Maggie Shifts Her Gent by Linda Hubalek

Author:Linda Hubalek [Hubalek, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781096005285
Publisher: Butterfield Books Inc.
Published: 2019-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Peter slowly woke up because his right arm was numb. His sighed before opening his eyes, knowing why he had a kink in his neck too.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the three people piled against him, where he sat on the settee. After a long night—and very early morning—Christian and Bonita finally gave in to their exhaustion and sank in a deep sleep. Apparently, Maggie did too as her head rested against the front of his shoulder, cutting off the circulation to his arm.

Peter and Maggie had started out with a child in separate bedrooms, but then Bonita started crying for her brother, which woke Christian. They tried putting the children in bed together, but they wanted Peter with them, and he was too big and tall to fit in a single bed with them. They finally ended up together on the settee at three o'clock this morning. The mantel clock in the room showed the time now at six-thirty. Could he carry the children back to bed without waking them up?

Peter wiggled the shoulder Maggie was leaning against, hoping she'd wake up slowly without jumping up to see what was wrong. The woman had handled the children's situation admirably, but she was exhausted too.

Maggie's eyelashes fluttered a few moments before her blue eyes widened with awareness. She lifted her head and looked at Peter.

“Let's try to carry them to bed,” Peter whispered as quietly as he could.

Maggie nodded, and then looked at how the children were lying, entangled together across both their laps. Peter knew the chances of them waking up were strong, but he needed to use the toilet and stretch his numb limbs.

“I'll pick up Bonita first,” Maggie whispered as she slowly slid her hands under the child's torso, as the girl was lying on her stomach on top of Christian's back.

Bonita sighed in her sleep, but Maggie was able to pick her up and lay her against her shoulder. Maggie stood a minute before walking because she'd be stiff too.

Peter gave Christian a minute after Maggie moved Bonita to settle down again. Christian turned in his sleep, and Peter used his movement to pull him against his chest and stand.

The relaxed boy’s face in a deep sleep looked so much different now than last night in his panicked state.

Hopefully, the children won't be in such a stressed condition today, but they had been in a terrible situation since their parents’ deaths. They needed stability with a new family as soon as possible.

After being sure the children were still asleep, Peter slipped into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror on the wall and rubbed his bristly chin. His overnight beard re-growth was thick and dark, he had shadows under his eyes and... he reached to pull something out of his hair. Apple crisp from Bonita's sticky hands.

His shirt was rumpled and dirty. Nervous sweat when sewing up wounds made him remove his vest, and he'd never gotten his jacket back after covering the injured woman with it.

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