Jack and Ginger (Sacred Heart Coven Book 3) (13 page)

"My grandfather had plenty of money and invested it well. He purchased enough properties so that each of his eight grandchildren had enough of an income to sustain us along side of our trust. We were all truly blessed with a silver spoon our mouths."

"Really? I can't imagine what that would have been like." Ginger hoped that it didn't sound like she was judging him or coming off snotty, it wasn't her intention. She truly couldn't imagine that. "And seven cousins, wow I don't have any."
 

"Some of them are my siblings, not all cousins. It's been really awesome having such a large family. We don't all get along all the time, but there is always someone there for you. As for the money, it's funny; I know some people would think that having enough money to get through life would make a person lazy and content. It actually had the opposite effect on me.
 

"I felt a strong need to prove my worth and prove that I could succeed on my own. I made a promise to myself that I would not touch that money until I found my own way. I intended to use it for my retirement."
 

"I'm sure that is some nest egg you have there. It looks like you succeeded at proving yourself. You have this successful consulting business. Your parents must be very proud of you."

"Hey folks, sorry to keep you guys waiting," the waitress came over and interrupted. "Are you set to order?"

"I think so, I didn't even look at the menu, but I think we are going to just order salad and pizza. Unless you want something else, Ginger?" Redford passed the ball to Ginger.

"No, that sounds perfect. Can we have a large house salad? What kind of toppings do you want? We can order two pies," Ginger asked.

"I'm open, I eat pretty much anything on my pizza except anchovies and I don't care for the whole pineapple and ham thing."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that, we don't have those options here. Oh and also what can I get you guys to drink?"

"I will just have water for now. Let's do a sausage and peppers pie and a plain pie half black olive. Does that work?" Ginger ordered.

"Sounds great and I will have a club soda with a lemon and a lime please," Redford added to the order. The waitress was gone in a flash; the dinner crowd was starting to filter in.
 

" My parents are ok now with what I do, but they would have preferred if I had gone a more traditional route. For me I was affected by watching my mother's father struggle through life. He had to get a job at a very young age. He never finished high school so all he had to work with was his hands. It took its toll on him and his body started to fail with age.
 

"He went on disability and social security younger than he would have liked to admit. He was happy that my mother married into money. He said he could die knowing that she and his grand children would be provided for. He was a proud man and would never let my mother use her husband's money to take care of him."
 

"Wow really? How awful, yet in a strange way respectable." Ginger opened the straw that the waitress delivered with their drinks.

"There were times I could see the sadness in his eyes when I was young. He could not afford to give us the things that my father's family could. But he taught me about hard work and about having pride in what I do. I learned true inner strength from him. He also taught me about humility. He was a true role model.
 

"My family's wealth on each side was like polar opposites. I saw growing up how money affected people. I tried to take away from both of my grandfathers the best qualities I could. When I have the chance, I try to give back to others who are less fortunate.
 
I have been volunteering with the Big Brothers organization since I was in college. I have also been getting involved the past few years with the NFL play organization. I coach a summer flag football team for grade schoolers."
 

Redford squeezed the fruit slices into his seltzer and took a sip. He didn't waste his time with the straw.

"How do you find time for all that? I am impressed." Ginger really was. This guy was way too good to be true.

"I'm single, so I don't have a wife or family to come home to. It leaves me with a lot more free time than my friends and family that have families of their own. Don't get me wrong it would be nice to have my own family it just hasn't happened yet." Redford looked down into his glass swirling the ice in a circle before taking another sip.

Ginger felt the mood of the conversation shift. It was a little heavier than she was ready for.
 

"So you are a Chicago fan?" she asked bringing it back to something lighter and something she knew that they had in common. Wait until he found out.
 

"Bear down baby!"

"I assumed you wouldn't wear a Bears shirt if you were not really a fan. That must make living in Chicago even better."

"It comes along with the territory for sure. My family actually chips in and we have an executive suite for the year for all the home games. Believe me, they never go to waste. There is always someone that wants to go or needs to entertain clients. On a rare occasion we have to duke it out."

"No you don't, do you?" Ginger heard her stomach rumbling and she hoped that he couldn't hear it. She looked over to see if their waitress was anywhere in sight with their food.
 

"It has come pretty close." Redford laughed.

"It was my dream to go to Soldier field with my father."

"If you guys come up, you will have to let me know. If you give me enough notice I will get the boxing gloves out if I need to, you guys can be my guests." Redford looked up as the waitress put the salad down at the center of the table and two side plates. "Thank you."

Ginger felt her chest tighten up. She cleared her throat and rubbed her purple nails across her forehead.

"Everything ok? I thought you were hungry." Redford asked as he piled up the salad on his plate.

"Yeah, I am. I'm sorry it's just that I wish I had met you six month ago."

"Why?" He poured a very calculated amount of dressing over the crisp lettuce. Ginger was suddenly unaware of the noises of the busy restaurant around her.

"It's just that my father and I...
 
