Worth the wait

Chapter Fourteen.

He frowned as she looked round at him with an apprehensive look on her face. He ran up to her.

"Go get back in the truck. Lock the doors and call the police!" He stroked her cheek to try sooth her.

She grabbed his hand. "Don't go in! They could still be in there." Not wanting him to get hurt.

"Won't know if I don't check. Whatever you do, don't come in and tell them on the phone that I'm in there. Last thing I want is them thinking I broke in." He chuckled with a shake of his head.

"Ben, please!" She begged refusing to let go of his hand.

"Ok. Come on." Keeping a hold of her hand and walking her back down to his truck.

They called the police and waited for them to arrive. It didn't take too long much to their surprise. After answering all their questions, she was escorted inside to see what was broken or missing. Nothing seemed to be missing but the place was upside down. Apparently, her house wasn't the only one they'd been called out to this weekend. A group of people seemed to be targeting houses where the residents were on holiday. They must have just tried their luck with her home. She was given a crime number for if anything else happened or if she noticed anything else missing once they had left.

He didn't like the idea of her being at home on her own, at least not until she had the locks fixed.

"You can stay at mine tonight. Go grab some clothes, we'll go once the locksmith has finished." He sighed giving her a small smile . "I'll go ring Ste and your dad. Fill them in. If I can get away from work for a bit tomorrow, I'll come make the place more secure." He headed to the front door as she went upstairs to get a few things.

He sat in the truck on the phone as she came out of the house, locking the door behind her. As she climbed in, he looked at her "Yeah, I know... No, she's not staying there on her own tonight Pete. Im not an idiot, I wouldn't dream of letting her!.. She can stay at mine." He let out a sigh. "I do have a perfectly fine pull-out bed in my spare room. Ok, yeah... No problem... See you tomorrow." He hung up and ran a hand down his face.

"You ok? Good to go?" He asked.

"Think so...Yeah." She whispered in reply.

********

Unlocking the front door and letting Charlotte walk in ahead of him. He flicks a light switch and locks the front door.

"mi casa es su casa." He smiles. "Its not much but it's home. I'll give you a quick tour before we call it a night... being as you can barely keep your eyes open." He said with a chuckle as she yawned.

"Sorry." She mumbled and he let out a low chuckle.

"Right then, living room and kitchen. Fridge is just through that door, in the utility, in case you need milk or juice or whatever. If we walk back in to the hall way, here's the bathroom. I'll be in the spare room, just in here, for the night, in case you need anything. Last but not least, your bed for the night." He smiled as he opened his bedroom door.

"Oh. No. Ben I couldn't take your bed. The pull-out is fine, honestly."

Dismissing her with a wave of his hand. "Just give me five to get changed and then the room is all yours." He walked in to his bedroom.

Nodding Charlotte headed in to the bathroom to get changed. When she walked back in to the living room, she noticed he had come out and was sat on the sofa in a pair of joggers, flicking through tv channels. She sat beside him, bringing her feet up underneath her.

"Ben," He turned to look at her. "Thank you for letting me stay." She whispered as she inched closer to him.

Licking his lips, he nodded. "You're welcome." He half smiled.