Page 128 of Johnathan

“No. I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to make you think that I’m interested in you, but I’m with Abby. Happily.”

She shrugged and smiled at him. “You can’t blame a girl for trying. It’s nice to know some people in the world are loyal, even if it’s never to me.”

“Laura, I don’t think we should get the girls together after all…”

“Don’t punish Honey and Katy for my mistake. We can just walk out of here and pretend like nothing ever happened. You don’t need to be there if I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“I need to talk to Abby.”

“John. We’re all adults. Nothing happened here. I simply was suggesting something. You told me no, and now I’m over it. Let’s just laugh about the mistake and move on. Here.” She took the box of cups from his hand. “I’ll take these back. You can talk to Abby now or later, but I’m sure she’ll still be fine with letting the girls get together.”

“Drink this.” John set a cup of coffee down on Abby’s desk. She must have given him a questioning look because he sighed before pushing it closer to her. “Coffee. Black. It’ll help with your headache.”

“How could you possibly know that I’ve got a headache?”

“Besides knowing I have one after spending the day listening to all those kids scream and watching them run around? You’ve rubbed your forehead five times in the last ten minutes and you’ve been squinting against the light.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. So drink. And you have five minutes to finish up whatever you need to do so that we can get out of here and I can get you soaking in the bath at home.”

“Well, dang, Abby. You better lock this deputy down or I will.” Mary Beth moved from behind the bookshelf and laughed.

“Like you would ever even think about leaving Mac.” Abby rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But boy, that display was H-O-T!”

“I’m sorry.” John’s face was the cutest shade of red as he looked between Abby and Mary Beth. “I thought we were alone.”

“Not quite yet. I’m just on my way out!” Mary Beth grabbed her bag from her desk at the back of the class and waved as she walked towards the door. “Katy, you make sure your dad and Ms. Abby stay out of trouble.”

“Otay, Ms. Mary Beth!”

John reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Sorry, I just have to take this quick. It’s work.”

Abby smiled and waved him away. John was still on leave, although Abby had tried arguing that he might be better off switching to the day shift and just working in Bell Ridge. He wouldn’t hear of it.

She rolled up the last table covering and tied up the trash. John walked back into the room with a scowl on his face. It had been there on and off all day, but she hadn’t wanted to press the issue until they were alone.

“Alright, we’re the last two people here. Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?” Abby asked as John pulled the full trash bag from the garbage can.

“Nothing. I just want to make sure you’re feeling okay. And I’m ready to get our weekend started.”

“Don’t give me that. Did I ask you to do too much for this? I just wanted it to be perfect for my first year. I’m really sorry if I overstepped or signed you up to do more than you wanted to.”

His head whipped up, and he dropped the garbage bag in the doorway, striding towards her. His hand slid onto her face, cupping her cheek before he leaned in for a kiss.

“You did absolutely nothing wrong. It was perfect and I’m glad the kids had such a great time. I’m glad I was here to help. I love you, Abby. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I love you, too. But something is bothering you, and I want to know what it is.” When his mouth stayed shut, she sighed. “Ifyou don’t tell me, I’m just going to worry until I spiral and cry. I think I’m PMS-ing, and this is only going to make my emotions worse.”

John’s eyes went to Katy, who was busy playing with a wooden puzzle in the reading corner.

“Oh. Is it about the call? Did Hank tell you something? Is it bad?”

He lowered his voice to a whisper.

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