forget,” he sneered. “The coachman has yer valuable charms that allow ye to do so.” He looked back at her when he pulled the door open. The pain was still there.
And then he was gone.
She strode to the door and gave it a good banging. “I was with you the whole time!”
And damn it if she didn’t end up using the stupid chamber pot. The whole time she was squatting over it, she expected the bastard to walk in on her. She nearly pulled muscles in her ears listening for his breathing on the other side of the door.
As it turned out, she didn’t need the sun to warm the room since she worked up quite a sweat stomping around. When she got tired of veering around the bed, she pulled it into the middle of the room so she’d have a nice uninterrupted path. At the end of an hour, she wondered if she really was going crazy for the simple fact she’d enjoyed the exercise.
She never enjoyed exercise!
She was supposed to fly home on the twenty-ninth. And she had to come up with some ID before she could do that. If she had to use her rent money for a later flight, she’d have to move back in with her parents and that was not going to happen.
She had to get out of there. Just as soon as the storm was over. And no matter what, she couldn’t let him kiss her again. No trust, no kiss. That was her new policy.
Boredom led to dozing off, but it more than made up for the lack of sleep the night before. She woke to the sound of footsteps coming down the hall and jumped to her feet.
Then she sat again, worried about looking guilty. But that just pissed her off. She wasn’t guilty here. The old man was using her to play some kind of sick joke!
McKinnon opened the door wide, then looked for her before he walked in. He carried a tray to the nightstand and set it down.
“Afraid I might jump you?” she asked and rolled her eyes. “I guess you don’t have to worry about that if you’re going to starve me to death.”
He snorted. “‘Tis not yet noon, Miss Colby. Have ye turned to bone already?”
Not yet noon? She would never last. No matter how long he planned to keep her there, she would never last. She would just have to harass him into letting her leave.
“I can’t believe you’d lock me up on Christmas Eve,” she said dejectedly. “Christmas Eve!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is it now? Well, then, ye’ll have to forgive me. I’m so terrible at readin’ calendars, and dates. I have an especially difficult time with the year, or so I’ve been told. Are ye certain it’s Christmas Eve? Not All Hallows Eve?”
Great. He had his emotions back under control. She could tell because his brogue was a lot more tame. The last time he’d been in the room, he’d been harder to understand.
“Oh, I’m positive it’s Christmas Eve. And you’d better start acting like it.”
He barked with laughter. “Or what, Miss Colby? I fail to see anything ye might have with which to threaten me, while I on the other hand can threaten ye with a wee noose if ye try to steal m’ wee bairn, or aught else from m’ home.”
“I meant that you’d better start acting like it’s Christmas Eve if you don’t want to break that child’s heart.”
He lowered his chin, giving the same impression as a bull about to charge. There was the button to push. It might even turn out to be the button that got her out of this nightmare.
“What do ye mean?” he asked quietly. “What is this risk to the cherub’s heart?”
She took a moment to imagine what it would be like to have a man like him worrying about her own heart. Then she stopped herself and shook her head before she ended up sighing like a teenager.
“I mean, if you don’t do something to make Christmas nice for her, she’ll always remember how you let her down. She won’t ever be able to get her hopes up for Christmas again.”
He frowned like he didn’t understand English.
“Her hopes? What might she be hoping for?”
Like a rat in a trap! Hah!
“Presents,
And then he was gone.
She strode to the door and gave it a good banging. “I was with you the whole time!”
And damn it if she didn’t end up using the stupid chamber pot. The whole time she was squatting over it, she expected the bastard to walk in on her. She nearly pulled muscles in her ears listening for his breathing on the other side of the door.
As it turned out, she didn’t need the sun to warm the room since she worked up quite a sweat stomping around. When she got tired of veering around the bed, she pulled it into the middle of the room so she’d have a nice uninterrupted path. At the end of an hour, she wondered if she really was going crazy for the simple fact she’d enjoyed the exercise.
She never enjoyed exercise!
She was supposed to fly home on the twenty-ninth. And she had to come up with some ID before she could do that. If she had to use her rent money for a later flight, she’d have to move back in with her parents and that was not going to happen.
She had to get out of there. Just as soon as the storm was over. And no matter what, she couldn’t let him kiss her again. No trust, no kiss. That was her new policy.
Boredom led to dozing off, but it more than made up for the lack of sleep the night before. She woke to the sound of footsteps coming down the hall and jumped to her feet.
Then she sat again, worried about looking guilty. But that just pissed her off. She wasn’t guilty here. The old man was using her to play some kind of sick joke!
McKinnon opened the door wide, then looked for her before he walked in. He carried a tray to the nightstand and set it down.
“Afraid I might jump you?” she asked and rolled her eyes. “I guess you don’t have to worry about that if you’re going to starve me to death.”
He snorted. “‘Tis not yet noon, Miss Colby. Have ye turned to bone already?”
Not yet noon? She would never last. No matter how long he planned to keep her there, she would never last. She would just have to harass him into letting her leave.
“I can’t believe you’d lock me up on Christmas Eve,” she said dejectedly. “Christmas Eve!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is it now? Well, then, ye’ll have to forgive me. I’m so terrible at readin’ calendars, and dates. I have an especially difficult time with the year, or so I’ve been told. Are ye certain it’s Christmas Eve? Not All Hallows Eve?”
Great. He had his emotions back under control. She could tell because his brogue was a lot more tame. The last time he’d been in the room, he’d been harder to understand.
“Oh, I’m positive it’s Christmas Eve. And you’d better start acting like it.”
He barked with laughter. “Or what, Miss Colby? I fail to see anything ye might have with which to threaten me, while I on the other hand can threaten ye with a wee noose if ye try to steal m’ wee bairn, or aught else from m’ home.”
“I meant that you’d better start acting like it’s Christmas Eve if you don’t want to break that child’s heart.”
He lowered his chin, giving the same impression as a bull about to charge. There was the button to push. It might even turn out to be the button that got her out of this nightmare.
“What do ye mean?” he asked quietly. “What is this risk to the cherub’s heart?”
She took a moment to imagine what it would be like to have a man like him worrying about her own heart. Then she stopped herself and shook her head before she ended up sighing like a teenager.
“I mean, if you don’t do something to make Christmas nice for her, she’ll always remember how you let her down. She won’t ever be able to get her hopes up for Christmas again.”
He frowned like he didn’t understand English.
“Her hopes? What might she be hoping for?”
Like a rat in a trap! Hah!
“Presents,
Similar Books