I... lost him a few months ago. It is still kind of fresh for me." Ginger used the two forks to fill her plate with some lettuce and a slice of provolone cheese.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Losing a loved one is never easy. But it sounds like you had a great relationship with him. Is that how you became a Chicago fan?"
 

"Yes, it wasn't completely on purpose though. When I was a kid I loved to watch TV. I could watch hours of cartoons or whatever the hot new kid friendly sitcom was. I even loved to watch re-runs of shows long before my time, you remember Nick at Night, right?"

He nodded as he shoved a large forkful
 
of salad into his mouth.
 

"I loved the magic of television. It was like reading a book without the same amount of effort. I could get lost and escape my own world. My world wasn't really all that bad, but what teenage girl doesn't have angst and non-reality-based drama to worry about. It all faded away when I watched television.

"Then Sunday or Monday night would roll around. We only had one television in the house. My dad had it tuned in long before kickoff. What he said was what went. I had no say in what we watched, there was no way he wouldn't have the Bears games on. On a rare occasion he would let things slide if the Bears weren't on the local channel that day."

"It was like that in my house too, but we did have more than one TV, but the games were on all of them. Football is a part of my life."
 

Ginger watched as he pushed the plate off to the side. His hands were large and they looked strong. His skin looked smooth, she wondered if he shaved or if he naturally didn't have hair on his fingers. Roger had hair on his fingers and it always annoyed her.

"There was a time, and I remember it clear as day, when I hated football, I hated that I had to watch football. My dad would quiz me Sundays at dinner on the teams and what city they belonged to. He would ask me to recite the teams that were in each league. I knew the football teams better than I knew the state capitals or how many presidents we had."

The pizza finally came to the table. Ginger wanted to stuff her face, but she still could feel a lump in her throat so she picked at her salad moving the lettuce around the plate.

"So if I ask you where the Eagles are from you could tell me?"

"That's an easy one, everyone knows it's Philadelphia. Some of the girls I went to school with thought it would be a good idea to cheerlead to get closer to the football players. I had a much better idea. I took the knowledge of what my father force-fed me as a small child and applied it in high school. I became the assistant trainer slash glorified water girl. This was where I developed my interest in sports medicine.
 

"I thought for a long time that I would go on to graduate school to become a physical trainer or occupational therapist. But then when I had to find a way to make the most amount of money I could to pay my way through school, that didn't involve taking my clothes off or selling illegal substances, I started working in restaurants. My first job was as a server, I then took on many roles like bartender, hostess, line cook, I even handled the banquet bookings at one establishment. I fell in love with food.
 

"That is how I became a sports nutritionist. It is also how I developed my love for the Bears. I spent many Sunday afternoons trying to learn everything about football and other sports when my dad was up for it."

 
There were a few shaky minutes she was afraid she was going to lose it, but talking about her dad actually started to make her feel less upset How else could she celebrate than by a bite of crispy pizza?

"Sounds like you and I have a lot in common. Now I wish I wasn't going back to Chicago so soon. It would be really nice to go out again. I am really enjoying your company."

"It's fun, other than the fact that you almost made me cry." Ginger looked up at him with slightly hooded eyes and batted her eyelashes at him.
 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." He reached across the table and put his hand on top of hers. She felt a shiver course through her spine. She wished that it wasn't so obvious, but her shoulders quaked at his touch. "I don't usually make girls cry on a first date."

Ginger's head cocked up and he looked at him with questioning eyes. A date, who said anything about a date. Her cheeks got hot. With her complexion she was sure that they were extra pink.

"Oh, I didn't mean. I guess this isn't a date right. I would have to actually ask you out. Which I would really like to do." Redford's lips curled up into one of the sexiest smiles she had ever seen.

The moment was abrasively interrupted by her phone ringing. She hit ignore on it and sent the call to voice mail without looking at it.

Ginger smiled back at Redford. "I don't even know your last name. How is your pizza by the way."?

"The pizza, if you go for this sort of thing, is delicious. The crust has the right amount of chew to it so it is not tough, but thin and drippy, very easy to eat. You said you thought it would be less calories since the dough is so thin, but I could probably eat this whole pizza by myself."

"You mean this whole pie," she corrected him and double raised her eyebrows at him. Before he could respond her phone started ringing again. She took a bite of her pizza and sent it to voicemail again.

He looked over at her phone. And before she could take another bite of her slice, the phone started to ring again. Ginger took a deep breath and pulled her lips in between her teeth. She picked up her phone it was the third time that Roger called her.
 

She was pretty sure that Redford could see that her phone said Roger. So much for him thinking about a date when some guy kept calling her.

"It might be important. Perhaps you should answer it. I won't be offended."

Ginger hit ignore again. "I'm sorry, I should have turned my ringer off before we came in here. It's not often that my phone rings so much. "And again it began to ring again.

Redford's pinched his lips together and opened his eyes. He looked back to the phone again. "I have to use the little boys room anyway. Will you excuse me for a minute?"

"Sure," Ginger said and as she watched him walk to the back of the restaurant she answered the phone.