Page 48 of Jhon

“You’re his father,” she said, slamming her hand down on the counter. “You can’t abandon him.”

Bo whimpered in his sleep.

“I am not his father,” Jhon said, the words bitter in his mouth. “That was only a pretty dream you spun for me. And me listening is more evidence that I don’t have the discipline to stay impartial.”

He turned, heading for the door.

“If you leave, you’ll never forgive yourself,” she told him, the words launched like a missile at his back.

“It’s true,” he told her, without turning back. “But what I will surely do if I stay would never be forgiven by anyone. Bring luck on Sigg-3, Ella Lawrence.”

He managed to get outside the house before tears burned in his eyes and choked his throat. He swallowed them down, knowing he had one more stop to make before he could go.

19

ELLA

Ella stood in the kitchen holding a sleeping Bo. Jhon was gone. She didn’t know for how long. Only the slight movement of the sol told her time was passing.

Whether she was exhausted, heartbroken, in shock, or all three, she couldn’t have said. It felt like her chest was under a boulder and she couldn’t breathe.

A sudden knock on the front door brought her back to her senses.

Jhon, her heart sang.

She ran to the door, almost dizzy with relief.

But when she opened it, Jhon wasn’t there.

Abbra stood in the threshold, a worried look in her dark eyes. She shook her head slightly in answer to the questioning look Ella must have been giving her without realizing it.

And when the first hot tear slid down Ella’s cheek, Abbra pulled her right into her big furry body for the warmest hug Ella had ever experienced.

“You’re going to be okay,” Abbra whispered to her, still holding her close. “But it’s going to hurt. It’s best to let it out.”

Ella let the tears come then. Abbra knew. And if Jhon had gone to her to explain his departure, then it was really over.

Abbra led her to the sofa, wrapped a fur blanket around her shoulders, and began banging around in the kitchen, preparing tea and small, soft, round cookies.

When Ella’s sobs finally stopped, she felt hollowed out inside.

Abbra wiped her tear-stained face with a warm cloth, then handed her a cup of tea, and put a plate of cookies beside her.

“You drink that and eat those,” she said firmly. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Ella meant to say she couldn’t possibly eat or drink at a time like this.

But she found that the tea smelled heavenly, and the heat of it felt good going down. And the little cookies were so soft and so light that she ate half the plate without realizing.

“He came to me because I’m former military,” Abbra said, untying the apron she had borrowed from Ella’s kitchen. “He asked me to watch over you two until the Invicta could send another guard.”

“But why did he leave?” Ella asked. “He kept saying he couldn’t be with me. But I wasn’t trying to force him.”

Abbra gave her a stern look.

Then her eyebrows lifted.

“He didn’t tell you?” she asked.

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