Chapter 379 – Kayla Meets Jack
Just before three, Frank texted Jack to make sure they would be ready and then he walked Donnie and Mattie back to Kayla at Sandcastle cabin. Kayla was surprised to see Frank and a little disappointed that Nathan hadn't come.
"Hi." Frank said. "I am Frank. I am friends with Nathan. I just wanted to make sure the boys made it back here."
"Thank you." Kayla said, stepping out and letting the boys into the cabin.
She looked at Frank. Frank wasn't sure, but he thought he could read some sadness in her eyes.
"I hope that my nephews behaved for you this afternoon." Kayla said.
"They were great." Frank said.
Frank turned to go, but Kayla stopped him.
"Is Nathan okay?" Kayla asked. "I am afraid I might have scared him off."
Frank stopped and thought for a moment. He didn't want to say too much, but at the same time he knew that she was concerned.
"Physically Nathan is fine." Frank said. "But honestly, I think he is confused and scared about what he is feeling. I think it has to do with his past and how his last relationship ended. A bad relationship can mess with your head and that is experience speaking."
"Oh." Kayla said. "He didn't tell me what happened, but just that it ended badly."
"You need to ask him about it." Frank said.
"He won't answer my texts." Kayla said. "And the line keeps ringing until it goes to voicemail. I am afraid that he doesn't want to talk to me. Can I walk back with you? I want to see that he is okay and try to talk to him. My sister, Katherine, will watch Cassie for a bit."
"Okay." Frank said. "I am not sure he is going to want to speak to you, but you can walk back and try."
"Thank you." Kayla said. "Give me a moment."
Kayla went into the cabin and Frank heard her talking to her sister and telling Cassie to be good. Frank hoped that he was doing the right thing. He said a quick prayer that Nathan wouldn't be mad.
"Ready." Kayla said, stepping back out onto the porch. "Also thank you. I feel like I need to apologize to you because of everything."
Frank just nodded and motioned for Kayla to go down the steps.
"So you work with Nathan, then?" Kayla asked.
"I guess you could say that." Frank said. "At least this week."
"So you will be in the city as well when you all go back to New York." Kayla said.
"No." Frank said. "I will be going back to Saratoga when we get back to New York. I will be down in the city from time to time, but mainly up in Saratoga working."
"You must work for Jack as well, then." Kayla said. "I don't want you to think I am some stalker, but you can't live in the Northeast and not know who Jack Thornton is. I also follow the jumping circuit as I love horses. I recognized Jack right away, I figured he was here to get away from the media, so I didn't say anything. I wanted to jump as well, but there wasn't much opportunity for that in Southeast Ohio."
"Yes, I work for Jack." Frank said. "And yes we came here to get away from the media. What I want you to know is that Nathan, Jack and I are truly friends, regardless of employment status."
"That is nice to know." Kayla said.
They walked the rest of the way to the cabin in silence. Kayla wasn't sure what to say and Frank wasn't going to offer much. He had been a sounding board for Nathan and offered him advice, but also didn't want to be seen as interfering. When they got to the cabin, they found Nathan sitting on the deck wearing only a pair of tight jeans. Frank heard Kayla's sharp intake of air as she saw Nathan and absolutely couldn't take her eyes off his bare torso. Nathan embarrassed, scrambled to pull his henley over his head that was sitting next him.
"Kayla." Nathan said, his voice a mix of shock and embarrassment.
"I am sorry." Kayla said, shaking her head. "When you didn't walk the boys back or respond on the phone, I was worried. I was concerned that you were mad at me. I … I … sorry."
Kayla shook her head again, because all she could think about was running her hands over Nathan's torso and through his dark wavy hair. She turned to leave, in part because she was embarrassed and in part because she didn't know what to say.
"Kayla, wait." Nathan said.
Kayla turned around and looked at Nathan. It took a moment and she could see that he had to swallow several times before speaking.
"Can we talk?" Nathan asked. "I don't know if we will have enough time to work everything out before I have to leave for supper, but can we at least try to start somewhere?"
