Page 24 of The Light to My Darkness (The Light to My Darkness 1)

"Good morning, Scar." She was standing up on the bed looking down at me.

"I want in." She pointed between me and James.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Usually Scarlett insisted on sleeping directly between me and James whenever she was scared.

She nodded her head.

"Come here, baby girl." I scooted over and tapped the bed beside me.

Scarlett ungracefully jumped over me so she could nestle between us.

James made a noise like he’d just gotten punched in the gut. Sure enough, Scarlett had kneed him right in the stomach.

"Good morning, pumpkin," he said and kissed her forehead. "Good morning." He reached over and put his hand on the side of my face.

I turned my face and kissed his palm.

"Daddy, I had a bad dream." She nestled her face into his chest. "The snake monster talked to me."

Snake monster? "What movie did you two watch the other night?"

"She wanted to watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets again. I think I may have fallen asleep before her."

I shook my head. We'd pretty much allow Scarlett to watch anything she wanted. But we usually turned it off at a certain point if we didn't think it was appropriate. Apparently seeing a gigantic snake was one of those things.

"Scar, there are no snake monsters. It was just a movie."

"Yes there are, Mommy." She turned to look at me. "I saw him. And he talked to me." She frowned, like she was waiting for me to question her. "Can storks eat snakes?"

James laughed. "Time to get up, Scarlett. Grandpa is coming over today to hang out with you. He should be here any minute."

"Grandpa!" Scarlett immediately dropped her question about storks.

"He is?" I asked.

"Yes, I figured while they're playing you and I could go get breakfast?" James climbed out of bed and looked down at me. There was a question in his gaze that I didn't quite understand.

Did he think I was going to say no? "That sounds wonderful," I said.

"Great. Let's go make you breakfast okay, pumpkin?" He squeezed Scarlett's shoulder.

She jumped off the bed and fell on her knees. For a second it looked like she was going to cry.

"You're okay." James picked her up and draped her over one shoulder.

"Daddy!" she squealed with delight. There was no longer any trace of her impending tears.

I sat there for a moment as I watched them disappear out the door. Sometimes Scarlett would get upset if she felt excluded. Maybe that was why James had looked worried after he asked me to go to breakfast. Or maybe he wanted to talk about something important. I certainly hadn't been acting like myself recently. I shook my head and climbed out of bed. Why was I analyzing how James had asked me? He was just being sweet. He wanted to spend more time with me. I didn't need to read between any lines.

I quickly washed up and walked into the closet. There was a new dress hanging in front of the others. It was just like my favorite stretchy cotton dress, except it was a brilliant shade of blue instead of gray. James knew it was the only article of clothing that I felt comfortable in anymore. I smiled as I pulled it off the hanger. There was no reason to analyze his expressions or his words. Everything he did was out of love. I was ready to have a romantic day with him.

I walked out of our room and down the stairs. James' father, Jon, was already there. Scarlett was sitting in his lap at the kitchen counter completely transfixed on her bowl of oatmeal, but not eating it.

"Hello, darling," Jon said as I walked into the room.

I leaned down and gave him a hug. "Hi, Jon. I see you two are already busy. What are you up to?" Scarlett was still staring at her bowl of oatmeal in the most unusual way.

"Grandpa said I could make a design with the raisins," she said. "I can't decide if I should do a snake or a stork."

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