Trusting Jake (Blueprint To Love Book 1) (5 page)

Jackson
. His father's fuse had officially been lit. Jake had barely known his mother's second husband. "Mona and I have never been terribly close, and her abandoning you didn't really change that."

Linc sat up straighter in his chair, anger nearly sparking from him. Too late, he realized the old man was about to blow.

"Abandoning? For Chrissakes, it was ten years ago. You were nearly through college-"

"I don't want to get into this with you, Dad. Let's just agree to disagree."

"For the record, I abandoned her." Linc waggled his spoon disapprovingly at his sons, droplets of coffee spattering the starched white tablecloth. "That woman was a saint."

Jeez– here it comes
. Linc would launch into all the reasons his mother was right to leave him. Glancing at Jeff, his brother shrugged. Signaling for more coffee, he settled back for a long-winded speech.

"She begged me to slow down, but Specialty was all I lived for in those days." He remembered to set his spoon down before he started in on them again. "George wasn't the reason we divorced. She didn't even meet him for another year."

He knew all that. Jake knew he was being unfair to her. But his mother leaving had
felt
like a violation. It
felt
as though she'd cheated. On their family. On an old man who needed her.

"Let this be a lesson to you both," his father continued. "Don't allow business to get in the way of family. It's never worth it." 

He was still punishing his mother for giving up on Linc. "How about not allowing family to get in the way of business?" Jake countered. "Sounds easier to me. That way no one's disappointed."

  Thankfully, the waitress appeared with refills, postponing the age-old argument before they came to blows over his mother. Next, his father would go off the deep-end expounding on the merits of love. Linc's new lady friend was a ditsy astrologist named Glory. If he had to endure one more friggin' monologue about his planets being aligned in the house of Venus, he would likely rip her head off.  

The waitress hadn't retreated more than two steps before Linc pinned him to the wall with one of his legendary stares. Gone was the congenial charmer the rest of the world saw. Jake sensed his brother stiffen in the chair beside him. Jeff knew 'the look' when he saw it. And for once, he was probably relieved Linc's laser wasn't directed at him.

"All those years- did she ever miss a baseball game?" Jeff hastened to nod his agreement. Linc took a deep breath. Not a good sign. The old man was in it for the long haul this time. "Jackson. . . what about you? Soccer? Basketball? Did she ever miss a damn thing? She worked her ass off carin' for you boys.
And Harrison
," he reminded. "What with Sarah's alcohol problems– your mother picked up the slack. Hell, she practically raised that boy. All with no help from me," he readily acknowledged.

It was true. Harry had practically lived with them, growing up. Mona had probably attended as many of Harry's football games as she had his and Jeff's sports. He couldn't fault her mothering ability– she'd made sure Hoss knew he was loved like one of her own.

Linc added three meticulous drops of cream to his coffee. "Son, I challenge you to recall one event Mona missed. Even after the divorce– that last year of college when you did your best to ignore her. She still showed up. It damn near broke her heart how you treated her. But, she drove all that way anyhow." 

"Why doesn't it bother you, Dad?" Jake ignored the cold knot twisting his stomach. She'd practically destroyed Linc . . . and their family along with him. They'd nearly disintegrated. "As soon as Specialty made it big and there was money to be had . . . we weren't good enough. Suddenly, Mona wanted out."

"Specialty was
our
company," he pointed out. "And, she was married to
me
. You treat her as though she divorced you-"

"She divorced us," he maintained.

Linc shook his head sadly. "Jake, you're a fool. Someday, you'll finally realize it, but in the meantime-" When his father's icy gaze locked with his, all the years fell away. A shiver jagged down his spine– as though he were ten years old again– about to be grounded. "I expect you to call your mother. This week."

"Okay, Dad." He knew when to back off. If it would keep the old man happy, he'd call Mona. It wouldn't kill him to shoot the breeze with her for ten minutes.

"Son, we may disagree on many things, but we agree wholeheartedly on your assistant."  Linc stirred his coffee as he effortlessly changed the subject. "Jenna's a knockout."

"She's also very intelligent," Jake reminded, relieved to finally move to a safer subject.

"I didn't talk with her long enough to find out if she's book-smart." He winked at Jeff. "But, I like a little sass in a woman. You'll have trouble keepin' up with her," he acknowledged to his now scowling son.

