More Nights With Kate (Jack Ryker) (12 page)

Friday morning I had a follow up appointment with Dr.
Salvatore to check on my progress.  He confirmed that everything looked
good and that my heart density was already showing signs of change.  I quizzed
him about how long I had to wait to get back to my normal activities.  He
told me I could start doing more physical exercise as early as Monday.  If
that went well, I could consider other physical activities as well. 
There’s
one physical activity I’m really missing in particular. 

Kate gave me a wide smile as I came out to the waiting
room.  She had remained focused on me having a healthy heart, so she was
anticipating a good report.

“They say I’m going to pull through,” I told her.

“I already knew that, but is your heart getting stronger?”

“The density is already showing signs of improvement, so he
said it’s a good sign.  Maybe I won’t have to get you a Sybian after all.”

“A what?” she asked with an almost comical look on her face.

“A Sybian.  You’ll have to Google it.”

Monday February 13, 2012

Kate

On Monday morning, he decided to check in with Brandon and
Jayne while working out on the treadmill, instead of planting himself on the
couch. 
There is a new level of intensity in everything he does. 
I’m excited to see what happens when he’s fully recovered.

“How was your workout?” I asked, as he came back into the
master suite where I was getting ready.

“It felt great.  My chest is still a little sore, but
not bad.”

“That’s good.  The doctor said that Monday would be the
earliest
you could work out, so you have to expect a little soreness.”

Before hitting the shower, Jack ducked into his office to
make a quick call, and I overheard him talking about the Ricci bothers once
again.  I had seen Anthony’s name on his phone when it rang late the night
before.  It sounded like Anthony was giving Jack an update on what was
going on back in the city.

“Thank you for doing that, Anthony, but I have a new mission
for all three of you,” he told him.

“Yes, all three of you.  I know that it might sound
crazy, but I’ve realized that I owe them something.  Also, I want to
utilize their skill set as well as their father’s reputation,” he said followed
by a long pause.

“No, we’re not going to the dark side,” he laughed. 
“Just ask them to meet you this Thursday morning at the office.  I’ll set
up a video conference and explain everything to all three of you,” he added
followed by another pause.

“Trust me, Anthony.  Set up the meeting and I guarantee
that you will all like the proposal I’m bringing to the table.  You will
be doing what you love and will have a chance to become a rich man in the
process.”

Jack smiled as he walked back into the bedroom and hung up
the phone. “I’m going to blow their minds.”

“It sounds like it.  Are you going to let me in on the
plan?”

“Of course. I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll
tell you about it over breakfast,” he said grabbing a robe and towel.

“Do you need an extra hand in there?” I yelled to him as he
got into the shower.

“No, I’m not quite ready to put the pacemaker through that
test yet,” he replied with a laugh.

“We’ll save that for tomorrow night,” I teased.  “It’s
our first Valentine’s Day together, you know.”

“I know,” he said with a little wariness in his voice.

“Don’t worry, Jack… I’ll go easy on you.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that line before, hun.”

