Signs of Love Read online

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  While grateful Justin was giving her a way out, there was no way Alana could take it. "Yes. Like you said, it is beneficial to both of us. Even Caden, if he gets to play video games."

  A smile moved across Justin's face so quickly Alana wasn't completely sure it had even been there. "We can start next week. Would this time work okay for you?"

  "Yes, it works perfectly." Then she frowned. "Do I need to get some ID before I come back?"

  Justin stared at her for a moment then jerked his head toward the elevator. "Come with me."

  As the doors whooshed open, Alana realized they were back on the floor where they'd met Marcus and Alex. This time they walked past his office to one that opened off a large reception area with yet another desk and receptionist. Justin said a quick hello to the woman as they passed by her then lifted his hand and rapped his knuckles on the open door.

  "Hey, Justin. What's up?" a male voice said. " You're usually back at the compound by now."

  Justin motioned them forward. "I'm giving a tour and had a question for you."

  As Alana and Caden stepped toward him, a dark-haired man came around a large desk. The man smiled and when he saw Caden, he said, "Well, aren't you a handsome young man?"

  When Caden looked up at her, Alana quickly signed what the man had said. Caden smiled and signed his reply. "He says thank you."

  "Alana is helping my family out," Justin said. "Oh, Alana, this is Eric McKinley. Eric, this is Alana Jensen."

  Eric held out his hand first to her and then to Caden. "Pleasure to meet you both."

  "Not sure I've mentioned to you that my niece has been diagnosed with hearing loss," Justin said.

  Eric's expression immediately turned to one of concern. He laid a hand on Justin's shoulder. "Wow. That has to be difficult news to get. I'll sure be praying for you guys. How are her parents doing?"

  Justin crossed his arms again and braced his feet, but Eric didn't move his hand. "They're doing fairly well. They've had a few months to get used to the diagnosis. Alana is teaching them—and me—sign language. In exchange, I'm going to teach her some self-defense, so I had her come by to see the facility here."

  "That sounds like a great trade," Eric said, lifting his hand from Justin's shoulder. "I know that Staci appreciated those classes you gave last year. Hey, did I ever tell you her first impression of you?"

  Justin glanced at Eric and shook his head. "Was that when we came to her house after you got back from the Middle East?"

  "Yep. She said you looked like a guy that never passed an exercise machine without trying it out." Eric chuckled. "I told her that was probably a pretty good guess."

  A broad smile flashed across Justin's face. "There are a few I can pass up, but, for the most part, that is true."

  "I assured her that for all your muscles and chiseled good looks, you were a gentle giant."

  Justin sent a look Caden's way and winked. "Good grief, Eric, I have a reputation to uphold."

  "Well, it's true. Sarah likes you, and you know what they say about kids being a good judge of character."

  Justin turned to her. "Staci is Eric's wife, and they have a daughter named Sarah. How old is she now?"

  "She's six," Eric smiled proudly.

  "Caden is seven," Alana said as she brushed her hand over Caden's hair.

  "It's a great age, isn't it?" Eric said.

  Alana nodded. It was true. She loved the curiosity Caden had developed for things beyond his own little world as he'd gotten older. And communication was so much easier now that his ability and desire to learn more signs had also increased.

  "Actually, Eric, I had another reason for stopping by to see you. I was wondering if we could do a hand scan of Alana so she can get through security for the next little while."

  Eric shoved his hands into his pockets. "She can't just show ID? Once you put her on the approved list, all she has to do is flash some photo ID."

  "I don't have photo ID," Alana said.

  Eric looked at her in surprise. "No driver's license?"

  Alana shook her head. "Nor any other photo ID. I do have a bank card and a library card."

  She watched as Eric and Justin exchanged glances and knew Justin would be explaining more in detail later.

  "Sure, we can do that." Eric moved around his desk and sat down. "I'll just call down to security and give them a head's up that you're on your way and what for, okay?"

  Justin nodded. "Thanks, man."