"I'm paying her to keep up with me. Not the other way around," he replied, turning his attention to his brother. "Which reminds me– Jen's off-limits. Leave her alone."

"What'd I do?" Jeff's eyes widened. "Can I help it that you picked a babe for a secretary?"

"She's practically an engineer," he corrected. "Just remember, she's happily married." Jake sighed when his father began chuckling. "With two kids," he emphasized. These days, trying to get Linc to take anything seriously was nearly impossible. Unless the subject was his mother.

"Jeffie's yankin' your chain." Linc shot a warning scowl to his youngest. "Jefferson won't say anything unprofessional to one of your staff. I taught you boys better'n that."

If that were true, then why did Jeff continually test him? Jake hadn't asked his father to hand the reins over to him, but that's exactly what Linc had done. The brothers were equal partners in Specialty with his cousin Harry, but someone had to be in charge. That duty had fallen squarely on him. He was managing partner, with the ability to make executive decisions without consent from the others. Jake rarely used that power. On matters of importance, he
always
consulted with Jeff and Harry. Still, there were times when he had to make quick decisions. For that, he refused to apologize.       

His thoughts drifted to his brother's relationship with Jenna. He knew it was harmless, had seen them together when they didn't know he was there. She was polite, but distant. Still, it bothered him that his brother was attracted to her. And, for the life of him, Jake couldn't understand why. What the hell business was it of his?

Yeah, she was beautiful. Every morning, he was greeted by her amazing scent. It drifted down the hallway to welcome him. Sure . . . it was driving him a little crazy. Hell, it had taken him a month to get used to those sapphire eyes flashing at him. His heart rate had finally adjusted– or to be honest, Jake had adjusted to having it race a little faster when he was around her. The fact that she didn't even realize it, that to Jenna Stone, he was simply the guy dishing out orders, kept him from making a fool of himself.

After three months, they'd developed a solid working relationship. He liked her. The way her mind worked, the way she tackled problems. She worked hard, but with a sense of humor he'd grown to appreciate. Jen didn't pull any punches when she thought he was wrong. She told him exactly what was on her mind.

Personally, she was still an enigma. Like everyone else, she kept him at arm's length. Jen wasn't like the other females at Specialty. Overhearing them in the kitchen, they chatted and joked about husbands and boyfriends and their plans for the weekend. Though Jen was usually present, she rarely spoke about herself. Though her kids' pictures were scattered on her desk, Rick's was nowhere to be found. Now that he thought of it, the rare times they spoke casually, she seemed almost– guarded. While they had developed an easy rapport, he still hadn't caught a glimpse of the feisty woman he'd met that day in the ditch.

Where had that intriguing personality gone? Mental pictures flashed through his brain: Her arm wound up, bent on smashing her cell phone into a million pieces; Jen flying down the stairs, wild, red hair streaming. And what about the day of their interview? The wounded expression in her eyes when she'd bolted from her chair– believing he'd been insulting her. Her actions had confirmed what he'd suspected. Jen carried some heavy secrets. More than once he'd wondered exactly what had transpired at her last job.

Once they'd started working together, Jake discovered he'd hit on a goldmine. She was talented. And diligent. And eager to soak up knowledge. In three months, she'd removed the sense of overwhelm from his life. Problems. Distractions. Backburner issues. He'd off-loaded to Jen. Increasingly, he handed off more complicated issues to work through. Whatever secrets she might be harboring– were not his concern.   

"Earth to Jake. Are you in there?"

"Huh?" Thoughts of his assistant's fiery disposition ebbed away when he discovered two sets of eyes on him. "Sorry. I got distracted."

Picking up his coffee, he grimaced when he discovered it had gone cold. He listened carefully as Jeff launched into a detailed explanation of the bid he was preparing.
Forget changing Jen
. He didn't need feisty when he had cool, organized logic. She was just fine the way she was.

***

Jake was thinking the same thing the next afternoon while he watched her work. Head down, furiously scribbling notes. Not a hair out of place, he observed as he stared at the top of her head. All that beautiful hair, pulled back tight. He wondered whether all the pins made her head ache.

Smiling, he rose from behind his desk. They were discussing the upcoming deadlines of a project that was threatening to become difficult. Each time he hit her with a potential problem, it seemed she had already thought about possible solutions.

Staring out the picture window, he decided to jerk her around a bit. Every time Jen caught up, she would start to raise her head. And each time, he made up a new problem to research. Jake wondered how long it would take before she caught on.

