The Christmas Stranger. Beth Cornelison

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      She huffed a sigh. How did she explain about Ryan’s murder, the questions that needed answers, the closeness she felt to Ryan here? Why should she explain?

      She straightened her spine and leveled her shoulders. “Never mind my reasons. I knew the risks and weighed them.”

      He gave a negligent shrug. “All right.”

      His gaze shifted to the pile of rags where the kittens squeaked and fussed.

      Holly cleared her throat. “Why are you here?”

      His cool, clear eyes found hers again. “I saw you go in and followed you.”

      A prickle of apprehension crawled through her. “Why?”

      “Like I said, the place is condemned. It could be dangerous. I didn’t want you breaking a leg and being stuck in here alone.”

      She blinked at him, stunned. “Really?”

      He angled his head and tugged up a corner of his mouth. “Really.”

      Holly’s gaze lingered on his lips, visible despite the growth of several days’ beard. His lips were full, soft-looking…sexy. She shifted her feet, uncomfortable with the track of her thoughts. This man was a vagrant. Rumpled, unshaven, dirty. How could she find anything about him appealing?

      Yet she remembered how, back at the community center, his blue eyes and calming touch had stirred a warmth in her belly. She sensed something different about him and puzzled over the source of that intuition.

      He nodded to the nest of kittens. “Is this why you came in here? Did you know they were here?”

      Holly wiped sweaty palms on her dress, then grimaced. She’d left dirty smears on the skirt. “No. But now that I’ve found them, I can’t leave them to die in the demolition tomorrow.”

      “No. I reckon we can’t.”

      She raised her chin. “We?”

      “I’m at your disposal if you want my help.” When she hesitated, he stuck his hand out. “We met earlier but didn’t introduce ourselves. I’m Matt.”

      She took his hand, trembling when his long fingers closed warmly around hers. “Holly.” She thought of the stained glass in the next room and held her breath. “If you’re serious about helping, there is something…”

      He tipped his head. “Yeah?”

      When she didn’t answer for a few seconds, he crouched by the kittens. The mother cat hissed and ran.

      “Mom’s gonna be hard to catch. Harder to transport.” He picked up a kitten and stroked it with a finger. “They look pretty healthy. Too young to be without mom though. We’ll have to wrangle her to go with the babies, somehow.”

      Holly appraised Matt more closely. Could she trust him?

      His clothes, though well-worn, somewhat dirty and wrinkled, had been high quality when new. She recognized the name brand logo on his shirt pocket and designer cut of his slacks. Turning this incongruity over in her mind, she wondered where he’d gotten the expensive clothes. When he’d smiled, she’d noticed how white and straight his teeth were. Another anomaly among the men typically served at the Community Aid Center. So who was he? What was his story?

      Trusting her gut, she squatted next to him and gently patted one of the squirming kittens. “I found a stained-glass window in the next room I want to save, too. It’s pretty heavy, but maybe between the two of us, we could get it to my truck.”

      He met her gaze and nodded. “Sure, let’s have a look.”

      Holly showed him the stained glass and stood back as he hefted it into his arms with little effort. “Lead the way.”

      Taking the steps carefully, keeping near the wall, she led him outside and down the street to her truck. He rested the stained glass on the tailgate while she rearranged some painting supplies in the bed to make room for the window.

      “I’m remodeling my farmhouse, and this glass would be perfect in the entry foyer over the door.”

      “It is beautiful,” he agreed, settling it on the drop cloth she’d spread out. He dusted his hands and gave her a hard look. “You have someone at your house to help you unload it?”

      Holly bit her bottom lip as she thought. “I can call one of my brothers-in-law to come over, perhaps.”

      “What about your husband?”

      Holly’s heartbeat stumbled, and she swallowed hard before she answered. “He died last year.”

      Matt’s face darkened as his eyebrows drew together. “I’m so sorry. I lost my wife a few years ago myself. I know how hard it can be.”

      “I’m sorry for you, too.” Her gaze flicked to the watch on his wrist that he’d told her was from his wife. The timepiece would have been an expensive gift. Had Matt come from a wealthy family? He certainly spoke like an educated man. If so, how had he suffered such a reversal of fortune?

      “Now, about those kittens…” Matt scrubbed a hand on his chin, his beard making a scratching sound that danced down Holly’s spine with a pleasant shiver.

      Holly reached into the truck bed and dumped paint brushes out of a small box. “We can put the babies in here. But the mother won’t come willingly.”

      “Exactly. I was thinking we could wrap her up in a towel or one of those rags upstairs. Wrap her tightly like a mummy. It won’t hurt her, but she won’t be able to struggle and scratch us.”

      Us. He was using the plural pronoun again.

      She frowned. “Matt, I—”

      He held up a hand. “I know what you’re thinking, but…you can’t drive and subdue a frightened cat at the same time. If you’re willing to drive me back into town tonight, I’ll put my arms on the line with the scared feline and help you unload the window at your house.”

      Holly stared at him, debating his argument, his offer. “What’s in it for you? Why would you do that for me?”

      His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “Who said there was anything in it for me? Aren’t you a little tired of the selfish attitude society has come to? What happened to being a good neighbor and helping out for the sake of being nice?”

      Holly opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Matt seemed too good to be true. Already today he’d saved a boy’s life without sticking around for the accolades. If she were to believe him, he’d been worried for her safety and come into the abandoned church to make sure she was all right.

      Narrowing a skeptical look on him, she pinched his arm. “Are you for real?”

      He rubbed the offended spot. “Yeah, and that hurt.”

      Holly crossed her arms over her chest. “So you’re not like a guardian angel or something?”

      “Afraid not.” He flashed СКАЧАТЬ