Page 14 of Daddy's Christmas Elf
Grey rubbed his palms over his face before leaning forward and staring at himself in the bathroom mirror.
Had he lost his mind? It was the only reason he could think of for his rash offer. He owed Eli some help for what had happened last night, but beyond that? The boy wasn’t his to look out for. The sensible thing, after he’d dropped Eli back last night, would have been to have driven away and not turned back. Grey huffed, because it hadn’t taken much more than one look at Eli and any thoughts aboutthe sensible thinghad been wiped from his brain.
Eli had looked so wretched, hunkered down and hiding in the footwell of the car, stirring up that ever present need which lay at the core of who Grey was. The need to protect, to care for, to keep safe, all of it had rushed to the surface as unstoppable as white hot lava erupting from a long dormant volcano. None of those needs, as much a part of him as breathing, would have been appeased if he’d had Colin continue to drive him home. So he’d done what he’d done, telling himself it had been the right thing to do, when it had been so much more.
Grey turned the cold tap on full. He doused his face in the icy water and, taking a deep breath, made his way back downstairs. He stood outside the closed kitchen door for a moment, listening for Eli’s voice, but hearing nothing he opened up and went inside.
“Did you get through okay? To your parents?”
Eli nodded. “Eventually. It took a few tries and the reception was really bad. They asked me to thank you. Mum said she’d light a candle for you, and place it on the altar at sunset. Or at least I think that’s what she said, but knowing Mum, that sounds about right.”
“Your parents are Roman Catholics?”
Eli burst out laughing, and Trevor, still curled up on Eli’s lap, yapped and jumped down, skittering away to his pillow.
“No. Aged hippies, remember? She’s got a shrine in the garden, to some goddess. Load of old boll—erm, old tut,” he muttered, as he pushed the long sleeves of his borrowed sweatshirt up his arms; almost immediately they slipped down to his wrists.
Grey’s brows knitted together. He’d offered Eli a place to stay until Benny got back in the New Year. That was over a week away. There was no way Eli could keep wearing borrowed clothes that came nowhere near close to fitting him. He took a breath.In for a penny, in for a pound.
“You need some other clothes to wear whilst you’re staying here. Some jeans and jumpers, and so on. The usual kind of thing. I think we should sort that out.”
“Oh.” Eli looked down at himself. “I never thought about that. I suppose so. I can’t get the elf costume back on, even if I wanted to.” He looked up, red patches colouring his cheeks. “Look, are you sure you’ve thought this through? Me staying here, that is? I seem to be causing more trouble than I’m worth.”
Something in Eli’s voice, so tiny most wouldn’t have noticed it. But Grey noticed. More trouble than Eli was worth? There it was, that vulnerability again, so well hidden beneath his bright and breezy manner.
“You’re not causing me any trouble. And in answer to your question, yes, I have thought it through.”Liar.
“S’pose you’re right. I can’t keep wearing your clothes.” Eli offered up a sheepish smile. “I can ask my parents to reimburse you, straight away. They might be a couple of hippies but even they’re not immune to internet banking. If the internet’s working that is, which it often isn’t. That’s the price of living on a rock in the Atlantic.”
“We can sort that out later.” Grey had no intention of being paid back. What was the price of a few items of clothing? He had more money than he knew what to do with, and nobody to spend it on. Or not anymore.
“Thank you. I’ll need some footwear of some kind because I don’t think elf shoes with bells on them are going to be much use.”
Grey laughed. Eli had looked cute and a whole lot more in his elf costume, but he’d keep that nugget to himself.
“I’ll sort you something, and then we’ll head out. The weather’s only going to deteriorate, so let’s get it done with.”
Less than twenty minutes later, Grey turned the ignition on in his Range Rover. The big four wheeled drive rumbled into life and they set off towards a nearby indoor shopping centre, the car gliding along the road taking the snow and ice in its stride. Grey glanced at Eli, next to him, and suppressed a smile. Eli was bundled up in an old coat, which reached almost to his ankles. The boots Grey had found for him were at least three sizes too big, and he’d had to give Eli another pair of socks to help pad them out.
They didn’t say much on the journey, as Grey concentrated on driving in the treacherous conditions, but the long silences didn’t feel awkward and there was no need to fill them with meaningless chat. Grey turned into the shopping centre car park, the place nowhere near as busy as he’d expected.
“The weather must be keeping people away,” Eli said, voicing Grey’s own thoughts.
They climbed out but Eli had taken no more than a couple of steps when his feet went from under him and he landed with a howling yelp. Spreadeagled on his back, his face was white with shock.
“Eli? Eli, are you okay? Have you injured yourself?”
Eli sat up. “My bum took the brunt of it. I’m just winded. It all looked worse than it was.”
Grey helped him to his feet, not believing a word Eli said, as he wrapped his arm tightly around him to hold him steady.
“I’ll be okay,” Eli muttered.
“Lean against me, I’ll take your weight. The first thing we’ll do is get you something sweet to eat and drink. For the shock.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Grey jolted.
