Part 11 (1/2)
”If you need to talk, I've been told I'm a pretty good listener,” he said, his lips brus.h.i.+ng the tip of her ear.
When she shuddered involuntarily, he clenched his teeth. Her reaction probably wasn't anything personal. He figured she hadn't had s.e.x since she lost her husband.
”Who told you that you were a good listener?” She lifted her head and gazed into his eyes. ”One of your many women?”
Jack chuckled. ”Well, actually, the only woman who told me I was a good listener was my sister, Maleah.”
Cathy smiled. ”How is your sister? I heard she lives in Knoxville now. Is she married? Does she have children?”
”Maleah's still single. I guess after witnessing the horror of our mother's second marriage, we're both gun-shy when it comes to wedded bliss.”
”All marriages aren't like that. Your parents' marriage wasn't.”
”What about your marriage? Were you happy with Mark Cantrell?”
Cathy's smile faded as she glanced away, her gaze focusing on something over his shoulder. ”Mark was a good man, a good husband and a good father.”
Yeah, he'd figured as much. After all, the man had been a preacher. Cathy's husband had been one of the good guys. But she hadn't said they'd had a good marriage, that she'd been happy.
”If it bothers you to talk about him...”
”It doesn't. Not anymore. But I'd just as soon not talk about the past, not tonight. I spent nearly a year talking to my therapist at Haven Home in Birmingham. I'm pretty much all talked out.”
One jukebox selection ended and another began, ”Love in the First Degree” by Alabama. Even though the rhythm was upbeat, they continued dancing at a slow, clinging pace.
”Been there, done that and have a T-s.h.i.+rt that reads Graduate of the Psych Ward.” Graduate of the Psych Ward.” He splayed his hand across the small of her back and pulled her closer. He splayed his hand across the small of her back and pulled her closer.
They stared at each other, and he figured she saw her own pain and guilt and loneliness reflected in his eyes. And a similar steely determination to maintain sanity at any cost. He suspected she sensed that they were kindred spirits. He knew he d.a.m.n well felt it.
”I guess you heard about what happened to me last year when Reverend Randolph was murdered,” she said.
Jack nodded.
”This time, I didn't fall apart. I won't fall apart. Not ever again. I have to be strong for my son.” She broke eye contact.
Jack reached down, cupped her chin and tilted her face upward. ”Why don't you tell me about your son? What's his name?”
”Seth. We named him in honor of Mark's younger brother, who died when he was only a few days old.”
”That was a nice thing to do.”
”It pleased Mark and his parents. Mark was so good to me. I wanted to make him happy.”
Did he make you happy, Cathy? ”Seth's an only child?” Jack asked. ”Seth's an only child?” Jack asked.
”Yes. And I love him more than anything in the world.”
”It's good for a kid to know he's loved like that. Your son's a lucky boy to have you for his mother.”
”I'm the lucky one. Seth is a wonderful boy. He's good and kind. He's smart, makes good grades in school and has never given us a moment's trouble. And he's a handsome boy, if I do say so myself.”
He liked the way her face lit up when she talked about her son. The love she felt for the boy was there in her expression, in the glow of her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes.
”I suppose he reminds you of his father.”
Jack felt her tense and wondered why. d.a.m.n it, why had he gone and mentioned Mark Cantrell when Cathy had been so happy talking about her son?
”Actually, Seth is more like me,” she said. ”He even looks like me.”
”Then I believe you when you say he's handsome.”
That comment brought a smile to her lips.
Another oldie came on the jukebox: ”Young Love” by Sonny James.
Jack wondered if she remembered that this song had been playing the first time he brought her here and they had danced together. Right before the song had ended, he had kissed her for the first time. That had been a lifetime ago. They had been two different people then.
Cathy pulled out of his arms. ”I think it's time for me to go. I don't want to keep Lorie up too late.”
He grabbed her hand. She stopped, turned around, looked at him and said, ”Yes, I remember.”
He reached out, circled her neck with his other hand and lowered his head. G.o.d, what he'd give to relive that first kiss, to feel the way he'd felt that night, to know she felt the same way.
”Please don't,” she whispered.
”Cathy?”
”Not yet. Not tonight. I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to handle the way you still make me feel.”
He lifted his head and released her. ”You're right. We're practically strangers. We need to get to know each other all over again, don't we?”
”We will. I'll be working with your contractor and you as you restore your house. We'll see a lot of each other.”
”Yeah, I guess we will. But...what if I asked you for a date? What would you say?”
”I'd say that I'm not going to rush into anything, not with you or anyone else. I've only recently become my own woman, and I need time to get my bearings. My life is a brand-new unexplored territory.”
”Sounds like we're in the same boat,” Jack told her. ”I just ended a long career in the Rangers, and I've moved back to Dunmore and started a new job. I'm taking things one day at a time, getting used to my new life.”
”How about taking me home now?”
”Sure thing.”
”Jack?”