Cherishing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 3) (20 page)

“
W
hat have you done
?”

Tom boomed from the doorway. Jonah popped his head up from his computer and removed his headphones. Nanette hovered behind his father, mouthing, “I’m sorry.”

When he needed to focus, he closed his door, threw on some music, and sank into his work. Nanette would tell anyone who stopped by that Jonah was absolutely not to be disturbed.

In the two hours since lunch, he accomplished nearly all he needed for the day, and he’d hoped to get out of the office early and do some Christmas shopping.

His cell phone flashed at him, indicating several messages—most of them from Shannon—and filling him with dread.

“What?”

Tom slammed the door behind him—right in the secretary’s face.

“Whatever your problem with me, you have no right to treat Nanette like that. Apologize when you leave, please.”

“I don’t care about Nanette,” Tom fumed, his face deepening from red to almost purple. “You got her pregnant?”

Jonah’s shoulders relaxed. He didn’t know how his father found out about Shannon’s pregnancy, but Jonah would have told him eventually. His father’s bluster would blow over—maybe.

“You’re going to be a grandfather. I’d hoped to tell you myself, but…” Jonah shrugged. “How did you find out by the way?”

“Your mother had lunch with her today, and Shannon took great delight in telling her.”

Jonah doubted that. He needed to get the story from Shannon. His father paced with his hands on his hips.

“Calm down, Dad. It’s not an ideal situation, but I’m not a teenager. I’m forty-two. I’m perfectly capable of handling the situation.”

“Apparently not. At forty-two, I would expect you to have mastered the concept of birth control. Hell, you’ve reached this age without impregnating anyone—as far as I know.”

“I haven’t, and now I have. I’m excited about it.”

“Then you’re a fool.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re letting this woman get her hooks in you. Deep hooks. A child obligates you. You have no idea. If you don’t play your cards right, you’ll be paying and paying and paying. It’s worse than alimony.”

His father fell into the chair across from Jonah, his faced creased with genuine worry.

“You have to calm down. Shannon and I aren’t adversaries, and I have no problem being obligated to my child. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”

“How it’s supposed to be is that you get married and then have a family.”

“Well, it’s too late for that.”

“Are you going to marry her?”

“We’ve talked about it. She doesn’t want to rush into things, getting married just because she’s pregnant. I’m hoping to convince her that our getting married isn’t about that.”

“Of course it’s about that. You’d be thinking about marrying her if she wasn’t pregnant?”

“In time maybe, but she is pregnant. I’d like to marry her before the baby comes.”

Tom jumped up from his seat and pounded on the desk.

“Absolutely not. Don’t do anything until you’ve had a paternity test. With her background, you have to be sure. Doesn’t she still have an ex-husband floating around? They just got divorced.”

“He’s somewhere evading the police after attacking her. There’s no way she’d still be mixed up with that guy. She has a protective order against him.”

“That doesn’t matter one wit. Women like that get restraining orders and then the guy worms his way back in and they go back and forth. They don’t know what they want.”

Jonah stood up and stormed around the desk toward his father.

“Enough of the ‘women like her’ shit. Do not ever say that again. She’s done everything she can to get away from people like her ex. I’m not going to have you around her implying that she’s sleeping around with her ex or anyone else.”

“Legally, Jonah, you have to dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Get a paternity test. Decide if you want custody. Hell, how far along is she—”

“Don’t even go there. We’re having this baby—your grandchild—and we’re going to live together. Custody isn’t an issue.”

Shannon hadn’t exactly agreed that they’d live together once the baby was born, but Jonah knew he could convince her that was the best option by the time she delivered.

“You’ve got to get the wool off your eyes, Son. Trust me. I’ve been here before.”

Jonah ran his hand through his hair, stunned. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been here with a woman before. She loves you. She can’t get enough of you. She gets pregnant. You live in limbo, and then the baby isn’t yours. I’ve been there.”

“When?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Before Mom?”

His father just stared at him.

“While you were married. Arianna Stiges. Her son, Trevor.”

The truth unfolded one piece at a time as Jonah spoke.

“You were going to leave Mom for her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I had planned to take care of her and Trevor. She had another child as well—a daughter with her husband. We weren’t sure who Trevor’s father was, so she got a blood test. She told me the baby wasn’t mine.”

