Seasons (16 page)

She went into the bathroom and was horrified when she looked in the mirror and saw how she looked. A shower was definitely
in order. After her shower, she threw on jeans and a T-shirt and tried to prepare herself to deal with J.P. Just how much
should she tell him? There was no reason not to tell him about Maxie’s call, other than her reluctance to break down further
barriers between them.

A
s he traveled across the freeway on his way to Jaci, J.P. wondered what kind of food he could pick up that would be somewhat
nutritious.
Lord, I have a bad case for this woman and I need to hurry up and do something about it.
Why this particular woman? He didn’t have an answer. He just knew that he cared very deeply for her, that he would have absorbed
all her hurt and pain if he could, and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It scared the heck out of him.

When he arrived at her house with a bag filled with chicken burgers and fries, he noticed her red eyes, but she was calm and
in control of her emotions.

They sat in the family room and ate on TV trays. When they finished, he looked at her, waiting. He wanted her to open up and
talk to him about what was wrong, but knew that would probably not happen.

“Why didn’t you call me on my cell phone this morning? If I had known what was going on, I would have come by the hospital
and sat with you.”

“I just didn’t want to bother you with any more of my personal problems. Lord knows, you’re doing enough already. And I .
. .”

“Jaci!” he interrupted. “How many times do I have to tell you, it’s no bother. You bother me when you don’t give me the chance
to help you. You’re always complaining about Randi trying too hard to be superstrong, but who do you think she got it from?
Everybody, including you, needs a shoulder to lean on sometimes. Jaci, every man is not like Randi’s father. It’s time you
understood that.”

Jaci sighed tiredly. “J.P., I’m not going to apologize for who I am, nor for standing on my own two feet and handling my own
problems. If you came over here to yell at me for doing that, then you’d better leave. I’ll come by your office around ten
in the morning and give you my briefing on the Corpus job.”

His patience wore thin. “That’s not why I came over here and you know it
Jacetta.
” He made a point of stressing her full name. “I came because I care about you, and I know something has really upset you.”

J
aci felt shame burn through her for being so ungrateful. She dropped her head into her hands and spoke in a quivering voice.
“I’m sorry. I . . . do know better. Strange you should call me that—Jacetta, I mean.” She took a deep breath to quiet her
emotions. “Because the thing that really got to me and threw me over the edge tonight was a call from Maxie. And that’s what
he calls me.”

“What!” Incredulity was written all over his face. “Randi’s father called here tonight? Why?”

“He was demanding information about Randi and the baby and . . . everything. He sounded so cavalier, as if it doesn’t matter
that he’s been missing all these years and has every right to be calling now. Anyway, we had a terrible argument. I . . .
I . . . think if I could have gotten to him, I would have tried to kill him. I was just that angry. Anyway, he uh . . . he
wants to see them.” She felt tears slide down her face. “Oh God, help me not to hate him!” she prayed.

J.P. listened quietly, wanting to comfort her but knowing she needed to give vent to her anger.

“The fact that he’s done nothing to help us get to this point doesn’t faze him in the least. And I find that insulting. We
went without so much—never had enough of anything. And where was he? Somewhere hiding from us and having a good time. And
now he has the nerve to waltz back into our lives making demands and acting like a concerned father. That’s extremely hard
for me to deal with. And I don’t want him anywhere near my child and grandchildren. I had just hung up on him when you called.”

“And why couldn’t you tell me that over the phone, Jaci?” he asked softly. “Why were you so determined to handle this by yourself?
Honey, when are you going to realize I want to share things with you? And don’t worry, Maxie will find out that he’s lost
his opportunity to be nothing but a good-for-nothing jerk in Randi’s eyes. Now . . . tell me how I can help. Believe me, I’ll
gladly punch that sucker out for you,” he said, smiling that gorgeous smile of his.

His words lifted her spirits. “Good. I would greatly appreciate it. My uncle George called and left a message right after
I talked to Maxie and said that he’s having some health problems. It might not take much to kill him.”

