“
Yeah, I guess so. So what happened after? Did you take her out?”
“I had her get all her stuff and then took her to my house.”
TJ’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.
“I had to give her a place to stay, man.
She’s been living off sugar packets and Top Ramen. What else was I supposed to do? Leave her there to be some dickwad’s punching bag?”
“No, you did the right thing. Where is she now?”
“She’s still at my place.” She was probably still in his bed right now. Or in his shower. Aw, man. That made him have thoughts he shouldn’t be having.
He shook the thoughts away and focused on TJ.
“I had to get out of the house and blow off some steam or else I’m afraid I’ll go back over there to that fleabag motel and finish the guy off.”
“Whoa.” TJ stood up.
“Believe me, Con, you don’t want to do that.”
“I’m trying not to.
” But if he ever saw anyone lay a hand on Sarah like that again, he couldn’t make any promises.
TJ relaxed again.
“Good.”
“
Hey,” Nathan defended. “You’d want to too if you saw the way that guy had a grip on her.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid, okay
, Con? You’ve got too much at stake to piss it all away because of some douchebag. I mean, you got the girl, didn’t you?”
Yeah,
Nathan had rescued the girl. Then he’d skipped out on her and left her with Kayla, but he certainly had her attention.
Now, he just needed to figure out what to do next without s
crewing it all up.
Chapter Fourteen
Kayla
Sarah woke up
disoriented with no idea where she was. It was morning, or at least she thought it was. Heavy drapes over the windows blocked out any sunlight. A crack in the door from an adjacent room—it must have been the bathroom—let in a sliver of light.
Slowly, s
he lifted her head from the plush pillow, looked around and suddenly it all came back to her. Nathan had rescued her from that horrible man Skeet and brought her to his beautiful house. He’d cooked dinner for her, given her a place to sleep and now she was in his giant bed.
Shaking her head,
Sarah smiled to herself. She must have fallen into one of Felicity Johns’ novel. It was the only explanation. She had yet to encounter a single kind man in her life much less one who did kind things in succession like Nathan did. And yet here she was.
So this was
Nathan’s bedroom. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she looked around the room. Besides the bed, a dresser and chair were the only pieces of furniture in the room. There was no art on the walls, no photos on the dresser, no personal effects. It was so dark, it was more like a cave than a bedroom.
S
arah lovingly ran her hand over the soft beige sheets. How amazing to sleep on such luxury every night! She wiggled her toes and stretched the sleep out of her bones.
Besides the recurring nightmare that plagued her every night, last night was probably the best night’s sleep she’d ever had. In a matter of days, Sarah had gone from the floor of Dwight’s bedroom to a squeaky bed at the Half Moon to this fit for a king king-sized bed.
Then the reality set in. This was
Nathan’s
bed. This was where he slept, cradled by the same mattress night after night. He rested his head on this very same pillow.
A loud growl came from her stomach. Even after the huge meal Nathan had cooked for her, she still felt hungry. It was a wonder she could even
think
about food after last night’s meal.
She sighed,
got out of the grand bed and looked for her stuff. Someone had propped her backpack up against the wall. She bent down to take stock of her belongings. Everything was there, her clothes, the dwindling wad of cash, even the shopping bag of instant noodles.
She unzipped the side pocket of her backpack where she’d hastily tucked the money Skeet had stolen.
Four lousy bucks. The harsh reality of her financial situation hit her like a slap to the face.
Dang it.
She’d gone and spent money on clothes and books when she should have been scrimping and saving for an apartment. Oh well. It didn’t matter. If she would have saved that money, it would have been that much more Skeet would have taken from her anyway.
T
hat money had been stolen from Dwight in the first place, she reminded herself. Eventually she’d get her own apartment, it just might take a little longer than originally planned.
There was
no room for regrets in her new life. She needed clothes for work so the girls in the salon didn’t think she was a hobo. And spending a dollar on paperback novels was a heck of a lot cheaper than going to the movies or a hockey game like most people in Red Valley did. She’d heard Peach talking about how seats up against the glass were three hundred dollars apiece. Three hundred dollars! That was highway robbery. Sarah would have to shampoo, cut and style every head in August County to be able to afford housing, utilities and extra money for entertainment like that.
She swallowed and reminded herself she wasn’t completely broke.
There was still a few hundred dollars in her purse to get her by until payday. It would be enough to secure another motel room at least.
Absently, she reached for the pendant around her neck.
Her fingers came away empty because it wasn’t there. She looked in her backpack and in all her pockets before remembering it was gone. Skeet had ripped it from her neck and crushed it with his filthy hands. Hadn’t Nathan given it back to her? It must have fallen in her haste to leave the motel.
Sarah imagined it lying on the dirty carpet of the motel and tears burned behind her eyes. It hurt to imagine something so beautiful, given to her by someone so kind, bent and broken and left behind.
There was nothing she could do about it now.
S
arah stood up and started to make the bed. After pulling the sheet and comforter up over the pillow, she went around the bed to make the other side. Once there, she tripped over her shoes and banged her elbow into the wall. “
Ouch
!” she hissed through her teeth and rubbed her elbow.
T
here was a knock at the door a few seconds later. Sarah froze and her eyes darted around the room looking for an alternate exit. Then she stopped herself. She was being ridiculous. It was probably just Nathan wondering what all the commotion was.
“Sarah?” a female voice called from the other side of the door.
A woman? Oh no. Did Nathan have a wife Sarah didn’t know about? She’d probably displaced both of them from their bed last night. Wait, Nathan had a
wife
? He did mention he had a nephew, why couldn’t he have a wife, too?
