Shayna tried to keep her thoughts from showing on her face, grateful when Tristan and Timothy’s attention returned to the papers on the table. When the doorbell rang a short time later, Shayna breathed a sigh of relief. Tristan got up and went downstairs with Timothy trailing after him.
When they returned, both Danica and Sierra were with them. Sierra came right to her side, a smile on her face.
“How are you feeling today?” she asked as she sat down at the table beside Shayna.
“I know I probably look worse, but I am feeling a bit better. Still quite sore, though.”
“I’m sure that’s true.”
“Shayna, do you think you could come down to the car for a few minutes? I’ll show you a few things about it before we go.”
“Sure. Did you want to park it in the garage?”
“That might be good. It will keep it warmer for you,” Tristan said. “I’ll go pull it in and meet you down there.”
When Tristan left them, Shayna turned back to the girls, listening as they chatted with Timothy. He seemed to enjoy talking with them, telling them all about the project he was planning for a science fair in February. When she heard the familiar squeak of the garage door, she got to her feet and slowly made her way to the main floor.
The attached garage had been one of the big selling points of the townhouse because of the age and running condition of her car. Having it out of the elements during the cold winters had meant it started more easily. Of course, she didn’t have that car anymore, but the likelihood that she’d be able to buy a better one even if she got a settlement from this one, was slim to none.
She slid her feet into a pair of boots from the cupboard and grabbed a light jacket while she was at it. The garage was warmer than outside, but it was still colder than the rest of the house. She peered through the glass window of the door that led from the main house into the garage, watching as Tristan backed the SUV inside.
Once Tristan shut the engine off, Shayna went into the garage and pushed the button to close the garage door. Tristan got out and came around the back of the SUV.
“Why don’t you get behind the wheel?” Tristan suggested. “I’ll get in on this side, so I can show you how to work things.”
Shayna nodded and went to climb into the driver’s side. She was surprised to realize that she didn’t need to adjust the seat forward too much, but then there wasn’t a great deal of height difference between her and Tristan. He was only two or three inches taller than she was.
For the next little while, Tristan showed her more about the car than she would have ever thought she’d need to know. Apparently, twelve years had brought about a great deal of advancement in cars. The luxury amazed and, if she was honest, scared her a little. Tristan was going to trust her with this?
A hand rested over hers where she gripped the steering wheel. “Don’t worry about the cost of the car, Shayna.”
She stared at his hand where it covered hers on the wheel. While they might be close in height, his hand was larger and stronger than hers. It had been so long since she’d felt a man’s touch on her hand like that. She’d always thought that Lorne would be the last man to touch her in any way, but now…
With a small intake of breath, she gripped the steering wheel even more tightly to stop herself from turning her hand over beneath his. Tristan moved his hand off hers as he pointed to the large display on the dashboard. Nothing he explained to her put her at ease about using the vehicle.
“Do you want to take a test drive with me?” Tristan asked. “Will it make you feel more comfortable?”
“Maybe,” Shayna said, relaxing her grip on the wheel a bit. “Yeah. Maybe that would be good, but I need my purse.”
“Is it upstairs?” Tristan pushed open the door. “I’ll get it for you.”
“Yes, it’s on the counter by the fridge.”
“Be right back.”
Alone in the car, Shayna peeled her fingers from around the steering wheel and grasped them together in her lap. She hoped this wasn’t a mistake, that none of this was a mistake. Letting Tristan into their lives. Letting him spend time with Timothy. Letting him help find someone to live with them. Letting him loan her this car, that was no doubt worth more than she could earn in two—maybe even three—years.
She jolted when the garage door began to roll up. As Tristan climbed in next to her again, Shayna glanced over at him, determined to refuse the offer of the car. But then he gave her an encouraging smile, looking for all the world like he had no qualms about letting her drive his car—his very expensive car.
“Maybe it’s too soon,” she said as he placed her purse on the floor by his feet.
“Nope. It’s better that you get right back on the horse, so to speak.”
Shayna thought about arguing but knew he was right. “Okay.”
Following Tristan’s instructions, she started the vehicle up and put it in gear. She tried to relax her grip as she pulled out of the garage. “Where should I go?”
