He’d tried her number himself, telling himself he was just doing his job as best man to make sure the wedding went off without a hitch, but he couldn’t lie to himself for long. He was worried, and nearly crazy with it. She hadn’t answered, and he’d debated heading back to the city to look for her. He’d have plenty of time to get back here tomorrow, once he knew that she was safe.
“I’m sure she’s fine.” Connor said, sidling up to him at the bar and hailing the bartender. They were all meeting for dinner in the hotel bar, and Jackson had been sitting here, nursing a beer and fretting.
“How are you sure?” Jackson replied. “If it was Alexandra, would you be sure?”
Connor stared at him for a moment. “No, I suppose I wouldn’t,” he said with a scowl. “Ian and Tom are still in town, holding down the fort for the weekend. Do you want me to have them check in?”
“Yes, but I’ll make the call,” Jackson answered without hesitation. “It’ll probably piss her off again and I’ll lose my chance, but I’d rather that than find out she was in trouble and I didn’t do anything about it.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” Jackson drained his beer, praying that she was okay. His phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket and answered without looking at the screen.
“Hello?”
“We just landed,” his mother said, sounding excited, but a little frazzled. “Once we get our luggage, we’ll be on our way.”
“Okay, good,” Jackson replied, relieved. At least that was one less person he had to worry about. “Connor sent a car for you, so look for a driver with a sign.”
Jackson looked at Connor and Connor nodded in confirmation.
“Oh, I feel like a celebrity,” his mother laughed. “Thank him for me, Mijo. I have to go now, but I’ll see you soon!”
“Okay, Mami.”
Jackson double checked his phone in case he’d missed any calls or texts, but there was nothing.
“Come on, our table’s ready,” Connor said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks.”
Dinner was a temporary distraction, but when it was over, Jackson retreated to his room and called Janie’s phone again. This time, the phone rang. And rang. And rang. Still no answer, but at least it had stopped going straight to voicemail.
Anxious to make sure she was okay, he left a message.
“Janie, it’s Jackson. Just wondering if you’re okay and where you are.” He paused, hoping she wouldn’t hear the desperation in his voice. He cleared his throat and continued. “Lex said she hasn’t been able to get a hold of you and she’s worried. The rest of us are already here at the hotel, but if you need anything… just let me know.”
He hung up the phone, tossing it on the bed and running his hands through his hair in frustration. He paced for a few minutes before picking up his phone again and dialing the office.
Ian answered.
“I need you to do me a favor,” Jackson said.
“Work favor or personal?”
“Personal.”
“Sure.” Ian was a man of few words. It was probably his best quality.
“I need you to go to an address and knock on the door.”
“That’s it?” Ian asked.
“If someone answers, call me back.”
“What’s the address?”
Jackson gave it to him and ended the call. He knew it would take him time to get there, so to keep his mind off of things, he unpacked his suitcase, made sure his clothes for the wedding were all there and neatly hung in the closet, even going so far as to iron his shirt first.
He stripped out of his clothes and went to the bathroom, taking his phone with him so he wouldn’t miss the call when it came. Turning the spray on as hot as it would go, Jackson climbed in and just stood there, trying to let the hot water and steam ease some of the tension in his shoulders.
He braced his hands on the wall and bent his head, letting the water run over his head and down the back of his neck. He didn’t know how long he stayed like that, but he nearly slipped and fell when his cell phone rang, startling him.
“Yeah?”
“Nope.”
“Nobody answered?” Jackson demanded.
“Nope.”
“Are the lights on? Does it look like someone might be home?”
“Nope.”
Jackson swore, wiping water off of his face and pushing his hair back off his forehead.
“Want me to break in?” Ian asked, and bless him, the man was completely serious.
“No,” Jackson said, letting out a breath. “But thanks, man.”
“Yup,” Ian replied, simply.
The call ended and Jackson put his phone back on the counter by the sink. He got back into the shower and washed, trying to avoid thinking about all the things that might have gone wrong; all the things that might have happened to her.
When he was sufficiently clean he stepped out, more anxious than he began instead of less. He’d just gotten dressed and cracked open a bottle of whiskey from the mini bar when there was a knock on his door. He opened it, his heart beating fast until he saw that it was Parker.
“Hey,” Jackson greeted him, leaving the door open as he returned to his drink.
“You don’t have to sound so disappointed,” Parker said with a low laugh.
“Sorry, man. I’m just wound a little tight right now.”
“Yeah, I know. Your girl’s MIA. That’s bound to make anyone a little crazy.”
“More than a little,” Jackson grumbled as he downed the thimble full of whiskey in his glass.
“We can do better than that,” Parker said, nodding toward Jackson’s now empty glass. He held up the paper bag that Jackson hadn’t noticed he’d been holding. Parker pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels out of the bag and set it on the table beside the mini bar.
“Thank you, Jesus,” Jackson said quietly.
“You’re welcome, my son,” Parker replied with a smirk. Parker grabbed a clean glass and poured some for Jackson and then himself.
