AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to his mom. "Mrs. Andrews, it's nice to meet you as well. That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you. I'm sorry for bursting in on your visit. I didn't realize anyone was here." I shot Holt a pointed look.
He didn't even have the decency to look ashamed. "I tried," he shrugged. "You were sleeping so soundly, so I didn't want to bother you."
Heat rose in my cheeks as I remembered how I'd cried in his arms last night until I couldn't remember anything more. I must have fallen asleep in his arms. I wondered how long he'd stayed there afterward, and if his mother wondered how he knew I was still sleeping.
"I guess I was pretty worn out," I mumbled.
Mrs. Andrews glanced between us, a bemused look accompanying the slight narrowing of her eyes. "Of course, you were, my dear. I'm so sorry to learn about your troubles." She glanced up at her son. "Holt, be a dear and get me some coffee, please. And maybe some for Madelyn?"
My nerves were suddenly on edge. She sounded like a woman on a mission, ready to dig for answers, and I was her latest excavation project.
"Um, that's okay. I'll be happy to get
it so you two can get back to your visit."
"Nonsense. Sit." She patted the cushion next to her on the couch and raised an eyebrow at her son. "Holt?"
Three words. But with such a no-nonsense tone, that was all it took to send both of us to do as we’d been told. I sat, and with an apologetic look at me, Holt turned and left the room.
How did she do that?
"Holt tells me you're new to the area?" Mrs. Andrews didn't waste any time starting her inquisition.
"Yes, I am." Stick to the truth, I told myself. Just maybe not the whole truth.
"And you work at the same law firm as him? Are you a lawyer, too?"
I laughed. "Hardly."
"But you work with my son?" she pressed.
"No, not directly. I'm a clerk, copying papers and making sure each of the offices have what they need. I have more contact with his secretary than with him, but he was one of the first people I met there." I smiled, hoping to modify my somewhat defensive tone.
"And where are you from?"
"Here in Virginia." At her look, I decided maybe I should be a bit more generous with my answers. "A small town, almost on the North Carolina border."
She leaned back on the couch. "Ah, peanut country."
I smiled. "Yes, we had a few peanut and cotton farmers, but most people worked in the lumber mills."
"And do you still have family there?"
A million dollar question! I didn't know where Charly lived, nor my father for that matter. But they'd cut their ties with me. Well, at least I thought they had. Charly seemed to think we still had a connection, but I wasn't interested in renewing it.
I looked at my lap. "I don't have any family, ma'am."
Molly's expression softened. She reached out and grabbed my hand. "Oh, my dear. I'm sorry! You're so young to be on your own."
I shrugged.
"She's not on her own," Holt's voice stated as he sat cups of steaming coffee on the table in front of us.
My heart beat a little harder at his words. How much I wanted to believe him, and as he held my gaze for several seconds as if compelling me to trust him, I think I did.
A clearing throat broke the moment. "I hope you didn't lose anything that canna be replaced?"
I remembered the reason I had come running out here in the first place. "Um, mostly just some clothes and knickknacks. I feel bad for everyone else, though, especially those with families, like my friend, Serafina." I jumped to my feet. "Oh, God! I hope they're alright. Her little boy is sick! He needs a place to rest and get medicine, and what about poor Mr. Murphy on the first floor, the one who’s in a wheelchair?”
