Once You'Ve Touched the Heart (8 page)

“Always ready for anything,” JD said, smiling as he watched her naked body go up the steps.

“The question is, are you?” Carolyn asked as she reached the top of the stairs.

“Sounds like a dare to me.”

“Up to the challenge?”

Boy, was he ever. A few hours later, Carolyn screamed, “Damn, JD, you can wear a sister out.”

“You challenged.” JD smiled. “I countered.”

“Alright, you got me,” she answered back as she laughed.

He reached across her to discard the condoms they had used throughout the evening.

“By the feeling of things, it doesn’t seem that I have conquered you yet,” she said as she attempted to mount him. He stopped her.

“Okay, I know, not without protection.” She grinned. “But I do have other ways of handling that.”

As she went down on him, he wondered why she wasn’t able to satisfy him tonight. Carolyn wiped that thought from his mind in a matter of minutes. Carolyn never doubted her ability to satisfy a man. Convinced she had succeeded, she got up to leave.

“I’m sure that will keep me on your mind for a day or so.”

What she did not know was his mind was already on someone else.

JD got up the next morning feeling a little more relaxed. He called Carolyn and thanked her for the evening. He always made sure he did a follow-up call, no matter the outcome with the ladies the night before. He felt it was the gentlemanly thing to do, and women loved the sensitivity. After the call he took a shower. He was trying to find the words to tell Tracy about Al, but the words did not come. He decided to go to the one person who always had an answer to his problems.

“Hey, Mom,” he said as he walked through her back door.

“Good morning, son. Want some breakfast?” his mom asked.

“Yeah,” JD replied as he kissed her cheek.

“Eggs with cheese good for you?”

“That’ll do, thanks, Mom.”

“You got court today?”

“No, just in the office.”

She put a cup of coffee in front of him. As he put in cream and sugar he smiled, remembering Al, referring to Tracy as Sugie.

“What you grinning at?” his mom asked.

“Nothing, Mom.”

They began talking about nothing in particular, but Martha knew her son. If he came by this early in the morning, he needed to talk. So she listened without questions, knowing he would eventually get around to what he had to say. He was just like his father in that
way. He couldn’t show a weakness like needing somebody to talk with; that was just not manly. When she finished cooking, the eggs with cheese had turned into a plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. She sat at the table across from him. “You talked to Ashley yesterday?”

“No, I was busy all day. What’s up with her?”

“Oh, not her; it’s Tracy.”

JD looked up from his plate. “What’s wrong with Tracy?”

“Ashley said she’s been a little down about something for the past couple of days and she’s not talking about it. She wanted some advice on how to help her. You know Tracy. She walks around with that beautiful smile of hers all the time dealing with things on the inside. She needs to learn how to talk things through. I told Ashley to be patient; she’ll eventually talk to her about what’s bothering her. She always does,” his mom laughed lovingly.

JD began moving food around his plate. Martha knew he was ready to talk, now, so she sat back.

“Mom, I have a case involving Tracy’s brother. He will be arrested sometime this week. I feel like I should be the one to tell her, but I don’t know how,” JD explained.

“Just tell her straight; don’t mince words on that,” his mom suggested.

“I don’t want her to hate me for incarcerating her brother. He’s the only family she has.”

My, my
, his mom thought,
JD caring about Tracy’s feelings, hmm.

“Son, Tracy is a smart girl. She knows if her brother is doing something illegal, he is going to jail. You are doing your job; she is not going to hold that against you. Just be honest with her, whatever you do. That girl does not deal well with lies.”

“Mom, I just don’t want her to feel alone when this happens,” he said with a sigh.

“She’s not alone. She has Ashley, me and you.”

The conversation went on as JD finished his meal. He kissed his mom on the cheek and left.

“Well, well, James, honey,” Martha said talking to the ceiling, “I think your son has found the one. Let’s see, it’s April. Yep, by the end of the year we can expect a wedding.”

Across the city, Ashley was preparing for work. She was surprised to hear Tracy in her room.

