A Safe Pair of Hands

by Ann Corbett

  She smiled ruefully to herself; she would be bouncing off the ceilings if she had any more caffeine today!

  Nick had not come back by the time that she switched off her computer, and so she left his notes on his desk with a print off of the actions she had taken.

  He had said that he needed this by the end of today, and so she had no doubt that he would come back to the office – even if it was getting late.

  She smiled softly to herself as she walked around his desk, resting a hand on the back of his chair, and imagining Nick sitting there, and turning to smile up at her. His eyes darkened with passion, and she pictured him standing up to take her in his arms, his mouth touching her mouth, and his hands...

  “Sadie?” Marcy came striding in, forcing her out of her daydream.

  “What?” she blinked her grey eyes, and a little guilty colour came to her cheeks as she moved quickly away from the desk, and the chair.

  Marcy – thankfully, was busy struggling into her coat, and so missed what could have been an embarrassing moment for Sadie.

  “Mr Hargreaves just phone, he said he was running late and asked about those notes...”

  “Oh, does he need me to call him?” Sadie asked hopefully.

  “What? Oh no, I told him that you had finished them hours ago, and were at that very moment putting the info on his desk.”

  “Oh,” she bit back the disappointment, and then forced a light smile. “Did he say anything... anything else?” she tried for a careless tone.

  “Not really, just that he would see us tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” She thought about staying on for a bit, in the hopes of seeing him. “Is he coming back tonight?”

  Marcy shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose,” she said indifferently. “I mean he seemed to want those bits quite urgently.”

  “But he didn't say when?”

  “He just said that he would see us in the morning,” she looked at her watch a little impatiently, and then at Sadie. “So are you ready to lock up?” she asked pointedly.

  “Okay,” she sighed. “Let me just get my coat and bag, and you can get ready to set the alarm.”

  She walked quickly back to their office, which had its own lock and alarm system.

  Marcy had her key in the panel as Sadie walked back shrugging on her coat as she went. She was buttoning it up as Marcy followed her out, and locked the door behind them, and they stood together waiting for the elevator.

  “Got any plans tonight?” Marcy asked as the doors opened.

  “Oh, I thought that I might do a bit of Christmas shopping on my way home,” Sadie said absently.

  “Well it is late night shopping now, and it is quite busy – at least it was earlier today, but it will only get madder the closer that we get to Christmas.”

  “Yes, three weeks and counting.”

  They went their separate ways once they were outside the building, and even though the day was ending, and night was closing in, and it was cold and wet; Sadie had a bright happy smile on her face, and her eyes were practically sparkling with excitement as she walked along.

  She looked happy and radiant and absolutely stunning on that grey day, and as she stopped at the pedestrian crossing, the man standing next to her, started a conversation.

  “Grim day isn't it?” he said gruffly.

  Sadie looked up at him in surprise and then smiled. “Oh it's not so bad really,” she exclaimed as the cars came to a halt at the lights.

  “No... Maybe you would like to go for a coffee and discuss that a little bit more?”

  The little man turned green, and she stepped out onto the road. “Thank you, but no thank you,” she started to walk briskly across the road, and once on the pavement again she picked up her speed.

  She could hear the man behind her, as he easily kept pace with her; but Sadie was not too worried, it was prime time in the town centre, and there would be people everywhere...

  Once she got into the town centre, first though she had to walk through a pedestrian only section, and it would be pot luck whether anyone else would be around at this time in the afternoon.

  The man was still close behind her, and Sadie forced herself not to panic. Just because he had propositioned her, did not make him anything sinister.

  It was almost dark now, and the street lights had all lit up, but it did not brighten this part up much as Sadie turned off the pavement to get through to the town centre.

  It was dark and silent here, with only her, and the sound of the man behind her.

  She was about half way through, when she suddenly felt a hand on her arm...

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Hang on a minute, love.” The husky male voice was just the same as when he had spoken to her at that busy road, but now it sounded so much more sinister.

  She shrugged away from his grasp. “Please keep your hands to yourself!” she snapped as she stepped away and spun around to glare up at him. “What do you want with me?”

  He stepped away from her and his smile vanished as he looked at her uncertainly. “Nothing... I just...”

  “Well then I shall be on my way... kindly keep your distance.” She was just about to turn and start walking again when another male voice shouted.

  “Sadie!”

  They both looked back the way that they had come, and as Nick appeared, Sadie's face lit up, and the stranger brushed past her to stride away quickly.

  Nick looked like he had been running, as he walked quickly towards her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked his eyes full of concern, as he looked down at her, and then over her head in the direction that the man had gone.

  Sadie grinned up at him. “I am now!” she said happily. “But what are you doing here?”

  He saw her radiant smile and sighed with relief, but his brow furrowed questioningly. “Where is your car?”

  Sadie gave a little sigh “It's at the garage; getting some repairs done ready for its MOT... they said that it would be there for a few days.” She saw the look of concern on his face, and smiled reassuringly. “It's only for a few days, and it is very simple to catch the bus.”

