Читать книгу A Christmas Miracle - Amy Andrews - Страница 14

CHAPTER FOUR

TRINITY BLINKED. IT WAS all she was capable of. She couldn’t move or think or talk. Had she had a stroke? Or slipped down the rabbit hole to an alternate reality?

Had he drugged her?

‘Wh...what?’

Okay. Good. She could talk...or croak anyway.

‘Look, it’s really simple, Trinity.’ He scoffed the rest of the sandwich and wiped the crumbs off his hands by brushing them down the front of his shirt. Her gaze followed helplessly as the shirt moved interestingly against hidden muscles.

‘You’re homeless and I have a home.’

‘But...’ She shook her head, trying to wrap her head around such an outlandish proposal. ‘You don’t even know me.’

‘No, I don’t. But I do know you came to the aid of an old man today when you could have easily not got involved. And that tells me a lot.’

‘I told you I didn’t want anything for that.’ Stubborn bloody man.

‘I know. Which also tells me a lot. Look—’ He held up his hands as she opened her mouth to protest and Trinity closed it again. ‘I don’t know what your situation is exactly but I do understand homelessness. I work with a lot of veterans who are going through the same thing. I think you’re doing it tough and I’d like to give you a roof over your head while you get back on your feet. There are eight bedrooms in this house. I couldn’t live with myself knowing you’re out there in your car when we have plenty of space here.’

Eight bedrooms? Trinity didn’t think this could get any more fantasy-like. She was sure she was going to wake up any minute in her crappy Mazda with her back bitching at her. Things like this just did not happen to her. And she’d learned to be suspicious of good fortune.

If something seemed too good to be true, it usually was too good to be true.

‘Isn’t this Eddie’s home? Should you just be inviting total strangers to come and live in it without talking to him about it first?’

‘Pops will be cool with it, trust me. Just think about it, Trinity. If you won’t do it for yourself, you should do it for Oscar.’

A trickle of fear oozed down her spine. What did that mean? Was it a threat? Would he report her to child services if she left? Every muscle tensed as her instinct to run took over. How dared he spend five minutes in her world and lord it over her about her son.

Despite her anger, his words struck at the very heart of her. He was offering them something she couldn’t. It rankled but could she afford her pride? Pride had walked her out of Todd’s door but her options were even crappier now. At least she had a working car yesterday.

She’d spent the last of their money on brand-new school uniforms and books because she hadn’t wanted Oscar to look like the poor kid on his first day—she’d been there and kids could be cruel. She hadn’t bargained on being turfed out of their accommodation. Or on the car breaking down.

She eyed him as he took another mouthful of his beer. ‘I’m not going to sleep with you.’

She said it as much for herself as for him.

He half choked as he struggled to swallow the beer, coughing and spluttering before placing the bottle on the bench. ‘What?’

‘The last guy who offered me a roof over my head felt that there should be some kind of arrangement attached.’

‘I am not the last guy.’ His voice was low and tight, his knuckles white around the beer bottle. ‘I’m not that kind of guy at all. Frankly I find the idea of bribing a homeless, single mother into my bed completely abhorrent. I’m sorry that there are douchebags like that out there but that is not me.’

His quick, angry admonishment of the Todds of the world was just about the sexiest thing Trinity had ever heard and it did funny things to her pulse.

‘There is absolutely no agenda here. It’s a no-strings-attached deal.’

Trinity couldn’t believe it was that easy. ‘You must want something in return?’

He shrugged, the whiteness of his knuckles dissipating, the tension in his shoulders melting away. ‘I can’t deny having a presence in the house for Pops when I’m not here would be advantageous.’

Trinity frowned. ‘So you want me to look out for him. Or like...be his carer?’ She needed to get a job while Oscar was at school; she wouldn’t have time to babysit. ‘I don’t have any qualifications.’

‘No, I don’t mean anything like that,’ he assured her. ‘Although if you’ve raised a kid then you’re probably more than qualified to deal with a slightly forgetful, sometimes naughty, definitely cheeky eighty-year-old.’

Trinity laughed then stopped, surprised by the sound in the midst of such a serious conversation. Surprised she could even laugh at all in her predicament. But Reid’s description of Eddie was so damn apt.

‘I know you’re finding this all a little too good to be true and you’re probably not used to relying on anyone but sometimes good things do happen to good people, Trinity. Maybe it’s time you allowed somebody to help you. Aren’t you tired of constantly worrying about how you’re going to make ends meet?’

