart.” He shook his head. “No, I just can’t buy your theory, Jack.”
“I could be wrong,” he said, nodding.
“But what if you aren’t?” Andrea said, leaning toward him. “If Jennifer doesn’t deal with the pain of her past, she’ll never experience the joy of a future with a special man.”
Andrea paused and sighed. “How are we going to discover the truth, so that, somehow, if what Jack is saying is how it really is, we can help her?” she said.
“Don’t look at me,” Brandon said. “I don’t have a clue. What are we supposed to do? March up to Jennifer and demand she spill the beans about her marriage to Joe Mackane? Yeah, right.”
“No, the ticket is to pay attention to what Jennifer says and does,” Jack said. “It’s the little, subtle things that have given me the evidence I already have. The more I observe, the clearer the picture will be.”
“That works for me,” Andrea said. “Then, if it’s really apparent that she is harboring dark, painful secrets, we could sit her down, explain that we love her, and offer to listen. Maybe if she talked it through, it would allow her to be free of it all, to move forward with her life.”
“Just remember that Jennifer and Joe might have been so incredibly happy,” Brandon said, “that she honestly doesn’t wish to settle for less with someone else. I don’t care if it’s been five years or fifty since Joe died. If what they had together was close to perfection, then Jennifer has every right to live out her days with those memories.”
“That’s true,” Andrea said.
“That stinks,” Jack said, frowning, “and I don’t believe for a second that Jennifer was on cloud nine with Mackane.”
“Okay,” Andrea said. “We agree that we don’t know the truth. We agree that we care enough about Jennifer that we need to explore the issue further. The problem is…how? You said we should pay attention to the little, subtle things that Jennifer says and does, Jack. We’re all busy people. We’re not with Jennifer that often.”
“I will be,” Jack said.
“Oh?” Brandon said.
“I’m going to do some repairs on her house,” Jack went on. “Jennifer will buy the supplies, and I’m free labor. Those kind of historical structures fascinate me as an architect. I’ll report back to you, let you know if I discover anything of importance.”
“A question,” Brandon said, holding up one finger. “Why?”
“Why what?” Jack said.
“Why the interest in Jennifer?” Brandon said. “Why are you so concerned that she might be a…a victim of her past, so to speak? Why are you doing this?”
“That’s none of our business, honey,” Andrea said, patting one of Brandon’s hands.
“It’s not?” he said. “Yes, it is.”
“No, it is not,” Andrea said firmly. “If Jack has feelings for Jennifer, cares for her, realizes that she’s a wonderful and special woman who deserves to be truly happy…well, that’s none of our business.”
“Hey, now wait a minute,” Jack said. “I never said I had feelings for Jennifer, or cared for her, for crying out loud. You’re making this sound like a—a man and woman thing, when it’s actually a…a…” His voice trailed off, and he frowned.
“Yes?” Andrea said, an expression of pure innocence on her face.
“It’s…it’s a humanitarian endeavor,” Jack said. “Yes, that’s what it is. I’m a nice guy who hates to think that a lovely, rare woman like Jennifer might be—what I mean is…Ah, hell, forget it.”
“Mmm,” Andrea said, smiling sweetly.
“Do you want me to report back to you about what I learn or not?” Jack said gruffly.
“Oh, of course we do,” Andrea said.
Jack got to his feet and began to roll up the house plans. “I’m outta here,” he said. “Jennifer is probably back home after collecting Joey from school, and I can take a look at her house. It was Joey’s turn to feed the class gerbil today. He was really excited about it. Man, he’s a neat kid.” He paused. “Keep thinking about ideas for your house. Catch you later.”
“See ya,” Brandon said.
“Goodbye, Jack,” Andrea said. “And thank you for everything.”
“Yeah, sure.”
As Jack strode across the room, then left the apartment, Andrea folded her hands on her large tummy and smiled.
“This is my bedroom,” Joey said, grabbing Jack’s hand an
d attempting to hurry him forward. “It’s neat-o.”
“You betcha it is,” Jack said.
He swept his gaze over the all-boy room and nodded in approval. There was a bookcase constructed of boards painted in bright, primary colors and supported by cinder blocks. The shelves were jam-packed with toys and books. Dinosaurs smiled from the bedspread and curtains, and model airplanes were suspended from the ceiling by ribbons. Joey’s dresser was red with white pull-knobs.
“This is actually the parlor,” Jennifer said. “My bedroom is in what should be the formal dining room with double doors. Since there’s a full bath down here, I’ve closed off the upper floors to save money on the heating bills.”
“Makes sense,” Joe said, nodding.
“When I was a teenager,” Jennifer went on, “I had the third floor all to myself. It’s under the eaves, so when we go up there, you’ll have to be careful not to bump your head.” She laughed. “I used to pretend I had my own apartment. I felt so grown up and sophisticated.”
“Can I live up there by myself when I’m big, Mom?” Joey said.
“Sure,” she said, smiling at him. “You’ll be able to talk to all your girlfriends on the telephone without me hearing you.”
“I don’t like girls too much,” Joey said, wrinkling his nose. “They scream and holler when they see a worm, and they never want to get their clothes dirty. They just stand around and don’t do nothing.”
“Anything,” Jennifer corrected automatically.
“That’s what I said,” Joey said. “They don’t do nothing.”
Jack chuckled. “Joey, my friend, I realize this is hard to believe, but you will change your mind about how you feel about girls.”
“When you’re twenty-five,” Jennifer said quickly, causing Jack to hoot with laughter.
The trio completed the tour of the entire house, then Joey ran out into the backyard to play on his swing set. Jennifer and Jack went into the living room, where Jennifer sat in an easy chair, and Jack sat on the sofa.
“This really is a fantastic house,” Jack said. “They sure knew how to design and build them way back when.”
“It’s lovely, but it’s an awful lot to keep up,” Jennifer said.
To a Macallister Born Page 7