by Marta Perry
“Easy. Don’t forget you took in a lot more smoke than the rest of us.” Nick held her hands in a warm, reassuring clasp. “If you’ll concentrate on breathing, I’ll tell you everything. Without interruptions, please.”
She nodded. It wasn’t as if she had a choice.
“The building is fine, thanks to getting the alarm out so quickly. Only damage was to the attic, and the carpenters will start repairs as soon as the police and fire inspector clear it. Tommy is under arrest, and he’s been moved to the county lockup. So far he’s withstood the questioning, and his father has hired the best attorney money can buy.”
Allison moved slightly, wanting to speak, but a frown kept her silent.
“T.J.’s another story, though. As soon as he found out about his father and the pills, he was only too willing to talk. It turns out he was the one who tried to run you off the road and tampered with the circuit box.” A shadow crossed his face. “Poor kid. He doesn’t have any doubt that his father was responsible for his mother’s death. Says he thought that all along. Mac says he came up with a lot of details that made sense once you know what was behind it all.”
She didn’t like T.J.’s influence on Krysta, but she couldn’t help pitying him. Considering his parents, he could be a lot worse off.
“And then there’s the forensic evidence. Thanks to you for saving the pill bottle, the DA has lots of lovely evidence as to how the pills were tampered with, to say nothing of Tommy’s fingerprints all over the vial and one clear set of Ralph’s, probably where he picked it up initially.”
He held her hand between both of his, and she realized that the bandaging had been reduced to a more basic level.
“So you don’t need to start worrying that it’s you against the world. It’s not. You’re not alone in this or anything else.”
Allison blinked, trying to hold back tears, but one slipped away and rolled down her cheek. Nick’s face worked at the sight. He wiped the tear away with one finger.
“I thought I’d lost you.” His voice thickened. “When I found you there on the floor in all that smoke and fire, I thought you were gone.”
“I’m pretty hard to get rid of,” she murmured. Was he really saying what she thought he was?
He lifted her hand to his lips. “You were right. I knew it already, but I couldn’t seem to admit it. All those excuses I kept putting up about protecting Jamie—I was protecting myself, too. Afraid to risk loving for fear I’d get hurt. How did you know?”
“Because I was doing the same thing. Afraid to get hurt. Afraid of hurting someone else.” She stopped for breath. “Nearly getting killed seems to be a great method for taking a serious look at yourself. I don’t want to live that way. I want a real life, with someone I love who loves me back.”
She couldn’t say more. She could only look at him and hope he knew what she was saying. Are you that someone?
“It’s a good thing you feel that way.” His lips moved against her skin. “Because I love you, Allison Standish.”
Her smile trembled. “I love you.” Three simple words, but they carried a wealth of promise.
All of her concerns about the future, about her career, slid away. Who was to say she couldn’t build a satisfying interiors business right here? With the building to manage, and the shop to help run, and the prospect of a family of her own, a small business would be just fine.
Nick bent over the bed carefully, obviously not able to prop himself on his hands any more than she could sit up to meet him. They’d barely managed to get their lips together when there was a knock on the door, immediately followed by the eruption of a small boy hurling himself toward Allison.
“Easy, son.” Nick grabbed him, wincing. “No jumping on Allison right now.”
Ellen, following her grandson, took him by the shoulders, giving Nick a worried glance. “Be careful of your hands, Nick.”
“I won’t jump, I promise.” Jamie’s eyes were solemn. “But I have to kiss her good-night. You need a good-night kiss when you sleep in a new place.”
“My sentiments exactly,” Nick said, his lips twitching. “Okay.” He boosted Jamie up to sit on the edge of the bed.
“You’ll be okay, won’t you?” Jamie stared into Allison’s eyes. “Grammy says you will.”
“I’ll be fine,” Allison assured him.
“She’ll be out of here tomorrow,” Nick said. “Her mom and dad will be here then to take care of her.”
“What?” She stared at him. “Who called them? I was going to tell them about it myself so they wouldn’t worry.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, that ship has sailed. Mac figured they had to know before it hit the television news, so I called them. Now, don’t get all excited. I talked to your dad, and he said he’d break the news to your mom, but they’d both have to see you before they were satisfied. So they’re taking the first flight tomorrow.” He hesitated. “Come on, admit it. You want to see them.”
“And we want to meet them,” Ellen added. “After all, we should be getting acquainted, shouldn’t we?”
Allison looked at Nick, who shrugged. “I didn’t say anything. Mom, do you think you could let me handle that part myself? We could use a little time.”
She knew what he was saying—that Jamie had to be given time to get used to the idea; that they all had to figure out how they were going to fit together. But even while she was telling herself that, Jamie was snuggling up against her as if he’d been there all his life, and she hugged him close.
“Maybe not too much time,” she murmured. Her fingers found the bed control, and she pressed it so that she and Jamie tilted upward. “Jamie is right,” she said, looking into Nick’s eyes. “I need a good-night kiss.”
And since it seemed family was going to be such a big part of their lives, maybe it was appropriate that they were there when he leaned over for a kiss to seal the promise.
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin ebook. Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781460380444
Where Secrets Sleep
Copyright © 2015 by Martha Johnson
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
-o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share