"Cynthia, ready to finish shopping?" Beca pulled Cynthia back into their conversation.
"Yep, I'm done," she wadded up the napkin and carried their tray to a trash container depositing their garbage. They exited the food court without alerting Kate or Halley to their presence. Kate seemed absorbed at the documents she was scanning and Halley continued to chat with the man.
By 3:30 the women were headed back toward Searcy, their back seat filled with packages. "What time are we supposed to be at Jack's house?" Beca asked.
"He said 7 or so. You're going to like him," Cynthia added as the two friends exchanged glances.
Chapter 8
Jack's front porch was still decorated with Christmas lights and his nativity figures were so realistic Cynthia could have sworn they were the real thing. "If he had live animals I'd believe I was back in Bethlehem and look at Halley's little baby doll. That is precious."
"Welcome ladies and Happy New Year to you both," Jack stood holding the door open for the two women. His black wool slacks hugged his trim hips and his pale blue sweater made his eyes as welcoming as a midsummer evening. Cynthia had to remind herself for the umteenth time - no men for six months.
"Love your nativity scene, Jack," Cynthia told him as the ladies removed their jackets and Jack hung them in his hall closet. "This is my best friend from home Beca Williams. Beca this is Jack Dawson."
"I've heard a lot about you Beca," Jack took her hand in his and held it a few seconds. Cynthia felt an unexpected pang of something akin to jealousy - could it be just because Jack had held her friend's hand longer than a few seconds?
"I've heard about you, too. I can't wait to meet your daughter. Cynthia talks about her all the time." Beca flashed a smile at Jack. "Will I meet her this evening?"
"Not this evening I'm afraid. Did Cynthia tell you Halley is spending time with her grandmother and they are at Disney World this week." He didn't seem to notice the exchange of glances between the two women. He was too busy pouring his guests a goblet of eggnog. "Here's to a wonderful new year for wonderful new friends." Jack clinked his glass against Cynthia's and then Beca's. "Drink up ladies, while I go check on our dinner."
"Something smells wonderful," Cynthia called out as he disappeared into the kitchen, the swinging door already closing. "He is an excellent cook," Cynthia winked at her friend.
Beca smiled and remained silent.
"What?" Cynthia questioned her friend's silence.
"He is a hunk girlfriend. Are you absolutely one hundred percent committed to this no men for six months nonsense?"
"Absolutely committed, yes?" she sounded emphatic.
"Girl you need to be committed," her friend joked. "I think he is interested in you. He has that lost puppy dog look," Beca said smiling broadly. "I'd snap him up in a minute."
"I think he appreciates the time I spend with Halley. I don't think he is interested in me, at least, not romantically."
"Right."
"You’re a romantic," Cynthia told her.
Midway through dinner Beca had developed a migraine and excused herself to go home and take her medication and lay down for a while. Cynthia mulled over the idea that she wanted to leave the two of them alone for a private celebration of their own. Just like her to pull a stunt like that. Beca never had migraines at home that she could remember. Seemed oddly convenient to Cynthia that she had one this evening.
After dinner Cynthia joined Jack in the kitchen where he was busy loading the dishwasher.
"The dinner was delicious. I'm sorry Beca got that migraine. I really should run over and check on her."
"Why don't you do that and I'll stoke up the fire and put some coffee on to brew. Come on back as soon as you can and we can have a talk. I need to discuss something with you."
"Okay…I'll be back in a few minutes," Cynthia said as she grabbed her jacket from the closet and draped it around her shoulders. Another thing she'd learned about living in a small town was you tend to notice anything odd or out of the ordinary more then in a large busy city. As Cynthia crossed between the two yards she spied that blue van again. She was certain it was the one that had tailed them all the way back from Little Rock earlier in the day. She tried to shake off a sudden chill that ran up her spine. "Probably been reading too many mystery novels," she muttered to herself.