  "Anytime." Eric looked at Alana and Caden. "Be sure to stop in and say hi when you're in the neighborhood again."

  It wasn't long before they were on a different floor, and the atmosphere had changed completely. The understated elegance of the previous floors had been replaced with more practical decor and a much noisier environment. Several people called out a greeting to Justin as he led them through the hallways flanked by workstations. He lifted a hand in response to each one but didn't slow to talk.

  At least not until a woman stepped out in front of them, and he had no choice but to stop or run her over.

  "Justin." The woman's voice was low. "I didn't know you were still here."

  Alana and Caden stood off to the side and watched as the woman ran her hand over Justin's shoulder and then gave his upper arm a quick squeeze with her beautifully manicured hand. The woman's appearance seemed like it would fit much better on the floors they had been on earlier. Her jet black hair was worn in a shiny, sleek bob that just brushed her shoulders, and even though her makeup was understated, there was no doubt it had been expertly applied. Her suit looked like the female version of what Alana had seen on the guys Justin had introduced them to. The spiked heels she wore gave her a good four inches on Alana and brought her to Justin's eye level. Feeling Caden's hand tighten briefly in hers, Alana glanced down in time to see him scowl at the woman.

  "Hi, Jacey." Justin took a step back, bringing him next to Caden. "I had some personal stuff to take care of before I headed back to the compound."

  Jacey's gaze moved to Alana and after looking her up and down, she glanced at Caden before turning her attention back to Justin. Though the woman wasn't outright dismissive of them, Alana was sure she didn't see her as any competition. Not that there was any to begin with.

  "Give me a call next time you stay after your meeting. We can do lunch."

  Justin made some sort of noise as a response that didn't seem to be quite an agreement or a refusal. "If you'll excuse us, we need to finish up here."

  Jacey nodded as she stepped to the side. As they walked past her, the woman's face remained impassive, but Alana knew that expressionless didn't mean emotion didn't lurk beneath the surface. She wished she could assure the woman that she wasn't a threat to anything she might want to have with Justin. However, Alana got the feeling that even if she weren't there, Justin wouldn't have acted any differently. His reaction wasn't that of a man who was interested but constrained by the workplace setting or the presence of her and Caden.

  Justin didn't say anything more until they reached the security office and then it was only to talk to the man seated behind the desk. Eric had obviously arranged it all because it didn't take long to get her hand scanned and a picture taken. The man updated everything and then had her test it out. As soon as the scanner had recorded the image of her hand, the picture they'd taken as well as her name popped up on the screen.

  "Does Caden want his done too?" Justin asked.

  "Can he? I think he'd love that."

  She'd already explained to Caden what was going on as they'd done her file so when she asked if he wanted to do it too, he nodded vigorously. The security man was great with him, and Alana found her heart expanding with gratitude for all the people that day who had made the effort to connect with Caden.

  "Well, that's about it for the tour," Justin said as they walked back through the hallways leading to the elevator. This time there was no sign of Jacey. "I'm heading back out to the compound. Can I drop you off s
omewhere?"

  ~*~*~

  Justin waved at the guard as he pulled his truck through the gates of the BlackThorpe complex and out onto the street. He glanced over at the passenger seat, a little surprised that Alana had taken him up on his offer of a ride. Of course, she still wasn't having him drop her off at home, but at least it was a step in the right direction, and hopefully it would shorten the time she and Caden had to spend on the bus.

  "Thank you for showing us around. I hope you won't get into trouble for taking time away from your work. Today or in the weeks ahead when we come to meet with you there."

  "I don't get into trouble," Justin said as he shot her a quick smile. "I put in a lot of hours, and they all know it. No one will get on my case for a taking a little bit of time during the day once a week for personal activities. Plus, I'm still at the office and if something comes up, I always have my cell with me."

  "Well, that's good, but if you ever need to cancel, just let me know."

