Night Stalker by Shirlee McCoy

Author:Shirlee McCoy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-12-06T19:44:15+00:00

SEVEN

Once upon a time, early morning had been Charlotte’s favorite time of day. She’d loved sitting on the back deck watching the sun rise over distant mountains. In the winter, she’d nurse a cup of coffee while snow drifted across the frozen earth. In the spring, she’d listen to the birds greet the day. Each season had been her favorite, every sunrise something to celebrate. Even when she’d been a young teen with an attitude, she’d appreciated the expectant hush of the waking day.

After Daniel’s birth, she’d taken him outside with her. She’d bundle him in an old quilt if it were cold. When it was hot, he’d be in a diaper and onesie, his chubby cheeks bathed in gold from the rising sun. On the days when Adam wasn’t working, they’d be out there together, sometimes talking, sometimes not. Always sitting shoulder to shoulder in the old swing that her grandfather had hung decades ago.

As the years passed and Daniel’s differences became obvious, mornings had become even more precious. That was the time of day when he’d seemed less stressed and more relaxed. He’d sit in her lap while it swayed, humming quietly. No head banging. No screaming. No tearing at his hair. He was peaceful in the early morning, and she’d been peaceful with him.

Now she hated the hours before dawn.

She hated the emptiness, the silence, the sickening knowledge that she was about to face another sunrise without the two people she loved most. She tried to sleep through those hours, but her body only knew the rhythm it had always lived by. No matter how late she stayed up, no matter how far she ran or how hard she worked out, her eyes still opened before dawn.

Today was no exception.

She’d been lying in bed for an hour before she fell asleep, waiting for Adam, River and Honor to return from the logging camp. She’d convinced Savannah to sleep in the guest room, and then she’d retreated to her bedroom. She hadn’t bothered to change. She’d just lain on top of the covers, telling herself she wasn’t going to fall asleep.

Of course, she had.

Now she was awake, bathed in sweat, the remnants of a nightmare clawing at the edges of her mind. She couldn’t remember the details. She could only remember the fear.

She glanced at the clock on the bedside table, frowning when she saw the time—2:00 a.m. wasn’t her favorite time to be awake. Especially if she wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep.

And she wasn’t.

That was the way it worked. She slept for a short period of time, and then she was awake. No matter how much she didn’t want to be.

Resigned to her fate, she sat up, surprised when a blanket pooled around her hips. She hadn’t had it when she’d fallen asleep. Had Wren walked into the room and put the blanket over her? Or maybe, Charlotte had walked to the linen closet herself, grabbed a blanket and returned to the room.

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