In the week we’d been here Mikayla had started to sleep through the night, which meant that I wasn’t walking around like a zombie or mainlining caffeine to get through my day.
I’d settled into a routine.
We got up, had breakfast, and I was out the house with Mikayla by nine in the morning to drop her off at the nursery down the road from the bakery.
I started work at ten to relieve the bakers that had been in since three am. I worked from ten until three pm. We closed the shop at two, so that left me an hour to clean and do the day’s takings.
I usually picked Mikayla up at about four in the afternoon, and we spent the next few hours bonding and enjoying life. I loved it. I was earning enough to not only put a roof over our heads, but I was saving money. Deep in my soul, I knew that this wasn’t all on me. Somehow my benevolent stalker was making it all happen. Any other woman would be terrified, but for some reason I wasn’t. I knew whoever it was meant me no harm, and I’d been dealt enough shit hands in my life to not look a gift horse in the mouth.
Hopefully one day I’d meet whoever he was, and I’d be able to thank him. Until then, I’d enjoy the peace that came with living in this part of the city, and enjoy life like I’d never been able to before.
My mind made up, that's what I did. I didn’t give a thought to the man that lived next to me. I probably should have, seeing as he was my landlord, but it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Jess had said he’d be away for a few days over the weekend, but it was closer to ten days before he returned home.
***
Our day had begun much like any other. I’d gone to work, then picked Mikayla up at the end of the day. It was nearly dark by the time I got home, and it was only as I parked my vehicle that I noticed the black, sleek powerful machine on two wheels parked in the open garage next door to mine.
That should have been my first clue that I wasn’t alone anymore. And if I’d been a bit more aware, I’d probably not have given myself a heart attack when a shadow moved in the evening gloom and my driver’s door opened.
Screaming in fright, I slap my hand against a firm hard chest. My scream wakes Mikayla who starts to cry, and the dog that I hadn’t seen begins barking loudly.
It’s mayhem.
‘Feck’s sake,” a deep voice rumbles, and even with the chaos that surrounds us my belly dips at his voice. The same one that I’d heard on the phone.
“Wolfie, enough,” he shouts at the dog who immediately stops barking and obediently sits down on its rump.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, opening my door wider and holding a hand out to help me from my car. Not thinking twice, I slip my hand into his.
Warmth enfolds my fingers and the calluses on his gently rasp against my palm as he eases me from the car. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I thought you’d seen me when you pulled up.”
“It’s okay,” I reply as I stand next to him, tilting my head back. I look up, trying to make out his face in the gloom of the evening.
It’s not easy because his beard hides most of the lower part of his face and he’s wearing a cap so I can’t make out much of his expression in the dim light, but somehow, I’m not frightened. Mikayla is still crying, so I hurry to her door and take her out of the car, still in her car seat. “Shh baby, it’s all good.” I hum to her as I rock her gently.
She quietens and looks up at me with pouty lips and tears on her lashes. “See, it’s all good,” I smile down at her before turning back to my neighbour. Now that she’s stopped crying and the dog has quietened down, I can think more clearly.
Holding out my hand again, I introduce myself. “Hi, I’m Moira. Your new tenant and neighbour.”
He’s quiet for a minute, but then he takes my hand again and I’m surprised as a shiver runs up my arm.
“I’m Andy O’Shea.” He replies, stepping a little closer and into the light from my porch. He’s a good-looking guy now that I can see him a little clearer.
Tall, I’d say he’s pushing over six foot, broad and powerfully built. I imagine that he works out a lot to look the way he does.
A smile blooms over my face, and I’m surprised to see his eyes widen slightly before a tinge of red heats his cheeks. He releasesmy hand, and lifts his to pull at the back of his neck. “It’s nice to meet you,” he mumbles under his breath.
Oh my lord, the man is shy. Huh, who’d have thought.
“You too,” I reply, still smiling like a loon. Not that I know why but being in his presence made me feel happy. There was something about him that settled everything around me, and the whole world stilled. I knew that as long as he was near, nothing would harm me, and that was a powerful feeling after being alone and afraid for so long.
I’m not sure how long we’d have stayed staring at each other like that if Mikayla hadn’t whimpered. Andy stepped back as she cried, his eyes dropping to her in the seat, and his face softened even as he retreated. “I’ll let you get indoors and sort her out.”
He turns away and whistles for his dog who bounds up and runs up the steps of the house next door in front of his master. Andy stops at his front door and turns to look at me. “I hope you’ll be happy here Moira.”
“I will,” I assure him with a smile, swiping a curl off my cheek as the wind picks up.
“Good,” he taps on his door jamb and tilts his head towards my front door. “Go on now. I’ll wait until you’re safe indoors.”
