The Real Werewives of Vampire County - By Alexandra Ivy Page 0,72

makeup was flawless but understated.

“I’m sorry if this is a bad time... .” The woman, who was still standing on the front porch peered in at me. “... but I saw Samantha and Lindsay—”

“No, of course it’s not a bad time.” Jon motioned her inside. “This is Christine. Christine, this is Erica Ross. She lives next door—on the other side.” He motioned toward the opposite side of our home.

“Good to meet you,” I said.

“Welcome to the neighborhood,” Erica said, shaking my hand. She produced a card. “If you need anything, feel free to call. I work quite a bit, but my husband’s home with the kids during the day. Adam’s pretty handy—unlike Jon here.” Erica and Jon exchanged a smile.

“That’s true,” Jon admitted. “I won’t even try to argue with that. Which is why I have a list of trusted contractors on file.”

Erica continued, “Michelle used to call Adam whenever she had a minor emergency. Plugged sink, that kind of thing. He doesn’t mind at all. Gives him something to do.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I put the card in my pocket.

“Thank you,” Jon echoed, looking like he might shove the woman out if she didn’t leave on her own.

“I can’t stay,” Erica said, turning toward the exit. “I’m on my way to meet a client. But I didn’t want to go without at least saying hello.”

“That was very thoughtful. Thanks.” I gave her a wave as she hurried out the door.

Jon closed and locked the door behind her. “Okay, now that’s enough of the neighbors. I don’t give a damn if the mayor rings my doorbell to give you the keys to the city. I’m not answering. We’re going to our room.” He grabbed my hand and took the stairs two at a time. “I’m going to have sex with you if it kills me.”

Kills him? I wasn’t sure how to respond to that statement.

The truth of the matter was, the moment was over. Between worrying about being interrupted again, and curiosity about the wife Jon hadn’t talked about before today, I was more interested in getting back to the discussion we’d started before Erica’s entry.

Once we were inside the bedroom, Jon, true to form, went for my neck.

I held him off with outstretched hands. “Hang on, there, Dracula. I want to talk about Michelle first. How did she die?”

CHAPTER 2

“Okay,” Jon said, sitting on the bed. What do you want toto know about my first wife?”

Standing next to the door, I said, “Well, how she died, for starters.”

Jon nodded. Looking solemn, he patted the bed, inviting me to sit beside him. I did. “Michelle had a lot of issues. Emotional problems. Not many people knew. Not her friends. Not her parents. Not even Josh. Only her doctors and me. It started almost immediately after we were married. She seemed happy for a little while, maybe six months or so, but then my crazy work schedule got to her. She became lonely. Depressed. I suggested we start trying to have a child, and her mood picked up again.” His smile was wistful, sweet. “I thought we were going to be okay. But when she didn’t get pregnant right away, her depression came back. And it was worse. I suggested we give up, think about adopting to take the pressure off. She insisted we keep trying. So we saw a specialist. Had some tests run. Turns out she had some kind of hormonal imbalance. She was given some pills and a few months later, she was pregnant.”

He hadn’t gotten to the part about her dying, but I was willing to be patient. This was, by far, the most words I’d heard Jon speak consecutively since meeting him. He wasn’t the chit-chatty kind.

“After Joshua came home, things were good. Perfect. She was busy. Happy. She poured her energy into taking care of our son. She volunteered at his school. She made cupcakes for his bake sales. She helped him with his homework and hauled him to soccer practice and baseball games. Her world revolved around our boy for ten years. She was a wonderful mother. A wonderful wife. But when he started to become more independent—as is normal for boys that age—she told me she was ready to have another child. And I was glad to try for another, especially if it meant she’d be happy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so easy. She took hormone treatments. But they didn’t help. We even tried IVF. Nothing worked. One day, two years ago, I came home from