by Cathie Linz
“I’ve told you before how much Tanya’s family loves Ashley,” Bruce went on to add. “And since we found out that Tanya can’t have kids of her own...”
She can’t have my daughter! The words screamed through Kayla’s head. Ashley isn’t something Bruce’s rich wife can buy, like that Mercedes she just had to have last month.
“Think about it,” Bruce said before hanging up, leaving Kayla a nervous wreck.
Despite her best efforts, her emotional state was apparent in her voice when the phone rang again seconds later.
“H-h-hello?” She hated the nervous stutter.
“Kayla? You sound funny. What’s wrong?” Jack demanded. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he repeated.
“How did you get my home phone number?”
“You’re listed in the phone book. Now tell me, what’s wrong?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Am I going to have to come over there and drag it out of you?” His muttered comment contained more frustration than menace. “What’s the problem?”
“Gee, where do I start?” she mockingly pondered while fingering the telephone cord with her free hand. “Maybe I should begin with the impossible client who threw a cleaning crew out this morning, a cleaning crew I do a lot of work with, I might add.”
“Yeah, well I’ve given things some thought and—”
“You’ve decided to let the cleaning crew come back?”
“No, this has nothing to do with the cleaning crew. This has to do with the fact that I’m not really your client. My uncle hired you, as you’ve often pointed out. So kissing me wasn’t breaking some cardinal rule or anything.”
“You kissed me,” she reminded him.
“And you shouldn’t treat it as if we did something illegal.”
“Speaking of which, I got a ticket for double-parking in front of your building.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Me, too.” She couldn’t really afford that chunk of change out of this week’s budget.
“But not about kissing you. I’m not sorry about that.”
“I’m so glad one of us isn’t,” she retorted.
“Now you’re sounding more like your old self.”
“You’ve only known me two days. That’s not long enough to know what my old self is like.”
“Sure it is. I’m a good judge of people.”
“Sure you are.” She had to smile as she continued fingering the phone cord. “That’s why you thought I was an exotic dancer when I first came to your place.”
“Actually first I thought you were a burglar, remember?”
“My daughter remembers, all right. And she wasn’t amused.”
“Yeah, I got that impression.”
“I suppose I should tell you before Corky does, that Ashley goes to your mom’s day care center.”
“You’re kidding?” There was a moment of silence before Jack asked, “So I suppose the two of you talked about me?”
“You think Corky and I had nothing better to do?”
“I think you talked about me. What I want to know is, what did she say?”
“That you’re incredibly stubborn.”
“Yeah and what else?”
“Why? What are you afraid she said?”
“Afraid? Me? The word is not in my vocabulary.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“What did you hear?” His voice suddenly had a hard edge to it.
“I heard that children scare you,” she teased him.
“Little rug rats don’t scare me,” he scoffed, but there was no amusement in his inflection. “But apparently I scare them. I didn’t mean to make your daughter cry.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“So are you giving up on me?” he bluntly asked her.
“Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn’t?”
“That kiss.”
“I should think that would be a reason to avoid you.”
“Ah, but then you’d admit to being afraid of me. And you’re not.” The caressive warmth of his voice flowed over her. “You might be afraid of whatever it is that’s between us, but you’re not afraid of me.”
“Oh? And how do you know that?”
“Because you threatened to break my other leg, remember?”
“I shouldn’t have said that,” she said regretfully. “I should have reacted in a more mature manner.”
“I like the way you reacted. I also like the way you kiss. The question is, what do you like?”
“Peace and quiet. And I don’t think that’s something you can offer me.”
“Probably not,” he acknowledged. “But I can give you something even better.”
“And what’s that?”
“My Irish stew and a broad shoulder to lean on.”
The idea of really being able to lean on someone else for strength actually brought tears to her eyes. There were certainly times when Kayla wished there was someone else to help her make the million and one decisions involved with raising a child. But Jack was even more of a novice in that department than she was. She couldn’t afford any more mistakes in her life.
“Come on, what do you say?” Jack softly prompted her.
“I say that it’s best if we keep things businesslike between us. Are you going to be home tomorrow?”
“Sure. Where else would I go? We’ve got ice-coated snow out there and they’re expecting more later this week.”
“The weather forecasters are full of prunes,” Kayla retorted. “They said we’d get a huge snowstorm today and we barely got a dusting tonight. This is the fifth time a storm has missed us this winter. I’m beginning to think they’re just using the threat of snowstorms to raise their ratings.”
“What made you so cynical? Or should I say who?”
“You should say good night. It’s late.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Yes, he would. And she could only hope that by then she had her act together. Because that kiss had already proved how vulnerable she was to Jack’s particular brand of charm. And with Bruce breathing down her neck, this was no time for her to mess up.
“He did what?” Diane asked Kayla in the tiny offices of Errands Unlimited the next morning. The office space was only large enough for two desks, a computer, two filing cabinets, three chairs and half a dozen Boston ferns—a passion of Diane’s. The single window had a western exposure and provided plenty of sunshine, which was a blessing in the winter and a pain in the summer.