"Okay." Kayla said.
Nathan motioned for Kayla to sit.
"I will be inside." Frank said.
"Okay." Nathan said. "Check your messages, there is an update from Devin."
"Got it." Frank said.
Frank went inside and Nathan sat back down. He looked at Kayla. Nathan absolutely couldn't deny the physical attraction that he felt when he looked at Kayla. He felt his body stir as he looked at her face, framed by her brown hair that was sun-kissed. He looked at her eyes that reminded him of two chocolate truffles and almost lost his reserve to not go over and kiss her until they were both breathless. He shook his head and let out a harsh breath. He knew that he needed to focus and try to say what needed to be said.
"Sorry." Nathan said. "This has all been so overwhelming for me. I am scared how much you have come to mean to me so quickly."
Nathan blew out another harsh breath and ran his fingers through his hair. If only he knew how much it was driving Kayla wild to see him play with his hair, he would never do it again in public. Finally, Nathan looked back up at Kayla and she could clearly see the pain in his eyes and she thought he was going to break up with her, so she braced herself.
"My last girlfriend took something from me that I can never get back." Nathan said. "So when she broke my heart, something in me broke and I closed my heart off to the world. I haven't seriously thought or looked at a woman romantically since then and that was almost two years ago. Don't get me wrong, I have noticed beautiful women, but it did nothing for me. Until I saw you the other day. Hearing you call for Cassie the other day melted the ice wall that had been around my heart. It scared me how quickly you got past a defense that I had set up."
Nathan hung his head and again ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he was nervous and playing with his hair was a calming action, but he couldn't help it. Kayla sat there for a few moments watching Nathan. There was a part of her that wanted to go comfort him as she could feel the pain when he had spoken. But at the same time, she knew that she couldn't do that. They needed to work through whatever this was before they could move forward and the included physical contact. Kayla knew that he wrapped her in his long arms or kissed her again, that she would be a goner. She was so close to throwing everything out the window and asking Nathan to take her right there.
"Can I ask how long you had been together and why you broke up?" Kayla asked softly, almost afraid that her voice alone would scare Nathan off.
Slowly Nathan looked up at her and his pain was even more palpable.
"We had been together for close to eighteen months." Nathan said. "We broke up because I found her making out with her boss the night I was going to propose to her."
"I am sorry." Kayla said. "No wonder you freaked out when I started talking about marriage and the future."
Nathan nodded his head because he didn't trust his voice with the way his emotions were. Afterwards, he hung his head because he couldn't look at Kayla. He was losing his resolve to be a gentleman and try to work things out with her. His physical desire for Kayla was trying to take over and it was taking a lot of energy to stay seated and not rush to her and pull her close, kissing her until they were both breathless.
"Again, I am sorry." Kayla said, her voice barely above a whisper.
They continued to sit there quietly, as neither knew what to say or how to move forward. Neither wanted to do something that would push the other way, yet at the same time they were both fighting a massive physical attraction. If Nathan had to describe it, he would call it a magnet that was pulling him toward Kayla and not matter how hard he tried to resist, he couldn't fight the power of the magnetic pull.
As they were sitting there, trying to figure out their next move, Jack and Elizabeth walked up hand in hand. Nathan looked up when he heard their voices. When they got close enough, Nathan smiled at them. The first thing that Jack noticed was that the smile on Nathan's face didn't reach his eyes like it had before. Before anyone could say anything, Frank came out and looked at the scene before him. The tension was real and he was worried that Nathan wasn't going to be alright.
"Sorry." Nathan said. "Where are my manners?"
Jack stepped forward to spare Nathan the embarrassment and need to speak.
"Jack Thornton." He said, holding out his hand.
"Kayla Welsh." She said, shaking his outstretched hand.
"Nice to meet you." Jack said. "This is my wife, Elizabeth."
"So the rumors are true." Kayla said, shaking Elizabeth's hand.
"Yes." Jack said. "But it is not for public knowledge, so we would appreciate you respecting our right to privacy."
"Of course." Kayla said.
