Learning to Breathe Again (9 page)

JACK WOKE UP EARLIER THAN USUAL the next
morning, groaning when he saw the time on his clock. Once his body
had warmed back up and his mind had started thinking about the
houseguest down the hall, all the blood had rushed back into his
cock. At that point, he’d resorted to taking matters into his own
hand, so to speak. All that had done was taken the edge off.

Knowing it was pointless to
try and go back to sleep again, Jack climbed out of bed and pulled
on his work-out clothes, and headed for his in-home gym, or in this
case, in-
barn
gym.
He paused after he opened the first door, and stared out over the
horizon. The sun was just coming up over the horizon and he
breathed in the early morning freshness. He loved this time of day.
The peace and quiet, the newness of it all. The chance to just be
alone with his thoughts.

The sharp call of a crow startled him out of
his musings and he turned to enter the barn, flipping the switch to
turn on the lights. He moved over to the stereo he had in the
corner and cued up his music, but didn’t hit play yet. He jumped on
the treadmill, and started off at a brisk jog. Within minutes, he
was at a full out run, at a brutal pace. One he knew he wouldn’t be
able to sustain for long. But he liked to push himself. He liked to
prove that he could still do it, despite the injuries from the
IED.

A couple of trucks passed by
the barn on the private road behind it, which made him think his
uncle and cousin must have some of the stock up on his land. He’d
have to remember to text the foreman later and make sure.
Otherwise, he had trespassers. Wouldn’t be the first time. He heard
a third truck approach but this one slowed and turned to come up to
the barn.
Damn. Well, saves me the
text.
He slowed his run but didn’t get off
the treadmill.

“
You in here?” a voice
called out before stepping through the door.

“
Treadmill!” he called back,
recognizing his uncle Steve’s voice and he slowed his pace a little
more.

“
Saw the doors open, thought
you might be. You didn’t stop by or call last night.” Steve leaned
against one of the posts in the center of the barn. “Everything
ok?”

Shutting down the treadmill, Jack stepped off
and grabbed a towel from the stack he kept near the weights. He’d
only completed three miles, so he wasn’t out of breath, but the
sweat was pouring off of him. “I’m fine, Pop.” Steve was the only
father figure Jack had ever known. He’d never been able to call him
dad, “Uncle Steve” always seemed too formal, too distant for what
he was to him. So they’d agreed on the term “Pop”.

“
Jason’s sister showed up at
the office yesterday, a little worse for wear. I offered to let her
stay here,” he chose to ignore the lifted eyebrow. “Jason and
Nicole will be home Monday.”

“
She could come and stay
with us. Mitch is gone for a few days, and Helen and I are heading
to San Antonio for a few days. Carly would appreciate the
company.”

“
We’re fine
here.”

“
Uh-huh.” Steve chuckled,
pushing away from the post. “Boys are moving the herd to the North
pasture today and repairing some fencing. Helen and I will be
leaving this afternoon for our weekend in San Antonio. We’ll talk
to you next week.” He slapped his nephew on the back as he passed
by him. Jack listened to his uncle drive away and then hit play on
his stereo, moving over to the weights. He settled himself on the
bench and began lifting, losing himself in the repetition of
movement, not stopping until every muscle in his arms and chest
burned from the exertion.

He groaned, dropping the
hand weights he was holding, wincing at the
clank
that seemed to echo through the
barn. He grabbed a clean towel and wiped the sweat off his face,
glancing at the clock. He’d managed to get in his full work-out
already. Wondering what his houseguest was up to, he pushed to his
feet and secured the barn, heading back up to the house and a
shower.

Having gotten up earlier than usual and
putting his body through his normal workout, by the time he
finished his shower, he was in desperate need of that first jolt of
caffeine. The house was still silent, the hum of the refrigerator
almost deafening in the morning stillness. He put on a pot of
coffee. Not wanting to wait for the whole pot to brew, he deftly
switched out the pot for his mug, watched for it to fill, and then
switched it back, without spilling so much as a drop. He inhaled
the rich aroma, and then carried his first cup into the living room
to watch the morning news. Which is where Bayleigh found him a
little while later.

“
Good morning.” She greeted
him as she eased into the room. He smiled over at her, waving at
the seat beside him, noting she’d helped herself to
coffee.

“
Sleep ok?” He asked as she
walked over to the couch. He watched her with a critical eye,
trying to see if she was still favoring her knee.

“
I slept. I took one of my
muscle relaxers after I got out of the hot tub, so I think I was
asleep before my head even hit the pillow. How about you?” She
brought her coffee cup to her lips and blew across the top of it.
He’d never thought of how a woman cooled off her coffee as ‘sexy’
before, but with her, it was a definite turn on.

“
Uh…fine. I was up early
though.” He turned back to the TV and nodded towards it. “We’ve got
a cold front moving in late tonight. Thunderstorms tonight and then
the temps will drop, so they’re saying we’ll have freezing rain by
tomorrow morning. If you need anything from any stores, we should
go get it today.” His eyes strayed back to her.

