Page 48 of Scarred Sunrise

Chapter 21

He woke around six,a warm body draped over him like a blanket, which was just as well because she’d stolen the quilt. He smiled as he slid from beneath her tempting form and used the bathroom before he dressed in his clothes from yesterday. His t-shirt, which she hadn’t put back on, had her scent on it and he inhaled it like a junkie sniffing crack.

Making his way downstairs, he was surprised to see Colin sipping a cup of tea at the table. He hesitated a second wondering if he should leave the other man to his morning routine in peace.

“Come in, lad.” Smithy moved into the room. “Make yourself a cup. I’m too old to be running around after ya.”

“Can I make you a fresh one?”

Colin drained his cup and held it out to Smithy, who took it and refilled it. Once they both had a cup, Smithy sat opposite Colin savouring that first sip and the silence and beauty of the morning. “I love this time of day. Always full of so many opportunities at this time. The day is young and can go in any direction.”

Colin regarded him over his cup. “I’m an old man, but I know what love is, and I see you love my daughter, but that don’t mean I trust you not to run.”

Smithy respected Colin. He’d been through hell with his family, and he knew he’d earned his distrust, but it didn’t mean he liked it. His hand tightened on the cup he held, and he took a second, sipping to form a response that would convince Colin how he felt. “I understand your feelings towards me, sir, and I can’t rightly say what’s different except to say that I’m different now. I love Liz. I always have, but now I’m learning that I have worth and I never knew that before.”

Colin nodded. “Out of all my kids my Lizzie is outwardly the strongest, but she carries the weight of this family as her own. When we lost her mum, she tried to step into that role, trying to be both sister and parent to Dane and Lucy. I knew when she met you, and I was glad for it. She became a teenager again, which is what I wanted for her.”

“I won’t hurt her again, Colin. I promise you if it’s in my power to do so I’ll never hurt her again.”

“Good because Lizzie is strong, but she isn’t unbreakable.”

“I understand.”

Colin dipped his head. “Now how about we get a fry up on the go?”

Smithy worked beside Colin until Lizzie came down and shooed them out of the way.

“I thought I was cooking breakfast?”

Smithy snagged her waist and kissed her soundly before grinning. “You needed the sleep.”

“I was tired, but I feel energised now.”

A set of brown eyes the image of his mother’s peered around the corner before Mateo walked in the door and stopped suddenly. Smithy was still angry about what the boy’s father had said, filling the kid’s head with doubt when he’d already been through so much.

“Hey, Mateo.”

Lizzie glanced at the kitchen door and then held her hand out to her son. “Hey, buddy, come sit down.” Mateo went to his mum and hugged her but kept his eyes on Smithy. “Go sit with grandpa. You know Ty, don’t you?”

The kid nodded and moved to sit beside his grandpa.

Smithy felt so awkward it was unreal as the child assessed him, and he waited to see if he passed the test or not.

“Did you sleep over?” Mateo asked him as he sipped the orange juice his mum handed him.

“I did, yes.” He was opting for honesty and hoping if it got too sticky Liz would save him.

“Did you sleep in Mum’s bed?”

Smithy almost choked on his tea, inhaling the hot liquid into his lungs, coughing and spluttering as Liz hid her smile behind a tea towel and Colin looked to be enjoying every second of his discomfort.

Finally, Liz pulled herself together long enough to pull his ass out the fire. “Now, Mateo, we talked about this. Ty is my boyfriend and sometimes boyfriends have sleepovers.”

Smithy almost groaned at the term boyfriend. It didn’t in any way project the way he felt about Lizzie, and just as soon as was humanly possible and socially acceptable, he was going to fix that. “Mateo, do you like computers?”

The child focused on him and nodded. “Yeah, I can code.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. If your mum doesn’t mind, I could do with some help today at Fortis with a problem I’m having.”