Kelly Jo

by Linda Opdyke

  Robert glared at him. “Gone? What does that mean?”

  Jack shrugged. “It means that while I was in the water scrubbing off dog stench, somehow Kelly Jo got her hands on my pants and now I can’t find them. She must have figured out that you sent me after her, to hold her for you, and she found a way to slow me down.”

  Robert looked at him with steady eyes. “Your pants? That doesn’t explain your shirt, your socks or your shoes. Or did you feel so naked without your pants that you figured you might as well get as close as possible to being that?”

  Jack flushed. “A raccoon ran off with my shirt.”

  Robert was not amused. “A raccoon?”

  “Umm…yes.”

  “And did the raccoon first put on your shoes and socks for extra speed so you couldn’t catch him?”

  Jack swallowed his retort and only said, “That isn’t funny.”

  “No,” Robert informed him. “It certainly is not.” He stepped closer to Jack, then leaned down into Jack’s face, forcing Jack’s eyes to look only into his own. “You know, Jack,” Robert said quietly. “I’d hate to think that even though you’re aware that Kelly Jo hoodwinked you that you’re still willing to cover up for her.”

  Jack wanted to blink, but kept his gaze steady on Robert’s unmoving gaze. “Why would you think that?”

  “Because,” Robert began. “You’re an easy target. A complete gentleman, easy going, repeatedly giving someone like Kelly Jo the benefit of the doubt. To the point that they make a complete fool of you if that’s what it takes to get what they want.”

  Kelly Jo leaped from behind the tree, flames shooting from her eyes even as she battled to cover vital areas. “I would never do that to Jack!”

  Jack and Robert both shouted, “Kelly Jo!”, but each for a different reason. Why Jack cared that Kelly Jo would be snatched and returned by Robert was beyond him. But without hesitation he stepped in between them.

  When Wiley’s unsure, “Jack?” reached his ears, to Jack’s shock, Robert instantly vanished and Kelly Jo sped for the cover of the tree.

  When Wiley stepped onto the path holding a large bag, he gave Jack a look of bewilderment. “Who were you just talking to? I heard a man’s voice but I don’t see anybody.”

  Jack did his best to offer a laugh of assurance. “Oh, that. I was just practicing a ventriloquist act. I thought maybe I’d enter the contest, too.”

  Wiley looked at him like he was crazy, but only said, “Oh.”

  Jack cleared his throat and tried not to look around to see if Robert had returned but stayed out of Wiley’s line of vision. “What’s in the bag?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Wylie held the bag out to Jack but kept glancing around, as though expecting the owner of the deep voice he’d heard to jump out from nowhere.

  Jack grabbed the black garbage bag, opened it and peered inside. He sighed, then smiled at Wylie, his voice dripping relief. “Dry underwear!”

  Kelly Jo’s eager, “Throw me the bag, Jack,” made Jack laugh.

  “You can wait your turn,” he informed her. He rummaged through the bag to Wylie’s apologetic, “I got you some skivvies and a tee shirt out of new packs and a pair of jeans my dad outgrew, but I didn’t dare take any of his shoes or socks.”

  Jack pulled the clothes from the bag and hurried to find a spot behind a tall bush. “That’s okay,” he called to Wylie, ignoring Kelly Jo’s wail of “hurry up!”. “You’re a life saver, Wylie, and we’ll definitely pay you back.”

  Jack winced as he dragged the wet boxers down the length of his body, then kicked them off in favor of the brand new blue boxers Wylie had provided. He pulled the faded jeans on, blocking out Kelly Jo’s irate comments about what happened to ladies first? “Your dad’s about my size, I guess,” he noted as he tugged on the waistband. He pulled the white tee shirt on to a surprisingly snug fit.

  He left his wet boxers where he’d kicked them and stepped out to find Wylie watching him. He gave Wylie a somber look but his eyes danced despite the seriousness of his tone. Jack jerked his head toward where Kelly Jo half-crouched behind the tree. “Should we leave her here?”

  “Jack,” she cried. “When I get my hands on you…” she warned, then trailed off into a sheepish smile when Jack and Wylie laughed and Jack tossed the bag to her.

  “Wylie’s right,” Jack hollered to her. “You’ll look great in that outfit.”

