Her Best Friend Jon

by Kristy K. James

  "You look nice," he said, his voice gruff. "Ready to go?"

  "Yeah. And thanks, Jon. You look nice, too."

  His smile was probably lacking in warmth, but at least he made the attempt as he took her jacket from her, holding it while she slipped her arms in. He wasn't used to them making personal comments, and he wondered if she found him attractive at all.

  "You feeling up for this?"

  "Nope."

  "Just remember, we’re dating, not engaged or married. And even if we were, they wouldn’t expect us to be all over each other. So all we really have to do is act like we usually do. Like friends."

  "No hand-holding or anything then?"

  "Well, yeah. Some of that. Let’s start now. That way maybe you won’t act like I’m trying to assault you when we get there."

  Why he made that suggestion, he didn’t know, but he grabbed her hand and held it on the way out to the truck, where he opened the passenger door for her.

  "That wasn’t so hard, was it?"

  "Uh- No. Not at all." If her tone was anything to judge by, she wasn’t being entirely honest.

  Jon ducked his head to hide a grin as he walked around to the driver’s side. Anyone would think the woman hadn’t been on a date before. Of course he knew that she had. As beautiful as she was, she probably went through men like he went through tissues when he had a cold. Even as the thought formed, he knew it wasn’t a fair assessment, and he climbed behind the wheel and buckled himself in. He knew enough about Hannah to know that she would have to care about a man in order to date him, and caring wasn't something you could turn on and off like a light switch.

  "Time to get this show on the road." He burst out laughing at the sick little smile on her face. "You know, some women consider me a pretty good catch."

  "Except you don’t want to be caught, right?" she asked, reminding him of a conversation he’d just as soon forget. This was definitely a case when his foolish words were coming back to bite him on the butt.

  "Right."

  ~~~~~

  Kate Mulholland either remembered her few encounters with Hannah, or she was used to enough people in her life that she warmed up to her fairly quickly, though it was clear she preferred to snuggle on Jon’s lap – even to the exclusion of her parents. It was absolutely adorable, and Jon seemed completely at ease with the little girl.

  She searched her memory to see if she could remember him interacting with any of the kids when she'd been around the group, but nothing really came to mind. He must be good with them though because the toddler seemed to be in love with him.

  They’d finished a lovely supper of beef stroganoff when Jess served a luscious dessert that Hannah was glad was here and not at her apartment. A white cake layered with vanilla pudding, frosted with sweetened whipping cream, and topped with cherries combined to make a confection so wonderful she feared she could eat every last bite of it – without any help.

  But dishes were finally cleared away, the Mulholland's working together to rinse and load the dishwasher like they'd done it a million times, which they probably had, and now everyone was relaxing in the comfortable living room. A fire burned low on the hearth, and Jess sat on the love seat, leaning into her husband, whose arm was wrapped around her shoulders.

  "How long before we need to get ready for a painting party?" Dan asked, gazing at the flames dancing around the embers that used to be a log. Hannah thought he might have dozed off for a moment, but then he glanced over at the sofa where she, Jon, and his daughter sat.

  "A few more weeks. Things are going a little faster now that I’ve got some regular help," he said, grinning as his eyes met Hannah’s.

  "You sure know how to romance the girls," Jess said, then gasping softly added, "Not that he does a lot of dating, mind you. I was just smarting off."

  "I know what you meant," Hannah said with a chuckle, watching as pink colored Jess’s cheeks. "But I don’t mind. I’m learning a lot about remodeling. Who knows? Maybe in a few weeks I’ll trade in my secretarial position to help with the houses on the site." At that, Jon and Dan burst out laughing.

  "I don’t think so," Jon told her, shaking his head. "Chris would never speak to me again. You know how he felt about Harry working on the crew."

  "Yeah, but he liked Harry. He just didn’t know it at the time."

  "No," Dan said in agreement. "Chris denies it all the time, and maybe he actually believes it, but he’s a chauvinist through and through."

  "Chris is all right." Hannah thought it was kind of cute, truth be told. Her other boss wasn’t so much a chauvinist as he was old fashioned. Cooped up in the modular with him so much lately, she was getting to know him better, and found him to be a sweet guy.

  "He is that," Jess said, nodding. "More so now that he’s turned into Ward Cleaver." A smile curved her lips. "Jon, look." They all grinned when they saw that Kate had fallen asleep, her cheek resting against Jon's chest, her hand fisted in his white dress shirt. "Want me to put her to bed?"

  "Na. She’s fine here." To Hannah's surprise, he kissed the top of her head, bringing to mind the kiss they'd shared earlier in the week. The room felt too warm as she remembered his lips against hers, and she almost wished she could trade places with Kate.

