Seasons (10 page)

Jaci stood, wound up, and threw the roll, as hard as she could. He swung with the flower, hit the roll and sent it flying
across the room, where it hit a framed picture on the wall. J.P.’s deep laughter filled the room, while Jaci stood with her
hands over her mouth, mortified at what she had done.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe we just did that! I’m so tired, I must be out of my mind. Here I am throwing bread around in the
middle of the night.” She picked up the roll and held it up, showing him it was still intact. “See what I mean. Hard as a
rock.”

He walked over and looked down at her with an expression on his face she hadn’t seen before. “I’ve really enjoyed this time
with you, Jaci. You’re a lot of fun.” He moved closer and cupped her face in his hand. “You’re also one of the most beautiful
women it has been my privilege to know. With the most beautiful eyes.” He leaned down and kissed both of her eyes. “And the
most kissable lips,” his lips lightly brushed hers, “that I have ever seen.” His lips returned and rested longer on hers.
“In fact, everything about you is beautiful.”

With eyes closed and on tiptoes straining to reach his lips, Jaci knew she was going to scream if he didn’t kiss her the way
she yearned for him to. Her arms went around him and pulled him closer.

J.P. groaned, then said, “Oh honey, I don’t know if we should be doing this,” before his lips covered hers in a deep passionate
kiss. She was the one who groaned then, and tried to get closer to him. “God, Jaci!” he said, then kissed her softly on the
forehead. “I’m throwing you out of here right now. Come on, out you go.” He propelled her across the room, opened the door,
and pushed her through it and into the hallway, slamming the door behind her.

Jaci stood on the other side of the door, drawing deep breaths to gain control of herself. Oh Lord! Talk about coming undone!
She had really lost it! She turned to walk the few steps to her room, then realized she didn’t have her purse and room key.
She knocked on his door and waited. The door opened just enough and he handed her the purse before slamming it again.

Jaci dazedly opened her door, walked into her room, and sat down heavily on the bed. What in the world had gotten into her?
She had just acted in a way that was totally out of character. Never had she imagined herself in that kind of scene with J.P.
Gilmore. She was sitting there puzzling over her behavior when the phone rang, startling her.

“Hello?” she answered softly.

“I don’t know what the heck just happened, but I wanted to say good night. See you at seven in the morning, okay?” He paused
a few seconds. “Jaci? Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

“I apologize. I didn’t plan on that happening, believe me. I wouldn’t do anything to harm you or our friendship. You know
that, don’t you?”

“It’s okay, J.P. No harm done. Good night.” She hung up the phone and shook her head in amazement.
What was I thinking? I should be very grateful to him. If he hadn’t stopped, I might have done something I would really regret
in the morning.
Deciding it was just a fluke, she convinced herself not to waste any time analyzing it, but instead to just forget it and
get some much needed sleep. In her prayer before getting into bed she added, “Lord, I don’t understand what happened tonight,
but strengthen me in my weakness and help me to be very careful around Mr. Jason Gilmore.”

“I’m very pleased!” J.P. told her the following morning on their way to the airport. While they waited to board the plane
for home, he continued talking about the intricacies of the software he was developing for the hotel. Neither gave any indication
that something out of the ordinary had happened between them. “I have no doubt we can produce a software program to fit the
hotel’s needs, but I’m not certain we’ll make the cut because they’re concerned that we’re too small to handle the level of
technical support they’re going to require. I am very satisfied with what we accomplished, though, and I know after talking
with the manager that he’ll keep us in mind. You never know what might come up at a later time. They were certainly impressed
with you.” He said smilingly, “How do you feel about things so far? Think you’re going to like it?”

“I think so,” she answered. “It’s like putting a puzzle together, and I love jigsaw puzzles. So, I think I’m really going
to enjoy it.”

Since they both liked the window seat, they had agreed that Jaci would have it on the trip from Houston and he would have
it on the trip back. He followed her onto the plane to their assigned seats in first class, admiring her from behind. When
she stopped beside their row, the man sitting in the seat across the aisle jumped up to grab her carry-on bag. Smiling down
at Jaci, he asked, “Is this your seat? Here, let me put this up for you.”

