Shelter of Love (New Beginnings Book 9) by Margaret Daley

Author:Margaret Daley [Daley, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance
Publisher: Margaret Daley
Published: 2019-12-15T16:00:00+00:00

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Saturday night Abbey left her bedroom to fix a cup of tea before turning in for the night. First, she would check on Madi to make sure she was sleeping okay. Since she had put her to bed only an hour ago, she should be all right because her nightmares usually didn’t occur until later in the night.

As she approached the girl’s room, Abbey heard Madi talking. She slowed and listened to the child.

“If I don’t sleep, I don’t dream, but I’m getting sleepy.” Her voice dragged with each word Madi said.

Abbey inched toward the bedroom, the door opened partially the way Madi liked it. Abbey peeked inside. The girl had both dogs on her bed, Gabe stretched out on one side while Cottonball was on the other. She cuddled the smaller animal against her chest as she stroked the Lab.

“I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. I don’t want to dream about the crash. I don’t want to hear my mom....” Cottonball snuggled closer to the child’s face and licked her on the cheek. “She screamed....” Her eyes slid closed.

Abbey crept into the room. The pain she heard in Madi’s voice brought tears to Abbey. Through blurry vision she saw the girl’s eyes pop open while she sucked in a deep breath.

“Can’t sleep,” Madi murmured.

Abbey crossed to the bed, her gaze linking with Madi’s. “I thought you’d be asleep by now with all we did today.”

Madi gave her a tired grin. “It was fun except for my exercises.”

“Well, it’s time to go to sleep. We’ll be up early tomorrow so we can get ready for church.”

“I know, but...” Madi sighed.

“But what?”

“I don’t want to sleep.” Madi yawned.

“Why are you fighting it?” She prayed the child would confide in her.

“I just don’t.”

“Are Cottonball and Gabe keeping you up?”

Madi shook her head. “I’ll try to sleep.”

“Sleep is important to our bodies. When you’re rested, you heal faster, and I know you want to feel better.”

“Yes.” Another yawn escaped Madi’s mouth, and her eyes closed. “You aren’t taking them away, are you?” She nestled into the covers.

“No, honey. Cottonball and Gabe will be right here with you.”

“Good.”

Abbey waited ten minutes before she left Madi. If there was a problem, Gabe would find her downstairs. When she entered the kitchen, Mrs. Ponder stood at the sink rinsing out her mug.

The housekeeper swung around. “I thought you’d fallen asleep. I was going to bed.”

“Madi was trying to stay up. I didn’t want to leave until she was sleeping.”

Since that first night, she and Mrs. Ponder had shared a cup of tea and talked before going to bed. Although there still was a certain formality between them, she’d come to respect the woman and what she’d gone through. She had shared the death of her son with Abbey, and Abbey had shared Lisa’s death with Mrs. Ponder.

“I can stay if you want to talk.” Mrs. Ponder dried her hands on a dish towel.

“No, that’s okay. I think I’ll take my tea upstairs. I’m in the middle of reading a good book.

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