You are Mine (5 page)

Caroline winced. “A little bit. You know I
don’t like being center stage, no matter what the cause. Of course
I’m doing it because I know my parents will love it -- but to
sixties Motown, no less! When I think about doing all those crazy
dances from back then, I almost always what to bow out. What was
Lee thinking?”

Tracy waved a hand in classic unconcern.
“We’ll be awesome, so stop worrying. And by the way, you know Brian
is probably telling Jack your big secret right now.”

Caroline nodded. “Oh, I’m positive he is.
He’s probably even bought cigars to go with the telling of it, even
though he threatened me with a termination of backrubs if I told
anyone.”

“I’m sure that he’s as excited as you
are.”

“Yeah,” Caroline said softly. “I don’t know
which one of us is more excited or more scared.”

Tracy frowned. “Scared…oh, you mean because
of Brickman.”

“That too, but the very idea of being
responsible for another human being is awe-inspiring, you know? I
didn’t think I’d ever feel as scared as I did when I thought about
how I could protect Brian, but that was almost nothing compared
--”

“Wait,” Tracy interrupted as she held up a
hand. “Protect Brian? You?”

Caroline sighed in frustration. She’d had
this same argument with Brian. He insisted on treating her as if
she would break, while ignoring the fact that he was also in
danger. He wanted to make it all about her. “Yes,
I
want to
protect Brian. Why is that so surprising to everyone? I love him
just as much as he loves me, and this is not the Victorian era, so
I should be able to express that without people going into shock. I
want him safe and sound just as much as he wants me out of harm’s
way. If our situations were reversed, don’t you think you’d feel
the same way regarding Jack?”

Tracy nodded slowly. “Yes, I guess I would.
But I never really thought of Brian as needing protection. I mean,
Brian is a former cop, and Brickman wants
you
.”

“Exactly,” Caroline agreed, “and he’s
already shown that he’d do just about anything to get to me.” She
paused for effect. “Including kidnap you and Jack.” She watched the
light dawn in her friend’s eyes, and dipped her head in
satisfaction. “See? Though I’m the focus of his madness, it isn’t
just about me, and that’s why I stopped fighting Brian about a
bodyguard. I wanted him safe, too.”

“Is that’s why Jae basically lives with you
guys?”

“Yes, that was part of the deal. I told
Brian that Jae has to spend the night for added protection. He only
wanted him here during the day, figuring that he himself would be
enough to protect me at night when he’s home.”

“But you beg to differ, I take it.”

Caroline shook her head quickly. “No, not
exactly. My main concern is Brian. You know as well as I do that
that wonderful idiot of mine would throw himself in front of a
speeding train if he thought it would save me.”

“Ah, now I get it. Hence, Jae at night.”

Caroline inclined her head. “Hence, Jae at
night.”

“Bet that didn’t sit too well with the
hubby, did it?”

Caroline sniffed indignantly and finished
her tea. “Of course not. He sees himself as the big, strong man and
me as the weak, little woman. Him Tarzan, me Jane. ”

A teasing glint in her eye, Tracy cocked her
head and playfully looked Caroline over. “Well, you can’t blame the
guy. You
are
really skinny and kinda fragile-looking. What
are you? About ninety pounds?”

“You’re about thirty to thirty-five pounds
off there, slick,” Caroline said calmly, not rising to the
bait.

“That’s still not much for someone who
stands five feet nine inches tall and is pregnant.”

Caroline shrugged. She’d always had a thin
frame. She knew she was healthy, and that was all that mattered.
“It is what it is. And mock me all you want, but he will be
protected.”

“Oh, I’m not mocking you,” Tracy assured
her. “I honestly do understand how you feel about it; it just never
occurred to me that he would need protecting as well, that’s all.
What about during the day when he’s not here?”

Caroline grimaced. “Couldn’t quite manage
that one, but at any rate, I’m not as worried for him during the
day. His defenses are always up and he’s constantly on the lookout.
And besides, he works from home most of the time because he’s not
really confident that anyone can do the job as well as he can, so
he’s put himself in a trap of his own making and he gets the
benefit of Jae’s expertise almost as much as I do.”

