Alone at Christmas (Holiday Heartwarmers Book 7) by Mimi Barbour

Author:Mimi Barbour [Barbour, Mimi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781926512846
Publisher: Sarna Publishing
Published: 2020-12-14T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

★•**•★

Tara could have listened to his deep, velvety voice forever. And his warm hand cradling hers made her wish his arms were around her as well. The cold tried to attack, coming at them from all angles, but they had built up enough body heat to feel comfortable. If her face could be covered, everything would have been perfect.

“Are you cold?” She’d waited for him to continue after he’d shared his story, but the silence grew. It worried her.

“Not really. Are you?”

He sounded fine.

“Just my face a bit.”

He lifted his arm around her shoulders and cuddled her closer. “Do you mind? It’ll be warmer if you squeeze closer to my chest.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” Tara buried her face against his woolen jacket and enjoyed the sudden warmth.

Ollie spoke, his voice soothing. “Now that we’ve covered my problems, tell me about your life.”

Tara found that talking about herself didn’t leave her tongue-tied as usual. “Let’s see. I worked at one of the Huntington branches for Capitol One in Los Angeles until the pandemic appeared. We were forced to cut our hours and that meant half the wages.” Suddenly, it dawned on her that she hadn’t even thought about the virus or made any attempt to ask him about his experiences with the sickness. She took the opportunity now. “Have you had any problems with Covid?”

“Actually, I was sick with it last month for a few days. Once the symptoms disappeared, I felt normal again. I think I was one of the lucky ones with a mild case. They cleared me to go back to work after I self-quarantined and retested, which came back negative. A lot of us at the house got sick. Did you?”

“No. I took a leave rather than stay on the job and decided to come here to Carlton Grove. I’d rather pass the rest of my time here to wait for the eventual return to some kind of normal. Of course, that’s all changed now that my money’s gone.”

“What will you do? Did you tell the police?”

“No, I told the bus driver, and he took my name and phone number, but he couldn’t do much more for me. Said it was up to the individual to look after their own personal belongings.”

“So, you have no money, no place to go?”

“I booked into a hotel here in town, but I couldn’t get there. A woman gave me twenty dollars when we got off the bus and another person gave me ten, so I guess I’m flush.” She hoped the teary feeling that overcame her didn’t appear in her voice. Suddenly, her dire situation returned, and she felt abandoned and frightened.

He cradled her closer. “Don’t worry about anything, Tara. I’ll help if you’ll let me.”

“I’m not your problem, Ollie. We’re strangers.”

“Strangers in the night – one of my favorite songs.” He teased at first but then turned serious.

“Honey, my uncle left me this property and a rather large bank account. Though the house seems to be a write-off from the storms over the years, the huge property is still worth a lot.

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