I had to laugh at his apprehension, but I also knew that I
was going to have to be careful for the next few weeks.  He had come
incredibly close to checking out on me, and there was no way that I was going
to be responsible for causing some type of problem. 
Even though sex is
great, it doesn’t have to be the focal point of our relationship.  Our
love will continue to mature beyond this phase. 

~~~

Jack

I’m going to downplay the sex thing until tomorrow night
because I want her to be pleasantly surprised.  I’ve always believed in
setting reduced expectations, so they can easily be beaten. 
I want our
first Valentine’s Day to be one that she’ll never forget.  I just wish I
would’ve had another week to recover fully, but I’ll just have to make the best
of it.  My pulse was perfect on the treadmill this morning, so as long as
I don’t go crazy, everything should be fine.

As we sat down to eat breakfast that morning, I grabbed my
laptop and opened a browser.  My intention was to show Kate what a 3D
Printer was, and how we were going to use these state of the art machines to
manufacture her clothing line.  Suddenly I remembered something and I typed
the following into my Google search bar:

Koj noj qab haus huv yog nyob rau hauv koj lub hlwb

“What is that?” Kate asked, as she came to the table and sat
down next to me.

“I have no idea.  It’s another message that came to me during
my time in the light.  I just had the urge to type it in,” I replied and
pressed the search button.

The results that came back were a mishmash of various sites
that seemed to have two things in common.  They were all related to the
medical field, and they had something to do with the Hmong people. 
Opening several of the documents, it quickly became obvious that all of them
were written in the Hmong language. 
What the heck?

“Go to Google Translate,” Kate suggested.

I opened up Google Translate and pasted “Koj noj qab haus
huv yog nyob rau hauv koj lub hlwb” into the translation box.  It was
indeed written in the Hmong language, which meant absolutely nothing to
me.  The message that appeared in the English translation box, however,
couldn’t have been more direct… 
Your health is in your mind.

“What the hell…” Kate gasped.

“I have no idea.  Why would I receive that message in
Hmong instead of in English?”  It didn’t seem to make any sense, but
considering the content of the message, I was determined to find any valid
connection. 

After surfing around on Google for a few minutes, I found my
answer in the acronym SUNDS - Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome. 
I felt my heart skip a beat upon reading that SUNDS was very deadly and the
cause of death was attributed to irregular heart rhythms.  The only way
someone survived the episode was if their heart returned to normal on its own
or if someone intervened through cardiac defibrillation.

“Good thing I had a pacemaker installed,” I mumbled as I
read through the article.

“What does this have to do with you though?” Kate asked in
an uneasy tone.

“Good question,” I replied, as I began to type various SUNDS
related phrases into Google. I was searching for a more complete answer.

Scrolling down the listings, one caught my attention. 
It talked about how 117 Hmong men had died from the affliction and 116 of them
had seemed to be completely healthy.  Their average age was 33 at the time
of death, and researchers had concluded that even though they died from irregular
heartbeats, the root cause was deep-seeded beliefs. 

“This article could easily explain the nature of our family
curse.”

“It’s all in your head?” Kate asked, her tone suddenly
turning a bit more optimistic.

“Well, the message said “
your health is in your mind,”
and this article talks about how all of these healthy men were apparently
killed by their beliefs.  It’s a pretty clear message, and I suppose it
makes sense.  If you hold a belief as fact for long enough, it normally
comes true.”

I sent myself a copy of the article and closed my laptop.
“Let’s have some breakfast.  It’s too early in the day to think about
something so deep.”

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been acting differently the past
week.  A major change definitely took place that day in the hospital,”
Kate replied.

“Everything changed.  I’m on the track to perfect
health, I’ve got a bunch of factory workers to take care of, and I’m more
certain than ever that I’ll live to be 93.  And if I’m going to live that
long, I have to take better care of this body.”

“I couldn’t agree more…”

Kate

It’s nice to see Jack addressing his health issues
through diet and exercise instead of pharmaceuticals and hormones.  I’m
not sure what to think of that whole thing with the Hmong message.  I’ve
always felt there was more to this amazing world than most of us ever imagine,
but that was really crazy.  I wonder if he gained any insights into our
future together. 
Seizing the opportunity to change the conversation
back to business, Jack began talking about making some serious revisions to our
business plan.

The tired man who wanted to sail off into the sunset had
been replaced by someone who seemed half his age.  At the moment, it was
primarily a mental shift, but there was no doubt that his body would catch up in
the weeks and months ahead. 
The real Jack is definitely back.  I
couldn’t be more excited to have him as a partner in life as well as in
business!

Monday turned out to be an ultra-productive day.  Jack
had spent the day working on ideas that would allow us to reduce labor costs
and compete with overseas manufacturers.  Meanwhile, I spent most of my
time on the phone working with Brandon, Jayne, and Brenda, who were back in the
New York office.  It’s a good thing that they couldn’t see me, as I had
joined the conversation from my favorite spot on the Lido deck.  February
is definitely a good month to miss in the city.  I was very grateful to be
able to work remotely, and still remain in the flow. 
After Jack gets
the broadband access hooked up, we will be able to work from almost anywhere in
the world.