  Nick looked like he was going to argue the point, but then he saw the stubborn set to her mouth and gave a little nod.

  “How did you know that I was here - anyway?”

  “I saw you at the crossing; I was in my car waiting at the lights. I saw that man speak to you, and when you walked away I saw the way that he looked after you, and then he seemed to be following you... did you know him?”

  He had been worried about her! Nick had come charging to her rescue just like a knight in shining armour.

  “No, he just wanted to buy me a coffee... at least I think that he did – he never actually offered to pay for it!” she could not help the little giggle that bubbled up. Nick had come to save her!

  “Come on,” he could not stop the chuckle; she just seemed to bring out the happiness in him! “I'll give you a lift home.”

  She thought about the shopping she had just planned to do, and then grinned as she walked back with him. That could wait until another day, she would spend this time with Nick – she would always drop anything and everything to spend time with Nick.

  **

  “I'll pick you up at six thirty, tonight,” Nick was reading the report that she had just brought in for him, and he glanced quickly over the edge. “Is that okay?”

  She blushed as she nodded her head. this was the first time anything even remotely personal had been said between them in the workplace; even in the privacy of his office, she still addressed him with his formal Mr Hargreaves title – the same as all of his other employees did.

  “Yes, Nancy said to be at hers any time after seven, so six thirty should be fine.”

  “Good, good,” he nodded his head as though he was still reading, but suddenly his eyes fixed on hers. “I am looking forward to this dinner with your sister,” he said warmly.

  “And Rob will be there too.” Sadie smiled, as her th
oughts began to roam. “And mum and dad will be back next week, and so I think I might do something to welcome them home,” she spoke softly as though speaking to herself.

  “I've not had the pleasure of meeting your parents yet,” Nick said almost a little enviously.

  She looked at him in surprise, and he smiled a little awkwardly. “My parents died when I was younger,” he explained at her silent question. “I was eighteen when they were killed in a car accident.”

  “Oh god, Nick!” she stepped forward and her eyes filled with tears. “I am so sorry for your loss!”

  His smile turned a little rueful, but she could see the strain behind his eyes, and saw him swallow. “It was a long time ago now, Sadie,” he said gruffly.

  She stopped walking and looked away uncomfortably. “Did you have any... siblings?”

  He sighed sadly. “No, I was an only child.”

  “What about cousins? Aunts, uncles... grandparents?” she seemed desperate for him to have someone in his life, and he saw the tear as it trickled from the corner of her eye.

  “Oh yes... my father had three brothers!” he said lightly, as he omitted the fact that they had not wanted to know him... not until later – after he had become a successful business man. “Now if there is nothing else, Sadie,” he put his best boss’s voice on, and she took the hint.

  “No, that was all, Mr Hargreaves.”

  She turned and left his office, but she spent the rest of the afternoon feeling very upset over Nick's lack of relatives... he had not said as much, but she just knew that those uncles had not stepped up when Nick at been orphaned at such a young age. He had not spoken of his pain and loneliness at the time, but Sadie had heard it in his tone anyway.

  At eighteen he would have been seen as and treated as an adult and so little or no help would have been forthcoming for him. He would have been left to make his way in the world, on his own.

  Every time she thought of Nick – the young man and the loneliness and grief that he must have felt, Sadie felt herself welling up.

  “You are awfully quiet this afternoon?” Marcy piped up suddenly, and Sadie looked across at her from puffy eyes. “I say are you feeling okay?” Marcy was on her feet and across the room in a flash.

  “What? Yes, I’m fine... just a bit of the sniffles I guess.”

  Marcy looked her over worriedly for a moment, and then she glanced at her watch.

  “Look,” she said suddenly. “There is less than an hour to go before our work day is done; so why don't you skip off early?”

  Sadie smiled gratefully. “I really want to get these bits finished; they shouldn't take me too long...”

  “I can do them,” Marcy jumped in. “I mean you stayed at your desk the other day so that I could go off for my dental appointment; and then you were okay with me taking a longer lunch, so let me do this for you, Sadie.”

  “Oh I don't know...”

  “I think that Marcy is right,” Nick cut into their conversation. “Finishing a bit early today, and letting Marcy do some of your work, well it won't bring the world crashing down around our ears.”

  “Oh well,” Sadie sighed. “If you are both going to insist...”

  “We are,” Marcy nodded emphatically and flashed a quick look in Nick's direction. “Now, just run through that paperwork with me...”

  Ten minutes later, Sadie was wrapped in her coat, and waiting by the elevator.

  “Are you okay to get home?” Nick asked from behind her.

  She turned to smile up at him. “Oh yes... I really am well you know, and so I thought that I would go and do a bit of shopping – on my way home.”

  He frowned. “Does that mean having to walk the way you were going the other day?”

  “Yes, but there is still plenty of daylight yet, and there are bound to be people...”

  “Hang on, I will just get my coat and I'll walk you into the town centre.”

  “There really is no need!”

