Page 7 of Securing His Family

“It’s perfect and welcoming. What more could you ask for in a home?” he said, meaning every word. He’d been in some places where he’d been too afraid to sit down because they’d felt so sterile and perfect. And he’d been in some real shitholes when they’d been overseas on a mission. Places where he’d wondered if the roof over his head would hold on for the night.

“More space. A room of my own.” Lauren pressed her lips together as if she hadn’t meant to blurt out those words.

Reed wanted to tell her that she was doing a great job as a single mum. That Charlee was happy and healthy. Thriving. But he didn’t want to come across as condescending or insincere, so he kept his words to himself and when the time was right he’d tell her all those things and more. For now, he’d enjoy the evening they were about to share together, because he didn’t know if there would be another opportunity after this one.

ChapterFour

Ilove my daughter. I love my daughter.

Lauren kept those words swirling around her head like a tornado as she watched Reed examine her house. Again. This was the third time he’d looked at her space as though he was expecting something to jump out of a corner. She didn’t know how he could think that when her whole house consisted of three rooms. The room which encompassed all the living and eating spaces. A bedroom which she and Charlee shared. And the final room was a bathroom/laundry combo.

She’d been lucky to find it, and the owners of the main house were a lovely couple who hadn’t minded Lauren and her baby daughter renting the unit they’d built for Sally’s mother who’d passed away before she’d even lived in it. They also kept the rent at a rate she could afford.

Lauren wanted something bigger, something with two bedrooms. Sharing a bedroom with her daughter had been fine when Charlee was just a baby, but now she was growing up and needed her own space. An impossible dream at the moment. Lauren wasn’t qualified for much more than what she was doing at Tabby’s Café. She was saving as much as she could, but Charlee had needed new clothes and shoes recently because she’d had a growth spurt and she couldn’t go to school with shoes too small and skirts that were too short.

Some days Lauren wondered if she’d ever get out of this place. If there was a chance that she would be able to buy something that she liked the moment she saw it because money wasn’t an issue.

Now she had Patrick to worry about.

Him turning up out of the blue wasn’t what she needed right now. He also looked like he had the means to be able to give Charlee everything she wanted. His clothes hadn’t been from a thrift store like hers were. No, his clothes, while not designer, looked like they’d come from one of the men’s stores found in most of the shopping malls.

“What are you thinking about?” Reed asked.

“Nothing much.” No way was she going to tell him what was going through her mind. He didn’t need to know. “Are you ready to start making the pizzas?

Lauren hoped that Reed would jump on the change of subject and not question her further. She didn’t want to talk about what happened, although, they would probably need to touch on the subject of him announcing that they were engaged—thank goodness he hadn’t mentioned anything about it in front of Charlee.

Her daughter was getting to the age where she was more and more aware of what was going on around her. Of her friends who had both a mother and father, and she knew that she didn’t have a father. It hadn’t bothered her daughter in the past, but it was starting to become an issue now.

Something else to add to my list of failings as a mother.

“Ren, it’s going to be okay. Whatever is troubling you, we’ll get through it together.”

Irrational anger flared to life at the shortening of her name, as if he had a right to do it. Her hands clenched and she had to make a concentrated effort to not hit Reed on the arm. “My name is Lauren, and you don’t know anything,” she hissed. “There is nousto work through things. It’s just me. It’s always been me who has to sort through everything. Make sure Charlee has everything she wants and needs.”

Lauren turned away so Reed wouldn’t see that she was on the verge of losing it. That she wasn’t about to release all the emotions she always kept bottled down.

Warm hands landed on her shoulder. She should’ve known he wouldn’t sit in his chair while she battled her inner turmoil. When he turned her slowly and pulled her against his chest, she didn’t resist, even though she knew she should.

Would it hurt to let go for a few seconds? Let someone share her burden before she took it all back again?

“Is Mummy sad?” Charlee’s sweet voice burst the bubble she’d allowed herself to be engulfed in.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from Reed and smiled down at her daughter. “No, sweetie, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure, because it looked like you weren’t happy at all.”

Sometimes her daughter was too observant and too mature for her age. She should be like every other seven-year-old who only worried about what her dolls were doing. Or, playing dress-up with her friends.

“I’m sure. Now we’re going start making the pizzas.” Lauren squatted down and waved Charlee closer as if she was about to share a big secret. “Do you think Reed will get pizza sauce on him?”

Her daughter looked over at the man who still stood sentry in the middle of their small kitchen, the left side of his mouth quirked up in a half smile. Lauren hadn’t made any attempt to keep her voice low so that Reed would hear what she’d said. Hence his smile. He’d heard and if she knew anything about the men who worked for Power Security, they never backed down from a challenge—or good old-fashioned teasing.

“Nope, Reed’s too smart to get sauce on him. But he may burn the bottom of his pizza though.”

Reed laughed. “You think I don’t know how to cook pizza, munchkin? I’ll have you know I’m an expert at cooking pizza.”

“Frozen doesn’t count,” Charlee fired back, and Lauren burst out laughing at the shocked look on Reed’s face. Clearly he hadn’t expected Charlee to know her pizzas. Lauren had found that, because her daughter only liked cheese pizza while Lauren was partial to a Margherita style, it was far cheaper for them to make their own, especially as Lauren grew her own basil and tomatoes.

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