Page 25 of Found By You
McCrae gently lifted me up so he could pull the bedsheet back with the blanket. “None of that. Let’s get you to sleep. You just need a good night’s rest.” He drew the covers over me andthen patted the sheet, tucking me in as if I were a child. “You’re going to be okay.” He took a step back.
“Wait,” I said softly. “Could you stay for a little bit?”
He looked uncertain.
I let out a pathetic laugh and then a groan. “I don’t know who I am in real life, but I can tell you right now I hate this person I am being.”
“It’s okay,” he said casually. The bed was huge, and he scooted down to sit at its foot, leaving a distance between us. He pulled out his phone. “I’ll read you a story. You close your eyes, and I’ll just be here.”
Now I giggled. “Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, that’s what my parents used to do for us anytime we were freaked out or needed something.” He tapped on his phone. “I’m just doing what my mom used to do. She would always read from the Bible. So I’m going to read you a Bible story. Okay?”
“What story are you going to read me?” I tried to distract myself by how silly the situation was, but I was grateful he was staying for a minute.
“What story do you want from the Bible?”
I had to think through the ones I knew, and I was surprised that they actually came to mind. “Well, there’s the story of David and Goliath, the story of Job …”
He grunted. “I’m glad you remember that.”
I laughed. “Me too.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m going to read you one of my favorites. I’m going to read you the story of Jonah and the whale.”
“Sounds good.” I propped myself up on my side.
He shook his head. “No. You lie down and close your eyes, and I’m going to read in a really slow, boring voice.” His voice dropped down to a quieter tone. “And you’re going to relax. I’llstay until you fall asleep, and if I finish Jonah and the whale, I’ll just find another story and read it to you. You’re going to be just fine. Okay?”
“Okay.” I slumped back and waited.
He started reading, telling the story of how Jonah was supposed to go to Nineveh but didn’t want to. I listened to the deep, soothing rumble of his voice as he read, my eyes growing heavy as the tension slowly left my body.
Then, I fell asleep.
Chapter 11
McCrae
I started to leave the room, but I paused and looked back to see her beautiful face at peace. How did someone fall in love? Did it happen in years, in days, in hours? I didn’t know, and I hated to think I might be falling in love. Man, I had already formed some kind of emotional connection with this woman. Was it because she was just fragile and I wanted to help her? My sister would probably say it was part of my hero complex, but I didn’t know.
I tried to dismiss it. I couldn’t think like that. This woman was in danger, clearly, or something must be happening, because who wouldn’t show up for her? When she’d asked the question in such a small voice, it’d made something primal and protective rear up in my chest. Why hadn’t anyone been looking for her? Why weren’t there a dozen messages at the police station? This was now the third night she’d been missing from someone’s life. And if she didn’t have a husband or a boyfriend, where was her family? Her sisters, her brothers, her father, her parents?
I snorted as I walked down the hallway to my bedroom. The soft glow from the night lights along the baseboards guided my way through the darkened corridor. I hesitated at the top of the stairs and realized all the lights were out. I went over to Kayla’s room and knocked softly on the door.
“Come in,” she said, as if she’d been waiting. Well, of course she’d been waiting, because that’s what siblings did for each other. They waited, they worried, they wondered.
When I opened the door, she lifted a sleepy head from her pillow. “Is she asleep?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yep.”
Kayla plopped her head down. “Good. She deserves some good sleep.”
On impulse, I walked in, feeling rather fatherly, and gently put my hand on Kayla’s head. “You okay, sis?”
Instantly, she looked up at me and glared. “Don’t act like you need to pamper the cancer kid right now. You have more important things to worry about.” She shrugged away from me and turned her head the other way.
“All right, good night.” She was like a cat, that one. Sometimes she would just love on you and embrace you, and other times she was so prickly you could barely get a feel for her. “Thanks for all you’re doing.”
