Free Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs 1: The Never Hero by T. Ellery Hodges Page A

choosing to take it as it came. Jonathan was not a good judge of age but she had to be in her early twenties. Her hair was a dark auburn and long, down past her shoulders. She had on jeans and a white tank top, and what looked to be an expensive camera hanging from a strap around her neck. As she made her way over to him he tried not to be so transparently distracted by the way she walked. His mind had gone blank in an effort to focus his eyes in appropriate places.
    She was too pretty to just be in his house like this. It made him nervous; not nervous like when he thought about being followed by an inhumanly strong blond man, but the good kind of nervous, the kind that made him worry he was about to say something stupid, the kind that made him worry he might be on the verge of blushing and she would know his thoughts.
    “Make a new friend, Jack?” the woman said.
    The little boy nodded.
    When she reached Jonathan she put her hand out, close enough now he could see the blue of her eyes.
    “I’m Leah. We’re neighbors,” she said.
    Jonathan took her hand, he was about to respond, but before he knew what was happening she drew in close to him. He tensed excitedly as she was suddenly whispering in his ear, “Hayden promised you wouldn’t be creepy.”
    When she pulled back, she smiled. Thoughts crashed through Jonathan’s head as he tried to decipher the meaning of what she had said. Had he been leering at her?
    “Um. Hi, Jonathan,” he said, stuttering a bit. “I meant, I’m Jonathan, and yes, I mean no, I’m not. Creepy that is.”
    She was still smiling at him, and he realized she was playing with him.
    He cleared his throat. “Did Hayden say why he left in such a hurry?”
    “Not really. He promised that he’d be gone for less than an hour and that he needed someone to stay here with his roommate while he was out.”
    Jonathan looked at her like it still didn’t add up.
    “So how do you know Hayden?” Jonathan asked.
    “I don’t actually. I just moved in next door a few days ago. Jack and I were out in the front yard. I was taking some pictures of this interesting little nook we share. Your garden is beautiful, by the way. Anyway, when Hayden came out of the house, he said there was an emergency and that he needed someone to watch his roommate until he got back.”
    Leah looked at Jonathan with a curious tilt of her head.
    “I realize now he was playing the vague pronoun game because I thought for sure he meant the girl I’ve seen coming and going.”
    Jonathan was embarrassed now, and he felt it showing on his face. This was bad nervous, and if he ever needed a reason to get over his fears, he’d found it. For a moment, he worried he might have to explain why a grown man would be afraid to be alone in his own house. Or worse, he wondered if Hayden had left out the part where she might be acting as a temporary deterrent to Jonathan’s would be attacker.
    “Well played on his part,” Leah said. “But hey, I’m new to the city, so I guess this is one way to meet people.”
    Jonathan had to wonder what had gotten Hayden so desperate to find him a baby sitter that he tricked their neighbor into it. It must have been pretty serious, especially if he had continued with it once he’d noticed how stunningly attractive she was.
    He looked up and realized Leah was still looking at him with that curiosity she had before. She looked like she was struggling within herself to ask a question, then finally decided to take the chance that it might be taken as rude.
    “So, what’s the story then? Seems a little odd that you need someone to watch you,” she said, quickly adding, “I understand if it’s none of my business.”
    Jonathan, still embarrassed, looked down at the floor. Pleading the fifth was tempting. There really wasn’t any good way to spin the truth, no way he wouldn’t come off looking fragile at the least. He decided to just be vague, it had worked for Hayden, and it was better than telling