“Good,” Jay said a little hesitantly.
“Is something wrong?” Pete asked, his eyes searching.
“No, I’m fine,” Jay said the words, but even he could hear his lack of conviction.
“Come on, son. Spill it.” Pete leaned forward. “I know you can’t talk details, but I’ve seen enough action that I might be able to help.”
Jay took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “My last assignment didn’t go exactly as planned. At least my part in it didn’t go as I’d expected.”
“Collateral damage?”
Jay’s eyes narrowed, surprised that his father would make a correct assumption so quickly. “What makes you say that?”
“I saw your workout today. You obviously weren’t injured, and you haven’t mentioned any concern for any of your teammates.” Pete rested his elbows on his knees, and his eyes met Jay’s. “Look, I don’t know what you saw, but I can tell you this. Put it behind you. Whatever it was.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“I know,” Pete acknowledged. “I saw some things over the years that I had a hard time getting over. Sometimes I even had to get help to shake some things loose.”
“You? You went to counseling?”
“A time or two.” Pete shrugged noncommittally. “The career you’ve chosen is demanding. The physical part is easy compared to the mental side of things. Physically, you train for whatever you might encounter. Emotionally, you can’t always be sure you’re ready. If something’s beating down on you, figure out a way to let it go. If you can’t, then go get some help.”
“I’ve already done the counseling thing,” Jay admitted. “I think now I just need some time to sort things out.”
“If you say so, but if you need to talk, I’m here.” Pete pushed up out of his chair. “I’m hitting the sack. Morning comes early around here.”
Jay’s eyebrows lifted. “How early?”
“Four.” Pete shot him a grin. “You are going to run with me in the morning, aren’t you?”
“I think you’re tougher on me than my commanding officer is.”
“Don’t want you to get lazy while you’re on leave.”
“No chance of that.”
* * *
Carina stifled a yawn as she sat down at her usual poolside table and set up her laptop. For several days now, she hadn’t seen any sign of Nick, and she was starting to think that maybe he had taken the hint and headed back to Chicago. She had said as much to Lou last night, but he hadn’t been convinced.
A man’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. “Do you work all the time?”
Carina lifted a hand to her racing heart and turned to see Jay standing behind her. She didn’t know how he’d managed to sneak up on her, but she was sure she didn’t like it. And she definitely didn’t like the way he was looking at her, as though she were a piece of art and he was trying to decide how she would look hanging on his wall.
Annoyed at the way her shoulders had tensed, Carina willed herself to relax. Her voice was cool and a little distant when she spoke. “Just something to pass the time while I wait for my sister.”
“So what do you do?”
“I’m a buyer for a local department store.” Carina glanced at her watch. “It’s easiest to deal with our suppliers in Europe this time of the day.”
Rather than take the hint that she wanted to be alone, Jay seemed to take her response as an invitation. He pulled out a chair and sat beside her. “Sounds interesting.”
Carina couldn’t say why Jay’s presence put her on edge, but something about him unsettled her. The fact that Bianca wouldn’t stop talking about him the night before hadn’t helped, and she wasn’t about to admit that she had caught herself thinking about him.
She wouldn’t consider that his appearance had captured her attention. Instead, she liked to believe that any thought she had given Jay was because of the way Pete had transformed with his arrival.
She also had to admit that the contrasts in him pulled at her. He seemed so carefree, so at ease with himself and everyone around him. Except there was that troubled look in his eyes. No one else seemed to have noticed it, but she had seen it yesterday in that unguarded moment before he dove into the pool.
She let her eyes skim over his attire, his plain blue shorts and his washed-out gray T-shirt. His feet were bare. Then she looked up at his face again and noticed his cocky expression. “I doubt you would find fashion interesting.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Jay gave her a half grin. “I do like your style.”
Before Carina could respond, Jay stood up and stripped off his T-shirt. That same hint of vulnerability was back in his eyes when he looked down at her again. “Don’t work too hard.”
Carina shook her head as though she could dismiss him on a whim. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him drop his shirt onto a chair and walk over to the side of the pool. She heard a few moans from the swimmers when Pete gave them their warm-up. Satisfied that she wouldn’t have any more interruptions, Carina forced herself to focus on her computer screen and get to work.
* * *
Jay pulled up in front of his parents’ house and put his car in park before looking down at his cell phone to see the text message from Seth. He wasn’t sure what to think about how consistently Seth had been checking in on him since they had all gone on leave. At least twice a day, he received a call or text message from him. Usually it was a just checking in type of message, but this one wasn’t like the others. The message was too long for a light message, the characters scrolling into a second text. He read through it, his eyes narrowing.
This isn’t an attempt to convert you, but I read something and thought it might help. Moroni chapter 7. It’s on page 521 of the Book of Mormon. Read it.
Jay shook his head. Seth seemed to think that the answers to everything were within the pages of his scriptures. He started to dismiss it and then thought of the talks he had listened to last Sunday. Some of what the speakers had said made sense. With a sigh, he opened up the glove compartment and fished out one of the copies of the Book of Mormon his teammates had given him.
