Page 18 of Family Bonds- Jarrett & Andi

It was all she did this weekend. When her eyes weren’t bothering her from looking at the computer.

She researched what she could and how to heal.

She wasn’t going to be stupid and put herself in a bad position. And she wanted Jack to know that.

He knew that she’d follow orders. She always did.

“Don’t get pissed, but I’m going to look into transferring to Boston.”

Her shoulders slumped. She knew it wasn’t something that could or would happen right away. Part of the reason he hadn’t done it yet was because she wasn’t sure how long she’d stay here.

They agreed to give it a chance. One year. If things weren’t working, she could leave.

Just like they had the agreement in Tulsa, but Jack seemed to forget that until she reminded him when she wanted to go.

He couldn’t keep picking up and moving all the time either.

“We said a year,” she said. “It’s been four months.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Jack said. “I can see it. You love it here.”

“What gave it away?”

“You’re not jumpy. You’re not scared. You talk about the place you’ve been in for four months as fondly as you do about your father and Denver where you lived almost thirty years. I see it. I know.”

“I do feel that way here,” she said. “I don’t know why. When I’m walking on the paths or the beaches, I just think of my father. You know how much he loved nature.”

“I remember,” Jack said. “I don’t like the picture of your father on display.”

It’s not like she had time to hide them. She had no time to plan for anything. But it was in her room on the shelf.

“Sorry,” she said. “He’s not in uniform and I was a teen.”

“With blonde hair,” Jack said.

“I’ve got my hair in a ponytail and a baseball hat on in that picture. You can’t tell what color my hair is there. You’re just trying to make excuses for me to take it down. It’s not hurting anyone. It’s not like I’ve got it on my phone.”

Which she wanted to do and was told no. That someone could get her phone and see the pictures.

The only person who’d been in her bedroom since she’d lived here was Jack.

As annoyed as she was that he flew here so fast, she supposed she needed someone to keep an eye on her for a few days.

She would have been fine on her own, but she had to admit waking up on Saturday she felt better knowing he was in the house.

By this morning though, she was ready for him to go.

“And you better not. I don’t even like that picture of you and the cat on your phone.”

“If my picture wasn’t on it, then Jarrett might not have known it was my phone.”

“He would have known and you know it. I’m not sure why you’ve got the picture of the cat though.”

“I miss Pillow.” It was her father’s cat. She ended up with Pillow when her father died, but the cat was old and heartbroken and passed away shortly after.

“That feline always made me sneeze when I walked into the house,” Jack said.

“And it made Dad laugh. But I know you’re allergic. I also know it’s harder to move with pets so that is why I don’t have one.”

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