“Right, makes sense, and I agree: he is a
wonderful idiot, adorable even. I’m glad the two of you found each
other because for a minute there I thought you’d end up old and
alone because of your past experiences.”

“Past experiences?
What
past
experiences?”

“The whole ‘I can’t be sure if he wants me
for me or for my ice cream money’ worry that plagued you whenever
you were in a new relationship.”

Chuckling at her friend’s choice of words
for the fortune her parents had made with their proprietary ice
cream recipes, Caroline shook her head. “You’re a funny woman,
Tracy, and that was long ago, before Brian, who knew nothing about
me or the family’s money when we first met. But if you want to talk
about past experiences and how they affect our behaviors today,
let’s do. Are you thinking of running out on Jack?”

“No! Never!” Tracy objected vehemently.

“Are you sure?” Caroline asked hesitantly
and then, hurriedly when Tracy gave her a look of astonishment, “I
mean because I know how skittish you can be because of the way your
parents treated you.”

Tracy relaxed back in her chair with a
worried frown. “I love Jack more than I’ve loved anyone before, and
I know he loves me, too, but I’m afraid it won’t last.”

“That’s a chance you take, Trace, but don’t
go into it looking forward to failure. That’s just stupid.”

Tracy looked startled and said, “Well, when
did you get so blunt? You’re supposed to reassure me that
everything will be all right if I just work at it and keep the
faith --”

“If you know that already, why should I have
to take the time to say it? Again?”

“Geez, Caroline. Whatever happened to your
never ending patience and understanding? The baby take it all?”

Caroline shook her head, and in a serious
tone, said, “After everything I’ve been through the past couple of
years, I just realize that life is way too short to be pussyfooting
around or hemming and hawing. You love Jack, Jack loves you. You
trust him, he trusts you. You’ve just got to go with instinct and
marry him, or not. I don’t think there’s anything more to say on
the issue.”

Sighing, Tracy dropped her head to the
table. “You’re right, of course, and we’ve discussed my issue ad
nauseam already. I’m just a chicken.”

Caroline reached over and patted her head
sympathetically. “Bawk. Bawk.”

HUMMING off-key to Beethoven’s
Fur
Elise
which was trilling gently from the wall speakers in her
home studio, Caroline sank her fingers into the clay head in front
of her and began to smooth the area around the right ear she’d
constructed a few minutes before. “Just a little too big,” she
murmured. She picked a small modeling tool from a selection of six
on the table and fingered its slim wooden body until she had it
positioned just the way she wanted it. The tiny single inverted
wire triangle at each end of the tool made it easy to scrape away
clay and fine tune detail in tight spaces.

Tongue caught between her teeth, she used
the smaller end of the tool to get rid of excess clay in the fold
of the inner ear. “Perfect,” she said with satisfaction when she
leaned away from the sculpture to get a better look. After Tracy
had gone, she’d gotten an urge to create. She’d been sitting
thinking about the future and massaging her belly when inspiration
had struck. As usual the urge to create came on her suddenly and
quickly became impossible to ignore, so within five minutes of
Tracy’s leaving, she was dressed in old jeans and a T-shirt and in
the studio with her hands wrist deep in fresh clay.

Her gaze went to a framed photo on the
credenza in which she stored art supplies. Studying it intently for
a moment, she began shaping the nose of the sculpture.

“Mrs. Singleton-Keenan.”

Caroline didn’t look up from her work,
instead only saying distractedly, “Yes, Jae?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I wondered if
you’d mind my taking over the kitchen again tonight and trying out
a recipe.”

This did make Caroline look over at him. She
was only a fair cook herself, and Brian was helpless at any recipe
that took more than water and a pot. Always something of a foodie,
she had become even more appreciative of good food since finding
out she was pregnant. “Oh, my, no, Jae; of course not! You know how
much Brian and I love your culinary masterpieces. You’re as much an
artist as I am with all of your delicious creations. What will it
be tonight, hmm? Something certain to be almost too good to look
at, let alone to actually eat, I’m sure.”

“You flatter me, but I’m glad you and Mr.
Keenan enjoy my efforts.”

