A Family This Christmas by Sue MacKay Page B

quiet.’
    Deep breaths, in one two, out one two. In, out. Slowly, slowly the pain ebbed away, leaving her feeling drained. ‘Goes to show I’m not improving as fast as I thought,’ she finally gasped out.
    Cam knelt down and gently straightened her leg. ‘As fast as you’d like, you mean.’
    ‘I guess.’
    ‘Are you always so impatient?’ Straightening up, he lifted her to stand on the good foot and quickly whipped back the bed covers before lowering her onto the bed.
    ‘Me? Impatient? Only when I need to get something done.’ Great, now she was in bed, fully dressed and her body craving to relax back into the mattress. But she was damned if she’d undress while Cam was still in the room. Not after that searing moment back in the lounge.
    Cam obviously had other ideas. He pulled the oversized T-shirt she slept in from under the pillow and handed it to her. ‘You have something you want to do urgently? Some place you need to be? Or are you in a hurry to leave us?’
    ‘All of the above.’ That wasn’t a fib.
    He crossed to close the curtains, tossing a question over his shoulder. ‘What’s so important you can’t give that fracture a couple of days to start mending?’
    ‘I hate being a nuisance.’ Avoid the big questions. Makes life far easier. ‘My ankle can heal just as well in a motel as it can hanging out on your deck.’
    He turned back to face her. ‘Sounds kind of lonely to me.’ There was disappointment and something a bit like hurt in that steady gaze locked on her. ‘But I guess being stuck with two highly energetic kids and their grumpy father could be worse for someone who obviously prefers her own company.’
    Her heart rolled over. ‘You’re not grumpy.’ Well, not often. ‘Anyway, I’m not stuck.’ Her gaze dropped from that devastatingly attractive face to her encased ankle. ‘Not much.’ Maybe tomorrow Angus would organise a new, stronger cast for her ankle so she could get around more easily, take in the sights of Havelock the day after tomorrow. Though what would she do for the rest of the day, when she’d finished perusing the few shops?
    ‘You’re not used to stopping in one place for any length of time, are you? Especially somewhere as small as Havelock?’
    See? She knew he could read her like an open book. How had he learned to do that? ‘That depends what I stop for.’
    Again disappointment filtered through his eyes. ‘Get some sleep, Jenny. Your eyes are bugging with exhaustion.’
    ‘Bugging now? You need practice on complimenting a woman.’
    Heat singed his cheeks but he didn’t look away. ‘I’ll look on line for a book that might give me some pointers.’ There was that little smile, albeit a tad reluctant.
    That smile warmed her in places she’d been cold all year. That smile came with a danger warning. She really needed to be moving on—fast. Yet knowing and doing seemed poles apart right at this moment.
    Not that she’d be falling into a deep sleep easily. Too much going on inside her head for that to happen. Cam had rattled her in more ways than one and she needed to work her way through everything so she’d wake up refreshed and ready to stride ahead and leave him behind—metaphorically if not physically.
    But the next thing she was aware of was the sound of the boys calling each other names as they ran down the hall. Glancing around the room, she noted the sunlight at the gap in the curtains where Cam hadn’t quite made them meet.
    She’d overslept. Hardly unusual. Waking up early was not her thing. Nothing was worth rushing out of bed for. What about a glimpse of Cam’s mouth-watering, muscular body to start her day off? What about getting her head on straight? Leaving Cam behind should be the plan. Tomorrow would do for that.
    Sitting up straight, Jenny raised her arms over her head to stretch high. She felt good. When she tentatively wriggled her toes even her damaged foot seemed a lot happier this morning. Perhaps some of the swelling