Winning Moves (Stepping Up 3)

“Hey, Hank,” Jason said, and Kat and her mother turned their gazes to find the phone to his ear as he continued talking. “What’s this about you having a drink and not inviting me?” He listened a minute and then added, “Yeah. I know the exact spot. I’ll see you in about half an hour.” He hung up and dialed another number. “Yeah, I need a cab.” He quickly spouted off Kat’s parents’ address and ended the call.

“Where is he?” Sheila asked. “And why did he answer your calls and not mine?”

“Or mine? And why did you call a cab?” Kat asked.

“In the order asked,” Jason replied, “I’ll try to answer. He’s downtown at a casino. He answered because I check in with him every now and then, and he knows my number. And finally, I called a cab because sometimes a man has to dump back a few drinks to get another man whose already drinking to talk.”

“I’m going with you,” Kat said at the same time as her mother.

Jason smiled. “No, you both are not.”

“Yes—” Kat and her mother said again at the same time.

“No,” Jason finished for them. “If you want to know what’s going on with Hank, then give the man some space to talk to me. I’ll get us both back here alive. Maybe not sober, but alive.”

Kat and her mother looked at each other and then reluctantly nodded. “Call us when you know what’s going on though,” Sheila insisted.

“I will,” Jason said, and gestured to the door at Kat. “Wait for the cab with me outside?”

She nodded and they headed outside, with Jason calling over his shoulder, “Don’t eat all the cake while I’m gone, Sheila. I’ll be back.”

Kat smiled at his comment, his natural way with people, that made him a great leader on a set. They stepped onto the porch, pulling the door shut behind them.

“Do you have any clue what’s going on?” Kat asked.

Jason twined the fingers of one of his hands with hers, and pulled her close to him. “Only that he was quick to invite me to join him, and he told me to come alone. That tells me he needs to talk.”

“It really could be either of those things my mom said, couldn’t it?”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” he said, settling down on the top step of the porch and pulling her down beside him. He slid his hand over her knee, aligning their legs. “Maybe he’s simply experiencing the same thing your mother is, lost in retirement.”

The feel of Jason’s hand possessively on her leg, his hip joined with hers, warmed her well beyond the physical desire he so easily stirred within her. She was worried about her parents, and he was here for her.

“Why not just tell her that?” Kat asked.

He faced her more fully. “Maybe he’s afraid she’ll think this is something to do with her, when it’s about him.”

“What if they’ve grown apart? What if—”

He kissed her, his fingers curling on her cheek. “They haven’t,” he said. “There are a lucky few people in this world that have a special bond, Kat, like they do. Like we do. Space and time doesn’t divide those people. It hasn’t divided us.”

Kat’s lashes fluttered, the warmth of his breath teasing her lips. “Jason,” she whispered, because there were no other words ample enough to explain what she felt. She didn’t even know what she felt.

A horn honked and Kat jumped at the sound. The cab had parked in front of the house.

“My limo has arrived,” Jason joked, brushing his thumb over the corner of her mouth. He stood and helped Kat to her feet. “I’ll text you when I get to your father’s side.”

“That would be great,” she said. She trusted Jason. He was very much a part of her life again. When she’d told him she didn’t know what she felt, she was wrong. She felt scared of getting hurt, scared of what might be going on with her parents, but she could say that to Jason and he would listen, he’d care. And that made her feel lucky.

“Jason!” Kat yelled, running down the steps to catch him.

He paused, halfway inside the cab, and stood up, turning to her. Kat rushed up and leaned into him, pressing to her tip-toes to kiss him, and then whispered, “I missed you.”

His arms closed around her, his tongue pressing past her lips, caressing hers. “I missed you, too. Later, I’ll show you how much.”

9

JASON WAS INSIDE the busy downtown Blue Moon Casino, searching the blackjack tables for Kat’s father, Hank, within fifteen minutes of sliding into the cab. To say that he was eager to get back to Kat after that “I missed you” proclamation she’d made by the cab was an understatement. But because he loved Kat, he was also eager to find out what was going on with her parents, especially her father.