"Excuse me while I get the rest of my stuff." Nathan said.
Jack watched Nathan uncomfortably walk away and go into the cabin. He waited a moment and then looked at Kayla. He wasn't trying to be rude or scary, but realized he might come across that way and then he realized it didn't matter at the moment. She hadn't proven herself yet.
"Please don't break his heart." Jack said. "Nathan is like a brother to me and an important part of our group. I hope we get a chance to get to know you better when we get back to the City."
"Sounds good." Kayla said. "Please have Nathan text me when you all are back."
"I will." Frank said.
"Thank you again for watching my nephews this afternoon." Kayla said.
"It was fun." Frank said.
With that Kayla nodded to the group and then quickly left. Frank looked at Jack and knew it had been because of the way he had spoken.
"Please don't tease Nathan." Frank said. "I don't know what happened, but he is kind of freaked out about things right now. So please."
"I will be good." Jack said, holding his hands up.
"Thank you." Frank said.
"Did Devin update you?" Jack asked.
"Yes, I got the message." Frank said.
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked.
"Casey and Tracy Pennybaker." Jack said. "Along with Jenna and another girl were in Grand Rapids yesterday. They were asking about us, but they didn't seem to get the information that they wanted. From what Devin said, they went to the lodge looking for us and they got upset when they wouldn't give out any information."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Elizabeth asked.
"We got a little preoccupied with other things this afternoon." Jack said with a smirk.
"Oh." Elizabeth said, ducking her head.
"Don't worry about it." Jack said. "They are just trying to cause trouble. They will get what is coming to them soon enough."
Nathan came out wearing a polo and boots as well as the jeans that he had on before. He looked around and wondered what had happened.
"Ready?" Nathan asked.
"Yep." Jack said. "Let's go."
They walked to the truck and Frank drove the short distance to The Landing. Elizabeth shared about seeing the bald eagle that morning. When they got to The Landing, there were only a few cars, but plenty of boats already there. They went in and found a table where they could look over the water, but still be in the cool of the shade as it was still quite warm. Jack saw that they had a baseball game on and smiled. Elizabeth shook her head. If that was what he wanted, she wasn't going to argue. They all ordered sodas or pop as they learned it was called in Minnesota.
"So Jack." Frank said. "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking of a bacon cheese burger." Jack said. "But I was thinking of having the bison patty. I was also thinking that we can share a few appetizers. I was thinking of the candied burnt ends in the bourbon sauce for sure."
"Those sound good." Nathan said. "So do the steak bites with peppers and onions."
"We can get both." Jack said. "I am not worried. Frank? Elizabeth?"
"Yeah, they both sound good." Frank said.
"Can we also get the chips and salsa?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sure." Jack said. "What were you thinking for your main dish?"
"I was thinking of a western burger with pepperjack and bacon." Nathan said. "It also has crispy onions on it with BBQ sauce. I was also thinking that the bison patty sounded good."
"I am thinking of that wrap that is on special tonight." Frank said.
"What is on that?" Nathan asked. "I didn't even look at the specials."
"It is the Hawaiian chicken wrap." Frank said. "It had pineapple mango salsa with bacon and teriyaki sauce and it comes with chips."
"That does sound good." Jack said. "Elizabeth?"
"I was thinking that taco salad that is also on special." Elizabeth said. "But then I saw the strawberry island salad. I really don't know."
"Grilled chicken, ripe strawberries, blueberries, pecans, red onion and feta cheese on a bed of spring greens with a blueberry balsamic dressing." Jack said, reading the menu.
"Both sound good." Elizabeth said. "I know that I love taco salads. I also love everything, except the feta cheese on the strawberry one."
"I suggest you go with the strawberry island." Jack said. "We can get taco salad in New York, but I have never seen something like this one."
Elizabeth nodded. Jack ended up ordering the bison bacon cheeseburger with provolone. He got waffle fries with it. Elizabeth did get the strawberry island salad. Nathan got the bison western burger with fries. Frank went with the Hawaiian chicken wrap with chips. They also got the three appetizers they had talked about.