Meg's Moment (33 page)

He hesitated, his eyes studying her face. “When I was fifteen I went to school one day and there she was, dressed in her cheerleading outfit, sucking down a milkshake
,
and laughing with her friends. She was like a fantasy
;
gorgeous, sweet, popular. But the thing was, she didn’t know it. She was shy and reserved and that only made her more desirable.” Jack paused and Megan thought what a putz. He
was
still pining over some cheerleading slut from high school. Loser.

“The first time I saw her I knew she was the one,” he continued, “There she was leaning on a brick pillar, pom poms in hand. She tilted her head up, swung her long brown hair off her shoulder, and laughed at something someone said and then she looked directly at me with eyes bluer than the sky and smiled a sweet crooked smile and I melted on the spot. I’m talking total evaporation. It was love at first sight. I was toast.”

Ok change that to mega loser. “So? Did you ever tell her? Ask her out?”

Jack shook his head. “I wasn’t in her league. I was a scrawny dork. She dated jocks and the cool guys. She deserved someone better than me.” His eyes flashed something that looked a lot like hurt and Megan mentally changed his status back to just plain old loser. She took his hand and he flinched then relaxed into her grasp. Poor guy, she felt the same way in school. Josie was always the hot one and Megan was just the average, smart girl that everyone asked out after Josie shot them down. Not that Josie shot many of them down.

“Jack, I can’t imagine you as scrawny. And even if you were, it was the other way around. If she couldn’t see beyond the packaging to what was inside, she didn’t deserve you.” He raised her hand to his mouth and lightly kissed her knuckles. “I’m telling you Jack, high school was awkward for everyone. Me for instance
.
I was totally invisible, completely average.” Jack tried to hide his surprise at that statement. She couldn’t possibly not know how beautiful she was and still is. “I hung out with Josie, so I just looked like the schoolie side kick. The straight A, honor society geek with no curves
,
and a best friend that looked like a walking Barbie Boll. If it weren’t for Josie no one would have ever even known I was alive. And even then I think they just dated me to try their chances at Josie. She was the real prize.”

What
,
was she crazy? Jack laughed. “Megan, I appreciate the support, but I find it hard to believe you were anything but beautiful. You may not of known it but I’d bet the bank everyone else noticed.” I sure as hell did.

“You
’
r
e
sweet,” Megan said then changed the subject. “So what happened to this girl? Have you tried to find her?”

“Last I heard she married some blockhead idiot who had no idea what he had and he broke her heart. I believe she’s divorcing him.” Megan took her hand back from Jack and felt her heart shrink in disappointment. Little Miss Pom Poms was back on the market and Jack was obviously still in love with her. He’d go after her and this bimbo would be a fool to let him get away. Megan forced a cheery smile.

“Well that’s perfect, for you anyway. All you have to do is find her, win her heart, confess your love, and live happily ever after.” She tried to sound perky but her voice came out more like a robots. She didn’t want the cheerleader heart stealer to have happily ever after with Jack. She didn’t know if she wanted it either, but she sure didn’t want some shallow, stuck up snob to have him. He deserved better.

“Lucky for you, you’re a private detective. Finding people is what you do.”

I already found you. “Yeah lucky for me,” Jack said in a distant voice. After a moment he took a swig of his tea, wiped his mouth and said, “Megan I need to talk to you
.
”

A
t the same time she said,
“
I want to talk to you, Jack.”

“Go ahead,” they both said in clumsy unison.

Jack grinned and gestured for Megan to go ahead. She folded her hands together on the table, took a deep
breath
and began, “Jack, first I want to say thank you for everything you’ve done,” she gave a shy smile, “including dealing with Granny and putting up with my mother. I swear my dad is normal. Kind of. Anyway, you have been wonderful and I don’t know how I could possibly repay you.” I can think of a number of ways Jack thought
,
but decided to keep that quiet for now. “Also, I owe you a major apology.” Megan frowned and met his eyes, her eyes electric blue and full of sincerity and truth. “When I called you that day and uh asked you to help me locate those guys I
,
uh
,
well I had no right to blackmail you the way I did.” Jack nodded and smiled and Megan shook her head and continued
.
“I also have to apologize for thinking of you as a lowlife. I acted shallow and stupid and now that I’ve gotten to know you I see what a wonderful person you are and
,
well
,
I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner. I wasn’t looking and I’m so sorry for misjudging you.” He took her hand, his eyes molten chocolate and burning a hole through her.

“Megan, you don’t owe me any apologies.”

She was shaking her head.
“Yes, I do. I have been behaving like an idiot…”

“Megan…”

“- and I promise I’ll make it up to you...”
okay,
that sound
ed
promising.

“Megan, I’m the one…”

“-because I really value our friendship.” Ouch! The f word. Not good. Not sure how to proceed, Jack simply nodded and said nothing. He had planned to tell her how she had been the girl that had stolen his heart so long ago and that she still held it but the whole friend thing shook him. He knew that they were a whole lot more than friends, or at least he hoped she didn’t swap tongues and share erotic cuddling with her other friends, but he wasn’t sure if she was dumping him
—
before she ever picked him up
—
or if she was too shy to pick him up, or if she was too confused to know what she wanted which was really frustrating the hell out of him. In fact his eyes were probably crossed as he tried to mull this over and figure out what he wanted to do.

“So,” she said after waiting for Jack to say something. “I think we should talk about your rate.” He raised his hand to protest but she cut him off. “And I need to pay you and Steve for securing my house.” Again he tried to jump in, but now she was digging in her pocket. “And here’s your eighty bucks back plus ten for the cab fare Granny had you pay.”

