Paul frowned down at her.
“Really? And you’d be happy doing that?” There was an odd quiver in his tone and Amy touched her hand to his forearm for just a brief moment.
“You belong here Paul. You’re so much more at ease and the bitterness has all gone. No one fusses over you or butts into your business. David, Patrick and Joe are obviously deliriously happy and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be either. This job is the perfect next step for you. I know that you will make a real difference to the lives of the men and women needing help. I don’t need to evaluate you to see that,” she spoke so softly that Paul had to incline his head towards her. He caught another hint of her delicate perfume.
He cleared his throat before he spoke.
“Thanks Amy. That means a lot and I’m pleased to know that you trust me to do this. I know I can, I have all the relevant experience after all.” He motioned for her to go down the stairs in front of him.
Amy took another glance up at his strong features. It looked as if her words really had meant something. She was going to have to make the most of seeing him here over the next few weeks. She was about to walk down the staircase but the fact that he had relevant experience for the job suddenly hit home forcefully. A crushing feeling gripped her chest as she thought about what he had gone through, what all of them had gone through. She almost reached up to touch his handsome face but held herself back as she spoke.
“Yes, you do have the relevant experience and I hate it that you have, that any of you have, that bastards like Samadi even exist. I wish it could have been different for you,” her voice suddenly broke and she dashed away a tear.
Paul heard her every emotion. Her compassion filled his heart and blossomed through his body. His chest swelled with sensations of his own. He didn’t know where this sudden reaction came from. He had never felt anything like it before. He reached out his hand and caught hold of her shoulder, his fingers threading through wisps of her long hair.
“Don’t feel sad for me Amy,” his tone was so quiet she barely caught his words. “Don’t feel sad for any of us. We know what we’re getting into when we sign up. We train for all eventualities.”
Amy shook herself away from him. She couldn’t stand his tender touch. She wanted more than she could have and she couldn’t bear for him to know it.
“No one signs up to have their eyes burned out Paul. Bombs and bullets I can understand in an odd sort of way. That’s part of war, but no one made it part of the rules to burn out a fellow man’s eyes out for information. That’s not part of the game, and you can’t tell me anyone trained you for living the rest of your life like this. It’s intolerable.” She was outraged even though he could hear the tears in her voice too.
He reached out again and this time he caught hold of both of her shoulders. He gave her a small shake and he felt her silken hair brush across his knuckles.
“Well intolerable it may be, but that’s what it is and being angry about it won’t help me now, so get over it and come and eat breakfast, then we can all get on with this next project and maybe make life a little easier for some other poor sod who doesn’t have such brilliant friends as I have.”
Amy gasped at his fierce tone and gulped back another sob. His strength overwhelmed her. She lifted her hands and took hold of his, removing them from her shoulders but he caught hold of her fingers as her perfume filled his senses and his mind suddenly overflowed with need.
Her anger and passion had aroused him more quickly than he could ever have imagined possible and a sudden burning desire built up in his chest and overflowed. He was about to drag her towards him, to wrap his arms around her and haul her into his chest when there was a sudden stampede of racing feet. They pounded up the stairs and were quickly followed by a savage cry.
“You let him go Amy. You are not taking him away from here. I’ll fight you if you try.” Robbie scrambled up the stairs and began pulling Amy away from Paul.
Paul let her shoulders go and she stepped back quickly as she tried to reassure Robbie.
“I wasn’t taking him away Robbie. I’m not going to do that.”
The little boy looked up at her with fire in his eyes. He put his fists up in front of him as he stood protecting Paul fearlessly.
“You had better not be. I won’t let you Amy. You’re pretty and all that but I’m not falling for that old trick. You might turn into a troll,” his angry voice rang through the château.
Amy raised the back of her hand to her mouth and coughed as she tried not to laugh. She squatted down in front of the boy as Paul held onto his shoulders, holding him back from doing anything he may later regret.
“Robbie, I am not going to take Paul away from here, do you understand? I have to stay here for a few weeks and then I’ll be going home. Alone. Paul will stay here and look after the new château and all the wonderful men and women who need his help. Is that okay?” She waited until the tension left his stance before she stood up again.
Paul let Robbie’s shoulders go as he added,
“And there’s no way that she’s going to turn into a troll either. She would need way more magic in her than she has to do that.”
Robbie frowned deeply still though his little fists were back at his sides.
“Do you promise Amy? A thousand times cross your heart and hope to die if you break it,” his voice had lost none of its steely tone.
Amy stood back up and made an x sign over her heart.
“Cross my heart Robbie. Paul will be here for as long as he wants to stay. Now can we be friends again?”
Robbie gave a tentative smile.
“All right then. I’m glad I don’t have to fight you. I don’t think you would look very pretty with a black eye. Paul would be glad he couldn’t see you then.”
Paul laughed at the boy and reached out a hand to ruffle his hair but Robbie ducked away from him and ran back down the wide staircase. Paul’s hand caught Amy’s arm and he slid his fingers down towards her hand. His long fingers explored the soft skin on the inside of her wrist before his thumb reached her palm.