~~~

As the sun began to sink on the western horizon, I excused
myself from the call to check in with my mom.  In spite of the current
turbulence in our relationship, I really wanted her to know about all of the
good things that were happening.  She had made it obvious how bored and
lonely she was feeling, so I made a resolution to reach out to her more
often.  Unfortunately, she didn’t answer.  I left a message giving
her a brief update.  At the end of the message, I told her that I loved
her as well as how much I missed spending Sunday afternoons with her and
Belinda. 
I really do miss those days.

Jack

For some reason, I woke up at 5:00 am, completely filled with
energy.  There was no way I was going to get back to sleep, so I slipped
out of bed trying not to disturb Kate.  My mind had obviously been working
all night because I had solutions to several of the issues that I had been
working on.  I jotted down several ideas so I wouldn’t forget them during
my work out.  Carla had told me that the best time to work out was in the
morning before eating anything.  I never thought that I would like working
out on an empty stomach but I was willing to give it a try.  I grabbed my
phone and hit the treadmill.

I sent a few texts to crewmembers, making sure that
everything was ready for a perfect Valentine’s Day.  Carla was scheduled
to give Kate a massage at 10:00 am, and then Chef Jameson had prepared a picnic
for us that we would enjoy on a quiet beach on the southern edge of Paradise
Cove.  I could feel my heart beat quicken as I thought back to the day
that Kate and I had spent having fun in the Virgin Islands.   My goal
was to recapture the magic that we both had experienced that day.

 Paradise Cove is home to Deadman’s Reef, which is a
beautiful spot to snorkel or scuba dive.  We had such a good time in the
mini-sub last time that I decided that we would take it again. 
I’m
driving this time, though. 
Edward had been a good tour guide, but
this time I wanted it to be just the two of us.
 
My thoughts
drifted back to the shower we had shared after returning from snorkeling that
day. 
Whoa, it’s dangerous to think thoughts like that while I’m on the
treadmill.  This is going to be a great day.

Kate

I awoke to the sound of Jack running on his treadmill. 
Looking over at the clock, I saw that it was only 5:18 am, way too early for me
to get up.  I rolled over and tried to settle in once again.  My
thoughts began to drift back to the events of the previous morning. 
Did
Jack really type that Hmong message or was it something he pre-arranged? 
He could’ve easily made the whole thing up to convince me that nothing is
really wrong with him.  It just seems so unbelievable that he could sit
down at a computer and type something like that in a language he didn’t
know.  I guess the only way to find out is to search the history on his
computer.  There will be a record of any Hmong searches he performed prior
to yesterday. 
 
