Kelly Jo (9 page)

"Um...yeah," Jack answered, turning to smile at Wylie.  Jack's heart was thumping and he couldn't bring himself to look back into Kelly Jo's eyes, to see in them that his own future wasn't too sure right now.   If Kelly Jo forgot who Jack was he couldn't conceive how he'd be any help to her.  Worse - her to him.

Wylie's impatience broke through with, "Let's go.  It must be close to time for the talent show and you still need to sign up."

Wylie strode around Jack and Kelly Jo to head toward the parking lot that edged the woods, the eastern boundary of the brick high school.  Jack smothered a grin when he saw Wylie's furtive look toward Kelly Jo's figure, saw Wylie's face redden and his eyes grow a little brighter,  then avert his face and continue to where bright wildflowers divided the woods from the dirt and grass of the school grounds.  "We can use the auditorium entrance."

Jack could hear, from the opened rear door, the faint sounds of a band warming up.  Not too bad, overall, although a little tinny at times.  The two story school was all lit up and tall pole lamps scattered throughout the grounds helped visitors find their way to various locations.

Jack took Kelly Jo's hand in his, to hasten toward where the woods emptied into the school yard, surprised to find her hand ice cold.

Jack laughed and playfully rubbed her hand with his own.  "I know your feet are dirty and need a good scrubbing before you put those heels on, but I hope they aren't as cold as your hand."

Kelly Jo stared at him.

"It was just a joke," Jack said quickly.  "You know, your hands are cold, so did you also get cold feet."  He sighed.  "Okay, so it was a bad joke."

Still she said nothing.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, then looked up to see Wylie running across the grass toward the front of the school.  With a hasty look backward, as he disappeared around the front of the building Wylie gestured for Jack and Kelly Jo to stay where they were.

Jack did.

Kelly Jo didn't.

He clamped his lips together to stop his muttered oath and took off after Kelly Jo as she sprinted barefoot across the grass, the bag carrying her shoes swinging at her side.

Jack's conscious was annoyed, but his subconscious wondered how anyone could look so sexy running in leather.  This outfit differed from the movie in that Kelly Jo wore leather pants and not the shimmery material Olivia Newton John's movements brought to vivid life for John Travolta and every male who'd ever watched
Grease
.  This leather jacket looked the same as what 'Sandy' wore,  but Jack couldn't tell if Kelly Jo sported the off-the-shoulder movie top beneath it since she kept the jacket fairly well closed. 

Jack was panting when he finally caught Kelly Jo at the front corner of the building.  He pushed her against the wall and warned, "Wherever Wylie went, he'll be back and for whatever reason, he didn't want us going out front."

Cautiously, Jack peeked around the front of the building.  A crowd was lining up to buy tickets from a vendor table.  But what caught his eye was Wylie. He stood between two people, a petite, very pretty blonde and a tall, lanky man of whom he was the spitting image.  They had to be his parents.

"Oh, no," Jack breathed in dismay.

"Oh, yes!" Kelly Jo crowed. 

Startled by her glee that Wylie had been caught by his mom and dad, Jack turned to offer Kelly Jo a harsh word.  But her attention was glued to a gathering further down the street.

About two dozen motorcycles were parked in front of a barroom,
The Shot Glass
.

Before Jack could say a word, Kelly Jo instructed, "Wait for me around back by the auditorium door.  I'll be back in a sec."

She took off running toward the motorcycles.

Chapter Twenty One

Seething, Jack grabbed the bag holding Kelly Jo's heels just before it hit the ground and glared at her as she made her way down the street - to the adoration of every male eye in the vicinity. 

What in the world was she up to now?

But Jack had little time to dwell on Kelly Jo because Wylie had again caught his eye.  Wylie had done a superb job of finagling his parents so their back was to Jack, and, thankfully, to Kelly Jo.  There wasn't a doubt in Jack's mind that any trouble Wylie got into for coming to Covey's Creek when he'd been told to stay home would pale in comparison to his mother's reaction to Kelly Jo wearing her talent show costume.

