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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
ONE MONTH LATER
"Jarod! Look at me!" Catie's voice cut into Jarod's thoughts and he watched the little girl jump down the concrete playing a game called Hopscotch. "I did it all the way down!"
"That's great, Catie," he told her, grinning at the kiss she blew him before starting to jump again. He had no idea how that was important to the game, but from the pride in her voice he supposed it was a great accomplishment.
He grew somber again as he watched the girl he had grown to love as his own in one short month. And in less than five minutes he would have to give her up. But he knew how much Catie missed her mother. So much, in fact, she had cried every night for the first week and a half and when that had ceased she had still been unable to sleep without having dreams of Miss Parker. He himself had been having trouble sleeping soundly lately and he knew it was because that Catie was so miserable without Miss Parker. She never showed it to him, stubborn as her mother, but he heard her cry out in the middle of the night and then cry herself to sleep when Jarod, not Miss Parker, did show up to comfort her. Jarod had finally called Miss Parker and even though he would be the last to admit it, he was glad Miss Parker was coming to meet them today to take Catie home. It had been arranged so that she would come alone, but it was also agreed that Catie should not and would not be told in case a problem arose and they had to cancel. But so far she had not called to say she would not be coming and it was now noon, the agreed meeting time.
Catie stopped jumping and walked over to where Jarod was seated on the nearby bench. She stood between his knees and took his hands in hers. "Jarod, will you sing me the lullaby. The one my mama sang to me and your mama sang to you?"
Jarod noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself. He then focused his attention on the child once more.
"Okay, Catie, why don't you sing first line, I'll sing the second and we'll both sing the third." Catie nodded and smiled the brilliant smile that made Jarod's heart leap to his throat.
"Cree craw..." Catie began.
"...toad's foot..." Jarod continued.
"...geese walk barefoot." Jarod's voice and Catie's finished up the song, but a third voice had joined theirs. As Jarod watched, Catie's eyes grew round.
"Mama?" she whispered shakily. She whirled about and with a frenzied cry of "Mama!" rushed in to the waiting arms of Miss Parker. The tiny child was caught immediately and held close by Miss Parker who let the silent tears fall in contrast to the body wracking sobs of her daughter.
"Catie, my baby." Miss Parker clung to her daughter with as much strength she could get away with without hurting her.
"Mama, I missed you so much. Don't let me go." Catie sobbed into Miss Parker's neck and wrapped her small legs around Miss Parker's waist when Miss Parker rose to sit on the bench next to Jarod.
"Never, Catherine. Never." Miss Parker said smoothing Catie's hair down and settling her on her lap.
Jarod watched the reunion with blurred vision and met Miss Parker's gaze over Catie's head. She held his gaze for a few seconds and then bent her head down to kiss the top of Catie's. She held the girl so she was sitting across her lap and Miss Parker rocked back and forth slightly as if she were in a rocking chair. Jarod smiled and felt at peace for the first time a long while. Finally, hating to break them up, he knew they had to get moving before Lyle or someone else from the Centre tracked them down.
"Miss Parker, we need to get you guys out of sight. Come on, I'll take you to the townhouse we rented. It will take them a while to figure out that it is mine, and that will give Catie enough time to take a nap before we catch our plane."
"We?" Miss Parker looked at him eyes huge and face half between disbelief and fear.
"I talked to Sydney before you came and he said to use his cabin to settle in until you come up with a plausible story to how Catie was returned." Jarod said meanwhile wondering whether the fear in her eyes had even the slightest bit to do with him.
She nodded and rose up, Catie still attached to her. Jarod thought briefly of offering to carry Catie, but he changed his mind knowing there was no way the child was going to dislocate herself from her mother anytime soon, or visa versa. He motioned for Miss Parker to follow him to the sedan he had parked nearby. They reached the car and he opened the back seat, where Catie's car seat was then stepped back to let Miss Parker place Catie in. As soon as Miss Parker bent down to put her in the car, Catie's grip tightened and she began to whimper. Jarod could feel the anxiety emitting from the girl in huge waves and he could see Miss Parker felt it too. She straightened again and looked at him with a helpless expression.