“Just drive to wherever you’re most comfortable. You don’t need to go someplace challenging right now.” As she turned onto the main road outside the townhouse co-op, Tristan asked, “Where do you work?”
“At a restaurant over in St. Boniface.”
“Wow. That’s a bit of a drive for you.”
Shayna nodded. “But it wasn’t when I first started working there.”
“So why did you move this far away?”
“Lisa found the place. For what we paid, it was better than other places we had looked at. Our combined income worked because Lisa has a decent paying career.”
“What does she do?”
“Um, I’m not sure about the details, but it has to do with computers. Programming? Websites? I never really understood when she tried to explain it.” Shayna gave a shake of her head. “I’m not really good at stuff like that.”
“How much will someone coming to live here with you need to make?”
“I’ll have to check. I’ve earned more since we first moved in.”
“Okay, just let me know, and let me know the amount of the rent as well.”
Shayna was grateful for the distraction of the conversation as she drove the familiar route to Timothy’s school and then back home again. The roads had been plowed, but even if they hadn’t been, she would have felt safe. Tristan’s car felt solid on the road, not as if it would be sent into a spin by a singular patch of ice.
By the time they made it back to the house, Shayna felt a bit more confident about borrowing Tristan’s car. She could only pray that even though he did have insurance coverage, she wouldn’t have an accident. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to get back behind the wheel again if she did.
After she’d backed the car into the garage again, Tristan came around to help her out, and together they went back into the house. Before she could head up the stairs, he grasped her arm lightly, stopping her. She turned to look at him and found his gaze intent on her.
“Please, don’t worry at all about the SUV. You’re going to be just fine with it.”
“Thank you for loaning it to us,” Shayna said. “It will make things a lot easier.”
He hesitated before pulling out his wallet, opening it to remove a card. He held it out to her. “Use this for gas.”
Shayna crossed her arms, tucking her hands under them as she shook her head. “I can pay for the gas. I paid for the gas for my car, after all.”
“Though this SUV has decent gas mileage as far as SUVs go, it’s still going to use more gas than your car did.”
“You’re doing enough already. I can pay for the gas.”
He stared at her for a moment then said, “Let’s make a deal here. Do you usually budget for gas? A certain amount each week or for the month?” She nodded. “Okay. So put the gas on the card as you need it, then you can give me the amount you usually budget for gas once you don’t need the car anymore. This situation was supposed to help you out, not put more financial strain on you.”
Shayna knew that she should stop arguing, especially since he was offering a compromise that made sense. It still left her feeling indebted to him, but at least he was letting her carry part of the burden. She wasn’t entirely sure what motivated him, but she was hardly in a place to question him about it. Maybe at some point in the future, when she was no longer so indebted to him, she would ask him.
Without saying anything—because what could she say—she held out her hand. He placed the card in it.
“I know this is difficult for you,” Tristan said, his voice low. “That you’d rather take care of all of this by yourself, and I admire you for that, but I think until things are settled with your car, you need to accept a little help.”
“This is more than a little help, Tristan,” Shayna said, gesturing with the card.
Tristan looked like he was going to say something, but then he just smiled and gestured to the stairs. Not long after they rejoined the girls and Timothy, Tristan left with Danica and Sierra. When Shayna found herself wondering when she might see him again, she decided that it might be a good thing that he hadn’t said.
“Is this about the makeup?” Makayla asked.
“Or the chocolate covered strawberries?” Sammi chimed in.
Tristan frowned at them. “It’s about someone needing a roommate.”
“A very nice someone,” Danica said with a grin. “Right, Sierra?”
Tristan could see that Sierra was reticent to join in on the teasing, and he appreciated that. Unfortunately, the other three would definitely make up for it, especially now that Makayla and Sammi realized they had an ally with insider information.
“What’s she like?” Sammi asked.
They now had the attention of the rest of the people in the room. They’d gotten together for an early dinner before heading to a Christmas program at church. He’d thought about offering to take Shayna and Timothy, but he wasn’t sure that she’d be up to heading out of the house just yet. And even though Timothy might have enjoyed it, Tristan had started to worry a bit about encouraging a friendship with the boy before talking about it with Shayna.
