A Safe Pair of Hands

A safe pair of hands

By

Ann Corbett

Worth Waiting for Copyright© Ann Corbett 2014

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Chapter One

“
So what have you got planned for the weekend?” Marcy asked
lightly.

Sadie rolled her grey eyes expressively. “I’m helping my
sister move house… She roped me in to give a hand; and there was
absolutely nothing that I could do to get out of it!”

Marcy giggled sympathetically, “I’ll bet that she really had
to nag you!” she retorted dryly.

“
You have no idea... I had my weekend all planned out – lazing,
and painting my nails and just doing nothing
constructive...”

“
Lucky thing you... but then that’s why you enjoy living the
single life – isn’t it?” Marcy was chuckling knowingly, as she
turned to her computer screen once more.

Sadie laughed with her, as was expected, only to jump in
startled surprise, as a pile of paperwork landed suddenly on her
desk, apparently from up high.

“
When you’ve got a moment please, Ms Forester,” Nicholas J
Hargreaves – MD, requested coldly from behind her.

She turned around quickly, so quick that her long blond hair
fanned out and whipped across his shoulder, causing him to step
back with a sharp – if quietly voiced curse.

“
Of course, Mr Hargreaves… I’ll get right on it!” she exclaimed
flustered.

His lips curled into what she assumed he called a smile,
although it would have been called a snarl on any other
animal.

“
Thank you.”

As she sat watching him walk away; tall and proud, even – a
trifle arrogant – as he strode through the office, Marcy giggled
again, and then sighed dreamily.

Sadie looked back at her impatiently. “Oh don’t you even go
there!” she snapped irritably.

Marcy looked at her in surprise. “I just don’t understand what
it is about him, that you don’t like?” she said almost in
wonder.

Sadie gave a little sniff of annoyance as she bent her
attention to the files that he had just dumped on her.

She would never tell anyone of the humiliation that she had
suffered, in the company of one Mr. Nicholas J Hargreaves, and she
could only guess at the probable opinion he now had of
her.

**

Nick strode back to his office feeling annoyed... with her for
being the insufferable, cold and callous bitch that she invariably
was; and annoyed with himself... for wishing that she was
different!

He closed his office door and went and sat at his desk,
dropping down into his executive chair with a heavy sigh. As he
turned his head to the left, to the folder and paper work lying
waiting for his attention, a glint of gold caught the corner of his
eye.

He turned his head a little more, and winced at the
uncomfortable angle he was forcing it, and his hand reached up to
gently pluck the golden strand from his collar.

He held it up delicately to admire its shine, as the autumn
sun shone through the window and seemed to make it glow with
life.

“
Beautiful!” he murmured softly to himself his tone full of
bitter regret.

**

“
Thanks love, for everything that you have done this weekend;
we really could not have done it without you… but we were just
wondering…”

“
You know that I am happy to help out – that I would have been
gutted if you had not even bothered to ask me…” she paused as she
registered the slightly sheepish expression on Nancy and Rob’s
faces. “What?” she asked warily, as she registered the last bit of
her older sister's speech.

“
Well, you see… it’s like this…” her sister began.

“
Just spit it out, Nance!” Sadie encouraged.

“
Well, you know how Rob’s got to work away next week… we just
thought that it would be a great opportunity for us to spend a
couple of – or even a few days away… just the two of
us…”

“
You want me to look after Pete for you?” Sadie guessed
suddenly.

“
You’ve got that spare bed already set up!” Nancy exclaimed
enthusiastically. “And he’s in day care on Thursday and Friday – so
it wouldn’t interfere with your job… well not much
anyway.”

“
How long for exactly?” Sadie asked weakly as she felt the
steam roller heading straight for her.

“
Wednesday night, through to Sunday tea time – ish?” Rob asked
hopefully.

“
But do you think that he will stay with me?” Sadie persisted
worriedly.

Nancy laughed out right, which did more to reassure Sadie than
any passionate protestation may have done.

“
Are you kidding?” she demanded genuinely astounded. “Pete
absolutely adores you! He would love to come and have a sleepover
at yours!”

“
Have you even asked him though?” Sadie cut in
quietly.

Nancy looked her sister in the eyes and realised that Sadie
was serious. “Alright, ‘Sissy’ I’ll ask him tonight... but I know
that he’ll be dead excited about it!”

“
And can you pleeeeease stop calling me ‘Sissy’!” Sadie
whinged, in a totally hurt tone.

Nancy chuckled as she hugged her sister impulsively. “I’m
sorry, but it’s all Pete ever goes on about ‘his Aunt'y
Sissy’!”

Sadie smiled whimsically as she looked up at the house, which
she had just helped her sister and brother in law move
into.

“
I must say, Nance; you’ve done very well for yourself!” she
murmured a little wistfully.

Nancy turned to her sister in surprise. “I’m sure that you
could find that someone, who is your equal… given a little time…
and the opportunity.”