*****
The warmth from the blazing fire and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee welcomed her back into Jack's den. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the fireplace lost in thought. "How was Beca feeling?" he asked.
"Better, in fact, she thinks a good night's sleep will have her back to normal. I hope she's right, I have a ton of things for us to do before she heads home. Now, what was so important - it sounded serious."
"I didn't mean to sound mysterious or secretive but it is important - at least to me."
Cynthia leaned back against the couch, "I'm here for you."
Jack gazed back into the fire. "I found out something on Friday very disturbing to me." He hesitated, a frown drawing his brows together.
Cynthia remained silent, eyes fixed on her friend, something unsettling bubbling up inside her.
"Kate has hired an attorney, one who specializes in custody cases and is quite successful I might add. Rumor has it she has decided to challenge me for custody of Halley. She claims my business trips takes me away from Halley too much. Right now the agreement we have is she gets Halley a weekend a month, two weeks in the summer and every other Christmas. I thought it was a good arrangement when we made it last year but obviously it doesn't suit her."
"That is ridiculous!" Cynthia's rage was obvious. "I'm sorry, it isn't my business. You wanted someone to listen to you, not make a lot of uncalled for comments."
"Don't be sorry, Cynthia, I value your opinion. That's why you are the only one I've shared this news with so far."
Cynthia was surprised. "I've only met Kate a couple of times but it was obvious she was dominating and had a strong will. I am also convinced you are a totally devoted dad and Halley idolizes you. Is Kate senile?" Cynthia's eyes flashed.
"Perhaps but remember Cynthia the lady has money and lots of it. You know money talks."
"Yes, I'm familiar with that money talks saying but devotion and love speaks louder in my book," Cynthia returned.
"I wish Kate saw it the way you do," Jack ran his hands through his hair and then rested his head on his hands. "I am having to take more business trips lately since I've been trying to build my client base and I prefer to keep working from home so I don't have to get a sitter for Halley so I'm forced to do what it take to get this business up and running."
"I totally agree with you, Jack. Try not to worry. Lots of children have single parents that work and take business trips. That doesn't make them unfit, just creative in my book," she smiled and continued "I'm here for the next two months and I'm willing to do anything I can to help you with Halley. I've had two years of dealing with elementary aged children and many were from single parent homes so I think I can tell a well-adjusted child when I see one. Halley is definitely well-adjusted," she assured Jack. "If there is anything I can do to help let me know."
"I do have a favor to ask you," he hesitated rubbing his fingertips against his temples. "Kate called this morning. She has some documents for me to review. She wouldn't elaborate on the details, but from what I've heard I would bet it's about this custody issue she's so hell bent to pursue."
Cynthia blushed. Jack hardly ever used profanity, "Where are you getting your information?"
"Judith's brother fills me in. He's always liked me. We've remained friends. He never blamed me for Judith's death. I think he resents Kate's interference in his life and mine, too."
"Do you really think Kate would try to take Halley away from you?"
"In a second," Jack said sadly as he got up and tossed a log on the fire. He turned and faced Cynthia and contin
ued, "Kate can't help herself."
"Jack, didn't you tell me Kate and Halley were spending this week at Disney World? When are they due back?"
"Not until late Monday afternoon," he replied. "More coffee?"
"No, I'm fine," she hesitated. "I saw them in Little Rock today."
"That's impossible. Kate called me a little before lunch today to check in."
"Did you speak with Halley?" Cynthia asked.
"No, Kate said she was napping."
"Does she take regular naps?"
"Not usually, but Kate assured me she was fine and they were both having a great time. She even suggested they might stay a few days longer. I asked her to bring Halley home on Monday."
"How did she take that suggestion?" Cynthia asked Jack.
"She didn't object like I thought she might. She actually gave in without much of a fight. One thing I've learned about Kate is she never backs down from a fight. She has always thrived on controversy. That made me think she had something up her sleeve."
