Misfortune: Christmas With Scrooge (24 page)

“Come on. I think we need some privacy.”

Turning, he headed for his mother’s sitting
room, taking Laura’s hand as he went. However, the pinkish looking
gentleman urged them, “Well don’t leave us wondering. Do you love
the girl or not?”

Dexter halted, then slowly turned around.
Laura found herself holding her breath. His eyes locked with hers
briefly before returning his attention to the inquisitive
gathering. Then with an angry retort, he growled,
“Unfortunately.”

Then quickly, before anyone could stop him,
he hurried out of the room dragging Laura behind him. Once in the
sanctuary of the sitting room he shut the door soundly then turned
on her at once. “First of all, let me start by saying if you ever
pull a stunt like that again I’ll—I’ll—.”

She wanted desperately to go to him, to put
her arms back around his neck and kiss him endlessly. But she
wanted to hear him say the words. She needed to hear him say the
words. So she waited quietly as he scolded her for her lack of
etiquette and conduct. When he finished he took a deep breath,
looked at her searchingly, and then said, “What exactly is it you
know and are bragging so arrogantly about?”

“Mr. Jenkins called me tonight.”

He looked vacantly at her. “Am I supposed to
recognize the name?”

She smiled. “That’s okay, he didn’t know you
either.”

His eyes narrowed. “What point are you trying
to make?”

“Mr. Jenkins is the insurance broker.”

Again he looked at her blankly, obviously
unable to follow her train of thoughts.

“He told me you didn’t pull any strings to
receive the proceeds of my insurance.” At this, his face became
hard, but Laura continued, “You told me the renovation came from
the proceeds of the insurance claim.”

“I never actually said that,” he firmly
stated.

“Maybe not in so much words, but that was
what you had me believe.”

“I didn’t have you believe anything. I simply
told you I was able to pull some strings together in order to pay
for the reconstruction. You were the one who jumped to the
conclusion it came from the insurance.”

Piqued, she claimed, “You didn’t deny
it.”

“No.” It was one word, but it held so much
power in what she would say next.

“Adell denied having anything to do with it
either.” Suddenly she felt very nervous. “Which left only one
conclusion.”

He looked unsmiling across the room at her
without uttering a word, waiting for the inevitable as he saw
it.

“Y-you.” Once the word was out, she went very
still and held her breath fearfully. Praying he had the strength to
confess. Or to deny, which Laura would dig the biggest hole to bury
herself in.

Sighing, he got to his feet and ran a hand
through his hair as he turned his back to her. “I don’t see how it
matters who paid for the renovation. The point is it’s done.”

“Because I owe that person an immense amount
of gratitude. They have given me—”

He spun around angry, “That’s exactly why I
didn’t tell you. Dammit, Laura, I don’t want your gratitude.”

Slowly, she began to smile and had enough
confidence to take a step closer. “It was you.”

Frowning heavily, he stared at her. “Don’t
you dare utter a single thank you. That’s not why I did it.”

Her smile turned into a full beam. “I told
you.”

She nearly took pity on him, so uncomfortable
he was becoming. “Tell me what?”

“That you love me.”

Physically he did not move, however the jolt
from the depths of his hazel eyes, brought Laura to a new level of
understanding. “Cursed woman, you want me to say it don’t you?”

Grinning suddenly, Laura nodded as her heart
accelerated.

“First let me ask you, did Mother have
anything to do with this?”

“Let’s just say she helped me clarify things.
I thought it was she who bought me the cottage and believed
whomever paid for the renovations, also gave me the little cottage.
You gave her a duplicate.”

“My immaterial way of turning the gift
insignificant.” He paused, then said. “You were so devastated at
the loss of your mother’s Christmas village, I thought you might
like it. I didn’t want to accept the small cottage brought back
memories of our night together and might have had something to do
with me choosing that particular piece. So I bought mother a
duplicate. I just didn’t realize she would leave it out for
everyone to see.”