Jarod sighed and nodded, "I'll drive slowly."
He shut the back door and opened the passenger side. Miss Parker pulled back to look at Catie.
"Catie, go to Jarod while I sit down, okay?" Surprisingly Catie let go and reached over for Jarod. He took the small girl and held her to him. She gave him a small smile and kissed his cheek. He gave her a small squeeze and then placed her onto Miss Parker's lap.
"Jarod, I have a small overnight bag by the tree." Miss Parker said indicating the tree that she had been standing by when he had first noticed her. He nodded, went to retrieve the bag, and put it in the back seat of the car.
"Thank you." Miss Parker said wrapping her arms around her daughter more tightly.
Jarod didn't answer her, just looked at her in quiet surprise and then shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. After climbing in and made sure they were buckled in, he fastened his own seat belt and put the keys in the ignition. Looking over at Miss Parker they smiled together as they noticed that Catie had promptly fallen asleep on her lap. Jarod shook his head and pulled out of the parking lot and began down the road.
Catie slept soundly the whole ride and even when Jarod took her from Miss Parker. He carried the sleeping child into the townhouse and into the small bedroom that had been hers while they stayed here. He came back out into the living room to find Miss Parker out on the deck staring out at the ocean. Her long skirt blew with the gentle breeze, the fabric tie-dyed with many different shades of blue and white. Her shirt was white and in the direct sunlight barely concealed the white lace bra she had on underneath. Jarod could see right through the T-shirt and he didn't like the feeling it gave him. It reminded him of the crush he had on her when he was younger. A sudden gust of wind whipped her hair into her line of vision and after brushing it out of her face; she pushed her sunglasses back from where they had slid off the top of her head.
As he approached he heard her say, "It is so beautiful and so calm."
"Yes, it is. That is a main reason I came to Maine. I wanted to show Catie this. How peaceful it is." He said surprised that she had known he was there considering she hadn't turned around when he walked outside.
"For now anyway. But it will go back to being choppy and unsettled." she said softly.
"We are no longer talking about the ocean, are we?" Jarod said just as soft. He watched her shake her head slowly, almost imperceptibly. "You're talking about us. The huntress and her prey."
"Jarod." she said softly, a hint of warning in her voice. "Don't."
"Why not? Why don't you stop chasing me and let me live my life. I gave you back yours, didn't I?" Jarod said referring to the child that slept inside.
"Yes, you did." she replied, not rising to his tone.
"Why can't you leave me alone?" he asked becoming angry. She looked at him briefly and he searched her face for any sign of reaction. He received none and she looked away again, out to the powerful image of the sea.
"Come on Miss Parker. Don't tell me the great 'Ice Goddess' has given up," he said bitterly, now deliberately trying to evoke some emotion. This calmness surrounding Miss Parker was beginning to scare him. He had never seen her so unresponsive.
"You are always so close, yet never mange to quite go the distance. Must be a huge disappointment to Daddy and the Powers That Be. Besides, let me ask you this. If you catch me, what do you gain? Self-satisfaction and Daddy's approval? Is that all my life is worth to you? My freedom is worth?" He had advanced towards her during his speech and was now directly in front of her chest to chest.
"No!" she said just as angry now and she shoved him away, hard. "It is how much my freedom is worth!"
Jarod was taken back. He had been hoping for a spark of response, but he had a sinking feeling he was about to get the Chicago Fire.
"What are you talking about?" he asked puzzled.
"I am talking about the deal I had with my father and now I have with the Triumvirate about as soon as I catch you I get to leave the Centre for good, with my daughter, and never be bothered by them again. That is what you are worth to me. My safety and freedom and that of my daughter's."
Jarod snorted with scorn. "You really think they will let you go Scot free? Remember whom you are dealing with? This is the Centre. They will never let anyone free of their rein."