  Justin glanced into his rearview mirror and saw Caden looking all around the truck. Between his fascination with guns and Justin's truck, the little guy was definitely all male. Watching Than interact with him had sharpened Justin’s desire to be able to communicate with the boy as much as he did with Genevieve. Usually, he steered clear of kids—with the exception of Genevieve—but Caden was slowly but surely worming his way past Justin's defenses. And he found he wasn't as opposed to that as he might have been at one time.

  "So, you've seen where I work," Justin began, "how about telling me about your work."

  When Alana didn't reply right away, Justin figured she wasn't going to reveal anything, but then she said, "I work from home so I can homeschool Caden and not have to find someone to watch him."

  "What exactly do you do from home?" Justin had started out planning to get to know Alana because of her involvement with Beth, but now he found he wanted to know more about her...just because.

  "I do a few different things. I write blogs with reviews and links to books and other stuff that I earn money on if people click on the links and buy things. I also do some freelance writing."

  "And teaching sign language?"

  "No. I don't charge for that."

  Justin shot her a look as he slowed to a stop at a red light. "You don't?"

  "No. Usually, the people I work with are like Daniel and Beth. It doesn't feel right to me to make money off people who are dealing with something already so stressful. People have helped me through difficult times when I couldn't pay them. I'm just passing it on."

  Well, that shot down any thoughts he had that she might be trying to scam Beth. He'd just assumed his sister was paying her for the lessons. She'd turned down his offer to pay too. Thankfully, she had accepted his offer of teaching her self-defense. It didn't sit right with him for her to teach him something without some sort of payment in return.

  "So those other things you do earn you enough money?" Justin told himself it shouldn't matter, but knowing what he did about her past, he found it hard to keep his protective side from showing.

  "Yes."

  When she didn't expand on that, Justin let that subject drop. "Do you home-school Caden because he can't go a regular school? Is that something Beth will need to do with Genevieve?"

  "No, there are schools for deaf students. I'm actually considering putting Caden in one for the next school year. He needs more than what I've been able to offer him at home. He loves being around people."

  "Does he have many friends?"

  "Not many, no. He has a friend named Peter, who is also deaf, so Peter's mom and I try to arrange playdates for them a couple of times a month." Alana paused then said, "I do tend to be a bit more protective than perhaps I should be. I just couldn't handle the thought of anything happening to him if I’m not around to communicate with or for him."

  "Being a parent is hard work," Justin said. He'd had to play that role way before he was ready to, but he wouldn't do anything differently if he could go back. Well, if he could go back, he'd tell his family to stay far, far away from the family cabin that weekend, but barring that, he would step into that role of parent anytime Beth needed him to.

  "Caden makes it easy. I just worry a lot."

  Silence filled the cab of the truck for a few minutes then Justin said, "Hey, I didn't get much of a lunch today, you want to join me for something before I drop you off and head back to work?"

  "I don't know..."

  "My treat," Justin assured her. "You'd be doing me a favor. I don't want fast food and hate sitting on my own in a restaurant."

  Actually, neither was really a true statement, but Justin found himself not wanting the time with Alana and Caden to end. He named a restaurant that was on the way and near to where she'd wanted to be dropped off.

  "If you're sure..."

  "Wouldn't have offered if I wasn’t." Justin was glad Beth wasn't there because he had a feeling she'd be wondering if he'd been taken over by an alien or something. Usually, he steered clear of women, but it was fairly clear Alana didn't have the interest in him that Jacey had shown earlier. That made it easier for him to relax a bit more with her.

  Justin had to admit that he admired her. Even though he'd basically forced her to reveal her past to him, he was glad she had. Understanding where she came from helped him see her in a different light.

  "Okay. Thank you."

  When he spotted the restaurant he wanted, Justin exited the highway and drove into the parking lot. He made sure he parked where he would be able to see his truck since he was leaving the bags that contained his guns and laptop. Normally, he would have put his weapons back on before leaving BlackThorpe but with Caden around Justin had settled for strapping one of his guns into an ankle holster and a knife on his other leg. The boy couldn't see the weapons, but Justin felt more at ease knowing he was armed.

