‘What are you doing? I’m freezing. Look…’ He held out his hand to show her that the tips of his fingers were white. ‘I can’t even feel my fingers.’
Molly mouthed, ‘We have a visitor,’ then nodded in the direction of the hallway.
‘Why are you whispering? You’re being very cloak and dagger.’ His voice was far from a whisper. All he wanted to do was put the kettle on. ‘And what did you say to that girl? You still haven’t answered me.’
‘That “girl” is called Bree, and she’s through there in the living room, getting warm by the fire.’
Cam stopped dead in his tracks. He looked up the hallway, then straight back at Molly.
‘Why would you invite someone into our home that was robbing us blind?’
Molly could tell by the tone of his voice that Cam wasn’t happy. ‘Because I just couldn’t throw her out on the street in this weather. I mean, look at you…’ She gestured towards his hands. ‘Even you are cold after an hour – just think how that wee girl is going to feel. And where would she go all day?’
Cam was staring at her in disbelief. ‘Look, I understand what you’re saying but this is our home – ourfamilyhome. We know nothing about her and you can’t just invite strangers in off the street. For all we know she could have a pocketful of drugs.’
Molly huffed. ‘Just because she’s homeless doesn’t mean she takes drugs. How very judgemental of you. And for the record she had nothing in her pockets.’
‘I’m just saying that we don’t know anything about her. Did you check them then?’ Cam was looking relieved.
‘I did when I put her coat in the washing machine and then I’ve sewn on some buttons to replace the ones she was missing.’
‘You’ve been sewing buttons on coats?’
‘Don’t look at me like that. She’s only sixteen years of age –sixteen– and she didn’t get much sleep last night at the shelter. Yes, she had a roof over her head, but the noise through the night kept her awake, and I can imagine she would have to sleep with one eye open.’
Cam briefly closed his eyes then exhaled. ‘It’s not that I haven’t got a heart, it’s just that this is our home and adding pressure at this time is not what I need.’ The words had slipped out before Cam could stop them.
‘What do you mean, “adding pressure”?’
All Cam wanted to do was drink a cup of tea and get warm by the fire. He was dealing with his own uncertainties and he knew he sounded unkind but his own fears for the future were preying heavily on his mind and that’s all he could deal with right now.
‘I’ve been up early, I’m freezing from being out in the snow, and all I want now is a cup of tea by my own fire.’
Molly looked at her husband and realised Cam really did look exhausted, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. ‘I’ll put the kettle on for you.’
‘Molly, please can you ask her to leave?’
‘Where will she go?’
Cam shrugged. ‘Where would she normally go? She must have a plan. Look, I do get it’s blooming cold out but there are places to go and people who help… Call Sam,’ he suggested. ‘You’ve been kind but now it’s time for her to leave. We don’t need this to escalate,’ he said firmly.
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means that I know you. Before you know it, you’ll be suggesting she stays for lunch and dinner too. Then what’s next, you give her a bed for the night? Molly, you can’t get involved.Wecan’t get involved.’ Cam had more than enough on his plate at the moment and though one of the qualities that he loved most about Molly was her gentle, kind nature and the fact she was always there to lend a helping hand, he could also remember a time when he had had to have stern words with her, when she began to bring home dogs from the animal hospital she owned. He’d been thankful when she’d joined forces with Rory, the other local vet, as the two of them had worked out a system of care for the animals that didn’t involve them sleeping under Cam and Molly’s roof.
Molly felt a little frustrated with Cam. Why did he not see what she could see? Bree might appear to have a tough exterior but inside she was a young girl fighting for survival and stealing food to curb the hunger pains in her stomach. She was sixteen, with no one to show her the way.
‘She has no one, and a little kindness goes a long way.’
‘That’s why Sam is doing the hard work she does so well. That’s why there is a shelter. That’s their safe place … and this is ours.’ Cam’s voice rose. ‘Ring Sam.’
Their eyes locked as neither of them backed down. Molly felt exasperated. Cam was not seeing the bigger picture. Who was it going to hurt if Bree shielded here from the cold for a while? She looked towards the window. With the snow still falling Molly didn’t want to send her back out in the winter wonderland, but Cam was clearly not up for discussing this further. She knew by the look in his eye he’d shut the conversation down if she tried to argue again.
Hearing the slam of the back door, they both looked towards the back of the shop. Molly threw her arms up in the air in frustration and hurried down the hallway towards the living room.
‘Bree,’ Molly called out, but there was no answer. She quickly scanned the room then checked the kitchen, but all of Bree’s belongings were gone. Even the cold sausage sandwich was no longer on the plate, and the pile of clothes she’d put together was also nowhere to be seen.
Cam was standing behind Molly.
