A Christmas Knight by Kate Hardy Read Free Book Online Page B

was about to say no when Tyler added, ‘If you don’t, then Mum will have to buy you flowers to say thank you for helping, and boys don’t really like flowers so she’ll fuss about it.’
    He couldn’t help laughing. ‘OK, then, thanks. I have to admit, it’ll be nice to have home-cooked food for a change.’
    â€˜Don’t you cook?’ Tyler asked.
    â€˜Not unless it comes in a packet with instructions for microwaving,’ he admitted.
    â€˜Tut, and you a doctor,’ Louisa teased.
    â€˜Can I show you my horse?’ Tyler asked, the second Louisa had unlocked the front door. ‘I got a commendation for it in Art today at school.’
    â€˜Well done.’ Louisa gave him a hug and a kiss.
    They both admired the drawing.
    â€˜Can I show you my other horses?’ Tyler asked.
    â€˜Sorry,’ Louisa mouthed.
    â€˜I’d love to see them,’ Dominic said, meaning it.
    Tyler showed him the drawings, one by one. Dominic was blown away by the detail, both of the horses and of the knights. ‘You’ve got the armour exactly right, too.’
    â€˜It’s called a harness,’ Tyler said, ‘but I guess you know that, because you have one.’
    â€˜Ye-es.’ Not that he’d used it in two years. He hadn’t even been able to bring himself to polish it. It was locked away in a trunk.
    â€˜Can I come to your house and see it some time?’
    Dominic froze. And, just at that moment, Louisa walked into the living room. She’d clearly overheard the last bitbecause she frowned. ‘Tyler, it’s rude to invite yourself. And anyway, dinner’s ready. Apple juice for everyone?’
    Tyler led him into the dining room, which was small but neat. Just like the one in the living room, the mantelpiece was crowded with photographs: Louisa and Tyler, an older man and woman who he assumed were her parents, and a man who looked enough like her that he had to be her brother. Clearly she was close to her family. He’d been close to his, too; but his guilt had driven him away.
    â€˜I’d love a suit of armour,’ Tyler said as he sat down. ‘Grandad and me found a shop that sells suits of armour, when Mum and Nanna went to do girly stuff. Well, bits of armour,’ he amended. ‘I really wanted a cuirass, but it was too big for me and it was a bit expensive. Then we sat on the beach and had chips. And I found a pebble that looks like a horse’s head. I’ll show you.’
    He rushed up to his room before Louisa could stop him.
    She grimaced. ‘Sorry. He’s a bit impulsive.’
    â€˜I think most eight-year-old boys are,’ he said. ‘I know Oliver and I used to drive our mum crazy. He’s a nice kid. And he’s brilliant at drawing.’
    Tyler rushed back in with the pebble, and Dominic duly admired it.
    Dinner was simple but good; though it felt odd, being almost like part of a family.
    â€˜How was your day, Dominic?’ Tyler asked.
    The question really surprised him; but then he realised this was probably part of the evening routine; obviously Louisa was gently training her son in the art of social nice-ties to make his life easier as he grew older, just as Andy’s parents had done with him.
    â€˜It was good, thanks,’ he said. ‘I patched up someonewho fell off his bike and helped someone else whose heart stopped working properly.’
    â€˜What was the best bit?’ Tyler asked, looking serious.
    Dominic thought about it. ‘Going to the stables. How about you?’
    â€˜My day was good. I got a commendation in Art, but the stables was the best bit. I like the smell of horses. And Polo’s hair is all soft, except his mane, and that’s like Mum’s hair when we’ve gone swimming and it dries all frizzy at the ends.’
    Dominic couldn’t help smiling. ‘Does yours go frizzy?’
    â€˜No, because my hair’s short.’