Stop thinking
, I tried to relax and fall
back to sleep.

~~~

“I brought you one of your favorite breakfasts,” was the
next thing I heard.

“What time is it?”

“Almost nine,” Jack replied, as he set down the tray and sat
on the bed next to me.  “Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” he said while
kissing me on the forehead.  “I have a full day planned for us.”

“What’s the plan?” 

“After breakfast, Carla is going to give you a massage,
while I get a lesson on how to drive the Triton mini-sub,” he said with
excitement in his voice.

“Alright, are we going on an adventure?”

“Yeah, we’re going to spend the day at Paradise Cove,” he
replied, running his hand slowly along the length of my back.

“Ahhhh, Paradise.  That sounds nice.”  I
stretched, trying to wake up.

“It’s going to be a good day,” he replied giving me one more
kiss before heading off to the shower.

What a wonderful way to start the day, breakfast in bed
followed by a Swedish massage.  He is such a thoughtful man.  I know
that I shouldn’t be concerned about whether or not he typed that phrase into
Google yesterday, but it’s still bugging me.  Jack’s laptop is on, so it
would be easy to click a button and check the history.  After that, I’m
going to see if I can stop thinking for the rest of the day and truly enjoy
myself.

After checking to make sure that Jack was in the shower, I
clicked the “history” button on his browser.  Jack hadn’t been on his
computer much in the past week, so it only took a couple of minutes to browse
through the history.  Prior to yesterday, there weren’t any searches
pertaining to anything Hmong. 
For some reason, seeing the clear
history didn’t ease my mind.  I guess I was still having trouble believing
that someone could type a sentence in a foreign language they didn’t
know.  I may just have to admit that this world is much more mysterious
than the black and white version my mother raised me in. 

At that point, I resolved to clear my mind for the rest of
the day. 
Regardless of what happened yesterday, all I want is for him
to be perfectly healthy.  I also want this to be a Valentine’s Day neither
of us will ever forget.

Jack

As I stood there in the shower, a part of me was hoping to
feel Kate’s hands reaching for me from behind.  In reality, I knew she
probably wouldn’t do anything like that until she knew for certain that my
heart was healthy. 
Hopefully, the Hmong message we received yesterday
will put her mind at ease.  The fact that I was able to run on the
treadmill this morning should add some confidence as well.  Going forward,
I will have to continue to prove to her that my heart is recovering
completely.  I don’t want that cloud hanging over our relationship.

After finishing my shower and putting on a robe, the first
thing I noticed was that the screen saver on my computer was no longer active. 
For some reason, I had become more perceptive about things like that over the
years
.  I guess I’ve always been protective of my computers, but I have
no problem with Kate using it.  It’s not like I have anything to hide from
her.
  I clicked to search the activity log just out of curiosity, but
it appeared that the only thing she had done was search my browser
history. 
Hmmm, what would she be looking for in my history? 
Checking to see if I’ve been surfing porn or something?  I’ve hardly been
out of her sight for the past week. That’s very strange.

Walking back into the master bedroom, I saw that Carla had
arrived and Kate was face down on the massage table. 
Perfect,
I
thought to myself as I winked at Carla and quietly made my way to the other end
of the massage table.  Carla picked up on my cue and ran her hand along
Kate’s arm as she, too, made her way to the foot of the table.  She then
smiled as I mouthed, “five minutes.”  As she exited the room, I gently
lifted Kate’s foot and began to massage her arch.

“Mmmm, that’s nice,” she moaned.

Kate

I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but it was obvious
that Jack had just taken over for Carla.  In addition to the difference in
hand size, the intense heat was a dead giveaway.  As Jack moved from my
feet to the backs of my knees, I quickly realized what he was doing. 
He
knows all of my weaknesses.
 By the time he began working his way up
my inner thighs, I could feel the heat building deep within me.  God,
I
love how he does that.
  He slipped his hands under my mound and slowly
caressed me with his fingers.  The sensitivity was heightened by the fact
that it had been almost a week since the hot tub incident.  
It
seems like it’s been much longer.
 As his hands slid up along the
curves of my ass, I realized that he had effectively cleared my mind. 
This
is exactly what I needed.
  I had been hoping to revert to the feelings
that I had felt during our first week together, before I began to worry about
everything.

He ran his hands along my spine and began to work on my
neck.  I always carried so much tension in that area and his hands
magically released it almost immediately.  He caressed his way up the
sides of my neck and then began to rub my earlobes between his oil-laden
fingers. 
He is hitting every hot button.
 His fingers slid
along the outer edges of my ears.  Then he worked his way back to the
earlobes, back down my neck, and along the length of my spine to my
sacrum.  After lingering for a few more subtle strokes along my ass, he
slowly worked his way down to the backs my knees, and then to my feet where he
had begun.  He slowly massaged between each of my toes before I felt his
hands gently leave my body. 
More please!

“Are you enjoying the massage so far?” Carla asked.

“It’s much more sensual than I expected,” I replied with a
sigh. 

Carla is a wonderful masseuse, but after being teased by
Jack, I had a hard time returning my focus to the present moment. 
Instead, I found myself scheming about how I was going to exact payback on him for
leaving me in such a state of sexual discontentment. 

~~~

Jack

I had to smile as I left Kate and Carla to go find
Edward.  I could tell that Kate was aroused because of the telltale goose
bumps and her subtle moans. 
If I know her, she is already busy
scheming about how she’s going to get even with me.  I love her
feistiness.  That’s what will keep our relationship fresh.  Things
have been way too serious lately and life is too short for that shit. 
Getting back to teasing each other will be a welcome change.

