Second Time's the Charm

“We were at her place, yes.”

Glancing at his watch, Jon was dismayed to see that only two minutes had passed. It was turning out to be a damned long five minutes.

“And?”

“And nothing.” He turned her on. Didn’t mean she cared. “I’m way out of her league.”

“Bullshit.” Mark’s vehemence was surprising, until Jon thought about his friend’s situation. Mark, a blue-collar guy like Jon who’d also grown up without a mom, was engaged to a lawyer.

“You’ve got the world’s greatest grandmother,” Jon said. “My mom was a druggie.”

“Mine was a drunk. Wrapped her car around a tree when I was twelve.”

“That when Nonnie took you in?”

“Nope. I was with her from birth.”

“Well, there you go, then. I was in foster care.”

But it wasn’t being a ward of the state that was the real cause of his shame and Jon knew that. Being an ex-con was.

He’d gone with his foster brothers of his own free will. He’d known they were going to rob the convenience store. He’d taken the goods from the site. He’d made the choices—damned stupid choices—because he’d wanted to be one of them. He’d wanted to belong.

“From what I hear—and living with Nonnie I hear everything—Lillie Henderson wouldn’t care if you were raised in a sewer.”

Mark wasn’t telli

ng Jon something he didn’t already know. But...

Four minutes had passed. Mark didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get the test done and move on.

“It’s obvious you’ve got a thing for her.” Mark passed the gas monitor he was holding back and forth between his hands.

“I do not have a thing for her.” The words were unequivocal. They had to be. Jon was not going to screw up again. Not this time. Because his son would pay. He needed Lillie Henderson to help him—with Abe’s stress issues, and with Clara Abrams, too, if the older woman ever decided to check up on him.

His friend sobered. “Sorry, man. It’s just that...Addy and I had a bet about how long it would take for you two to?”

“Hold it right there.” Jon straightened. Grabbed another gas monitor out of his cart. “There’s absolutely nothing going on...like that...between Lillie Henderson and me. She’s Abe’s child life specialist. She’s just helping me out with this tantrum thing.”

“The Parsons family has known Lillie for years.” Mark’s voice was low, and dead serious. “She’s had more clients than anyone can count. And they say that she’s never shown as much interest in anyone as she has in you and Abe. Truth be known, the whole town’s watching you two.”

He felt sick.

Will Parsons was president of the university. His wife, Becca, was Shelter Valley’s mayor. They were both close family friends of Addy’s—Mark’s fiancée.

“Lillie’s been alone a long time. No one thinks it’s good for her,” Mark said.

Finally, someplace Jon was in agreement with the rest of the world.

Not that he could have anyone watching him. Or looking too closely. Not with Clara Abrams’s interest in Abe. Not with the break-ins happening in town. And not with a son who had adjustment issues, either. Still, he said, “They think she’s interested in me?”

“It seems pretty obvious.”

Good God, could it be true? Could he really have finally met the one? Could his dreams really become reality? Could Abe one day have a mother?

“I gotta warn you, though,” Mark said, pushing back from the column and heading back to the underbelly of the vat. “If you do anything with her, you’d best be serious about it.” The warning tone allowed for no misunderstanding. “Because I can assure you, if you break that woman’s heart this entire town will lynch you.”

Even though Mark’s warning brought him back down a couple of notches, ex-con Jon Swartz still left work that afternoon floating with the knowledge that the people of Shelter Valley thought Lillie Henderson was falling for him.