Part 12 (1/2)
”I've got my own battle scars,” she told him. ”They're invisible because they're on my heart and my soul, so I truly understand.”
”We're just a couple of wounded warriors, aren't we, honey?” He lifted her hand away from his face and brought her open palm to his mouth.
When he kissed the center of her palm, she drew in a deep breath. ”I-I'm not a warrior.”
”Yes, you are.” He released her hand. ”You waged war in your own mind. You fought your demons and won.”
”For the most part,” she said. ”Sometimes I still have to fight them. Like today. You helped me more than you can ever know. Thank you.”
He shrugged. ”I know quite a bit about fighting demons. I have a few of my own. So anytime I can help you...”
Cathy stood on tiptoe and, without touching him, kissed Jack on the mouth. She had acted purely on instinct. When he kissed her back, she withdrew quickly and said, ”I think it's time for me to say good-night.”
Neither of them said anything else. He walked alongside her up the stone pathway and onto the porch. Just as they neared the front door, a dark silhouette rose up out of the porch swing.
”Where have you been?” Seth demanded as he emerged from the shadows. ”And who is he?”
Chapter Ten
”Seth?” Cathy gasped his name. ”What are you doing here?”
”I was worried about you,” he told her, but his gaze surveyed Jack from head to toe.
Jack held out his hand. ”I'm Jackson Perdue. I'm the new deputy Sheriff Birkett hired.”
So this was Cathy's son. She was right-he looked like her. Same glossy brown hair, same full mouth, same oval face. He was a handsome boy, tall and lanky.
Seth stared at Jack's hand, then grabbed it firmly. They exchanged a man-to-man handshake.
”I'm Seth Cantrell. I'm her son.” He inclined his head in a quick nod toward his mother, then turned to Cathy. ”Are you okay? Did something happen?” He looked at Jack. ”Why is my mom with you? Is she in some sort of trouble or...?”
”Seth!” Cathy's tone implied a mixture of censure and surprise.
Jack tried not to grin. He respected Seth's protective att.i.tude toward his mother. It was obvious that the boy loved her.
”It's okay, son. Your mom's not in any trouble,” Jack explained. ”Your mother and I are old friends. We knew each other when she was a teenager. I took her out for dinner this evening.”
”You took her out for dinner?” Seth turned to Cathy. ”Granddad said you were all right, but I worried all the same. I called Lorie, and she said you were out with a friend, but I had no idea you'd go out on a date. Not after what happened today.”
”It wasn't a date,” Cathy said. ”Not exactly.”
”You kissed him,” Seth said. ”I saw you.”
”We weren't on a date. Tonight was about a couple of old friends getting reacquainted,” Jack told him. ”Your mother was upset and needed a distraction. She kissed me to thank me. That's all there is to it.”
Cathy placed her hand on her son's arm, which gained his full attention. ”Do your grandparents know where you are?”
”No, ma'am. I slipped out after they went to bed.” He lowered his head. ”I didn't think Granddad would approve, but I had to make sure you were okay.”
”Why don't you come inside, and we'll talk,” Cathy said, then looked at Jack. ”Thanks again for tonight.”
”You're welcome. Any time.”
He guessed that was his cue to leave. Cathy needed time alone with her son, and he needed some fresh air to clear his head
As soon as Jack said good-night and headed for his car, Cathy rang the doorbell. Lorie, in her satin pajamas, opened the door, glanced from mother to son, then stepped back and waited for them to come inside.
”Want to tell me what's going on?” Lorie looked outside to where Jack stood beside his car. He threw up his hand and waved before opening the door and sliding in behind the wheel.
After they entered the house, Cathy closed the front door behind her. ”Jack was just dropping me off, and we found Seth sitting in the swing waiting for me.”
”Oh, I see. So Jack and Seth met, huh?”
”I think I just said that, didn't I?”
”Who is that guy to you?” Seth asked. ”I know he said you two were old friends, but I never heard of him. And why would you go out to dinner with him?”
Lorie's eyes widened in an uh-oh gesture. ”I think I'll head for bed and give you two some privacy. Cathy, if you want to talk later, I probably won't be asleep.”
Cathy nodded, and as soon as Lorie left her alone with Seth, she said, ”Why don't we sit down?”
”Answer my questions, will you?” Seth paced around the living room. ”I thought after you heard about their finding that priest's body today, you'd be all torn up because you'd be remembering the day Dad died and thinking about him and...But instead you went out on a date with a guy you knew when you were a teenager. I don't understand.”
”Are you saying that you're disappointed I didn't fall apart?”
He glared directly at her face. ”No, of course not. It's just I don't understand why you'd pick tonight of all times to go out on your first date since Dad died. It somehow seems disrespectful to Dad's memory.”
Cathy heaved a heavy sigh. Her son's words mimicked J.B. Cantrell's sentiments. She didn't like that. All the more reason to regain custody as soon as possible.
She approached Seth, who stood in the middle of the room, his gaze never leaving her face.
”I told you that dinner with Jack wasn't exactly a date. Not the way you mean. It was just what he said. I needed a distraction, something-anything-to keep me from thinking about the day Mark died, from remembering how I'd nearly lost my mind in the weeks following his funeral and how I had a complete breakdown when Reverend Randolph was murdered.
”Jack and I were friends a long time ago. He moved away from Dunmore, and I haven't seen him in nearly seventeen years. He's renovating the house where he grew up, and he's hired Treasures to act as consultants on the renovating and decorating. I'll be seeing more of him in the future.”
”Just as friends?” Seth asked.
Good question. Did she think she could really be only friends with Jack? ”That's all we are right now, just two old friends becoming reacquainted.” ”That's all we are right now, just two old friends becoming reacquainted.”
”Are you going to date him again?”