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"YOU KNOW," EMMA SAID, after swallowing a bite of the baked chicken on her plate, "I may have to drag Ty down here for our anniversary."
"Seriously?" Harry asked, her chin dropping. Hannah bit back a smile and wondered if maybe she should have gotten the chicken. While the Salisbury steak she'd chosen was okay, it wasn't anything to write home about.
"Well, what's not to like? Good food, great prices, the atmosphere... Well, it doesn't scream romantic, but it's better than going out for burgers or tacos."
"Wanting something a little on the expensive side for your gift this year?" Jess asked, snickering. Emma flashed her a proud grin.
"You betcha. I've put together a slide show of all the reasons why we should stay at the Grand Hotel – for a week. Kind of like a second honeymoon. Five years is a milestone, you know."
Hannah listened to the vacation talk, awed at how close all of these women were. The whole point of this supper was to entertain Harry, and hopefully make her forget her problems for a little while, and it looked as though it was a success. Jess, Emma, Holly, Jenna and Harry seemed to be as close as sisters – closer than she and Mary had ever been – and she felt a wave of longing to really belong. Sure, they'd taken her under their wings, trying to make her feel like part of the group, but she still felt like an outsider.
And a fraud.
They all thought she and Jon were really together, and while she found herself wishing it were real more and more every day, it was still a lie. And she wondered if they'd feel the same when – if – she ever came clean about why she was here.
"Don't you agree, Hannah?" Holly asked. Oops. Obviously she'd missed something.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" she murmured, feeling her cheeks flush.
"Daydreaming about Jon?" This came from Harry, who was smiling at her. "I don't blame you a bit. I couldn't stand Chris when I first started working for them, but Jon's charms never escaped me. Except he seemed more like one of my brothers than boyfriend material, which turned out to be a good thing in the end."
"I hope you've never mentioned that to your husband," Holly said, giggling like a schoolgirl.
"Chris knows he doesn't have anything to worry about." Hannah watched as her expression turned soft. There would never be any question about how much she loved the man she'd married. "I'm just glad Jon had the good sense to recognize how right Hannah is for him. He's always seemed lonely to me."
And thus began a conversation that made Hannah squirm. None of the girls had ever known Jon to date anyone as long as the two of them had been together. A couple of weeks tops, and then he would stop calling them. So they were very hopeful this time, and wondered where she stood on the subject. How to answer that loaded question?
"I think Jon is one of the sweetest men I've ever known," she murmured, starting intently at her plate.
"I don't know any man who likes to be described as sweet," Emma said in disgust. "Surely there's more to him than that. He's definitely a sexy guy, but what I want to know is this. Is he a good kisser? Because he just looks like he'd be an expert at it, if you know what I mean." Hannah wondered if her cheeks might rival the red on a fire truck, and when everyone at the table laughed, she supposed they did.
"You have no idea," was all she could manage though, remembering how very good his lips felt against hers. Just thinking of it made her tingle from head to toe, and she wondered if it would ever happen again.
"I have to say we were all impressed with how he saved Valentine's Day," Jenna said, her voice tinged with jealousy. Word had it that all Ed had done was send her a card – a humorous card – and then turned his phone off for the night.
"He sure did," Hannah agreed softly. "That was, by far, the most romantic date I've ever had."
"But was it the date or the man?" Harry wanted to know.
"It was both." But mostly it was Jon.
She couldn't imagine another man making such a mundane meal in one of the most unromantic places on earth into one that gave her the warm fuzzies every time she thought about it. And she'd thought about it every single day for the past few weeks. How good it felt to be held so close to him. How strong and broad his shoulders were. How good he smelled.
She was grateful when Jess steered the conversation to more neutral topics, such as the party they intended to have when Scotty was given the all clear and could be out and around everyone again. They talked about how much they were all looking forward to warmer weather, and finally, about the fact that Darby was missing from the night's festivities. Since Hannah was the only one to experience the death of a parent, they wanted to know if what she and Cal were experiencing two and a half months later was normal.
"It's hard to say," she admitted. "Grief is different for everyone. Cal throwing himself into work is pretty normal, I would think. I did the same thing. Maybe not to the same extreme, but I did work a lot more. Staying busy was the only way life felt normal to me for weeks."
"But did you cut the rest of your family out of your life?" Holly asked. "Because I just can't believe that's normal. Not in any way."
"That I don't know. My sister lives in California, so I can't use that as a measuring stick, but my mom and I seemed to get closer for a while after the funeral." Until she discovered that her mom should have had her face plastered in post offices across the nation. Sure she'd made certain that everything was legal, but what she'd done to Ed was nothing less than criminal.