Wylie was visibly stunned to see Kelly Jo take off down the street, but then he unexpectedly turned toward Jack.  And waved him over.

Jack swallowed hard, but knew if there were any way he could extract Wylie from severe punishment, well, he definitely would do so.

Jack, wearing Wylie's dad's tee shirt and jeans, left the safety of the building's corner and strode to where they waited,  his bare feet dirty from walking through the woods.  He tried to look nonchalant.  He knew he didn't.

Wylie's face proved that Wylie was in trouble.  "Jack, this is my dad and my mom."

Stony expressions told Jack not to offer a handshake.  Instead, he nodded respectfully and said, "Ma'am", to the very pretty blonde who didn't come close to doing the same justice to the Grease outfit that Kelly Jo did, and offered a tense smile and, "Sir", to Wylie's dad.

Wylie's father's tone was clipped.  "I heard Wylie's explanation.  Now I want yours."

Jack shot a quick sidelong glance to Wylie, but Wylie gave nothing away.  Jack's mind raced, knowing Wylie would never have called Jack over unless he'd been forced into a corner.  He would also bet Wylie now banked on Kelly Jo staying away.

But Jack had learned the hard away about second-guessing what Kelly Jo might or might not do.  He hoped Wylie didn’t get taught that lesson.

"Well, sir," Jack began, clearing his throat and thinking fast.  "I was down at the creek and miscalculated whether or not the rope swing would make it across the water."  He gave his most disarming smile to Wylie's mother.  "Miscalculated badly.  I ended up in the water.  Soaked to the skin."  He nodded toward Wylie.  "I don't know what I'd have done if your son hadn't come along.  I talked him into letting me borrow clothes from your house and I promised to pay for them out of the prize money."  He looked at Wylie.  "You did tell them I was on my way to the talent show when I fell in the creek, didn't you?"

Relief flooded Wylie's face and Jack knew it was relief that Jack's story was close enough to his own to pass scrutiny.

Wylie's father held Jack's gaze and Jack tried not to shrink from the scrutiny.  "No, he didn't," the man said flatly.  "Nor did he mention the rope swing.  Only that you fell into the creek."

Jack looked sheepish and felt his cheeks redden.  "He was sparing me from looking the fool that I acted at the creek," he stated.  "He's a good kid and I don't mind telling you how grateful I am for his help.  And I
will
make it right."

"You have no shoes on," came from Wylie's mother.

"That's part of my act," Jack said feebly, closing his eyes in disbelief and turning himself so that Wylie's parents also turned, putting their backs to the building's entrance.  Kelly Jo had returned, carrying something large and white, and disappeared around the corner that led to the auditorium.

Wylie's father held Jack's gaze steady.  "Part of your act?  And so was playing on a rope swing?"

Jack flushed.  Now, how could he possibly answer that?  "Yes," he blurted.  "I'm singing Old Man River."  His smile was weak.  "Just trying to...set the mood, I guess."

Wylie's mother interrupted with, "Harlan, we have to go...our dinner reservations."

Wylie turned to his father, his voice eager.  "Can I stay and watch the show?  Please?  I know where you're going to dinner and I'll meet you there when the show's over.  I promise!"

Wylie's mother looked skeptical.  "I don't know, Wylie..."

Wylie rushed out, "Mom, you and Dad deserve this special dinner.  It's hard to fight and then make up with me or Sylvie around..."

"Wylie!" his mother gasped.

Jack saw Wylie's father bite back a smile.

"Okay," his father agreed, though with a touch of reluctance.  "But don't come to the restaurant.  We'll pick you up here. Don't leave.  With anyone," he reinforced, giving Jack a hard stare.

"Thank you!"  Wylie hugged his parents, begged the money for a ticket and then hurried over to stand in the ticket line. 

As Wylie's mother blew Wylie one last kiss and walked off hand-in-hand with Wylie's father, Jack wondered what they'd say if they knew the real reason Wylie begged to see the talent show was that Wylie couldn't wait to see Kelly Jo wearing the costume Wylie had pilfered from his mother.