“My pleasure, baby. I can’t think of a thing that would make me happier,” J.P. said, chuckling, but meaning every word. The
guy had a butt whipping coming and J.P. wanted to be the one to do it.

“Anyway, I told him I would talk to Randi to see if she wants to see him. He’s supposed to call back in a few days. You know
. . . , Randi really doesn’t need this right now,” Jaci said in frustration. “But he doesn’t care. He even had the nerve to
accuse me of leaving Dallas without letting him know. Never mind that I couldn’t find him. He’s conveniently forgotten that
he told me to get an abortion and then hid from me. He’s turned it all around in his mind and basically, he’s convinced himself
that I’m responsible for everything he failed to do.”

“If I ever see that jerk . . . !” J.P. said angrily. “Baby, he almost destroyed you, do you know that? And after all these
years, as hard as you’ve worked to build a good life for you and your daughter, you still don’t realize what a rare and beautiful
lady you are. Yeah, I would like to do some real damage to that lowlife.” While he was talking, he moved closer and pulled
her into his arms.

Jaci cried again. Not over Maxie, but because this strong and kind man was her friend. She wrapped her arms around him and
held him tight.

T
hey sat like that for a long time. Not saying anything, just holding each other. J.P. again thought about the powerful feelings
he had for her. And as they held each other, he wondered if he could be the kind of man he knew she deserved. He had been
around and experienced all kinds of women, but Jaci was the one who touched a place deep within himself that he hadn’t even
known existed. She made all other women insignificant to him. She was special and, he conceded, had captured his heart.

When he felt her relax against him and realized she was asleep, he knew he should go home, but he hated to leave her.

She stirred in his arms and whispered, “Please stay with me tonight.” J.P. couldn’t say no. “Okay, but just for a while. Come
on, you need to go to bed.”

When they got to the bedroom, Jaci slipped out of her jeans but left her oversized T-shirt on and got into bed. He slipped
off his shoes and followed her. “Have I lost my doggone mind?” he asked himself as he got into the bed. She slid over to him
and laid her head on his chest with one arm draped across him. He held her until she fell asleep. When he attempted to slip
out of the bed, she mumbled “no” and began to kiss his neck and chest.

“Jaci, stop baby. This is not a good idea. You’re not yourself tonight and I can’t take advantage of that. I think I should
leave now.”

Again, she mumbled, “No, stay with me please. I don’t want to be by myself tonight.”

He leaned over and kissed her lightly. “You are a beautiful and desirable woman, and as much as I would love to stay here
with you, I can’t, honey. You’re very vulnerable, and I’m not the strongest right now. If I stayed, there’s no telling what
would happen, and if it did, I wouldn’t be much better than Maxie. Come on, walk me to the door.”

M
axie’s thoughts were anywhere but on the pictures flashing on the tube.
Jacetta.
The forceful woman he had spoken to was definitely not the same timid, soft-spoken one he remembered. For some reason this
intrigued him and made him want to know more about this present-day Jacetta. At any rate, if she thought she was going to
keep him away from his daughter and grandchildren, she had another think coming. He picked up the phone.

“Hey, George! How you doing man?”

“Great!” George answered. “What’s up with you, Maxie? You still coming along okay?”

“Oh yeah, man. I’m doing okay. I was wondering if you had talked to Jacetta lately?”

“No. Not really. I’ve talked to that answering machine of hers, but not her directly. Why? What’s up?”

“Well, I finally talked to her and told her I wanted to see my daughter and grandchildren. She’s kind of bitter—wouldn’t tell
me anything. Yelled at me and told me that I don’t have a daughter as far as she’s concerned. She sounded nothing like the
Jacetta I remember.”

George grunted. “What in the world did you expect? For her to roll out the red carpet and say come on in? You got to be crazy
if you thought that. Fact is, you mistreated her, Maxie. And she’s had a rough time surviving. She’s had to work two or three
jobs most of her life. And from what I understand, she been doing a man’s job for years just to make a little more money.
So frankly, I understand where she’s coming from. You would, too, if you put yourself in her place. I ain’t got no sympathy
for you, Maxie. All said and done, this is my niece we talking about.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Maxie replied, giving little regard to what George had said. “I even took a trip down there to talk to
her, but she wasn’t home. What kind of job did you say she has? It must pay okay, judging from that house.”