“But her husband left her.”

“He didn’t enjoy knowing she might be pregnant with another man’s baby. I can’t say that I blame him.”

“So why keep paying her? Just the fear of a lawsuit?”

“I did ruin her career. The two of us wrecked her marriage. Plus, for a while, I did think Trevor might be mine. I wasn’t going to leave them with nothing.”

“That’s what you did, though, last year.”

“Trevor’s a grown man now, and Arianna was getting irrational—begging for more and more money. I have my limits.”

Jonah tried to reconcile his father’s story with all he’d heard from Trevor. Arianna did have mental health issues. Maybe his father had truly tried to help her. He couldn’t concentrate on the twists of his father’s life.

“Your situation isn’t my situation. Shannon isn’t married or involved with anyone else. We’ve been together for a few months now.”

“As far as you know, Jonah. You need to make sure.”

“I won’t insult her by asking her for a paternity test. You might not be sure of her, but I am.” Certitude straightened Jonah’s spine as he stared his father down.

“I can’t say that I hope you’re right. Whether you have a baby or not, Shannon is not the woman for you. She’s not the wife you need.”

“What I need to is have a real, honest relationship with someone. Maybe because you’ve never needed that you think it’s not important—but it is to me.”

“Judge me all you want, but I’m not wrong.” Tom stormed on, exasperated. “Don’t be fucking stupid, Jonah. Get the test.”

“Get out of my office, Dad.”

Tom strode out, shaking his head. A life of sneaking and whoring had made the man suspicious and jaded. Jonah had to follow his gut and his heart. Shannon loved him. He had no doubts about her commitment to him and his to her—none.

J
onah sat
up until Shannon got home from work at midnight. Before she pulled off her coat and scarf, she apologized.

“I didn’t mean to tell her. It slipped out.”

“You didn’t tell me you were having lunch with her.”

“She called me at the last minute. I thought maybe she wanted to be nice.”

Jonah balked at Shannon’s naïvete. “Not likely. You should have known that she has an agenda.”

“Is it so strange to think that your mother might want to at least get to know me?”

“That’s not how she is. You and my mother aren’t friends, and you won’t ever be friends. She’ll get used to our being together, and be civil to you because she doesn’t like scenes, but you aren’t her kind of people. Period.”

Too late, Jonah realized the harshness of his diatribe. He wanted to impress on Shannon that she couldn’t afford to trust his mother, but that’s not how she took it.

“So what’s the point then?” Her eyes glistened. “She’s always going to hate me. She’s never going to let us be happy. Why do you want to keep doing this?”

“I love you. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so blunt, but she’s…I love my mother. She mostly means well, but she guards her place in society like a centurion. My mom’s family suffered through a lot of scandals, and although she grew up privileged, by the time she got to college, her family was broke. Her father ran off with another woman, and she ended up the butt of a lot of jokes. Marrying well and maintaining that façade mean everything to her, but we can deal with her together. What did she say at lunch?”

Shannon considered what Sheila said about causing her unending misery. The woman might never accept her, but maybe Shannon could at least ensure a bit of peace.

“She questioned my intentions and accused me of using you for your money. Again. It’s nothing new. I got mad and said that I didn’t know whether it was her accusations or the morning sickness that made want to throw up.”

The underlying truth of Shannon’s reply eased her conscience about not telling Jonah the full story.

Jonah laughed softly. “Well, you know how to stand your ground at least. My mother intimidates most people.”

Shannon placed her hands on the sides of Jonah’s face. “I’m not going to let her run me off.”

“Good. Me neither. Not her, and not my father, who ranted and raved about…everything.”

“Your mother must have called him.”

“Look. No more lunches with my mother. I’ll handle my family. Okay?”

Shannon dropped her hands and sighed. “Do you really want to do this, Jonah? Your parents aren’t going to let up. I feel like I’m splitting up your family.”

“That’s not on you. That’s on my parents. They think I’m a child who doesn’t know my ass from my elbow. It’s not you they don’t trust, it’s me.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m the one your mother doesn’t trust.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to let them throw accusations at you or pressure me. You and I together—we’re a team.”

Shannon’s eyes brimmed with tears again. “I’m so emotional.”

“I know. This would be difficult even if you weren’t pregnant, but hey, at least now they know.”

