She sighed and took another sip of tea.
"You're spoiling her."
"We both know our daughter is not the type to get rotten. She's not built that way."
She regarded him for a long moment, her expression softening just a touch.
"Maybe not, but your family do have a tendency to go overboard."
He chuckled, swirling the wine in his glass.
"Can you blame me for wanting to see her happy? Besides, Christmas comes only once a year."
"What are you really doing here, Cade?" She asked quietly after a spell of silence.
"Taking care of you and enjoying this delicious meal. You should try and eat something." He polished off the rest and rose to put the dish in the sink.
"Finished?" He gestured towards her cup and she nodded, passing it to him.
"I'm going to take a nap."
"Good idea."
"I'll just see you out."
"I'm staying." His calm voice did little to soothe her tattered nerves and had her staring at him in frustration.
"I don't need a babysitter."
"I'm staying. Go on up and take your nap. I brought a manuscript with me that I want to go through." He brushed past her and headed for the front door.
Abigail trailed after him and when he went outside, she was sorely tempted to simply lock the doors behind him. What did he mean he was staying? Rubbing her hands over her arms, she stood there for a minute staring at the closed door until he came back in.
"You, all right?" He had a briefcase in his hand.
"I'm fine. I don't want you to stay."
"Duly noted." He brushed past her as if he belonged and went into the living room where she had been sitting before he came.
Biting her lip in indecision, she turned and headed for the stairs, but not before peeking into the living room. Her heart did a quick dive to see him sitting on the comfortable sofa she had abandoned. He had removed his boots and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. His long legs were stretched out and propped on an ottoman. And he had the manuscript, a thick one opened on his lap.
Mentally berating herself for feeling a sense of happiness that he was here, she turned and walked away. She would take a nap, because the allergy medication was already kicking in. And if he was still here, she would ask him to leave. If he refuses, she would be firm about it.
Slipping into her bedroom, she went straight to bed, her mind on the disturbing man downstairs.
As she lay beneath the soft covers, the gentle tapping of the bare branches of the maple on her window pane, mingling with the quiet ticking of the bedside clock. She closed her eyes, struggling to let the tension fade, but Cade's presence lingered in her thoughts, both unsettling and oddly comforting. The house felt different with him here, less lonely, yet more complicated. Her heavy lids flickered shut and the last thing on her mind was that Cade was right downstairs.
*****
The manuscript had been discarded a few minutes ago. The story was riveting, but his mind had been unable to focus because of the woman upstairs. So, he had abandoned the pretense of being interested in reading the damn thing. He had taken it with as a prop anyway, something to show that he was not desperately thinking of her. Wanting to be with her.
She was sleeping. A smile touched his lips as he stared at her. She was on her side and turned towards the door. She had shed the ugly terry robe and was wearing red and white candy striped pajamas.
She looked as vulnerable as his daughter. Deciding that she was just going to have to deal with it, he undressed. Tossing his clothes on the sofa across from the bed, he got in gingerly, trying not to wake her.
Tugging the sheets over him, he gathered her against him. Heaving out a silent breath of relief when she snuggled, he wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her scent. He had spent the weeks since the awful argument trying to tear her from his heart, feeling the impotent rage simmering when all he managed to do was to make her more central. She was there to stay. He had discovered much to his frustration that love was not something to discard like clothing when there was no more wear left. It lodged and lodged in deep.
He had tried hating her, but that did not work either.
