Leaving the cetery, Mrs. Somrs, who was in the car with the two children, saw her being carried out and asked worriedly, "What’s wrong?"
He didn’t put her down until they reached the car. After she got in, she said to Mrs. Somrs, "I’m fine. Just a little dizzy, that’s all."
Mrs. Somrs said, "It must be from the long journey and the emotional turmoil. Let’s get you ho to rest right away!"
Julian Donovan drove them back toward the Shaw Residence. Unable to stay awake, Naomi Shaw leaned back in her seat and fell asleep on the way. Joy did, too. Dylan glanced at the mother and daughter, then chuckled to himself. ’Won are so weak!’
When they arrived ho, Mrs. Somrs was about to wake Naomi, but Julian stopped her. He had Mrs. Somrs carry Joy inside first, then he carefully bent down, lifted the still-sleeping Naomi from the car, and carried her. Left all by himself, Dylan pouted, then got out of the car and ran into the house on his own.
He carried her to her old bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. Mrs. Somrs knocked and entered. "I’ve settled Dylan and Joy. You should all get so rest. I’ll call you for dinner!"
"Okay... Mrs. Somrs, thank you for siding with ."
Julian gave Mrs. Somrs a grateful look. She smiled gently. "You silly boy, you’ve been in love with Naomi for a long ti, you just never realized it. I originally thought that after your divorce, a little ti apart to cool down would be for the best. Sigh... Who could have known sothing like this would happen? And that separation would turn into three years!"
This was a pain in Julian’s heart, too. No one had expected the separation to last three years. ’If I had known this would happen,’ he thought, ’I never would have signed the divorce papers.’
Mrs. Somrs glanced at Naomi, who was fast asleep on the bed. "It was so hard to find her. We certainly don’t want you two to lose each other again. Julian, I’m not trying to nag you, but you have to cherish Naomi this ti. If you ss up again, no one will be there to help you."
Julian nodded, and Mrs. Somrs closed the door behind her as she left.
He went into the bathroom for a shower to wash away the weariness of his travels, then got into bed, wrapping his arms around her as he fell asleep. ’She’ll probably be upset when she wakes up and finds being so shaless,’ he thought, ’but I don’t care. In a mont of such exhaustion, all I want is to hold her as I sleep.’
The four of them slept all the way until evening. Dylan and Joy had woken up much earlier and were downstairs with Mrs. Somrs. Naomi and Julian were startled awake by a voice outside, shouting louder and louder, "Auntie... Auntie... Auntie Naomi..."
Then ca the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP of soone running up the stairs, and the little girl’s voice continued, "My mommy said I have a pretty aunt! Auntie Naomi, where are you?"
Lara’s exasperated voice imdiately followed. "Cheryl, be quiet! Your Auntie Naomi is still sleeping!"
"Oh, okay..."
The little girl grumbled in resignation, then turned and scampered back downstairs.
Lying beside Naomi, Julian opened his eyes with a headache. He looked at Naomi, who had also been woken by the commotion, and murmured helplessly, "That’s Cheryl..."
The mont Naomi opened her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with Julian, whose face was inches from hers. She didn’t even have to think; the man had shalessly slept in her room. She was so angry she didn’t know what to say to him. All she could do was grit her teeth and glare. "Julian Donovan..."
But as soon as she spoke, she realized her throat was burning with pain. It was difficult to even talk, let alone yell at him.
Noticing her discomfort, he quickly propped himself up on his arms and looked down at her with concern. "What’s wrong? Does your throat hurt?"
She cleared her throat, and the stinging was intense. ’It must be a sumr cold,’ she realized. Wincastle was in the middle of a cool, crisp late autumn, but Thailos was hot and humid year-round. The air conditioning had been on while they slept, but because he was holding her, his body heat had transferred to her. She had gotten so hot that she’d kicked the blanket off them both. Between that and her emotional turmoil, this was the result.
Julian, of course, understood her condition perfectly. He got up and threw on his clothes. "I’ll go get you so dicine!"
Naomi had no ti to stop him, nor the strength. She simply sank back onto the bed, feeling groggy.
Downstairs, the little girl with short hair confidently held out a small hand to the doll-like little girl and introduced herself. "Hi, my na is Cheryl. What’s yours?"
Cheryl was only a month or two older than Joy, but Joy was so petite and delicate that Cheryl seed much older in comparison.
Joy blinked her big, watery eyes and gave her an uneasy glance. Finally, mustering her courage, she reached out her hand but remained as sparing with her words as ever. "Joy Donovan..."
Cheryl tugged at her. "Joy, let’s go play, okay?"
Joy pulled her hand back, shrank into her brother’s arms, and shook her head. Having just seen her tear up the stairs, Joy already felt that Cheryl was too wild for her to play with.
"Co on, co on!"
Cheryl was relentless. Lara scooped her up and plopped her onto the sofa. "You are going to sit here and behave! Don’t you dare make Joy as wild as you are!"
Cheryl pouted unhappily. Looking up, she saw Julian coming down the stairs. She imdiately jumped off the sofa, ran over, and hugged his leg. "Uncle Julian, is Auntie awake?"
Before Julian could say a word, she was already running up the stairs, shouting, "Auntie Naomi! Auntie Naomi..."
"Cheryl, would you please just walk!"
Lara yelled after her, hands on her hips.
The little girl completely ignored Lara’s shouts and trotted straight into Naomi’s room. Naomi finally got to et the mischievous little girl Lara had described. With short hair and bright eyes, she leaned on the edge of the bed, staring at Naomi without blinking, then asked curiously, "Are you my Auntie Naomi?"
"Yes, I am..."
Propping her head up with one hand, Naomi leaned closer to her, smiling as she reached out to embrace the little girl.
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