"So Cal is being thoughtless and neglectful," Jess muttered. "I know he's probably not doing it on purpose, but he's still being a jerk."
"No kidding," Jenna said, nodding in agreement. "I'm afraid if he doesn't straighten up, his mother won't be the only person he'll have lost."
"That'll never happen," Holly told her. "Never. They've been together what? Seven years? They love each other. They'll work it out."
"Dan said when he talked to him, Cal didn't think there was a problem. That business was really picking up and he had to spend more time working so he could afford to hire more employees. Once that happens, then he'll start cutting back on the hours he's putting in. And I hope that happens soon. His wife is hurting, and she needs him more than he needs to keep taking on new events."
~~~~~
"SO WHAT DO YOU THINK of my new ride?" Ed asked, as he stood on the back steps. Jon stepped out and whistled at the dark blue SUV parked behind his truck.
"That is sharp. Glad I'm not making the payments on it though."
"Yeah, I have to say I'm not happy about that, but it's not as bad as it could have been. I used the insurance money for a down payment, along with a little more from my savings. Pretty sweet, isn't it?"
"Oh yeah."
"When we're finished with the water heater, I'll take you for a spin."
"Sounds good to me."
They headed in the house. The last thing Jon wanted to do was to haul that heavy monstrosity down to the basement, but the one that had probably been installed in the Stone Age finally died in the middle of his shower the night before. And since he was accustomed to showering every day, it was imperative he replace it – immediately. Fortunately, except for driving his new toy, Ed didn't have any plans that afternoon, so he'd volunteered to help
Three hours later, sweating like they'd spent too much time in a sauna, they'd wrestled the old one out to the back porch, and were leaning on the railing to catch their breath. Ed mumbled something about being too old for stuff like this. Jon couldn't blame him because the same thought was rolling around his head. The old one weighed three times as much as the other, and they really could have used a few more hands when it came time to get it up the steep, narrow stairway.
"Okay. You ready to get this baby on the truck?" he asked, wondering if there was some creative way to turn it into a yard decoration. Or maybe they could just bury it when the ground thawed enough to dig a hole.
"Not really, but a promise is a promise. You're going to owe me for this one."
"I know. I'm almost afraid to ask what you want."
"A steak dinner. And lifetime chiropractic care. After this I think I'm gonna need it."
"You've got it, old man."
"Well get a move on, sonny. I'll get the tailgate. You get that plywood." The only way they were going to get the handcart and water heater in the bed of his truck was going to be with a ramp, so Jon headed to the garage while Ed walked toward the back of the truck.
"Hey, check this out." He pulled a key from his pocket and held it in front of him, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. "I just press this button, and it starts the -"
As he lay there gasping for breath, Jon knew there had been a couple of explosions, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess. He vaguely remembered hearing a horrendous bang, and as he hit the ground, that a second one followed. And then everything went silent.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been knocked out, whether it was seconds or longer, but now he was aware of the roar of flames not too far away. Far enough though that he couldn't feel them. He just felt cold. He was also aware of the fact that he ached all over.
And then he remembered Ed, who had been even closer to the vehicles. His eyes flew open and the sunlight felt like daggers. It reminded him of the only hangover he'd ever had after getting drunk – once – during his college years. He groaned as he sat up, trying to get his bearings, even as his brain spun like a tilt-a-whirl in his head. Frantic, he glanced around ...and finally spotted a body lying in the snow about ten feet away.
There were two guards kneeling over him, but he couldn't see whether Ed was moving or not. Fighting nausea and lightheadedness, Jon tried to stand, and almost managed it, but he could feel everything around him beginning to fade. The last thing he remembered was falling to his knees, and then landing face first in the snow.
~~~~~
HANNAH TOSSED THE MAIL on the table, and carried the two bags of groceries she'd stopped off for out to her miniature kitchen. After everything was put away, she poured a mug of coffee and sat down to see what bills had come today. It was that time of month, and she intended to have the checks in the mail first thing Monday morning. Sitting down with her checkbook in hand, she started leafing through the small pile of envelopes, separating the junk from the important stuff.
One piece caught her attention right away, and she pulled it out and studied it. Legal size, her name and address were handwritten in perfect block letters, much neater than the scribbles that would be decorating the ones she filled out in a few minutes. The longer she used a computer, the sloppier her handwriting had gotten.
She slipped the letter opener in the small opening in the corner, and in seconds was pulling a single sheet of paper out. She'd expected to see two or three because it was so thick, but when she unfolded it, she understood why.