They were rapidly gaining importance to him, and somehow, he knew that he shouldn’t allow himself to feel anything more before he talked with Shayna. If she wasn’t receptive to a possible relationship with him, he would need to step back. He wouldn’t completely abandon Timothy, but he’d definitely limit the time they spent together.
“Shayna is very nice,” Sierra said. “And her son, Timothy, is a real sweetheart.”
“Timothy?” Kenton asked. “The boy you brought to the hockey game?”
Tristan hesitated because he knew what they would read into that, even though, at the time, he’d simply wanted to give the boy a special experience. But still, he nodded. “Yes. That was Timothy Caron.”
“Is Shayna someone special to you?” his mom asked, her soft question breaking through all the chatter that had erupted at his revelation.
Tristan ran his hand through his hair, forgetting for a moment that he still had somewhere to go that evening. “I don’t know. Maybe?”
“Sounds like love to me,” Gabe said, a broad grin on his face.
Tristan shot his brother a frustrated look. He understood that Gabe was always one to turn things into a joke. Unfortunately, there was no joking about the situation with Shayna in Tristan’s mind. The uncertainty of the relationship unsettled him.
He liked to have things in place, orderly. It was hard when something was in disarray, like the situation with Shayna and Timothy, because then it demanded all his attention, which made it difficult to be able to focus on anything else.
Though he was concerned what Shayna’s response might be, it was better to know. To bring order to whatever it was developing between them, whether it be a relationship or friendship. Or nothing.
Unable to focus on those thoughts while fielding questions from his mom and other family members, Tristan pushed his thoughts aside for the time being. There would be time later for that. He hadn’t made plans to see them again before next Sunday. He’d debated asking Shayna about stopping by in a few days, but instead, he’d left without doing it.
“Back to my original question,” Tristan said when there was a lapse in the questions. “Does anyone know of someone needing a place to stay?”
“Why don’t you just offer her a place in the apartment building?” Mitch asked. “The three-bedroom place is still empty.”
Tristan had considered it. He just didn’t want Shayna to feel like he was trying to take over her life. Her strength was one of the things he admired about her. He knew that the only reason she’d accepted the use of his car was because of Timothy. Maybe she’d accept an apartment for the same reason, but for now, he wanted to help her find another option. One that wouldn’t involve them having to give up their home.
“I would like to see if she could find a roommate first,” Tristan said. “Moving isn’t easy this time of year, especially when it would mean uprooting her son.”
“That’s very true,” his mom said. “Moving is never easy.”
“So where is the apartment located, and what sort of rent is she asking?” Belle asked.
Tristan gave her the details as he remembered them from what Shayna had told him earlier.
“It’s actually quite a nice place,” Danica added. “And if she keeps things as they are, I think the available bedroom would come with an ensuite.”
“I might know someone who would be interested,” Belle said. “One of the ladies at the store also just lost her roommate. Although in her case, it was to marriage.”
“She just has to be good with kids. Well, there’s only one, but she needs to be okay with him.”
“He really is a neat kid,” Sierra said. “So smart.”
“He and Tristan seem to have a lot in common,” Danica added. “He said that Tristan helped him figure out what to do for the science fair he is part of at school.”
“That sounds like something you’d like, Tris,” his mom said as she reached over to pat his hand. “You did love creating projects for the science fair when you were in school.”
“He is a smart kid,” Tristan said, agreeing with Sierra. “I doubt he’d be any trouble, but still, anyone moving in with them needs to be okay with children.”
Belle nodded. “I think Eva would be, but I’ll let her decide for herself.”
“You can vouch for this woman?” Tristan asked. “I told Shayna that anyone we recommended to her would be someone we trusted.”
“I understand that,” Belle said. “And yes, Eva is someone I trust. She’s worked for us for a few years now and has always been reliable. Good with the customers and others working at the shop. I’ll talk to Jasmine about her, to see what she thinks.”
“I’ll give you Shayna’s number, so if it seems Eva might be interested, she can contact her.” Tristan felt a rush of relief. Even though the situation hadn’t been totally resolved, at least he had hope that a resolution might not be too far off.