Page 70 of The Rescue

Dylan rushes over to us with a worried expression painted on her face.

“It’s Rabbie, he’d give anyone a job who was struggling, even his mum,” I say.

“Do you think she just wants money and will bail again?” Dylan whispers.

“Maybe, that’s what I heard last time. I was only a wee lass but my mam told me that Susie came back when Rabbie was about fourteen. She promised she would stay, and then left a few days later after Mrs. MacNee gave her some money to do the grocery shopping,” Nellie explains to us with a sympathetic look on her face.

My heart breaks for Rabbie. To constantly have your hopes up and then quickly dashed away must’ve been very hard for him as a young boy.

We hear their footsteps coming back through the kitchen, we all try to act normal as if we weren’t just talking about them. I’d hate for Rabbie to think we were gossiping about his personal life, when in reality we’re all a little worried and uneasy with his new employee.

Nellie makes herself busy with counting the money in the register. Susie’s eyes gravitate towards Nellie counting a wad of cash. I think Rabbie is too anxious to notice, but I do and I don’t like it.

Dylan pulls me in for a tight hug, “See you at the pub later,” Dylan says, a little too animated.

I roll my eyes at her, as Rabbie raises an eyebrow at me.Way to be subtle.

* * *

After using the excuse that I was finishing up a few things on my laptop I felt like enough time had gone by with me keeping my beady eye on Susie. I made my way up to the flat to have a shower and freshen up and get out of their way whilst they cleaned. I had a productive day today and managed to get a lot of work done on the website. I’m close to finishing it. I find it weird that Rabbie hasn’t been asking me about the progress of it recently. I should let him know how far I’ve gotten, but right now I want to go and grab a drink with him and see where the night takes us. I haven’t been able to get last night out of my head, I’m surprised I’d been able to get so much work done today.

I head back downstairs and expect to find them all still cleaning, but I find Rabbie leaning over his stainless steel islandwriting on a piece of paper.

“Where is everyone?” I ask.

Rabbie looks up and smiles at me. Jesus, when did his smile start making my stomach do weird flips?

“Well, we managed to get everything done quicker with the extra pair of hands,” he says.

He’s still leaning over the stainless steel island, his elbows and forearms resting on it. My eyes scan over him, and the heat between my legs returns with extreme intensity. I want him so bad. He lets out a little laugh, as he stands up.

“What’s so funny?” I try to act as if I wasn’t picturing him bending me over that island and fucking me.

“I might not be able to read your mind mo beag, but I’ve got pretty good at reading your face,” he bites his lip.

I feel the embarrassment swallow me whole. I try to change the subject, and get the heat off me.

“How are you feeling after today? Sorry, I wouldn’t have reacted the way I did if I knew you’d given your mom a job.”

He stands more rigid now, and the sexy smirk has been wiped off his face. I regret bringing up his mom when he was in such a playful mood. He rubs the back of his neck, his bicep flexing as he does.

“Aye, I’m okay. That’s why she approached me in the hall last night. I was in a rush to get over to you, that I agreed to give her a job on a trial basis. And then after the hall, I was a little preoccupied to tell you,” he winks.

I try to hide the smirk on my face by biting my lip because I know what preoccupied him, and that was his head between my legs.

“Do you think it’s a bad idea?” He asks for my opinion.

I can see a hint of hope in his eyes, and I’m not sure how to approach this without sounding like a total bitch.

“I’m not as forgiving as you Rabbie, but I respect your decision. This is your business and you can hire who you want. I hope for you that she’s generally trying to start fresh, but I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t worried for you.” I smile at him.

He closes the gap between us, and smiles down at me. I envy him a little, how he can go through something as devastating as this in life, and still be as forgiving as he is. He doesn’t let his trauma consume him, I admire that about him.

“Aye, mo beag. I’m not daft, but if I didn’t give her a chance then I’m no better than her. I can take pride in that at least,” he smiles softly at me.

Now I feel stupid for being so protective, Rabbie knows what he’s doing. I realise I’m doing the same thing that Dylan did to me when I first got here when she was warning me and protecting Rabbie.

“I’m sorry for coming across as some weird overprotective friend, I know you can handle this.”

---