Amy could scarcely breathe as his fingertips ran gently over her knuckles and then back to her wrist. The sensations were becoming harder to bear. Her whole body began to tingle as she stood there. He ran a fingertip across the tops of her nails and smiled.
“Definitely not a troll. You look after your hands too well. Professional manicure or do it yourself?”
Amy almost choked as she tried to reply.
“Myself. I like nice nails. I don’t use nail varnish but I buff them once a week. Keeps them strong. I hate broken nails.” She pulled her hands away from him again. “Shall we go down?”
Paul nodded and turned towards the staircase again. He was about to take a long step when he suddenly hesitated.
“I forgot what number I reached. How many did I get up to?”
Amy frowned at him.
“I have no idea. You must have been counting in your head. You only need take a step and you are at the top of the stairs.”
Paul gave a quick nod and strode forwards. He was three treads down before he noticed that Amy was not right beside him. He stopped and inclined his head over his shoulder.
“Coming? Patrick’s scrambled eggs with smoked salmon are legendary. I would hate you to miss them.” There was a slight sound on the treads above him as Amy joined him and then they carried on down the stairs together in a comfortable silence.
Chapter Seven
The papers rustled as Jean-Paul frowned over them. He flicked between the unrolled sheets that David placed on the makeshift table in the centre of the dusty hallway, then he pointed his finger at the top drawing.
“This is feasible if you think it will give you the space you need. I will have to adjust a couple of walls if you want two family apartments though. I could do something here and here just by adding a doorway.” He took a thick pencil from behind his ear and drew some lines across the drawings.
David
poured over the amended copy.
“I’m not sure. That doesn’t look how I imagined it would be. Amy, is this what you had in mind when you made your suggestions? It looks more like hotel rooms than apartments on here.”
Amy stopped staring at the rippling muscles in Paul’s shoulders as he worked in the garden lifting armfuls of logs into a wheelbarrow. She stifled a deep sigh as he turned and marched towards a wooden shack at the side of an outbuilding and then tipped the logs onto an already impressive pile. She took a breath and tried to calm the hammering of her heart before she turned towards David while hoping that her hot cheeks wouldn’t give her feelings away.
David raised his eyebrows and grinned knowingly at her as she stepped across the leaf-strewn flooring and peered at the plans. She ignored his knowing look as she twisted the sheets of paper and lined them up as if they were a map she was following. She squinted up at the grand staircase and put her finger on the corresponding place on the plan before she checked over her shoulder that she had the front door positioned in the right location, then she looked at the new pencil markings across the page.
“This doesn’t look like what I had in mind either but then I’m not an architect. I was thinking that we might do them as self-contained bedsit type places rather than adjoining hotel rooms. Each one would need some form of kitchenette I suppose but that doesn’t have to be the full thing. Don’t forget that some people are going to be fine making themselves a full dinner but others are going to struggle pouring a cup of tea. Maybe we could make this whole floor rooms with a hob and microwave but then have a full kitchen downstairs for all guests to use. The other floor could be suites with just tea and coffee making and maybe a fridge. That way some of your clients could be supervised while others are more independent.” She poured over the drawings and David bent forwards as she picked up the pencil slightly nervously and after waiting for him to nod, drew another two lines.
David squinted at her idea.
“Did you discuss this with Paul? He’ll have more of an idea. I have to confess that I didn’t actually go through much of this type of thing. After I was blown up I was a miserable bastard for a few weeks but Ellen soon snapped me out of it. Having a very obstinate sister can really help with your rehabilitation. I was glad to go back to work and then I really didn’t have much time to think about it. When I finished in the army and came here, Geraldine didn’t give me a moment to dwell on things either. She swept me off my fake feet and I’ve never looked back. Patrick had a tough time of it though but then his first wife walked out on him only three days after he was blown up. Bit of a shock I would imagine. But his problems were mental rather than physical. His whole team were cut to ribbons and he blamed himself for their injuries as well as his own. He loathed himself but Ellen dragged him kicking and screaming back to life when she arrived at the château and began renovating. He didn’t stand a chance once she decided that he was the one for her. Ellen’s nothing if not determined.”
Amy stared at David. She swallowed visibly, unable to even imagine how much the men had gone through. She lifted her chin.
“What about Joe? He seems very happy with Lucy and they’re obviously wildly in love. Little Anna is his pride and joy. The way he was feeding her the other night, he didn’t even notice his own dinner going cold.”
David threw his head back and laughed loudly.
“No, he never does. It’s a bit odd as he normally has a huge appetite. Anna has him wrapped right around her tiny little finger. Joe is the shy one of us all. He has a lot of values too. He’d not really dated much even before the blast because he never wanted one night stands or brief flings. After his face was messed up he never thought he would find anyone who could love him. He came here to escape from people who thought he was a freak. It was nearly five years before he plucked up the courage to break out of his shell but he took one look at Lucy’s backside on the very day she arrived here and it was all over for him. Luckily Lucy felt just the same about Joe.”