Chapter Twenty Two

Jack nodded and gave a mild, "How you doin'?" to the people that stared at him as he made his way to where Kelly Jo had disappeared around the corner.  He found her waiting for him, none too patiently, by the auditorium door.

The band was so loud that he dragged Kelly Jo off a short distance so he could hear what she said. 

"What were you doing?" she asked him.

His brows shot up in irritation.  "What was I doing...never mind that.  Where did you go in such a rush?"

Kelly Jo's grin was mischievous and ear-to-ear.  She opened the big, fluffy white bulk she held and Jack gawked.

Motorcycle boots.  A leather jacket. 

"Where did you get these?" he demanded.

"That's not important," she informed him.  "But you can't get inside with bare feet - you'll have to make do with no socks, though."

Jack gave a low whistle.  "That's some jacket."  He held it up and took a good look at it.   A large but faded rattlesnake in full strike pose, outlined in silver, decorated the center of the back.  Unquestionably it had been expensive when new but the jacket had obviously seen a lot of use.  Jack was no expert on leather jackets, but knew that this type of jacket wouldn't normally be found on a department store rack. 

Should he ignore the bad feeling in his gut?

"The boots should fit," he said hastily.  "Hurry up and put them on so we can get inside.  I need to register for the show and there's only a few minutes left."

"We need to register."

"I need to register."

Jack pulled one boot on, surprised that even though he had no socks on, it was a comfortable fit.  "Do you," he asked, hopping on the booted foot while he pulled on the second boot, "intend to sing to yourself?" 

"Not at all," she answered easily.  "I intend to sing to you."

Jack smirked at the thought of Kelly Jo, as Grease's 'Sandy', singing and dancing, '
You're the one that I want
' to Jack, then hopping to where he, playing Danny Zuko, would stand, and then echoing it back to herself as a one-person duet.  Oh, she'd win a prize all right.

Kelly Jo shoved the bulky white thing into the bag with her backless heels and tossed the bag to the side so she could help Jack slip on the black leather jacket.

Perfect fit.

"Where did you say you got this?" he asked.

"I didn't."

He sighed.  "Kelly Jo, I really don't feel like playing games.  Where did these come from?"  He shrugged and took a strutting 360 degree turn.  He couldn't help feeling just a little bit mega macho in these clothes, even if he did suspect that Kelly Jo had used her feminine wiles to obtain them. 

Her sigh was deeper than his and edged with irritation.  "If you must know I stole them from that group of bikers down the block."

Jack went cold with shock.  "You did what?"

Jack's panic that the biker would come hunting for his stolen boots and jacket and would instead find Jack must have shown on his face.

"Don't worry, honey," Kelly Jo said softly and put a reassuring hand on the side of Jack's cheek.  "The owner won't miss them and he certainly won't be needing them anymore."

Jack's gut felt like a stone, one about to sink in deep dark water, but he had to ask, "Why won't he be needing them?"

Kelly Jo smiled.  "I saw the boots on the motorcycle stirrups and the jacket was hanging on the left mirror.  The boots faced backwards, which means the biker who owned them is the one the other bikers are inside making toasts to and telling stories about."

Jack's mouth moved for several seconds before he fairly screamed in horror,
"You brought me boots and a jacket that you stole from a dead biker?"

Chapter Twenty Three

"Ssssshhhhh!" Kelly Jo ordered frantically and pulled Jack to the side.  "Keep your voice down," she hissed.  "Do you want to get me into trouble?"

Flabbergasted, Jack jerked his arm from her grasp.  "Get you into trouble?"  He stared at her calm, serene expression.  "Are you nuts or something?"  He raised his hands.  "Don't bother answering that," he told her.  "And I'm taking these things back right now."

"We don't have time," she wailed, pulling on his arm when he started to walk away from her.  "Jack," she begged.  "I have only enough time to sign us in and get ready."  She gave him a coy, eyelash-batting look, the most obvious, phony look he'd ever received.