“I guess I would have met the guy without thinking much about it. Honestly, I wasn’t that introspective,” he admitted. “I know Alex isn’t like me, but I want to be the best father possible.”
“What kind of father do you imagine he needs?” There was an edge in her voice.
“Someone to rely on, back him up when things get tough.”
“His mother also does that.”
“I didn’t say you don’t. But I can do what a father usually does—if he needs to talk about girls, for example. I should have a discussion with him about sex. I can also do things like teach him to drive and ride a horse.”
Kayla cocked her head. “Is riding a horse one of your definitions of manliness?”
“Dammit, Kayla, why do you have to pick everything apart?”
“It’s my job as Alex’s mother. Though, come to think about it, it’s also my job working on insurance billings. We examine everything to help ensure an insurance company doesn’t inappropriately reject the claim.”
“Tell me about your business,” Jackson urged, hoping to divert her from yet another debate about his male attitudes.
Her sideways glance told him she wasn’t fooled. “We’re called Smooth Billings. I have twenty-seven employees and contracts with dozens of medical and dental offices. More and more, small providers are outsourcing insurance billing and other services to companies like mine, rather than hiring someone to take care of it in-house.”
Jackson blinked. Smooth Billings had even more employees than the Crazy Horse.
“Do you enjoy it?” he asked.
“I enjoy knowing we make a difference. Now I primarily do training and manage our contracts—most of the day-to-day insurance work is handled by the staff. My manager is top-notch, but I do regular spot checks to be sure we’re on track. It’s hard on patients if their billing hits a snag.”
“Does that occur often?”
“It does if the doctor puts down the wrong word or writes an incorrect code. I insist our employees really think about what they’re seeing, especially buzzwords that insurance companies may use as loopholes. And if there’s a problem, I expect my staff to follow up aggressively.”
The enthusiasm in Kayla’s voice impressed Jackson. She seemed to believe in her work, and it was easy to see how it could make a difference. It was tough enough being ill, but fighting forms and balky insurance companies would make things worse. It was nice; she seemed to see her business as a form of service rather than simply paperwork.
Kayla stretched, and Jackson determinedly fixed his gaze on the RV ahead of them. He knew she wasn’t being deliberately provocative, but his body was harder to convince. Hell, it was just the dry period he was going through—normally he had a reasonably adequate sex life, but the longer Morgan’s rebellion had gone on, the harder it had become to go out for an evening.
The RV’s turn signal went on and he followed into a roadside picnic area, hoping it meant Alex had decided to ride in the Suburban. Being alone with Kayla raised his blood pressure in more ways than one.
CHAPTER EIGHT
MORGAN DIDN’T LOOK at her dad when he came to the driver’s window of the RV.
“We thought it would be a good idea to stretch our legs,” Mr. Garrison told him.
“Yes, of course.”
Morgan leaned over and whispered to Alex and DeeDee, “My father doesn’t like stopping. He thinks we should leave by 4:00 a.m. and gnaw on beef jerky when we get hungry.”
DeeDee giggled, but Alex shrugged. “My dad used to tell us everyone should walk around every couple of hours when they’re traveling—something about blood and circulation and stuff. For a while he was going to be a doctor, but then he...um, did something else. He gets bored easy.”
Morgan thought it was strange having Alex talk about his dad that way. DeeDee had already said some odd things, too. It was as if they loved him but didn’t like him very much, all at the same time.
Alex’s little sister had made Morgan uncomfortable, staring at her with rabid curiosity.
“You don’t look like your dad,” she finally said.
Yeah, as if I don’t already know that.
Wishing she could stop thinking about it, Morgan unbuckled her seat belt and followed the others from the RV. DeeDee immediately took off running. Alex had said she was a runner, same as their mom, only she didn’t want to get up early in the morning to do it.
When she looked at Alex’s mother, Morgan decided there were worse things than being a runner. Cripes, even though she was a mom, the guys at school would think Kayla was really hot. So maybe running was a good idea.