by Darla Jones
Andrea Maccotti, his legal secretary of the last five years, gave him her usual response. “Mornin’, Jeff, how’s that cute little boy of yours?”
“He’s fine, Andrea. Thank you. What’s on the agenda today?” He gave his customary reply. Andrea, a robust Italian lady in her late forties, had black hair and deep umber brown eyes nearly as dark as her hair. By her size, she looked like she enjoyed eating pasta and sometimes brought him a big dish for lunch.
Andrea paused. “Before we get to work, I want to know if you would like to go to a play at Pitt University. My daughter, Judith, has a lead role, and I’d love it if you could come.” The proud woman’s breasts puffed at the mention of her daughter.
“That’s wonderful. Of course, I’d love to see it.”
Beaming, she reached for her purse. “How many tickets do you want?”
“Two will be fine.” Then he reconsidered and tried to explain. “I’ll take two, but don’t be upset if I don’t make it. There’s a little woman I’d like to ask, but I don’t know if she’ll be agreeable.”
Andrea shut one eye and tilted her head, giving him a cockeyed stare. “Sounds like you’re having female problems.”
Unconsciously, he massaged his cheek bone. “I guess so,” he agreed as a dejected knot burned at his stomach. LynAnn hadn’t called him after her visit with her aunt and with every passing day his hopes of ever hearing from her faded more and more. “I’d like you to do something for me.” He had a job for his secretary. “Go back through the files for about four years ago and see if you can find anything on a man named Johnson. Check automobile accidents, too. He’d probably be in his late twenties or early thirties.”
Andrea’s dark eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? Don’t you have a first name?”
“No, I don’t,” he replied, knowing his request would take hours of searching. “Sorry, but this is important. Oh, please ask Trent to come to my office when he can.” He had some chores for his assistant also. He turned and headed into his office to start his own work.
Settling himself at his desk, the tight knot gripped his stomach once more. He blew it with LynAnn, big time. Following her assault he’d fallen into a routine of phoning her every evening once Jon was settled into bed, and he missed their phone calls. He missed her sweet smile and girlish laugh…he missed her, period.
Reports and files were piled high on his desk and he tried to concentrate on them but couldn’t. Today, he vowed he would force himself to work on some briefs, and this evening after he got Jon into bed and his big house took on a lonely quietness, he’d think about his ’57 Chevy, not his Miata.
****
Wednesday, the new evening hours started at Dr. Wilson’s office. LynAnn and Paulette left the office together and it was well past nine o’clock. “Gee, we were certainly busy. I didn’t know any of Dan’s new patients,” LynAnn groaned.
“Me either,” Paulette moaned back and scanned the parking lot. “Look, the lot is empty. Everyone else is gone. You wave when you’re safely in your car, and I’ll do the same.”
LynAnn agreed and before she pulled from the deserted lot she gave Paulette a wave. Tiredness seeped into her bones as she drove down First Avenue. She hoped every Wednesday wasn’t as busy as the one she’d just endured. Trying to dismiss the hectic day from her thoughts, a vision of Jeff’s handsome face drifted into her mind. He was smiling…the gentle smile he often gave her and her children. A sad ache filled her breasts.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the black vehicle was on her tail. “Oh no. Not again,” she spoke aloud. She slowed and the black SUV pulled into the passing lane beside her but didn’t pass. She tramped down on the accelerator and the driver alongside of her kept up with her pace.
The black SUV dropped behind her Subaru and then with a rev of the engine raced alongside her again in the passing lane. Shaking and squeezing the steering wheel with all her might, she released her right hand from the wheel long enough to dig her cell phone out of her purse. She’d call 911. She found her cell and held it in her trembling hand ready to dial, when it dropped to the floor.
The SUV continued to run nose to nose beside her car and all at once it squeezed into her lane and forced her to the edge of the road. She nearly lost control of her car as she swerved, dropping off the berm. Another driver behind her frantically laid on the horn, and she heard its brakes scream when it tried to slow down. The SUV eased up and was behind her once again, squeezing into the space between her and the other car. Trembling with fear, she tried to reach for her phone again, but it had slid under the passenger seat.