“He kicked out the cleaning crew,” Kayla repeated.
“No, I meant the part before that. I could have sworn you said Jack Elliott kissed you.”
“He did.”
“The swine.” This was Diane’s favorite expression of disgust, culled from her many viewings of the Beatles’ classic movie A Hard Day’s Night. Her mom had been an avid Beatles fan and had raised her daughter to be the same.
Diane had grown up next door to Kayla and they’d known each other since they were both six. It had been Diane’s idea for Kayla to join her in this business venture. Diane liked to say that she provided the verve and Kayla provided the common sense. They’d each put up equal amounts of start-up money, and this year their hard work was finally starting to pay off.
“How dare he take advantage of you that way!”
“Diane, the guy has a broken leg. It wasn’t exactly a situation of being taken advantage of.”
“Uh-oh. That means you liked it. Jeez, Kayla do you know what this means?”
“That I’m in trouble?”
“This is the first guy you’ve liked kissing since your divorce.”
“Keeping track, are you?”
“You bet I am. I want you to be as happy as George and I are.”
“Impossible. You two were made for each other.”
“And what about this Jack? What’s he like?”
“The complete opposite of me. He’s popular with women, has them com
ing out of the woodwork practically. Not that you can see much of the woodwork, his place is pretty messy at the moment. His mom runs the day care center I take Ashley to, do you believe that?”
“So Jack must be good with kids, right?”
“Not really,” Kayla ruefully admitted. “He didn’t exactly make a good first impression with Ashley.”
“I remember, you told me he tried to clobber you with his crutch.”
“That’s right.”
“He didn’t try that again to get you to kiss him, did he?” Diane demanded.
“Of course not.”
“Do you want me to take over his account?”
“No, I can handle this,” Kayla said firmly. “I have a plan.”
“Oh yeah? This I’ve got to hear.”
“I’m going to be pleasant and cheerful. No more arguments and no more kisses. I’m going to keep my distance.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Diane agreed. “We’ll see how well it works.”
Kayla’s plan did work. For the next eight days—she was counting—she didn’t have a single argument with Jack. No kisses, either. She remained pleasant and cheerful despite the fact that Jack was neither, although he didn’t blow up at her again as he had before.
Instead he’d give her these long heated looks that were potent enough to melt steel. Kayla told herself she should have been insulted, but she wasn’t. Instead she was enticed, tempted to daydream about things she couldn’t have but kept on wanting, anyway. A knight in shining armor, one who would slay a few dragons for her, just to give her a break from slaying them all by herself.
She should know better. Knights, like the dinosaurs Ashley liked so much, were extinct.
“You’re staring at me again,” she said in exasperation on the ninth day as she handed Jack the receipts for his paid utility bills. They were sitting in his living room, he on the couch while she perched on a chair a respectable distance away. Not an especially romantic setting. But the heated hunger in his eyes was enough to transform their prosaic setting into a romantic, candlelit idyll. The space between them practically sizzled with something she was afraid to name, a powerful blend of anticipation and sensual tension.
“I like looking at you,” Jack declared, his voice as powerfully seductive as his gaze had been. “Is there a law against that?”
“There should be,” she muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?”
“That you should be more careful about the due dates on your utility bills. They were just about ready to turn off your electricity.”
“I’ve had other things on my mind.” His look told her that he’d had her on his mind.
“Ernie told me that you went out yesterday.”
“I was getting cabin fever being cooped up in here for days,” Jack said.
“It’s been twelve days.”
“Feels like ninety,” he muttered.
“So did you enjoy getting out?”
“Oh, yeah, it was a real blast,” he noted sarcastically. “I had to rest on Ernie’s chair in the lobby. Then I nearly broke my other leg when I went outside and slid on an icy patch on the sidewalk.”
“Did you hurt anything?”
“Just my pride.”
“And heaven knows you’ve got plenty of that.”
“I’m not the only one,” Jack retorted. “You’ve got plenty of pride yourself.”
“It comes in handy sometimes,” Kayla replied. Changing the subject, she added, “The place looks much better since you decided to let the cleaning service in.”
“That was a one-shot deal,” he warned her. “I just got a little behind on stuff. I’m not a total slob.”
“So your mom told me.”
“Aha! I knew you two talked about me.”
“I still can’t get over the fact that she’s your mom,” Kayla admitted without thinking.
“Why? Because we’re so different? That happens when you’re adopted.”
“I understand your parents died in a car accident.”
“Yeah, when I was nine.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged off her sympathy with a wolfish smile. “I’ll tell you what I’m sorry about.”
“What?”
“The fact that you’re way over there and I’m over here.” Jack’s smile turned downright wicked as he patted the couch seat next to him invitingly. He looked so dam cocky and sure of himself. And sexy as all get-out.
“What’s the matter?” Kayla mockingly retorted. “Have the other women in your life taken off on you?”