“No. That’s okay. I’m going to keep it with me. Thanks though.”

Jaci stepped back to let J.P. slide into the window seat.

J.P. noticed the man smiling at Jaci and looking at her like he could eat her in one bite. “Go on honey, you can have it,”
he told Jaci.

“No, it’s okay. We agreed, remember?”

“Jaci, we’re holding up the line. Will you go on and sit down!”

She shrugged and scooted into the window seat. He followed her and took the aisle seat, then reached over to buckle her seat
belt.

“I think I can handle that,” she told him in a soft voice, before digging in her carry-on bag for a book.

“What’re you reading?” he asked, trying to gauge her feelings.

She held up the book for him to read the cover.
Trying to Sleep in the Bed You Made.
“Interesting title. Was there any particular reason for selecting that book?”

Ohhhh yeah!
she thought, but said, “Not really. My book club is reading it for our next meeting. One of the members read it and said
it was pretty good.”

“So you like to read, huh? I wonder what else I don’t know about you?”

“I would guess there’s a whole lot about me you don’t know,” she answered with a smile.

He grinned. “Yeah. But not for long if I have anything to do with it.”

She pretended she didn’t hear his last comment, and after the plane took off, she read for a mere ten minutes before she felt
her eyes getting heavy. She closed the book and twisted around in the seat until she found a somewhat comfortable position.

“Would you like a pillow and a blanket ma’am?” the flight attendant asked.

“Yes, thank you, I certainly would,” Jaci answered appreciatively.

She went through the process of getting into a comfortable position again, and before she knew it she had drifted off.

“Jaci? You want some lunch?” J.P.’s voice invaded her sleep-dazed mind.

“No thanks,” she whispered before slipping back into sleep.

J.P. woke her when the plane was about to land.

After landing they walked with the man who had been seated across the aisle to the baggage claim area. Jaci found out he was
from Arkansas and was traveling to several states on a business trip.

“Oh! I’m from Arkansas, too,” she told him excitedly. “Where do you live?”

“Little Rock,” he answered. “But I grew up in Camden.”

“Oh really! I’m from Texarkana—or what might be called the suburbs,” she said laughing. “I know a lot of people from Camden.
How long are you going to be in town? Do you know where you’ll be staying?”

The man quickly pulled out a card and wrote the name of the hotel on the back of it. J.P. took the card and put it in his
pocket, giving Jaci an irritated look.

They retrieved their bags and walked out of the airport. As soon as Jaci stepped through the door, a man called her name.
She turned and waved, then walked toward him. J.P. followed her and watched as she and a tall bald-headed guy hugged each
other. She finally turned back to him.

“J.P., this is my friend, Leon. Leon, my boss, J.P. Gilmore.” The two men shook hands before Leon grabbed her bags and put
them in the car, then opened the passenger door for Jaci.

Jaci waved to him as they pulled away from the curb, leaving J.P. standing there feeling like someone had punched him in the
gut. No wonder Jaci hadn’t wanted a ride to the airport with him, he thought angrily. She had a ride.

He and Jaci spent a lot of time on the phone the following week, discussing the information they had collected and how it
would be applied to the software program. He used it as part of her training and was pleased with her progress so far. She
was going to be an asset to his company in a significant way. He asked her point-blank who was the man who had picked her
up from the airport. He had to know, but her answer didn’t bring him the relief he’d hoped for.

“Leon? Leon is the choir director at my church.”

“You guys seemed to know each other pretty well,” J.P. commented.

“We do. I’ve known him for years. He’s a pretty good friend.”

J.P. berated himself. Why was he so reluctant to push for information? He had never been intimidated by a woman—with the exception
of his mother, who could intimidate the president.

The time he had spent with Jaci convinced him that he wanted a deeper relationship with her and he was even more determined
to make it happen. He spent hours strategizing about that when he should have been concentrating on other things. He hadn’t
spoken to his family since his trip to D.C., but he knew the questions were coming sooner or later. He had hoped for later.