  Kelly Jo stuck her hand in the bag, then ducked out of sight with the clothes. “I don’t care how it looks or even if it fits. I just want to get something on.”

  Kelly Jo dressed in silence and even before she stepped out from behind the tree Jack knew she wasn’t thrilled with the outfit.

  But, oh, boy, he was. Was he ever.

  And from the way Wylie gawked, so was he.

  Kelly Jo frowned and plucked at the black leather pants and jacket that clung to every curve on her body. “I don’t like this.”

  Without thinking, Jack breathed out, “I do.”

  Wylie blurted, “You look better than my Mom.”

  Kelly Jo looked at Wylie, but when she spoke to Jack he barely heard her until she snapped, “I can’t wear this. It’s not…it’s not…me.”

  Exasperated, Jack exclaimed, “That’s not what you said before. You knew what Wylie was talking about and you told him to go and get it.”

  “I know,” she admitted softly, again plucking at the leather, an unsure look on her face. “But what would…Robert say…you know…if he found me like this. I could get into trouble, you know.”

  Jack threw his arms in the air. “Who cares?” he demanded. “You…” he caught himself before he said something in front of Wylie that the boy would never understand. Worse, Wylie would know for sure that he and Kelly Jo really were both nuts.

  Instead, Jack glared at Kelly Jo, conveying through that glare: “You killed me, kidnapped me from Heaven, got stuck in a painting, have been running around buck naked, got peed on by a dog when you insisted I rob a house…and your concern is whether or not Robert will punish you for wearing a black leather outfit?”

  Kelly Jo’s answering look was a raised eyebrow.

  Jack turned to Wylie with a flat, “We need the fastest route to Covey’s Creek.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Wait a minute,” Kelly Jo protested. “Why are you asking him? You know that I know the way…”

  Jack’s withering look stopped her cold and she had the grace to blush even before he answered her. “Oh, yeah, I remember well how you left out the part of knowing the way to town when you sent me looking for Barbie clothes. So if it’s all the same to you…and even if it’s not…I’m asking Wylie.” Jack nodded at Kelly Jo, said, “Put the shoes on,” and told Wylie, “Why don’t you come with us? You can meet up with your mom and dad.”

  “I’ll get skinned if they see me in town,” Wylie told him. “Especially if they see you wearing my dad’s clothes.”

  Jack frowned. “We’ll pay your parents for everything when I win the contest,” he told the boy. “And I’ll personally tell your dad that I intend to make good for this stuff.”

  Kelly Jo touched Jack’s arm with a protesting, “Wait a minute!”

  Jack turned, then sighed. “Will you put those shoes on so we can get going? There’s very little daylight left. I’ll come up with a pair for me somehow when we get into town.”

  “Two things,” she told him flatly. “One, you’re not winning that contest. I am. Two, no, I won’t put on those shoes. I’m not walking that far over rough ground in heels.”

  “We don’t have time to fool around,” Jack informed her in a no-nonsense tone. “I’m sure you have a nice little voice, Kelly Jo, and there’s no doubt that you’ll knock everybody dead in that outfit…” he stopped, his throat drying as his gaze did a slow walk over her form. “But we can’t take the chance of not winning…we promised Wylie we’d pay…”

  Kelly Jo stared at Jack. “A nice little voice?” She shook her hea
d, but her eyes widened in disbelief and her voice shook with indignation. “You’ve got some crust, Jack! When did you hear me sing and make the judgment that our chances are better if you sing?”

  Jack threw a quick glance at Wylie and he felt his face redden when he again looked at a very ticked off Kelly Jo. “I didn’t hear you,” he admitted. “But, well…I did do pretty well for myself as a singer…”

  “How do you know that I didn’t?” she demanded.

  Well, she certainly had him there. All he could answer was, “I don’t.”

  “Then let’s stop wasting time with this dumb argument and get moving,” she snapped.

  Kelly Jo grabbed the bag in a huff, tossed in the black, backless heels and started marching down the road to follow the winding river shortcut into Covey’s Creek, her now nearly dry long blonde curls bouncing on the shoulders and back of the black leather jacket.

  Jack and Wylie exchanged looks, then Jack shrugged but hurried to catch up with Kelly Jo. She pulled the bag away from his grasp when he tried to take it from her and he raised his hands in conciliation.