“I don’t care about any other women,” Jack replied.
But Kayla just laughed and shook her head at him. “You’re good, I’ll give you that.”
Jack loved her laugh. She was wearing her preppie outfit again, the one with the angora sweater and black tights. He didn’t know which skirt he liked better, this plaid one or the denim one she’d worn when he’d kissed her.
He only knew he couldn’t go much longer without kissing her again.
Jack was used to moving fast—it was a requirement when fighting fire. So was a clear head.
But he hadn’t been really lucid since meeting Kayla, and he certainly hadn’t had a sane thought since kissing her. He’d had plenty of cold showers, though. In fact, he’d gone through an entire box of garbage bags to protect his cast.
Too bad there was no way to protect his peace of mind. Only one thing would do that—having Kayla in his bed. And that prospect raised almost as many problems as it solved. Because Kayla wasn’t the type of woman you went to bed with and then let go. She was the kind you got serious about and getting serious had never been his forte.
“I’ll match your bet and raise you ten bucks,” Jack said, before reaching into a nearby bowl for a handful of beer nuts. The poker game was a weekly ritual with some of the guys from the firehouse, who treated it with all the reverence of a religious ceremony.
This week the game was supposed to take place at Boomer’s place, but it was being painted today, so they’d come to Jack’s apartment instead.
“How can you drink that stuff?” Sam Cernigliano asked Jack, grimacing and pointing to the Irish ale. “It tastes like camel urine.”
“Drunk much of that, have you?” Jack countered.
“You should talk, Sam,” Boomer inserted. “Those cheap cigars you smoke are enough to make a camel sick.”
“Like those skinny imitations you smoke are any better,” Sam retorted.
“At least they don’t turn the air blue.”
“Nah, your language does that. Read ’em and weep, fellas,” Sam said as he set down his cards.
Sure enough, the sound of Boomer’s creative curses filled the air.
“Now you know why he’s called Boomer,” Jack noted at the roaring sound of his friend’s voice. “And, Sam, usually that would be a very good hand. But last I heard, a royal flush beats a full house.”
Now Sam’s curses joined Boomer’s.
Jack just leaned forward to rake in his haul and smiled.
“You’ve got the devil’s own luck,” Sam complained. “You’ve got more women than you know what to do with and now you clean us out at cards. I tell ya, it’s not fair.”
Jack’s smile widened as he said, “Life’s not fair, Sam.”
“You know how many times I’ve broken a bone?” Sam asked. “Go ahead, ask me.”
“I don’t have to ask you,” Jack retorted, “you’ve told us this story about a million times.”
“Six times. Six times I’ve broken bones. And never once did a busty redhead sign my cast. How many women have signed that thing now?”
“Over a dozen, at last count,” Boomer, a bachelor without Jack’s golden touch, said gloomily.
Jack joined in his friend’s laughter even as he remembered how Kayla had refused to add her signature to the many already there. I don’t like crowds, she’d reminded him.
“Yeah, well, we’ve all got our burdens to b
ear,” Jack said, both in answer to Boomer’s comment and to his own turbulent thoughts. “Speaking of which, you’re awful quiet tonight, Darnell.”
“I’m worried about my wife,” the young black man admitted.
“The baby’s not due for another three weeks. You’ve got plenty of time yet,” Sam, the oldest of the foursome, said with the authority of one who knows. “I’ve got five kids, I know about these things,”
“It looks like the snow is starting to really come down out there.” Darnell’s voice remained worried.
“You’ve got a four-wheel-drive vehicle that could make it through two feet of snow,” Jack pointed out.
“And you’ve got your beeper turned on so your wife can reach you,” Boomer noted. “And her mother is staying with her while you’re here. What more could you want?”
As if on cue, Darnell’s beeper went off. He lurched from the metal folding chair and raced to the phone like a sprint runner.
“Yes?” he panted into the phone once he reached his wife. “Judas H. Priest, yes, yes, I’ll be right there!” Turning to his buddies, Darnell shouted, “She’s in labor! I gotta go. I’m gonna be a daddy!” Darnell dropped the phone into the salsa dip as he headed for the door, without his coat.
“Yo, Darnell! Hang on a second. Here.” Sam grabbed his arm and handed the overcoat to him. “Stay calm, buddy.”
“What about the poker game?” Boomer was bemoaning.
Kayla was about to knock on Jack’s door when it was abruptly yanked open by a young black man wearing a Chicago Fire Department T-shirt. He almost ran her over in his hurry to depart.
“Whoa, where’s the fire?” Kayla joked as she juggled Ashley on her hip. The smell of cigar smoke inside the apartment had her waving her free hand in front of her face and wrinkling her nose.
Ashley mimicked her mom’s wrinkled nose and added a “Yucky!” to boot.
At the same time, an older man near the window he’d just opened a bit was saying, “Hey, it really is snowing out there! I think we better get out of here while the getting is good.”
“What are you doing out in such bad weather?” Jack asked Kayla without getting up from his seat at the card table.