“So much for waiting to tell people. I keep spilling the beans.”

Jonah pulled Shannon closer, kissing her forehead. Then, the phone in his pocket vibrated between them.

“Check it.”

He looked at the screen.

“It’s a message from Vivienne.”

“What does it say?”

“‘Congratulations. You’ve pushed my lesbianism off Mom and Dad’s front page. Tell Shannon I said well done.’”

Shannon wiped her tears away with her sleeve and burst with a laugh. At least, one person in his family was on her side.

F
inally
.

Shannon listened to the voicemail a second time. The police asked her to come down to the police station because they had news about Kid. When she told Jonah, he insisted on driving her.

“I want to hear what they have to say. This shouldn’t have taken so long.”

Once they got to the police station and found the right department, a clerk shuttled them to a tiny, stale-aired conference room where they waited for nearly twenty minutes. Then, a tall, burly man rushed in.

“Sorry this took so long. I had to check on a few things before I talked to you. I’m Detective Odell. Actually,” the detective stopped and looked at Jonah, “we met. You came down here.”

“I did. Weeks ago. I’d have thought you would have caught this guy sooner.” Shannon squeezed Jonah’s knee.

“Well, it’s not so easy. Even after Shannon called and told us about seeing him in Mineola, he took off again. Some people are good at living under the radar.”

Jonah whipped his head around. “You saw him where?”

Heat flooded her face and her throat went dry. “He showed up at Lindsay’s after the funeral, but they kicked him out before I could call the police. When I got back to Dallas, I told the detective.”

Jonah’s eyes narrowed at her, making her leg nervously shake under the conference table. She hadn’t wanted to get into the whole story. How could she explain that she didn’t call the police right away without getting into everything else?

“So what’s new, then?” Jonah glared at the detective.

“I’m not sure how you’ll take the news. I’m glad you brought someone with you. Wayne Nelson was involved in a bar fight in southeast Dallas last night. The fight spilled into the parking lot where he was shot…and killed.”

Shannon went numb. Kid was dead.

“Who? How?”

“Aaron Godfrey. They actually arrived at the bar together with a group of friends, but they got into an altercation. Apparently, Kid attacked him, followed him to the parking lot when he tried to leave, and the guy had a Smith and Wesson nine millimeter handgun in his car. They tussled, and Nelson died on the scene.”

“You’ve arrested Aaron?” Shannon squeaked.

“We held him overnight, but witness statements all point to self-defense. He got released this morning and should be out soon.”

“Did you know this guy, Aaron?” Jonah asked her. Her mind raced for the right words to forestall more questions.

“We met once. After the funeral. He’s one of Lindsay’s friends.”

Shannon didn’t want to share information about Aaron’s previous run-in with Kid. She didn’t want to be involved in anything regarding either man. Aaron might have been justified in killing Kid, but Shannon knew he wasn’t just a victim.

Jonah had no response to hearing that she knew Aaron. The indecipherable look on his face scared her. Maybe he finally realized what type of people Shannon ran with—had run with. That wasn’t her anymore. Did he doubt that?

“Listen. I hate to ask you to do this, but we haven’t been able to contact any of Nelson’s family. Do you know how to reach them? Someone’s going to have to pick up the body from the morgue. If not, the county will cremate him.”

“He has a cousin, but I don’t know his number. His mother is gone, and he never knew where his dad was. Maybe his aunt? I might have her address somewhere. That’s his cousin’s mom. I can look and call you. Or, maybe ask Aaron. He knew Kid and his cousin.”

“I don’t know that Aaron’s inclined to be too helpful.”

Shannon sighed. “I’ll see what I can dig up. If you can’t find anyone, maybe I can take care of it.”

Jonah shook his head. “I don’t think you need to be involved in any of this.”

“What can he do to me now, Jonah? He’s dead. As fucked up as it was, I was married to the guy.” Her eyes filled with tears.

Kid Nelson was an asshole. He was violent. He was a thief, a drunk, and an addict. Shannon shouldn’t miss anything about him, but one time, he’d been good to her. He picked her up from rehab and gave her a place to live when she had no one. If he had no one now, she could at least make sure he got buried or cremated—one way or another.

“I’ll step out and get some of the information you might need if you’re going to handle things yourself. You have some other options. We just need a family member to coordinate that. You don’t have to. You’re not really next of kin anymore.”