He was going to add that her mother had tried, but decided against it. He wasn't willing to go that far to prove his point.
"Maybe not, but there is a chance they will be so occupied with you that they won't notice when my daughter and I disappear from their radar. You did it for a while and I intend to do the same. Maybe not in this country, but I plan to keep my daughter as far away from that place as possible. It's what my mother tried to do for me and it's the least I can try to do for Catie. She would have wanted me to try. I have to take that chance. For both of our sakes." Miss Parker's anger spent she sighed and seemed to deflate a little. "I don't know how many more lies I can take, Jarod."
Jarod could see that Miss Parker was serious about this and he held back the sarcastic comment that threatened to spill off his tongue, about dishing it out when you can't take it. He just nodded and glanced over at the clock on the far wall.
"I think it is time to start dinner if we are going to catch our plane."
Jarod held open the glass doors for Miss Parker and she slid by him, her body slightly brushing up against his. Jarod sucked in a breath and as she wandered around the living room he forced himself to exhale and follow her in. The clock he had previously been looking at chimed five and he shook off the feelings of warmth and something else he couldn't put his finger on. He moved to go cook the hot dogs Catie liked so much and salads for him and Miss Parker. Jarod glanced over at Miss Parker from the countertop separating the kitchen from the living room and saw that she was settled on the couch and was trying to keep her eyes open.
"Why don't you take a short nap, Miss Parker? I'll wake you up in about a half hour. Dinner will be ready by then and Catie should be waking around that time also." Jarod offered knowing that she hated sleeping on planes and figured if he got her to sleep now she wouldn't be so disagreeable later.
Miss Parker nodded and within fifteen minutes she looked to be fast asleep. Jarod walked into the living room and laid the couch throw over her gently. He noticed that she looked more peaceful now then any of the times he had snuck into her house looking for clues to his past or to leave clues to hers. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her right ear and placed her sunglasses on the nearby coffee table. Spooked by the emotions he was feeling, he hastily moved back into the kitchen to finish up dinner. Unfortunately by doing so he missed the light smile that crept onto Miss Parker's face and hearing her breath go even in slumber for real.
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Miss Parker woke to the smell of hot dogs and a stiff neck. Then remembering where she was and whom she was with, she sat up straight and smoothed her hair back down. She could feel Jarod's eyes on her back and felt her shoulders straighten of their own accord. She heard a soft chuckle come from his direction and relaxed her shoulders again. Feeling a tiny smile on her lips, she made it disappear before he could catch it. Miss Parker turned to ask him what time she should go wake Catie only to see him answer the question before she even asked it, with a pointed finger directed behind her. She turned back around and her smile came on full wattage. Catie padded out of the bedroom, a little pink stuffed rabbit tucked under her left arm and her right hand in a fist rubbing her eyes. Catie caught sight of her mother seated on the couch and broke into a grin. She ran over and launched herself onto Miss Parker.
"Mama, I didn't dream it. You're here!" She grinned over Miss Parker's shoulder at Jarod in the kitchen and squeezed her mother tightly.
"Of course, silly, where else would I be? Who have you got here?" Miss Parker said happily pulling Catie to straddle her thighs facing her. She took the toy out of Catie's arms and made the rabbit dance on Catie's arm. Catie giggled and took the rabbit back from her mother.
"That's Pinky, Mama. Jarod gave him to me so I wouldn't miss you so much. And know what?" Catie asked excitedly. When Miss Parker shook her head, Catie barged on. "Jarod read to me and he sang our lullaby. Well, sorta sang."
Miss Parker laughed at the grimace Catie made and hugged her daughter. God, she had missed her sweet little girl.
"Dinner!" Jarod called into the living room and Catie jumped out of Miss Parker's lap. Pulling her mother into the kitchen she promptly took her seat and bowed her head. Clasping her hands in front of her, she made an impatient noise causing the adults to smile.