Because
, she berated herself, he hadn’t quite given off the married guy type of vibe.
S
arah thought about the way he’d comforted her last night. How he’d carried her into the house tucked in so close to his body. How he’d touched her hand and rubbed her back in the bathroom at the salon…
If Nathan did have a significant other, Sarah wasn’t going to find out for sure standing here like a coward.
Slowly, she went to the door and opened it, not entirely sure what or
who
she’d find on the other side.
“Good morning!” A tall woman greeted
with cheery enthusiasm.
Sarah almost jumped backward she was so startled.
“You must be Sarah!” the woman exclaimed. A pair of gray eyes looked at Sarah from under blunt auburn bangs. “I thought I heard you up and around.”
S
arah blinked and tried to clear her head. This must be Nathan’s wife. Or girlfriend. She didn’t know he had one but here she was in the flesh. Looking tall, fresh-faced and friendly despite the early hour.
So
, Nathan Connors had a beautiful wife slash girlfriend, a presumably adorable nephew, an incredible house and a prestigious career. Sarah was happy for him. Anyone who would do what he had done for her deserved a wonderful life with a wonderful woman and a wonderful nephew to share it with.
Now if only Sarah could sneak back into the room, grab her paltry belongings and get the heck out of there, she could get on with her pitiful excuse for a life.
The woman narrowed her eyes at Sarah and pursed her lips. She had the kind of beautiful hair color that didn’t come from a bottle.
“Nathan didn’t tell you about me, did he?”
she asked, folding her arms over her chest.
“Uh, no
, he didn’t,” Sarah answered.
“Sheesh.
Let me apologize on behalf of my idiot brother. I’m Kayla, Nathan’s sister.”
Kayla
thrust her hand out and Sarah shook it and let out a sigh of relief. That explained so much. That explained why Robbie wasn’t Nathan’s son and why Kayla had Nathan’s eyes. And why, all the while Sarah had known Nathan, he’d always acted like he was single.
“
It’s nice to meet you, Kayla,” Sarah said, meaning every word.
“
You too, Sarah. Did you sleep all right?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Nathan had an appointment this morning but he’ll be back later to give you a ride to work. He also wanted me to tell you to feel free to take a shower
and
that your leftovers from last night are in the fridge.”
“Oh, okay.” Sarah blinked again and marveled at the differences between Nathan and his sister. Kayla was definitely the talkative one in the Connors family.
Kayla blew her bangs out of her face. “I can’t believe Nathan didn’t mention me,” she said with a shake of her head. “Well, you probably want to take a shower and get ready for the day and all that good stuff.”
Kayla
breezed past Sarah and swung open the door to the adjoining master bath. A little boy ran after her and shied away when he caught sight of Sarah. He clung to Kayla’s leg as she opened and closed cabinets. She found what she was looking for and pulled out a stack of fluffy white towels and set them on the counter. “Here are some extra towels. Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes, thank you. I
have all my stuff with me.”
The little boy locked eyes with Sarah. He looked a bit like Nathan except his coloring was darker and he had dark brown eyes.
“Okay, well you have towels and…” Kayla looked around the room. “How ‘bout a toothbrush? Do you need a toothbrush?”
“No,” Sarah answered, her gaze
still on the little boy. “I have one.”
“Good. I’ll
just put on some coffee and meet you in the kitchen.”
“Thank you.”
“Cool. We’ll just get out of your way then.” Kayla finally noticed what had captured Sarah’s attention and let out a little laugh. “Oh, Sarah, this is my son, Robbie.” She patted the little boy’s head and his eyes never left Sarah’s.
“Nice to meet you, Robbie
,” Sarah said politely.
“Robbie, this is Sarah
,” Kayla explained. “She’s a friend of Nathan’s.”
“
Thun!” Robbie yelled and took off out of the room in a blur of brown hair and little flailing arms and legs.
The
two women stood smiling after him.
“
I wish I woke up with
half
the amount of energy as he does every morning,” Kayla said on a sigh. “Well, let me know if you need anything else, okay? Anything at all,” she said before slipping out the door.
“Thank you, I will.”
So, that was Nathan’s family. Kayla seemed super friendly and Robbie was as adorable as she had imagined. Was there anything about Nathan that
wasn’t
storybook perfect?
Sarah
sighed and went to her backpack to pull an outfit from inside. The clothes were slightly wrinkled but clean.
Nathan’s bathroom was the size of Sarah’s entire room at the
Half Moon Motel. Oh, and the shower! The tile was so clean and shiny, the glare made her blink. Light reflected off nearly every surface. The porcelain of the double sinks, the chrome faucets, the mirror.
She
ran her hand over the neatly folded towels on the counter and looked at her reflection in the giant beveled mirror. Against her pale skin, dark circles from restless nights stood out under her eyes. Set in her hollowed face, her blue eyes looked almost too big for her face. Thanks to Miri, at least her hair was stylish and vibrant.
Sarah vowed to get more sun and put on a few pounds to become a healthy weight.
It sure would be nice not to be able to count her ribs. As soon as payday rolled around, she would start putting aside more money for food so she could build up her strength. She was making good money at Peach’s, much more than she originally thought she would, so she could afford to take better care of herself.
S
arah had come a long way and yet she still had a long way to go. People made mistakes all the time and she was still learning how things worked out in the real world. This was just a stop along the way to wherever she was meant to end up. She didn’t know if luck or fate was responsible for her meeting Nathan. Whatever it was, she was grateful for it.