As Edward demonstrated all of the various gauges and
controls on the mini-sub, I tried my best to concentrate on what he was telling
me. 
It can’t be that difficult to maneuver this thing.  I’m a
pretty quick learner. 
There were dozens gauges and sensors, but most
of that was only necessary if you were planning on going to significant
depths.  We were just going to be cruising around in the shallows.

Edward suddenly stopped, looked at me and asked, “Okay, so
which one is the oxygen sensor?”

“Oxygen sensor?” I quickly glanced across the control panel
hoping it would be obvious.  It wasn’t.

“Maybe I should just go with you guys,” he replied a little
apprehensively.  After all, Triton recommends taking a four-week training
course prior to piloting their subs.

Craving some alone time with Kate, that was out of the
question.  “We’ll have Tommy drop us off with the chopper and maybe you
can come pick us up about 2:30 pm.  That way we could tour the reefs on
the way back.”

“That would be fine with me,” Edward readily agreed. 
“You seem a little distracted today.”

“Well, it is Valentine’s Day, Ed, and I’ve got a hot, little
lady occupying my mind.”

Ed nodded and shot me a jealous grin as I hopped out of the
mini-sub.  It was time to check with Chef Jameson to make sure that
everything was ready for our lunch in Paradise.  I also stopped by to talk
to Tommy, just to make sure there weren’t any issues with the chopper. 

Kate

As Carla finished my massage, I realized that I had actually
drifted off for the last few minutes.  My muscles felt more relaxed than
they had in weeks, but there was still an anxious tension lurking below. 
Jack
has been so hesitant to initiate much physical contact recently, probably out
of fear that we would take things too far.  I think the teasing earlier
was to let me know that he’s ready.  I’m definitely ready, too.
 
We’ve
only been together a little over five weeks and I still have a hard time
keeping my hands off him.
 

Jack returned just as I was debating what I should wear for
our little excursion.  “How was your massage, sweetie?” he asked, giving
me a pat on the butt.

“It was great except it left me sort of unfulfilled for some
reason.”

“Hmmm, that’s strange,” he replied with a laugh.

“I’m trying to decide what to wear.”

“All you need is your swimsuit and maybe a cover up for the
flight over there.”

“Flight?”

“Yeah, we’re going to take the chopper and we’re no longer
going to Paradise Cove.  Lewis said it’s kind of a tourist magnet on
Valentine’s Day.  I’m taking you somewhere secluded where we can have the
whole beach to ourselves.”

“That sounds nice,” I replied leaning into him and running
my free hand along his ass.

“Go get your suit on.  It’s gorgeous out,” he replied
with a sense of urgency.  “I’m going to go talk with Tommy about where we
are headed.  Come to the helipad as soon as you’re ready.”

It seems I’m not the only one anxious to get our love
life back on track.  I’m really glad we are going somewhere romantic and
secluded.  I would rather spend the day with Jack instead of surrounded by
a bunch of strangers.  I think he’ll like my sexy new cover up.

Jack

What I really wanted to do is slip Kate’s robe off her
shoulders and carry her off to bed.  Even though I’m using less
testosterone, I’m still feeling incredibly virile.  I think the
combination of a pacemaker, stem cells, and testosterone is doing exactly what
I had planned.

“Hey, Tommy, I’ve had a change of plans,” I said as I
approached the chopper.  “Lewis says Paradise cove is going to be crowded
today.  Do you know anything about Mores Island or Top Cay?”

“You’re looking for seclusion I take it?” he replied with a
smirk.

“Total seclusion, but I want it to be beautiful, too.”

“I know just where to take you.  There is a cay about 25
miles East of here, where the water is as beautiful as anywhere in the
Caribbean, and you’ll have about 150 meters of sugar sand beach all to
yourself.”

“That sounds perfect,” I replied giving him a slap on the
back.  I didn’t really care where we were going, as long as it was
beautiful and we were the only ones there. 
We will have to go
exploring in the mini-sub another day.

Holy shit…
  Kate blew me away as she approached
the helicopter.  She had a little black knit cover up on that totally
accentuated her assets. “I thought you were going to wear a cover up,” I teased
her as she climbed onboard.

“I am,” she smiled.

“No, that’s definitely not a cover up…. Is it Tommy?”