Jack Kursed (38 page)

"I don't believe you," he said. "Stuck
in the hospital with a soft-cast, and you don't wear shorts a
single time."

"I did that on purpose just to piss
you off."

"Well, it's working.
Fall's coming soon. I have to get you on the beach, see those legs
in all their glory just once."

She patted her crutches behind the
seat. "That might be a while. And why is this only going one way?
When are you gonna walk around the playground with no shirt
on?"

"That might lead to some jail
time."

He laughed, but saw her
staring at him out of the corner of his eye. She was semi-serious,
and just as attracted to him as he was to her.

She leaned up in her seat and looked
out the window as Jack turned down another street.

"Uh, where are you going?
This isn't the way to my house."

"Took you long enough to
notice."

Erica finally recognized where they
were heading. She looked at Jack with confusion as he parked in
front of his house.

"What are we doing here?"

He left the truck and
grabbed her crutches. He couldn't stop smiling as he circled around
and helped her climb out.

"I figured a quick lunch, maybe watch
a movie."

"Jack, come on. I need to get to my
house and take a shower."

"You're gonna stay here until you can
go back to work."

She leaned her weight on her crutches
as Jack took a step back. "What?"

"I've already cleared it with Tiffany.
She thinks it's cool to have another lady in the house."

"You want me to stay here? As in eat
and sleep?"

"Wow, you really did
graduate college."

Erica wasn't amused. "Jack, I am not
comfortable with this at all."

"Believe me, me neither. I've already
got an eight-year-old estrogen machine running around. The thought
of two terrifies me."

"I'm serious. You're my
friend, probably my best friend. But I don't want to live with
you."

"It's only temporary. And I love your
honesty, I really do. But I don't like the idea of you on the other
side of town hobbling around your house by yourself."

Irritation was written all
over her face, but there was a mix of pleasant surprise as
well.

"I'm a grown woman."

He took the chance to look her up and
down and let out a small whistle. "That you are."

She finally broke into a
smile, and tried to turn her head to keep him from seeing. "Well,
do I at least get my own room?"

"Already taken care of. You're
upstairs next to Tiffany. The bedroom's made up. I went with just
white sheets. Didn't think you were a fan of Spongebob."

"For the record, I still don't like
this."

"For the record, I really don't
care."

They ate lunch before Jack
showed her the bedroom. He showed her where he kept the towels and
where she could put her dirty clothes. She leaned in the bedroom
doorway with Jack next to her and noticed the piles of clothes
waiting for her at the foot of the bed.

"Remember when you wanted me to pick
up a change of clothes for you? I picked up about a week's
worth."

She leaned toward him with
the intention of kissing him on the cheek. Her right crutch slipped
out from under her, sending her into his arms. The crutch slid
across the floor as Jack embraced her, their faces inches
apart.

"Now we're getting somewhere," he
said, smiling.

She balanced her weight on
one foot while keeping a hand on his chest. She made no effort to
push away. Jack enjoyed the closeness, much more than any
one-night-stand he had in the past.

"That was an accident."

"Sure it was. That's what they all
say. Everyone woman that ever comes over here pretends to fall so
I'll catch them."

"Is that so?" she said,
still holding onto him. "Exactly how many women do you
entertain?"

"Actually, you're the first in a long
time. The last time I let a woman spend the night..."

Jack trailed off as
memories two centuries old settled in his mind. He was so busy
preparing a place for Erica to sleep that he actually
forgot
he was letting
her sleep in his house. The last woman who slept in his home was
Angela, and that didn't turn out very well.

"Jack?" she said, squeezing his arm.
"Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, fine." He backed away
slightly and broke contact, killing any moment they were having.
"Just, uh, lost in thought."

He turned away from her and picked up
her crutch. He was near the steps when she spoke again.

"She hurt you bad, didn't
she?"

He froze. No one had ever
asked him that before. The reason no one asked was because Jack
never showed enough of himself for anyone to wonder. Erica was
either very perceptive, or they were closer than he
thought.

"She destroyed me," he
said, surprised at himself that he was answering honestly. "But I'm
all better now."

She leaned back against the wall and
folded her arms. "For the most part, but you have your moments. I
can see it in your eyes. Just a quick flash of pain here and
there."

He smiled as he handed her
the crutch. "Hmm. If you want, I can lie on the couch with my head
in your lap, and we can pretend you're my doctor."

She surprised him with a smile as she
made her way past him to the steps. "Now that might be
fun."

They watched TV and talked
on the couch for another hour before it was time to pick up
Tiffany. Erica stayed at the house while Jack drove to school.
Tiffany was a bundle of energy sprinting across the playground. She
chased some of her classmates as Jack leaned against the fence
laughing. They walked to the truck, Tiffany talking the entire
time. Jack was a good listener, but only picked up half of her
words. He thought he heard something about an A on a test and
winning at dodge-ball. She was still talking as he pulled out onto
the street.

"Tiffany, slow down a second," he
said. "It's okay to breathe."

"Sorry. I'm just so happy."

"Well, good. But listen, Erica is at
the house now. I picked her up from the hospital today. Is that
still okay with you?"

"Yeah. She can stay in my
room if she wants to."

"She'll be taking the room next to
yours. It's only for a little while, until her foot's
better."