Her breath caught in her throat and her hands started to shake when she saw the letters pasted haphazardly across the page.
'Enjoy your dance? Better be the last. Stay away from them or I'll add you to my hit list.'
The first thing that went through her mind was that the stalker used an apostrophe, and then she laughed, albeit a bit hysterically. She's just had her life threatened, yet the thing that stood out most was that this madman had used good grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
The thought that immediately followed was that he knew she'd danced with Jon. And the only way he could have known that was if he'd seen them. If he'd been at the mall – watching them. Was that why he'd waited almost two weeks to send the letter? So that they'd have no way of trying to remember who had been there? She knew she wouldn't be able to. She'd been so wrapped up in the romance of the evening, and in Jon, that nothing else had mattered.
But this did. What was she supposed to do with it? She wanted to burn it. And then she wanted to scrub her hands for an hour because they'd never felt so soiled. She let it fall to the table and rested her hands palm up on either side of the note. A monster had touched it...and now she had, too.
Jumping up, she ran to the sink and washed her hands. She couldn't even think until the filth was gone. And it was there. She could feel it on her skin, and it made her feel dirty. As she stood there, she realized she was crying and she wished Jon were here. He'd know what to do. And so she called him, after she rubbed her skin almost raw with the dish towel.
"This is Jon. Leave a message at the tone."
"Jon, it's Hannah," she wept, not caring that she probably sounded crazy. "He sent me a letter. Call me. Please, call me as soon as you can. I'm scared."
~~~~~
"JON? JON, WAKE UP." The voice seemed to come from far away, and it was a little fuzzy. Dan? His eyelids felt weighted, but after a couple of tries, he managed to squint them open a little. It was Dan.
"Ed?"
"He's okay. He's in the other ambulance. Sam is with him."
"My ears are ringing."
"I'm not surprised. The detectives are saying it was a pretty big bomb."
"Is my truck gone?"
"Yeah. So are parts of two walls in your dining room."
"Aw jeez. We just got that room painted."
"I know. I called Chris. He got hold of most of the guys on your crew. Some of them are already there. They're going to board everything up so you don't have weather damage on top of this."
"Where are we?"
"About halfway to Sparrow. They don't think either of you are seriously hurt, but we wanted you checked out anyway."
"How? How could this happen? My guard was here. Both of Ed's were. It didn't blow up until he pushed the button to start- Oh no." He closed his eyes for a moment and groaned. "He just got that SUV yesterday."
"Yeah. He's not real happy. But as to the how... Apparently the guy came through the woods. They found tracks leading to the crossroad. He must be fast because your guard tried to catch him, but he was gone before anyone even saw what his vehicle looked like. That's not all that's happened though."
Sitting on the bench on the other side of the small space, he watched as Dan looked at his hands, clenched between his knees. It looked as though he took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to say, and Jon's stomach muscles clenched, as though waiting for a blow.
"Hannah got a letter today."
"From?"
"The stalker."
"What?" He was fully alert now. But for the straps binding him to the gurney, and the EMT holding his shoulders down, he'd have vaulted right off the mattress. "Is she all right?"
"She's pretty shaken up, but she's fine. Her bodyguard brought her out to our house. When she couldn't get hold of you, she called Chris. Harvey had already called me, so I didn't find out about it until after I'd gotten to your place. It's been a major mess this afternoon."
"What did the letter say?" Jon demanded, wishing he could tell the driver to turn around and head for Dan's house, but he knew it would be futile. They'd figure he'd had a brain injury and just keep heading to the hospital, probably faster than they were traveling now. It was only then that he realized the sirens were blaring.
"I guess he saw the two of you dancing at the mall, and told her she needed to stay away from all of us."
"That's all?"
"Not quite. He said he'd add her to his hit list if she didn't."
"Oh God- We have to get her somewhere safe." He felt like he might throw up. Apparently the EMT thought he might, too, because he thrust a kidney shaped dish in front of his face. Just the thought of something happening to Hannah caused his heart to race. He needed to do something, not be stuck in this ambulance.
"Calm down. She's safe. No one will get close to her. We've got someone watching her round-the-clock now."
"Like that will help!" He hadn't meant to shout, but couldn't stop himself. "We've had guards twenty-four/seven for how long now? For crying out loud! There were three of them at my house today, and look what happened. He always gets past them. And now he's after Hannah!"
"He's not 'after' Hannah. Not yet. She's on his radar, but the letter was a warning. And we're taking steps to keep her safe. We're having a meeting with the heads of the security companies to try and figure out what we can do so he can't keep slipping past their employees."
