Once You'Ve Touched the Heart Read online

  “No, I was busy all day. What’s up with her?”

  “Oh, not her; it’s Tracy.”

  JD looked up from his plate. “What’s wrong with Tracy?”

  “Ashley said she’s been a little down about something for the past couple of days and she’s not talking about it. She wanted some advice on how to help her. You know Tracy. She walks around with that beautiful smile of hers all the time dealing with things on the inside. She needs to learn how to talk things through. I told Ashley to be patient; she’ll eventually talk to her about what’s bothering her. She always does,” his mom laughed lovingly.

  JD began moving food around his plate. Martha knew he was ready to talk, now, so she sat back.

  “Mom, I have a case involving Tracy’s brother. He will be arrested sometime this week. I feel like I should be the one to tell her, but I don’t know how,” JD explained.

  “Just tell her straight; don’t mince words on that,” his mom suggested.

  “I don’t want her to hate me for incarcerating her brother. He’s the only family she has.”

  My, my, his mom thought, JD caring about Tracy’s feelings, hmm.

  “Son, Tracy is a smart girl. She knows if her brother is doing something illegal, he is going to jail. You are doing your job; she is not going to hold that against you. Just be honest with her, whatever you do. That girl does not deal well with lies.”

  “Mom, I just don’t want her to feel alone when this happens,” he said with a sigh.

  “She’s not alone. She has Ashley, me and you.”

  The conversation went on as JD finished his meal. He kissed his mom on the cheek and left.

  “Well, well, James, honey,” Martha said talking to the ceiling, “I think your son has found the one. Let’s see, it’s April. Yep, by the end of the year we can expect a wedding.”

  Across the city, Ashley was preparing for work. She was surprised to hear Tracy in her room.

  “Tracy, are you going to work?” she asked.

  “Ashley, do you think you could handle the office for me today? I’m not feeling that great.”

  “Okay, I can do that. Are you spending the whole week in the house?” Ashley asked, concerned.

  “No, I just need a little time.”

  “I know what’s going on with your brother is getting to you, but you can’t hide in this house forever. Eventually, you will have to deal with what’s happened and move on. Just ask JD where things stand and stop worrying. JD is a man of his word. He said he would work things out and he will.”

  “You know, Ashley; it’s easy for you to move forward when things happen, because you always know one of your many family members will have your back. I don’t have that luxury. So if I choose to sit in this house and not put on the smile everyone thinks I should have, forgive me. I’m sure I’ll get back in touch with myself soon and everyone will be happy again.”

  Ashley raised her eyebrow at Tracy. “Feel better now that you have that off your chest?”

  Tracy looked at Ashley regretfully. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to put that on you. Just let me have a few days to get myself back on track.”

  “Okay, Tracy needs a few moments to herself. I’m leaving now so Tracy can have some alone time,” Ashley said in a very perky voice.

  They both started laughing.

  “Give me a hug.” Ashley sighed. “You will be just fine. Call JD; see what he can tell you. I’ll talk to you later. I have to go play boss.”

  “See you later.” Tracy smiled.

  ♥

  Instead of calling, Tracy decided to go to JD’s office. As she got off the elevator she looked around for some directions. A very attractive older woman at the receptionist desk called out. “May I help you with something?”

  “Yes,” Tracy replied with a smile, “I’m trying to locate Jeffrey Harrison’s office.”

  “You’re in the right place,” Mrs. Langston replied. “Do you have an appointment?”

  “No, I’m sorry; I should have known I needed an appointment. I’ll just try to reach him later.”

  Tracy had turned to walk away when Mrs. Langston said, “Let me buzz his office; he may be free.”

  Tracy, having second thoughts, replied, “Thank you, but that’s okay, I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “No bother, honey, hold on. Mr. Harrison, there’s a—what’s your name, dear?”

  “Tracy Washington.”

  “There’s a Tracy Washington here to see you. I’ll let her know. He’ll be right with you.”

  Now Tracy really wished she had not made this trip. Her stomach was doing the flip and flop thing it does when she was nervous. Seeing her discomfort, Mrs. Langston asked with a reassuring smile, “May I get you anything while you’re waiting, Ms. Washington?”

  “You wouldn’t happen to have some Pepto-Bismol back there, would you?” Tracy replied smiling.

  “No,” Mrs. Langston replied and laughed. “I have something better.” She motioned her hand for Tracy to come closer. “Homemade sugar cookies. They’re wonderful, if I may say so myself. Would you like one?” she whispered.

  “Okay, thank you. Why are we whispering?”

  “Because they’re our secret,” a voice from behind declared.

  Before Tracy turned she knew it was Jeffrey. She turned and thought, my Lord, that’s a good looking man, especially in a suit.

  “Quick, Mrs. Langston,” he said over Tracy’s head, “hit me with another.”

  They both looked around to make sure no one was looking. “Okay, Mr. Harrison, but that’s your quota for the day.”

  JD took the cookies and put them in his suit pocket. Tracy smiled at the two of them. He was taken by that smile again, and Mrs. Langston noticed his reaction.

