Asking For Trouble (39 page)

"I know, but I've been in town every day
talking to people and networking, trying to stir up some interest
in the kids. I took Lucy shopping one day, and we went to the Bird
for lunch, and talked to people...not a one had any suggestions,"
Jazzie told Jess with frustration.

"Has Beau had any luck?" Jess asked and
studied her closely. She'd told her friend that she was in love
with Beau, but that it probably wasn't going to work out, because
he didn't feel the same way about her. They'd had a good cry, then
Jess, true friend that she was, broke out a bottle of wine, and
they were having a pity party.

"No, he hasn't...he's gone as far as
Henrietta talking to people. He even called Chase, and that took
some doing, because he hates him."

"Why does he hate Chase?" Jess asked
curiously.

"Well, that's kind of my fault...Chase likes
me, and I kind of played him to make Beau mad."

Jess snorted, and asked, "Did it work?"

"Yeah, a little too well...he about swam the
lake he was so pissed." Jazzie chuckled then took another swig of
her wine.

"You can do better than him, sister...he
doesn't deserve you if he doesn't realize how special you are and
hang on with both hands," Jess said angrily.

"He might have lived high on the hog his
whole life, because his daddy has money, but he didn't have the
best life...I had a better life," Jazzie told her and it was true.
There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't know she was loved
by her parents and siblings.

"You had a great life, and you were
lucky...but you can only use your upbringing as an excuse so long.
Eventually, you have to own it and move forward, or you'll wind up
alone, like he's going to be, if he doesn't wise up."

"How the hell did you get so smart?" Jazzie
asked with a half-grin.

"I had good teachers, your mom and dad, and
you..." Jess got up and came around the table to pull her into a
hug. "I love you, Jazzie."

"I love you too..." Jazzie said and hugged
her neck tightly, then mumbled on her shoulder, "Can I talk to you
about something I've been thinking about?"

Jess pushed back up, then went back and sat
down, "Of course you can, you have to ask?"

"Well, it might not make you happy...."
Jazzie said and looked down into her almost empty wine glass. The
sunshine colored liquid was easing her nerves about talking to her
best friend about what she had on her mind, and she was thankful
for the false courage.

"If it makes you happy, it makes me happy,
sugar...spill it!"

"Lucy got me to thinking..." she told Jess
then hesitated, before continuing, "I'm thinking about leaving the
band to start a foundation for kids. I want to make sure schools
have funding for music programs, and qualified teachers, and that
the kids have scholarship money to go to college and pursue music,
if they want to go...especially disadvantaged kids."

Jess's hand flew to her throat and her face
flushed crimson. Jazzie held her breath waiting for her friend's
reaction.

"Wow, Jazz..." her friend said breathlessly.
"Leaving the band?"

"Well, not totally, I was thinking maybe I
could tour with you guys during the summer...I'd help you find
someone to replace me."

"Nobody can replace you, Jasmine...nobody,"
Jess said vehemently, then stood up to pace. "I know what you gave
up to stay with me...with the band...your scholarship and a chance
at a classical career, but we're making it now, making money hand
over fist, because of your hard work! You deserve to enjoy that
success with us!"

"You know it's never been about money for
me, Jess..." Jazzie reminded her. For Jazzie, it was all about the
music, and supporting her best friend, her sister of the heart. The
money was a bonus, yeah, but it wasn't her main focus. Her new
venture would be about making sure kids had the same opportunities
that she had to enjoy and appreciate their gifts. Music funding in
schools had become practically non-existent, and inner city kids
didn't have the luxury of private lessons, like she had.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?"
Jess asked with a hand on her hip and resignation in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure..."

"Pretty sure ain't gonna cut it,
Jazz...you're either in or your out, no dipping your toes in the
pond."

Jazzie lifted her chin and said more
confidently, "Yes, I'm sure, one hundred percent."