“I’m glad she did. Otherwise, she would never
have confessed it was you who bought it for her.” Laura frowned
suddenly. “But I don’t understand. You’ve hated the whole shelter
idea from the beginning. You’ve wanted me to fail. Why would you
pay to have the home rebuilt?”

“I still disagree with you using the home for
a shelter. As a financial consultant there is no logic to operating
that kind of business.” He paused. “But it was your family’s home
and I could see how much it hurt you to lose it after the fire. I
couldn’t bear to see you lose it again.”

Laura’s expression softened and the urge to
be in his arms was greater than ever, but first, “You wanted me to
fail with the shelter because you feared I would lose my home?”

He frowned. “I think I put it that way when
you came to me for help. But I never wanted you to fail. That was
why I—”

She waited and when he suddenly fell silent,
a look of discomfort on his face, she asked, “Did you have anything
to do with the success of the first Bingo Charity Night?”

A pause, then he nodded. “I might have made a
few very heavy suggestions to some of my biggest clients that your
shelter was a good charitable cause and that they should invest. I
promised them a tax break if they did.”

“But I don’t understand. You fought me every
step of the way? You hate the shelter.” Her heart glowed warmly but
she needed to clarify.

“And I still do,” he sternly told her,
pinning her with a hard gaze. “And before we go any further, let’s
get this straight. You are no longer in charge of the shelter’s
bookkeeping. I’ll handle that end of it, thank you very much.”

“Ok.”

“And you’ll leave the insurance coverage to
me. I’ll look after it.”

“All right.”

“As well as any other legal matters.”

“That’s fine.”

“Good.” His expression eased. “You just
concentrate on healing those girls.”

She smiled. “I will.”

He nodded, “Now you’re thinking straight for
once.”

Laura couldn’t help but laugh. “I would have
gladly let you take over any one of those responsibilities—except
helping the girls. But you weren’t my biggest supporter. Why did
you fight me so much?”

“I needed you to—” Dexter stopped, then
looked at her squarely before admitting, “I needed you to hate
me.”

“Why?”

With his eyes downcast he replied, “Because I
was beginning to care.”

Heart glowing, she sighed sweetly.
“Really?”

Frustrated, he shoved a weary hand through
his hair. “Look Laura, I’m a fraud. Whatever you think you feel for
me isn’t real. You deserve better. You’re a decent woman who
deserves a worthy man.”

Laura grimaced and cocked her head, shooting
him a look saying with a smile, “You think I’m a decent woman?
Lord, I was looking for something a little more flattering.”

He looked up and frowned. “That’s not what I
meant.”

Sighing, she took a few steps closer to him.
“Dexter, how can you say you’re not worthy? Look at what you’ve
done for me. I can never repay that kind of generosity.”

“I’m not looking for repayment.” He angrily
amended.

“My point is you did it not out of coercion
but out of kindness and compassion.”

He opened his mouth to say something but
Laura quickly interfered.

“And out of love, Dexter. Whether you will
ever acknowledge it or not, your heart has a wonderful ability to
give. Will you allow it to receive?”

This time he had nothing to say as he stared
openly back at her. Then, “I don’t deserve you.”

She grinned softly. “I don’t think you have a
choice.”

On a serious note, he needed to point out, “I
don’t know if I can love you the way you want to be loved.”

Laura felt her heart hasten. “Then love me
the way I need to be loved.”

His brows came together as if her words hurt.
“You’ve been through so much in the last year. I couldn’t bear it
if I were to hurt you.”

Stepping closer, she replied, “We’ve both
been through a lot to finally find each other. I am happy, Dexter.
More than I have been in years. I love you.”

He reached up timidly and stroked his hand
against her cheek. Gently brushing her hair aside, he allowed
himself the joy of touching this woman who had aroused an emotion
in him which had laid dormant for far too long, from the moment
they shared this very night together last year on Suicide Point. A
memory that nearly cost him the life of another person he cared
deeply for.

