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He released his hold on her waist and stepped to the side, only an arm’s reach away if something went wrong. Ally balanced on her good foot, holding the one in the cast a couple of inches from the ground. Within seconds, she was moving forward, Nate and Riley right behind her as she made her way to the building.
Riley ran ahead to open the door. Ally maneuvered herself inside until her foot was on the tiled floor. “I think I’ve got the hang of this. Maybe it won’t be so bad after all.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Riley said. “Unless your unit’s on this floor.” She was pointing to a sign in front of the elevator.
Out of order.
Ally’s face turned pale. She looked over at the stairwell, swallowing hard as her eyes scanned up it.
“I’m on the fifth floor.” Her voice was so quiet he had to lean in to hear her.
“Is there another way to get there?” he asked. “Can you use an elevator in one of the other buildings?”
“They’re not connected. I guess I’m going to have to try the stairs.”
“We can help you up there,” Riley said. “Can’t we, Dad?” she asked eagerly.
They both turned to look at Nate. “Yeah, we can help you up. But what happens when you need to come down again?”
Riley frowned and looked up at her dad. “You’ve got a point. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Is there a superintendent around here?” Nate asked Ally.
“Yeah. Let me call him and find out what’s going on.” She tried to pull her arm out of her crutch to grab her bag, but the effort made her fall to the side. Nate reached out to steady her, then kept his arm around her waist as she made the call.
“Mr. Stephens, it’s Ally from 509. I see the elevator isn’t working. Do you know how long it will be until it’s fixed?”
Even though he was close, Nate couldn’t hear the reply. He got the gist of it though, from the way Ally’s breath caught in her throat.
“Two weeks? Where’s the part coming from? Mars?”
“Two weeks?” Riley mouthed at him. Nate shrugged at her.
“And there’s nothing you can do until then?” Ally asked, pausing for his reply. “No, I understand that it’s an old elevator. Thanks, anyway.” She disconnected and looked up at Nate and Riley. “There’s nothing I can do. I’m going to have to learn to use the stairs on these things,” she told them, sliding her phone back into her pocket.
“The chances of you making it up five flights of stairs without breaking another bone is pretty slim,” Nate told her.
“Well, unless I’m going to camp out in the lobby I don’t think I have a choice.”
“Dad,” Riley said, tugging at his arm. “We don’t have any stairs. Apart from the ones that lead up to the front door, and they’re wide.”
Riley’s face was bright with excitement. Nate knew exactly what she was trying to say, but he needed to think it through for a moment. It was one thing helping Ally up to her apartment, but having her at home with them, living in their house, sleeping in one of their bedrooms? Well, that was something completely different.
The thought of it made his skin heat up.
And yet what choice was there? He couldn’t leave her here stranded. Not when it was their fault she was in this situation in the first place. Even if it hadn’t been their fault, she was still an employee. And he took care of his staff, always.
“You can come home with us,” he said, not wanting to think it through any more. He could handle it, couldn’t he? He was a grown-up and he had self-control. Yes, she was pretty, and yes, in another lifetime he might have been attracted to her, but right now she was just somebody in need.
Somebody he could help.
And that was all there was to it.
* * *
“I’m sorry? What?” Ally lifted her head to look at him. For a second she stared at him with her mouth wide open.
“We have a spare room, plus everything’s on the same level. And you’ll have the added bonus of having me and Riley there in case you need anything you can’t get.”
