Page 125 of Smooth Sailing

“Honey,” I pushed out.

She latched onto my hand hard. “Don’t make me say goodbye to you. Just say goodnight and we’ll pretend I’m not going away.”

My voice was croaky and my throat hurt like crazy when I asked, “Can our goodnight include a hug?”

Her answer was to walk right into me.

We held on to each other for what was a long time but felt like seconds.

A million words came to my mind when she broke free, but I couldn’t get any of them out of my mouth.

She stopped at the door, looked back at me, and I committed to memory her peaches and cream skin, her pretty blonde hair and her beautiful blue eyes.

“Goodnight, Di,” she said.

I was losing it, but I managed to get out, “Goodnight, Maddy.”

She shot me one of her little smiles and disappeared behind the door.

I dropped my head in my hands and almost went to my knees.

What stopped me from doing the last was Hugger swinging me up in his arms and carrying me to bed.

Once we were there, I burrowed again and used all the rest of my energy to stop myself from breaking down.

“Let them go,” he whispered.

“Tomorrow,” I choked out.

“Okay, baby,” he agreed.

He kept hold on me as he rolled side to side to turn out the lights on the nightstands.

I belatedly realized his chest was bare, and hairy.

I didn’t have it in me to process this. I just had it in me to feel Hugger yank the covers from under us and pull them over us.

“I’m never gonna get to sleep tonight,” I told him.

“Good you got the day off tomorrow, then,” he replied.

“Yeah,” I mumbled.

Hugger twined his long legs with my shorter ones and held on.

I listened hard for signs of life in my house.

There weren’t any.

I kept listening.

And, held safe in Hugger’s arms, I fell asleep doing it.

When I woke, Hugger was the big spoon again.

I knew he knew I was awake when his arm around me pulled me deeper into his body.

And I knew he knew I heard the noises beyond my bedroom door when he kept holding tight.

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