“How are things progressing with your lady?” his brother Ron asked as they sat in J.P.’s family room watching the Tennessee
Titans lose yet another game.

He groaned. He was discouraged by Jaci’s actions since their trip. She had reverted to her old, reserved persona—her outer
armor securely back in place.

“You would have to ask! I don’t know, man. I thought I had made some progress when we went to D.C., where I saw a whole new
side to her. In fact, we actually had a lot of fun together.” He remembered their easy camaraderie and the heated scene in
his hotel room. He still couldn’t believe the powerful chemistry between them. But that balloon had quickly popped with the
appearance of the man at the airport. “Since then, it’s like we’re back to square one. The only thing I’m sure of is that
I want a relationship with her, but no matter how hard I try, Jaci won’t let me get close. She won’t go out with me. I have
to go to a hearing or call her for a job just to see her, and every time I try to slip in questions and comments that would
shed light on her personal life, she adeptly side-steps them and returns to business. When I ask about her daughter—I told
you she has a grown daughter, who’s expecting a baby?—all she’ll say is that things are still not going well. I’m really struggling
with this one. I think she might be a little afraid. We’ve already discovered there’s a strong physical attraction between
us.”

Ron’s head popped up. “How did ya’ll find that out? What exactly happened in D.C.?”

J.P. looked at him pointedly. “Now brother, you know that’s none of your business. Back off.”

Ron, suitably reprimanded, tried another line of questioning. “Did you offer to help with her problems? Every woman has some
kind of problem she needs help with, and sometimes offering help will soften her up. Maybe there’s something I can do, you
know, to help fan the flames a little.” He grinned at his own suggestion.

J.P. gave Ron a “give me a break” look. “She just tells me it’s not my problem. And that there’s nothing I can do.”

Ron laughed, enjoying his brother’s frustration. “This lady sounds like she’s a hard nut to crack. I’m just trying to help.”

“Nope. I can handle my own affairs.”

“Speaking of affairs, exactly what kind do you want with this woman? I mean, do you want something short- or long-term?”

“Right now, I’m just trying to get to know her. There’s plenty of time to decide where it’s going after we get past that point.”

“Well just remember to enjoy the game and then run if things start getting too serious.”

“How do you know I don’t want them to get serious? Man, I’m tired of the games. I want a good woman to settle down with.”

“Aw naw!” Ron’s reaction was one of shock. He was happy in his confirmed bachelorhood and thought his brother was too. “I
know that’s not J.P. Gilmore, legendary ladies’ man, I hear talking about settling down. Man, you’re working too hard. You
need to take a break and have some fun.”

“I know what I need. And right now it’s to get to know Jaci Winters. I told you I’m ready for a change. Have been for a long
time.”

Ron gave him a look that said “traitor” before turning away.

J.P. hadn’t talked to Jaci in almost two weeks and was starting to get a little anxious. He didn’t have an assignment for
her at the time and was working on an excuse to call her when it seemed a higher power intervened, providing him the perfect
opportunity to spend some quality time with her. A call came in from a customer about a software problem and instead of assigning
someone else to work it, J.P. decided to go himself and take Jaci along. He said a brief prayer before calling her.

“Jaci? J.P. here. How about driving down to Galveston with me Friday on a troubleshooting job? This is an existing customer
who is not happy with the software we developed. They claim it’s not performing as promised. We have to determine if it’s
actually the software or incorrect application of it,” he explained. “This will give you another perspective on the overall
process we go through in the development of efficient programs and will show how important it is to work with the customer
both before and after the software has been installed.”

“Sure. I guess so. What time?”

“Galveston’s only an hour’s drive away, so why don’t I pick you up about nine? That’ll get us there in plenty of time for
our ten-thirty appointment.”

“I can meet you at your office. That way you won’t have to drive across town to pick me up.”

“Nope. I’ll pick you up. And please don’t argue this, Jaci.” He had decided to stop allowing her to put up barriers between
them.

His plan was to use the trip to break down some of Jaci’s reserve. After picking her up Friday morning, he executed his strategy
by telling her about his son and the ups and downs of getting him through high school and into college.