Trinity was so damn tired. The fact he knew that made her want to burst into tears. But damned if she was going there again. She hadn’t survived this long by crying at every hurdle life had thrown her.

‘Trust me.’ He smiled, wiggling his eyebrows dramatically. ‘I’m a doctor.’

His smile wove its way around her ovaries and squeezed. But he had put her dilemma front and centre again. He was a doctor. ‘What if I say no?’

He gave a half-laugh. ‘It’s a free world. I’m not going to force you to live all safe and sound in this beautiful house, Trinity.’ He smiled the kind of smile that told her she’d be nuts to turn this down.

But that wasn’t what she was asking.

‘And there won’t be any...repercussions?’

‘Repercussions?’ He frowned.

She decided to put her worst fear out there. She didn’t want to be looking over her shoulder all the time. Living life looking forward was hard enough. If he was going to dob her in, she’d appreciate a heads-up.

‘You’re a doctor,’ she said, stripping her voice of any emotion that might betray how desperately worried she was. ‘It’s your mandatory duty to report incidences of child abuse and neglect to the relevant authorities.’

The light slowly dawned in his eyes. He shook his head slowly, his gaze seeking hers and holding it again. ‘You don’t need to worry about that. I see no evidence of abuse or neglect.’

Trinity blinked back a spurt of unexpected tears at his quiet conviction. For God’s sake—what the hell was with wanting to cry every ten seconds around the man? ‘I can’t even give him a roof over his head,’ she whispered.

‘You can now.’

Yes. Maybe. Not her roof but a roof nonetheless. If she had the courage to take a risk.

‘Say yes, Trinity. Stay here with me and Pops. For as long as you like. Get back on your feet.’

Her brain turned his proposition over and over. On the surface it was a dream come true. She could have a base. A permanent base she could depend on. A chance to forget about her troubles and worries and save some money. Actually make plans for the future. Get back on her feet as he’d said.

But then there was the attraction she felt for Reid. That could complicate the hell out of things. It could potentially screw everything up. If she let it.

If she indulged it.

Which was stupid and fanciful. Why would someone like Reid be remotely interested in her?

Oscar chose that moment to wander into the kitchen, carrying an uncomplaining Ginger, who almost dwarfed him, the top half of her body clutched to his chest, the bottom half dangling down.

‘Mummy, Ginger purrs so loudly,’ he said, beaming at her.

A huge lump lodged in Trinity’s throat as Oscar sidled up to her. He leaned his skinny frame against her thigh and rubbed his face on top of Ginger’s head.

‘Okay,’ she said quietly, glancing at Reid. Even just saying the word felt good. As if all the weight had magically disappeared from her shoulders. For now anyway. ‘Just for a short while though.’

Christmas was a couple of months away—being in her own place by then seemed like a worthy goal.

He nodded. ‘Stay as long as you need.’

* * *

If Reid thought he was going to see a different side to Trinity once she’d agreed to his offer, he was wrong. She might have said yes but it was probably the most reluctant yes on record and she was clearly still not comfortable with the deal.

At dinner she’d tried to talk to him about making a monetary contribution towards their food and board, which he’d dismissed outright, and then she’d tried to make a bargain with him about taking over the cooking from now on so she was at least doing something to contribute. But Reid had shooed her out of the kitchen.

After years of army rations he enjoyed eating home-made meals and found cooking therapeutic. He’d told her she could sit and watch with a glass of wine if she wanted but she’d declined politely, a pleasant smile fixed to her face.

Which had been pretty much par for the course today. She’d been polite and pleasant all day but there was a coolness to it, a reserve, that kept him at a distance.

As far as he was concerned anyway.

It melted away with Oscar. Hell, even with his grandfather she was more at ease. But with him, she was cool and polite.

Not that it surprised him. He didn’t know how long Trinity had been doing it tough but long enough to have built a shell of wariness around her. And he knew that time was the only antidote. It was obviously going to take her a while to trust him. She needed time to get to know him. To believe that he meant what he said. No funny business. No strings.

I’m not going to sleep with you.

It had been shocking to hear her say it. To realise that a part of her actually believed he had an ulterior motive for inviting her into his home. A sexual one. It’d made him so angry he’d wanted to smash the kitchen bench top in two.

He didn’t know who the guy was that had put the hard word on her but it disgusted Reid. He felt insulted on behalf of his entire gender that there were douchebags like that out in the world harassing vulnerable women.

They gave men a bad name.