  “You should do that more often,” he said.

  “What?” Tracy asked.

  “Smile,” he replied. “Come on let’s go to my office.”

  He put his hand on the small of her back. It felt as if it naturally belonged there. He guided her down the hallway to his office.

  Mrs. Langston watched the couple. “Hmm,” she observed.

  “As you can see, I’m spoiled. My mom cooked breakfast for me and Mrs. Langston bakes cookies for me,” he commented with a smile.

  Tracy smiled up at him. “You’re fortunate to have so many people who love you.”

  “Have a seat,” JD offered. “You have people who love you, too, Tracy.”

  “There’s only one I know of and that’s why I’m here.” She exhaled. “I don’t want you to compromise your position here, but is there anything you can tell me about Turk?”

  JD gazed at her with a frown. “Who is Turk?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. My brother—Turk is short for Turkey,” she replied, shaking her head to disregard that part of the conversation. “It’s a long story.”

  He smiled. “I love these names you two have; you call him Turk; he calls you Sugie.”

  She smiled. “Yes, he does.”

  “Al is doing okay. I met with him the other day.”

  She smiled. “He’s not hurt or anything like that?”

  “No, he’s not,” JD assured her.

  “Okay.” She breathed a sigh of relief.

  JD was glad he could ease her fears a little.

  “You actually saw him?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Is he somewhere I can see him?” she asked with a gleam in her eye.

  JD sat forward. He knew what he was about to say would take that gleam away. “It would not be safe for you to see him right now, Tracy. He is very concerned, with good reason, for your safety.”

  Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, he walked around to the front of the desk where she was sitting and hunched down beside her. “Tracy, Al made a deal and he will be going away for a long time. The only thing he asked of me in return was to make sure you stayed safe and I gave him my word that I would make that happen. Right now, it is very important to keep your connection with hi
m confidential. You being anywhere near him could cause a problem.”

  He saw the tears begin to form in her eyes, but they never fell.

  “I understand,” she smiled sadly. “Thanks for this. At least I know he’s okay.”

  She picked up her purse and stood to leave. “Turk is the only person who cared anything about me one way or another. He’s protected me all my life. It’s going to be hard to let that go.”

  JD stood to walk her to the elevator. Now it was his job to protect her. She stopped and asked, “He doesn’t want to see me, does he?”

  JD would not lie to her. “He can’t, not now.”

  Tracy looked down, so JD would not see the hurt within her. “Okay, well, I’ll let you get back to work.”

  Sensing her disappointment, JD smiled. “Tracy, trust me, this will be okay. I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

  “Jeffrey,” she said while walking down the hallway, “where’s my cookie?” She stopped directly in front of him and stuck her hand out. “Give them up.”

  They stood there watching each other as if it was a standoff. He pulled the cookies from his inner pocket, and gave her one.

  “Thank you,” she said and bit into the cookie.

  “You’re a cookie thief,” JD declared. “We don’t play with the cookies.”

  She began to laugh. “Mrs. Langston,” Tracy said, “thank you for the cookies. They made life a little easier to swallow.”

  “You are welcome, Ms. Washington. Please come back to see us. It’s not often we get to see such a beautiful smile.”

  “Thank you,” Tracy responded blushing. “I’ll try. Jeffrey, thank you for making the time for me today.”

  “Anytime you need me just come by or call, I’ll be here,” JD replied with a little more enthusiasm than he planned.

  Tracy smiled and the elevator doors closed. JD stood there staring at the door.

  “She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit; it’s not often you see the two together,” Mrs. Langston commented.

  JD turned. “Yes, she is, and you are right, it’s not often you see it.” He smiled and began walking down the hallway. Not often at all, he thought. He entered his office and picked up the phone then dialed a number.

  “We need to meet. I need you to do something for me; it’s a deal breaker. You asked me to trust you, now I need you to trust me. Previous arrangement; one hour earlier.”

  ♥

  Tracy went home feeling a little relieved, but trying to deal with the thought of never seeing Turk again. It’s official, she was really alone in this world. No family to turn to if something went wrong or just if she needed something. She wiped that depressing thought from her head. She put her hair up in a ponytail, changed into a pair of jeans and a midriff blouse and began concentrating on her project. At least she could get a couple of hours of work in before Ashley came home. The telephone rang and she answered.

  “Tracy, hi, it’s Jeffrey.”

  He called himself Jeffrey, not JD. About time he noticed that, Tracy thought as she smiled.

  “I really did not like the way things went today. I know you were disappointed. Let me make it up to you. Come go for a ride with me.”

  “Jeffrey, I’m not in the best of moods and I’m not dressed to go out.”

  “I’ll have you back in about an hour,” JD appealed.

  “Okay. Do I have time to change?”

  “No, I’m out front and we are on a time schedule.”

  “Okay, I’ll be down.” What the hell, Tracy thought, she needed the company. Tracy grabbed her keys and purse and went downstairs. Jeffrey was standing at his black 750 BMW as he opened the passenger door for her.