"Think she's hungry?" Jarod asked Miss Parker smiling.
"She's always hungry." Miss Parker said, smiling back.
Jarod felt a flutter in his chest, but shook it off. He pulled out the chair next to Catie and held the back as Miss Parker slid in. Nodding at her whispered thanks, he slid into his own seat. After saying grace, they meal was eaten in silence on the adult's part, while the youngest member of the table regaled her mother with stories the things she had done while with Jarod. Miss Parker listened and laughed, and made comments at the appropriate times in the stories, but she noticed Jarod was staring at her all during the meal. Truth was she wanted to stare at him too. He looked mighty fine in his white T-shirt and a tight pair of blue jeans, and she wanted nothing more than to gaze at the man before her. But she couldn't let him see that, or he might take advantage of it. Too many people had taken advantage of her during her life and she wasn't about to relax that much around anyone, except for Catie. The only problem was that she had always felt safe around Jarod and that scared her. It scared her a lot.
"This is fun. It's like we're a real family." Catie piped up, pausing in her quest to become the world's fastest eater.
Miss Parker choked on her dinner and paled considerably. "It's really warm in here, don't you think?"
Jarod smiled wanly and looked somewhat confused at Miss Parker's reaction. The meal continued in silence, but Miss Parker would no longer meet Jarod's gaze and seemed all too interested in her salad. Too soon they had to be packed and ready to go to the airport. As Jarod packed his few belongings, he heard giggles emitting from Catie's bedroom, not all of them Catie's childish ones. He grinned to himself, glad that Miss Parker had reason to smile again. It had been a long time since he had seen her smile in earnest and in the past few hours he had seen her mouth curve up more times than he could count.
"We're ready." Miss Parker poked her head into the doorway and he nodded meaning he was done too. He noticed that she had changed into a more comfortable outfit of jeans and a light pink T-shirt and had changed Catie into a pair of red pajama bottoms and an oversized black Mickey Mouse T-shirt. Jarod gathered up Miss Parker and Catie's bags and placed them in the truck of the car along with his bag and his DSA player. Of course, only moments later he ended up having to take out Catie's bag again because she had packed Pinky by mistake. After all that was taken care of, he put the keys to the townhouse under a flowerpot as instructed by the real estate agent. Then running his eyes over the house and view one last time, he sighed.
"On the move again." he said feeling a sense of loss he couldn't understand. He felt a hand slip into his own and looked down.
Catie stood next to him and was staring out at the ocean like him. "Are we ever coming back, Jarod?"
"I don't think so, Catie. At least not anytime soon." Jarod said and lifted the girl into his arms.
She leaned her head against his and sighed. "I'm going to miss it."
"Me too, kiddo. Me too."
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Miss Parker's fingers gripped and re-gripped the armrest for the umpteenth time and Jarod finally couldn't take it anymore. Placing his hand over her hand, he refused to let it slip out of his grasp when she tried to pull away. Glancing over her to check that Catie was still sleeping he again focused on the antsy woman next to him.
"It is only a two hour plane ride. Not even that long. Relax." he said in a soothing tone. Miss Parker ignored him and glanced over at Catie also.
"Is it good that she is sleeping so much?" she asked a twinge of worry in her voice.
"She hasn't really been sleeping well since...." Jarod trailed off knowing she knew what he meant.
"I haven't either." Miss Parker confessed.
"I don't think any of us have." Jarod answered back quietly.
The plane hit a patch of turbulence and he saw Miss Parker's grip tighten to the point that her knuckles were white with strain.
"Miss Parker, what did I say not five seconds ago. Relax." Jarod said trying not to let the amusement he felt slip into his voice.
"I can't!" Miss Parker whispered violently. "I hate planes with a passion!"
"You do everything with passion, I bet." Jarod said and went back to the magazine he had been reading. However he did not release Miss Parker's hand and she let him keep it there. And like he had intended it to, his last phrase ran through her head the rest of the plane ride.
