‘Really?’
She hadn’t expected his tactics to work, but suddenly a thread of excitement rippled through her as she hurried after him across the warehouse. And then she saw the pallet boxes, the contents wrapped in a transparent film, and she stopped dead.
It was almost surreal. The same red, white and green boxes that had been filled in New York were now out here, and her fingers longed to reach out and lift the pop-up Christmas tree on just one of them.
‘I can’t believe they’re here,’ she murmured. ‘I can’t believe I’m here.’
The excitement rippled again. And then something else. She wasn’t prepared for the apprehension that suddenly overcame her, like a fire blanket thrown down to smother the flames.
‘Everything okay?’
As if he could read her thoughts.
Her eyes flickered to his almost against his will.
‘What was I thinking?’ she murmured.
‘Rae?’
‘There I was, back in my sheltered life in New York, going on and on about these boxes, encouraging people to come to a charity gala just to donate for more boxes, for toys, for Christmas, when the kids out here don’t need that. I was naïve. I didn’t have a clue what it was really like to be a kid out here. I’ve wasted so much time on stuff which doesn’t matter.’
‘It does matter, Raevenne.’
‘Of course it doesn’t. I was such an idiot, telling people how important those toy boxes were, back home. Making such a big deal out of getting people to buy them or fill them.’
‘You’re not an idiot.’
‘Of course I am,’ she cried. ‘As if Christmas means the same thing out here. The kids out here don’t need stupid toys, they need real solutions for real problems, like where their next meal is coming from, whether the water is safe enough to drink, if their mother is going to get through her next childbirth without a fatal complication.’
She was so caught up in her own frustration that she didn’t notice Myles reach out until he’d snagged her hand, holding it tightly in his.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Come with me.’
It was a command rather than a request. And one that, despite everything, Rae found herself obeying.
‘Have you actually been around the camp since you arrived?’
‘A little.’ She wrinkled her nose.
The truth was she’d been so caught up in getting herself up to speed medically that she really hadn’t had time to go anywhere but the clinic, the mess and her bed. But the last thing she wanted right now was Myles taking her around and proving to her everything she’d just said. Proving to her how much of a naïve fool she’d been thinking stupid toys made a difference.
‘Have you seen the classrooms?’ Myles pressed her, not letting her pull her hand free.
Not that she tried too hard.
‘No, why?’
He didn’t answer as he left the warehouse, locking it quickly behind them, still not letting go of her hand. She told herself she didn’t feel the surges of electricity racing through her at his mere touch, making her burn up even though her breath was visible in the freezing night air.
They crossed the compound, away from the hospital and the mess and through the warren of dusty roads to another set of prefab, community-style buildings.
‘They have Christmas trees,’ she exclaimed in surprise. And over on the other side of the square, a nativity scene had been painstakingly created.
‘It is Christmas time,’ Myles pointed out wryly.
‘But it’s a nativity scene.’