  “Jeffrey, where are we going? As you can see I have on jeans and you’re in a suit, driving the Beamer. It’s going to be embarrassing if anyone sees you with me like this.”

  She looked sexy as hell to him. “Embarrassed? What are you talking about?”

  “Cynthia said you never ride in a Beamer unless you are dressed, people will be looking.”

  He looked at her and shook his head. “Cynthia? Get in the car.”

  Tracy shrugged her shoulders “okay” and got into the car.

  The things women tend to care about are beyond me, JD thought as he pulled off.

  “You are a highly intelligent woman. Explain to me, why do you listen to Cynthia of all people?”

  “I usually don’t, but she seems to know about things like that. I don’t.”

  “Things like what?”

  “Things like cars, men and what people do and do not care about.”

  “Does Cynthia have a man?”

  “I don’t think so, but she has had plenty.”

  JD smiled. “I bet she has, but has she been able to keep one?”

  “Not so far.”

  “Okay, wouldn’t it be better if you listen to one of your friends who has a man?”

  “In theory, that would be a sound decision, but a difficult one.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t have any friends who have a good history with a man.”

  JD laughed. He had forgotten just how honest Tracy was. “Here, you have to put this on.”

  Tracy looked at it. “Why am I putting on a headband?”

  “It’s not a headband; it’s a blindfold.”

  “No, it’s not, it’s a headband,” she answered with a laugh.

  “Okay, it’s a headband that I’m making into a blindfold; now put this over your eyes,” JD declared, a little frustrated.

  “Why?”

  “Because, where I’m taking you is a surprise.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it is; now put this on.”

  She just looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Recognizing the “I’m about to go off on your ass” look, JD explained. “Look, before you go off on me, I really need you to put this on before I go any further.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, I don’t want you to see where we are going.”

  “Okay.” That’s simple enough, she thought as she put the blindfold on. “It’s still a headband.”

  JD smiled and drove on. He had forgotten, honesty works for her.

  “Where are we going?” Tracy asked after a few minutes.

  “It’s a surprise,” JD replied. Seeing she was a little uneasy, he held her hand. “Do you trust me, Tracy?”

  She hesitated. “Yes.” Then she closed her hand around his. Tracy was a little nervous. She had not really been around Jeffrey for this long in a while.

  “What have you been up to since graduation?” he asked.

  “Just work,” she responded. “I see you’ve been doing very well with your career.”

  “Things have been okay.”

  She nodded.

  “Those folks with the propensity for violence keep me pretty busy,” he said, smiling.

  She laughed. “Yeah, well, there’s quite a few of them out there, you know. I’m surprised you remember that conversation.”

  “I remember every conversation we’ve had.”

  Tracy did not want to go back there. She had buried those hurt feelings and did not want to bring them back up. The sad part was, she still hadn’t dealt with the rejection from him. She had just crawled back into her shell and stayed there. JD was sorry he took the conversation that way. She became silent. He was sure he hurt her back then, but that was not his intention. Hopefully this little trip would make up for that. He stopped the car.

  “Are we here?”

  “Yes,” JD replied. “Tracy, don’t get out of the car until I tell you it’s okay.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Okay.”

  JD got out of the car. Tracy thought she heard voices, but she was not sure. Getting a little nervous, she called out, “Jeffrey?”

  “Yes, I’m right here.”

  “May I take off the headband?”

  “It’s not a headband; it’s a blindfold. And no, not yet.”

  “Oka
y.” Tracy sat there.

  The door opened. “Okay, you can get out now,” JD said as he extended his hand to help her.

  “Okay, may I take off the headband now?” Tracy asked.

  “It’s not a headband, it’s a blindfold.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “We’re not going through this again?”

  “Yes,” he said, a little exasperated, “you can take it off now.”

  As she took it off she saw Brian. “That’s not much of a surprise.”

  Brian’s eyebrow went up. “I’m insulted.”

  “You’ll get over it,” she said.

  Jeffrey laughed and turned her around.

  “Turk!” Tracy screamed, then ran full speed ahead and jumped dead into his arms. Turk grabbed her and hugged her tight.

  “Hey, Sugie. Man, you look good. It’s so good to see you.”

  She put her head down into his shoulder and begged him. “Please don’t leave me here alone. Let me go with you wherever you’re going.”

  Turk looked over his shoulder at Jeffrey.

  “This is why he did not want to see her,” Jeffrey said to Tuck and Brian.

  “He hates telling her no,” Tuck said, “or seeing tears in her eyes.”

  Turk set her down. He stood her straight up, held her at arms’ length. “Sugie, I’m going to prison. You cannot go with me.”

  “I know that, but I can move to the town where you will be. That way I can come and visit.”

  Turk just looked at her. She had grown into a beautiful woman, but all he could see was his little sister, and he smiled.

  “I don’t want to be alone anymore, Turk,” Tracy said with tears streaming down her face.

  JD turned his back to them. He could not deal with seeing her upset. Brian took his hand and ran it down the length of his face to hide his emotions. Tucker put his head down and turned away. Turk took her hands in his. “You are not going to be alone. You have people who care about you and a life to live.”