Page 41 of Love Me Carefully
Her lips curved in a smile that both melted his heart and threatened to destroy him. “My father died when I was ten years old. He was killed in a car accident.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and took his hand in hers.
“So it’s been just me and Mama all these years. She was always telling me how she wanted me to make something of my life, to be successful…to be happy. So I went to college and I studied hard. I found my niche in computers and was offered a six-figure salary in my senior year. I figured this was the life meant for me—so I set out to live it.” The only thing missing was the family he’d wanted so desperately, but he wasn’t about to divulge that information.
“Ms. Rosie’s really proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
“I know. But she always cautioned me not to get too caught up in the success. I just wanted to make things better for her, to repay her for all that she’d done for me. I wanted to take care of her the way she took care of me.”
Because she was curious, because her house had always been a revolving door for father figures, she asked, “Was it bad growing up?”
He sensed the part of her question she’d omitted. “Without a father, you mean? Yeah, it was bad. We always seemed to have what we needed, but Mama worked and worked. I just knew that if Daddy had lived, things would’ve been much different. Mama and I are very close. We both shared the same tremendous loss the day my father died. But I wanted to be the one to fix that for her.”
“You can give her all the material things in the world, Terrell, but it won’t fill the gap that losing your father left. That’s not your job.”
Terrell frowned. Her words were true, but they made him seem like some perverted freak. “I never thought I could fill her husband’s shoes. I just wanted to make her comfortable so it wouldn’t hurt as much anymore.”
Leah saw an opening to lighten the moment. “Oh, okay. For a minute there I thought…”
He eyed her skeptically. “You did not.”
Leah’s smile spread. “Of course I didn’t. I’m not stupid, I knew what you meant. But still, you can do only so much. And Mr. Donald seemed to give her what she needed at the moment. Were you really going to begrudge her that?”
He shook his head adamantly. “No. I wasn’t. After I spent the weekend with them, saw how happy he made her, I really wanted it to happen—for her sake. Something just kept bothering me about him. I remembered his name from somewhere. Now I realize it was the papers. I found a huge stack of old clippings at the library that outlined the investigation into him and his business dealings a while back. I understand that she loves him and that even after I tell her this she probably still will, but I won’t let him hurt her. I won’t let him involve her in his illegal activities.”
“For the record, this time and probably this time only,” she grinned as he looked at her with raised brows, “I think you’re right.”
Their close proximity was quickly changing the moment to something more sensual and she was instantly uncomfortable.Not under these circumstances, she reminded herself. She’d thought that talking to him about his past would alleviate some of the sexual tension. Instead, it had brought her closer to the realization that he was one hell of a man. Everything he’d worked for, everything he wanted in life, took a second seat to protecting his mother.
In a sense they were two of a kind. He was just as determined to protect his mother as she was to not repeat her mother’s mistakes.
Because she felt she was reading way too much into their connection, she gently removed her hand from his knee and reached behind her head to free her hair from its ponytail.
Leaning back, he rested his elbows on the step above and stared at the ceiling. He’d told her something he’d never uttered to another living soul, and it had been so easy. Keenly aware that she was sitting very close to him, he dared not look at her. The way he was feeling right now he just might start blubbering about his feelings for her.
“It’s getting dark outside.” Looking down at his watch, he confirmed that it was evening. “Six o’clock. We’ve been down here probably about twelve hours now.”
“I’m hungry.”Maybe that’s the true cause of the fluttering in my stomach.
“There’s a deep freezer way back in the corner.” Rising from the steps, Terrell walked across the room. “And, I thought I saw…” His voice trailed off while Leah stood and stretched again.
“You thought you saw what?” Hands on her hips, she watched him going from one corner to the next.
“I thought I saw…yup, I did. Here it is.” Stooping down, he moved a box from atop a white surface. “A mini refrigerator,” he announced as he pulled open the door.
“Who puts a mini refrigerator in their basement?” Leah asked as she joined him in his perusal of the refrigerator’s contents.
“Maybe he worked down here late at night and got the urge for a snack. I don’t know, but there’s some bottled water, a carton of milk…” Putting the carton to his nose, he sniffed. Frowning copiously, he sat the carton to the side. “…That’s no good at all, but here’s an unopened pack of bologna and some Kraft singles.”
With his bounty in hand he turned to Leah. “My dear, we have a feast.”
“Yeah, a feast.” She tried to muster up her excitement. “I’m not a big bologna fan.” Opening the bottle of water, he handed it to her and she took a few big gulps.
“Me either, but I’ll make the sacrifice.” Passing her the meat and cheese, Terrell grabbed some blankets that they’d thrown beside the boxes in their earlier search and began to spread them out on the floor. After putting three blankets on top of each other, he took a fourth one and rolled it into one long pillow. Then the last two he set to the side saying, “We’ll have to use these to cover us.”
Leah watched him in silence. The makeshift bed was anything but encouraging, but she couldn’t help thinking of lying on it with Terrell.
“Leah?” Terrell called her name again.