"Jarod! Look at me!" Catie's voice cut into Jarod's thoughts and he watched the little girl jump down the concrete playing a game called Hopscotch. "I did it all the way down!"
"That's great, Catie," he told her, grinning at the kiss she blew him before starting to jump again. He had no idea how that was important to the game, but from the pride in her voice he supposed it was a great accomplishment.
He grew somber again as he watched the girl he had grown to love as his own in one short month. And in less than five minutes he would have to give her up. But he knew how much Catie missed her mother. So much, in fact, she had cried every night for the first week and a half and when that had ceased she had still been unable to sleep without having dreams of Miss Parker. He himself had been having trouble sleeping soundly lately and he knew it was because that Catie was so miserable without Miss Parker. She never showed it to him, stubborn as her mother, but he heard her cry out in the middle of the night and then cry herself to sleep when Jarod, not Miss Parker, did show up to comfort her. Jarod had finally called Miss Parker and even though he would be the last to admit it, he was glad Miss Parker was coming to meet them today to take Catie home. It had been arranged so that she would come alone, but it was also agreed that Catie should not and would not be told in case a problem arose and they had to cancel. But so far she had not called to say she would not be coming and it was now noon, the agreed meeting time.
Catie stopped jumping and walked over to where Jarod was seated on the nearby bench. She stood between his knees and took his hands in hers. "Jarod, will you sing me the lullaby. The one my mama sang to me and your mama sang to you?"
Jarod noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself. He then focused his attention on the child once more.
"Okay, Catie, why don't you sing first line, I'll sing the second and we'll both sing the third." Catie nodded and smiled the brilliant smile that made Jarod's heart leap to his throat.
"Cree craw..." Catie began.
"...toad's foot..." Jarod continued.
"...geese walk barefoot." Jarod's voice and Catie's finished up the song, but a third voice had joined theirs. As Jarod watched, Catie's eyes grew round.
"Mama?" she whispered shakily. She whirled about and with a frenzied cry of "Mama!" rushed in to the waiting arms of Miss Parker. The tiny child was caught immediately and held close by Miss Parker who let the silent tears fall in contrast to the body wracking sobs of her daughter.
"Catie, my baby." Miss Parker clung to her daughter with as much strength she could get away with without hurting her.
"Mama, I missed you so much. Don't let me go." Catie sobbed into Miss Parker's neck and wrapped her small legs around Miss Parker's waist when Miss Parker rose to sit on the bench next to Jarod.
"Never, Catherine. Never." Miss Parker said smoothing Catie's hair down and settling her on her lap.
Jarod watched the reunion with blurred vision and met Miss Parker's gaze over Catie's head. She held his gaze for a few seconds and then bent her head down to kiss the top of Catie's. She held the girl so she was sitting across her lap and Miss Parker rocked back and forth slightly as if she were in a rocking chair. Jarod smiled and felt at peace for the first time a long while. Finally, hating to break them up, he knew they had to get moving before Lyle or someone else from the Centre tracked them down.
"Miss Parker, we need to get you guys out of sight. Come on, I'll take you to the townhouse we rented. It will take them a while to figure out that it is mine, and that will give Catie enough time to take a nap before we catch our plane."
"We?" Miss Parker looked at him eyes huge and face half between disbelief and fear.
"I talked to Sydney before you came and he said to use his cabin to settle in until you come up with a plausible story to how Catie was returned." Jarod said meanwhile wondering whether the fear in her eyes had even the slightest bit to do with him.
She nodded and rose up, Catie still attached to her. Jarod thought briefly of offering to carry Catie, but he changed his mind knowing there was no way the child was going to dislocate herself from her mother anytime soon, or visa versa. He motioned for Miss Parker to follow him to the sedan he had parked nearby. They reached the car and he opened the back seat, where Catie's car seat was then stepped back to let Miss Parker place Catie in. As soon as Miss Parker bent down to put her in the car, Catie's grip tightened and she began to whimper. Jarod could feel the anxiety emitting from the girl in huge waves and he could see Miss Parker felt it too. She straightened again and looked at him with a helpless expression.
