‘You don’t think much of him?’
‘I know a lazy, untrustworthy man when I see one. I’m afraid Pixie’s going to find out the hard way. Anyway, back to Tamara. She’s a hard worker and can do the physical stuff you can’t manage for a while.’
There were a million reasons why this was a terrible idea, but he suspected his sister wouldn’t want to hear them. Being thrown into Tamara’s orbit at home and work? He doubted she’d be any more enthusiastic about Becky’s idea than he was.
‘Well?’
‘I suppose I could ask her,’ he said reluctantly.
‘You do that. Anyway, let’s get busy. We can chat while we work. I want to hear more about what you’ve been doing all these years.’
* * *
‘Work for you?’ Tamara heard her voice turn shrieky. While she’d been at the pub, she’d racked her brains thinking how to help Gage get the shop open and juggle all her other commitments. This hadn’t made the list.
Gage shuffled awkwardly on his crutches and seemed inordinately interested in the newly sanded and polished wood floor. ‘Becky came up with the idea. I told her it was daft.’
‘Part-time for a fortnight to get the shop open, then probably a couple more weeks after that to get you back on your feet properly, right?’
‘Yeah, then I can manage alone.’ He surreptitiously crossed his fingers.
Tamara’s raised eyebrows said what she thought of his optimistic plan. ‘I’ll ask Pixie this evening and let you know one way or the other when I come home.’
It would all depend on whether Christos could take time off his own job to work her daytime shift. She could still go in first thing to do the puddings and prepare those that could eitherbe served cold or were easy to warm up. Rocky was perfectly capable of taking the job over, but she was reluctant to give it up before she absolutely had to, if only because of the extra money it brought in. She would still be there in the evenings as usual. It should be easy to round up any more help they needed from her friends, too, but she’d keep that possibility to herself for now. They were awesome at supporting each other, and this was for the good of the village. No one wanted Penworthal going the way of so many others and turning into a Cornish ghost town with few viable businesses and no community spirit left.
A bigger problem was how Toby would react if she took up Gage’s job offer. Her overprotective son had already had a go at her for inviting a strange man to stay. Toby hadn’t softened when she’d appealed to his compassionate side as someone who spent his days helping sick people. She’d made a point of laying it on a bit by describing Gage as a sharp-tempered, somewhat unfriendly man who’d only moved in with her because he had no choice. There was an element of truth in that, but the more she got to know Gage, the more Tamara was inclined to feel her that like her, he’d been dealt a challenging hand in life.
‘Wouldn’t doing all this be too much for you?’
Every time she thought they were getting on better he came out with something like that.
‘I didn’t mean to imply—’
‘I bet you were on duty around the clock many times and never gave it a thought. Being a mum’s that way and I did that alone, so I don’t think a few weeks’ hard work is going to kill me. After all, I’m doing it to help a friend.’
The emphasis on the last word made him wince.
‘Right, let’s get you home now. You look exhausted.’
His grey skin and the tightness around his mouth and eyes were sure indicators, and she wasn’t having him relapse on her watch, leaving her to face the doctor’s wrath.
‘I am. Thank you.’ His quiet agreement took her by surprise. For a second their eyes met and Tamara couldn’t breathe.
‘No problem,’ she said briskly. ‘I’ve got a couple of steak-and-mushroom pies for our tea if that suits you? They’re left over from lunchtime.’
‘Anything will do. I’m not fussy.’ Blobs of heat lit up his cheeks. ‘I—
‘Didn’t mean to sound grouchy and ungrateful. I know. We’re both straight talkers. I prefer that.’ A shiver trickled down her spine. ‘Let’s go.’
Chapter Nine
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know you’d be down this early. I hope my moving around didn’t wake you?’ Gage said apologetically.
He blinked at the sight of Tamara walking into the kitchen, clearly straight out of bed by the sight of her tousled hair. It was a struggle to fix his gaze on her face rather than the rest of her. A skimpy pink cami was stretched to its limits over her generous breasts and her loose, flowery shorts showed off long, toned legs.
‘I was about to say the same.’
The colour in her cheeks was a sign she was equally embarrassed, and rightly so. At least he’d remembered to pull his boxer shorts back on before getting out of bed, but that was it.
