The Mechanic.

Chapter 16

  Jon stepped into the children's room feeling uncomfortable, confused and very irritated. How did he tell Ella that he wanted to leave? Why was her mother so abrasive towards him? He knew the answer to that one. She thought he was a gold digger. He shook his head.

Rich people.

He saw that Josh was still eating and the housekeeper was beside him, telling him a story about a grasshopper or something closely related.

He frowned. Where was Emma? Hadn't she said she was going to check on Josh? He walked up to the little boy. Josh looked at him and smiled a toothy smile.

"Hey buddy," he said with a small smile. He couldn't help it. Despite his foul mood, Josh's smile was contagious. "Did your mom come in here?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She's watching TV," he said and pointed towards a brown door behind them.

He ruffled the child's hair and went through the door.

The first thing he saw was the television, on which some cartoon was playing. He frowned. She watched cartoons? Adorable.

From where he was standing, he could only see the back of her head which was covered in wild brown curls. Her hair was one the best things about her. It was wild and soft and always smelled like raspberries.

He walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to drop a kiss on her head. She jumped. She had obviously been lost in her world of cartoons and didn't hear him coming.

He smiled as she turned her face up to look at him. The smile froze on his face when he saw that her eyes were a faint red and they were shiny with tears. He rushed to go around the couch and sit next to her.

He cupped her chin in one hand and tried to make her look at him. She avoided making eye contact with him by looking everywhere but at him.

"Sweetheart," he said with a concerned frown, the endearment rolling easily off his tongue. "What's wrong?"

She finally looked up at him. A fresh set of tears started to fall from her eyes and she pressed her eyes together to try and stop it. His heart constricted. It had been obvious at the dinner table that there was animosity between her and Caleb, but he had expected anger and not tears.

She opened her mouth to speak, but only a sob came out. Jon put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest and felt the heavy sobs wracking her lean frame. For the umpteenth time that evening he had the barbaric urge to go out into the den and punch the living daylights out of the son of a bitch.

But he couldn't help wondering what had transpired between them to make her so sad. Another sob escaped her lips and Jon felt physical pain in his chest for her. He buried his face in her hair and rubbed her back in an effort to comfort her.

Just then, Josh burst into the room. "Mommy, I'm done eating," He said cheerfully as he ran into the room to stand in front of the couch.

When he saw that his mother's face was buried in Jon's chest, he stopped and frowned. Then he moved closer and lifted his little hands to pry her face away from his chest. Ella pulled away from Jon and sat up straight.

Josh peered at her with a concerned frown on his small face. "Mommy," He said, bouncing from one foot to another. "Are you crying?"

Ella nodded and pulled her son to her and held him tight. His face scrunched up as he struggled to get of her grasp. "Mommy. I can't breathe," he gasped. Ella loosened her hold on him but didn't let him go.

He tried to look at her face. "Did Uncle Caleb tell you another sad story?"

Jon was taken aback. He wanted to ask what Josh knew about Caleb, but it wasn't the right time nor was it his place. He suddenly felt protective towards the little boy.