Signs of Love (11 page)

"They're the two top guys?" Alana asked just to make sure her assumptions were correct.

Justin nodded as he motioned for her and Caden to step out of the elevator when it stopped. "He and Alex founded the company when they got out of the military just over ten years ago. It was originally a group of four of them, but the other two left when they had a difference of opinion on some things. Not sure exactly what, but that's the story. They changed their name to BlackThorpe, and the rest is history. It was small at first but then grew as they made a name for themselves."

Alana looked around at the floor the elevator had brought them to. This one appeared to be empty.

Justin waved his hand. "The main boardroom is down there. There are also several smaller boardrooms along the wall. Sometimes we use this middle area for larger events." He walked to the closest door and turned the knob to open it. "I thought maybe we could meet in one of these rooms for the sign language lessons. They all have televisions so I could bring a gaming system for Caden if he likes to play video games."

Alana smiled down at Caden and signed to him. When Caden's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, she said, "Well, I guess you can probably figure out his answer without my help."

Justin laughed. "Yeah. Seems he likes the idea."

She wished she had a gaming system for him, but it was just a treat he got when he went to spend time with Peter. Maybe she'd be able to save up enough money to get him a used one for Christmas. A gaming system had been at the top of his list for birthday and Christmas ever since he'd figured out what one was.

Justin crossed his arms over his chest and said, "So? Do you still think this is something you want to do?"

The main reason
to
do it centered around Caden—being able to defend him. Of course, he would also be thrilled to spend more time with Justin and to be able to play video games. The reasons
not
to do it all centered on her, which meant that of course she'd do it. Every decision she'd made had been with him in mind. She hadn't left Craig in spite of the abuse because she believed the lifestyle he provided for Caden was better than anything she could. But once he'd started to hint that he'd use Caden to keep her under his control, she started her plans to leave. And the day he'd come right out and said that Caden could benefit from a little more discipline especially if she didn't fall in line, she'd packed their bags and left.

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 somewhere?"

~*~*~

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.