Detective Odell bounced his eyes between Jonah and Shannon and slid his chair back from the table. Once he left, Jonah moaned.

“I can’t believe you’re upset over this…cretin.”

“He was my husband. I didn’t love him, but he was a person. A person that I…cared about, sort of. He helped me once, and no one—no matter how terrible—deserves to just be lost. They’ll dump him in some pauper’s grave or something.”

“If someone has no one, there’s usually a reason. He was a no good criminal.”

“I had no one once, Jonah, and you’re right. It was my fault. But I’m a person. If something had happened to me, I’d hope that someone would make sure I didn’t get dumped in the ground somewhere with nothing to tell anyone that I existed.”

“You are not Kid Nelson.”

“No. I was his wife. If you can’t deal with that, I’m sorry. I can’t blame you for hating it, but I have to do what I have to do.”

Shannon stood and raced out of the room with Jonah on her heels. They said nothing else about Kid as they stalked down the hall to the elevator.

“Can you hang on a minute? I don’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s not you. It’s just this situation.”

“I know. That’s my point. Why involve yourself in this drama? The whole point of getting divorced is so it’s not your problem.”

“Do you think I’m in love with him or something? Because I’m not. This is something that I want to do to close that chapter. I can’t explain to you why it matters because I hardly know why myself.”

“Okay.” Jonah turned as the elevator doors opened. “I worry when you get upset. It’s not good for the baby.”

Shannon reached to pull her phone out of her purse to scroll through her meager contacts to see if anyone might have information about Kid’s aunt. A gravelly voice stopped her cold.

“Baby? You’re pregnant?”

Aaron Godfrey stood in the open elevator doors, looking like death. He must have just been released from jail. A smudge of stubble covered the lower half of his face. His blond hair looked dirty—maybe from filth or maybe that was the color. Shannon couldn’t remember what it had looked like in the dim light of Lindsay’s hallway.

His thin, hard angled face scrunched in confusion that quickly moved toward rage. How had she thought this guy looked anything like Jonah?

Shannon stepped backward, moving her purse and folded coat in front of her.

“This conversation isn’t any of your business.” Jonah positioned himself in front of Shannon.

Aaron’s eyes roamed down to her stomach and over to Jonah, taking him in from his neatly trimmed hair to his polished leather shoes.

“Is this your boyfriend?” he smirked.

Jonah lifted his shoulders and moved toward the thinner, grittier man. “You need to move so we can get on the elevator.”

Aaron snickered and put his hands up over his head. “I don’t need any trouble, man. I’ve had enough of that for one day. I’m just surprised to see Shannon. I figured we could talk. I’m Aaron, by the way, Aaron Godfrey.”

He stuck his hand out to Jonah, who didn’t touch it.

“Alright. I see how it is. I’m here to talk to the detective ‘fore I can get out of here. Didn’t know they would call you to deal with Kid. May he rest in peace.” Aaron sneered. “Didn’t know you were pregnant either.”

“Our baby isn’t any of your concern.” Jonah growled.

“You sure about that?”

“I assume you’re here to take care of some business since you killed someone last night, right? Go do that.”

Then, Jonah grabbed Shannon’s hand and pulled her close before pressing the button for the elevator, which had closed again.

Nausea rolled in her stomach like it hadn’t since she first found out she was pregnant. What would a man like Aaron want with a baby when he could just walk away?

The baby isn’t his. Shannon reiterated the thought to herself. One stupid night compared to all the times she and Jonah were together. The baby had to be Jonah’s, and they belonged together—as a family.

“Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?”

“No. I just…He upset me is all. I wasn’t prepared to see him like this.”

“What was he talking about?”

“What?” Shannon closed her eyes, wishing they could transport themselves back home instantaneously. Or maybe just back in time a minute or two so she could keep Aaron and Jonah from running into each other.

“Asking me if I was sure he didn’t have anything to do with our baby. Why would he say that?”

“I don’t know.”

Jonah looked at her with a mix of concern and suspicion.

“Let’s just get you to the car.”

T
hey drove
home in silence with Jonah gripping the wheel. Shannon turned her head toward the window with her eyes pressed closed.

When he pulled into his garage, he turned to her.

“Get out of the car, and let’s go inside.”