The vehicle was beside her again, and as before it forced her over to the berm of the road, and gravel on the edge of the road spit at the side of her car like ricocheting bullets. Ahead an exit ramp came into view, and LynAnn picked up speed along the bumpy berm until she cut onto the exit ramp. She trembled, her hands sweating so profusely it was difficult to hold onto the steering wheel.
Thank God. At last, she’d lost the SUV. After a few miles of driving at a normal pace, LynAnn found herself in a residential area she didn’t recognize. She relaxed a little and inhaled a few deep breaths. The black SUV was not in sight, at least for now. She drove for another mile and had calmed down somewhat when the vehicle appeared in her rearview mirror again. A well-lit Stop ’n Gas convenience store illuminated the dark evening, and she sped to the gas pumps. Another safety tip she learned in her self-defense class.
The driver of the other vehicle pulled off the road and stopped as if he waited for her next move.
A young man at the pumps filled his gas tank and she jumped out of her car and rushed to his side. “Please, I need help. That car over there is following me.” Voice quivering, she slanted her head in the direction of the other car.
The man look puzzled. “Hey, lady, are you okay?” he asked, scanning the direction she pointed out. “I don’t see anything. Look for yourself.”
She turned to look, and sure enough the SUV had disappeared. “Oh, thank God, it’s gone now. There was a car following me.” Still shaken, LynAnn spoke rapidly. “It was right on my bumper and tried to force me off the road.” She stopped to catch her breath. “Do you know how I can get back to First Avenue? I took the first exit I came to and the car kept following me.”
The young man, tall and thin, had a sparse covering of light brown whiskers on his chin. He scratched at his straggly beard. “So now you’re lost. Do you know who was following you? I mean, was it an angry husband or something?”
She began wringing her hands. “No. I have no idea.”
The man was thoughtful as he scratched at his fuzzy growth, and then came up with a plan. “Look, I’m going to First as soon as I fill up. Why don’t you follow me, and if you see the car again, flash your headlights a couple of times.”
Still frightened, LynAnn asked, “Do you think he’s waiting for me somewhere along the road?”
“Naw, I think he’s gone by now.” His gaze took in her unsteady hands again. “Are you gonna be okay to drive?”
“Yes, I have to get home. This is very nice of you. I didn’t know what to do.” He was a very nice man, and she did need to get home. “I’m glad I pulled in here. Thank you so much.”
“My name is Todd.” He introduced himself with a slight nod of his head.
She managed a faint nod back. His name was Todd. “Thanks for your help, Todd. I’m LynAnn.”
Todd finished filling his gas tank and got into his car. “You get right behind me,” he instructed.
Hurrying to her car, she pulled out onto the highway behind him. She checked every car around them as they drove to First Avenue. Whoever followed her had given up. The black SUV was not in sight. After five or six miles down First, she turned off onto the road to her house and gave Todd a toot on her horn. Todd. How strange.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled her Subaru into her parking slot at home and dug her phone out from under the seat. Before getting out of the car s
he waited a bit to make sure no vehicles were around and then scrambled to her front door.
Once inside the house, she quickly locked the door behind her and leaned her back against it. Becky jumped from the sofa.
“LynAnn, what happened?” Her babysitter was startled by her behavior.
LynAnn went to the front window, scanned the street. It was empty. “Someone followed me. I was really scared, but they’re gone now.”
“Who was it? Did you recognize the person?”
Flopping down on the sofa, she pulled her white nursing oxfords from her feet. “I have no idea.” She threw her head back and took a deep breath.
“Gee, that’s awful. Do you think it’s safe for me to go out there?” Now she’d managed to frighten Becky. Her sitter’s eyes were big dark orbs reminding her of Orphan Annie in the comic strip.
“It’s okay now. I lost the vehicle somewhere off First Avenue. Keep your cell phone handy.” The girl lived only a mile away. “Call me as soon as you get home.”