  ~~~~~

  Hannah pulled the bed out from the sofa, and then changed into a pair of fleece lounge pants and a long sleeved tee shirt before grabbing the book she was currently reading from the dresser, and climbing under the covers. Once she was comfortable, the lamp turned low, she removed the bookmark and planned to read herself to sleep.

  Except she couldn’t get tonight out of her mind. After a while, Jess had taken Kate up to bed and, discovering that she knew how to play euchre, they teamed up – girls against the guys – and played cards until nearly midnight. It was only then that she’d begun to relax and actually enjoy herself as she and Jess proceeded to beat the pants off Dan and Jon, winning every game but one.

  They were a fun couple to hang out with, and it was nice to see the social side of Jon again. Not that he was ever rude – except for those times when he thought someone might be stalking and threatening a friend – but he always seemed to hold a large part of himself back from whatever was going on. Like he was standing outside a window looking in, and she wished she knew what had happened to make him that way. Was that what Ed had been discreetly referring to the other night? That if someone was willing to invest the time, it might make him feel like he belonged?

  The way he acted about the fake dating, she wondered if a woman had broken his heart at some point in his life. Some people just never recovered from things like that, and the thought of someone hurting him that bad made her sad. Jon was a great guy, and she would bet that he’d treated her like a queen.

  Just remembering how sweet and gentle he’d been with Kate, and how much she obviously adored him, she knew it hadn’t been him that had caused the problems in the relationship.

  Shaking her head, she laughed at herself because her imagination was working overtime tonight. Not only had she concocted an old girlfriend, but one who had ruined Jon for anyone else for all time. He was probably just a reserved person, preferring to save his charming personality for his circle of close friends.