"I can see you smirking in the reflection in the window."

Startled, he turned and found her smiling. "Damn. Were you fooled at all?"

Pausing when she heard her name being paged on the intercom, Jen reached for the phone on his desk. "Will it make you happy to pretend I was?"

"It wouldn't hurt." Acknowledging her frown, he waited while she took the call. Had he not been watching her so closely, Jake never could have imagined a physical change occurring so rapidly. Jenna's expression morphed from relaxed to panic-stricken in the space of a heartbeat.Before his eyes, her face leached of color. One white-knuckled hand clutched the phone as the other fisted convulsively against her mouth. Sagging into the nearest chair as though her legs couldn't support her, her voice dropped to a husky whisper. "H-how bad?"   

A jagged spike of fear torqued down his spine when she stifled an agonized cry. "Jen?" Lunging around his desk as she replaced the receiver, her hands were like ice when he grabbed them.

"What-? Is it Rick? The kids?" Jake felt her shuddering sobs clear through to his soul as her terror became his. Hauling her against him, he tried to keep the dread from his voice. "Jen– tell me what's wrong."

Unable to stop trembling, her eyes were haunted when she finally met his gaze. "A-Alex," she whispered. "God, Jake . . . it's Alex."

Chapter 5

"I'll drive." Grabbing keys from her nerveless fingers, Jake tossed them on his desk. Jen didn't have the heart to argue. She couldn't seem to stop crying, even as he bundled her into her coat. She felt him do up the buttons and push her out the door. It was Jake who remembered her purse, who was still carrying it while he steered her toward his car.

"What hospital? Jen?"

"St. J-John's. He's on his w-way to St. John's." Clenching her teeth to keep them from chattering, she was surprised her heart was still beating– that it hadn't exploded from the rush of adrenaline and fear. Yet– she was still breathing, Jen knew for sure, because every shuddering breath was sharp and jagged and painful.

God, not her baby. Please let him be all right.
Please, God
.

Unconscious. A head injury. Blood. She moaned at the terrifying images locked in her brain. They dissipated a moment later when the car swerved and she fell against him. It was like running into a slab of granite. He was solid and steady. Rock solid Jake. "What . . . what's happening?"

"Dammit, Jen, you're scaring me! Are you all right?"

She was definitely not all right. Shaking her head, she turned to stare out the window at the houses skimming by. To his credit, he seemed to be setting a new land speed record to get her to the hospital, but he was clearly rattled by her pending emotional breakdown.

"What did they say, Jen?"

His voice husky with concern, his tone was far too compassionate for her short-circuiting nerves to handle. Her eyes filled with tears. "He was playing outside. Al . . . was climbing on the monkey bars." The vision of her son hurtling through space was more than she could bear to imagine. Her voice cracking, the sobs began again. She accepted the tissue he thrust into her wringing hands.

"H-he fell. Headfirst. He was . . . unconscious when the ambulance-"

"Okay. I get the picture." Reaching over, he gave her hand a squeeze as he turned into the curved drive of the emergency room before jockeying for a space near the entrance.

"We're here. I'll drop you off and find a parking space. Go ahead in, and I'll be there in a minute." 

She was frozen, rooted to the seat. Launching himself out of the car, Jake ran around to her side. Jerking the door open, he leaned in and unfastened her seatbelt.

"Jen, honey. Let's go inside." Gently, he tugged her from the seat. "I'll walk you in."

The hospital smell hit her before the sliding glass doors had swished shut and her stomach twisted in protest. Her legs buckling with each step, Jen felt small and helpless and terrified as she moved to the information desk. The reassuring squeeze around her shoulders reminded her Jake was there, holding her up so she wouldn't fall. Somewhere along the way, she had slipped her hand in his, and was now gripping it as though her life depended on the contact.

The receptionist at the desk raised her gaze from a mountain of paperwork to acknowledge their presence. Jen glanced cautiously around the half-full waiting room. Still shaking, she had to unclench her teeth to speak to the nurse.

"My son. . . I'm looking for my son. I'm Jenna C-Cahill. . ."

"Cahill with a 'C'?"

"I mean– Stone. Jenna Stone," she corrected, distracted. "He was brought in by ambulance. Alexander St-Stone." The shivering began in earnest as she waited for news of her baby. Somewhere, buried in that stack of paper on her desk, was her son. Her flesh and blood, her very life was lost in that pile.

