Now I’m going upstairs to my office to work.”
He closed the den door behind him with a giant sigh of relief. But Althea faced his two quiet children with a sigh of confusion.
Seeing the look of exasperation on Jack’s face, she clicked off the computer monitor. “I just got here. You just met me.” She smiled at Jack, then Teagan. “I don’t think we should work this afternoon.”
Jack said, “All right!” But Teagan jumped off her chair, scampered over to Jack and frantically tugged on his shirtsleeve.
He leaned down, rolled his eyes, then caught Althea’s gaze. “She still wants to color.”
“Oh, sweetie! You can color, if that’s fun for you. I’m just saying that neither your brother nor I was prepared to work today so I don’t think we should.”
Teagan didn’t really pay attention to what Althea said. From the second the words, “You can color,” came out of her mouth, the little girl raced back to her chair and put her attention on a fat coloring book and a box of brightly colored crayons.
The temptation was strong to ask Jack if she was always like this. Then she remembered Missy. She remembered how as older sister Missy had ended up assuming responsibilities that shouldn’t have been hers, and she pulled back her question.
For all she knew, having to speak for his three-year-old sister could be part of the reason Jack was unhappy.
“So, do you want to play Yahtzee or Uno or something?”
Jack laughed. “Really?”
“Well, we can’t just sit here and do nothing. Plus you can learn a lot from how somebody plays a game.”
He slouched down on his seat with a huff and folded his arms across his chest. “You’re going to analyze me.”
“No, I’m going to get to know you. And if you’re smart you’ll also use the time to get to know me.”
He sniffed a laugh. “Right.” He sat up. “But I’d rather play video games.”
She winced. “I’m not very good.”
“Then I guess we’ll see if you have a temper.”
This time she laughed. “You’re pretty smart for a twelve-year-old.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m failing all my classes.”
It would have been the perfect opportunity to get into a discussion about his classes and what he thought might have caused his bad semester, but he gave the video game instructions so quickly she didn’t have time to ask. He handed her a controller and pointed at the spot beside him on the sofa. Thrust into a game she’d never seen before, she needed all her concentration just to work the controller.
In between rounds, she glanced at Teagan who quietly colored in her fat book. After an hour or so of the game, Jack said, “Hey, Chai Tea.”
Teagan looked over.
“Isn’t it about time for your nap?”
She slid off her chair just as the den door opened and Clark stepped inside. He stooped down and opened his arms. “I see somebody’s ready for a nap.”
He scooped up the little girl, and, as he rose, he saw the video game. “I thought you’d be working.”
“Today is our first day together,” Althea said, then added a, “Drat” when Jack killed two of her soldiers. “Anyway, we’re using this time to get to know each other.”
Without taking his eyes off the screen, Jack said, “We’re bonding.”
“Just don’t bond too long. I want your grades up so you don’t fall behind a semester.”
He left the room and Jack tossed his controller to the sofa. “Let’s go.”
Baffled, she turned, her gaze following him as he walked to the desk. “Go?”
“To work. You heard him. He wants my grades up.”
She rose from the sofa. “Yes. But he didn’t seem to be angry that we were getting to know each other.”
“You should have spent some time bonding with my dad instead of me. Then you’d know that was his angry voice.”
“That was his angry voice?”
“Yep.”
They went to the computer and checked out the potential programs Clark had chosen for his son. Jack participated as they scrolled through each one, but his responses were lackluster. She tried to revive some of the enthusiasm he’d shown while playing video games, and though he would smile, his heart clearly wasn’t in his studies.
The den door opened again. Clark poked his head inside. “I ordered pizza. It should be here in a half hour or so. Jack, I’m sure Althea would appreciate the chance to clean up before we eat. So why don’t you turn everything off so she can go?”
“What time is it?”
“Six.”
“Six!” It had been noon when she’d arrived, probably after one before they finished the interview and got her set up in her room. That could have made it two when she and the kids got settled in the den. Maybe three before Teagan left for her nap. That meant she and Jack had spent three hours looking at programs. She supposed that wasn’t too far-fetched.
“Where’s Teagan?”
“After her nap, she stayed in the office with me.”
“Oh. Okay.” She smiled at Jack. “You and I certainly were immersed in our work.”
He smiled. But he didn’t say anything. She glanced at Clark then back at Jack.
He wasn’t afraid of his father. That she recognized from her own life. She knew what a frightened child looked like. But he was terribly unhappy.
She followed Clark to the kitchen, ducked into her suite behind it to wash her hands, then joined Clark and Teagan at the table. While Jack found paper plates and napkins, Clark opened the big pizza box. The scent of tomato sauce and pepperoni invaded the air, making Althea’s stomach growl.
“I guess this is what two days of going without food will do to you.”
Clark gaped at her. “You really did go without food?”
“I wanted to get here. I’d already been on the road three days. After I talked to Emily, I just wanted to keep moving so I could get here and get started.”
“I can understand that.” He glanced back at Jack. “Hurry up, buddy, or the pizza will be cold.”
At the easy way the term of endearment slipped from Clark’s lips, Althea frowned. He clearly loved his son. And with Teagan sitting on his lap while he cut her pizza into tiny pieces, it was also obvious that he loved his daughter. He was simply too much of an organizer.