He opened it up to page 521 and started skimming. The first few passages didn’t really make sense to him, but by the time he reached the end of the page, he found himself engrossed. The passages talked of good and evil, offering him clarity unlike anything he had experienced before. He turned the page and continued to read. Then he stumbled upon a passage that stopped him. He read it a second time, slowly absorbing the words: For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil . . .
Jay thought of the images of 9/11. He remembered the shock that had rippled through the nation, everyone stunned that anyone would want to inflict such harm on so many innocent people. Then the image of the woman he had shot flashed into his mind. She had chosen to die, he thought suddenly. He had no idea if she had shared Osama bin Laden’s hatred for Americans or if she was a victim of circumstance. Regardless, it had been her choice to step into the line of fire, to take the bullets meant for another.
His emotions oddly unsettled, Jay closed the blue book. He heard his father’s car pull up beside his and quickly stuffed the book beneath the passenger seat. He wasn’t sure why he had followed Seth’s instructions to read the passage he’d suggested, but he certainly didn’t want to try to explain it to his father.
He climbed out of the car and glanced up at the peeling trim on the house. “Mom wasn’t kidding when she said she wanted the trim painted, was she?”
“Nope.” Pete slapped Jay on the back. “Come on. I’ll help you get the ladder out, and then you can brood about how you’re going to get that girl to go out with you.”
“What girl?” Jay turned to look at his dad. “What are you talking about?”
“Carina Channing.”
“I just met her.”
“So?”
“So what makes you think I’m planning on asking her out?”
His father shot him a knowing look. “Because I didn’t raise you to be an idiot. Besides, I saw you talking to her.”
“I was just talking to her. I didn’t ask her out,” Jay told him. “For all I know, she might be seeing someone.”
“No, she’s single,” Pete said with conviction. “And she could use a little fun in her life.”
“She doesn’t act like she’s looking for fun right now. In case you didn’t notice, she isn’t exactly approachable.”
“Maybe you need to change your approach.”
“You aren’t really going to give me dating advice, are you?” Jay winced. “I am twenty-seven years old. I think I can figure out how to ask a girl out without my father’s help.”
“Carina’s a bit more complicated than the last girl you brought home.”
“I’m only home for two weeks. I’m not looking for complicated right now.”
“Son, trust me when I tell you that anytime you’re dealing with women, life gets complicated.”
10
Carina scrolled through the calendar on her phone and considered whether she could have Bianca catch a ride home tonight with her friend Amber. She had a few errands she wanted to run before heading over to the office, but she wasn’t sure she trusted Bianca to go straight home if she didn’t take her there herself.
She glanced out at the pool, her eyes landing on Jay. He looked up at her and gave her a lazy smile. He had barely spoken to her after practice that morning, and when he had arrived for the afternoon practice, he had only offered a simple hello. After the way he had made a point to talk to her earlier, she thought for sure he was going to ask her out. Not that she would have said yes, of course.
Determined to finish her preparations for her upcoming sales meeting, Carina shifted her attention back to her laptop. She scanned through the dozen e-mails from various designers, all people pushing for her to pick up their excess products. She caught herself mentally editing others’ creations and tried not to be annoyed because she knew she could do better than most of these designers. Instead, she reminded herself that she was lucky to have a job in the fashion industry at all, especially after two moves in two years.
She indulged in her brief fantasy of returning to the Fashion Institute in Manhattan, wondering what her life would be like right now if she were living in the apartment her mom had planned to give her, if she had just completed her master’s degree as she had intended.
Pete’s voice interrupted her little daydream, and a glance at her watch told her practice would end shortly. She pulled her focus back to her work, putting the final touches on her report as Bianca and the other swimmers climbed out of the pool and headed for the locker room.
She was so engrossed in the latest sales data for accessories that she barely noticed the sound of another car pulling up. Then she heard a car door slam. Her heartbeat quickened when she glanced toward the parking lot and saw Nick standing beside his car, his eyes searching.
Behind her, she could hear the swimmers emerging from the locker room, followed by Bianca’s carefree laugh. Bianca! Nick wouldn’t necessarily recognize Bianca, not unless he saw her with Carina.
Carina quickly packed up her bag, leaving the side pocket open for easier access to her handgun.
Before Bianca could approach her, Carina started for the parking lot without looking back at the pool. She crossed to where Nick was now standing beside his car so she could keep as much distance as possible between him and her younger sister.
“What are you doing here?” Carina asked in Italian.
“I wanted to talk to you. Without Lou around.”
“Why?”
“I told you before. Your father sent me here to protect you.”
“From whom?” Carina asked. “Who are these former clients of my father’s? What are their names?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Then I don’t have any reason to talk to you.”
“Carina, your grandfather is dead.”
“What?” Carina’s stomach clutched. She thought of the man who used to swing her up onto his shoulders when she was a little girl, his thick Italian accent filled with laughter. Logically, she knew he had a darker side. She had even seen the way others cowered when his voice took on that hard edge when he wasn’t pleased. For now though, all she chose to remember was the good. “What happened?”
