Chapter Fifteen

“Ms. Braden? Can you come take a look at this?”

The burly sun tarnished guy hollered out from the echo filled depths of the empty swimming pool, his voice distracting Rachel from her conversation with the landscaping architect. Excusing herself from his company she hurried over to the edge of the pool, clipboard in hand and looked down expectantly to the man who had been shouting for her.

“You see this crack here Ma’am?” The man squinted up at her from beneath the peak of his hard hat, his dust streaked arm extending to point out a large crack that shimmied down through several of the enamelled tiles that lined the pool’s interior. When Rachel nodded he continued, “Well this is only one of several that are running right around the interior, you’re looking at major work to restore it completely.”

Rachel sighed in frustration. So far today nothing had gone right, she had come home from Jon’s house to find the power had shorted out, a result of a major leak that had sprung from a pipe in a wall upstairs flooding the electronics panel and frying the circuits to the whole house. Add that to the team of construction workers and landscapers that had arrived shortly after to start work on the grounds of the house and Rachel’s brain had been about to short out along with the house and all that had been before her worst nightmare had happened.

“Alright, do what you’ve gotta do I guess.”

Signing off on the pool guy’s plans, she moved back into the stifling warmth of the house, her blouse sticking to her skin with the absence of the air conditioning. Muffled heavy footsteps thumped on the ceiling above her head, the electronics guys moving from room to room in their work to get the power restored. The good weather had been setting records on the East Coast and ordinarily she would have been right at home in the California like temperatures exempting the damn humidity levels but her brain had been swivelling ever since she’d realised her neck had been devoid of any jewellery when she’d gotten home.

Standing at the open doors of the kitchen that lead out onto the decking her hand automatically went to the clammy skin of her chest. The bareness beneath her blouse unsettled her, no matter how many times her fingers searched for the chain it wasn’t there. She could feel a cold sweat break out between her shoulder blades, how could she have been so careless? The best she could hope for was that the chain and its precious cargo was somewhere in Jon’s house and not lying on the ground somewhere where any passer-by could find them. At the same time if Jon found the rings she was going to have to explain their existence and that was a conversation she hadn’t planned on having with anybody, least of all the guy who she’d just spent the night with. She blew out a deep breath as the figure of one of the architects loomed on the deck outside. She just needed to get through today first and then she could concentrate on retracing her steps.

The chain had to be somewhere, she’d find it – the alternative was unthinkable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jon swivelled in his leather chair to carefully place the two golden bands that Alice had just handed him on his desk once she had left the office. Pulling the damp work out towel from around his shoulders his heart beat a little faster when he picked up the first ring between his thumb and forefinger to examine it. Slightly more delicate than its partner; the edges were smooth and round from evident years of wear. His eyes narrowed to read the delicate inscription carved into the metal on the inside of the ring.

Yours Until My Forever Ends

There was no date or any other marking that gave Jon any clue about how old the ring was although he guessed it was a woman’s ring. Puzzled he picked up the other gold band, wider in width than the first its edges were clean and crisp. To his eye it looked in mint condition, hell his wedding band from his own marriage had more signs of wear and tear and it had spent well over half his married life stuck in a drawer or a safe somewhere.

The intricate script inside this ring was simple and clear;

Always My Hero

Jon stared at the two rings side by side before he sat back heavily in his chair and blew out a long breath, his brows furrowed with concern. One thing was for sure – the woman he had just spent the night with was either married or had been at some stage in her past. That didn’t concern him in the slightest, he had been far from a saint in his marriage with Dorothea but what was playing on his mind was why she was wearing the damn things around her neck? His ex-wife certainly wasn’t carrying their rings around with her much less dangling them from her neck; he couldn’t even be sure when the last time was that he’d seen either of them. He’d always thought there was far too much bullshit surrounding the whole wedding ring thing, after all they didn’t stand for much now, not to him anyway. With just a hint of bitterness he scooped the rings and the broken chain off the desk and into his hand. He’d see them returned to their rightful owner in due time, if Rachel chose to explain them all the better, if not he wasn’t going to push it - all he could do was ask. The last thing he needed in his life were more complications and from experience he knew wedding rings spelled trouble. 

Trouble with a capital fucking T.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blades of the short grass flicked through Rachel’s toes as she hurried across Jon’s lawn in her flip flops. As soon as the electricians had gotten the power restored she’d called time on the guys working on the property saying an emergency had come up in the office and she needed to leave immediately. To say they had been pissed was an understatement but Rachel was past caring. Every hour that kept her from finding those rings had been torturous, anything could have happened them and it wasn’t as if she could just ring Jon up and ask about them.

Hi Jon! Just wondering did you happen to come across my WEDDING rings that I think I may have lost somewhere in your house……possibly up against the wall where you slammed your cock into me so hard I nearly stopped breathing or maybe in your bed where you made me scream for more, multiple times…..or then again perhaps in the shower where we……..