"He's six years old. He fell and . . . hit his h-head." Rambling now, her words weren't making any sense. God, what was taking so long? How could that woman sit there? So . . . so unruffled? When her entire life hung in the balance? When every second she was forced to wait was pure, agonizing hell?

"Approximately how long ago was he brought in ma'am?"    

Time had ceased to exist since she had received that call. It could have been hours or only moments. Her shivering increased as she was forced to think. "I-I don't know. Maybe an hour?"

Jake's deep voice interceded. "She got the call twenty-five minutes ago. Could you please see what you can find out for us?"

"I'm doing my best, sir." She picked up a phone. "This could take a few minutes. Why don't you have a seat?

Sit?
Unwilling to budge, Jen waited while she dialed, waited as the person on the other end wasn't available. Waited while he was paged. And still no answers.

"Dammit, where is he? He might be-" Her mind refused to acknowledge any of the terrifying possibilities. Jerking her hand free of Jake's, she headed for the emergency room corridors. "Alex!" she called. "I've got to find him." 

"Hey! She can't go in there."

She was halfway through the swinging doors before Jake caught her, gently guiding her back to the waiting room. "I can't-  He's here . . ." Sobbing, she struggled for a minute, before giving up when she found herself tucked firmly against him, his voice whispering assurances her brain could no longer process. Clinging to the lapels of his jacket, Jen knew she would not be able to stand on her own.

Strangely, she was comforted by the constant pressure of his arms around her. Jake wouldn't let her fall. As she wept against him, she felt his chin grazing the top of her head and experienced an overwhelming desire to burrow against him. He would protect her from the curious stares of the strangers in the waiting area, would help her endure the unbearable hours ahead.

Trapped in the nightmare every parent most feared, what had happened an hour earlier . . . an event she'd not even been aware of, might determine the course of the rest of her life. The icy fear clutching her heart was worse than anything she'd ever experienced. The awful years with Rick, her parents' disowning her- Everything paled in comparison to this moment.

Jake's voice penetrated the surreal fog of dread surrounding her. Clawing her way back to the surface, her eyes were still too blurred with tears to see him. She brushed them with her sleeve. "W-what did you say?"

"Jen- honey, they've found Alex." Jake waited for her eyes to spark with recognition, waited for her to return from the private hell she'd retreated to, before she finally acknowledged his words. "They're taking us to him now."

He maintained a quiet barrage of encouraging words while they moved through the busy corridors that would lead them to Pediatrics. Her death grip on his hand tightened as they traveled the maze of hallways, each one pungent with the smell of antiseptic. He knew Jen was still petrified, despite the promising information the nurse had been able to impart. Until she verified with her own eyes that Alex was okay, her terror wouldn't ease. The little guy had been knocked unconscious, but had awakened by the time the ambulance reached school. The ER doctors had decided to run a battery of tests and admit him overnight for observation.

"Here we are. Room 417." Peering through the rectangular window in the door, he was unable to see Alex. "It looks like the doctor's already in there . . . and a nurse too. Why don't you go in? I'll wait out here for you."

"Would you come with me?"

Already settling back against the cool, tiled wall, Jake glanced up, startled by her request, or more specifically, by Jen's manner. Rarely, had he witnessed anything other than calm professionalism. Even in the waiting room, her actions were those of a determined parent, frantic for answers. But now, despite the promising news, she looked so damn fragile. His heart clenched with a surge of compassion for her. Pushing off the wall, he took her hand and opened the door.   

***

"So . . . he'll be all right?" Jenna couldn't fight the surge of gratitude that left her limp with relief. He seemed fine, her old, familiar Alex. He'd recognized her the moment he awoke, had remembered Jake, grinning at him. He'd proceeded to answer every question the neurologist posed, amused the doctor with a few of his own, then passed the reaction tests and even asked to see Megan before slumping back against the pillows with a giant yawn.

Still holding his sturdy, little hand, Jen laid her head alongside her son's. Unwilling to take her gaze from Alex, she didn't look up while she continued to question the doctor. "Why is he sleeping now?" 

"The trauma has exhausted him. It's a good, steady sleep, but that's one of the things we'll monitor tonight. We'll wake him periodically and see if he reacts properly. If everything goes as anticipated," the doctor explained, "then Alex can go home tomorrow."

