Читать книгу The One Safe Place - Kathleen O'Brien - Страница 2

To his surprise when he strolled onto the porch around ten o’clock, she was standing out there.

She didn’t hear him at first. It probably would have been wiser to turn around and leave her alone. But he wasn’t feeling wise. All evening he’d been feeling edgy, unable to settle in. He felt irrationally as if his life was on the verge of becoming completely different, though he had no idea how.

Maybe it was just the weird feeling of having other people in the house. No one but him had slept here since Melissa died.

He was careful to make enough noise to be sure she’d hear him. Given what she’d been through lately, the last thing he wanted was to startle her.

She turned around. “Hi,” she said, smiling.

“Hi,” he responded casually, but his senses were suddenly reeling. She smelled of soap and some kind of perfume that made him think of pink flowers and springtime. Her hair fell to mid-arm, curving against the tender spot where he’d earlier noticed a large white bandage. The bandage had been a brutal reminder that she wasn’t here for a social visit. She wasn’t even here to be his housekeeper.

She was a wounded, frightened woman. A refugee seeking asylum.

He felt a sudden flash of anger. How could anyone be trying to hurt someone so beautiful?