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He moved up the porch steps first, and for a second, she contemplated running. But then something squashed that thought and she squared her shoulders before following him up the stairs and inside. This couldn’t be nearly as bad as the time she’d slept under that bridge or the time she’d stayed a full week in the back of a truck at the junkyard.
This was a real house with real running water.
She’d be living it up like a queen. But only for a few days.
5
Henry
At least he had one thing.
He knew her name.
Sam.
Henry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as they reached the bedroom. Funny, she didn’t quite look like a Sam. Maybe it was short for something. Or maybe he had made himself believe that she had some kind of exotic name better suited for those green eyes.
He pushed open the door and gestured with a sweep of his arm. “Home sweet home. What do you think?”
She glanced at him, then back to the room.
“Still not talking to me, huh? You ever gonna say something? I’d almost thought that you might be mute until you said your name. Hope doesn’t bite. You could have talked to her.”
Sam shot him a flat look, and he chuckled as he held up placating hands for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Okay, okay, I get it. You don’t like to talk to anyone. Not even the guy who’s willing to give you free room and board.”
Once again, her gaze locked with his, and for a brief moment, something electric passed between them.
Henry moved past her into the room. “Now, there’s still some of my brother’s things in the closet. If they get in the way, let me know and I’ll throw them in a box or something. The bathroom is down the hall. Breakfast and lunch are usually a free-for-all, but we always have dinner as a family.”
Sam wrinkled her nose, and he laughed.
“I know. Another weird thing in this day and age when families don’t make time for each other, but I promise, it’s not as bad as it seems. And we’ve got a lot more space since some of us have moved out.”
She placed her food on the dresser that was pressed up against the wall, and Henry motioned to it.
“You want me to put that in the fridge? We can put your name on it, and no one will eat it.” He scrunched up his face. “Okay, maybe that’s not true. Sometimes, Caleb takes stuff that doesn’t belong to him, and he totally lies about it. But maybe if I hide it in the vegetable drawer, he won’t see it.”
Sam moved to the window as if she hadn’t heard a single word he’d said. She wrapped her arms around herself, then took a deep breath and released it.
Henry didn’t dare go any closer to her. Now was not the time to push anything she wouldn’t be comfortable with. He was lucky as it was to get her on board with coming up here in the first place. “Anyway,” he drawled, “I was thinking that if you wanted to, we could go to town again and get you a few things.”
Her head snapped around and she stared at him with curiosity.
He flushed hot. “I noticed you didn’t have anything with you. It’s getting colder around here. I thought you might like to get a jacket and maybe a few other things.”
Sam shook her head vehemently and then turned back to the window.
“Are you sure? Because—”
Once again, she shook her head.
“Okay,” he said. “Well, I’m going to head out and get some more work done. You’re welcome to get some rest or take a shower or something. I don’t know where Hudson is, but I’ll make sure he knows that this room is yours now. Oh, and there’s fresh sheets in the closet on the top shelf. I’d offer to change the bed for you, but I can’t until later.” He inched closer to the door, backing up until he stood in the doorway. “Come find me if you need anything. Or you can ask anyone you bump into. I swear, we’re all really nice.”
Sam still didn’t turn. He wasn’t sure if she even cared about any of the stuff he’d just told her. It probably didn’t matter anyway. At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if she regretted her choice to stay and she ended up disappearing before he got done with his work for the day.
He’d just have to hope that she trusted him enough to stick around.