Amy smiled up at the big man.
“Her backside? I will have to ask them about that sometime. Maybe we should forget about the centre and just find some loving women for all of these men. You all look as though you are in heaven so it seems like the obvious answer.” She was joking but then she glanced out of the window again and caught sight of Paul lifting another armful of logs. “Well, those that want them I mean. Some people are obviously more well-adjusted to their fate than others. Not all of you seem to need a woman’s help.” Her voice tailed off slightly as she stared back out of the window again.
David followed her gaze and gave a snort of laughter as he saw Paul hurling tree stumps into the woodshed.
“He always was a stubborn sod Amy. He hasn’t really changed at all. He just gets on with what life throws at him, good or bad, but I know that losing the use of those bionics has hit him hard. They weren’t perfect by any means but he had them for five years and they did give him a certain amount of freedom. Now, however independent he thinks he is, he’s going to need someone looking out for him. He’s just too pig-headed to admit it. Yet.” He added with another smile.
Amy shook her head.
“He doesn’t need anything David. He doesn’t know that I was there because I stayed really quiet but I saw him in the kitchen the other night. He made a midnight feast without dropping a crumb and he cleared up too. He looked so confident. Not a moment’s hesitation in anything he did. I made more of a mess than he did and I could see everything I was doing. It was the same when he was at court. You would never have known he was blind unless you saw his cane, something he hardly ever uses I might add. He doesn’t need anyone.”
David raised his eyebrows as he noticed Paul stumble suddenly and he waited until the man had steadied himself before he frowned down at Amy again.
“Making a sandwich and a cup of tea does not make you independent. And he clearly did need help over the court case. He’ll never forgive that bastard for taking his sight but what he hates even more is the injustice of it. The man got away with murdering our own men, his friends, while they were handing out aid to women and children. They weren’t even fighting anyone, just helping the starving locals to eat but that pig organized a trap. Killed Paul’s friends like they were cattle to be slaughtered. There was no way someone like Paul would ever let that go without challenging it but he took the law into his own hands when he should have known better. Nobody else in social services was on his side. He would have gone to prison if you hadn’t bothered to go through all his paperwork and contact me. And then you had to give up your time and apparently your job to come along here with him Amy. He should be bloody grateful that you agreed.”
Amy turned back to the drawings on the table.
“I don’t want him to be grateful,” she whispered. “and the job thing wasn’t his fault actually. No one received my emails and they thought I had just walked out. I’ve managed to send another letter explaining and I hope to get it all sorted when I get back home.” She looked back down at the drawings again. She put her finger on one of the lines. “You need a doorway in here or an open arch. You could then make this into one apartment if you put a small kitchen and dining area in. The rooms next door could be a mirror image of this and it would only mean losing one room out of the original layout. If we did this here, here, and here I think that whole floor would be perfect.” She added some more lines to the pages. “You would have four two-roomed suites and an extra-large one for a family with minimum fuss.”
Jean-Paul leaned over the pages and smiled.
“Ah! I see what you mean. Yes, I don’t think there is any problem with this idea. I may have to put in an extra support beam here and here,” he made two extra lines across the page, “but the rest of the walls are just studwork. We can move them where we like. I will take these plans to the mayor for approval tomorrow but it shouldn’t be a problem. We will just need a permit to do the work as there is nothing structural to do on the exterior of the plac
e. It won’t even take long to finish the project if you can get your men to clear everything this week. The roof looked to be in good order so I will just give that a quick check and overhaul if need be.”
David nodded.
“There is a file of papers cataloguing the work done over the years. It might help with any queries. As the commune owned the château for a few years the place has been reasonably well looked after. It was a school at one point so all the plumbing was replaced a few years back. It will probably need to be updated to fit with our plans but we won’t need a whole new system. Same with the electrics I think. The hydrotherapy pool may be a bit trickier as that’s going to be completely new and I can’t see that we have access for a digger unless we landscape the garden first but I’m hoping our visitors will be up to the challenge of hauling several tons of earth by wheelbarrow.”
Jean-Paul grinned.
“I hope so too. That was going to be my only concern. None of my men are happy labouring. They are mostly skilled workers though what with all the recommendations your sister gave me from the previous château , I have taken on a bigger workforce now and I have a couple of new men starting this week. We will have this project finished for you in only a few weeks. I will give you a list of everything I need to be removed and then we can start on the main refit in two weeks. I’ll drop by some design ideas for the kitchenettes and the main kitchen too. I am sure your sister will want to go over them before we begin. I remember what a perfectionist she was the last time round. I have to say that it is going to be a pleasure working with you both again.” He held out his hand and David smiled as he shook it.
“Excellent. Get that list of things to do to me as soon as you can. I have a party of four U.S. Marines arriving tomorrow evening. We had thought to get in a few of our own guys but what with Paul arriving a little sooner than we originally planned our men are not recovered enough. Patrick pulled a few strings and we now have the Americans coming. I would hate for them to be sitting around with nothing to do.”
Scarred Horizon (Scarred Series Book 4) Page 8