Deep River Promise Jackie Ashenden (best life changing books .txt) 📖

Connor dug at the fire. He didn’t look at Damon, but something in his posture eased. He was uncomfortable with the conversation, but also, it was clear, he needed to hear what Damon was trying to tell him.

When was the last time the boy had had some male praise? Just a guy telling him that he was doing a good job and that he’d earned some respect? It wasn’t that praise from his mom wasn’t important, but Connor was a boy, and he needed some male attention too.

Damon wasn’t exactly the best man to get it from and he knew it, but he’d rather punch himself in the face than betray the trust of a child the way Aiden had. And he’d certainly never hurt a woman.

“But the fact is you are a fifteen-year-old. And back when this stuff was happening with Aiden, you were a little kid. You can’t take responsibility for something that’s not yours to take. Aiden was an adult. He should have known better. So I’m sorry you had to go through that, but there was nothing you could have done, understand?”

Connor stared moodily at the fire, sipping on the beer, but at last he nodded.

“Good. And as far as school’s concerned, you need to listen to your mother. It doesn’t matter that the year is nearly done. You still need to go.”

“I knew you’d take her side.” He sounded aggrieved.

“Yeah, well, sadly for you, I am also an adult and I know that staying in school is the best option for you long term. Can’t protect a town without a decent education.”

Connor scowled, clearly frustrated. “But I—”

“But I’ll make you a deal,” Damon interrupted, an idea forming in his head. “If you go to school, I’ll keep you in the loop about the decisions and discussion we’ll be having about the town. And if you have any suggestions, I’ll bring them to the relevant people.”

Connor’s blue gaze narrowed, suspicious.

But Damon understood where he was coming from now and it made sense; the poor kid had trusted once and it had blown up in his face. How could he ever do so again?

The same will be true for Astrid…

The wary look in her eyes, the veneer of cool, the bristly energy that gripped her that she didn’t do anything with, as if she was holding all her emotions inside…

Yes, it would be true for her too.

“You can trust me, Connor,” Damon said with quiet authority. “I’m not Aiden. I won’t betray your trust. When I say I’ll do something, I’ll do it.”

Something flickered in the boy’s eyes, that longing again. Connor wanted to trust him. He wanted to trust him desperately.

“I’ll stay another couple of days,” Damon went on, even though he knew he shouldn’t. “I won’t leave just yet. You can keep going to school, and I’ll make sure Silas and Zeke do things right, tell you everything that goes on. And I’ll take any concerns you have to them. I can’t guarantee they’ll do anything about them, but I’ll make sure they listen. Okay?”

Connor stared at him, expressions rippling over his face, and Damon’s chest tightened. He wanted Connor to trust him, he realized. Wanted it very much.

Careful…

Oh yeah, he knew. He couldn’t let himself get involved. He only had so much to give and no more. But surely this would be okay. Another couple of days to ease the kid’s mind about all the oil stuff wasn’t too much to ask. Rachel wouldn’t mind keeping her eye on his mom just a little longer. And his mom would be okay with it, surely.

The silence sat there, deepening around them.

Then Connor said abruptly, “Okay. It’s a deal.”

And apparently it was as simple as that.

The tight thing in Damon’s chest eased, a tension leaving him he hadn’t realized was there. He didn’t want to admit to being relieved, but he was.

Lifting his beer in Connor’s direction, he waited for Connor to lift his and then they clinked bottles in acknowledgment.

“So,” he said after they’d both had a swig to seal the deal, “do you want me to tell your mother the good news?”

Connor dug around in the fire again. “You can. She’ll probably believe you more.”

Damon was okay with that. Very okay with that.

“Good.” He took another sip of his beer. “Right. Do you want me to tell you some stories about your dad?”

Connor’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, I do.”

Chapter 11

Astrid went home after Damon had taken Connor away for whatever man-to-man chat they were going to have, anger still fizzing inside her. That her anger wasn’t wholly to do with Connor and his ridiculous insistence on skipping school didn’t help.

She was aware enough to realize that a large part of it was due to spending the entire day trying not to think about Damon and what had happened in the library, and failing. Miserably.

She’d busied herself in her office, going over the ideas for tourist ventures that people had brought to her. She supposed she should be doing this with Damon, but there was no way in hell she was going to find him and talk to him now about it. Distance was better. She didn’t want to think about those moments in the library when he had touched her, kissed her, been inside her…

Unfortunately, it had been next to impossible not to think about those moments. About him. About his smile and the light in his blue eyes when he’d looked at her. How he’d made her feel wanted and precious and cared for…

Astrid growled, mentally shoving away those memories as she flung open her front door. She’d had vague plans of a soak in the tub with a glass of wine, or watching a couple of DVDs she’d borrowed from the collection in the market—streaming was almost impossible without a decent internet connection—but she didn’t feel like that now.

She ended up pacing around her living room, pausing every now and then to stare out the window