“
I can’t think of anything.
I’d just like to get my car, at some point, if you’re going to your
office at all.” She took a sip of coffee. God, didn’t she know her
lips were a lethal weapon?

“
Not a problem. We can leave
here in about forty-five minutes or so. I was just going to make
omelets for breakfast, if that’s ok with you?” He stood up, heading
back towards the kitchen. He had to distance himself. Now. He’d had
enough thoughts about that mouth last night, he wasn’t sure how
much more he could take.

“
Omelets are fine. Can I
help?”

“
No, I’ve got it covered,”
he assured her, mentally groaning as she followed him. He reached
into the refrigerator and started pulling out ingredients. After
watching him for a moment, she muttered something about going to
get dressed. He sighed in relief when he heard her bedroom door
close. Christ, he needed to get a grip. And fast.

He set the frying pan down on the stove and
turned the burner on with a flick of his wrist, before cracking the
eggs into a bowl and beating them with the whisk. The omelets were
ready and on the table, along with glasses of orange juice, when
she returned.

“
Wow. A man who can cook.
I’m impressed,” she teased, taking her seat.

“
Well, small town living
tends to do that to you.” He shrugged as he sat down across from
her. “And I hate eating alone, so I don’t go out very
often.”

“
Oh, come on. A good looking
guy like you? Are the women in this town blind or something?” Her
eyes went wide and her shoulders shook and even from where he sat
across from her, the wheezing was audible. “I’m sorry…I mean…I’m
not…”

Jack said her name as loud as he dared,
trying to break her focus on whatever was in her past. He needed
her here, in the moment. “It’s ok. Most of the women here are
blind. Just ask Nicole. She’s still trying to figure out how Jason
lasted until she came back to town without someone snagging him.”
He told her when her gaze settled on him. He didn’t draw attention
to her clenched fists, or the way she’d reacted to her own comment
but by the way her breathing was evening out and her fingers were
no longer gripping her fork, he knew she was calming herself
down.

“
So while I’m finishing up a
few things in the office, what are you going to do? You’re welcome
to come back here and hang out.”

“
I might do that.” She took
a deep breath. He didn’t hear any catches to it. “Would I be able
to use your computer? I, uh, quit the band so I’ll be needing to
find a new job. Soon.”

“
Yeah. Help yourself to the
desktop in my office here. I don’t have a password on that one,
since I do all my legal work on my laptop now.” He groaned. “Crap.
My laptop. I forgot I locked the system up yesterday and I didn’t
think to tell Nicole about it. And Stacy’s out of the office today,
too.”

“
I could take a look at it,”
she offered.

“
How much do you know about
computers?”

“
Does it matter if you’ve
already locked it up?” She raised her eyebrows. When he gave her a
mock glare, she laughed. “I have a degree in computer science. I
was a double major and I just never took a job in the field. I’m
sure I can figure it out.”

“
I see.” He studied her
across the table. “Well, as you pointed out, I don’t have much to
lose. Can you be ready to leave in about ten minutes, then?” He
waited for her to agree before he stood up. They cleared the table
and then went to their rooms to grab last minute items, before
meeting back in the kitchen.

He handed her a travel mug, filled with fresh
coffee. She looked at him, surprise in her eyes. He smiled and
stroked her cheek with one finger in a gentle caress. “I drink a
lot of coffee. I just thought, since it was the first thing you
grabbed yesterday when you woke up from your nap, and again this
morning, you might like another cup.”

“
Thanks.” She told him, a
slight blush coloring her cheeks.

It didn’t escape his notice that she hadn’t
pulled away, flinched, or in any way had a negative reaction to his
reaching out and touching her cheek. He led the way out to his
truck and they drove back to his office. They listened to the
radio. The winter storm that was supposed to hit the Hill Country
the next morning was the big news of the day and had everyone in a
tizzy.

He parked in the lot at his building and led
the way inside. She sat down and booted up his system and started
muttering about “idiots who don’t know a damn thing about
computers” and he chuckled. At least she’d given him apologetic
smile when she realized he was still standing there. Not sure what
to do with himself, he headed out to the reception area and opened
up his email on Stacy’s desktop, sending a few replies. Twenty
minutes after leaving her alone, she called out his name. When he
went found her, she was buffing her nails on her shirt.

“
You do realize this system
is pretty easy to use, right? I’m surprised you managed to lock the
whole thing up.” She smirked.

“
Yeah, Nicole tells me that
every time, too.” He leaned over her to tap on the keyboard,
checking a couple of files. “You, my dear, are amazing.”
Straightening, he spun the chair around to face him, and pulled her
to her feet. He waited a brief second to see if there were any
negative reactions, but she just stared at him. “So, do you like
red meat?” Her hands were still held in his and he ran his thumb
over her knuckles.

“
Uh, yeah, why?” her
eyebrows drew together.

“
Because, without you, my
business would be in danger of financial ruin. The least I could do
is take you out for a steak dinner.”