She stood guard at her front window while Becky got into her old beater car and drove off.
A few minutes later the teen called. “Home safe and sound,” she reported.
“Good, Becky. Thanks.” With her phone still in her hand and without thinking, she tapped in Jeff’s number.
He answered on the third ring. “Hello… Hello…Hello,” he repeated himself and then waited. “LynAnn, I know it’s you.”
Of course, he knew she was the caller, he had caller ID. But she couldn’t speak. She didn’t know what to say since she hadn’t spoken to him in over a week. Perhaps her friend, Sandy, was correct. The alluring man had exposed passionate emotions she had fought to suppress. Her mind was torn. She wanted him back in her life, yet she knew at some point he would end their relationship and she would be heartbroken.
His strong deep, male voice sounded wonderful. She expelled a deep sigh.
Apparently he heard her sigh. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
All at once, her words flowed rapidly. “A car followed me again, I got lost and—”
“Whoa, slow down and start over,” he calmly requested.
She did slow down and related the entire episode ending with, “Oh Jeff, what is going on here?”
“I wish I knew. Why didn’t you call the police?” Although she couldn’t see him, she pictured the man rubbing his cheek, an unconscious habit he did without thinking.
She sighed. “I didn’t know where I was, so how could they find me? Besides, I dropped my phone and couldn’t reach it.”
Silent for a time, Jeff finally asked, “Would you like me to come over? I can get my mother or father to stay with Jon. You sound pretty shaken.”
She glanced at her watch and couldn’t believe it was nearly ten thirty. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was so late. I’ll be fine.” Just hearing your voice helps, but she said the words to herself, not out loud. “I hope I didn’t get you out of bed.”
“No. I was going over some paperwork for tomorrow. We should talk, don’t you think?”
“Jeff….I don’t know what to say. I miss talking with you and seeing you.” She missed him so much she felt as though a hole had been punched in her heart. Perhaps it would have been better to make a clean break from him, but he made her feel so special, so feminine, and so alive, she couldn’t help herself.
“Sweetheart, you’re afraid to have a relationship, and I pushed you too much. I should have known better.” His voice was near a whisper.
“Don’t you see, you did nothing wrong.” She paused, wishing he could be beside her at that moment. “I’m the one with the problem, not you.”
“Ooh.” He expelled a soft moan. “If it’s your problem, it’s my problem. Together, we can work this out. Please, LynAnn, we have to talk.”
She didn’t realize tears were streaking her face until she felt the wetness on her pink scrub top. “Y—es,” she whispered softly, but her heart hammered so loudly she thought it would burst from her rib cage.
“I have tickets to a play at Pitt on Saturday evening. Would you like to go?”
“What’s the name of the play?”
“I don’t know. I left the tickets on my desk. Does it matter?” he teased.
She giggled. “I guess not. Sounds fine to me. I’d love to see what-ever-it-is.”
“Why were you out so late?”
“Dr. Wilson started new Wednesday hours, and we didn’t get finished until way after nine. If I don’t work the hours, he’s going to take four hours off my pay each week.”
“Doesn’t sound like a very nice guy to me.”
She sighed. “Actually he is. And he’s a very good doctor. He pinches every penny ’til it begs for mercy.”
“Seems like he’s got you over a barrel. I could check into Cassie’s Social Security benefit. Some extra money would help, wouldn’t it?”
“I guess so. But it would feel like digging up ancient history. I already tried and was denied.” There was no way she would allow him to delve into her past because it would involve giving him more information than she wanted him to know. At least for the time being, she wasn’t going to tip her hand, perhaps not ever. Maybe it was time to let the past be past. Jeff was a good man and so was Todd.
“How’s your aunt and your children?”
They chatted a bit longer.