Jarod sighed and nodded, "I'll drive slowly."
He shut the back door and opened the passenger side. Miss Parker pulled back to look at Catie.
"Catie, go to Jarod while I sit down, okay?" Surprisingly Catie let go and reached over for Jarod. He took the small girl and held her to him. She gave him a small smile and kissed his cheek. He gave her a small squeeze and then placed her onto Miss Parker's lap.
"Jarod, I have a small overnight bag by the tree." Miss Parker said indicating the tree that she had been standing by when he had first noticed her. He nodded, went to retrieve the bag, and put it in the back seat of the car.
"Thank you." Miss Parker said wrapping her arms around her daughter more tightly.
Jarod didn't answer her, just looked at her in quiet surprise and then shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. After climbing in and made sure they were buckled in, he fastened his own seat belt and put the keys in the ignition. Looking over at Miss Parker they smiled together as they noticed that Catie had promptly fallen asleep on her lap. Jarod shook his head and pulled out of the parking lot and began down the road.
Catie slept soundly the whole ride and even when Jarod took her from Miss Parker. He carried the sleeping child into the townhouse and into the small bedroom that had been hers while they stayed here. He came back out into the living room to find Miss Parker out on the deck staring out at the ocean. Her long skirt blew with the gentle breeze, the fabric tie-dyed with many different shades of blue and white. Her shirt was white and in the direct sunlight barely concealed the white lace bra she had on underneath. Jarod could see right through the T-shirt and he didn't like the feeling it gave him. It reminded him of the crush he had on her when he was younger. A sudden gust of wind whipped her hair into her line of vision and after brushing it out of her face; she pushed her sunglasses back from where they had slid off the top of her head.
As he approached he heard her say, "It is so beautiful and so calm."
"Yes, it is. That is a main reason I came to Maine. I wanted to show Catie this. How peaceful it is." He said surprised that she had known he was there considering she hadn't turned around when he walked outside.
"For now anyway. But it will go back to being choppy and unsettled." she said softly.
"We are no longer talking about the ocean, are we?" Jarod said just as soft. He watched her shake her head slowly, almost imperceptibly. "You're talking about us. The huntress and her prey."
"Jarod." she said softly, a hint of warning in her voice. "Don't."
"Why not? Why don't you stop chasing me and let me live my life. I gave you back yours, didn't I?" Jarod said referring to the child that slept inside.
"Yes, you did." she replied, not rising to his tone.
"Why can't you leave me alone?" he asked becoming angry. She looked at him briefly and he searched her face for any sign of reaction. He received none and she looked away again, out to the powerful image of the sea.
"Come on Miss Parker. Don't tell me the great 'Ice Goddess' has given up," he said bitterly, now deliberately trying to evoke some emotion. This calmness surrounding Miss Parker was beginning to scare him. He had never seen her so unresponsive.
"You are always so close, yet never mange to quite go the distance. Must be a huge disappointment to Daddy and the Powers That Be. Besides, let me ask you this. If you catch me, what do you gain? Self-satisfaction and Daddy's approval? Is that all my life is worth to you? My freedom is worth?" He had advanced towards her during his speech and was now directly in front of her chest to chest.
"No!" she said just as angry now and she shoved him away, hard. "It is how much my freedom is worth!"
Jarod was taken back. He had been hoping for a spark of response, but he had a sinking feeling he was about to get the Chicago Fire.
"What are you talking about?" he asked puzzled.
"I am talking about the deal I had with my father and now I have with the Triumvirate about as soon as I catch you I get to leave the Centre for good, with my daughter, and never be bothered by them again. That is what you are worth to me. My safety and freedom and that of my daughter's."
Jarod snorted with scorn. "You really think they will let you go Scot free? Remember whom you are dealing with? This is the Centre. They will never let anyone free of their rein."
