Page 43 of Rescuing Sara

“Well, yeah.” He shrugged. “You were dead on your feet–if you’ll pardon the expression–when we finished talking to Grant Miller. I had to help you to bed but didn’t think you wanted to nap wearing your shoes and socks.”

She considered this and wondered just how much wine he’d poured into the stew. “I sometimes wear socks when I take a nap,” she said.

“I’ll try to remember that next time.” His promise was soft, curling around her spine. “And it was just one cup of red wine, I promise.”

“Okay,” she agreed and shuffled towards the hall. “G ’night.”

In her room, she stripped off her clothes and kicked them aside. And even though it was cold outside, she chose a light-weight cotton gown that came to her knees. She barely remembered brushing her teeth and washing her face but soon she was crawling into bed and shutting off the bedside lamp.

Sleep came hard and fast and despite everything she knew about sleep cycles, would later swear she hit stage III first, so badly did her body crave it.

But stage IV was hard on its heels, her brain bouncing like a bunny and dreams chasing each other like dervishes. They became more frantic as they approached her, faces eerily frozen and masklike. She ran as fast as she could, heading toward the distant cliff, but they seized her and dragged her to the cliff’s edge to throw her over and–”

“NO!” The scream ripped from her throat, and she fumbled for the lamp switch just as the door pushed inward and Patrick stumbled into the room.

“Where are they?” Danni cried. “Where are they?”

“No one here but you and me, Danni-girl.” Through the terror fog clouding her brain she could see he was wearing a robe. Slowly, like one approaching a terrified animal, he came forward. “Is it ok if I sit on the edge of the bed?”

“Y-yes.” She watched him as he cautiously sat; his eyes focused on her face. Drawing in a deep breath, she held and then expelled it, feeling her heart slow and her brain settle into some kind of calm. “I think I’m alright now.”

“Sure? That must have been a hell of a nightmare.”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I guess I should have expected it. How did you get here so quickly? Your room is a few feet away at the very least.”

Incredibly, he blushed. “I-ah-I was sleeping outside your door,” he admitted. “I thought this might happen and after what happened today, I didn’t want for you to be alone too long.”

“I’d rather not be alone.”Are you crazy, Danni Blake? Think about what you’re saying!

“Do you want me to stay? Are you asking me to say?” His whispered question caressed her ears.

“Do you want to stay?”

“Very much,” he said. “I think the bed is big enough for two.”

He took off his robe and draped it across the bed while she moved over. He came to stretch out beside her and turn off the lamp and she carefully nestled against him, breathing in his T-shirt’s clean scent. “I’m not hurting your shoulder, am I?”

“It’s the other one,” he said, stroking her hair. “Do you want to ask me anything?”

She inched up so she could kiss him. “One thing does come to mind.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t you think we’re wearing too many clothes?”

Lovers, even experienced ones, should approach each new encounter slowly and with respect, savoring the exploration of this new, uncharted territory. And since they had nothing in the world but time, time to savor and explore, that’s what they did. And much later, blissfully tired and relishing the satisfaction they had given and received, they slept folded together, with only peaceful, restful dreams.

CHAPTER 16

Sunday Morning.Early

“OK, so this is what we’re gonna do,” Sara whispered. “But keep washing and drying.”

The other three girls standing at the sink nodded but continued their work. Why “Cook” insisted they wash the dishes before the cooking started was just crazy. Mrs. M., Sara knew, would call it a waste of water.

“OK”, Sara said again, her gaze flickering toward the door. “That produce truck comes tomorrow because it’s Monday.”

“Produce?” Alice Peters asked. She and Elsa Jones had arrived a couple of weeks before Sara and Robin and were as close as Sara and Robin were now.

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