One Cup of Daddy and a Dash of Love - Victoria Sue Page 0,34

what he actually wanted to do probably involved the young man in the next bedroom.

And Dash was too young.

Or he was too old.

He looked up at the quiet knock on the door and smiled as Dash walked in holding the tea. “Thank you, Dash.” Jensen focused on him when he didn’t get an immediate answer and took in the worry lines creasing his face and the pallor on his skin. Shit. He’d worried. He didn’t look like he’d slept very much, and Jensen was willing to bet Dash had woken up and been unable to sleep. He shouldn’t have left him.

He would be worried about the doctor’s visit. Hell, seeing as how he was under the impression he had to get a job and find somewhere to live, it was a wonder he wasn’t climbing the walls. Jensen took a breath as Dash put the cup of tea on his nightstand. “Did you bring yours?”

Dash shook his head in surprise. “It’s in the kitchen.”

Jensen nodded. “How about you go fetch it while I go to the bathroom? I want to talk to you.” Dash looked like he was about to announce the end of the world, but he quickly got up and went to fetch his own drink.

When Jensen came back out of the bathroom, he was standing by the bed. Jensen got in and patted the mattress next to him. Dash didn’t need asking twice and got in.

Jensen made a show of getting Dash comfortable and checking he was warm, and then reached over for his mug and took a sip.

“I want to talk to you about living arrangements.”

“I can be out of your hair today. Maybe I can take a bag to the doctor’s and then—”

“I didn’t mean that,” Jensen interrupted, knowing Dash wouldn’t stop until he ran out of words or oxygen. “I actually wondered if you’d like to stay here on a long-term basis?”

Dash opened his mouth, then shut it immediately.

“The house is empty half of the time, and I like the idea of someone looking after it for me.”

“But you said you had a service,” Dash pointed out.

Jensen tried not to squirm. “Which costs me a fortune.” It didn’t, but he had a feeling Dash needed a reason.

Some of the worry left Dash’s face. “Do you mean I can look after the house for you?”

Jensen hated this. He didn’t want to manipulate Dash, but he also didn’t want Dash fretting about his living arrangements.

“I would pay you obviously.” Dash opened his mouth as if to protest, but Jensen carried on. “Mimi just about saved my life, and that’s why I can never sell this house.”

Dash cocked his head as if considering something.

“At fourteen I’d grown up with no structure and very little discipline, and I was in a high school that understandably insisted on both. Whilst I adored my aunt, I rebelled at the thought of adults enforcing rules I considered unfair, and didn’t see why they applied to me. Ellie is four years older than I, and she was already choosing colleges and careers. She had inherited her love of baking from Mimi and was going to be a chef.”

Dash crept a little closer, and Jensen took another sip of tea and put his cup down. He lifted his arm in invitation, and Dash immediately snuggled into his side. “I got involved in a very rebellious crowd who were drinking and smoking weed. I’d seen my parents smoke, so it was no big deal to me, but in different circumstances it was a problem. Things went from bad to worse, and if Mimi hadn’t been my rock, I’m pretty sure I would have been expelled. She made me understand consequences for the first time in my life. Asked me what I had hated about my old life, and I said it was having no choice. That mom and dad dragged us to wherever they wanted to go. She made me see I was doing the same thing pretty much. Doing what I felt like without thinking about the effect on her or ultimately my own life. She loved me very much, and she was the only person who could get through to me.” He shrugged. “I took charge of my life in a good way and never looked back.”

Jensen smiled. “She adored this cottage, and I loathe seeing it empty, but at the same time I can’t bring myself to sell it. You would be doing me a huge favor by living here for