he allowed himself to miss them. To wonder what it would have been like if Hunter hadn’t died. Because Hunter was the one who had held them all together. Without him, they’d gone their separate ways. There were times when he—
He stood and shook his head. Okay, he needed more coffee or something, because there was no way he was spending the rest of the morning in his head.
He went downstairs and poured himself coffee. He could hear Meri and her team talking in the dining room.
“String theory is ruining theoretical physics,” one of the guys said. “Everything has to be defined and explained, which is wasting a lot of time. Sure there’s a why and a how, but if there’s no practical application, then why bother?”
“Because you can’t know the practical application until you understand the theory.”
“It’s not a theory. It’s equations. Compare string theory to something else. Something like—”
They kept on talking, but even thought Jack knew they were probably speaking English, he had no idea what they were saying. He knew string theory had nothing to do with strings and maybe something to do with the universe. The word vibrating was attached to the idea in his head, but whether that meant string theory was about vibrations in the universe or just so above him that it made his teeth hurt, he wasn’t sure.
“All very interesting,” Meri said loudly over the argument. “But it has little to do with the project at hand. Get back to work. All of you.”
There was a little grumbling, but the discussion shifted back to something that sounded a lot like solid rocket fuel. Not that Jack could be sure.
After grabbing his mug, he stepped out onto the deck. Hunter would be proud of Meri. She’d turned into a hell of a woman.
He pulled out his cell phone and hit redial. Bobbi Sue answered on the first ring. “You’ve got to stop calling me,” she told him by way of greeting. “I swear, you’re starting to get on my nerves. We’re all capable here. We can do the job. You’re just bored, and let me tell you, I don’t like being punished for your mood swings.”
He ignored her. “I want you to check out someone Meri’s seeing. Andrew Layman. His address is on file. I want to know everything about him. Apparently it’s gotten serious, and I want to make sure Meri isn’t getting involved with a guy after her money.”
“I swear, Jack, you have got to stop spying on this girl. If you’re so interested, date her yourself. Otherwise get out of her life.”
“I can’t. She’s a wealthy heiress. That makes her a target. Besides, I gave my word.”
“I wish you were here so you could see how unimpressed I am by you giving your word. This just isn’t healthy.” Bobbi Sue sighed. “I’ll do it, but only because it’s my job and, for the most part, I respect you.”
He grinned, knowing Meri would adore his secretary. “Your praise is all that matters.”
“As if I’d believe that. This’ll take a couple of days.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I hear that. You need to get out. Find a woman. I mean it, Jack. Either get involved with Meri or leave the poor girl alone. You have no right to do this.”
“I have every right.” Meri might not know it, but she needed him. Someone had to keep her safe.
He hung up and returned to the kitchen for more coffee. Meri entered from the dining room.
“Hi. How’s your day going?” she asked as she pushed past him and walked into the pantry. “Have you seen the box of pencils I put in here? Colin insists on fresh pencils when he works. Betina thinks it’s charming, but I have to tell you, his little quirks are a pain in the butt. There was a whole new box. I swear.”
He heard her rummaging around, then she gasped. He stepped to the pantry door and saw her crouched by the bottom shelf.
“What?” he demanded. “Did you hit your head?”
“No,” she whispered and slowly straightened. She held a box in her hand, but it wasn’t pencils. Instead it was a shoe box covered with childish stickers of unicorns and stars and rainbows.
“This is mine,” she breathed. “I haven’t seen it in years. I’d forgotten about it. How did it get here?”
As he didn’t know what “it” was, he only shrugged.
Meri looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “It’s pictures of Hunter and my mom and all of us.”
She set the box on the counter and opened the top. There were old Polaroid photos of a very young Hunter standing in front of some church. Probably in Europe. He looked about fourteen or fifteen. He had his arm around a much younger Meredith.
“God, I miss him,” Meri whispered. “He was my family.”
Betina walked into the kitchen. “It’s pencils, Meri. You’re supposed to be the smart one. Are you telling me you can’t find a—” Betina stopped. “What happened?” She turned on Jack. “What the hell did you do to her?”
“Nothing,” Meri said before he could defend himself. “It’s not him. Look.”
Betina moved close and took the photo. “That’s you. Is that Hunter?”
“Uh-huh. I think we’re in France.” She pulled out more pictures. “I can’t believe it. Look at how fat I am. Did anyone stop to say, ‘Gee, honey, you should eat less’?”
“Food is love,” Betina told her and fanned out the pictures on the counter. “You’re adorable and Hunter is quite the hunk.”
Several more members of Meri’s team wandered into the kitchen. Soon they, too, were looking over pictures and talking about Hunter as if they’d known him.
Jack hung back. As much as he wanted to see his friend, he didn’t want to open old wounds. For a second he wondered if Meri would need comforting, then he looked at all the people around her. She didn’t need him at all. Which was for the best. He didn’t want to get involved.
Meri paid the driver, then carried the bag of Chinese food into the house. “Dinner,” she yelled in the general direction of the stairs, not sure if Jack would come down or not. She was gratified to see him walk into the kitchen a couple of minutes later.
“Why aren’t you out with the nerd brigade?” he asked as she pulled a couple of plates out of the cupboard.
“Nerd brigade?” She smiled. “They’d like that. It sounds very military. They’re all going to a club in Lake Tahoe and I’m not in the mood. Plus, I knew you were lonely, so I stayed home to keep you company.”
“I’m not lonely.”
He sounded annoyed as he spoke, which made her want to giggle. Jack was really easy to rile. It was that stick up his butt—if he would just let it go, he could be a regular person. Of course, his macho I’m-in-charge attitude was part of his appeal.
“Can you reach those?” she asked, pointing to the tall glasses some idiot had put on the top shelf. She could never have left them there.
While he got them for her, she carried the plates and food over to the table in the kitchen, then went to the refrigerator for a couple of beers.
When they were seated across from each other, she said, “So are we invading you too badly?”
“Do you care if you are?”
She considered the question and went with the honest answer. “Not really, but it seemed polite to ask.”
“Good to know. I’m getting work done.”
“Your company specializes in protecting corporations in scary parts of the world, right?”
He nodded.