"Well, maybe it wasn't her I saw, but I was certain it was," Cynthia tried to reassure herself and Jack at the same time. She didn't want to make things worse for him.
"Let's don't talk about Kate anymore tonight. I refuse to let her spoil our evening," Jack smiled.
'Our evening, did he just say our evening,' Cynthia thought to herself. She liked the way that sounded. Hold up girl, only two months to go and then your gone forever. Remember no serious attachments to Jack or Halley, but was it already too late? Could she possibly have fallen in love with him?
Chapter 9
Cynthia pulled the blanket up to her chin and stared at the ceiling. Sleeping in on New Year's Day was a tradition for her. She reached off to switch off her alarm but it continued to ring. No, it was her cell phone not her clock. Who could be calling this early on a Sunday morning and a holiday morning at that? Probably her parents had returned from their cruise and were checking up on their baby.
She flipped her cell open and glanced at the caller id, incoming call from Jack. "What's up?" she answered, trying to clear her head and keep from sounding too sleepy.
"I'm sorry to wake you," he apologized. "But something serious has come up. Can I come over and talk?"
"Now?" she sat up and tried to rub her eyes open. "Give me time to shower and put on some clothes."
"Sure, is 30 minutes enough?" he asked.
"Perfect, just come in the back door and help yourself to a cup of coffee."
"Okay, see you in a few," he answered.
Cynthia adjusted the shower water to hot and let the steady flow massage her back as she contemplated what Jack could be concerned about other than something involving Halley. He hadn't said it had to do with the pending custody battle but she was certain it did. Halley was Jack's main concern and his voice spelled concern - no question about it.
She selected a pair of black wool slacks and a peach colored sweater her mother knit her last year for her birthday. She had been living in sweats but this morning wanted to present her more feminine side. Jack had that effect on her.
Jack was perched on a bar stool waiting for her, his long legs dangling, head resting in his hands. He looked relieved to see her. He held out a mug of coffee, "Good Morning and Happy New Year, again."
"Now what is so urgent that you call me at 7 o'clock in the morning on a holiday?" she smiled as she reached out and took the mug of coffee from Jack, their fingers touching as a blush of color crept up her neck.
"Kate came over this morning."
"Before 7 o'clock? I thought they were still on vacation," the frown on Cynthia's face showed her surprise, "Whatever for?"
"Well, they came back on Friday so I'm sure it was them you saw in Little Rock. It seems she intended to keep Halley with her for the weekend anyway so she didn't feel it necessary to inform me of her change of vacation plans. The thing is she hired a private investigator."
All Cynthia could say was, "why?"
"She is convinced that we are romantically involved. She also plans to use that bit of dirt against me when it comes to Halley's custody hearing."
"Why would she tell you?" Cynthia shook her head, "I don't get it and why does she think we're involved?"
"Why she told me was I think unintentional; but when she started talking she lost her temper and blurted it out. She has some pictures her PI friend took and the worst part is she has had him tailing both of us the past couple of weeks. She is so anxious to believe the worst of me you can't talk sense to her."
"Have you seen the pictures?" Cynthia asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
"No, I told her 'keep her so called evidence," Jack assured his friend.
Cynthia was too stunned to speak. She walked over to the kitchen sink and stood staring out into Maddy's back yard not looking at Jack. She didn't trust herself to let him see how venerable all this made her feel. She had successfully hidden her feelings from Jack these past few months and she resolved to keep it that way. Her time was running out here anyway, what could revealing her feelings do but cause him and her more pain? She would never do that intentionally and she wanted to shield Halley from any more heartache. The poor child had been through enough for a four year old. Losing her mother and then having a grandmother who wanted to turn her world upside down was more than any child should have to take.
"He had pictures of you coming over Friday evening, I guess after you went to check on your friend. I think he must have fallen asleep in his vehicle when you and Beca initially came over and only saw you return later in the evening. He has convinced Kate you spent the night at my house and I'm sure they've tried to pump information out of Halley."
