It still scared her when she thought of how close they'd both come to dying, and she tried to put it out of her mind as she emptied the contents of both bags into her biggest pot and turned the burner to low. Instead, she curled up on the sofa and went over every word of the conversation she'd had with her father the night before.
How the mother she'd loved and trusted her entire life could have done something so devious and just plain wrong was beyond her, and she didn't know if she'd ever be able to forgive her for robbing her of the chance to know a man who had clearly loved her for all these years.
The ringing of her phone jolted her out of her thoughts, and she felt her heart race when she saw the caller I.D. California.
"Mary," she said into the receiver, feeling joyful…even as she burst into tears.
"Hey, kid. It hasn't been that long since I called."
"I know. It's just so good to hear your voice." And it was, and she didn't really know why she was crying except it had only been a few hours since she thought she wouldn't ever hear her voice again.
" What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. Just a little weepy today."
"Don't give me that crap. You hardly ever cry when I call. You get a little teary when I hang up, but rarely when you answer." Her sister knew her too well and, for a moment, she considered not telling her the whole truth, but in the end she did. It seemed that once she started talking, she couldn't stop.
"It was so horrible, Mary. I thought Jon and I were both going to die."
"I can't believe you went out with him in weather like that!" Mary snapped. Anger always seemed to be the way she dealt with tender feelings. Apparently it was also the way she dealt with fear. "What were you thinking? You could have died out there, kid. Even if that lunatic hadn't run you off the road, the truck could have wound up in a ditch anyway. That's why there are things like police and tow trucks."
"Not last night. They were busy everywhere else. And the man I love was going out in a blizzard to save my father. What was I supposed to do? Let him go alone?"
"Yes! Wait? What did you say? You love the guy?"
"I do. Very much. And he loves me."
"Great. Just great," she muttered, mumbling something Hannah couldn't quite make out. "You fall in love with a guy who is a target for stalker. You risk your life for a man who abandoned us when we were kids. You're never going home, are you?"
"That's not my home anymore, Mary. It never was. I talked to Ed last night. Mom lied to him. I told you what all the letters said, and he confirmed it. Mom lied to him. He never wanted to lose us, but she as good as stole us from him."
"If he never wanted to lose us, he should have never signed those papers."
"You don't understand-"
"Oh but I do. More than you might think."
"Mary, he's coming over in a few hours. Call back and talk to him. Let him explain everything."
"Yeah. I don't think so, kid. You might be willing to forgive and forget, but I can't. We had a good life and he just let it – and us – go. He signed those papers giving us to Dad, and that's all I need to know. Now drop the subject and tell me how you are. Did you get hurt?"
"I have a couple of stitches in my forehead. There was a tree branch coming right for my head, but Jon pulled me out of the way."
"Then why do you have stitches?"
"I hit my head on the dash when the truck hit the tree."
"I still can't believe you risked your life like that!" Mary almost shouted. "If I were there, I'd wring your neck."
"Please don't be mad. Please? I had to go. I've never loved anyone like I love Jon. I just couldn't bear the thought of him being out there alone."
"So if he was going to die, you figured you might as well, too?"
"No. That thought never entered my mind. I just knew the roads were bad. If the stalker hadn't rammed the truck, we'd have been fine."
"I can't deal with this right now. I need to go."
"No! Mary, don't hang up."
"Love you, Hannah Banana. Stop doing stupid stuff, okay."
Before she had the chance to tell her she loved her, too, the line went dead. Shaking her head, she laid the phone on the table and leaned her head back, sighing in frustration. Her sister wanted to wring her neck? Well the feeling was mutual at the moment. Someday she was going to have to stop running away when life got hard.
~~~~~
Jess's SUV sat outside in the drive, parked behind Hannah's little car. She and Dan had insisted he use it as long as he needed it, even though it might be a week or more. His truck was still buried out in the ditch, and would be taken directly to a local body shop as soon as it could be dug out, but that wouldn't be for a day or so.
Hannah was curled up beside him on his sofa, her head against his shoulder, her hand resting on his chest as he held her close.
"This is nice," he murmured against her hair.
"It is. I think I could sit here all night."
"Yeah, and tomorrow Ed would shoot me."
"I'd let him know nothing happened."
"I doubt he'd care. He's waited a long time to get to be a dad, and I don't see him taking that responsibility lightly."
"I'm glad I finally told him. He's – wonderful."
"Yes he is. And I hope the two of you can be close as you both want someday."
"We'll get there. There were times I wasn't sure, but we will."
