Jack Who? (Silver Strings G Series) by Lisa Gillis Read Free Book Online Page A

she reclined on the weight bench. The workout ritual was something they did together. The main reason she participated was to encourage her son, who was forced by circumstances to make it an everyday part of his life. However, the results in the mirror also pushed her on.
    She was never sure if the quest to keep a trim and toned body was for the overweight adolescent girl who had once sat home dateless during those first awkward school dances, or the twenty-something year old ‘Mariss’ who secretly hoped to one day be a family with Jack Storm.
    The eating disorder of adolescence had returned with a vengeance five years ago, and she knew stress was the root of the problem. The only times she didn’t struggle with weight was during times of being content with her life.
    Tristan kept up a steady chatter, and a smile found its way to her face as she listened to the news of the day. Aunt Liv had bought him a new book app for the tablet she had given him for Christmas. The Chinese food delivery had taken almost an hour. One of his favorite shows recorded twice. Bally ate broccoli. Pleasantly, his tiny voice filled the room and as always, was the highlight of her evening.
    The shred of an electronic riff, the pounding of drums, and a deep throaty howl interrupted the soothing sound waves, jarring her from her mindless leg thrusts, and rendering Tristan speechless.
    “Is that your phone?” Round eyes accompanied his inquiry, and his short legs stopped their pedaling.
    Jack’s number had been dumped, along with the rest of her contacts, from phone to phone, over the years. It was understandable that she had never deleted it. What could be considered unusual was her post cell upgrade ritual of scrolling through her sound files and assigning his special ring tone once more to his number.
    Leaning to the side, she snatched the phone from the floor and verified the caller ID. Numbly, she took in the shaking of her hand as  ’RUSS’ flashed the screen.
    “It’s going to stop! Answer it!” Tristan’s frantic cry brought her attention to a miniature version of the face that haunted her dreams, and whose voice was now a click away.
    Her thumb hovered and then pressed.

CHAPTER 9
    A QUICK CLICK routed the call to voicemail.
    “Momma, why did you do that?”
    Vaguely, she brought her gaze from the phone to Tristan’s disappointment and wondered if somehow, subconsciously, he felt a connection to the caller– to his dad. Even Bally was now sitting, instead of lying, on her haunches with a judgmental ear cocked back.
    “I didn’t feel like talking...” While defending her actions to her four-year old son, she was listening for the voicemail tone but wound up as deflated as Tristan looked when there was none. The truth was that the finely worded custody clause in the letter was terrifying.
    “You should’ve answered it.” Tiny feet renewed the slow rotation of the bike peddles.
    “Why?” Again, she was curious, sensing some urgency in his reproof.
    Her mother viewed these types of conversations as her son’s lack of respect toward Marissa as the parent, deeming that things should be told, not explained, to a child. She didn’t get that Tristan was extremely mature for his age, thus could reason things out.
    “To see who it is.” The pronouncement was heaved as if she were dense. Okay, so maybe she was sometimes too lax in asserting authority...
    “Why did you want to know who it was?”
    “Because I liked the music.”
    Her muscles relaxed some at that answer, and she revolved to the stair-master. “You did, huh?” Maybe it was because she had rocked the house non-stop with it during pregnancy. “Well maybe I can find some music like that for you to listen to.” Concentrating, Marissa tried to remember if the lyrics to all of Jackal’s songs were risqué, or if maybe there was just one song tame enough for ears of the lead vocalist’s son.
    The week passed far too quickly. Olivia decided to kennel Bally in her