He allowed himself to take the blame for his
father’s death and in doing so forgone his ability to love. With
this woman, those emotions had been stirred and jolted. She
deserved so much more, he believed. He may not sing her praises or
sweep her off her feet, but he would do everything in his power to
give her all the love she needed.

“You.”

Puzzled, her brows dipped slightly.

“I love you.” He told her. Then with a
blissful heart she slipped into his embrace and hungrily accepted
his kiss of devotion. With this silent joining, a life of joy and
happiness, along with healing and forgiveness sealed a fate
irrevocably forged.

I truly hope you enjoyed reading
Misfortune, Christmas with Scrooge
as much as I enjoyed
writing it. This book is the first in “The Miss Book Series”. If
you would like to be notified of the next book in the series,
please sign up to my newsletter
here
. Please
continue to the following page to read an excerpt from Book #2
about Daniel Keller, the facts-dribbling computer nerd who falls in
love with next door neighbor and promiscuous party girl, Sonya
Elliott. And as always, if you enjoyed the story and would like to
leave a review on Amazon, it is always welcome and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Peggy Ann Craig

Sonya Elliott thanked heaven for the
umpteenth time for placing Daniel Keller across the hall.

Taking a quick look down either side of the
apartment corridor, she slipped across the carpeted hallway and
tapped sharply on his door.

The I-really-
really
-need-this-job
interview was in less than forty-five minutes and, wouldn’t you
know it, the zipper on her dress got snared in the lace of her
panties. Her many attempts to release it were fruitless and, as she
didn’t have eyes on the back of her head, she couldn’t see just how
bad the damage was.

Becoming impatient when she received no
immediate response, she banged harder for a second time. She
refused to be late for this appointment, and though she hated
asking for help, she needed another set of hands.

Daniel’s door finally opened and he peered
around the corner from over the rim of his thick glasses. With one
finger he pushed them back up the bridge of his nose and gave her a
quick once-over.

"Ah, I see you have manifested your ability
to connect with the universal system of propulsion."

Rolling her eyes, she said, “English,
Daniel.”

He gestured toward her outfit. “The ability
to change direction. Or in this case, your mind. As I see you have
chosen to go against my advice to wear the blue dress.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She brushed his comment aside
with a twitch of her wrist. “As if you have any taste.”

Which was no joke. Daniel Keller possessed as
much color in his wardrobe as he did in his life. As long as she
had known him, he was a rather reserved man for someone so young.
And dull. Dreadfully dull.

When initially they met nearly a year ago,
she thought him older than his actual thirty-one years of age. But
soon discovered his aloofness was more a result of him being, what
she perceived, a bit on the bashful side. Something which,
thankfully, had changed upon getting to know him better. She was
sure she wouldn’t have bothered with him if he had remained in his
little cocoon, for they had absolutely nothing in common.

“By not being able to choose between the red
or blue dress, you created an internal conflict.”

“Well, of course. Do you have any idea how
much a Versace dress cost? Even second-hand?”

“No, I can’t say that I do.”

Which didn’t surprise Sonya. The only thing
that interested Daniel was the technical world. All his time was
spent on any one of his computers, or down at the institute at
which he worked. She sincerely couldn't figure him out. Not that
she tried.

Daniel was a great neighbor and a real sweet
guy, but he hardly fit into the circle she associated with. She was
certain the group she hobnobbed with would find him a dreadful
bore. As she, herself, admittedly found him to be at times.
Whenever the discussion strayed in the direction of science or
technology, she would have to change the topic in a fast hurry.
Really, it didn’t surprise her in the least the guy was still
single.

Not that he was unattractive, she had to
concede as she watched him rake his fingers through his short but
stiff brown locks. He had one of those dark polished looks about
him. A look more popular on the legislative assembly channel rather
than the ESPN channel.

Her eyes followed the movement of his hand
and admitted he did possess a rather gorgeous head of hair. But,
unfortunately, lacked any sense of style. What Sonya wouldn’t give
to see him bear a Johnny Depp
just-out-of-bed-after-hours-of-wild-sex look.