“She works for the city. Something to do with condemned buildings—I don’t really know what. Why? Why are you so interested
in the kind of work she doin’?”

“Didn’t you tell me she never got married?” Maxie asked.

“Yeah, that’s right,” George answered suspiciously. He didn’t like the direction of this conversation. “Maxie, like I told
you: You need to be trying to make peace with your daughter. Why are you asking all these questions about Jacetta’s personal
life?”

“Well, I’m just curious, man. That’s a pretty nice house she’s living in, and I’m just wondering if she’s hooked up with somebody.”

“If she is, it ain’t none of your business.” George felt his temper rising.

“I just don’t want any trouble from some dude while I’m trying to work things out with Jacetta and my daughter. You know what
I’m saying? Jacetta said she was going to talk to my daughter and for me to call back in a few days. I don’t want anybody
trying to interfere.”

“You ain’t got nothin’ to work out with Jacetta,” George replied testily. The guy’s arrogance was causing him to flex his
hands into fists. “It’s too late for that. She’s moved on with her life and is doing real good.” George felt contempt for
his own foolishness. “You know, my wife told me I didn’t have no business giving you that girl’s phone number and now I’m
starting to think she was right. Maxie, you go starting some trouble with my niece, you’ll have more trouble than you can
handle, and not just from me either. A lot of people are still itching to kick your tail over the way you treated her. Don’t
make me sorry for trying to help you get things right with your kid. It was never my intention to cause anymore problems for
Jacetta.”

Maxie realized he had pushed too hard in his quest for information and tried to direct the conversation back toward cordiality.
“And I appreciate everything you’ve done, George. I know you’re just trying to help. All I was saying is that I need to know
what I’m up against. That’s all.”

“You just need to concentrate on your daughter at this point. Jace is going to do what she said she would, but like I said,
she’s out of the picture as far as you’re concerned.”

That’s what you think,
Maxie mused to himself, but said, “Thanks, George, I owe ya, man. I’ll check back with you next week sometime.”

J
.P. watched as Jaci stepped out of her Jeep and walked around to open the rear door to dig inside for her briefcase. He was
standing in his fourteenth-floor office looking out of his corner window. He noticed how her jeans clung to her curvy butt
and shapely legs as she strode toward the building. There was something about Jaci that brought out all of his male instincts.
What was it about this woman?
he wondered, watching her stepping with a poise and assurance that he knew had been hard-won and long in coming.

The woman had no idea of the power she packed. She was both velvet and steel. And when her protective shell fell away, it
revealed pure woman—in all of her softness and strength. He still questioned his sanity in leaving her last night. Was he
going soft in the head or something? No doubt about it, her enticing femininity awakened a masculine monster inside him. She
actually didn’t know why other women envied her and men lusted for her—including him. “Okay, okay!” he said out loud. “I admit
it.”

“Excuse me?” a voice said from the door of his spacious office. Herbert Williams, his second-in-command, stood there with
a thick stack of files in his hands and an amused look on his face. “Just what are you confessing to, my fearless leader?”

Embarrassed at being caught talking to himself, J.P. chuckled and said, “You don’t want to know. And if I told you, I’d have
to kill you.”

“Uh oh!” Herbert said. “This is heavy stuff I’m hearing. Do I need to be concerned?”

“Maybe,” J.P. answered. “Just between you and me, I may be headed into a midlife crisis thing and going soft in the head.”

Herbert came in and sat down as J.P. took the chair behind the large masculine desk. “Are you okay, man? I mean, really, there’s
nothing serious going on is there?” J.P. simply smiled and reached for the folders in Herbert’s hand. They started talking
about the status of various jobs as J.P. flipped through the folders. Herbert was explaining the problems they had encountered
on one of their software programs when J.P. suddenly remembered Jaci. She should have been announced long ago.