Courage To Live. Morgan Q O'Reilly

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ months, if not years, down the road, I couldn’t in good conscience date. Nor did I want to. I had one man in my life–my son. I didn’t want to rely on anyone. I had to take care of Rob and that was that. A fly-boy who might be around six months or a couple years before jetting off wasn’t even a possibility.

      And yet, there he was.

      Golden and smiling with cheer that seemed to come straight from the Emerald Isle. The echo of the Celts could be heard in the lilt of his voice. His bright humor reminded me of my father and my younger brother, Rory, both of whom I missed dreadfully. Neither of whom were in a place to help, although they sympathized mightily and called regularly to check up. My grandmother sent small checks when she could, and every little bit helped.

      Rory had offered to come up after my accident, but he had a new baby, they were barely making it on his paycheck, and his wife needed him. Dad had his hands full caring for his mother, Grandma Aileen. My middle name came from her. Mom had passed on a few years ago, so we were pretty diminished. All three of them urged me to take leave and come down. Or better yet, move home. Another tempting thought, but California was too expensive. Rob was in a good place, the school district had him on the gifted track, and we were aiming for the International Baccalaureate program. Besides, I liked my job, made good money, and compared to the North Bay Area, the cost of living was manageable.

      For the most part, I felt at home in Anchorage. I was still considering a move to the secured apartment complex–it wouldn’t be much cheaper than trying to pay the mortgage on the house–but other expenses would drop. Still, I didn’t have to jump immediately. If Quint had split for good, then I had to decide what to do about the furnishings. I’d have to reduce the volume by seventy to eighty percent to fit into a two-bedroom apartment.

      Cay’s head popped over the half-height wall that separated the dining area from the stairwell. A second later, his tall form dominated the space at the top of the stairs.

      “First time you’ve let me up here,” he said. “Nice.”

      I glanced around the room nominally divided into dining, living room and media, kitchen and a small study area for Rob against the north wall. He’d voluntarily moved up from the office and set up his desktop computer so I could easily look over his shoulder. He didn’t want me to worry about him hitting internet porn, he’d said. What a kid. He had a way of making me laugh. Where his ideas came from, I had no clue.

      “Like oak, do you?”

      “So?”

      “It goes nice with the green.” He nodded at my jungle of indoor plants crowded against bookcases, all under grow lights near the south corner window.

      “Seems to work with the white walls and cheap carpet.” I hadn’t gotten around to painting the walls the soft sage and taupe I wanted. Quint had never agreed to it, and without his paycheck, I couldn’t afford to.

      “Hope you like football. I’ll be spending Sunday afternoons over here soon. Pre-season is about to start.” Cay grinned at the sixty-inch flat-screen perched on top of the most original of entertainment centers, one we called the honeymooner special, made with cinder blocks and pine boards. Hey, it was cheap and held speakers, receiver, Blu-ray, cable box and three game consoles. With room left over for a couple plants and a few pictures. Not original, not pretty, but functional. The entire set up could probably add a grand or two to my escape fund.

      “Depends on who you cheer for. If you like the Niners, you’re in. Denver, Dallas or Oakland and you’re out.”

      “Niners are good. I’m told Seahawks are the local team here, but I’m something of a Chicago fan, even though I should root for Detroit.” He shrugged with an adorable sheepish grin. “My dad would disown me if he knew how I really felt.”

      “Where are you from?”

      “East Lansing, Michigan. You?”

      “Northern California.”

      “Oh yeah? I just moved from there. I was at Travis and my sister is in Livermore.”

      Damn. He’d practically come from my hometown. “Benicia.”

      His grin widened. “I know it well. What do you know, a sunny California girl with roots in Ireland. Can’t ask for better than that.” He stepped closer and touched a strand of hair hanging over my shoulder.

      I could smell the remnants of the aftershave he must have slapped on hours earlier, that and the unique scent of his skin. Heart fluttering, leaving me completely flustered, I stepped back and moved to stand behind a chair on the far side of the dining table. Was I back in high school, hoping the cute jock would ask me to the dance? “Is there a point to this chit chat? Was there something you wanted? Needed?”

      “My car arrived today. I cleared out the boxes and want to take it for a run. Go with me? It’s too pretty a night to sit at home.”

      “Rob has Tae Kwon Do in half an hour.” I looked away from him to shout down to the kid. “You about ready?”

      “Almost!”

      “Let me drive you,” Cay pleaded. “The car needs to stretch its legs, so to speak. Warm up the tires, move the oil around. I don’t want to take Jack for a drive. He’s not even remotely pretty enough.”

      Something hot and sweet lanced through my veins. This was so not happening. “I–I can’t. Don’t ask. I can drive Rob just fine.” I reached for my purse hanging off the back of the chair. “We’re going to be late,” I called down.

      “Just have to pee,” Rob answered.

      Cay chuckled. “Reminds me of home. Five brothers, one sister. She’s dead center, five minutes younger than me.”

      “A twin?” Why did that surprise me?

      “Tiny little thing like you, but her hair’s more orange and wild with corkscrew curls.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Mine would be the same if I didn’t buzz it off every four weeks. What’s the harm? I need to learn my way around, it’s a gorgeous night, which I’ve been told is all too rare, and winter will be here before you know it. Please?”

      “Please, Mom?” Rob bounded up the stairs in his gi, the green belt he’d earned only a few weeks ago in hand. “I saw the car. It’s a Mustang. Major coolness.”

      It was the first true spark of excitement I’d seen from Rob since everything had fallen apart. All spring, he’d alternated between clinging to me and occasionally letting on how much he missed Quint. Ever since the accident, he’d been especially good as gold. And while I could say no to Cay, I couldn’t to my son. “Sure, honey.”

      Rob whooped and Cay smiled. Between the two of them, I was toast.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно СКАЧАТЬ