A Fling to Steal Her Heart

Matt had known that his father had an uncertain temper and that he’d sometimes hurt his mother and made her cry, but he knew now that his mother had protected him from the worst of it, locking him in his bedroom or sending him to a friend’s house to spend the night. Afterwards he’d seen his mother wince in pain as she’d bent or reached for someth

ing. There had never been any bruises on her face, but as he’d got older Matt had begun to understand that was the one place his father had never hit his mother.

His father had hurt him once. Just once, but Matt still remembered the pain and the terror of being unable to escape the hand clamped firmly around his arm. Now he thought of it as a good thing, because it had been the final straw that had made his mother pack their bags and leave.

At first it had been exciting, a taste of the kind of freedom that Matt hadn’t even realised existed. They’d changed their names, using his mother’s surname instead of his father’s, and had embarked on a new life, in a new town. And then his father had found them and they’d run again. Another new life in another new town. Matt had forgotten how many there had been. In the end he hadn’t bothered to make new friends, because he’d known that he and his mother would be moving on again soon.

Matt watched as Hannah played with her son in the late afternoon sunshine. They seemed happy, carefree. No looking over their shoulders...

Until Hannah did look over her shoulder, straight at him, and caught him staring. Matt raised his hand, giving a smile, and she returned the gesture. Then he turned and walked away. He had no business wanting Hannah’s warmth. He needed her as a teammate, and that was just for the next few weeks. After that, he’d be moving on again.