“Tracy, are you going to work?” she asked.

“Ashley, do you think you could handle the office for me today? I’m not feeling that great.”

“I know what’s going on with your brother is getting to you, but you can’t hide in this house forever. Eventually, you will have to deal with what’s happened and move on. Just ask JD where things stand and stop worrying. JD is a man of his word. He said he would work things out and he will.”

“You know, Ashley; it’s easy for you to move forward when things happen, because you always know one of your many family members will have your back. I don’t have that luxury. So if I choose to sit in this house and not put on the smile everyone thinks I should have, forgive me. I’m sure I’ll get back in touch with myself soon and everyone will be happy again.”

Ashley raised her eyebrow at Tracy. “Feel better now that you have that off your chest?”

Tracy looked at Ashley regretfully. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to put that on you. Just let me have a few days to get myself back on track.”

“Okay, Tracy needs
a few
moments to herself. I’m leaving now so Tracy can have some alone time,” Ashley said in a very perky voice.

They both started laughing.

“Give me a hug.” Ashley sighed. “You will be just fine. Call JD; see what he can tell you. I’ll talk to you later. I have to go play boss.”

“See you later.” Tracy smiled.

♥

Instead of calling, Tracy decided to go to JD’s office. As she got off the elevator she looked around for some directions. A very attractive older woman at the receptionist desk called out. “May I help you with something?”

“Yes,” Tracy replied with a smile, “I’m trying to locate Jeffrey Harrison’s office.”

“You’re in the right place,” Mrs. Langston replied. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I’m sorry; I should have known I needed an appointment. I’ll just try to reach him later.”

Tracy had turned to walk away when Mrs. Langston said, “Let me buzz his office; he may be free.”

Tracy, having second thoughts, replied, “Thank you, but that’s okay, I don’t want to be a bother.”

“No bother, honey, hold on. Mr. Harrison, there’s a—what’s your name, dear?”

“Tracy Washington.”

“There’s a Tracy Washington here to see you. I’ll let her know. He’ll be right with you.”

Now Tracy really wished she had not made this trip. Her stomach was doing the flip and flop thing it does when she was nervous. Seeing her discomfort, Mrs. Langston asked with a reassuring smile, “May I get you anything while you’re waiting, Ms. Washington?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have some Pepto-Bismol back there, would you?” Tracy replied smiling.

“No,” Mrs. Langston replied and laughed. “I have something better.” She motioned her hand for Tracy to come closer. “Homemade sugar cookies. They’re wonderful, if I may say so myself. Would you like one?” she whispered.

“Okay, thank you. Why are we whispering?”

“Because they’re our secret,” a voice from behind declared.

Before Tracy turned she knew it was Jeffrey. She turned and thought,
my Lord, that’s a good looking man, especially in a suit.

“Quick, Mrs. Langston,” he said over Tracy’s head, “hit me with another.”

They both looked around to make sure no one was looking. “Okay, Mr. Harrison, but that’s your quota for the day.”

JD took the cookies and put them in his suit pocket. Tracy smiled at the two of them. He was taken by that smile again, and Mrs. Langston noticed his reaction.

“You should do that more often,” he said.

“What?” Tracy asked.

“Smile,” he replied. “Come on let’s go to my office.”

He put his hand on the small of her back. It felt as if it naturally belonged there. He guided her down the hallway to his office.

Mrs. Langston watched the couple. “Hmm,” she observed.

“As you can see, I’m spoiled. My mom cooked breakfast for me and Mrs. Langston bakes cookies for me,” he commented with a smile.

Tracy smiled up at him. “You’re fortunate to have so many people who love you.”

“Have a seat,” JD offered. “You have people who love you, too, Tracy.”

“There’s only one I know of and that’s why I’m here.” She exhaled. “I don’t want you to compromise your position here, but is there anything you can tell me about Turk?”

JD gazed at her with a frown. “Who is Turk?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My brother—Turk is short for Turkey,” she replied, shaking her head to disregard that part of the conversation. “It’s a long story.”