****
Jeff clicked his phone off and leaned back in his leather chair. He hadn’t heard from her in ten days and now LynAnn called because someone pursued her on the highway. If there had been no vehicle, he doubted she would have phoned. She only called because she was frightened. This was beginning to feel like a one-sided relationship. Come when I need you, Jeff. Stay away when I don’t. He was fighting a losing battle. How could he compete with a dead man? Sanding fenders on old cars and burying himself in paperwork was much easier.
He felt at a complete loss why LynAnn refused to allow him to check into Cassie’s Social Security. Then a thought hit him he didn’t like at all. He would have to have a copy of her husband’s death certificate and Cassie’s birth certificate to reopen her claim. Maybe Cassie’s father was another man and not her dead husband. Was it possible she was having an affair when her husband died? A big knot gnawed at his stomach once more.
Closing his eyes, the sound of her high-school-girl giggle echoed in his head. He thought he’d never hear it again. LynAnn was back in his life. How and the why didn’t matter.
He had no idea why someone in a black SUV would try to force her off the road. The person either worked at the medical complex or watched the building waiting for her to leave. Whoever he was, he was angry and his anger escalated with each encounter. Jeff gritted his teeth. He had to find a way to end this senseless cat and mouse game.
Chapter 10
Because they were going to the college play, Jeff arrived early so he and LynAnn could have dinner before the play started. When he opened her car door for her, a small wrapped package laid on her seat, and thinking it couldn’t be for her, she hastily stashed it in the glove box. Jeff got in his side of the car and gave her a puzzled look, “Where’s your present?”
“My present?” Her brows arched in surprise. She had no intention of accepting a gift from him. It implied an intimacy between them. She nodded toward the glove box.
He reached over to the compartment, took out the box, and handed it to her. “It’s for you, sweetheart. I think you’ll like it.”
Staring at the silver wrapping and delicate red ribbon, she hesitated. “You shouldn’t have done this.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I should open it. I’m sorry. I don’t want to accept it.” Her hands flew high in the air as if the package might explode the second she untied the bow.
He expelled a frustrated sigh. “Why? I picked it out especially for you. Please open it,” he pleaded.
LynAnn didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she wasn’t sure what the present signified. She studied his face and found his blue
eyes searching hers. Finally, nervously, she burst out, “What does this mean? Are there strings attached? What do I have to do for this?”
Totally confused, he sprang back in his seat. “Strings? Do? I don’t understand.”
She tried to explain. “I mean, oh…do you expect favors from me?”
“Favors? Oh, now I see. You think because I bought you a present you have to repay me….ah, let’s say in an intimate way.” He rubbed his cheek and then shook his head. “No. I expect nothing from you. Have dinner with me and let’s enjoy the play.”
He reached for her hands. “I told you I won’t push you. I promised. Please believe me, LynAnn.”
His tone was sincere, and she bowed her head hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings.
“Look at me, sweetheart.” His big hand covered both of her smaller ones and when she lifted her head again his deep blue eyes instantly held hers. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, I promise. Now will you please open your present?”
Reluctantly, she finally opened the box and then gasped with delight. “Oh, Jeff, an opal just like Aunt Sara’s ring.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “It’s…. absolutely the best present I’ve ever gotten.”
“I didn’t expect you to cry,” he responded softly, concern filling his voice.
“I’m not crying,” she corrected him and sniffled. She had ignored the man, and now he shows up with a gift he knew she would adore. She removed the opal from its case. It was suspended on a thin gold chain, and the oval-shaped stone was surrounded by delicate filigree. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you, Jeff.” She looked up into his eyes and hers filled with tears again. He was a thoughtful man. “I want to wear it this evening.” She tried to maneuver the tiny clasp and chain around her neck herself, but couldn’t.
“Perhaps I can help.” Jeff’s big shoulders moved closer, and she scooped up her hair out of the way so he had access to the nape of her neck. “I looked at rings, but I wasn’t sure of the size. I tried to find an opal with a forest fire in it, and this is as close as I could get.” His big hands fumbled with the tiny clasp. “The jeweler thought I was a bit crazy…Ooops, I dropped it… Where did it go?” He craned his neck around to stare at her front.