  With that, she focused on the words on the page and began to read.

  ~~~~~

  Knowing he’d never be able to sleep, Jon decided to sweep the house. Not that the floors actually needed it, but he didn't have the energy or ambition to mess with any real work. Besides, he was one of those people who found the slow, repetitive movements relaxing and figured it might be just enough to send him into dreamland before sunrise.

  This whole thing with Hannah was weirding him out. And if she didn’t get her act together soon, she was going to start raising suspicions. For the first half of their ‘date,’ she’d been uncomfortable and acted like he had cooties. The rest had been fine, but he knew they needed to spend more time together so she
learned to be at ease in his company.

  Obviously, the few times he’d had her out to help hold the drywall while he nailed it to the studs wasn’t enough. He would have to talk her into helping with the taping, maybe several days a week. And he was just going to have to suck it up and take her out sometimes, too. Supper, a movie. Nothing major like dancing or anything, just things that would throw them together in more social kinds of situations.

  He’d mention it to her at work on Monday. Or maybe he’d call her in the morning. Just talking on the phone might help, too. At least it would for her. Thanks to him deciding he needed to kiss her Wednesday night, he didn't know what it would do for him.

  It had to have been because he hadn't had a girlfriend in too long, but the way she felt in his arms, how soft her lips had been against his, those memories were never far from his thoughts the past few days. Which might be why he was tempted to kiss her again when he dropped her off a short while ago. Instead, he'd walked her to her door, his hands securely in his pockets as he waited for her to lock her door, and then he'd practically ran out to his truck so he could head home.

  Someday he'd have to talk to Dan about all of this. If Hannah decided to come clean about her true identity.

  Chapter 6

  Hannah missed hanging out with Chris. There really wasn’t enough to do in the modular now that they were trying to keep it as germ-free as possible. To keep from tracking anything in, she wasn’t walking around the site on her breaks and lunch like she used to do. In fact, she pretty much stayed put from the moment she punched in until she headed home at quitting time. And she didn't mind either. Whatever it took to keep that little boy safe, it was worth it. But it didn't stop the hours from dragging when she had to be here on her own.

  Scotty had somehow managed to catch a cold, even in the sterile room. Though everyone had taken the required precautions and more, the poor little guy had spiked a fever and was so sick Chris and Harry weren’t even going home to shower or change clothes.

  Fortunately, Harry was keeping everyone updated via her Facebook page, and Hannah was scrolling through the pictures now. Chris was sitting in a wooden rocker holding a flushed Scotty against his chest. Their eyes were closed and there was no doubt they were both exhausted. Scotty just looked so tiny it broke her heart.

  There were other photos, obviously taken by Chris. Obvious because the boy was crying and reaching out to him. From what she could see, he felt safer in his daddy’s arms when he wasn’t feeling well. She wondered if it bothered Harry, given all she’d been through with him before marrying Chris. Then again, maybe it was a relief to have someone to share the scary parts with. And the good parts, too, of course. But they needed to weather this storm before they could experience the good parts. She only hoped they had that chance.

  After a few minutes she pushed away from her desk, crossed the small floor space, and pulled the bottle of peroxide and a freshly washed rag from the cupboard beside the refrigerator. Chris and Jon had done some research and decided the inexpensive first aid treatment was the safest, most chemical free way to clean the office until Scotty’s immune system took over. So every day – and sometimes twice a day if Jon had to come in for any reason – she wiped down the desks, computers and all their paraphernalia, doors, knobs, handles, and even the floors with it.

  They were spending a small fortune to keep plenty of it on hand, and it was a lot of work, but Hannah couldn’t complain. It helped her pass the time, especially now when she was about out of her mind with boredom. She truly hoped that this last hour would go by quickly. When the phone rang, she hurried back to her desk, grateful to have some real work to do.

  "C & J Construction. How may I help you?"

  "Hannah? Hey, it's Ed Winslow." She felt her heartbeat speed up a little.

  "Hi, Ed," she managed to stammer. "What can I do for you this afternoon?"

  "I’ve been trying to get hold of Jon for the past couple of hours, and all I’m getting is his voicemail. Do you know if he has his phone with him?"

  "As far as I know he does. Hang on and I’ll call one of the crew and see if they can send him up here."

  "Thanks. I appreciate it."

  Hannah pulled up the number for Ted Barclay, and waited while he tracked Jon down.

  "They’re looking for him now," she told Ed, wondering if something was wrong. Wondering if it would be out of line to ask. Deciding that it would be, she kept her questions to herself, and then wasn’t entirely sure what to do. It wasn’t often she got a chance to talk to her father.

  "If they can’t find him, have him call me as soon as possible. It’s not an emergency, but I really need to speak to him."

  "I’ve got him on the cell now. Hang on just a second." She moved the landline away from her mouth. "Jon? Ed’s on the other line. He’s been trying to call you for a while now."

  "Yeah. I forgot to charge my phone last night. The battery is dead. Tell him to hold on. I’m just down the street and will be there in a minute. You can hand me the phone."

  She relayed the message to Ed, and there was no further conversation. About thirty seconds later, Jon tapped on the door and she opened it and handed it out. He smiled before turning his attention to his friend, and Hannah resumed wiping down the office. She'd rather have stood in the doorway to eavesdrop, but knew it would be wrong – no matter how worried she was.

  When the thought had crossed her mind that the call might have something to do with the stalker, she wanted to scream. That was usually the only reason he called during work hours. What could it be now, she wondered, hoping against hope that whoever it was would give up and just leave him alone. Leave everyone alone.

  She jumped when there was another rap on the door, and she hurried over to get the phone, taking the wet rag with her so she could sanitize it immediately. It was clear from the expression on Jon’s face that something had happened.

  "What is it?" she asked, not really wanting an answer.

  "The stalker struck again," he said, sighing. The look of disgust on his face warned her that it wasn’t good. "Apparently he found a sale on spray paint."

  ‘Stay away from him’ was now decorating Dan, Sam and Chris’s garage doors, both of Cal’s catering vans, and the front window of Dan’s realty office.

  "Since he seemed to hit everyone this time, Ed drove out to the house."

  "Oh no."

  "Oh yeah." His expression turned from resigned to angry. "My living room walls and futon are covered in red paint."

  "No! He was in your house?"

  "Apparently so."

  "Fingerprints?"

  "Probably not. Not the stalker's at any rate. He’s been too careful for all this time. I doubt he’d screw up now."

  They were silent for a few moments, just standing there looking at each other, not sure what to say or do.

  "I’ll come out with you after we close up today and help you clean it up."

  "You don’t have to do that, Hannah."

  "I know. I want to."

  "Thanks. I appreciate it."

  With that he smiled, sort of, and started walking back out to the site. She noted that his shoulders were slumped. Whether it was because a crazed lunatic had been inside his home, or had vandalized his property – and that of his friends, she didn’t know. But it had to be discouraging. And frightening. It seemed impossible that this monster had been terrorizing everyone for such a long time and the police couldn't figure out who it was.

