Chapter 4
A woman’s scream woke Darby. She looked at the clock and it was 1:18 A.M. The scream didn’t affect Harry or Devon. In fact, now that she was awake, she wasn’t sure that the scream hadn’t been a dream, but considering the last 48 hours, she couldn’t be too careful.
She grabbed the baseball bat that she kept by the door of the bedroom and headed down the hall towards the living room. The light was on in Rowan’s room and Darby wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard giggling.
She walked very gingerly with the bat in her hand trying not to let the floorboards squeak. She knocked quietly so as not to startle Blake, when Rowan came bouncing to the door with Blake attached to her waist, both smiling like they had been caught doing something they shouldn’t.
“Hey, Darby, what’s up!” Rowan said casually.
“What’s up? You scream at 1:15 in the morning and you ask ME what’s up?” Darby whispered loudly.
“Sorry, I don’t always find presents like this in my bedroom. You’re so sweet to me, big sister. Thank you, he’s lovely – just what I always wanted,” she said as she planted a huge kiss on Blake. He didn’t seem to mind in the least.
“I see you’ve met,” Darby whispered.
“Oh, we met a couple of days ago – this is the guy I left you a message about,” Rowan said.
“And this is the girl I told you I had to call tonight,” Blake added.
“So you two...and tonight...Blake...the message?” Darby whispered, confused.
“Pretty much. Why are you whispering?” Rowan said and then looked at Blake. “Why is she whispering and holding a bat?”
Blake raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders, but the smile on his face was as bright as the sun.
“All I can tell you is she had a teakettle earlier and now it’s a bat.” He tried to cover his laugh with his hand.
Rowan was smiling. “Is there someone else here?” she whispered. Blake, unable to control his laughter, helplessly looked at Darby.
“Yes, there is! In my bed! His brother! Well, he got shot with a crossbow.” She waved her hand in front of her face as she realized she was just making it sound worse than it was. She shook her head and announced, “I’m going to bed.” Juvenile oooh’s and kissing sounds teased her as she walked away. She retorted, “And keep it down in there, some people are trying to sleep.”
But even as she rounded the corner to the hall, she quietly laughed to herself as she heard:
Darby and Devon
Kissing in a tree
K – I – S – S – I – N – G
She couldn’t help but smile. Rowan and Blake were perfect for each other, she had to admit.
Back in the bedroom, she had to move Harry again as he had spread out during her absence. She crawled back into bed with a smile on her face, still listening to the giggles from the front bedroom, and then she closed her eyes