"Did you tell your mother yet?"
"No. I haven't really talked to her much since I moved up here. It's not like she'd be happy about it anyway."
"The two of you used to be close though."
"Were we? Everything, every part of our life was based on lies."
"Think you'll ever be able to get past it?"
"I don't know. It's like she only saw Mary and me as possessions she could do whatever she pleased with. She stole us, Jon. I don't care if she did it legally, she didn't think twice about ripping us away from our father. Didn't care that it hurt us, just so long as she got what she wanted."
"I'm sure she loves you both." She was quiet for several moments, mulling over what he'd said.
"Maybe. But not in any way that matters. Everything she did, every decision she made, that was all for her benefit. How is that love?"
"I don't think it is, sweetheart. This is coming from someone who's never had a real relationship with either of his parents though, so my opinion might be a little jaded. It really sucks when the most important people in your life don't love you, doesn't it."
"The most important people in your life do love you, Jon."
"That's true. And believe me, the feeling is mutual, but they're not my parents. At least you know Ed loved you all along."
"I know. I'm so glad I found those letters. Not just because I got my father back, but because I got you, too." She didn't lift her head, but she raised her face so she was looking at him. "I really do love you, you know."
"And I really love you," he whispered, kissing her slowly, savoring the feel of her lips against his.
He wanted to hold her closer, but he had to be more cautious than he would have liked, at least until the ribs healed. Still, he could – and did – enjoy this. Maybe a little too much. After a few moments, he pulled back, resting his cheek against the top of her head. Hannah made a small sound expressing her disappointment.
"We need to behave. The doctor said I'll be good as new in about six weeks. That will make it late April. I'm thinking that might be a nice month for a wedding. That is, if you think you might want to marry me."
"Is that a proposal?"
"I guess that would depend."
"On what?"
"On what your answer will be."
"Hmm. Can I get back to you on that? I need some time to think it over." He smiled as she relaxed against him. "Okay. I've thought about it. My answer would be yes."
"Then consider it a proposal. Will you spend the rest of you
r life with me, Hannah Fletcher?"
"Absolutely."
"I thought you said your answer would be yes," he teased, bringing her hand up and pressing his lips against her fingers.
~~~~~
Jon watched Hannah helping Cal and the other girls set up the buffet. Every now and again, she glanced his way, a shy smile on her face, and his heart melted. Before he'd fallen in love with her, he thought the term was stupid, but now- Well he couldn't think of a better way to describe the way it made him feel.
"You're looking pretty smug," Dan said, sitting down beside him, careful not to jar him. He held up the brownie in he held in his hand and grinned like a kid who'd just gotten away with something.
"Does your wife know you're having dessert before supper?"
"Yeah, right. You think she hasn't already had one?"
Jon laughed at that. Jess's love for brownies from Westside Deli was legendary, and she never tired of them. In her opinion, even the ones Cal made from scratch weren't as good, though that was a secret they kept from their resident chef.
"Knowing her, she's probably snitched more than that."
"Ya think?" Dan took a bite, chewed it slowly, and finally swallowed, before looking at him. Jon could only describe the expression on his face as content, and he steeled himself for what he knew was coming. "You look happier than I've ever seen you."
"I guess that's because I am." Anything that smacked of being mushy still made him a little uncomfortable, but there was no getting around the fact that it was the truth. In all his life he'd never expected to fall in love, and he couldn't be happier that Hannah had been the one to prove him wrong.
"She's great. And we're all still stunned that she's Ed's daughter. We're also having trouble believing you kept this from us for months." He scowled for a moment, but then grinned. "He looks happy though. Same as you, more than I've ever seen him."
"Well yeah. Of course he's happy. He missed two decades of her life, and now he's got her back."
"It's hard to believe someone could do something like that. If her mother comes up for the wedding, I don't think I can even be polite to her." That declaration spoke volumes about how angry he was, especially given that Dan was the guy who always tried to smooth things over. And if he felt that way, it was sure bet that everyone else was even angrier at Teresa Fletcher.
"I'm not sure we have to worry about that. Hannah was mad at her mom before she found out what really happened. I don't know if she'll ever forgive her now." He paused for a moment, swallowed hard, and then asked, "I don't suppose you'd like to be my best man?"
"Gee, let me check my calendar and get back to you," he said, then grinned. "Yes, of course I'd love to be your best man. Have you set a date for the wedding yet?"
"We're thinking late April or early May. After my ribs are healed."
"Just let us know what we can do to help."