  ~~~~~

  Jon stood at the window watching the taillights disappear down the dirt road. Dan and Sam had taken off first, and Ed was right behind Hannah. With the guards' cars interspersed between them, it was quite a procession.

  When Hannah had first talked about spending time with her real father, he was pretty sure this wasn’t the kind of situation she’d had in mind. She'd been a real trooper about it though. But then so had the guys. Since their insurance companies were hiring profess
ionals to deal with their graffiti damages, they’d all pitched in to paint over the red warnings because there really wasn’t any way to wash it off unfinished drywall. They'd also had quite a discussion. To date, the security guards had tailed everyone when they left their homes, which was why the stalker had been able to pull a Picasso without getting caught.

  Starting tomorrow though, they were going to be doubling up on the guards. Even for Hannah, now that she was ‘dating’ him. She’d balked at the idea for about a minute, until everyone ganged up on her and insisted that she was going to have to suck it up. She was officially in their circle now, and since it seemed that no one was safe now, they weren't taking any more chances.

  It was a good thing they made better than good money at their chosen professions. They'd already paid a small fortune to hire the two companies, but starting tomorrow, it was going to cost a lot more. From here on out, someone would always be watching their homes, as well as following them wherever they went. Almost like they were celebrities, Jon thought with a shake of his head. He sure hoped none of them were ever featured on television, because if they were, it would mean that something bad had happened. Something really bad.

  ~~~~~

  Hannah wondered what Jon would do to cover up the spray paint when she came back out to the house Friday night. It still showed through the two coats of flat white paint they’d used earlier in the week, but she knew he’d figure something out. Apparently he’d spent the time between then and now installing an alarm system, deadbolts on both doors, and better locks on all of the windows. Now the remodeling was back on track and she was coming back out to help. Except it was more than simply helping him.

  In addition to his being right about their needing to know each another better in order to pull their bogus relationship off, she really enjoyed working with him. Jon was a patient teacher, and Hannah thought she was doing quite well at taping the drywall seams. Once they were finished in the dining room, he was going to show her how to ‘mud’ them, a skill she doubted she’d ever need, but one which sounded kind of fun.