The thought that he’d take advantage of her situation was sickening. Sure, Trinity had fight and spunk, two attributes he found sexier than a great rack or an awesome booty. But he could see beyond her prickly, standoffish, tough-as-nails exterior to the frightened, vulnerable woman underneath and all he really wanted to do was protect her.

It was what he’d done most of his life and he couldn’t switch that off because he no longer wore a set of khakis. There’d been so many women and children he hadn’t been able to help, but he could protect Trinity and Oscar.

* * *

He went in search of her after dinner. She’d told him she was going to put Oscar to bed and he’d assumed she’d come back down and sit with him and Pops for a while—if only out of politeness. But it had been over an hour and she still hadn’t showed.

He was worried she was hiding away and he needed her to know that she and Oscar had the entire run of the house. That she didn’t have to sit up in her room like some frightened little mouse. That they had several televisions in the house plus a range of DVDs or she could use his computer.

He stopped at the room where he’d dumped Oscar’s bag earlier this afternoon but it was empty. In fact it didn’t look as if it had been touched. The door was open. There was no rumpled bedspread. No open cupboard doors. No discarded clothes or shoes.

Reid frowned as he moved to the next room along, which he’d given to Trinity because it had an en-suite. If he hadn’t been very much mistaken, she’d blinked back tears when she saw it and it had made him happy to throw some luxury her way.

The door was shut. If a closed door wasn’t a big old ‘keep out’ message nothing was. He hesitated for a moment, prevaricating about whether to knock. The last thing he wanted was to encroach on her privacy. And maybe she was asleep.

At eight o’clock at night...

The strip of light at the bottom of the door told him the light was at least on. So maybe she was lying awake staring at four walls worrying about things she didn’t have to worry about.

Reid gave himself a mental shake. He was dithering. Reid Hamilton did not dither. He was a surgeon, for crying out loud.

Or used to be anyway.

He knocked gently. Low enough to be heard but hopefully not wake her if she was asleep. There was silence for a moment, then a quiet, ‘Come in,’ that sounded wary and tight even through the barrier of the door.

He opened it to find a sleeping Oscar tucked up in bed beside his mother, his fine white-blond hair and the pale wedge of his cheekbone a contrast to the crimson pillowcase. A mangy-looking stuffed rabbit tucked in with him.

A surge of pride filled his chest knowing that the kid would be sleeping safe from now on. ‘Sorry,’ he whispered.

‘It’s okay,’ she said, her voice low, her hand sliding protectively onto her son’s back. ‘He sleeps like a rock.’

Reid envied the kid that. He slept lightly and dreamed too much.

Trinity was chewing on her bottom lip, regarding him with a solemn gaze. Her hair was wet, or rather it had been. It was half dry now with dozens of dark, fluffy, flyaway strands, which made her look about eighteen and not the thirty he’d originally pegged her as.

Just how old was she?

She was wearing some kind of sloppy V-necked T-shirt that dwarfed her shape and fell off her right shoulder. He noted absently there was a hole in her sleeve as his gaze was drawn to the exposed flesh. Her skin was pale, and the hollow between her collarbone and the slope where neck met shoulder was pronounced.

He loved that dip. Hell, he loved all the dips and hollows on a woman’s body.

Suddenly it was gone as she yanked the sleeve up. Reid blinked at the action and the direction of his thoughts. Bloody hell. What was he thinking? He dragged his gaze back to her face but she wasn’t looking at him; her eyes were planted firmly downwards on a book she’d obviously been reading.

Good one, man.

‘I...just came to check everything’s okay.’

‘It is.’ Cool and pleasant replaced by stiff and formal.

He glanced at Oscar again. ‘You know, you guys don’t have to share the same room. There’s enough for one each.’

‘I know. It’s what we’re used to. We don’t mind.’

Reid nodded. He hoped she’d start to feel comfortable enough to open up to him about her past. To let the apron strings out a little on Oscar.

‘Okay. Well... I also wanted you to know that you don’t have to hide away up here. Pops and I usually watch some television together each night. We have three TVs and subscribe to a couple of streaming services so there’s something for everyone. I also have a stack of DVDs if you’d prefer and you’re more than welcome to use the computer if you want to go online for any reason.’

She’d slowly shrunk back into the bed head as he spoke, clearly overwhelmed. Reid rubbed his forehead. ‘What I’m trying to say is that you have the run of the house. Help yourself to whatever you want, whenever you want. Mi casa es su casa. Okay?’

She nodded. ‘Okay.’

But she didn’t look convinced.