Her Family's Defender. Kim Findlay

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СКАЧАТЬ But this room had a king-size bed, walk-in closet and en-suite. Which meant she wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with the kids. She couldn’t remember ever having a bathroom to herself before.

      Angie soon followed them in to scope out the rest of the place.

      “This is wicked. How long can we stay here?” she said, running her hands over the duvet on the bed.

      “We’re house-sitting for Mrs. Epps until you get out of school in June. Don’t get too used to it, though. We were lucky Great Aunt Agnes knew her friend was looking for a house sitter. After this we’ll have to find our own place and start paying rent, and we definitely won’t be able to afford anything on this scale.”

      Tommy had gone to the windows, providing vistas across the city. “No one could get in through these windows, could they?”

      “Of course not, dork,” Angie responded.

      “Angie, don’t call your brother names.”

      Tommy frowned at his sister. “Toronto is dangerous. I heard Grandma telling Mom that.”

      Michelle sighed. The kids had recovered enough from the tragedy in their past to resume their sibling bickering, which was good, but exasperating, as well. She gave Tommy a stern look. “You weren’t supposed to be listening. Toronto is no more dangerous than Winnipeg.”

      According to the statistics, anyway. But it didn’t feel that safe. It was big and strange compared to living on the base. For example, the way she had responded to the man in the elevator. That had been a gut reaction. She’d been attacked once, years ago, though luckily her training and fitness had prevented the attack from being more than an attempt. Since then she’d kept herself prepared, physically and mentally.

      Michelle wondered if she should warn the kids about their neighbor. She hadn’t run into him since that first encounter, so with any luck they wouldn’t have very many encounters with him. He obviously was well-off, since he lived here and dressed the way he did. But he still made her nervous. He’d said he thought she was following him, but what kind of person suspected perfect strangers of following him home? She hoped her warning would be sufficient and he’d behave if the kids did run into him.

      Michelle looked at Tommy, who was still eyeing up the windows for security measures. No. She wouldn’t worry him further by bringing up their neighbor.

      * * *

      TROY WAS GLAD he didn’t bump into his new neighbor when he left for his workout. He’d missed her yesterday, as well, and he hoped that indicated her schedule wouldn’t sync up with his. He certainly hadn’t seen Mrs. Epps much. He should read that condo letter to check how long she’d be around.

      If any of the guys on the team found out how quickly and easily this woman had dropped him to the floor, he’d never hear the end of it. He didn’t think he gave off a scary vibe—at least, not off the ice—and it was unsettling to know he’d made a woman feel threatened. All in all, he would be happy to not run into her very often. He had enough to worry about getting his career back on track.

      At the gym he pushed himself like always, did just a bit beyond what he had before—lifting a few pounds more, spinning the bike a little faster. Seeing those numbers rise gave him the illusion that he had his body under his control, and sometimes he needed that. He wiped the sweat off his brow and grinned at the trainer when he gave Troy a thumbs-up.

      He was on such an endorphin high he almost forgot the new neighbor until he got home. Somehow, as soon as the elevator doors opened on his floor, the air was vibrating. He paused.

      The stairway door pushed open and a young girl raced out then skidded to a halt and stared at him.

      He recognized immediately that she was a fan. There was a look, and she had it. A little awestruck, a little overwhelmed and a lot of shock. He smiled. He liked kids, and they tended to like him. He’d been told that was because he still hadn’t grown up himself, but that didn’t bother him. He believed it was because he still remembered how to have fun; he hadn’t lost that with whatever else the cancer had taken.

      “You’re Troy Green!” she said a little breathlessly.

      “I am,” he agreed.

      “Do you live here?” she asked.

      “I do. What are you doing here?” Running up from another floor, he expected.

      “I live over there.” She pointed at Mrs. Epps’s doorway. “We just moved in. Me and my brother and my mom. I’m Angie, and my brother is Tommy and my mom’s Michelle.”

      Ah, the new neighbors.

      Just then, Michelle moved like a rocket from the condo doorway to stand in front of her daughter. A younger boy followed her and clung to her side. She was standing protectively, eyes focused on Troy. She spoke to the girl, gaze still on Troy.

      “Angie, what have I told you about talking to strangers?”

      Angie rolled her eyes. “He’s not a stranger, Mom. That’s Troy Green.”

      Michelle’s mouth tightened, and she balled her hands into fists.

      “How does she know your name? What have you been asking her?”

      Troy’s jaw dropped. First she thought he was attacking her, and now she thought he was a danger to her daughter?

      Angie pushed past her mother with her arms crossed. “I recognized him because I don’t live under a rock. He plays for the Blaze.” When her mother didn’t respond, Angie continued, gesticulating wildly. “The Toronto Blaze! The hockey team! They won the Cup two years ago—the first time in forever a Canadian team won it! I watched with Dad before—”

      She blinked rapidly, then spun and raced into their condo. Michelle watched her go, one hand resting on the boy’s shoulder, her expression troubled. The boy kept his gaze on Troy, but he clearly wasn’t a hockey fan. He appeared to be evaluating Troy on some scale and, considering his mother, Troy knew he wouldn’t be scoring well. Troy was relieved when Michelle turned back and he could look at her instead.

      This time there was no anger in her voice. “I’m sorry we’re a bit on edge. We don’t know anyone here, and our family from home warned us about Toronto.”

      Troy kept silent. After the conclusions she’d jumped too, he wasn’t in a rush to let her off the hook.

      “I’m a little too protective of my kids—do you have any?” she asked.

      A voice yelled down the hallway before he could answer.

      “No, Mom! He’s single, just like you. He’s thirty-one, so you’re two years older than he is.”

      Troy had to hold in a laugh. The mother might suspect he was a budding serial killer, but the daughter thought he was okay.

      The woman’s face flushed. She had picked up on her daughter’s matchmaker vibe. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “Come on, Tommy,” she said. She pulled the boy to her doorway with some speed.

      Troy was glad that this time he wasn’t the one feeling awkward.

      He wasn’t the СКАЧАТЬ