“He hadn’t been well for a long time.” Nick motioned to his car. “Look, it’s time you come back. Things have changed, and you need to take your place in the family.”
Carina’s jaw clenched, and she could feel her face pale. “I don’t need to do anything with that side of my family. They’re all dead to me now.”
“That’s not how they see things.” Nick stepped closer and gripped her arm. “Don’t make things difficult. Be a good girl and come with me. Your uncle can explain everything once we get there.”
“Let go of me,” Carina said evenly. “Or you’ll have plenty of explaining to do after I call the cops.”
Nick’s eyes darkened, his stance now threatening. His voice was low, even when he leaned forward and spoke with certainty. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Despite the ripple of fear that crept through her, Carina called his bluff. “Won’t I?” She pulled out her cell phone and punched in a nine and a one. She could hear Bianca approaching, her voice filled with humor as she talked animatedly with one of the other swimmers. Urgency filled her, a sense of panic snaking through her as she prayed she could get Nick to leave before Bianca gave herself away.
Nick snatched the phone out of her hand and immediately cleared the numbers she had punched in. Then he looked at her with an annoyingly amused expression. “You’ve changed, Carina. More than I expected.”
“It’s been ten years,” Carina reminded him, trying to sound confident and casual, fear still twisting her stomach. “Now, would you please leave? Just leave me alone.”
“You may think that’s what you want, but it isn’t.” Nick ran a hand down her arm. “Trust me.”
“Hey, Carina.” Bianca stepped beside her and looked at Nick with curiosity. “Who’s your friend?”
“Bianca, you’ve grown up,” Nick said smoothly before Carina could answer, now switching to English.
“How do you know my name?”
“Our families are old friends, from a long time ago.” Nick glanced down at Carina’s phone and started tapping on the touch screen. Then he handed the phone back to Carina. “There. Now you have my number.”
Carina snatched it out of his hand. “Good-bye, Nick.”
Nick winked at her flirtatiously and slid behind the wheel of his car. “See you later.”
Bianca waited until Nick had pulled away before turning to look at Carina suspiciously. “Are you going out with him?”
“No.” Carina shook her head vehemently. “Definitely not.”
“He sure acted like you are.”
“That’s all it was. An act.”
“You know, you are allowed to have a life,” Bianca said in her straight-forward way. “I’m only two years from going to college. Maybe you should stop worrying about taking care of me and Gianna and start thinking about what you want in your own life.”
“I have what I want.”
“Please.” Bianca rolled her eyes. “Living in a tiny apartment, creating designs that no one ever sees, except when you’re wearing them. That’s not the life you want, and you know it.” Bianca shot her a knowing look and added, “I don’t even think you would go to church anymore if it weren’t for me.”
Desperate to change the subject, Carina noticed Pete heading their way with Jay. “What’s the deal with Jay practicing with you guys? Did he used to train with Pete?”
“He’s Pete’s son,” Bianca told her. “He’s just home for a visit.”
Carina looked over at him again to find him staring at her. She felt her cheeks flush, and when she spoke again, her words were a little sharper than she int
ended. “Come on, Bianca. We need to get home. I have work to do.”
“What else is new?” Bianca muttered and climbed into the car.
Ignoring the comment, Carina set her briefcase in the backseat and slid the key into the ignition. Her little run-in with Nick had put her behind. Now she was going to have to hurry if she was going to be able to drop Bianca off at their apartment before her sales meeting with the area store managers and her boss, the district manager.
She turned the key in the ignition but nothing happened. Her eyebrows drew together and she tried again, her heart dropping when again the engine failed to start. Even though her boss was usually great about letting her choose her own hours, their Wednesday meeting was the one thing that was set in stone. She had to be there.
With a silent prayer, she looked heavenward and tried once again. Her heart sank even lower. First Nick and now this. Today was just not her day.
11
Jay watched Carina and Bianca get out of their car. They were quite a pair, the stunning brunette and the willowy redhead.
“Looks like they’re having some trouble,” Pete commented after he saw where Jay’s attention was focused. When Carina struggled to open the hood of her car, Pete started toward them and called out, “Hey, Carina. Is everything okay?”
Disappointment and frustration showed on her face, her eyes darting to meet Jay’s for a moment before she responded. “It won’t start.”
“Let’s take a look.” Pete reached under the hood and released the latch so he could open it wide. “You’ve met my son Jay, right?”
“Yes, we’ve met,” Carina said politely, even though her attention was still on her car.
Jay stepped beside his father. He winced when he caught a glimpse of what was beneath the hood. Corrosion covered the battery, and he doubted the car had had an oil change, much less a tune-up, for at least a year.
“What do you think? The battery?”
“That’s where I’d start.” Jay nodded and looked over at Carina. “I can try cleaning it off first. If that doesn’t work, we can run out and get you a new battery.”
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