"Okay then, let's figure out a way to make
this happen. I'm going to be your first donor, and I'll teach
guitar lessons when I'm off tour, how does that sound?" Jess asked
her with a grin.

Jazzie sucked in a breath. "Really?"

"Yep, you've supported me in everything I
ever wanted to do, and then some, so now it's my turn. I'll talk to
money bags, Katie Tucker, and get her on board with it. I'm sure
she'll make a huge donation...and there are a few artists and
record labels I'll hit up for donations too. Glory Shine for
one..."

Jazzie's head was spinning, as her best
friend continued to spout off names, and cement plans that had only
been formulating in her mind for a couple of days. She made it all
sound so easy, and knowing Jess's determination and drive, as well
as her own, it would be.

"Maybe we could do a benefit concert, while
we're off...get some exposure for your foundation and the cause,"
Jess suggested.

"Wow, that's a fantastic idea!" Jazzie
hooted then jumped up from her chair and danced around in circles.
She stopped then spun around to face Jess. "Since I'm not going to
be touring, what if
I
adopted Lucy and Robbie?" she asked
breathlessly as the idea took hold in her mind.

"A single mother of two kids, and a
foundation president? That's a lot to chew, darlin'," Jess told her
and shook her head.

"They're not babies, they could help me.
Hell, they about take care of themselves. I think I could do it!"
Jazzie said and thought about them having to move again. "I'm going
to buy a house here in Bowie, so they can stay in school where they
are...I'll just commute to Dallas for business. It's not that far,
I can do it," Jazzie said with excitement bubbling inside of
her.

"Okay, we'll go talk to a lawyer tomorrow,"
Jess told her and stood up too. "I'll see if Katie can recommend
someone, she knows a lot of them these days. We need to talk to one
about setting up the foundation too, there's a lot of paperwork to
that, I'd imagine."

"I need to talk to the kids social worker
and tell her what my plans are...but I want to have a house
first."

"Lawyer day after tomorrow then, tomorrow we
go house hunting!" Jess squealed then ran over to give her another
hug. Elation filled Jazzie and she felt better than she had in a
year. She loved touring with Jess and the band, enjoyed their
success and the traveling, but she was ready for a change. Now that
Jess was married and settled, she needed to figure out her own
life, and this was a great start.

Wade walked through the front door right
then with Angel on his hip, and he smiled at Jess like she was the
best thing he'd seen in days. He walked directly too her and pulled
her to him for a long kiss.

"Hey, sugar...miss me?" he asked her in his
deep sexy drawl. His three year old daughter, who looked like Jess,
but had his dark curly hair, leaned forward to give her mama a kiss
too.

"Damn straight, I missed both my angels,"
she cooed and kissed Angel's cheek. "Can you give Jazzie a ride
back to Cole's house? I went and picked her up in Cassie's truck,
but Cassie is out in it now."

"Sure thing, baby, you wanna ride with us?"
he asked.

"Nah, Angel looks sleepy, I think I'll give
her a bath and put her to sleep...maybe write a little, until you
get back," she told him and saw the sparkle in her friend's eyes
that said she'd gladly put the writing away when her handsome
husband got home.

Jess and Wade's relationship was just
another example of the ideal she'd always had in her mind for
herself. Wade loved Jess to distraction and there wasn't any doubt
about it looking at them together. That is what Jazzie wanted, and
over the last few days, she'd reminded herself of that. What she
and Beau had was nothing more than sex, and that wasn't enough for
her.

Yeah, they'd been sleeping in the same bed
for the past week at his sister's house, and having gobs of
fantastic sex, but something was missing. Right now, they were just
playing house, and it was easy to fall into letting herself believe
there could be more. The complacent domesticity of it all had
lulled her into thinking he might change his mind. With every day
that passed, it became more obvious to her that wasn't going to
happen. It seemed to her like he was pulling back from her and the
kids even more emotionally.