“What should we drink to? Wayward women? The pitfalls of love?” Parker asked flippantly.
“How about you just shut your pie hole and drink,” Jackson muttered, taking a swig from his glass. This was going to be a long night if they didn’t hear something soon.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The last thing Janie remembered was unlocking the front door when she arrived home yesterday afternoon. Considering she woke up in her own bed, she had at least managed to make it upstairs before she passed out. Although since she was wearing the same clothes she’d put on three days ago, she hadn’t managed to undress.
She’d left Mississippi on Wednesday and it had taken her more than forty-eight hours to get back to New York. She’d made her flight out of Jackson, no problem. But, she hadn’t been able to book a direct flight, so she’d ended up with an eight hour layover in Charlotte, North Carolina. That would have been bad enough, but then her flight had been cancelled because of some issue with the plane and all the other flights had been booked.
She got on two different flights as a standby, but got bumped both times before she finally got on a flight headed for New York that had arrived yesterday morning. Unfortunately, she’d had to spend hours at the claims desk because, to top it all off, they’d lost her luggage.
It was by far the worst traveling experience of her life, and one she never wanted to repeat. She’d come home yesterday and crashed as soon as her head hit her pillow. She checked the clock on her nightstand and it was apparently half past nine. She must have slept for at least fifteen hours.
After two days of no sleep, aside from an hour or two on the plane yesterday, she had been dead on her feet.
She sat up and stretched, yawning widely and trying to get her thoughts together. It was Saturday morning and she had a lot to do today. She stood up on slightly unsteady legs and managed to strip out of her clothes. She climbed in the shower and scrubbed away the grunge and fatigue of h
er long journey. She ran a comb through her hair, hastily applying some product and leaving it to air dry.
She threw on a simple black dress and a pair of flats. It was classical and chic, but comfortable enough for running around and traveling. She had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.
She grabbed a spare bag, since her suitcase was currently flying over parts unknown, and quickly packed everything she would need for the wedding.
She grabbed her dress from the closet, the two sheets of paper stuffed in the pocket of her discarded jeans and headed down stairs. She tossed her bag on the floor by the door and hung her dress on the coat hook before going into the kitchen to grab a quick bite before she left.
She opened the fridge and peered inside, trying to find anything that looked appetizing. Truth be told, her stomach was in such knots knowing what she was on her way to do that she wasn’t hungry. After two days of living on airport food, she was actually slightly nauseated.
She closed the fridge door, deciding just to get some coffee along the way, and promptly screamed.
Angel, who had been just coming into the kitchen, started screaming and dropped the cup of coffee she’d been carrying. Both women looked at each other and then at the coffee all over the tile floor and then back at each other.
“You scared me to death.” Angel said, grabbing for the paper towels on their holder next to the sink.
“Me? I thought you’d left already. Weren’t you supposed to be at the hotel yesterday with the rest of the wedding party?” Janie replied, bending over to pick up Angel’s mug. Thankfully it hadn’t broken so she set it in the sink and went about helping Angel clean up her spilled coffee.
“I had to work the day shift yesterday. I’m driving up today,” Angel explained. “I didn’t even know you were home. Everyone’s been trying to find you for two days! Where have you been?”
“That’s a long story,” Janie sighed. But that did remind her that she’d forgotten to take her phone off the charger upstairs.
“Well, I’m glad you’re back. We were all thinking you were dead in a ditch somewhere. Alexandra’s been checking the news for any report of a plane crash.”
“We can call her from the car.”
“You want to drive together?” Angel asked, tossing the pile of paper towels in the trash.
“If you don’t mind stopping to take care of a few errands along the way.”
“Well,” Angel hesitated. “As long as we get there before the rehearsal dinner.”
“I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises.”
“What do you have to do that’s so important?” Angel asked, tilting her head to one side.
“That’s an even longer story. I’ll tell you on the way.”
Over the next two hours, Janie explained everything to Angel as they drove. Janie’s errands had taken longer than she expected, which was just typical of her life lately, so they were running behind. Angel drove like an eighty year old, which didn’t help matters much.
They’d called Alexandra and let her know that they were both on their way, and Janie gave her the short version of her adventures in air travel. She’d been so relieved that Janie was alright and on her way that she hadn’t even been mad when Janie told her that they might be just a tad late for the rehearsal dinner.
Angel, who was already anxious about the drive, but refused to let Janie take over, was apparently even more anxious about being late. Janie was beginning to wonder if there was anything that didn’t make Angel anxious.
“I’m sorry,” Janie said for at least the fourth time in the last two hours. “I hate to think you might miss your brother’s rehearsal dinner.”
“It’s okay, really,” she replied. Once Janie had explained the whole story about her and Jackson, and her plan to make it up to him, Angel had been totally on board and willing to help. Janie had no doubt that she meant it when she said it was okay, but that didn’t make Janie feel any less guilty.
Especially since she was beginning to think it would be better to skip the dinner entirely. If she saw Jackson tonight, she’d be too tempted just to tell him everything and then all of this would have been for nothing.
