Page 113 of Illicit Heir

"Well, no, we'll pay ya as well."

"No. Really. Room and board are fine," I insist.

Dominick shakes his head. "No, we will pay ya as well. Now, Annie has another half hour here. Do ya want to wait in the car with me?"

"Sure," I say and hand the number back to Annie. "Ya can give this to somebody else."

She beams. "Sounds good, dear." She pats me on the shoulder. "I'll see ya in a little bit."

I follow Dominick to the car in a daze, practically skipping.

Is this really happening? Has my luck changed?

I get into the back seat of his car, and he turns on the engine. "Let's get this thing warmed up. It's getting colder."

"Yea," I agree.

He looks at me in the rearview mirror. "Have ya been on the street often, or have ya gotten a room at the shelter every night?"

I take a deep breath, trying to avoid the shame that fills me for being homeless. Mum always instilled that we would work hard and never be in this situation. But it's given me a new understanding of homeless people and how lucky I always was to have a roof over my head.

I realize Dominick's still staring at me, waiting for an answer. I swallow hard. "I've gotten a room since I found the shelter."

He squints and cautiously asks, "But ya had to spend some nights on the street?"

"Only two," I admit.

"Were ya safe out there?" he questions with a bit of protectiveness in his tone.

"Yea, I was fine," I assure him.

"Good," he says in relief.

We continue our small talk until Annie finally appears. She gets in the car, and Dominick leans over and kisses her cheek.

He drives off, and it takes about twenty minutes to get to the bed-and-breakfast. He pulls up to a small house with a wraparound porch.

"This is beautiful," I say.

Annie turns and beams. "Dominick has done everything to the place. He's quite handy."

"Aw, you're going to make me blush," he teases, then exits the car. He goes around the hood and opens her door. I get out, as does she.

"Let's show ya around," Annie says.

We split off from Dominick, and she gives me a tour of their private quarters compared to the ones the guests use, the common areas, then she opens a door. She states, "Like we said, it's not much. It used to be a storage closet, but the bedding is fresh and dry."

I peek past her.

She orders, "Well, go on. Ya can check it out more than that."

I step inside.

She flips a switch. It is a small space, but I don't need anything more. She pulls a curtain back, revealing a wall with empty shelves. She declares, "You can put your clothes here."

I stare at her, my stomach flipping. I confess, "I don't have any clothes."

She smiles. "Ya will after tonight."

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