Maybe not yet.
For the first time in weeks, the crushing dark didn’t feel absolute. It was still heavy, still suffocating, but in one corner of it, faint as a flicker, was the outline of a door.
A door Paul had pointed to.
Adam wasn’t ready to walk through it, not yet, but he couldn’t deny he’d seen it.
And that was enough to rattle him to the core.
“Of course it’s too soon,” Caroline butted in, her eyes flashing. “You’re still recovering. But you shouldn’t be alone, Adam. You need people around you, people in the same situation as you.”
One look at Adam’s pallor was all it had taken to loosen the brakes on Paul’s mouth.Oh no, you don’t, lady. You donotdump that shit all over him.
“Adam needs people who’ll encourage him to push at his boundaries, who don’t want him to stagnate.” Paul knew he sounded harsh, but this woman was irritating him with her attitude.And ifshewouldn’t help him, Paul would, even if the bastard had tried to put him off working for him. Heat rushed through him.
Adam was in need of a champion.
“I think we’ve heard enough from you.” Caroline was on her feet, her face flushed.
“Adam.” Paul crouched down beside his chair. “I agree with you. Using software might be beyond what you think you can cope with right now, but there’ll come a day when it won’t seem so daunting. And until that day, well, thereareother, more old-fashioned alternatives, y’know?”
Come on, Adam, think. Think.
“Such as?” Caroline’s gaze was withering. Adam, on the other hand, had become so still, he could have been frozen.
Yeah, that’s it, you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?
“My typing isn’t bad, and my spelling and grammar were always good at school,” Paul said, his breathing quickening. “I can use Word, unless you’d prefer me to use some more suitable software.”
Silence. He could almost imagine Adam’s brain cogitating, working it through. One look at Caroline, however, revealed plenty. That determined expression told him she was gearing up to shut Paul’s idea down.
Uh-uh, Caroline. Don’t you do it. This is Adam’s business, not yours.
“I—”
“Thank you for visiting, Caroline,” Adam said, rising to his feet. Paul copied him, nearly stumbling into him in his haste. He breathed easier. Adam seemed to have sloughed off the heaviness that had weighed him down. “I’m sure you have a lot of things planned for your day. I know the tea shop must be busy, especially on a Saturday. I do appreciate you taking time away from your business to see me though because you were worried.”
Caroline stared at him, lips parted in an expression of surprise. “Well, yes, but?—”
“Paul, would you see my sister to the door?”
“Certainly.” But before he did that, there was one thing he had to do. “Before you go, Mrs Lambton, perhaps you could help me out with a problem.” Paul knew he was pushing it, but he was feeling reckless.
They can only hang you once, right?
Caroline picked up her handbag and stared at him. There was no mistaking the air of hostility clinging to her. “What is it?” she said brusquely.
“There seem to be very few of Adam’s personal possessions around the house, and he tells me you were in charge of packing up his belongings when he moved here. Have you any idea where I might find them?” When her lips narrowed, he added, “I’m sure you’d want Adam to feel more settled. Surely having his things around him will help achieve that?”
She stiffened, and Paul couldn’t help giving a small internal yell of triumph. Put it like that, in front of Adam, and she had no choice but to respond.
“All the boxes from the move, with the exception of Adam’s clothes and toiletries, were placed up in the attic,” she said with slow deliberation. “And if that’s all, I’ll get back to the tea shop. Adam’s right, Saturday is always a hectic day, but I felt I had to come.”
“I appreciate it, Caroline.” Adam smiled.
Caroline gave Paul one last baleful stare before she marched out of the room. Paul followed her to the front door, holding it open for her. She paused on the threshold and regarded him steadily, those blue eyes glacial. “Paul,” she said at last, “I think you’re forgetting who pays you.”
Paul returned her gaze. “No, I’m not.Adampays me. You hired me to look after Adam, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.” Though for how much longer, he had no idea.