She expected him to announce he was leaving
any moment now, and she was preparing her heart for that
catastrophic event. The bad thing was, she thought the kids were
getting as attached to him as she was, and that wasn't good.
Breaking her heart was one thing, breaking theirs was not something
she was going to let him do. Jazzie needed to get them away from
him, before that happened. Tomorrow, she'd begin that process.
Maybe tonight, she'd try to convince him to go ahead and go back to
Lubbock, rip that band-aid off the wound quickly, and start the
healing.

Wade handed Angel to Jess, then looked at
Jazzie and asked, "You ready, sugar?"

Ready as she'd ever be, Jazzie thought.
"Yeah, thanks," she said.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Where the hell was she?
Beau wondered
as he paced in front of the huge stone fireplace in front of the
sofa. It was almost eleven o'clock at night, and she wasn't home
yet, and he was damned worried. He knew from Sabrina that Jazzie
had gone to visit with Jess, but she'd been gone a helluva long
time. Beau had called there a few minutes ago, but nobody had
answered the phone.

Sabrina had put the kids to bed, and had
gone to bed herself, and Jazzie still wasn't home.

Beau had been gone most of the day trying to
figure out what he was going to do with the kids, because he talked
to his boss, and he had to be back in Lubbock at the end of next
week. There was a new case that he wanted to assign to Beau. He
also found out from his chief that Susan and the counter-terrorism
guys at the FBI had taken down the consortium, and were about to
seal the deal on Al-Gonon too.

Everyone, except Hanson, was in custody and
the prosecutor thought they had a solid case. His boss told him
there might be a commendation and a promotion in it for him.

Why the hell didn't he feel more excited
then? All he felt now, was anxiousness that he was going to have to
leave Jazzie and the kids when he hadn't settled anything. That was
only part of it though, he wasn't ready to leave Jazzie, period end
of story. He wanted a little more time with her, he told himself to
work her out of his system, but he wasn't fooling anyone. The
longer he stayed, the deeper she and those kids crawled into his
heart.

He'd talked to a couple who said they might
be interested in taking Robbie and Lucy, but he didn't think they
were a good fit. The woman was a plain, pinched-mouthed woman, who
looked very rigid, and couldn't have kids of her own, and the man
was a workaholic. So far, that's the only nibble he'd had. If he
got desperate, which he was close to being, he'd have to consider
them again, if he wanted to keep them in Bowie.

On his upward pass in front of the
fireplace, Beau heard the door open and ran toward the front of the
house. He met Jazzie in the foyer and she was smiling from ear to
ear, her mood buoyant.

"Where the hell have you been?" Beau
demanded and her face fell.

"I've been at Jess and Wade's house, didn't
Sabrina tell you?" she asked breezily, then brushed past him to
walk into the kitchen, where she put her purse down on the counter,
then went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine. He
walked over to her when she reached for the cabinet handle, but
couldn't quite reach it.

He leaned over her and opened it, then
pulled down two wine glasses. He needed a drink too, his nerves
were shot from worrying about her. "I was worried about you," he
said gruffly, and set the glasses down on the counter none too
gently, then took a step back, because the feel of her body pressed
against him sent his libido into launch sequence.

Her dark eyebrows lifted and she said, "Why
would you be worried? You knew where I was."

"It's almost midnight, and you didn't call,"
he told her angrily.

"I'm a big girl, Beau, I don't need to be
watched...or worried about...I'm not your responsibility," she
replied tightly, then poured wine into the glasses. "Besides, what
about you? You were gone all day and didn't call, I didn't
overreact and call out the National Guard."

She was right, but he was still pissed. He
was a man, a cop, he had a gun and knew how to use it, and she
was...small, and didn't. "You are not a big girl, hell, it wouldn't
take a stiff breeze to take you out," he informed her, not
addressing the responsibility part of her statement. No, she wasn't
his responsibility, but he sure as hell
felt
responsible for
her. If something happened to her, it would kill him.