Accidental Tryst (Charleston #1)(40)

"And his anklet? He didn't set off the alarm?"

"We don't know what happened there. He was wearing the anklet, and Penny Smith, the administrator, swears the alarm sensor is working. But maybe the power was out or something. It's a mystery."

"You could sue, you know?"

It wasn’t like in my worry-crazed hours earlier today those thoughts hadn't crossed my mind, but now . . . "You know, apart from this incident, they've been pretty great. And his one main caretaker, D'Andre, well he's pretty awesome. I fear he could lose his job if they had to scapegoat someone. I don't think it was negligence. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they got the blame for something they couldn't control. Besides, I'm not sure it would be worth it anyway since he's okay. Accidents happen."

"Well, he's safe. That's what counts."

"Yes."

"Have you thought about moving him somewhere closer to you?"

I pursed my lips. "Yep. Of course. Unfortunately, it's a little complicated, but somehow I'll have to figure that out."

There was a long pause, and then I thought of him in my house while I sat on a dirty set of steps on a dirty sidewalk. "Are you at my house?" I asked.

"I'm actually in your bedroom," he answered, and my stomach experienced a weird dropping sensation.

"I'm sorry you have to get the bed ready." I talked over my reaction, trying to ignore it. "I should make it a rule to never go away without changing the sheets and tidying my stuff away first. Just in case."

"In case you have a stranger to stay," Trystan said. His voice had an odd timbre to it.

"You don't . . . you don't feel like a stranger anymore," I said honestly, and my stomach hollowed out as I made myself vulnerable. "You feel like a friend. After today, you feel like a friend."

"Yeah. A friend." Trystan cleared his throat. "So, now you have David back, do I need to sleep on the couch? Are you coming home?"

Be in the same house with him? My insides flipped over. I'd be far too nervous to even breathe with him in my space. Trystan Montgomery was . . . a presence.

"No," I answered him. "I cancelled my flight. I guess I'll stay. Besides I want to see David tomorrow and see if he has any recollection of what he did today. It was too hard to talk to him when we got him back this evening because he was tired. He gets more confused when he's tired."

"So, is he, like, your uncle? Grandfather? I've been trying to figure out the family relationship."

"It's a head-scratcher for sure." I smiled. "He's my adoptive uncle. Random, right? I was in foster care until I was legally adopted by my foster parents. Unfortunately, he's the only family I now have left. I guess that's why he's so important to me. I just . . . don't want to be without family again . . . alone again. What a selfish way to put it." I laughed deprecatingly at myself. "That's not the only reason, obviously. It's also because I adore him. He's a pretty cool guy. I miss the man he used to be."

There was a long silence.

"Trystan?" I asked. "You there?"

"I'm here," he said, his voice thick. "And to think I spent the last fourteen years avoiding the family I have."

My throat closed as I tried to swallow. I wanted to ask why. How could anyone not want a family? Or rather, what could a family have done to make someone not want to be with them? And I thought of the funeral and wondered if Trystan had regrets, causing something uncomfortable to twist in my chest. "I'm sorry, Trystan," I managed, finally. Because what else could I say?

"Don't be." I heard him take a breath and let it out long and slow. "Before I forget, your work number called several times. Did you tell them you're not coming back?"

"Ugh, I'll call Steven, my boss. He's just throwing his weight around. There's big pitch tomorrow I was supposed to be at."

"If you're as good as you say you are, he's probably panicked you won't be there to win the business for him."

"Ha. You're probably right. Well, maybe he'll learn to appreciate me more."

"So where are you going to stay tonight?" He changed the subject. "Can you go back to your rental?"

"I think I'll have to find a hotel. But on that note, you paid me way too freaking much to rent my place."

"I asked around what I'd be paying during Spoleto to rent a one bedroom apartment in downtown, and sorry Emmy, but that's the going rate. Apparently you should have been charging more."

"Trystan, something tells me you hear what you want to."

He laughed, a low rumble of thunder. "Yeah. That's probably true. I usually get what I want too."

"I don't doubt it."

"What I want right now is for you to call me back from a nice, safe, cushy hotel in a nice neighborhood so I can relax."

"You worried about me?"

"Emmy. You have no idea. And frankly given that I didn't even know you three days ago, I apparently have no idea either. It just is. So take my advice, okay?"

"I was going to stay near the airp—"

"No."

"Hey!"

"Bloody hell. Seriously, Emmy. Take my driver, he'll take you to a hotel I'm part-owner of in the city. You can get a room there, relax, order room service, and give us both a freaking break, yeah?"