Sadie grinned at the silent reprimand, as her eyes moved
across her sister’s new large family home, to the even larger, and
much grander looking house next door.

“
So have you met your neighbours yet? Do they seem friendly?”
she asked sceptically as she looked at the showroom type
house.

Nancy’s gaze followed her sister’s.

“
Only briefly, his name is Nick, and he
seemed nice enough, he really seemed to take a shine to little
Pete, and Pete liked him too,” she grinned briefly, “Pete was
rabbiting on about his aunt’y ‘sissy’, and
he
was egging him on all
the way I kept on trying to get the conversation back to him, but
he just would not let me, and so I could not find out much about
him at all – other than he lives there on his own… and he’s gone
away this weekend.”

“
Nick?” Sadie asked absently.

“
Aun’y Sissssy!” The little piping voice broke into their
conversation, and the sisters turned in unison to grin at the
energetic little boy running up to them.

“
Hello there, soldier boy!” Sadie laughed as she bent to scoop
him up affectionately. “What’ve you been up to today?”

“
G’ma an’ G’ndad tuk me t’ the zooooo!” he squealed excitedly.
“We saw t’ eeleeefants!”

He made his arm look like the trunk of an elephant and he made
a high booming kind of elephant like noise.

“
T’ey sownded jus’ lyke tat!” he declared
triumphantly.

“
Did they really? It must have been awfully scary?”

“
Nooooo! G’ma sed I woz ‘big and brave’… jus’ lyke a so’ldjer
bouy shud be!”

“
Good for you my little hero!” Sadie hugged him
tight.

“
Mummy, mummy, mummy!” Pete indulged and returned his aunt’s
affection for all of two seconds, before squirming and reaching
across to his doting mother.

Nancy took her little three year old son from her sister, and
gave him her own hug.

“
That boy is going to grow up expecting everyone to hug him,
every five minutes!” Rob mumbled dryly to his father in
law.

“
Oh... only the females – I should think!” Peter senior
corrected ruefully.

“
It won’t be long before he’s too big to be picked up and
hugged; so we have to make the most of the opportunities that we
have left!” Sandra Forester smiled at them.

“
Mum – dad!” Nancy called out lightly. “Thanks so much for
looking after Pete today; I know that you’ve got things to sort out
before you go off on that cruise of yours; but we never would have
got half of it done with little Pete under foot!”

“
No problem, Nancy!” her mother smiled again. “It was nice to
spend some quality time with him, before we go.”

“
Right then who’s up for a cuppa?” Sadie asked rubbing her
hands together in a business-like manner.

“
Oh yessss pleeeease!” the small crowd chorused
enthusiastically.

The delivery men had just finished lugging in the last of the
heavy furniture, and the lead man walked over with a wide
grin.

“
Well that’s the last of it folks!” he declared with
satisfaction.

“
Thanks so very much for – everything.” Rob stepped forward,
pulling out his wallet as he walked with the man back to their
large removal van.

They watched as Rob handed over some cash, and the guy looked
both surprised and very pleased.

“
Good luck in your new home folks! All the best and thanks very
much!” The four man team all called out as they got themselves
ready to depart.

“
I thought that we’d already paid them?” Nancy asked Rob as he
re-joined them.

“
We have paid the firm… this was just a little something for
the guys… for all the extra help they gave us today.”

“
Oh… right!” Nancy’s expression turned from blank to
understanding, to downright mischievous. “Although I think that
most of their help was more about Sadie’s sweet smiles, and general
air of feminine helplessness!”

“
Well thanks very much – sis!” Sadie stood with her hands on
her hips and a look of genuine outrage on her face. “And that’s
what I get for all that lugging and unpacking…”

Her grey eyes glittered, and her blond hair hung straight and
golden down her back; and she looked absolutely delightful in her
shabby cropped tee-shirt, and her faded and frayed blue
jeans.

“
Well; I think that it’s more about your lack of height than
anything else…” Rob tried to mollify her with a soothing
grin.

“
My… the compliments are just oozing…” Sadie
snapped although the glitter in her eyes was more about resigned
humour, than anger... so she was short at only just five feet...
did everyone
have
to keep going on about it?

“
Tea?” her father suddenly prompted brightly.
“You did mention
something
about it – I’m sure that you did?”

“
Huh!” Sadie snapped as she stalked into her sister’s new
kitchen.

**

“
So we’ve talked it over with little Pete,” Nancy declared
sitting down next to her sister. “And he’s dead excited about
coming to sleep at your house...”

“
Yes, getting him settled for bed was almost impossible, until
we promised to ask you to go up and say goodnight to him.” Rob
grinned apologetically as he entered the room.

Sadie laughed softly as she stood up enthusiastically. “I’ll
be right back…”

**

Sadie spent the early part of the next week practically
humming with excitement, as she worked through her day, doing her
usually thorough and conscientious job, but with a marked increase
in her vibrancy.

Nick found his attention fixed on her more than usual, and as
a consequence his irritability was more marked too.