“Enjoy?” Caroline scoffed with amusement.
“What’s that? A new euphemism for greedy?” Pleased to see a brief
flash of his smile -- a rarity -- she continued, “Because you know
very well that’s the only way to describe Brian and me when we sit
down to one of your meals.”

His smile gone, Jae inclined his head.

“What’s on the menu tonight?”

He cleared his throat. “I thought roasted
pork loin, baby greens and Potatoes Dauphinoise.”

“Double cream and garlic; yum.” Curiosity
sparked in his eyes and was quickly gone, but she explained anyway,
“French immersion courses in school, several trips to France and
good French restaurants.”

“So, it’s all right, then?”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she assured him
and watched as he melted from the room. She shook her head before
going back to her sculpture.
A bodyguard who has the dexterity
of a Ninja and the culinary talents of a gourmet chef.
“Clearly
my life has veered off into the realm of the unbelievable.”

AN hour later, Brian walked into the kitchen
and was greeted excitedly by their dog, Motley, a German
shepherd-collie mix. He reached down to rub the dog’s head
vigorously. “Hi, girl! Hi.” He looked over toward the stove. “Hi,
Jae. I was drawn here by the smells, and thought maybe I’d find
Caroline.” He walked over to the sink and washed his hands and then
went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of beer.

“Good evening, Mr. Keenan. She’s in her
studio.”

Brian loosened his tie, took it off and put
it in his pocket. Leaning against the counter, he took a sip from
the beer. From his vantage point, he studied the large kitchen.
They’d only been in the new house for five months, and though
they’d shopped together to decorate the place, most of the choices
were Caroline’s. He marveled at some of her choices, but bowed to
her better judgment. He’d at first objected to the custom built
stove that had taken two months for delivery, but now he’d grown
fond of it. A cocoa brown, it had the look of a treasure chest with
all of its brass and stainless steel trimmings and knobs. He
watched as Jae took a dish from the vaulted oven and then promptly
opened the warming oven next to it and placed the dish in
there.

The other man then bent and opened one of
the two long storage drawers that marched across the bottom of the
stove. “So you’re on cooking duty tonight, huh, Jae?”

“It’s not exactly a duty, Mr. Keenan. I
enjoy it, and since Mrs. Singleton-Keenan showed all the signs of
getting caught up in her work again, I thought I’d make a dish I’ve
wanted to try for some time now.”

Brian nodded. “Tell me something, Jae, in
the six months that you’ve been with us, how many times, give or
take, have my wife and I asked you to call us by our first
names?”

Jae looked amused. “Oh, I’d say about fifty
or sixty, give or take.”

Brian nodded again and opening the fridge,
pulled out another long neck and walked it over to the other man.
He handed it to him. “And what would you say are the chances of you
taking us up on that offer?”

Jae nodded his thanks, and looking
thoughtful, twisted the cap off, walked over to the trash, threw it
away and came back to stand in front of Brian who was now leaning
against the center island. “Oh, I’d say not very likely.”

“Yet, you insist upon us calling you Jae and
not Mr. Kwon.”

Smiling slightly, Jae shrugged while holding
his hands up helplessly. “What are you gonna do?”

Amused, Brian chuckled and then, “But
seriously, you don’t feel awkward practically living with us and
being so formal?”

“It’s important to keep distance so I’ll be
able to do my job if and when the time comes.”

Brian gave up. “Fine, well at least you
don’t mind sitting and breaking bread with us.”

“Actually, I do, but your wife,” he paused
and then shrugged. “Well, she told me my eating alone upset her,
and since she’s pregnant and all, well…” He trailed off with an
abashed look.

“But you were eating with us before we found
out about the pregnancy,” Brian reminded him. Jae only knew about
the pregnancy because the day they’d found out, Brian had run
through the house carrying Caroline in his arms and yelling, ‘I’m
gonna be a daddy!’

Looking embarrassed again, Jae only said,
“She’s just so…so…
hard
to say no to, I guess, and I don’t
like upsetting women, particularly those who look so delicate, as
your wife does.”

Brian laughed and finished his beer. “No
comment. I assume you have nothing to report today, or else I would
have heard from you or Caroline by now.”