"I feel like we should all just hide out on an island in the middle of nowhere for a while. Maybe this creep would give up if he couldn't find any of us."
"Well, it's not something we'll rule out. We'll do whatever we have to in order to keep everyone safe."
~~~~~
"HERE," JESS MURMURED, setting a cup of chamomile tea in Hannah's hands, then wrapping her own around them. Hannah knew it was in an effort to comfort her, but she didn't feel comforted at all. "It's going to be all right. I promise."
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be such a pain in the neck," she whispered. She hadn't been able to stop shaking since she'd opened the letter.
Then to hear that Jon and Ed had almost been killed this afternoon, and no one really knew anything yet, was even worse. Dan had called to say they were in the emergency room now, but the doctor had ordered CT scans and x-rays, so it would be a while before they knew how badly they were injured. It was all just too much for her to deal with right now.
"Aw, sweetie, you're not being a pain. You're scared. We're all pretty used to this by now, but this is your first run-in with the stalker. I remember when we got the first letter-"
"You've gotten more than one?" she asked, her head snapping up. Jess snorted, then laughed a humorless laugh.
"Four so far. But the first one was the worst. Dan opened it. He said he felt so dirty he wound up washing his hands."
"So did I. Three times."
"He only washed his twice, so you have him beat there. After that we bought some disposable latex gloves. We figured we needed to start keeping them in the house, just in case, and we never check the mail without putting on a pair. Now that we recognize the envelopes, we keep them on when we open them, too. We're hoping that by taking that precaution, if a miracle happens and there's a fingerprint to be found, we won't smudge it or anything."
"I guess I'll have to get some."
"This hasn't scared you off? I kind of thought you might be headed back to Texas in a hurry."
"No. He's not running me off. I have a life here now. People I care about. I'm staying." Jess stroked her hair, a gentle smile on her face.
"We'll keep you safe, Hannah. I promise."
~~~~~
"HEY," JON SAID, STANDING beside the car when Hannah opened the door. She hadn't gotten out immediately after parking, instead leaning her head back and closing her eyes for a few minutes, so she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice. "Sorry. I guess I look a little scary today," he apologized, smiling wryly.
"No, not at all. Jon, I'm sorry." She got out and put a hand on his arm. "You just startled me, that's all."
"I should have known you'd be jumpy after everything that happened this weekend."
"I think you had it a little worse than I did," she said, trying to smile, but she figured it probably looked more like a grimace. "It has been an awful couple of days."
She reached up and placed her fingertips lightly against a bruise on his cheek. The doctor had decided to keep both him and Ed overnight for observation, and she'd gone with Jess to visit them – and to pick Dan and Sam up. The bruise had been visible then, along with some scrapes and scratches, but now it was dark, a brilliant reddish purple, and it appeared to have spread, covering a larger portion of his face.
"Does it hurt?"
"Only when I touch it or try to smile." She started to withdraw her hand, but he brought his up and covered it, holding it there. "Don't. You're fine. I was just teasing. It doesn't hurt that much." She knew he was trying to make her feel better. She'd had far less severe bruises that hurt like the dickens, but it worked she felt better, just being able to touch him.
"What about the rest of you?"
"I feel like someone beat the snot out of me, but I'll be fine."
"What about-" She looked around to make sure no one else was in the parking area. "What about my father?"
"He's in about the same shape as me. We're both okay, Hannah. The most annoying thing is that my ears are still ringing. Ed says his are, too."
"Is it permanent?"
"Jeez, I hope not. That would drive me nuts in a hurry." He drew her against his chest, holding her close. "How are you holding up? Dan told me about the letter while we were still in the ambulance. As much as it freaked me out, I can't begin imagine what it was like for you."
"I can't deny that it did. A little anyway," she admitted, trying to play her reaction to it down. The last thing he needed was to be worrying about her right now. He needed to concentrate on healing...from almost being blown to pieces. She shuddered at the thought, and he held her a little tighter.
"It's going to be okay," Jon whispered, laying his cheek against her hair. "I promise."
"He's going to kill him, isn't he?"
"Not if we can help it."
"Do you think I should tell him who I am?" she asked. She'd thought about it a lot over the past day and a half, and realized that if she didn't tell him soon, she might never have the chance.
"If you'd asked me that three days ago, I'd have said yes."
"But not now?"
"If he knows the stalker is threatening his daughter, I don't know what he'll do, how far he'll go to protect you."
"You don't think he'd-" She couldn't even voice the thought, but Jon seemed to understand.