"I didn't mention it but when I came back from checking on Beca Friday night I had this strange sensation someone was watching me."
"Why didn't you tell me," Jack asked.
"I don't know. We got to talking about Halley and I guess it just slipped my mind. I can't believe Kate had us followed and that she's serious about her accusations."
"Oh, she is 100% serious. It would be easy for someone to convince her I was a jerk."
"I don't know what to say, Jack except I am so sorry."
"It's not your fault, but I'm afraid there is more to the story," Jack continued.
"More! What else could she think she knows?" Cynthia asked.
"Well, she hinted she was planning on going to the principal of your school. I think she would tell lies or anything else if she thought it would help her get Halley away from me."
"Geeze I don't want to do anything to hurt Halley or jeopardize this teacher exchange program. This is a pilot program and monitored closely. They send questionnaires monthly to both principals to monitor both Maddy's and my performance in the classrooms. This isn't good, Jack," Cynthia distress hit his heart like a sledgehammer.
"It gets worse," he muttered.
"What? How could it?" Cynthia tried to control her rising distress.
"Well, she shocked me with her ridiculous story so much I just blurted out…..," he began to pace back and forth before continuing, "that we're engaged!"
"WHAT!" she was yelling. "Why Jack? Why did you say that?"
"It was the first thing that I could think of to fire back at her. I know you think I've lost my mind and I don't blame you for being mad at me but I was desperate."
"I'm..I…I don't know what to think, but you have to tell her the truth. You can't let her think we are engaged to be married."
"Think about it a minute, Cynthia. My plan might work."
"What? How could it? Everyone at school thinks I'm engaged to David."
"But Kate doesn't know about your prior engagement. We could tell everyone you broke it off with David and we fell in love by accident," he was pleading with her to reconsider.
"Jack, think about what you're saying, this just gets worse and worse," she wiped a tear from her cheek. "How could I explain this to my friends a
t school."
"Maybe you wouldn't have to. If Kate sees what a great mother you would be to Halley and how much Halley loves you then she might just give up on trying to take Halley away from us."
"Do you really believe that for one minute?" Cynthia shook her head and wrapped her arms around her body.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
"I don't know what I am," she was slipping on her coat. "I've got to go for a walk. I need to clear my head."
"Cynthia, we'd only have to pull off this charade for a few months. After Kate gives up you could break our engagement and go back to your life."
"A few months! Earth to Jack, I'll be gone back to Miami in a couple of months. I just don’t believe you have thought this through. I don't think you can fool her with a story like this. She may be nearing 'senior citizen' status but she is sharp and I don't think she would buy this for one minute. And, have you thought about how this would affect Halley. She is already too attached to me. I don't want to be responsible for hurting her anymore." Cynthia was standing in the doorway her hands resting on the walls.
"How do you think being snatched away from me, her home, her friends would affect her?" Jack suddenly felt bad to have stooped so low as to pull his friend into this mess.
"Please Jack, don't keep talking. I've got to go. I have to think about this and I can't even think straight with you trying to make me feel guilty for not going along with this plan of yours. You know how I feel about Halley." Cynthia slammed the door shut before he could say anything more.
Jack yanked open the door and called out, "I'm sorry. I know it was a stupid thing to get you into but I just wasn't thinking clearly. I let my emotions get the best of me."
"No kidding," she yelled back over her shoulder. "No kidding."
******
Beca was asleep on the couch when Cynthia got back from her walk. Cynthia's little chihuahua Bella was curled up in the crook of Beca's shoulder. Beca stretched and opened her eyes, "what did Jack want so early in the morning?"
"I'm sorry we woke you. I told him to come in the back door so we could talk in the kitchen," Cynthia sat down on the end of the couch and kicked off her shoes. "How's your headache this morning?"
"Much better, thanks for asking. Now spill it - what was so urgent that he had to come over before 7 o'clock in the morning on New Year's Day