He was going to add that her mother had tried, but decided against it. He wasn't willing to go that far to prove his point.
"Maybe not, but there is a chance they will be so occupied with you that they won't notice when my daughter and I disappear from their radar. You did it for a while and I intend to do the same. Maybe not in this country, but I plan to keep my daughter as far away from that place as possible. It's what my mother tried to do for me and it's the least I can try to do for Catie. She would have wanted me to try. I have to take that chance. For both of our sakes." Miss Parker's anger spent she sighed and seemed to deflate a little. "I don't know how many more lies I can take, Jarod."
Jarod could see that Miss Parker was serious about this and he held back the sarcastic comment that threatened to spill off his tongue, about dishing it out when you can't take it. He just nodded and glanced over at the clock on the far wall.
"I think it is time to start dinner if we are going to catch our plane."
Jarod held open the glass doors for Miss Parker and she slid by him, her body slightly brushing up against his. Jarod sucked in a breath and as she wandered around the living room he forced himself to exhale and follow her in. The clock he had previously been looking at chimed five and he shook off the feelings of warmth and something else he couldn't put his finger on. He moved to go cook the hot dogs Catie liked so much and salads for him and Miss Parker. Jarod glanced over at Miss Parker from the countertop separating the kitchen from the living room and saw that she was settled on the couch and was trying to keep her eyes open.
"Why don't you take a short nap, Miss Parker? I'll wake you up in about a half hour. Dinner will be ready by then and Catie should be waking around that time also." Jarod offered knowing that she hated sleeping on planes and figured if he got her to sleep now she wouldn't be so disagreeable later.
Miss Parker nodded and within fifteen minutes she looked to be fast asleep. Jarod walked into the living room and laid the couch throw over her gently. He noticed that she looked more peaceful now then any of the times he had snuck into her house looking for clues to his past or to leave clues to hers. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her right ear and placed her sunglasses on the nearby coffee table. Spooked by the emotions he was feeling, he hastily moved back into the kitchen to finish up dinner. Unfortunately by doing so he missed the light smile that crept onto Miss Parker's face and hearing her breath go even in slumber for real.
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Miss Parker woke to the smell of hot dogs and a stiff neck. Then remembering where she was and whom she was with, she sat up straight and smoothed her hair back down. She could feel Jarod's eyes on her back and felt her shoulders straighten of their own accord. She heard a soft chuckle come from his direction and relaxed her shoulders again. Feeling a tiny smile on her lips, she made it disappear before he could catch it. Miss Parker turned to ask him what time she should go wake Catie only to see him answer the question before she even asked it, with a pointed finger directed behind her. She turned back around and her smile came on full wattage. Catie padded out of the bedroom, a little pink stuffed rabbit tucked under her left arm and her right hand in a fist rubbing her eyes. Catie caught sight of her mother seated on the couch and broke into a grin. She ran over and launched herself onto Miss Parker.
"Mama, I didn't dream it. You're here!" She grinned over Miss Parker's shoulder at Jarod in the kitchen and squeezed her mother tightly.
"Of course, silly, where else would I be? Who have you got here?" Miss Parker said happily pulling Catie to straddle her thighs facing her. She took the toy out of Catie's arms and made the rabbit dance on Catie's arm. Catie giggled and took the rabbit back from her mother.
"That's Pinky, Mama. Jarod gave him to me so I wouldn't miss you so much. And know what?" Catie asked excitedly. When Miss Parker shook her head, Catie barged on. "Jarod read to me and he sang our lullaby. Well, sorta sang."
Miss Parker laughed at the grimace Catie made and hugged her daughter. God, she had missed her sweet little girl.
"Dinner!" Jarod called into the living room and Catie jumped out of Miss Parker's lap. Pulling her mother into the kitchen she promptly took her seat and bowed her head. Clasping her hands in front of her, she made an impatient noise causing the adults to smile.
