Daddy's Gone a Hunting

51

Justin Kramer spent a good part of both Monday and Tuesday thinking about Hannah Connelly.

He had been touched by Kate Connelly’s obvious concern for him when at the closing she had realized that he had been forced to sell the condo because he had lost his job. He had tried even then to assure her that it wasn’t that big a deal. Yes, he had enjoyed living there. No, he didn’t want to live beyond his means. Two thousand monthly maintenance on top of a mortgage payment wasn’t in his budget when he was unemployed.

Giving Kate a bromeliad plant had actually been an afterthought. He had happened to be in the apartment when the real estate agent was showing it to Kate, the prospective buyer. She had admired it and clearly was knowledgeable about plants, and that’s how his housewarming gift came about. He liked Kate.

But when he had gone up to the apartment on Sunday afternoon and met Hannah Connelly, something had happened. Her midnight-blue eyes, framed by long lashes, were enhanced by her ivory complexion and cap of shining dark brown hair. She was wearing running shoes and barely came up to his chest. At five feet ten, Justin had always longed for at least two more inches.

Justin remembered how, when he complained about his height, his father had suggested wryly, “Then stand up straight. There’s nothing like a military carriage to make you look taller.”

He and Hannah had stood together for a moment before they had gone into the kitchen and he had collected the plant. Then, on the way down in the elevator, Justin had been trying to decide if it would be too much to ask Hannah if she’d had lunch yet.

But he had asked her, and she hadn’t had lunch yet, and she did go out with him. And it had been fun. After lunch, Hannah had gone back to the hospital to check on Kate. All day Monday, Justin debated calling her, but decided that he wouldn’t want her to feel crowded. He told himself that watering a plant was not necessarily an open channel to developing the friendship that he very much wanted to develop.

On Tuesday, he had a late-afternoon meeting with a prospective client, a man in his late thirties who had inherited some money and was anxious to invest it properly. After it was over, Justin had elected to walk home from his new office. That decision meant that he would pass by Kate Connelly’s apartment.

As he did, he glanced sideways at the door, half hoping that Hannah might have stopped there again. Instead, he recognized the man who was coming out. He had seen enough pictures of Douglas Connelly in the newspapers in the last few days to be sure that he was right. Justin stopped. “Mr. Connelly,” he said.

Surprised, Douglas Connelly stopped and took Justin’s measure, noting his clean-cut appearance, including the fact that he was well dressed in business attire. Connelly forced a smile.

“Mr. Connelly, I know your daughters. How is Kate doing today?”

“She doing better, thank you. How do you know her?”

Briefly, Justin explained the connection, finishing with, “Then I met Hannah here on Sunday afternoon and picked up the plant I had given to Kate.”

“That was Sunday afternoon?”

“Yes.”

“And you met Hannah here?”

“Yes, sir, I did.”

“She didn’t mention to me that she was here. That explains it,” Connelly said more to himself than to Justin. “Well, nice to meet you.” With a brief nod, he stepped into his car.

It was a Bentley. Justin, a car aficionado, admired the stately vehicle as the driver pulled away from the curb. Then he thought that maybe this would be a good reason to call Hannah, to tell her that he had happened to run into her father.

Standing on the street, he pulled out his cell phone. Her number was already on his contacts list.

She answered on the first ring. When he asked about Kate, she told him about going back to the hospital late Sunday afternoon and then finding that Kate had developed a fever Monday night.

The exhaustion in Hannah’s voice was obvious.

“How is she now?” Justin asked.

“Better. The fever broke this morning. I had to go to work today but I just stopped in and she’s really as good as she can be.”

“I was going to suggest having a quick dinner, but I have a feeling you’re ready to pack it in.”

“Trust me, I am. I never did get to bed last night, but thanks.”

Belatedly, Justin remembered that his excuse for calling Hannah was to tell her that he had run into her father. As he did, he realized that nothing Douglas Connelly had told him suggested that Kate had been in a crisis situation in the hospital.

“You just ran into my father coming out of Kate’s building?” Hannah asked, astonished.

“Yes. In fact he just got into his car.”

“He didn’t tell me that he was planning to go over there, but that’s not important.” Hannah tried to keep the anger out of her voice as she asked herself why her father had gone to Kate’s apartment. It certainly wasn’t because he was worried that some food might spoil, she thought. He was after the jewelry and probably wanted to go through Kate’s desk to find out what he could about her affairs.

It was obvious to Justin that Hannah was distressed by what he had just told her. “Hannah, are you okay?”

It seemed to Hannah that the question was coming from some remote corner of the earth. “Oh, I am,” she said quickly. “Justin, I’m sorry. I was just… surprised. Thanks again for calling.”

Justin Kramer hoped that before she clicked off, Hannah had heard him say, “I’ll give you a call in a day or two.”