"I don't know. He already felt guilty about what happened to Jenna. Then after Saturday... He hardly talked to me while we were in the hospital. If he could have done it without offending me, I'm sure he would have asked for a private room. I think he was afraid that the stalker would try again, and he didn't want to be anywhere near me when it happened." She knew they'd been put in the same room so the guards would only have one door to keep track of. "It was all I could do to talk him into going to car shopping with me today. Speaking of which, I wanted to see if you could take us."
"Yes, of course I'll be happy to. When do you want to go?" She stepped away from him, reluctant to let him go, but they couldn't stand in the parking lot holding each other all day.
"As soon as possible. Chris will be in the office to answer calls, and I don't like not having transportation. Neither does Ed."
"Will you go home directly home after you find something?" He was really banged up, and she doubted the doctor had released him to work so soon after being discharged the day before.
"No. I'll come back here." That she was about to protest must have been clear on her face because he held up a hand. "Not to work. Just to supervise. That's all."
Hannah knew he meant the words he was saying, she just didn't believe Jon had it in him to supervise. He took his role as owner seriously. She just wished he took his well-being seriously, too.
~~~~~
SHE LIED TO HIM, JON thought, walking over to check the progress on the new houses. He understood why, that she was more worried about him than she was about herself, but it still bothered him that she hadn't been honest. He'd listened to her call in his voicemail a dozen times now, heard her crying, and the way her voice had been shaking. She'd been terrified, and he hadn't been able to go to her.
It wasn't that he had a knight in shining armor complex, but just knowing that he was the one she'd called first, and that he'd let her down, ate away at him. He knew it had all been beyond his control, there wasn't anything he could do about that, but still... He wished he'd been able to rush to her rescue. To comfort her and assure her that everything would be all right. To hold her, like he'd just done in the parking lot, until she felt safe again.
As he approached the first building, he realized he was in trouble. What had begun as a favor, nothing more than a way to help Ed find some of the happiness that had been stolen from him, had quickly turned into something he hadn't bargained for. And the feelings he'd never experienced before, not once in his entire life, scared him half to death.
~~~~~
HE SUPPOSED HE SHOULD have closed the blinds, but now that he was living on borrowed time, Ed wanted to see everything there was to see while he could. The fact that he was still here was nothing short of a miracle, and he knew it. No matter how many precautions they took, he finally accepted the fact that he would be dying. He didn't know when, but he didn't think he'd be breathing much longer.
'And the game continues,' the note taped to his door promised, followed by a friendly piece of advice. 'Your milk expires tomorrow. Might want to get more.'
This guy somehow managed to thwart the guards at every turn. Now he'd gotten into his apartment, despite the fact that he had a quality deadbolt lock and state of the art security system. No matter what they did, it wasn't enough.
As he lay there, he knew that all he really wanted to find a way to win. To take this monster down, lock him up, and throw away the key...after he got to spend some time alone with him in a windowless, soundproof room. He wouldn't kill him, but it would be close. A few slugs for everything he'd put his friends through. A few kicks to the ribs for nearly killing Jon on Saturday. And then, as far as he was concerned, he'd just beat him to a bloody pulp because he was tired of being stalked and terrorized.
Whenever he'd considered how he might die, he had always assumed it would either be of old age, or in the line of duty while saving the life of someone else. A hero's death, not hunted down like a rabid animal.
He'd put in a call to Mitch Montague, Darby's brother-in-law, as soon as he'd come home with the newest SUV. The one with the newly installed alarm system that would warn someone – loudly – if they got too close. They were meeting Thursday evening to make sure his will was up to date. Of course that was dependent on whether he was still alive, but until then, he wasn't going to stop living before he was dead.
Staring at the flashes on the walls and ceiling, from the headlights on cars cresting the hill down the road, he sighed. He didn't have many regrets, but there were some. Places he'd wanted to visit, like Jamaica. Skills he'd wanted to learn. Not that he'd ever told anyone, but he'd always wanted to learn to play the guitar. And then there were the choices he'd made. Paths he wished he'd never taken because even though they seemed to be right at the time, they'd turned out to be the biggest mistakes of his life. Mostly though, he just wanted to enjoy his friends for a few more decades, and maybe...just maybe...make things permanent with Jenna.
Sighing, he turned on his side and closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do about any of those things now. There wasn't time. But hopefully there would be tomorrow. And maybe a few more after that.
He didn't want to die. Not at forty-four. Somehow he always imagined celebrating his ninetieth birthday. Now it would take a miracle for him to make it to forty-five.