A renewed sense of panic cut through her imaginary phone conversation at the memory of the shower they had shared that morning. Had she been wearing the chain in the shower? She couldn’t remember. Guilt joined panic, the two emotions bouncing against one another in her tired brain each clamouring for attention as she recalled that she couldn’t even remember at what stage during her time with Jon that she HAD been wearing the chain. The grass underfoot gave way to crunchy gravel as the house loomed tall above her. She hesitated for a moment unsure of herself, the huge front door seeming so imposing and forbidden. Opting for the kitchen doors again she swung to her right, her heart pounding a little faster at the flashback to what had happened up against a wall in that particular room not twenty four hours ago.

Get a grip Rachel – FOCUS!

Dropping her head she marched determinedly around the side of the mansion, keeping her eyes firmly focused on the ground ahead of her lest any temptation to glance into any of the tall windows that were evenly spaced along the exterior walls. Just as she was thinking she more than likely resembled a stalker anyway considering she was scurrying around a rock star’s property uninvited, music filtered around the corner where the French doors of the kitchen stood wide open just as they had the previous evening. Relief that the man in question was home washed over her, in her haste she hadn’t even thought to wonder what she might do if Jon hadn’t been home.

Tapping lightly on the glass, she stepped through the doors and into the now somewhat familiar kitchen. Classical music of sorts was emanating from the corner sound system but there was nobody in sight as she took in the spotlessly clean counter tops and the freshly washed floor.

“Hello? ......... Jon?”

Calling out Rachel hesitantly walked further into the room, the rubber soles of her flip flops squeaking on the clean tiles. When there was no response she stole a quick glance to the floor on her right, her cheeks heating at the sight of the wall where she still couldn’t believe that she had writhed mercilessly against Jon just the previous evening. Mercifully there was no sign of anything untoward that may have hinted at their rendezvous but there was also no sign of her necklace.

What now?

Turning to her left she scanned the counter tops and various cubby holes for her rings lest Jon might have already found them and worked her way around the island counter towards the oven where Jon had served up that delicious lasagne. Frustration rippled through her mind at the meticulously cleaned areas, she was going to have to search further afield……..

“Can I help you?”

A voice from the door leading off to the hallway spun Rachel on her heels in fright to stare at an elderly woman looking disapprovingly at her with her arms folded. Flustered she struggled to get the words out to explain her presence.

“Um…..Hi! I’m ………Rachel…… from across the road?”

Realising the woman was about two seconds away from calling the cops, Rachel tried to hastily explain the situation a little better.

“I’m a friend of Jon’s…………I called out but got no answer?”

She raised her hands in desperation not knowing what else to say, “Is he here?”

Just as the woman was about to speak, Jon materialised from behind her, his hands settling reassuringly on the older woman's shoulders.

“It’s okay Alice, thanks.”

Rachel breathed out a huge sigh of relief, her panic stricken face relaxing into a smile as Jon advanced towards her.

“Hey……..”

“Hey baby.” Blue eyes twinkled at her before he turned back to his housekeeper. “Alice meet Rachel Braden, she’s moved into that foreclosed place across the road.”

Alice eyed Rachel warily before raising a hand to acknowledge her. Without so much as a word she nodded at Jon and turned back the way she had come, muttering something under her breath. When she was gone Jon chuckled as he faced back to Rachel.

“Alice is my over-protective housekeeper; she’s actually a great lady when you get to know her!”

Blushing Rachel smiled guiltily at him, her heart still beating a steady crescendo in her head.

“My fault, I think I scared her a little. I shouldn’t have been sneaking around…….”

“Sneaking huh?”

“Well not exactly, I was looking for you……”

Chortling Jon rounded in on her, his breath warm against her face as his lips brushed hers.

“Came back for more huh?”

“No!” A little more abrupt than she intended Rachel took a step back from him, the pit of her stomach lurching when she caught sight of the brief look of hurt on his face. “I mean………..I left something behind last night……..”

Jon was silent for a moment while he studied her. His eyes no longer sparkled at her as he spoke in a gruff voice. “Oh yeah? What was that?”

Rachel swallowed hard, no matter how many times she had rehearsed this in her head she just knew it was going to come out all wrong no matter what. Her reply was barely more than a whisper.

“My necklace……..have you seen it?”

Jon dug his hand in a pocket and extracted the gold chain dangling from his fingers, the two broken ends clearly visible. Rachel gasped when she saw it, the rings nowhere to be seen until he opened his fist to produce the pair of gold bands that she had been so worried about.

“Oh thank goodness!”

She leaned toward him to take the jewellery from his extended hand, tears of relief pricking at her eyes when they rolled safely into the palm of her hand. She would never have forgiven herself if something had happened to them.

Arms now folded, Jon leaned back against the kitchen island, his face expectant with arched brows.

“Rachel, is there anything you need to tell me?”