"Think she's hungry?" Jarod asked Miss Parker smiling.
"She's always hungry." Miss Parker said, smiling back.
Jarod felt a flutter in his chest, but shook it off. He pulled out the chair next to Catie and held the back as Miss Parker slid in. Nodding at her whispered thanks, he slid into his own seat. After saying grace, they meal was eaten in silence on the adult's part, while the youngest member of the table regaled her mother with stories the things she had done while with Jarod. Miss Parker listened and laughed, and made comments at the appropriate times in the stories, but she noticed Jarod was staring at her all during the meal. Truth was she wanted to stare at him too. He looked mighty fine in his white T-shirt and a tight pair of blue jeans, and she wanted nothing more than to gaze at the man before her. But she couldn't let him see that, or he might take advantage of it. Too many people had taken advantage of her during her life and she wasn't about to relax that much around anyone, except for Catie. The only problem was that she had always felt safe around Jarod and that scared her. It scared her a lot.
"This is fun. It's like we're a real family." Catie piped up, pausing in her quest to become the world's fastest eater.
Miss Parker choked on her dinner and paled considerably. "It's really warm in here, don't you think?"
Jarod smiled wanly and looked somewhat confused at Miss Parker's reaction. The meal continued in silence, but Miss Parker would no longer meet Jarod's gaze and seemed all too interested in her salad. Too soon they had to be packed and ready to go to the airport. As Jarod packed his few belongings, he heard giggles emitting from Catie's bedroom, not all of them Catie's childish ones. He grinned to himself, glad that Miss Parker had reason to smile again. It had been a long time since he had seen her smile in earnest and in the past few hours he had seen her mouth curve up more times than he could count.
"We're ready." Miss Parker poked her head into the doorway and he nodded meaning he was done too. He noticed that she had changed into a more comfortable outfit of jeans and a light pink T-shirt and had changed Catie into a pair of red pajama bottoms and an oversized black Mickey Mouse T-shirt. Jarod gathered up Miss Parker and Catie's bags and placed them in the truck of the car along with his bag and his DSA player. Of course, only moments later he ended up having to take out Catie's bag again because she had packed Pinky by mistake. After all that was taken care of, he put the keys to the townhouse under a flowerpot as instructed by the real estate agent. Then running his eyes over the house and view one last time, he sighed.
"On the move again." he said feeling a sense of loss he couldn't understand. He felt a hand slip into his own and looked down.
Catie stood next to him and was staring out at the ocean like him. "Are we ever coming back, Jarod?"
"I don't think so, Catie. At least not anytime soon." Jarod said and lifted the girl into his arms.
She leaned her head against his and sighed. "I'm going to miss it."
"Me too, kiddo. Me too."
***********************************************************************
Miss Parker's fingers gripped and re-gripped the armrest for the umpteenth time and Jarod finally couldn't take it anymore. Placing his hand over her hand, he refused to let it slip out of his grasp when she tried to pull away. Glancing over her to check that Catie was still sleeping he again focused on the antsy woman next to him.
"It is only a two hour plane ride. Not even that long. Relax." he said in a soothing tone. Miss Parker ignored him and glanced over at Catie also.
"Is it good that she is sleeping so much?" she asked a twinge of worry in her voice.
"She hasn't really been sleeping well since...." Jarod trailed off knowing she knew what he meant.
"I haven't either." Miss Parker confessed.
"I don't think any of us have." Jarod answered back quietly.
The plane hit a patch of turbulence and he saw Miss Parker's grip tighten to the point that her knuckles were white with strain.
"Miss Parker, what did I say not five seconds ago. Relax." Jarod said trying not to let the amusement he felt slip into his voice.
"I can't!" Miss Parker whispered violently. "I hate planes with a passion!"
"You do everything with passion, I bet." Jarod said and went back to the magazine he had been reading. However he did not release Miss Parker's hand and she let him keep it there. And like he had intended it to, his last phrase ran through her head the rest of the plane ride.