"I will, thanks. We're going to start making some plans in the next few days, so I'll tell you when I know."
"Hey, everyone. Can you take your seats over here please?" Jess called from across the room. She was standing at the dessert table. Cal, Holly, and Sam were setting wine glasses at each place setting on the two long tables they'd set up to accommodate the small crowd milling around Dan's basement family room. "Ed wants to make a toast. Jon, Hannah, you can come up here with him."
Jon watched everyone take their seats as he made his way across the room toward his fiancé. He liked how she leaned into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. A perfect fit. Half a second later, someone started pounding their hand on the tabletop, and everyone joined in, even two-year and a half year old Kate, who was sitting in a highchair next to Dan.
Hannah smiled up at him, her brows raised, and he just shrugged. So what if it was a wedding reception tradition and they weren't married yet. He'd take any excuse presented to him to kiss her, and that's exactly what he did.
"Okay, okay," Ed interrupted a few moments later, eliciting delighted laughter when he added, "Behave. Don’t forget I'm a cop."
"C'mon, make the toast," Ty Lanning said. "We're starving." His wife, Emma, smacked his shoulder. "Well, we are," which made everyone laugh again.
"I don't know why I let you talk me into this, Jess, but here goes." He handed Jon and Hannah each a glass, and then lifted his own. "It's been a very interesting weekend. First I want to say, in case anyone is interested, Martin is doing fine. The last I heard, he'll be discharged later this week, and then start physical therapy in a couple of weeks.
"But what I really wanted to say is that I'm grateful. For all of you, but especially to have my daughter back after being apart from me for so long. I also want to welcome Jon to the family. If I could have handpicked a husband for my little girl, I couldn't have asked for anyone I trust more than this bozo."
"Thanks a lot, coach," Jon said, chuckling. "I love you, too."
"Anyway, I'd like to make this toast to wish them a long and happy marriage. I also hope they provide me with plenty of grandchildren."
"Here, here," Dan said, raising his glass and taking a sip. Everyone else followed suite, wishing them much happiness, and Jon knew they meant it with all of their hearts.
"I think he wants us to have a lot of kids," he said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. He watched her cheeks turn pink as she whispered back,
"I caught that. Maybe we could just practice for a while before we get started on the first one?"
"Sounds like a plan, sweetheart." And one he could get fully on board with, too. For as long as he could remember, he thought he'd be alone for the rest of his life, but now- Now with Hannah by his side, and children in their future, he'd never be alone again. He was finally getting the family he'd always wanted.
###
Thanks so much for reading Her Best Friend Jon! If you enjoyed Jon and Hannah's story, I'd truly appreciate it if you'd post a short review at the store where you bought it. I love to hear what readers think of my books. And honestly, word-of-mouth—via reviews—helps others in deciding whether to give books by indie authors like me a chance.
Thanks again!
Kristy
About the author…
Kristy K. James’s first goal in life was to work in law enforcement, until the night she called the police to check out a scary noise in her yard. Realizing that she might someday have to check out scary noises in other dark yards if she continued on that path, she turned to her other favorite love… writing. Since then, her days have been filled with being a mom and reluctant zookeeper, creating stories and looking for trouble in her kitchen.
Connect with Kristy…
http://kristykjames.net/
https://www.facebook.com/kristykjames
Be sure to follow Kristy on Bookbub to get notifications for her new releases!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kristy-k-james
Other Works by Kristy K. James
Coach's Boys Series
The Daddy Pact, Book 1
A Hero for Holly, Book 2
A Harry Situation, Book 3
Her Best Friend Jon, Book 4
Code Red Christmas, Book 5
Darby's Dilemma, Book 6
The Detective's Second Chance, Book 7
Back to the Beginning, Book 8
Holding Out For Love, Coach's Boys Companion Story (should be read between books 6 & 7)
Cooking With the Coach's Boys
A Royal Sweethearts Romance Novel Series
The Casteloria Royals
A Prince on the Run, Book 1
The Physician to the King, Book 2
The Princess and the Bodyguard, Book 3
Hemisphere/Paranormal Romance
The Ripple
Haunted Depot: The Ghost Curse Series
The Secret, Book 1
The Depot, Book 2
A Merry Depot Christmas, Book 3
Special Wishes Time Travel Romance
His Only Love
Her Long Road Home
Other Fiction:
Enza
Josh
The Secret Admirer
Erin's Christmas Wish
A Fine Mess
Reluctant Guardian
Her Best Friend Jon Page 18
