Squinting against the rain, it only took a split second to recognize her.What is Hallie doing out in weather like this?What had started as a slight sprinkling had grown to a near downpour since he’d left his office, and she was several miles away from home.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. His boss had held him up at work, so he’d left his downtown office later than usual. But one look at Hallie tugged at his sympathies. Her lightweight hoodie was already drenched, her blonde hair plastered to her body like wet crepe paper. Christian couldn’t leave her to battle the elements any longer. If he swung by Isla’s school first, which was closer to Hallie’s, he’d get there a few minutes just as Kid Care ended. Then he’d pick up Penelope from the other side of town before heading back this way toward home.
Pulling up to the curb where Hallie was walking past an empty shop with aFor Salesign, he lowered the passenger side window. “Want a ride?”
She whirled in the direction of the car, placing a hand to her chest. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there. I guess I picked the wrong time for a walk.”
Something stirred inside his chest, sending warning flares zipping through his body. He’d felt a similar phenomenon at her house on Saturday when she’d talked about her struggling business. What was it about her that made him want to help her?
He didn’t know, and he couldn’t back out now. “Hop in. I’ll take you home.”
Hallie waved away his offer with both hands, though her whole body shook. “That’s okay. I don’t want to inconvenience you. It was nice seeing you though.” She started into a slow jog.
Part of him wanted to take her at her word. Whatever she was doing to his psyche created so much discomfort inside of him that he’d like to put as much distance between them as possible.
You can’t leave her like this.She looked cold. If either of his daughters were caught in a rainstorm, he’d hope someone would stop to help.
He took his foot off the break and the car rolled forward. “It’s not an inconvenience. Get in.” Tugging his computer bag off the passenger seat, he moved it to the back, painfully aware of all the random toys and garbage littering the girls’ domain. It was past time to clean out the car. Hopefully the storm’s veil of darkness would camouflage the clutter.
At first, Hallie looked about to resist again until thunder clapped loudly overhead. Eyes widening, she glanced at the tempestuous sky before hurrying to the car and yanking the door open.
“Thank you,” she said, sliding inside. She angled her body so close to the door, she practically hugged it. “I’ll just stay over here. I don’t want to get the seat all wet.”
Throwing the gearshift into drive, he checked his side mirror before pulling away from the curb. “That’s the exact reason I pickedleather interior when I bought this car.” Not to mention, the material made it easier to clean sticky spills from the backseat. “I’ll just towel it off when I get home.” He glanced at her sidelong and winked.
Why did he wink? He wasn’t some suave ladies’ man, turning on the charm.
The smile she aimed at him pushed his confusion from his mind. She had a lovely smile. Easy. Natural. He’d noticed that on Saturday too. She exuded a peace and calm that somehow freed him from the bad mood he’d been in after thinking about Sabrina. And here she was again doing the same thing.
Don’t think about it, buddy. It means nothing.
They drove a few blocks in silence before Christian spoke again. “Do you make a habit of walking in the rain?”
She gave a shaky laugh. “Not usually. Walking helps me work through things that are bothering me. Unfortunately, my weather app let me down this time. It wasn’t predicting rain when I left the house.”
Christian grunted in commiseration. “Those apps are notorious for being wrong. You walked pretty far.”
She shrugged. “My mom used to say she could predict my stress level by how far I walked.”
He eyed her briefly before returning his focus to the road and making a turn. Was her business causing her more stress?
“Thanks again for the ride,” she said, shaking off the heaviness in her tone. “I can handle a little rain. But lightning … no. And thanks for taking over my website too. I’m sure you’re probably already swamped with your paying clients.”
“It’s no big deal.”
A slight exaggeration on his part. Hence his spinning thoughts and endless conversations with Dad ever since. Sure, he’d thought about taking over Hallie’s website, but he hadn’t expected to speak the offer out loud. And he’d spent the rest of the weekend wishing he could take it back. His boss was already annoyed with him for leaving early every day for the last two weeks, even though Christian had assured him it would be temporary.
Plus, he stacked so much onto the daily task lists that Christianalready had trouble getting it done while juggling his parental responsibilities. As soon as the girls went down for the night, he often had several more hours of work before he could crash too. When would he find even a few spare moments to build an entire website?
“I know you said you didn’t expect payment,” Hallie continued. “But I feel like I should give you something. What would you like? I make a mean chocolate cake. And I’m not trying to brag, but people rave about my cookies too.”
Christian fought against the smile threatening to take over his mouth. How was it that she had the ability to lighten his mood with the simplest comment? “That’s not necessary. Really, I’m happy to help.”
Are you happy?No, but she had nothing to do with that.
“I want to. You’re seriously coming through for me. Now that I don’t have to worry about my website, I can focus on getting ready for the Autumn Festival. It’s coming up fast.”
“You have a booth?”