  He smiled, but his eyes were firm. “I could do with a breath of fresh air.”

  It was really nice walking along with Nick beside her, but how she would have loved for him to have held her hand, or touched her arm – or something that made it seem less impersonal, and more romantic.

  They left the pavement to cut through the pedestrian section, and the silence and tranquillity seemed to embrace them.

  “I know that we said that we would keep work on a business footing, but I find that I really need to do this.”

  He stopped and took her in arms to turn her around and kiss her gently on the mouth.

  He took his time about it, but did not turn it into anything deeper, and Sadie could have stood there like that all day.

  It was damp and chilly though, and when he did finally pull back she gave a little shiver.

  “There now, that will have to keep us going until later.”

  He took her hand and slipped it into his deep pocket, and they walked the rest of the way into the town centre.

  Once they reached the pavement again, with the traffic, and people, Nick stopped walking.

  “Well I guess that you should be safe enough now,” he said with a little sigh.

  “I think that I would have been safe enough anyway,” Sadie smiled up at him apologetically.

  He kissed her gently on the cheek. “'Think' is not safe enough for my peace of mind.” he told her seriously, but then grinned suddenly. “Enjoy your shopping – but be ready when I come for you, because I suspect that if I step foot into your house – then we won't get out again in too much of a hurry!”

  *

  Sadie spent a delightful two hours shopping for Christmas presents. She had made a list of the things that she wanted to buy and so it was just a matter of going to the right shops for the right items. Of course she saw other things on the way, and so her goods outnumbered her list by almost twice as much.

  But she was brimming with happiness, as she queued for her bus, even though her arms ached from all the bags and she felt more than a little bit hot and bothered. She absolutely loved this time of year, and this Christmas promised to be one of the happiest in a long time for her.

  It was gone five by the time the bus left the station, and so she knew that by the time that she got home, she would not have time to go through her items – indeed she would have to really get her skates on, if she was to be ready for six thirty.

  She flicked the lights on as soon as she entered her house, and lugged her bags straight up the stairs to her spare room.

  The bed where little Pete had 'almost' spent the night, had been stripped down so that she could wash the bedding and put it away.

  Sadie dumped her bags down on the mattress with a little gasp of relief, but did not hang around long enough to catch her breath.

  She ran back down the stairs and put the kettle on to boil, and then went around closing the curtains and switching on a few lights.

  The place felt so much the brighter for that, and she sat munching on a couple of biscuits before pouring out a much needed cup of tea.

  It was almost six o'clock by now, and so Sadie took her cup with her, back up the stairs, and left it on her dressing table whilst she dove in the shower; and then sat sipping her tea with a damp towel wrapped around her.

  Nancy was informal with her little dinner parties, and so though she would have loved to have dressed up, for Nick; Sadie happily tied her hair back into a long pony tail, and then she dusted on a very light make up, before pulling on slacks and a sweater.

  She hooked in some pretty, dangling earrings, and then stood back to examine her reflection critically.

  “Good enough,” she nodded in satisfaction.

  She slipped into some flat comfortable shoes – her feet were still aching a bit from all that shopping, and then picked up her empty mug and took it back down with her.

  She glanced at her watch and then shrugged. Nearly half an hour until Nick said that he would come to pick her up.

  There was tim
e enough for another cup of tea and a couple more biscuits.

  *

  When Nick pressed her door bell a little later, she answered looking bright and calm and cheerful, as though she had spent the day relaxing and chilling out.

  “I thought that you were going shopping?” Nick asked as he looked her up and down appreciatively.

  She looked young and fresh and full of life, but she also looked all soft and cuddly as well.

  His hands twitched with the urge to touch her and see if she was a soft as she promised.

  “Oh I did,” she nodded as she slipped into her coat, and grabbed her keys and her handbag. “I spent a very successful couple of hours, shopping.”

  “And yet you look as fresh as a daisy.”

  Sadie laughed as she stepped outside and pulled her front door. “Oh you should have seen me an hour ago; it was so not a pretty sight!”

  Chapter Sixteen

  It was a really fun evening for both Sadie and Nick.

  They spent the first hour at Nancy's house, just sitting on the floor and playing with little Pete. This gave Rob and Nancy the chance to finish cooking the meal, and serve it, without having to keep an eye on little Pete.

  Nancy came strolling into the living room, just as Nick was tickling Pete after a game of hide and seek.

  “Right then you lot,” she said sternly. “Grubs just about up, so I expect you all to go and wash your hands before you sit at my dinner table.”

  The three of them grinned at each other before piling off to the downstairs bathroom.

  “Lukk mmommmy!” little Pete chirped up. “Moi hundz are all clein now!” he held his little hands up to her, and Nancy dutifully examined them.

  “Mine too!” Sadie said waving her fingers under her sister's nose.

  “And mine,” Nick held his hands out flat.

  “Good, good – very good all of you,” Nancy nodded as she led them through to her dining room, where Rob was just finished placing the dinner plates – complete with steaming hot food.