“Megan…” She pushed the money towards him and nodded.

“Just take it Jack. And tell me what I owe for thus far into our little investigation.”

Ok, this was not going the way she wanted it. She’d gotten through the ‘I’m Sorrys’ but she didn’t have the guts for the ‘Now Take Me’ part. Adele was right, she was a wuss.

And Jack wasn’t helping any. He just sat there and nodded. If she didn’t know better she would have thought he was incapable of even a monosyllable thought. He reminded her of Ted’s bobbing head collection of stupid sports guys. If he nodded one more time and his head didn’t fall off she was tempted to just knock it off and get it over with.

“About our ‘little investigation’,” Jack said, “I think we should ca…”

“Jack, before you go any further I want to talk to you about the list. So far we’ve only found four guys on it which still leaves four more.” And to be honest with you, I was really looking forward to finding the other guys on the list…”

Oh hell! That stupid list. That was what this whole thing was about? Once again he’d let his heart get in the way and once again she’d burned him down. The kisses, the hold me crap. More of her manipulative, mixed signal bullshit. As much as he wanted to interpret it some other way, it just wasn’t possible. The truth had hit him again like a brick freaking wall, only this time he was listening. He could take the hint. He’d finish the job. He’d find these geezers. Or not them actually but some inbred hillbilly stand in that made Jethro Clampett look like a freaking Don Juan and then when she found out that the green grass on the other side was actually growing above a septic tank, she’d settle for him. And he’d give it to her long and hard, leaving her the moment she went to sleep with never so much as a backwards glance. He’d get Megan Johnson out of his system and then he’d move the hell on.

Good God she was still babbling but he hadn’t heard a word she’d said.

“
…here I was searching for something when all along it may have been right underneath my nose. So If it’s
okay
with you I’d just as soon pay up and cancel the rest of the job.” All Jack heard of this plea was ‘the job’ and his scowl was downright rude and scary. She looked at him with misty blue eyes full of confusion and he snorted.

He stood abruptly. “Look Megan, I have somewhere I need to be. Call Mickey or Ali or someone to come stay with you so I can go.” Oh hell here come the tears.

“But Jack, I want you to…”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning and we’ll finish our little investigation.”

“But I don’t understand, I said I wanted to…”

“Be ready at nine.” He opened the back door and with his back turned to her he said, “I’ll be in my truck until someone gets here to stay with you. If you have any trouble tonight call the cops. Lock your doors.” He left letting the door slam behind him. Megan was at the backdoor following after him but he made it to his truck and slammed the door just before he heard her say, “Jack
,
I want you.” He snorted. Yeah, she wanted him alright. To serve as a guard dog, to find her old flames from high school so she could get it on in the back seat of a charger, to rev up his hormones and then shoot them back down once she got her cheap little thrill, but mostly she wanted to break his heart. Over and over again.

Megan and Jack spent the next week searching for the guys on the list. Jack had insisted she go with him
every day
and he made her life miserable the whole time. Just as miserable as she was making him. They had just finished scouting the Great Chase Kilborne who was not so great anymore.

“Drive,” Megan yelled when she got to the truck and Jack put the truck in gear slowly idling into first gear, holding his side from laughing so hard. Megan did not seem to find the situation as funny because she had retrieved her water bottle from the cup holder and was pounding him in the shoulder with it. Needless to say, Chase Kilborne and his fatal orgasm were now history.

“Jack?” Megan asked once she could find her voice again. “You want to get something to eat. Maybe try that new Italian place?”

Jack seemed to hesitate. “Can’t,” he finally said.

“Can’t or don’t want to?”

Jack kept his eyes on the road. “Both.” Megan looked defeated and even though Jack had willed himself not to care about her feelings, his heart just wasn’t in it so he added, “I need to be somewhere at 7:00. It’s important.”

“Business?”

He hesitated again and Megan concluded from his silence that there was probably someone else in Jack’s life. She was angry because if that was the case he had led her on, but disappointed at the same time because she was afraid she was falling for Jack Westin and…

“It’s a family matter,” he finally said and she chose to believe him although before she marked him as her territory she was going to find out. As soon as he dropped her off she was going to tail him and make sure. She nodded slowly and let the subject drop. After all, what business was it of hers anyway?

“Jack?” Megan asked after a long silence.

“Mmmm?”

“Do you think after your appointment tonight you could stop by? There something I want to…”

Jack was calculating an answer when he was saved by his ringing cell phone. “Yo,” he said into the phone followed by, “Have you called the police? Call them now! Are you O
K
? Where are they now? I’m on my way
.
” Megan was ramrod straight, eyes wide, awaiting a response.

“That was Granny,” he said while making a U-turn and accelerating his speed. Megan’s face went pale white and her heart about leaped out of her chest.

“Don’t panic Meg, she’s fine,” he pushed up the console separating them and pulled her from the passenger seat to the middle right beside him. Draping his arm protectively around her he squeezed her tight and explained
.
“Apparently the Madrino brothers showed up and she, according to her, knocked them out and tied them up.”

“Oh my God! Why was she even still there? She was supposed to be at Mickey’s place until Mom found her a new retirement home.” Megan was shaking with a combination of anger and fear and Jack whispered, “I don’t know, honey,” while applying soothing kisses to the top of her head. “But everything will be OK.”

***

When they arrived at Megan’s house a squad car was already there and as Jack jumped out of the truck and helped Megan out a car skidded to a stop just behind them and Josie, Dr. Ross
,
and Ali got out quickly.