  Once inside the family-style restaurant, Justin requested a booth for them and soon they were seated along the wall that was mainly windows and gave him a good view of his truck. Alana slid Caden into the booth first and then followed him while Justin settled onto the padded seat on the other side.

  "Feel free to order whatever you're hungry for. Breakfast. Lunch. Dessert."

  Even though he held his menu open in his hands, Justin watched the mother and son duo across the table from him. Alana was pointing to things on the menu and signing to Caden. The boy's brow was furrowed as he signed back to her. He wondered how many lessons it would take him to be able to follow along when they communicated with each other.

  "Is he not finding anything he wants to eat?" Justin asked when it became quickly apparent that they were in disagreement over something.

  Alana sighed. "He doesn't want a kid's meal. For some reason, he thinks being almost eight means he shouldn't have to order off the baby menu.”

  Justin glanced at the boy to find him sitting back against the booth, arms crossed, an uncharacteristic frown on his young face. "Is there a reason you don't want him to order from the regular menu?"

  Alana paused then said, "It's more expensive, and I don't know if he'll eat it all."

  "Don't worry about the cost," Justin said. "And if he doesn't eat it all, you can get it packaged to go, and he can eat it later."

  Alana looked from him to Caden. The boy's green eyes widened, and his expression took on a pleading look as he made a circular sign on his chest. He wondered if the look worked on his mother because it sure was working on him. Justin was ready to give the kid just about anything he wanted at that point.

  Apparently it did, because after staring at Caden for a moment, Alana nodded. A huge smile wreathed his small face as he reached out to give her a tight hug. There was something about the scene that had Justin sitting back and considering. It seemed a bit odd for a kid to get so excited about being able to order off the regular menu. The little guy acted like he'd just been given a gift.

  He didn't have much time to mull that over before the waitress returned to take their order.
It appeared that Alana had already known what Caden wanted because he hadn't signed anything more after giving her a big hug.

  As the waitress jotted down what Alana said, Justin frowned. If the breakfast meal was what Caden wanted—even in the middle of the afternoon—that meant that Alana was only ordering a salad. A side salad. He was again reminded of how thin her arm had been when she'd shown him her scars. Was there a reason she wasn't eating more? She seemed to eat fairly heartily when at Beth's.

  When the waitress asked what he wanted, Justin tacked on a couple of appetizers in addition to the country fried steak he'd planned to order. Once she'd left them alone with the promise of returning shortly with the appetizers, Justin scrambled for something to talk about.

  "So, what kind of games does Caden like to play? I'll try and bring some that are appropriate for him."

  Alana signed to Caden and also spoke the words. "Justin wants to know what games you like."

  Caden glanced at him then lifted his hands to respond to his mother.

  "He likes anything Mario. Does that make sense?"

  Justin nodded. "Yep. I know the Mario games. I'll bring a few different ones so he can pick which one he likes best. Does he have a gaming system at home?"

  Alana's mouth tightened briefly as she shook her head. "He's played the games at his friend's house."

  Caden touched Alana's arm as he shot Justin a slightly embarrassed look. Alana bent down to him as he signed. She nodded and then said, "Please excuse us. Bathroom break."

  Justin watched as they slid out from the other side of the booth. He leaned back and stretched out his legs, keeping an eye on them as they made their way across the restaurant to where signs indicated the restrooms were. As he sat there, he mulled over how his view of Alana was changing. He wasn't just looking at her as Beth's friend or Caden's mother. It had started, he realized, the moment he'd found out that someone she'd trusted to take care of her had done the exact opposite. That was just wrong on so many levels.

  His first instinct had been to try to take care of her, but that wasn't his place. And it certainly wasn't a role he was looking to fill with her—even if she wanted him to, which he really didn't think she did. If she had wanted that, she wouldn't be turning him down every time he tried to help her out.