"I want to stay with him." She shivered at the thought of her baby here. All alone.

"That won't be necessary, Mrs. Stone. Alex will be well-cared for. And we'll be waking him nearly every hour. You need your rest as much as he'll need his to recover."

Shaking her head to clear it, she sat up, glancing for the first time at her surroundings. The room, though clinical, had been warmed up considerably with the cheery wallpaper and brightly painted ceiling. The framed prints on the wall had been drawn by children. "What if he wakes up during the night? He'll be all alone. He'll be afraid."

"One of you can stay with Alex tonight." The doctor glanced at the chart.

"My daughter– can she stay, too?" 

The doctor shook his head resolutely. "Absolutely not. It's against hospital policy." Tucking his hands into the pockets of a blue lab coat, he turned to acknowledge Jake. "Too chaotic for the staff to have the whole family in here."

"But-"

He swiveled back to her. "I'll instruct the nursing station that one of you might be staying. If you have any questions, they'll know how to reach me." With a curt nod, he pulled the door open and stepped into the hallway.

Jake finally spoke, rising from his chair in the corner. She flashed him an apologetic glance. She'd all but forgotten he was there.

"What about Rick? In all the excitement, I don't think you ever called him."

Had Jenna been operating on all cylinders, she would've been prepared for the ordinary question from her scrutinizing boss. Instead, emotionally drained from the scare with Alex, she was confused and consequently . . . she went blank.

"I-I . . . he's-"
Now
was the time to confess the truth. She'd wanted to tell him for months. That she was alone. That Rick had dumped her for someone else long before he died. Over the last few months, Jake had become her friend. He wasn't like the men she'd worked with before. She trusted him.

"He's uh . . . out of town this week. I don't even know where to find him," she stammered. "I–I have to leave a message on his cell."
Liar
. Ducking her head, she straightened the sheets around Alex's waist.

Why? Why couldn't she tell him? Three months earlier, she'd had valid reasons for her lies. But now-  

"There's no one else close by? No family?"

She tried to refocus. Jake required an answer. "My brothers are scattered around the country." It was too soon to tell him the truth. Maybe in another few months– when things settled down. Holding her breath, she waited for him to respond.

"I see."

Her body relaxed a notch when Jake seemed to accept her explanation. At the same time, his question managed to hit home. Her nearest brother lived six hours away. She was alone. "It's just us."

There was a long pause before he spoke again. "You know . . . I could stay with him." 

As her heart somersaulted with relief– knowing her son wouldn't be alone, her brain knew she couldn't accept his offer. Alex and Jake had become friends over the last few months. A persistent little boy and a man who owned trucks. Lots of trucks. Jake had accepted his fawning interest with good humor.

But . . . he was her boss. There was a distinct professional line Jen never would have anticipated crossing.
Until now
. "Thank you but I can't possibly inconvenience you like that." Crossing that line would jeopardize everything she'd worked so hard to protect. "You've done too much already." Releasing her son's hand, she stood, stretching cramped muscles.

"You're all alone. You need some help." To her surprise, Jake shrugged off her worry. "It's the logical thing to do." Holding her coat for her, she slid into it, feeling a measure of safety as she was enveloped by the wool.    

"But . . . it would be a very long night for you."

"If it makes you feel any better, I've watched my sister's kids a hundred times," Jake countered, shrugging into his jacket. "I'm capable of watching Alex sleep in a hospital bed for a night. We'll be within twenty feet of an army of highly-trained medical professionals."  

Her lips twitched at the injured tone of his voice. It was hard to imagine her perfectionist boss with hurt feelings.

"Besides . . . who else have you got?"

"I wasn't implying you couldn't handle it. I just can't imagine you'd be interested," Jen felt compelled to explain. "It's a huge imposition." 

"If I minded, I wouldn't have offered." Pausing, Jake stared at the wall for several seconds, as though mentally planning the evening ahead. "I'll drop you back at work so you can get your car and pick up Meg. Then I'll grab a change of clothes and come back here."

Retrieving her purse from the cart near the bed, she hesitated. "What about your wife? She'll certainly mind your staying out all night." Immediately regretting her statement, she acknowledged his sudden stillness. Risking a glance, she confirmed the laser-beam scrutiny she tried so hard to avoid was now directed at her.