She did as he asked, following him into the kitchen.

“Tell me.”

“What?” Shannon asked, losing her grip on the last threads of denial. “I…I can’t.”

Her breath stuck in her chest, and she gripped the edge of the counter, trying to pull it together.

Jonah backed away from her and pounded his fist on the granite. His fury choked her up, and she began to sob. Jonah stretched across the center console to wipe her tears.

“The baby…”

“What?”

“I made a mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

“But…the mistake. It’s…I…”

“Shannon, tell me.”

Panic and courage twisted inside her, making her speak.

“The baby…it might not be yours.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Aaron—”

“You slept with that guy. The guy who just fucking killed your ex-husband. You slept with him. When?”

The story poured out of Shannon in such a rush, she could barely order her thoughts. “After the funeral, but Jonah, I didn’t mean to do it. I was drinking my drink, and I started to feel out of my head. Kid was there, and he threatened me. This guy, I’d never met him before, he got me away from Kid and took me inside. He was tall and blond like you. I was so confused. For a second, I thought it was you. He felt like you, but then I knew it wasn’t. Then, nothing. I woke up—”

“That’s it? You just skip to the next day?”

“That’s all I remember.”

“Because you got drunk.”

“I wasn’t drunk. I wasn’t drinking. Amber, one of Lindsay’s friends, had these drugs—”

“So you got high.”

Jonah stated it like fact. Shannon stumbled through her defense. “I didn’t get high. I was high, but it was on accident. Well, Amber—Lindsay and Laura’s friend—she did it on purpose. I didn’t know it was in my drink. This wasn’t my fault!”

“Not your fault. Is that what you told the judge when you failed your drug test last year?”

“How do you know about that?”

“My father ran a background check on you. For once, he might have been right. Maybe all this talk of putting your past behind you has just been talk.”

Shannon screamed. “You have no idea. None. You have no idea the things I’ve put behind me, what it took, and what it’s cost me.”

“Then enlighten me, Shannon. What part of putting your past behind you involves getting loaded and fucking some other guy the minute I’m out of your sight?”

“You don’t understand,” Shannon whimpered. His eyes narrowed like platinum knives.

“That’s your protection, isn’t it? I don’t understand what it’s like to be you. To have a hard life. To be poor. Poor, poor Shannon. What I don’t understand is how you could do this to me? Or maybe I do and I just don’t want to face it. You said you loved me, but it’s a game to see what you can get out of me.”

“That’s not true. I never wanted anything from you.”

Jonah’s dry, disbelieving laugh echoed off the walls, mocking her. “That was your game. ‘Don’t buy me anything, Jonah.’ ‘All I want is you, Jonah.’ I am the worst kind of fool. I so wanted to believe you that I deceived myself right along with you.”

“So that’s it? I’m a goldigging whore like you thought all along?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But that’s what you mean. The minute something happens you’re ready to believe the worst of me.” Defeat settled into her bones. It didn’t matter what really happened. Underneath it all, Jonah still thought she was trash.

“What am I supposed to think? You’ve been lying to me for weeks. This baby that you’re carrying could belong to someone else, and you kept your mouth shut. What did you tell yourself when you moved into my house? When you slept with me? When you smiled up at me and talked about the family we were going to have? Did you just tell yourself if you kept thinking the baby was mine, then that would make it true?”

Shannon lowered eyes, knowing he was right, but that it wasn’t what he thought. Jonah shook his head with a nasty chuckle.

“That’s exactly what you thought.” He stormed out of the kitchen and into the hallway, past the dining room and toward the stairs with Shannon chasing him.

“I love you. Whether you believe it or not, it’s true. I didn’t even know for sure what happened until seeing Aaron today.”

“But you knew something might have happened. You knew, and you didn’t say anything.

“I wasn’t sure, and I couldn’t face it.”

“Lots of convenient excuses for you to pretend you didn’t betray me and that you didn’t lie to me. You sound just like an addict.”

Her rebuttal died. It’s like what she told him only confirmed the thoughts he had about her deep in his heart.

As long as she was the sweet Shannon who did everything perfectly, she fit into his fantasy of saving her and helping her. The minute she misstepped or something went wrong, it was right back to Shannon the drug addict and Shannon the whore.

Shannon grabbed Jonah’s forearm as he started up the stairs.