Jack Who?

CHAPTER 16

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THE HOUSE WAS quiet. Tristan was down for the night, and Bally, happy to be home and happier that her people were home, lay sleeping at the foot of her youngest master’s bed.

     The television on Tristan’s dresser was from Jack. It had been delivered a couple of days ago, shortly after his discharge from the hospital. As a result, the television in the main room was now off much of the time.

     Jack had called every night while Tristan was in the hospital and always talked to Tristan for several minutes before or after he chatted with her. After coming home, the calls dwindled to every other night, but he sent and she returned at least two dozen texts throughout each day.

     Wandering the house, she picked up toys, doing general straightening to absolve any feelings of guilt at not wanting to do the dishes. Opening the desk drawer, she replaced Tristan’s art box of colored pencils, Crayola’s, and such, and when she pushed it closed, the laptop perched on the desktop came to life. This was not unusual.

     Olivia had stopped over to keep an eye on Tristan while Marissa did some grocery shopping. A lot of times, if Olivia forgot her tablet, she would entertain herself with the laptop, stopping in the middle of what she was doing to tend to Tristan, or take a call, or whatever.

     Although the screen coming on surprised her, it was simply waking from hibernation, and she closed her palm over the mouse with the intent to power it off.

     Before she pointed and clicked, the banner of a popular Hollywood gossip blog blinked, and she smiled at the habits of her friend. Just for the heck of it, she carried the computer to the couch. She sank down, propping her feet comfortably on the table as she clicked through the images reading of the latest celebrity exposes.

     Noticing a search box, she typed in the name that never left her mind. Once the page links came up, she further narrowed the results by images and began to fondly view the face she missed and hoped to see again soon. In their last phone conversation, Jack had mentioned the possibility of flying in for a few days at the end of the week.

     Various links to other blogs continuously beckoned from the edge of the page, and suddenly one caught her eye.

     ‘The Hottest Stories Right Now’

     ‘Jack Storm Caught Creepin At The Sky Bar With Sexy Ex Leanna Miranda Gavin’

     A quick click brought the story up, and she studied the picture inquisitive of anything to do with Jack, even ex-girlfriends. Why had she not engaged in this entertaining pastime before?

     Moments after the thought crossed her mind, the things she was seeing became the opposite of fun.

     While drooling over the picture, she had disregarded the date.

     Apparently, the blog was not exaggerating the claim of ‘Right Now.’

     The picture of Jack with his arm curved around the beautiful brunette had been snapped earlier in the evening.

     This evening.

     Stunned, she stared across at the blank, black television screen, then back down to the vivid laptop screen to recheck the date.

     When the ugly fact was conclusive, she opened another tab and typed ‘Leanna Miranda Gavin.’

     For several minutes, she scrolled pictures of the woman who was, of course, a lingerie model. To see this incredibly beautiful woman clad as scantily as Jack had obviously seen her only doubled the pain.