He smiled. “I love these names you two have; you call him Turk; he calls you Sugie.”

She smiled. “Yes, he does.”

“Al is doing okay. I met with him the other day.”

She smiled. “He’s not hurt or anything like that?”

“No, he’s not,” JD assured her.

“Okay.” She breathed a sigh of relief.

JD was glad he could ease her fears a little.

“You actually saw him?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Is he somewhere I can see him?” she asked with a gleam in her eye.

JD sat forward. He knew what he was about to say would take that gleam away. “It would not be safe for you to see him right now, Tracy. He is very concerned, with good reason, for your safety.”

Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, he walked around to the front of the desk where she was sitting and hunched down beside her. “Tracy, Al made a deal and he will be going away for a long time. The only thing he asked of me in return was to make sure you stayed safe and I gave him my word that I would make that happen. Right now, it is very important to keep your connection with him confidential. You being anywhere near him could cause a problem.”

He saw the tears begin to form in her eyes, but they never fell.

“I understand,” she smiled sadly. “Thanks for this. At least I know he’s okay.”

She picked up her purse and stood to leave. “Turk is the only person who cared anything about me one way or another. He’s protected me all my life. It’s going to be hard to let that go.”

JD stood to walk her to the elevator. Now it was his job to protect her. She stopped and asked, “He doesn’t want to see me, does he?”

JD would not lie to her. “He can’t, not now.”

Tracy looked down, so JD would not see the hurt within her. “Okay, well, I’ll let you get back to work.”

Sensing her disappointment, JD smiled. “Tracy, trust me, this will be okay. I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

“Jeffrey,” she said while walking down the hallway, “where’s my cookie?” She stopped directly in front of him and stuck her hand out. “Give them up.”

They stood there watching each other as if it was a standoff. He pulled the cookies from his inner pocket, and gave her one.

“Thank you,” she said and bit into the cookie.

“You’re a cookie thief,” JD declared. “We don’t play with the cookies.”

She began to laugh. “Mrs. Langston,” Tracy said, “thank you for the cookies. They made life a little easier to swallow.”

“You are welcome, Ms. Washington. Please come back to see us. It’s not often we get to see such a beautiful smile.”

“Thank you,” Tracy responded blushing. “I’ll try. Jeffrey, thank you for making the time for me today.”

“Anytime you need me just come by or call, I’ll be here,” JD replied with a little more enthusiasm than he planned.

Tracy smiled and the elevator doors
closed. JD stood there staring at the door.

“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit; it’s not often you see the two together,” Mrs. Langston commented.

JD turned. “Yes, she is, and you are right, it’s not often you see it.” He smiled and began walking down the hallway.
Not often at all
, he thought. He entered his office and picked up the phone then dialed a number.

“We need to meet. I need you to do something for me; it’s a deal breaker. You asked me to trust you, now I need you to trust me. Previous arrangement; one hour earlier.”

♥

Tracy went home feeling a little relieved, but trying to deal with the thought of never seeing Turk again. It’s official, she was really alone in this world. No family to turn to if something went wrong or just if she needed something. She wiped that depressing thought from her head. She put her hair up in a ponytail, changed into a pair of jeans and a midriff blouse and began concentrating on her project. At least she could get a couple of hours of work in before Ashley came home. The telephone rang and she answered.

“Tracy, hi, it’s Jeffrey.”

He called himself Jeffrey, not JD. About time he noticed that,
Tracy thought as she smiled.

“I really did not like the way things went today. I know you were disappointed. Let me make it up to you. Come go for a ride with me.”

“Jeffrey, I’m not in the best of moods and I’m not dressed to go out.”

“I’ll have you back in about an hour,” JD appealed.

“Okay. Do I have time to change?”

“No, I’m out front and we are on a time schedule.”

“Okay, I’ll be down.”
What the hell
, Tracy thought,
she needed the company
. Tracy grabbed her keys and purse and went downstairs. Jeffrey was standing at his black 750 BMW as he opened the passenger door for her.