She was nervous and excited, but she couldn’t be sure which was the more dominant emotion at the moment. It seemed to change by the second.
“Uh oh.”
“What?” Janie asked, suddenly realizing that the car was slowing down and coming to a stop.
“Traffic. Looks like an accident.”
“Shit.”
“Looks bad. We could be here for a while,” Angel sighed, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. She glanced nervously at Janie and then back at the road ahead, stretching her neck to see if she could get a better view.
“I’m sorry,” Janie said again.
“Stop apologizing,” Angel said.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Traffic was at a total standstill.
“Okay, now I’m sorry,” Angel said, reaching into the backseat and pulling out what Janie recognized as her first aid kit.
“Why?”
“Because I have to see if I can help. I’ll try to figure out what’s going on while I’m there, but I just… have to see if I can help.”
“No, no. Don’t worry about it,” Janie said. “Go. Help if you can.”
“Thanks,” Angel said, looking relieved. She opened her door and got out, striding purposefully toward the accident.
✽✽✽
“Jackson,” Connor said quietly, pulling him aside as they were heading into the rehearsal dinner.
“What’s up?” Jackson replied, glancing around for any sign that Janie had made it. She hadn’t returned his voicemail, not that he’d expected her to. He’d hoped that at least if she got it she would have called Alexandra to check in. So far, he still didn’t know where she was and he was on the verge of panic.
“Janie’s fine,” Connor said. He continued talking, but Jackson heard none of it as his heartbeat thudded in his ears.
“Wait, wait. She’s okay?”
“Yes,” Connor said. “She’s okay. Her flight got cancelled because of some mechanical issue and it took her a day to get a flight back. She got home yesterday.”
“Why didn’t she call? We’ve all been worried sick.”
“She was exhausted and her phone was dead. Apparently she left her charger at her father’s house.”
Jackson bent forward, putting his hands on his knees as relief flooded him. He took what felt like his first deep breath in years.
“She’s okay, Jackson. She’ll be here later.”
“Later? She’s not here now?” Jackson asked.
“No. Accident on the highway. She and Angel are stuck in traffic and aren’t sure when it’ll be clear.”
“How far?”
“What do you mean?” Connor asked.
“How far away are they?”
“Don’t even think about it,” Connor said, shaking his head. “You rush out there, somehow find her in that parking lot, and then what? You can’t get back here any faster than she can until the accident’s been cleared.”
“I could at least see her,” Jackson growled. “Touch her. Convince myself she’s alright. I’ve been going crazy, man. I’ve hardly been able to breathe for two days.”
“I ken what you’re saying,” Connor said sympathetically. “But you’re just going to have to hold on a little longer. There’s nothing you can do about it now.”
Jackson took a deep breath. Then another. When he was calmer, he nodded to Connor and Connor nodded back, walking away to join his bride at the head of the long table decked out in white flowers and tea lights.
Connor whispered something in Alexandra’s ear and she turned to find him in the crowd. When she saw him she gave him an encouraging smile and beckoned him to come sit.
Dinner was torture. Jackson couldn’t pay attention to any of the conversations taking place around him. He tried to smile and nod through most of i
t, but he couldn’t tell you what anyone had said all night. He muddled through his toast by keeping it simple, but it certainly wasn’t his best moment.
He fidgeted, bouncing his leg, tapping his foot, cracking his knuckles, and the whole time he was looking over at the door every minute or so, waiting for Janie to walk in.
It was one thing to know that she was okay, it was another to actually see it with his own eyes.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Dinner ended with still no sign of her or Angel. He considered skipping the bachelor party to wait for her. He wasn’t even sure what he would have done if he’d been there when she walked into the lobby. As it was, he was going to have to figure out a way to keep himself from booking it to her room as soon as he knew she was in the building.
He’d never been this unsettled before and he was having trouble coping. All he could do was take deep breaths and remind himself that he’d see her in the morning at the wedding, and then later at the reception.
Speaking of…
“Mami?” Jackson said, sidling up beside his mother and her new… boyfriend. He didn’t like that word, but then again, he didn’t like any word that could be applied to his mother’s “friend.”
“Sí, Mijo?” she asked, beaming up at him.
“Can you do me another small favor?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“Can you just text me and let me know as soon as you find Janie at the party tonight?”
“You don’t trust me?” she teased.
“Mami,” He sighed. “I just need to know that she’s actually here. In the hotel. She’s still not here, and Alexandra spoke to her, but…”
“But you’re going crazy not knowing.”
“Something like that.”
His mother laughed softly, shaking her head. “You certainly do care about her a great deal.”
“I love her, Mami,” Jackson said softly.
“Oh, mijo,” his mother said, patting his cheek gently. “I’ll let you know as soon as I can. But I haven’t even met her yet. How will I know?”
“You’ll know,” Jackson said. “She’s the prettiest girl in any room.”
Her Defender (MacLachlan Security Group Book 2) Page 25