  They walked in silence.

  Wylie had no difficulty keeping pace with them.

  If any of them remembered Wylie saying he didn’t dare encounter his parents no one said a word. Two sets of male eyes tried not to watch Kelly Jo’s unintentional hip sway as the threesome walked toward the water.

  Jack drew in, then blew out a deep breath, losing the battle to not watch Kelly Jo’s sensual, hypnotic movements ahead of him.

  He had a feeling he’d need to constantly envision the cold water of Covey’s Creek to keep down a steadily rising heat.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Despite Jack’s best intention to maintain a rolling conversation with Wylie, no matter how inane a topic they came up with, their words dwindled and finally faded altogether in the early evening breeze that accompanied their walk along merrily flowing Covey’s Creek.

  Jack swallowed hard, his eyes straying to the target he followed. He didn’t know how, but Kelly Jo managed to keep her stride as sensual as it was brisk, the more her hair dried the more it became a cascading mass of curls. Was it his imagination or had her sensuality quotient soared because she was barefoot? Despite being barefoot? He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He was poor on will power and long on… He was startled to collide with a suddenly stopped and turned Kelly Jo and his hands hurried to encircle her waist and keep her from falling at the impact. The feel of leather encased soft curves beneath his spread fingers was palpable.

  “Oh,” she cried as he steadied her.

  Jack gazed into those summer sky blue eyes and his heart skipped a beat. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  Wylie snickered and Jack threw him a scowl.

  But when Jack again met Kelly Jo’s eyes, hers held uncertainty.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, reluctantly releasing her, letting go of something that felt so right that it scared him.

  “I…I…” she trailed off.

  “Kelly Jo?” Jack frowned in concern, then whispered, “Is it Robert? Is he hiding in the bushes?”

  Kelly Jo gave Jack a blank look, then shook her head as though to clear it. “No…I just…wasn’t sure this was the right way into town. But I can see the high school through the trees up ahead, so I guess we’re almost there.”

  Jack stared at Kelly Jo. “What do you mean you weren’t sure this was the way? Robert said…” He halted and Robert’s words came back to him. Kelly Jo would gradually lose her memory, would forget everything little by little until she was reliving the event that she’d brought Jack here to help her change.

  A short time ago Jack learned, through Wylie, that both he and Kelly Jo were again human and visible to everyone. Now Kelly Jo’s memory loss had started.

  What would happen to Jack if she forgot him?

  Chapter Twenty

  Wylie’s voice sliced into Jack’s somber thought. “Is everything all right?”

  “Um…yeah,” Jack answered, turning to smile at Wylie. Jack’s heart was thumping and he couldn’t bring himself to look back into Kelly Jo’s eyes, to see in them that his own future wasn’t too sure right now. If Kelly Jo forgot who Jack was he couldn’t conceive how he’d be any help to her. Worse - her to him.

  Wylie’s impatience broke through with, “Let’s go. It must be close to time for the talent show and you still need to sign up.”

  Wylie strode around Jack and Kelly Jo to head toward the parking lot that edged the woods, the eastern boundary of the brick high school. Jack smothered a grin when he saw Wylie’s furtive look toward Kelly Jo’s figure, saw Wylie’s face redden and his eyes grow a little brighter, then avert his face and continue to where bright wildflowers divided the woods from the dirt and grass of the school grounds. “We can use the auditorium entrance.”

  Jack could hear, from the opened rear door, the faint sounds of a band warming up. Not too bad, overall, although a little tinny at times. The two story school was all lit up and tall pole lamps scattered throughout the grounds helped visitors find their way to various locations.

  Jack took Kelly Jo’s hand in his, to hasten toward where the woods emptied into the school yard, surprised to find her hand ice cold.

  Jack laughed and playfully rubbed her hand with his own. “I know your feet are dirty and need a good scrubbing before you put those heels on, but I hope they aren’t as cold as your hand.”

  Kelly Jo stared at him.

  “It was just a joke,” Jack said quickly. “You know, your hands are cold, so did you also get cold feet.” He sighed. “Okay, so it was a bad joke.”

  Still she said nothing.