"I know. You told me
before."

"I just want to be clear.
This doesn't change how you act with her. She's still your teacher.
I like Erica, but she's only a guest. She's a guest so hot she can
melt ice, but still...it's our house-"

Jack stopped as Tiffany waited for him
to continue. The words caught in his throat, and he was unable to
speak as his mind raced.

Our
house. When did it become our house, and
not
his
house? He
looked at Tiffany, who was shifting in her seat and watching him
with eager eyes. When did the child become such a part of his life
that he thought in terms of
our
?

He knew at that moment
Tiffany wouldn’t be leaving.

"Are you done?" Tiffany
asked.

"Yeah."

"I understand. I’ll treat
Miss Hernandez real nice."

"I know you will."

*****

Jack cooked steak with
baked potatoes as Tiffany worked on her homework at the bar. He
smiled to himself when Erica made her way from the couch to sit
next to her and help. The two laughed and told jokes as they
worked, and hearing their laughter made Jack laugh. He was no
longer just killing time. He was happy.

They watched TV after
dinner. Tiffany made sure to sit in the middle between Jack and
Erica, so she could be close to both of them. She truly did like
her teacher, and wouldn’t stop talking to her during
commercials.

Jack said very little,
lost in his own thoughts. His thinking, his plans, had changed. It
wasn’t simply from Tiffany being kidnapped, but the impact she’d
had on his life. He knew what he had to do.

Erica leaned over Tiffany
and touched Jack’s shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Strangely, I’ve
never been better."

She gave him that smile and held his
gaze a moment longer than necessary. He returned the smile as
Tiffany snuggled up next to him.

"You could beat up the bad
guy and the detective both, couldn’t you?" she said, pointing at
the TV.

He shifted uncomfortably, afraid she
was going to mention their adventure in the park the other
night.

"Uh, maybe."

He didn’t keep track of
time, but after two yawns from Tiffany, knew it was time for bed.
Turning the TV off, he gave Tiffany’s shoulders a gentle
squeeze.

"Bedtime for you."

"I don’t want to go to
bed. I want to stay up with you and Miss Hernandez."

"That’s not happening.
You’ve got school tomorrow, and you’re hard enough to wake up as it
is."

"Carry me."

"You’ve got two working
legs."

"I wish I could say that," Erica
said.

"Please? Carry me up the
stairs."

Jack sighed and scooped Tiffany up in
one arm. She rested her head on his shoulder as he walked up the
stairs. Erica hobbled behind them, wanting to change clothes in her
bedroom.

He joined Tiffany in her room after
she brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas. She was
crawling under the blankets as Jack pulled a book from her
backpack.

"Jack!" she shouted with
wide eyes. "You’re gonna read me a bedtime story?"

"Nope. I will one
day. But tonight, you’re gonna read
me
one. Just for a few
minutes."

Tiffany scooted over so he
could join her. He kicked his feet up and laced his hands behind
his head as she read from the book. Erica was in the bathroom
across the hall, brushing her teeth. As she headed back to her room
she stopped in the doorway a moment to watch the adorable
scene.

Jack imagined this was
when a normal parent would doze off, get tired. He would never get
tired, and would never sleep. He would never have a bedroom for
Tiffany to retreat to when she had a bad dream. There were parts of
himself he would always have to keep from her. He would never be a
normal parent. He didn’t care.

Tiffany’s voice grew soft
after ten minutes of reading. Jack took the book from her and set
it on the bed.

"Tiffany, I know you’re
tired, but I’ve got something I want you to think about, and we can
talk about it more tomorrow."

"What’s that?"

"I know we’ve talked
before about finding you a family."

Tiffany stiffened next to
him and held her breath. Her hands turned into fists.

"Is it time for me to leave?" she
asked, her voice shaking.

"Actually...and I want you to think
real hard about this, I want you to live here with me."

She looked up at him, tears forming in
her eyes. "Forever?"

"Yeah, forever.
Well, not
really
forever. You’ll grow up and get a job, move out, all that fun
crap. But what I’m saying is I want to adopt
you."

"Yes. Yes, yes."

"You have to think about
this, now. There isn’t a mom here. I don’t have any pets. All I’ve
got is a vegetable garden."

She threw the covers off and nearly
tackled him with a hug. "I want to live here with you. I love
you."

He held her back and tried
to fight off emotions. Tears tried to form in his eyes, and for a
change, they didn’t come with the typical anger.

"I’ve probably done kept
you up all night, haven’t I?"

She nodded against his
shoulder. "I’ll never sleep again."

"No, no. Only one of us
gets to say that. Try to get some sleep."

"Okay."

Tiffany was crying as he tucked her
in, threatening to make him cry as well. He gave her a kiss on the
forehead before turning out the light and leaving the
room.

Erica was in the hallway
outside her room, wearing a tee shirt and sweatpants. She leaned
against the wall, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I’m sorry," she said. "I
didn’t mean to spy. But that was...maybe the coolest thing I’ve
seen in my life."

"She’s not really thinking
about it. She’s just going off emotion right now. There’s probably
a million reasons she wouldn’t want to live here. I’ll give her a
few days before I start doing the legal stuff."

"Trust me, there’s no
other place that girl wants to be."