An Honest Kiss

Chapter 3

Rachel didn't sleep at all and rolled out of bed at five am. She knew what she had to do, she had to talk to Jack alone so she would try to get him at breakfast. Quickly throwing on some scrubs and her shoes, she pulled her hair back and crept silently out of the room.

It had been almost seven years since she and Jack had married and five since they had last seen each other. Her father had been an extremely sick man at the end of his life and his last wish had been for them to marry.

Rachel had never been able to get a straight answer from her father while he was alive as to why he had asked Jack to marry her. Was it because her father had known that she was madly in love with Jack, or was it a simple matter of wanting to be sure that she would be well taken care of after he was gone?

One thing she and Jack had always had in common was their love for her father. They had both loved Colonel Benjamin Edwards so much that they had been willing to marry each other to make his last days happy ones and give him the peace to move on when the time came.

Rachel had been fresh out of nursing school, and she had no idea that nursing her father was to be her first job, but Jack had been next to her every step of the way. It was almost as if they had had a real marriage, and in a certain sense their marriage had seemed very real, but if it had been a real marriage he wouldn't have left after her father had died. He would have stayed, and they would be together now not sleeping in different beds.

There was still very little light so she couldn't make rapid progress until she cleared the building and entered the large yard. Making her way to the cafeteria building, she took a deep breath praying silently that he would be alone. Her wish was answered as she opened the door and saw him sitting alone at a table with a cup of coffee. Jack glanced up when he heard the door open, and once again he didn't look surprised to see her.

She walked across the silent room meeting his direct gaze.

"Would you like some coffee Ray?"

Rachel shook her head as her heart dropped to her toes at his use of her nickname.  He was the only one who had ever called her Ray.

He sat silently waiting for her to start.

Rachel searched his face, hoping to find some answers there, but it was a passive mask.  Only his thumb drumming on the table and the muscle jumping in his jaw let her know he was as tense as she was.

"You knew I was coming." It wasn't a question as she had intended it be.

"How is your first week going?" His eyes took in her tired face; ignoring her statement of fact.

"I had a few shocks, but otherwise it was fairly routine."

"And Nurse Bowers?"

Rachel shrugged. "She seems to run a tight program."

They both silently watched each other. Rachel wanted him to tell her what was going on because she knew that he wasn't telling her everything.  He had known she was going to be here, he had probably arranged it, which meant that he was up to something because Jack never did anything without a reason. 

Was it a divorce, was that why she was here? Rachel had heard talk about him and Dr. Lancaster.  Did he want to marry her?

"I happened to hear about this organization from a friend at work who suggested that I look into it.  You knew I would take the bait and come, didn't you?"

He shrugged and looked as if he was about to say something when Rachel heard her name.

"Miss Rachel, is that you?" Rachel turned to see a wiry grey haired woman striding towards them carrying two plates. "This is a surprise. Jack said he might have someone joining him for breakfast, but I wasn't expecting you."