  “What’s wrong?” Jack asked, then looked up to see Wylie running across the grass toward the front of the school. With a hasty look backward, as he disappeared around the front of the building Wylie gestured for Jack and Kelly Jo to stay where they were.

  Jack did.

  Kelly Jo didn’t.

  He clamped his lips together to stop his muttered oath and took off after Kelly Jo as she sprinted barefoot across the grass, the bag carrying her shoes swinging at her side.

  Jack’s conscious was annoyed, but his subconscious wondered how anyone could look so sexy running in leather. This outfit differed from the movie in that Kelly Jo wore leather pants and not the shimmery material Olivia Newton John’s movements brought to vivid life for John Travolta and every male who’d ever watched Grease. This leather jacket looked the same as what ‘Sandy’ wore, but Jack couldn’t tell if Kelly Jo sported the off-the-shoulder movie top beneath it since she kept the jacket fairly well closed.

  Jack was panting when he finally caught Kelly Jo at the front corner of the building. He pushed her against the wall and warned, “Wherever Wylie went, he’ll be back and for whatever reason, he didn’t want us going out front.”

  Cautiously, Jack peeked around the front of the building. A crowd was lining up to buy tickets from a vendor table. But what caught his eye was Wylie. He stood between two people, a petite, very pretty blonde and a tall, lanky man of whom he was the spitting image. They had to be his parents.

  “Oh, no,” Jack breathed in dismay.

  “Oh, yes!” Kelly Jo crowed.

  Startled by her glee that Wylie had been caught by his mom and dad, Jack turned to offer Kelly Jo a harsh word. But her attention was glued to a gathering further down the street.

  About two dozen motorcycles were parked in front of a barroom, The Shot Glass.

  Before Jack could say a word, Kelly Jo instructed, “Wait for me around back by the auditorium door. I’ll be back in a sec.”

  She took off running toward the motorcycles.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Seething, Jack grabbed the bag holding Kelly Jo’s heels just before it hit the ground and glared at her as she made her way down the street - to the adoration of every male eye in the vicinity.

  What in the world was she up
to now?

  But Jack had little time to dwell on Kelly Jo because Wylie had again caught his eye. Wylie had done a superb job of finagling his parents so their back was to Jack, and, thankfully, to Kelly Jo. There wasn’t a doubt in Jack’s mind that any trouble Wylie got into for coming to Covey’s Creek when he’d been told to stay home would pale in comparison to his mother’s reaction to Kelly Jo wearing her talent show costume.

  Wylie was visibly stunned to see Kelly Jo take off down the street, but then he unexpectedly turned toward Jack. And waved him over.

  Jack swallowed hard, but knew if there were any way he could extract Wylie from severe punishment, well, he definitely would do so.

  Jack, wearing Wylie’s dad’s tee shirt and jeans, left the safety of the building’s corner and strode to where they waited, his bare feet dirty from walking through the woods. He tried to look nonchalant. He knew he didn’t.

  Wylie’s face proved that Wylie was in trouble. “Jack, this is my dad and my mom.”

  Stony expressions told Jack not to offer a handshake. Instead, he nodded respectfully and said, “Ma’am”, to the very pretty blonde who didn’t come close to doing the same justice to the Grease outfit that Kelly Jo did, and offered a tense smile and, “Sir”, to Wylie’s dad.

  Wylie’s father’s tone was clipped. “I heard Wylie’s explanation. Now I want yours.”

  Jack shot a quick sidelong glance to Wylie, but Wylie gave nothing away. Jack’s mind raced, knowing Wylie would never have called Jack over unless he’d been forced into a corner. He would also bet Wylie now banked on Kelly Jo staying away.

  But Jack had learned the hard away about second-guessing what Kelly Jo might or might not do. He hoped Wylie didn���t get taught that lesson.

  “Well, sir,” Jack began, clearing his throat and thinking fast. “I was down at the creek and miscalculated whether or not the rope swing would make it across the water.” He gave his most disarming smile to Wylie’s mother. “Miscalculated badly. I ended up in the water. Soaked to the skin.” He nodded toward Wylie. “I don’t know what I’d have done if your son hadn’t come along. I talked him into letting me borrow clothes from your house and I promised to pay for them out of the prize money.” He looked at Wylie. “You did tell them I was on my way to the talent show when I fell in the creek, didn’t you?”