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the
right down there,” he pointed, “and help yourself to
towels and whatever you need. Same with the kitchen, just make yourself at home
if you need anything.”
    He touched his palm to Faith’s back before
walking away and heading for his room, ready to hit the pillow for at least a
couple of hours.
    Jake
just had no idea how it was he was going to bed alone, and his dog had managed
to wind up snuggled between two warm bodies for the rest of the night…

CHAPTER THREE
    FAITH stood in the kitchen doorway for a
moment, watching the man who’d come to her rescue. He was bent over his
breakfast, head down, with a paper opened out on the table in front of him.
    She
was a mess . She’d showered,
borrowed a brush she’d found to try to do something with her hair, but she had
nothing of her own. Not her handbag, not her make-up – nothing. Add to that the
fact she was cold, and it wasn’t the best start she’d had to a day.
    “Morning,” she said, walking in.
    Jake looked up. His smile was genuine but she
could tell from the flicker of his eyes from her pajamas and back to his bowl
again that he was about as comfortable as she was. Her drawstring pants weren’t
so bad, but in broad daylight her skimpy tank did little to conceal her body.
    “Did you, ah, sleep okay?” he asked.
    Faith ignored the heat in her cheeks. She was lucky to be alive . There was no
point stressing over anything else, except for the fact that whoever had lit
the fire could have killed her son. And her.
    “I thought I would have lain awake for hours,
but I slept like a baby.”
    He smiled, collecting his bowl and walking it
to the sink.
    “Well, actually not like a baby. I’ve never
understood that saying, given that most babies keep their parents up half the
night.”
    Faith followed him a few steps, her stomach
growling. When he turned, there was a sadness in his gaze that hadn’t been
there before, his smile erased.
    “I know I said it last night already, but thank
you for taking us in. It means a lot to me,” she paused. “The last few years
have been kind of tough, and I thought that coming here would change that.
Clearly I was wrong.”
    Jake rinsed his dishes and turned around again,
hands on the counter behind him as he leaned back. He was quieter this morning
than he’d been last night, more reserved, and she wasn’t sure if she was the
reason or if it was something else.
    “Do you want me to take you anywhere today? Buy
any supplies, that kind of thing?”
    His question was innocent, but it made Faith’s
cheeks burn again. The cold wasn’t doing her any favors, and if she knew men,
then the poor guy was probably having a hard time ignoring the hard nipples
pointing in his direction through her cotton top.
    “My car is back at the house – it was parked on
the street, thankfully.” Faith sighed. “But of course the keys were inside, so it’s not exactly any good to
me.” She wouldn’t cry, refused to spill any tears, because she was stronger
than that. Being kicked out of her home by her dad at sixteen had more than
cured her of spontaneous emotions, and she wasn’t going to let some lowlife
arsonist tear down the life she’d fought to build.
    “I’ll sort it out for you,” Jake said, not moving
as he stood watching her. “Anything you want, just let
me know. We can head into town today and I’ll buy whatever you need to tide you
over.”
    Faith shook her head, just the barest movement
from side to side. “You don’t need to do anything for me, Jake.” It wasn’t that
she was ungrateful but … “I can’t accept any handouts, it’s just not who I am.”
    He shrugged and moved past her to open what she
could see was the pantry. “Breakfast stuff is in here, there’s milk in the
fridge, and help yourself to whatever else you need.”
    A noise alerted her to the fact her son was
awake, and she quickly crossed the room. “Thank you,” she said again, hoping he
did know how much she appreciated what