Page 32 of His Ex's Little Sister
13
Robin
After the daythat I had yesterday, I should be running for the hills and swearing off men altogether. I totally expected Reid to have made a move on me by now, but he has surprised the heck out of me. So far, he’s given me space. He was quiet all day yesterday. I turned down all of his offers to feed me lunch and dinner, or whatever he thought I needed so that I’d be comfortable. I couldn’t eat anyway. For the rest of the time, he’s been in his bedroom or hisoffice.
I should be thanking my blessings for his hospitality and low-key behavior at his place. And thanking him from the bottom of my heart for being at the right place at the right timeyesterday.
I do appreciate whathe’sdone.
I even value the space he’s given me. All night, and right up until I wake up long before the crack of dawn. At that point, I’m too wired to sleep a minute longer, so I use his spare bathroom to get myself a shower and throw on the clothes he laid out for me to wear. The t-shirt and cargo shorts dwarf me completely, but I’m not going tocomplain.
Heading to the kitchen, I do my best to figure out the coffee situation. It’s the least I can do after he’s opened up his place to me like family. While I look through his kitchen cabinets for coffee mugs, Reidsauntersin.
“Good morning,” I greet him as he stands there insweatpants.
“Morning,” he all but yawns out. “Did you have trouble sleeping, or do you have an early daytoday?”
“I slept okay. Couldn’t stay in bed anymore. Do you want somecoffee?”
“Sure. So, you know it’s Saturday,right?”
I slouch my shoulders. The tragedy of yesterday starts to replay all over again. “I guess so… I mean, I should find myself a calendar or something. Now that I don’t have a cell phoneanymore.”
“Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot. Give me a second.” He leaves the room and returns a little while later with a smartphone in his hand. “You’re more than welcome to use my personal cell,” he informs me, setting down the phone on the countertop. “I’ve got another one I useforwork.”
“You don’t have to do that,youknow?”
“I know. You should have a number other than your original phone to leave with your family, friends and other contacts. Otherwise you’ll have to constantly check your voicemail. Keep it for as long as you need it, at least until you get your bank cards and photo ID replaced. That can take a while, from myexperience.”
I pour black coffee into a mug and pass it to him. “Don’t remind me,” I whine, leaning on the counterbesidehim.
That’s when I notice the scars on his arms and chest. There are dots of pink, and scarlet, and circular raised spots in his skin tone. Reid doesn’t react to my staring, but when my hand reaches up to touch one on his bicep, he clasps his handovermine.
“What happenedtoyou?”
“I’m fine. These are all from longyearsago.”
“From your time in the army? I’ve seen pictures of people injured by IEDs, butthese…”
“No. My three tours were like Disneyland compared to where I got these fancy littlesouvenirs.”
“What?”
“I have my old man to thank for them. They’re cigarette burns. Not many people knew he used me as his own personal, child-sizedashtray.”
I don’t even know what to say to that. “Christ, Reid. Ididn’tknow.”
“It’s over and done with. Ancienthistory.”
Talk about perspective. Here I am, feeling sorry for having had one bad day, acting like it’s the end of the world that I lost things I can replace over time, when Reid started off his life at the center of a tragically horrific homesituation.
He takes a sip of the strong brew and shrugs. “I can put on a t-shirt if it makes youuncomfortable.”
“No.It’sfine.”
“Sorry I brought up replacing you photo ID andstuff.”
“It’s okay. That reminds me…I have to phone Rusty at WhiskeyJacks.”
