Free Kelly Jo by Linda Opdyke Page B

pilfered from his mother.

 
    Chapter Twenty Two
     
    Jack nodded and gave a mild, "How you doin'?" to the people that stared at him as he made his way to where Kelly Jo had disappeared around the corner.  He found her waiting for him, none too patiently, by the auditorium door.
    The band was so loud that he dragged Kelly Jo off a short distance so he could hear what she said. 
    "What were you doing?" she asked him.
    His brows shot up in irritation.  "What was I doing...never mind that.  Where did you go in such a rush?"
    Kelly Jo's grin was mischievous and ear-to-ear.  She opened the big, fluffy white bulk she held and Jack gawked.
    Motorcycle boots.  A leather jacket. 
    "Where did you get these?" he demanded.
    "That's not important," she informed him.  "But you can't get inside with bare feet - you'll have to make do with no socks, though."
    Jack gave a low whistle.  "That's some jacket."  He held it up and took a good look at it.   A large but faded rattlesnake in full strike pose, outlined in silver, decorated the center of the back.  Unquestionably it had been expensive when new but the jacket had obviously seen a lot of use.  Jack was no expert on leather jackets, but knew that this type of jacket wouldn't normally be found on a department store rack. 
    Should he ignore the bad feeling in his gut?
    "The boots should fit," he said hastily.  "Hurry up and put them on so we can get inside.  I need to register for the show and there's only a few minutes left."
    "We need to register."
    "I need to register."
    Jack pulled one boot on, surprised that even though he had no socks on, it was a comfortable fit.  "Do you," he asked, hopping on the booted foot while he pulled on the second boot, "intend to sing to yourself?" 
    "Not at all," she answered easily.  "I intend to sing to you."
    Jack smirked at the thought of Kelly Jo, as Grease's 'Sandy', singing and dancing, ' You're the one that I want ' to Jack, then hopping to where he, playing Danny Zuko, would stand, and then echoing it back to herself as a one-person duet.  Oh, she'd win a prize all right.
    Kelly Jo shoved the bulky white thing into the bag with her backless heels and tossed the bag to the side so she could help Jack slip on the black leather jacket.
    Perfect fit.
    "Where did you say you got this?" he asked.
    "I didn't."
    He sighed.  "Kelly Jo, I really don't feel like playing games.  Where did these come from?"  He shrugged and took a strutting 360 degree turn.  He couldn't help feeling just a little bit mega macho in these clothes, even if he did suspect that Kelly Jo had used her feminine wiles to obtain them. 
    Her sigh was deeper than his and edged with irritation.  "If you must know I stole them from that group of bikers down the block."
    Jack went cold with shock.  "You did what?"
    Jack's panic that the biker would come hunting for his stolen boots and jacket and would instead find Jack must have shown on his face.
    "Don't worry, honey," Kelly Jo said softly and put a reassuring hand on the side of Jack's cheek.  "The owner won't miss them and he certainly won't be needing them anymore."
    Jack's gut felt like a stone, one about to sink in deep dark water, but he had to ask, "Why won't he be needing them?"
    Kelly Jo smiled.  "I saw the boots on the motorcycle stirrups and the jacket was hanging on the left mirror.  The boots faced backwards, which means the biker who owned them is the one the other bikers are inside making toasts to and telling stories about."
    Jack's mouth moved for several seconds before he fairly screamed in horror, "You brought me boots and a jacket that you stole from a dead biker?"

 
    Chapter Twenty Three
     
    "Ssssshhhhh!" Kelly Jo ordered frantically and pulled Jack to the side.  "Keep your voice down," she hissed.  "Do you want to get me into trouble?"
    Flabbergasted, Jack jerked his arm from her grasp.  "Get you into trouble?"  He stared at her calm, serene expression.  "Are you nuts or