Page 34 of Jack

Zuri wanted to say that it was no excuse,but she wisely kept her opinion to herself.

Taking his hand in hers, she linked theirfingers and felt the familiar surge of affection. Who would havethought that she would feel this way for a boy she just met? Shewould love to hold him in her arms and comfort him. Tell him that itwas their loss for not wanting to spend time with him and that hismother was an uber bitch for leaving him.

"Do you believe that some things arebeyond our control?"

He looked at her puzzled. "I suppose."

"And that there are things we can takecontrol of?"

"I guess."

"We were different. Zach and I weredifferent. We did not have a mom. She died and it was tragic. Butthat did not stop kids from saying things, making hurtful remarks.One girl spread the rumor that our mom was unhappy so she had chosendeath instead of staying with us. I bloodied her mouth for sayingsomething like that." She shook her head as she looked at him."I would not recommend doing the same. I am sure that fancy prepschool you attend has a zero tolerance on physical violence."She grinned when he smiled. "My point is life sucks. People arecruel and it does not have an age limit. You will have problemswhether you're fourteen or forty. The trick is not to let it get toyou. Your mom left, so the hell what? She was not woman enough toface being a mother. Your dad--" Her voice petered off and sherealized that she had to tread carefully. "He'll come around.Just concentrate on you. Concentrate on being the person you weremeant to be. Stop worrying about other people and their behavior orattitude. There will come a time in your life when you're going tolook back and wonder what the fuss was all about." She squeezedhis hand. "And you have me as a friend."

His fingers clung to hers and for a minute,he did not say anything.

She sensed his vulnerability and wanted tooffer him more comfort. But sometimes words were not enough. Actionsand presence could speak louder than a thousand reassurances.

"And you have me as a friend,"Zuri reiterated softly, squeezing his hand once more before lettinggo.

The boy's gaze met hers, full of gratitudeand a spark of hope. "Thanks, Zuri. That means a lot."

"You're welcome." She glanced ather watch in surprise to see that the time had flown by so quickly.

"Well kid, is your limo picking youup?"

He nodded.

"Want to make the call? I have to goto the bank and run some errands. I'll wait for the car to get here."

Leaning over, he surprised her by throwinghis arms around her and holding on. Closing her eyes, she returnedhis embrace and stroked his back. The yearning for a child was sokeen that she could feel it in her womb. Swallowing the painful lump,she eased him away and did her best to mask the longing on her face.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

*****

His father was waiting for him when he gothome. He had been in such a good mood and reluctant to part ways withZuri. But with her assurances and the conversation with her hadbolstered his spirits considerably.

And had him smiling all the way home. Hewould find ways to see her. He loved talking to her. Shying away fromthe idea that he was somewhat in love with her, he also wished shewas his mother. It sounded confusing and gross, he decided.

When the door swung open, instead of one ofthe maids, his father stood there, an ominous expression on his face.

Jack saw the shock first and then the fearon his son's face.

"Close the doors," he saidmildly, his face expressionless. "Want to tell me where the hellyou were and why you missed band practice?" He held up a handwhen the boy opened his mouth. The guilt at being busted was pouringoff him in waves. "Before you say you were at school, pleaseknow that the principal called to inquire if your bout of stomachachewas dealt with and if you were okay to attend classes tomorrow."Propping a shoulder against the wall, he eyed the boy negligently andcould almost admire his ingenuity. If it had not been for the factthat his mother had called frantically, demanding that he find out ifhe was in some ER being attended to.

The call had come while he was in themiddle of a very important meeting.

"I went to the park."

Jack's brows shot up. If his son had saidhe had gone to Vegas to gamble, he would not have been moresurprised. "The park?"

"Yes." Jason shoved his book bagover his shoulder and jammed his hands into the pockets of his khakiuniform pants. "With Zuri." He bit his lip as his father'sexpression became one of icy displeasure.

"And Zuri is--"

"The lady at the bar."

"I thought so." Straightening,Jack strode towards the wide foyer and jerked open the closet doors."Go to your room and wait there for me."

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